Edo - the EDOPEDIA -

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. Edo shokunin　江戸の職人 Craftsmen of Edo .
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hooki 箒 / ほうき Hoki, broom, Besen

A broom is necessary to keep things clean, the home, the road . . .
hatsubooki 初箒（はつぼうき）first (use of the) broom
hakizome 掃初 (はきぞめ) first cleaning
... fukihajime 拭始（ふきはじめ）beginning to clean
... hatsusooji 初掃除（はつそうじ） first cleaning
- kigo for the New Year-

. WKD : hatsubooki 初箒 first (use of the) broom .

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shuro hooki 棕櫚ほうき broom made from Shuro palm
For a tawashi, the sheets of hemp palm are first dissipated into fibers and then bound together.
For a broom they are first rounded up into bundles, fixed with bronze wires into a shape of five or seven bundles, and in the final process dissipated for about half of the length on a special maschine.

. tawashi たわし　/ 束子 scrubbing brush .

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. Edo shokunin 江戸職人 craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

hookishi 箒師 making brooms in Edo
hookiya 箒屋 vendor of brooms

Look at more samples of Edo Hoki here :
白木屋傳兵衛 Shirakiya　Denbei
- source : edohouki.com -

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- - - Brooms originated in Shinto Rituals
Brooms were first used for sweeping purposes in Heian period. Bamboo, straw, or hemp were used to make brooms at the time. It was after the Edo era began when broom cypress began to be used for making brooms. Brooms in Japan were essentially used as a magical tool - for example, to stroke down a pregnant woman’s stomach with a broom today is still customary, after 400 years. Perhaps an aristocrat’s profound desire for peace was the beginning for this quiet and gentle tool.

- - - A Reevaluation of Traditional Techniques
“Shirokiya Denbe” was founded in 1830 in Ginza, first as a tatami-mat maker. Later on, after specializing in making brooms, the techniques have been handed down from generation to generation. Following the Showa period, as “modern” living came around, vacuum cleaners lowered the demand for brooms. ...

- - - The Attraction of Edo Style Brooms
If you have never used an Edo style broom before, you might consider Edo brooms to be just an old thing. However, if you use it just once, you will know immediately how attractive a tool it can be for your life.　There are a number of benefits of using Edo style brooms, such as they are soft and elastic so that one can sweep without laying unnecessary stress on it. Different from vacuum cleaners, you do not need to worry about the noise or any emissions.　While it depends on how you deal with it, brooms using natural materials can last 5 to 10 years, and as you use them more, it can clean a wooden or tatami-mat floor more.

- - - The Key to Edo Style Broom Making
The most important part of making an Edo broom is “Ho-yori,” which is selecting fine “ears.” The essential process starts here, and normally it takes 3 years for a craftsperson to become independent. Ears are sorted into 3 to 12 kinds by hardness, length, and color, but one-third of the ears will be thrown away at this stage. After sorting them out, he makes four or five small bundles, and he puts stems on them, without the tip of the ears going between the center part and the outside bundles, in order to keep a small space. Then, he gives it elasticity, which is the main characteristic of Edo-style brooms.
He attaches several tama-bundles in a row and tightens them together to the utmost with a wet hemp rope, adjusting their balance. After firmly fixing the joint of the bamboo handle to the body with an aluminum wire, he cuts the ear tips straight.
Then, he presses the body under a Japanese cushion. This entire process is done manually without air-conditioner, so as to not dry out the ears.
It definitely takes a long time to raise craftspeople with all of these techniques, so it has been a serious issue to find succesors.

- - - The Difference Between Japanese Brooms and Imports
- - - How to Use an Edo Style Broom Carefully
Shirokiya Denbe / 3-9-8 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku Tokyo
- source : tokyochuo.net/issue

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Apart from the Shuro palm, there were brooms of other materials.

. habooki 羽箒 "feather broom" .
羽根箒 - to clean the space around silk worms

kusabooki 草帚 "broom from grass", often with a long handle to clean the Tatami mats
. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

takebooki 竹帚 bamboo broom
The most commonly used bamboo types are
moosoochiku 孟宗竹 Moso Bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens and
hachiku 淡竹 Phyllostachys nigra.
. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

tebooki　手箒 hand broom

- reference and more photos : utinogarakuta.blog.fc2.com -

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source : teramoto.co.jp/history

Seller and buyer of Hoki brooms in Edo
「hooki uri ほうき売り」and「hooki kai ほうき買い」
It was truly a recycle society.

source : edokurashi.hatenablog.com
selling baskets and brooms

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source : utinogarakuta.blog.fc2.com

Takasago 高砂 Noh play
河鍋暁斎 Kyosai (1831-1889)

. Takasago 高砂 a happy couple.
This legend is one of the oldest in Japanese mythology. An old couple - his name is Joo (尉) and hers is Uba (媼)....
The old woman is using a broom to sweep away trouble
and he carries a rake to rake in good fortune. In Japanese this is also a play of words with "One Hundred Years" (haku > sweeping the floor) and "until 99 years" (kujuku made > kumade, meaning a rake).

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

. Hookigami, Hōkigami 箒神 (ほうきがみ) Hokigami, Hahakigami
Legends about the Broom Deity .
Many legends and tales about the broom are related to giving birth.

.......................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県 ......................................

安産のために、出産のとき産婦の枕元に箒を立てたり、あるいは箒を産の神として産婦に拝ませて、産気づいた時にその箒で腹を撫でるという。

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
115 hooki 箒 (01)

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. Food in Edo 江戸の食卓 .
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yaozen 八百善 Yaozen restaurant

source : blog.goo.ne.jp/shiotetsu_2011

This famous restaurant opened in 1803 near Yoshiwara. The founder was
Yaoya Zenshiroo 八百屋善四郎 Yaoya Zenshiro
(1768 - 1839)

The restaurant was located in 江戸浅草山谷 Asakusa Sanya. It has started as a food delivery service (仕出屋 shidashiya) and Zenshiro was the 4th generation.
He turned the restaurant to a ryoori chaya 料理茶屋 "tea stall serving food" and soon into a high-class venture, much loved by the 俳諧 Haikai poets of its time.
Some of its famous customers were
酒井抱一 Sakai Hoitsu (1760-1828), 大田南畝 Ota Nanpo (1749-1823), 亀田鵬斎 Kameda Hosai (1752 - 1826) and 谷文晁 Tani Buncho (1763 - 1841).

Zenshiro had also published a book:
Edo Ryuukoo Ryooritsu　江戸流行料理通 Edo Ryuko Ryori-Tsu

The book contains the recipes of the seasonal dishes served at the restaurant.
He worked on it from 1822 to 1835, when it was finally all published.

CLICK for more photos !

The Kamaboko served at Yaozen was made from the following ingredients:
鰹味噌 bonito miso,、鯛 sea bream, 甘鯛 sweet sea bream、鱚 Kisu whiting, 鮭 salmon, 鰆 Sawara makerel, 鱈 codfish, 平目 flunder, 生貝 raw shells, 雲丹 Uni sea urchin, 烏賊 Ika cuttlefish
玉子黄身 yellow of an egg, 濃茶 thick (strong) tea.

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Of the first catch of the very expensive First Bonito, three fish were given to a famous restaurant Yaozen
for the price of 2 Ryo.

The price for a normal menu at Yaozen was
一人前が銀十文

. WKD : hatsugatsuo 初鰹 first bonito .

- quote
創業享保二年江戸料理「八百善」

- - - - - Check out the homepage of the present Yaozen :
- source : yaozen.net

八百善を茶漬けにする
yaozen wa chozuke ni suru

Let's go to Yaozen to have some O-Chazuke.
(O-chazuke was a cheap dish of plain cold rice with a bit of flavor and warmed with pouring green tea over it.)

. chaya, -jaya 茶屋 tea shop, tea stall .

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source : ab.auone-net.jp/~hcstoria/shibutsu

Visitors at the second floor of Yaozen 八百善の二階座敷
in the middle is 亀田鵬斎 Kameda Hosai, on the left 大窪詩佛 Okubo Shibutsu (1767 - 1837), on the right 蜀山人 Shokusanjin (Ota Nanpo) and with the back to the onlooker, 谷文晁 Tani Buncho.
Painting by 鍬形恵斎 Kuwagata Keisai (北尾政美 Kitao Masayoshi) (1764 - 1824)

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- quote -
Yaozen (Sanya)
Founded in 1717 in Asakusa Sanya and became one of the most famous restaurants in Edo, and became a high class salon where a number of writers and artists gathered. Playwright and author of comic poems Ota Nanpo was a regular patron of the restaurant and composed a poem that praised the restaurant as first-class.

歌川広重　Utagawa Hiroshige

In 1822 the cuisine text Edo Ryuko Ryoritu was published, which also became popular as a souvenir of Edo.
- source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks/e -

This is probably a meeting of a 狂句合 Kyoku poetry group. (Kyoku is similar to the present-day Senryu 川柳 humorous poems.

八百善と聞いて生姜ははづす也
yaozen to kiite shooga wa hazusu nari

shoga was a secret word for a ketchinboo けちん坊, a stingy person.

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Yaozen 八百善
After the great fire of Meireki 明暦の大火 in 1657, the shop opened anew at 新鳥越２丁目（山谷） Sanya.

扇地紙形枠内に　山谷八百善とあり、風景は隅田川。石浜には上客用の別荘がありました。
人物は柳橋金子屋の小竹。The lady is O-Take from Yanagibashi.
豊原国周 Toyohara Kunichika (1835 – 1900)

Around 1810 it started anew as a Shidashiya and from 1818 it built some 座敷 rooms to entertain the visitors.
守貞漫稿 Morisada Manko writes that in 1853 Yaozen has stopped to have guest in his house, and did only delivery service of food, but around 1850 begun anew to have guests.
栗山善四郎 Kuriyama Zenshiro, the fourth generation of Yaozen masters, begun inviting the literati of his time.
Even 葛飾北斎 Katsushika Hokusai frequented his restaurant.
- - - ryooritsuu, ryoori tsuu 料理通 a food expert, gourmet of our time.

- Here is the list of a 会席料理 Kaiseki Ryori menu
鱠 -- 紙塩鯛薄作り・じゅん菜巻き葉・織切りわさび、煎酒酢。
汁 -- 粒はつたけ・はぜすり流し。
椀盛り -- うずら摘入れ・笹がき牛蒡・丸しめじ。
焼物 -- 骨抜き鮎の魚田。
吸い物 -- 裂きまつたけ・絞り汁。
口取り -- 火取りのしあわび・桜の葉塩漬け。
香の物 -- 菜漬け・丸うり味噌漬け。
硯蓋七色 -- 鯛かまぼこ・あわびやわらか煮・篠さより・裏白かわたけ・黒くわいきんとん・ゆずうま煮・朝日防風。
- reference : kabuki-za.com/syoku -

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Comparison of Menus (Oryori Kondate Kurabe)
1815 (Bunka 12)
This is a ranking list covering serious restaurants within Edo. Promoters include
"Yaoya Zenshirō" also known as "Yaozen", an owner of the high-end restaurant that was loved by many educated men.

Since the beginning of the Bunka/Bunsei eras (1804 - 1830), many ranking lists that give an insight into the food culture in Edo in those days were published. This ranking is one of them, with Tagawa-ya, a famous catering restaurant in front of Daion-ji temple (in Ryūsen, Taitō ward) as the top-ranked restaurant in the east, and Kawaguchi, a Japanese style luxury restaurant in Hashiba (in Taitō ward) as the top in the west. Hashiba was an elegant place along the Sumida river with many vacation houses of wealthy merchants and luxury Japanese restaurants.
"Kayaba-chō Iseta" written in the center of referees refers to the restaurant Iseya Tahei in front of Kayaba-chō Yakushi-mae (Koto-bashi bridge in Sumida ward). This restaurant offered Tsukudani (food boiled down in soy sauce) to visitors who had come to worship at Sumiyoshi Shrine (in Tsukuda, Chūō ward) as something to go with young sake, and developed it into one of the local specialties in Edo.
- source : library.metro.tokyo.jp/Portals-

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source : ja.ukiyo-e.org/image

上野八百善 Ueno Yaozen
豊原国周 1878 - Toyohara Kunichika (1835 – 1900)
開化三十六會席 - Kaika sanjuroku kaiseki /
Thirty-six famous restaurants and views of civilization

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. ryoorijaya 料理茶屋 Chaya tea stall serving food .
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Aoyanagi 青柳 Restaurant

A famous tea stall serving food.

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東両国の駒留橋 at Komatodomebashi, Eastern Ryogoku
広重 Hiroshige
- source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks

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Aoyanagi Ryogoku Haru-no-suke 青柳両国春之助
Toto ryuko sanjuroku kaiseki 東都流行三十六會席
(Thirty-Six Fashionable Restaurants in Edo)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Nakamura Fukusuke as Higuchi (Jirô) Kanemitsu disguised as the boatman Matsuemon

Thirty-six Fashionable Restaurants of the Eastern Capital
(Tôto ryûkô san-jû-rokkaiseki, 東都流行三十六會席 / 東都流行三十六会席 )
This series shows bust portraits of kabuki actors in character with restaurants in the background.
Dogu-ya Restaurant at Mukôjima Jubei 道具屋向島甚三 Jinzo
Suzaki Restaurant 洲嵜
Ôji Restaurant
Yagenaki Restaurant
Nanakusa no kwan Restaurant at Yushima 湯嶌
Yagenori Restaurant
Konpa-ro (Kinparo) (Golden Wave) Restaurant in Imado
Sobai Restaurant at Mukôjima 向島葱賣
Mukôjima Restaurant
Okina-an, meaning “cottage of the old man”
Sanya Restaurant 山谷
Ôdo Terasaki (or Ooto-kichi)
Yanagibashi Restaurant in Baisen

- source : kuniyoshiproject.com -

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- More famous restaurants in Edo

大七 Daishichi （向島）serving river fish and lending Yukata
平岩 Hiraiwa （向島）famous for its koi 鯉料理
万八 Manpachi（柳橋）visited by many bunjin 文人墨客 literati
田川屋Tagawaya （大音寺前）on the way home from Yoshiwara, with a bathing facility

植木屋 Uekiya（木母寺）Since the time of Tokugawa Iemitsu 掛茶屋
- also called 植半 Uehan
植木屋半兵衛 The cook was Uekiya Hanbei

- source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks

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Edo Culture: Daily Life and Diversions in Urban Japan, 1600-1868
Matsunosuke Nishiyama, Gerald Groemer

Other restaurants:
Massaki, Shikian, Kinparo, Musashiya, Ogura-An, Sakuragawa, Manpachi and Tagawa
Almost all these restaurants lay along the boat route of the Sumida River.
Yaozen and Hirasei
tsuukaku "men of taste"
- source : books.google.co.jp -

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Scene in a Yoshiwara Kitchen
In the kitchen you can see the preparation for fish and octopus.
Hishikawa Moronobu　菱川師宣　(1618 - 1694)

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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -

. WKD : ao yanagi, aoyanagi 青柳 green willows .
- - kigo for late spring - -

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Edo shokunin　江戸の職人 Craftsmen of Edo .
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kagami 鏡 mirror, Spiegel

. WKD : kigo related to the mirror .
kyoodai 鏡台 mirror stand
kyoodai iwai 鏡台祝 celebrating the mirror stand
hatsu kagami 初鏡 "first (ue of the) mirror"
In Samurai Families, on the 20 of January, the mirrors were opened for the first time, some kagami mochi offered and then ritually eaten by the womanfolk.
sanmenkyoo 三面鏡 three-mirrored dresser

- also introduced are
wakyou, wakyoo　和鏡 Wakyo
Japanese style mirrors / History of mirrors in Japan
Mirror with auspicious symbols of winter

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ekagami, e-kagami 柄鏡　mirror with a handle

ekagami, e-kagami 柄鏡　mirror with a handle

. . . A mirror with one's family crest may signify the self assertion of the family or individual who used such a mirror. A mirror with a scenic motif, such as Mount Fuji and the pine grove of Miho or the eight views of Omi, may express one's desire to see these famous sights or to travel.

By the Edo period handles, often bound in rattan, were added to Japanese brass or bronze mirrors. The mirror discs also became larger to accommodate the increased size of ladies' hair arrangements. These types of mirror were known as e-kagami.
Perhaps it can be said that the motifs on handled mirrors truly reflected the heart of the Edoite!
- source : www.kyohaku.go.jp

- History of mirrors in Japan -
- reference -

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Mirrors were first introduced for religious rituals, but had been used by the aristocracy for combing and make-up since the Heian period.
In the Edo period, they became widely used by all people.

kagamishi 鏡師 mirror maker

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kagami migaki鏡磨き /　kagami togi鏡研ぎmirror polisher in Edo

Since the mirrors of the Edo period lost their shine very soon, it was necessary to polish them regularly.

source :cleanup.jp/life/edo/17

The bronze mirrors of the ladies of Edo had to be polished at least once a year. A good business time for the wayside craftsmen was in winter, toward the New Year.
They sat by the roadside, putting the mirror in front of them whilst polishing it. So they could see their own face all the time.

They were often the subject of senryu.

わが面で試みをする鏡とぎ
waga men de kokoromi o suru kagamitogi

using my own face
as a trial object
to polish this mirror

磨ぎたての鏡びっくり下女気絶
togitate no kagami bikkuri gejo kizetsu

looking into
the newly polished mirror
the servant faints

Maybe now she realized the great difference in her own "beauty" and that of here lovely lady.

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- quote
Japan in the Edo Period - An Ecologically-Conscious Society
There were many other kinds of specialized craftsmen to repair broken items, including paper lanterns and locks, replenish vermilion inkpads, and refurbish old Japanese wooden footwear, mills and mirrors, to name a few. They supported a society where nothing was thrown away but everything was carefully repaired, and used until it could truly be used no more.
- source : Eisuke Ishikawa / JFS

. kagami ema 鏡絵馬 votive tablet as a mirror .
You can paint the part of your face that should improve its beauty.

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合わせ鏡のおひさ / Takashimaya no O-Hisa 高島屋おひさ

source : kanazawabunko.com

The rebus picture (hanji-e 判じ絵) :
田圃（た）TA、鹿島（かしま）KASHIMA 踊り手の尾（お）O に火（ひ）HI がつき、徳利と盃で酒（さ）SA で、
「たかしまおひさ」- Takashima Ohisa

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kagami o miru geisha 鏡を見る芸者

source : allposters.co.jp

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猫が鏡を覗いている cat peeking in the mirror

source : bumblebees.at.webry.info

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CLICK for many more photos !

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. shinkyoo 神鏡 Shinkyo - "mirror of the kami", divine mirror .

The Imperial Regalia of Japan (三種の神器, Sanshu no Jingi / Mikusa no Kandakara), also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of

the sword Kusanagi (草薙劍, Kusanagi no Tsurugi)),
the mirror Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡), and
the jewel Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊曲玉).

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Mirrors in history and mirror superstitions
... There is a Buddhist belief that negative spirits will enter houses through the door if they have triangular-shaped roofs. Hanging a small circular mirror in front of the door will prevent the bad spirits from entering.
In Japan, bronze mirrors (imported from China c.300AD) were associated with Amaterasu, sun goddess and imperial ancestor — who, at the dawn of time, ordered her grandson to descend from heaven to rule over Japan and gave him a sacred mirror providing him and his successors perpetual access to the divine sun.
Throughtout medieval Japan, mirrors were considered sacred objects—used not only in rarefied imperial ritual and display but also to ward off evil spirts and, when placed in Shinto shrines, to speak with the gods.
- source : japanesemythology.wordpress.com -

makyoo魔鏡 Makyo, magic mirror
- quote -
..... In Japan, bronze mirrors are known as magic mirrors, or makkyo (魔鏡). One side is brightly polished, while an embossed design decorates the reverse side. Remarkably, when light is directed onto the face of the mirror, and reflected to a flat surface, an image magically appears (usually the one featured on its back). While the metal is completely solid, the reflected image gives the impression that it must be in some way translucent. For many centuries, the ‘magic’ of these mirrors baffled both laymen and scientists.
The currently accepted explanation for this phenomenon is that during its construction the mirror’s surface is scraped, scratched, and polished, then coated with an amalgram of mercury, thereby causing stresses and “preferential buckling” into convexities of a scale too small to be observed by the naked eye, but matching the pattern on the back of the mirror.

Kyoto Journal sat down with the man rumored to be the last remaining makkyo maker in the world — Yamamoto Akihisa— and his friend, Yoshida Hisashi. Mr. Akihisa is descended from a family of mirror makers based in Kyoto.
.....
My grandfather received a commission — from Kyoto University, if I recall correctly — to make a makkyo mirror. People wanted to know if it was possible to make makkyo in present times. My grandfather had been actively involved in crafting mirrors for Shinto shrines since even before the Meiji Restoration (1868), and he had a sample makkyo, so he was already familiar with the method, although he hadn’t attempted to reproduce one himself until then.
.....
- Read the rest of the interview here :
- source : kyotojournal.org/renewa -

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jigokudayuu jisu wa edi 「地獄太夫実ハ壊泥」the famous Geisha turned hell monster
IRON MAIDEN アイアン・メイデン

source : mag.japaaan.com/archives

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磨なをす鏡も清し雪の花
togi-naosu kagami mo kiyoshi yuki no hana

Polished anew
the holy mirror too is clear–
blossoms of snow
Tr. Shirane

Matsuo Basho　松尾芭蕉

. WKD : kagami 鏡 mirror .

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- - - To join me on facebook, click the image !

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]- - - - - #kagami #mirrormaking #kagamishi - - - -
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磨なをす鏡も清し雪の花
togi-naosu kagami mo kiyoshi yuki no hana

Polished anew
the holy mirror too is clear–
blossoms of snow
Tr. Shirane

Matsuo Basho　松尾芭蕉

. WKD : kagami 鏡 mirror .

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source :　tukubaskecth.tsukuba.ch

The famous inro of Mito Komon occupied by manekineko !

- quote
The term inrō derives from the Sino-Japanese roots in (from Middle Chinese 'jin 印 "printed") and rō ( 籠 "cage"). Because traditional Japanese robes lacked pockets, objects were often carried by hanging them from the obi, or sash, in containers known as sagemono (a Japanese generic term for a hanging object attached to a sash). Most sagemono were created for specialized contents, such as tobacco, pipes, writing brush and ink, but the type known as inrō was suitable for carrying anything small.

Consisting of a stack of tiny, nested boxes, inrō were most commonly used to carry identity seals and medicine. The stack of boxes is held together by a cord that is laced through cord runners down one side, under the bottom, and up the opposite side. The ends of the cord are secured to a netsuke, a kind of toggle that is passed between the sash and pants and then hooked over the top of the sash to suspend the inrō. An ojime, or bead, is provided on the cords between the inrō and netsuke to hold the boxes together. This bead is slid down the two suspension cords to the top of the inrō to hold the stack together while the inrō is worn, and slid up to the netsuke when the boxes need to be unstacked to access their contents. Inrō were made of a variety of materials, including wood, ivory, bone, and lacquer. Lacquer was also used to decorate inro made of other materials.

Inrō, like the ojime and netsuke they were associated with, evolved over time from strictly utilitarian articles into objects of high art and immense craftsmanship.
- source : MORE in the wikipedia

. zooge 象牙 ivory, Elfenbein .

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source : v

- quote -
The Edo samurai knew how to look sharp
‘The World of Edo Dandyism: From Swords to Inro”
at the Nezu Museum is a splendid collection of Edo Period (1603-1868) swords and sword accessories that includes blades, scabbards and metal fittings, as well as decorative sets of inrō (pill boxes) and netsuke (carved toggles). The exhibition looks back to a fascinating period of Edo history when prosperous samurai and merchants sought out the most stylish outfits and accessories that would establish them as refined men.
- snip -
The exhibition provides a glimpse of these unique characteristics of the Edo gentleman’s wardrobe. Visitors are first met with a dazzling display of swords, which is specially lit to allow close viewing of the blades’ fine metalwork, engraving and patterning.
- snip -
Another highlight of the exhibition is the collection of tsuba (sword guards), the metal fittings attached between hilts and sword blades to prevent the grip from slipping onto the blades.
- snip -

Perhaps the most famous accoutrements of the Edo gentleman, aside from his sword, were the inrō and netsuke. The inrō, a lacquered pill box small enough to fit into the palm of the hand, would be paired with a decorative netsuke toggle. On display at the exhibition is a beautiful 18th-century inrō stand that demands attention. A dizzying assortment of inrō hang from it, replicating how it would have originally looked in the gentleman’s home. Clearly the owner of this stand must have enjoyed displaying his prized inrō collection.
The spectacular inrō in this exhibition
include one by Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) that depicts the Chinese tale of “Zhong Kui the Demon Queller,” who, according to legend, was so powerful that he was able to capture a demon. The inrō, which has Zhong Kui standing victorious on one side and the demon on its reverse, is enclosed in a case the shape of a cage. The bamboo bars of the cage are made of mother of pearl and the rest of it is lacquered to have the appearance of rusted iron. When inside the case, the demon on the inrō is seen trapped behind bars. The artist’s playful spirit, skill of execution and ability to illustrate the narrative in such a clever manner make this a remarkable piece. ...
- source : japantimes.co.jp/culture - Yoko Haruhara -

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- quote -
Turtle-shell "Inro" pocket watch
Late Edo Period. Japanese-version of a portable compact watch in a casing resembling a pillbox.

The dial rotates to keep time. The case is made entirely of turtle shell and covered completely in lacquer. This splendid clock has a sundial and compass in the lid.
According to writing on the box, the clock belonged to Nariaki Tokugawa (whose posthumous name is Rekko) of the Mito domain.
(Machine height: 5.3 cm; width: 4.5 cm; thickness: 2.5 cm)
- source : jcwa.or.jp/en wadokei -

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inrooshi, inroo shi 印籠師 Inro maker

- reference : japanese-inro.jyuluck-do.com -

Inro were first used to store the
. inkan 印鑑 seal .
For medicine there were at least three different boxes to store different kinds of pills and drugs. To keep out moisture the aikuchi合口 opening between two boxes had to be especially tight. This was one part of an Inro where the craftsman had to show his skill. The form of these boxes changed with time from simple containers to refined pieces of accessories for the rich.

Techniques used to decorate an Inro

chinkin 沈金 gold or silver inlay in scratch marks of laquer

. makie, maki-e 蒔絵 "sprinkled picture" .

nashiji, nashi ji 梨地 - Nashiji, also called Aventurine ...
The name nashiji is thought to have originated in the resemblance that the lacquer bears to the skin of a Japanese pear, 梨 nashi. ...
- source : global.britannica.com-

raden 螺鈿 inlay of colorful shells in laquer

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source : torinakukoesu.cocolog-nifty.com

. Tôshûsai Sharaku 東洲斎写楽 (active 1794 - 1795).

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- - - long list of books about Inro and Netsuke
- source : www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~mystudy -

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ころもがへ印籠買ひに所化（しょげ）二人
koromogae inroo kai ni shoge futari
koromogae inroo kai ni shoke futari

For the new wardrobe
To buy a seal-case
Two monks have come!
Tr.Thomas McAuley

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

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阿波踊腰の印籠地を擦れり
awa odori koshi no inro ji o kesuru

Awa Dance !
the pill box on his belt
rubs on the ground
Tr. Gabi Greve

Saitoo Inao 伊藤伊那男 Saito Inao (1949 - )

. WKD : 阿波踊り Awa odori dance .
- - kigo for autumn -
This is a special dance that originated in Tokushima (Shikoku) more than 400 years ago.
It is performed during the days of the Bon Festival (o-bon) in many parts of Japan nowadays. The Inro of many dancers have an extra-long string.

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印籠の蒔絵の金や夏羽織
inro no makie no kin ya natsubaori

gold decoration
on the lacquer of this Inro -
light summer robe

Nomura Kishuu 野村喜舟 Nomura Kishu (1886 - 1983)

. WKD : natsubaori 夏羽織 light summer coat.

CLICK for more Inro with Maki-e decoration !

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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Nikki　日記　Diaries of the Edo period - Tagebuch
江戸時代の日記　

Many chief retainers (karoo 家老 Karo) wrote detailed diaries of their domain.
Other Samurai wrote about the food they found on their way to and from Edo.

江戸お留守居役の日記 Edo O-Rusuiyaku no Nikki
萩藩江戸留守居役、福間彦右衛門の日記『公儀所日乗』
山本博文
rusuiyaku - a Samurai representing the master during his absence.

to be updated
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Enyuu Nikki 宴遊日記 Enyu Nikki - Diary of Banquets and Amusements
compiled over the years 1773 - 1785
En'yu Nikki - A banquet diary

source : chokai.info/areanews

お殿様の上野浅草散歩道『宴遊日記』

柳沢信鴻 Yanagisawa Nobutoki (1724 - 1792)
Daimyo of the Yamato Koriyama domain 大和郡山藩主

yuuen nikki 遊宴日記 Yuen Nikki (different Kanji)
江戸の植木屋と花屋 : 柳沢信鴻著- 遊宴日記
Garden tree shops and flower shops of Edo (Tokyo)

- quote -
Garden tree shops and flower shops of Edo (Tokyo) in 18th were written by Yanagisawa Nobutoki in his diary Enyu Nikki. Those shops where Nobutoki bought plants to make the garden in his residence Rikugien at Edo sold many kinds of trees and flowers. Nobutoki described that those shops had sold many plants which visitors wanted to decorate their room or make their garden. In Edo period nurserymen produced new varieties of garden plants which anyone can't get now. Those shops existed at many places in Edo. For example, those were at Dosaka, Yushima and Sendagi which are belonged to Bunkyo Ward today, and at Hirokodoji, Rokuamida, Kubifuri-zaka in Taito Ward.
- source : nirr.lib.niigata-u.ac.jp -

- 柳沢延時 Yanagisawa Nobutoki (maybe a misspelling of the Kanji 柳沢信鴻) -

- quote -
Prayer and Play in Late Tokugawa Japan: Asakusa Sensōji
Yanagisawa Nobutoki (1724-92), a retired daimyo, provides a good example of the populace's passionate veneration of the Asakusa Kannon. .....
- source : books.google.co.jp - Nam-Lin Hur -

A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance
By Samuel L. Leiter
- - - - - Enyu Nikki - A banquet diary
account of Samurai interested in Kabuki theater
..... Nobutoki was active in Haikai poetry circles
- source : books.google.co.jp -

and 宴遊日記別録 Enyu nikki betsuroku

- reference : Yanagisawa Nobutoki -
also google for
柳沢淇園 Yanagisawa Kien (1704–1758)

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Hakuen Nikki 柏莚日記 Hakuen Diary
1802
Hakuen was the artist name of Kabuki actor 市川団十郎 Ichikawa Danjuro 2nd.

- reference : 柏莚日記 -

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Kakyuu bushi no shoku nikki 下級武士の食日記 Food Diary of a lowly Samurai
幕末単身赴任 Bakumatsu tanshin funin - Living alone in Edo at the Bakumatsu time
酒井伴四郎日記 Sakai Banshiro Nikki
下級武士の米日記

酒井伴四郎 Sakai Banshiro (1833 - ?)
He was a samurai of low rank 下級武士 with a small income. As a young man of 28 he had to stay on duty i Edo from the 6th to the eleventh month of 1860 and kept a diary of his diet and the many things he observed in the big city. He even talks about the 月見団子 dumplings for moon viewing in Autumn and other gourmet food he encountered.
He lived in cheap Nagaya quarters and improved his knowledge about cooking while doing odd jobs in restaurants.

source : mocket.exblog.jp/15980834

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Karoo Nikki 家老日記 Diary of the Chief Retainer
The Tottori Domain from 1655 till 1870. Kept by the 池田家 Ikeda family about the events in Tottori.
Is contains 250 volumes.

今回公開された「家老日記」は、旧鳥取藩主・池田家に伝わり、1969年に池田家の子孫から鳥取県へと寄贈されたもの。藩政を統括した家老のもとで作成された“公務日記”で、鳥取藩政をひもとく基礎資料となる藩の歴史や構造が記されている。1655（明暦元）年から1870（明治3）年までの250冊が、ほぼ年次を追って存在している。
- reference source : r25.jp/topi - 鳥取県立博物館 -

access to the digital Database
- source : digital-museum.pref.tottori.jp -

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Matsudaira Yamato no Kami Nikki 松平大和守日記
The Diary of Matsudaira Yamato no Kami
Matsudaira Yamatonokami nikki
by Matsudaira Naonori　松平直矩　(1642 - 1695)

Flowing Traces: Buddhism in the Literary and Visual Arts of Japan
edited by James H. Sanford, William R. LaFleur, Masatoshi Nagatomi
..... A particularly important source of contemporary information concerning Sekkyô-bushi is the Matsudaira Yamato no kami nikki, cited by Muroki. .....
- source : books.google.co.jp -

Murakami Komonjo Kankokai, 1989
Naonori Matsudaira, Kozo Suzuki
- source : books.google.co.jp -

松平直徳 (1869 - 1931) Matsudaira Naonori - Another Daimyo
- quote -
Matsudaira Naonori was the second son of Matsudaira Yoshinori, last daimyô of Akashi han in Harima province. Adopted by his elder brother Matsudaira Naomune, he inherited headship of the family in 1884.
A viscount (shishaku) in the Meiji period kazoku system of peerage, Naonori was a member of the House of Lords, and board member or company director of Akashi Bank, and the Hakushika saké company.
He is known also for his art collection, which included a rare set of nanban screens entitled Yôjin sôgakuzu byôbu, and today in the collection of the MOA (Museum of Art) in Shizuoka.
- source : wiki.samurai-archives.com -

- reference : Matsudaira Yamato no Kami -

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Moriyama Takamori Nikki 森山孝盛日記
森山孝盛　Moriyama Takamori (1738 - 1815)

He made a career in the Bakufu government, from 目付 Metsuke to 先手鉄砲頭 Sakite Teppogashira in 1794 and next year to 火付盗賊改 Hitsuke Tosoku Aratame.
After that he was 西丸持弓頭 and then 槍奉行 Yari Bugyo until he quit in 1812.

- reference : Moriyama Takamori -

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Oomuro Uchuu Ki 鸚鵡籠中記　 Omuro Uchu Ki - Records of a parrot in the cage
元禄武士の日記 Diary of a Genroku Period Samurai

oomuro鸚鵡 parrot in a cage, was used for the title, because Shigeaki was very skilled in writing easily and amusing for the readers.

朝日重章 Asahi Shigeaki (1674 - 1718)

Records from 1684 till 1717 of a Samurai from the 尾張藩 Owari domain.
He also writes about 宝永地震 the strong earthquake of 1707.

This book is also known as
元禄御畳奉行の日記 Genroku O-Tatami Bugyo no Nikki

source : tinnen.cocolog-nifty.com/blog

- reference : Asahi Shigeaki -

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Saito Gesshin Nikki　斎藤月岑日記
斎藤月岑 Saito Gesshin (1804 - 1878)

He was 神田の町名主 the mayor of Kanda. His family has held this job since Tokugawa Ieyasu came to Edo in 1590. His father died when Gesshin was only 15 years old.
His grave is in Ueno at temple Hoozenji 法善寺 Hozen-Ji.
This diary covers the years from 1830 till 1875.

『斎藤月岑日記』（さいとうげっしんにっき）
- reference : wikipedia -

Gesshin was involved in many literary projects, for example
江戸名所図会（7巻20冊） Edo Meisho Zue
東都歳事記（4巻）Toto Saijiki
武江年表（12巻）Buko Nenpyo . . . and many more
- reference : Saito Gesshin Nikki　-

. Tooto Saijiki 東都歳時記 Saijiki of the Eastern Capital (Edo) .

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Seisei Nikki 征西日記 The Western Conquest Diary

江戸時代のグルメ日記　gourmet diary of the Edo period
伊庭八郎 Iba Hachiro (1844 - 1869)

Hachiro had to go to Kyoto with the Shogun 徳川家茂 Tokugawa Iemochi.
On this trip he wrote about many things found on the way.
御上洛御共之節旅中並在京在坂中萬事覚留帳面

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Nikki bungaku 日記文学 is a genre of Japanese diary literature.

. Tosa Nikki 土佐日記 Tosa Diary .
Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 - (872-945)

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Jiun Onkoo 慈雲飲光 Priest Jiun Onko
(1718 – 1804/1805)
百不知童子、葛城山人、雙龍叟 - 慈雲尊者 Jiun Sonja

CLICK for more photos !

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- quote -
Daruma: “I do not know”
This painting represents the first Zen patriarch, often referred to as Daruma in Japanese, but more properly called by his Sanskrit name Bodhidharma. He is believed to have been moved from India to China in the fifth and sixth century and there, through meditation, finally came to understand the Buddhist law (dharma). This is why his figure often occurs alongside Zen calligraphy, representing the continuous struggle to learning the Buddhist teachings.

Images of Bodhidharma express his effort to established continuity with Zen Buddhist teachings. This painting belongs to that tradition but Jiun, thanks to his unique flaked style, transformed the silhouette of the patriarch in an abstract form: with only two strokes, the artist portrays the monk in meditation while, above, two characters stand out: "I do not know" (Fushiki).

The concept is short, direct and powerful. It refers to a dialogue between Daruma and Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty and capture the essence of Zen Buddhism: as reported in 'Hekiganroku (published in 1300), the emperor met the monk in the year 520, and asked him about how he had obtained for supporting Buddhism; when he says "absolutely nothing" the Emperor, irritated, asked what was then the foundation of Buddhism and the answer was "a great void and no holiness.” More and more annoyed, he then asked "Who are you?" And Bodhidharma replied " I do not know".

After this dialogue Bodhidharma was no more welcome at the court and he took refuge in a cave in the Shaolin temple on Mount Song, where he sat in meditation for nine years. The painting represents this first development status of Chinese Zen tradition: Bodhidharma who sits still and quiet in front of a white wall.

Jiun Onko (Jiun Sonja), one of the greatest Japanese Zen artist, born in Osaka, joined the cloister when he was thirteen, studied the Confucianism, the Shingon esoteric Buddhism and the Soto Zen. He was an excellent scholar, he learned Sanskrit been interested in ancient Buddhist manuscripts and learn the basic teachings of Buddhism; he founded in fact a movement that wanted to bring Buddhism back to its origins (“True Dharma”).

He was one of the reformers of the Edo period Zen and, still today, he is considered one of the greatest Zen calligraphers ever in Japan. His works are in all the museum collections of Japanese art all over the world.
- source : giuseppepiva.com/c -

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founder of 雲伝神道 Unden Shinto
葛城神道 Katsuragi Shinto

- quote -
Unden Shinto was founded by Jiun Sonja (1718-1804), a Shingon priest who attempted to enhance Shinto through a fusion with Buddhist and Confucian ideas. Comparing the similarities between the I Ching and Shinto writings on such views as the heavenly mandate, divination, numerology, gods and spirits, and politics, he alleged that the creation of
the I Ching may have been influenced by Shinto. According to Chinese tradition, Fu Hsi created the eight trigrams based on the Ho t'u (Yellow River diagram). Jiun speculated that the Ho t'u was inspired by a Shinto mirror: "The images of the Ho t'u were manifested through the Okitsu Mirror [a round bronze mirror kept in the geku (Outer Shrine) of the Ise Shrine, one of the ten Shinto treasures]. Fu Hsi used the Ho t'u as the base for drawing the eight trigrams." .....
.....
Jiun's discussions on the Shinto origins of the I Ching were only piecemeal. He did not address important questions, such as how Fu Hsi and other Chinese sages were influenced by Shinto. A full-fledged theory of the Shinto origins of the I Ching did not appear until the emergence of the Hirata school a few decades later.
.....
Jiun strove to return to original Buddhism by studying Buddhist sutras in Sanskrit. For his Buddhist views, see Paul B. Watt, "Jiun Sonja (1718-1804): A Response Confucianism within the Context of Buddhist Reform," in Nosco, Confucianism and Tokugawa Culture, pp. 188-214.

The I Ching in the Shinto Thought of Tokugawa Japan
By Wai-ming Ng
- source : University of Hawaii Press -

The Complete Works of the Venerable Jiun (Jiun Sonja zenshū).

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- quote -
Unden Shintō
A branch of Shinto founded by the Edo-period Shingon monk Jiun Onkō (1718-1804).
As Jiun lived on Mt. Katsuragi, it is also called Katsuragi Shintō. Jiun's learning extended not only to esoteric Buddhism, siddham (Sanskrit philology), and Zen, but also to Confucianism and Shinto. In particular, he revived the monastic precepts through his promulgation of what he called the Precepts of the True Dharma (shōbōritsu). He also composed the Bongaku shinryō in one thousand fascicles, and made a great compilation covering the history of siddham studies; he was one of the outstanding scholars of his era. In response to the criticisms of Buddhism leveled by the Confucianists and Shintoists of his time, he attempted a reconstruction of the ancient Ryōbu Shintō. Some of his works relating to Shinto include Shin-Ju gudan (A Conversation Between Shintō and Confucianism), Shintō yōgo (Important Terms in Shintō), Shintō kokuga (Songs of the Shintō Realm), Shinchoku kuden (Oral Transmissions on the Oracles of the Gods), Ten no mikage (The Beneficence of Heaven).
Jiun held that no distinction existed between Shinto and esoteric Buddhism, and that it would be impossible to learn the essence of Shinto without also understanding esoteric Buddhism. Further, he was considered noteworthy for locating the basic meaning of Shinto in the relationship between lord and retainer while criticizing the Confucianists' emphasis on the marriage relationship or the relationship between friends; he is also known for arguing that Japan was a "divine land" (shinkoku) in which there was no need for the appearance of Confucian sages.
In these ways, Jiun diverged from the previous position that regarded Buddhism as principal and Shinto as subsidiary, taking a stance closer to Revivalist Shinto (Fukko Shintō) nationalism. Jiun's writings relating to Shinto are now collected in Volume 10 of The Complete Works of the Venerable Jiun (Jiun Sonja zenshū).
- source : Ito Satoshi - kokugakuin 2006 -

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慈雲尊者とは

１．慈雲尊者
２．正法律思想
３．尊者の袈裟
４．尊者の著作
５．尊者の容貌
６．生誕三百年記念奉賛会について
- reference : horakuji.hello-net.info/jiun -

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perseverance

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buji kore kinin - inactivity

- - CLICK for more of his paintings ! -

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- reference : Jiun Onko -

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

There are various temples named 慈雲寺 Jiun-Ji, some come with legends.

.................................................................................　Miyagi 宮城県

Temple 山王慈雲寺
もと近くの一里塚にあり、天保の飢饉に「泣くな騒ぐな秋まで待てよ、百に三升の米かせる」という歌を詠んで世直しを予言。子供の夜泣をとめる信仰があり、願をかけるときはつなぎ藁でしばり、願ほどきには赤い頭巾か腹かけを奉納する。

出羽寒河江の慈雲寺の覚明阿闍梨が京都の仏師安阿弥快慶に頼んで笈分如来を作ってもらった。その笈分如来の夢の告げにより、泉ヶ岳のふもと、金畑に菩提樹を植えた。のち、南の川崎に移るが、ここにも植えつぎの同じ木がある。

.................................................................................　Ibaragi 茨城県

下土師では、道祖神に追いかけられた弁天様が、慈雲寺境内の弁天池に祀られている。

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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- - - To join me on facebook, click the image !

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. shinbutsu in Edo 江戸の神仏 Kami and Hotoke in Edo .
shinbutsu shūgō 神仏習合 - Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism
shinbutsu bunri 神仏分離 - Separation of Shinto and Buddhism.

. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]- - - - - #jiun #priestjiun - - - -
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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Hyakuninchoo　百人町 Hyakunincho district

teppoogumi hyakunin tai 鉄砲組百人隊　100 Riflemen Team
lived here on orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Hyakunin (hundred-man) brigade of shooters
100 men musket (teppo) corps

- quote
Teppo-gumi hyakunin-tai, or the Hundred-Member Gun Squad,
was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu to defend his shogunate in the newly established capital of Edo. The squad was stationed in Shinjuku in an area named in its honor and known today as Hyakunin-cho (hundred-member town).
This Hyakunin-cho is home to the Kaichuinari-jinja Shrine, where many vassals of the squad visited to pray that their every shot hits the target. People later established the shustujin-shiki fair to commemorate the gun squad and also as thanksgiving for the luck bestowed by the shrine.

Today, the fair is held every odd year. Men clad in armor and helmet parade the neighborhood of Hyakunin-cho, test fire matchlock guns and give public demonstrations of battle field exercises.
- source : gotokyo.org/en/kanko/shinjuku

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鉄砲組百人隊 Homepage
- source : edo-hinawa.com -

CLICK for more photos of the Teppo-Tai !

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During the Edo period, the villages of 柏木 Kashiwagi and 大久保 Okubo were agricultural districts on either side of Hyakunin-cho where samurai warrior residences were located.
These villages were known as vegetable producing areas. The samurai families cultivated plants and flowers and this a tradition was continued through the Meiji period (1868-1912) even though the samurai class itself had disappeared by then.
The area was particularly famous for its azaleas (tsutsuji).
Since Hyakunin-cho was a residential area of the constables (doshin) belonging to the Hyakunin (hundred-man) brigade of shooters operated by the Bakufu military government during the Edo period. During festivals held at the Kaichu Inari Shrine, they fired ceremonial volleys with firelocks.
- source : kanko-shinjuku.com -

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. Kaichuu Inari Jinja　皆中稲荷神社 Kaichu Inari Shrine .
1-11-16 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / 新宿区百人町1-11-16

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Star Lanterns at Hyakunincho, Aoyama, Eastern Capital
Utagawa Hiroshige II

At the temple 丸普陀山長楽寺 Choraku-Ji
there is a 鬼形の石 stone in the form of a demon, called
Yashajin 夜叉神 Yasha-jin, the Yasha Deity.
The stone had been in the garden of a member of a family in 青山百人町 Hyakunin-Cho in Aoyama.

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Takano Chooei, Takano Chōei　高野長英 Takano Choei
(1804 - 1850)

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Choei Takano -
Physician and scholar of Western studies. Takano studied Dutch medicine in Nagasaki from a person named Siebold and opened his practice in Edo. He formed the research group of Western studies Shoshikai with Kazan Watanabe and others and delved into the study of Western culture. He was imprisoned for six years for writing “Yume Monogatari” (My Dream Vision), in which he criticized the diplomatic policies of the Shogunate, but he escaped from jail by bribing a prison guard to set fire to the prison. Although he returned to Edo and lived by hiding out in various places, he was eventually arrested and killed.

-- Association with Minato City
He spent his last days of life in his secret hiding place in Aoyama Hyakunin-cho

Choei changed his appearance by burning his face with chemicals and moved around the country, but he eventually returned to Edo in March 1850 and lived in hiding in Aoyama Hyakunin-cho. That area had a concentration of official residences of the Shogun’s foot soldiers and sympathizers, and the grounds of the residence of a foot soldier named Kojima contained a pawnbroker’s annex. Choei ran a medical practice on that premises under the false name of Sanpaku Sawa.

However, on the last day of October in the same year, he was attacked by a Shogunate official in an alley on his return home, arrested, and killed. A stone monument, inscribed with “The hiding place of Doctor Choei Takano,” stands where he died in what we know as Minamiaoyama. It was 48 years after his death before his honor was restored, and a commemorative monument inscribed with Kaishu Katsu’s composition was erected in Zenko Temple in Kita-Aoyama after he was posthumously bestowed the title of Lord.
In 1837, he wrote Yumemonogatari (My Dream Vision), which stressed the need to open Japan to the world after the 1837 attack on an American ship, the Morrison. He continued to translate Western books while on the run and translated such books as Iryo Suyo (Fundamentals of Medical Care). Although he was a brilliant scholar of Western studies and a pioneer in medicine, he had a rather unfortunate life.
- source : lib.city.minato.tokyo.jp -

. Medicine in Edo .

- reference : Takano Choei -

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CLICK for more samples !

The first Kirie-zu was printed in 1755 by 吉文字屋　Kichimonjiya.
Until the year 1775 he had produced eight detailed maps.
By 1846, the shop of 近江屋五平 Omiya Gohei sold 31 maps. He produced maps in three colors.

The high times of Kirie-zu was around 1849 until early Meiji, when 尾張屋清七 Owariya Seishichi
produced the 尾張屋版 Owariya Edition (金鱗堂版). He used five colors and the maps looked almost like 錦絵 Nishiki-E prints.

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嘉永・慶応江戸切絵図〈1〉
江戸・東京今昔切絵図散歩尾張屋清七板 Owariya Seishichi Edition

江戸切絵図集―新訂江戸名所図会

嘉永・慶応江戸切絵図

大江戸「古地図」大全
- More books at amazon com :
- source : amazon.co.jp -

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The Landmarks of Edo in Color Woodblock Prints
Find on a detailed map of Edo
Click Blue pin or "Landmark name", and you can see the description and nishiki-e thumbnail page of the place.
Click Yellow pin or "Place name", and you can see nishiki-e thumbnail(s) about the place drawn on nishiki-e.
- source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks/edo

Also available in Japanese.
〔江戸切絵図〕
- reference : National Diet Library -

- reference : edo kirie-zu -

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. chizu　地図 maps of Edo .

. kiri-e, kirie 切り絵 , kirigami 切り紙 cut-out pictures.

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Lady Kasuga 春日局 Kasuga no Tsubone
(1579 – October 26, 1643)
was from a prominent Japanese samurai family of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. Born Saitō Fuku (斉藤福), she was a daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu (who was a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide). Her mother's father was Inaba Yoshimichi. Married to Inaba Masanari, she had three sons, including Inaba Masakatsu, and an adopted son, Hotta Masatoshi. She was the wet nurse of the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu.
She also established the 大奥 Ōoku, the women's quarters, at Edo Castle.
In 1629, she was granted the title of Kasuga no Tsubone.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Tokugawa Iemitsu 徳川家光 Third Tokugawa Shogun .
(1604 – 1651)
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... the little boy needed an immediate training by a governess good in every way. Kasuga, a married woman, the daughter of a well-known warrior of imperial descent who had lost his life in some conspiracy of the previous generation, was chosen by the government for the position. This was, perhaps, as great an honor as could be offered to any lady.
Besides, there was an opportunity to clear the memory of her father. And she begged her husband to divorce her that she might be free to give all her life to this task.
So devoted was she that the boy being at one time at the point of death, she offered herself to the gods for his recovery, vowing never to take any remedy. In her last illness she refused all medicine, and even when Iyémitsŭ — now ruler — begged her to take a commended draught from his hand, she merely, out of politeness, allowed it to moisten her lips, saying that her work was done, that she was ready to die, and that her life had long ago been offered for the master. Nor would she allow the master to indulge her with regard to her own son. He was in exile, deservedly, and the shogun asked her permission to pardon him, in the belief of possible amendment. She refused, bidding Iyémitsŭ to remember his lesson:
that the law of the country was above all things, and that she had never expected such words from him.
Moreover, that had he revoked the law for her, she could not die in peace.
- quote from
AN ARTIST'S LETTERS FROM JAPAN - BY JOHN LA FARGE (1835 – 1910)

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The flat wasteland of this area was uninhabited until 1630, when Kasuga no Tsubone became entitled to the land and had 13 of her retainers live there.
Also called Kasugadono-chō 春日殿町 Lady Kasuga Town.

The main road of this area is now
Kasuga doori, Kasuga Dōri 春日通り Kasuga street

At its beginning of this road is a temple called
Rinshooin 麟祥院　Rinsho-In, Rinshoin.
( 4 Chome-1-8 Yushima, Bunkyo, Tokyo / 東京都文京区湯島4-1-8)
The temple was founded on her request in 1624 by 渭川周瀏 Isen (? - 1642) and first named 報恩山天沢寺.
(Other sources say it was founded in 1634, when her son, 稲葉正勝 Inaba Masakatsu (1597 - 1634) died.)
After her death the name was changed to her 法号 "postuhmous" Buddhist name, Rinsho.
A statue of her is in the temple ground and her grave is at this temple, 天沢山麟祥院.
Now a temple of the Rinzai Zen sect.
It has long been under the protection of the 稲葉家 Inaba and 堀田家 Hotta clan.
Her full posthumous name was 麟祥院殿仁淵了義尼大姉.
麟祥 rinsho is an auspicious name according to Chinese Buddhism.

春日局墓 - her grave
There is a big hole in the main top stone. She ordered this to be able, even from her new residence in Paradise, to be able to supervise the well-being of the Shogun and the people of Edo.

Around the temple is a "living fence" of the tree karatachiカラタチ, Poncirus trifoliata.
The temple was therefore also called
Karatachidera からたち寺 / 枳殻寺.

- reference -

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source : tokyo-life-gallery.blogspot.jp
Statue at 東京都文京区礫川公園 Park Rekisen Koen

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Kasuga Jinja　春日神社 Kasuga Shrine
3 Chome-2-10 Kasugacho, Nerima, Tokyo

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There is a sushi dish called "sumoshi"すもし
in memory of the famous Kasuga no Tsubone.
春日の局も賞味した湯葉の巻き寿司, Take no ko sumoshi 竹の子すもし（寿司）. She was the wetnurse of the third shogun of Edo, Iemitsu, and a rather determined woman. The dish has been re-enacted now, since it was named in old papers of the temple Sanbo-In 三宝院 in the precincts.

Bamboo Sprout Sushi / sumoshi
This is a simple sushi: fresh bamboo sprouts are wrapped in yuba soy bean milk skin. Sometimes sushi rice is added nowadays.

source : facebook - samurai gourmet

Seven-colored rice dishes of Lady Kasuga consists of:
1. "Nameshi" (rice with leaf vegetables) - contains beta carotene, helps prevent colds
2. "Kuri Meshi" (rice with chestnuts) - contains vitamins B and E, good for anti-aging
3. "Azuki Meshi"(rice with red beans) - anthocyanin in red beans has antioxidyzing effects and helps improve eye fatigue
4. "Mugi Meshi" (rice with barley) - contains vitamin B6, prevents anemia and helps improve blood flow
5. "Yutori Meshi" (twice-boiled rice) - contains much water, good for people with weak digestive system
6. "Hikiwari Meshi"(rice with crushed barley) - easy to digest, good for people with weak digestive system
7. "Hoshi Meshi" (dried rice) - need to chew well, stimulates brain activity and helps improve immunity to diseases

. Washoku - Japanese Food Culture .

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The monument of Nerima radish
The monument of Nerima radish was built in 1940 on the grounds of Aizen-in Temple in Kasugacho to commemorate the fact that the Nerima radish has been a local specialty since the Edo period and has become well known nationwide.
The stone monument of about 3 meters tall is engraved with “The monument of Nerima radish” in large letters.

It is said that the fifth Shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, of the Edo period ordered the start of cultivation of the Nerima radish when he became sick and visited present-day Nerima for medical treatment. As the cultivation of the Nerima radish gained in popularity, it became an important vegetable to support the Edo residents’ diet.
Around the middle of the Meiji period, the urban areas around the Tokyo metropolitan area also started to grow the Nerima radish, whose production has increased and become known nationwide.
- reference source : nerima-kanko-en.blogspot.jp -

. Nerima daikon 練馬大根 big radish from Nerima .

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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Japanese Thought Flourished during the Edo Period
Japan’s Highly Sophisticated Philosophies Should Be Internationally Appreciated

What kind of an image comes to mind when you hear the “Edo period”?
Some people may have an image of a peaceful era when war did not exist for a long time and the performing arts and high culture flourished with the support of the merchants while others may associate it with a dark period of national isolation when people groaned under heavy taxation. Different people have different impressions about the Edo period.

It should be noted in particular that the era saw the appearance of a lot of ideas that were unique to Japan along with the Chu Hsi and Wang Yang-ming schools of Confucianism. Mito-gaku, a style of learning cultivated in the Mito Domain and the study of Japanese classical literature were such examples.

Mr. Shoichi Watanabe, Professor Emeritus of Sophia University, recommends that we view history as if we were looking at a rainbow. There are fine water drops in the sky after it rains. Water drops seems like mist, but when viewed at a certain distance and from a certain direction, you can see a rainbow there. Like the droplets in the air, there are myriad historical facts, and when you look at them from a fixed distance and a certain direction, you can see something like a rainbow there.

There were so many studies during the Edo period, and they were seemingly separate from each other. But if we try to understand the flow of those studies, we will be able to look at them like one big rainbow.

The Power of Thought Started the Meiji Restoration
The Edo period often reminds us of the “Meiji Restoration”, which was the climax of the era. There are many NHK Taiga drama series that deal with the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate. In the spiritual messages series, Master Ryuho Okawa, the founder and CEO of the Happy Science group, has often summoned the spirits of people who played important roles in the Meiji Restoration.

One of those spirits is the spirit of Shonan Yokoi, a Japanese scholar and political reformer. He said, “The Meiji Restoration was a revolution, based not only on Western learning, but also on traditional Confucian thought.”

The spirit of the first Japanese Prime Minister, Hirobumi Ito, said, “It was the power of thought, not military force, that was the driving force for the success of the Meiji Restoration. It was the thought of Shoin Yoshida, more fundamentally, the Wang Yang-ming school of Confucian thought.”

Those spiritual messages revealed that the power of thought achieved the Meiji Restoration, and that it was an almost bloodless revolution.

Japan Saw the Age of the Hundred Schools of Thought
Some spiritual truths that those spiritual messages revealed highlight very interesting facts. (See the figure on the right.)

From this figure, you will find that Confucius and Mencius, the two most significant figures in Confucianism, were both born in the Edo period of Japan.

Confucius was reincarnated as Issai Sato, a famous Confucius scholar during the late Edo period, whose teachings had a deep influence on Shozan Sakuma and many other figures. Mencius was reincarnated as Sorai Ogyu, who insisted on going back to the original teachings of Confucianism. He presented many policy recommendations as an advisor close to the eighth Shogun, Yoshimune Tokugawa.

Confucius and Mencius, who had formed the basis of Confucianism, were reincarnated in the Edo period of Japan to lead the restoration movement of Confucianism. This shows that the Chinese era, called the era of the “Various Masters of the 100 schools”, also emerged in the history of Japan.

A Fusion of Confucianism and the Shinto Religion
Along with the rise of Confucianism in Japan, Shinto gods, including Izanagi-no-mikoto, were reincarnated in Japan as scholars of Japanese classical literature and the Wang Yang-ming school to start the movement for the restoration of Shinto. Japanese classical scholars taught that Japan was a great nation, inspiring many people and ingraining the spirit of Japan in people’s minds. Influenced by their ideas, the patriotic samurais of the Restoration also adopted Western values, and launched an anti-Shogunate movement. Eastern and Western values intertwined to raise the revolution.

Edo Period Thought Was Not Inferior to the Philosophies of the West
It has long been considered that Japan does not have thoughts and ideas that have been internationally recognized. In terms of philosophical thought, the country has been regarded as inferior to the West because it produced philosophers like Locke and Rousseau, who provided a basis for the modern political system and spread the Enlightenment.

However, when viewed from the perspective of spiritual truth, this idea is obviously wrong. In fact, the Edo period was a miraculous era when the ancient Shinto gods descended to Japan one after another and raised eastern philosophy to a higher level.
The Japanese should know more about the dynamic ways of thinking that they had during the Edo period. They were virtues of the East that the Japanese boasted to the world.

From now on, we will introduce the Japanese thought, which flourished during the Edo period, in these columns.

- Understanding Japanese Shinto
- source : eng.the-liberty.com

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. Famous People of Edo　.
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Nichoosai, Nichōsai 耳鳥斎 Nichosai, Nicho-sai
(?1751 - 1802/03)
A painter from Osaka.
His style is kakuyuufuu 覚猷(かくゆう)風 kakuyu-fu
His name was 松屋平三郎　Matsuya Heisaburo.
- - - - - His most famous works
「絵本水や空」 Ehon Mizu ya Sora
「画話耳鳥斎」Ebanashi Nichosai

CLICK for more of his paintings !

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I have researched the Edo paintings, especially, 戯画 Osaka's Giga (humorous pictures). In the mid-Edo period, Nicho-sai (1751-ca.1803) made his name as a painter of Giga in the flourishing mercantile center of Osaka. Besides doing business in Kyomachibori, Nicho-sai had an interest in painting and Joruri (ballad drama, sometimes performed with puppets) and most importantly, displayed an exceptional talent in the field of Giga.

In sharp contrast to Kyoto and Edo, the local character of Osaka was such that it remained somewhat cut off from academicism. Yet due to the city's free and vigorous air as a mercantile center, Osaka produced a slightly different type of artistic brilliance from the professional painters of the Kano and other schools. In addition, there is something uniquely Osakan about Nicho-sai's Giga; that is, he was a "master of humor".

From Kabuki scenes to genre paintings and printed books, Nicho-sai's works are a combination of both a summary yet witty precision and a simple brand of fun in which he rails against a straitlaced society and declares the world to be a comedy. I have got a new knowledge about "True or Fake" of Nichosai s paintings and so on, by the research of museum and other collectors in Japan and China.

In this time, I research the full range of the artist's output with approximately of Nicho-sai's painted works, such as the representative works "Another World Scroll", "Revenge of the 47 Ronin", and some books. In addition, I have also attempted to shed some light on the Osaka Giga tradition by including caricatures, and Toba-e books which we discover the origins of Osaka, the city of laughter. I have got a original result by this study.
- source : kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja - NAKATANI Nobuo -

耳鳥齋アーカイヴズ - - -江戸時代における大坂の戯画-
江戸時代に活躍した戯画作者の耳鳥齋の肉筆画・挿絵など計３００点によるオールカラーの作品資料集。忘れられた大坂の戯画作者の中でも、最も注目される耳鳥齋は、かつては江戸の写楽と比較され、大いに人気を博していたが、近代になって忘れられた。本書は初めてといえる耳鳥齋の網羅的な作品紹介および資料集である。
関西大学東西学術研究所資料集刊　 36
- source : www.kansai-u.ac.jp -

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- quote
Evidence that ‘kawaii’ has ruled Japanese pop culture for centuries!
A collection of playful prints from over 200 years ago prove that Japan’s highly-refined sense of cute has a very long history indeed.

The images in this article, taken from two different volumes of artwork created by the Japanese artist Nichōsai (耳鳥斎), prove that the country has long been gripped by its enduring love of cute characters.

The collection comes from two separate books made in 1780 and 1803. The earlier book, called
E-hon mizu ya sora, consists of a variety of caricatures and other cartoonish images of well-known Kabuki actors of the day, rendered in a way that’s frankly pretty adorable. The second book of the series, which comes in color, is called Katsurakasane.

At first glance, there’s something very contemporary about these images, which seem to predict Japan’s recent fixation on so-called yuru-kyara (cute mascots).

But a careful look inside the cover of these books reveals that these were actually made well over two centuries ago during the Edo Period (1603~1868). So who was the artist that made them, exactly?

Nichōsai (c. 1751-1803) was an ukiyo-e artist and caricaturist living and working during the eighteenth-century around Osaka. The subject of Kabuki-actors and other popular figures was common for other ukiyo-e artists at the time, and it seems that Nichōsai was well-known for his talent at making giga (戯画), or humorous images.

Nichōsai is identified in most resources as an adherent of the Kanō school of artists, who were responsible for a style of painting very popular with the Japanese nobility from the 16th century onwards. But little of that school’s bold brushwork and stuffy, classical aesthetic is evident in these cute little sketches of actors and dancers.

These charming, manga-like images by Nichōsai seem to share more in common with a contemporary, Yosa Buson (1716-1784), than any Kanō painter I know of. But that’s just a little art history geekery for you!
- source : en.rocketnews24.com/2016

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絵本水や空 Ehon Mizu ya Sora - Picture Book Water and Sky

CLICK for more samples !

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Nicho-sai and the Edo Period Caricatures in Osaka
Nakatani Nobuo (author)
- reference -

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別世界巻の模写（by　おじゃら　りか）Rica Ojara
詩原作は、耳鳥斉という江戸時代の絵師　Rｉｃａ　Oｊａｒａ　がテレビより模写した
- source : ojara.sakura.ne.jp/mybooks -

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Baba Bunkoo, Baba Bunkō 馬場文耕 Baba Bunko
(1718 - 1759)
（享保3年（1718年） - 宝暦8年12月29日（1759年1月27日））

His real name was Nakai 中井, he also used the names 左馬次 and Bunzaemon 文右衛門.
He lived in the time of Shogun Yoshimune as a Ronin and spent some time in a temple. He also participated in 俳諧 Haikai poetry meetings.
Some of his work is called seijimono 政事物 "Political Writings".
- His most famous publications are
当世武野俗談
近代公実厳秘録
近世江都著聞集
名君享保録

He was executed at 小塚原刑場.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Toodai Edo Hyaku Bakemono 当代江戸百化物 A hundred strange things in Edo
（とうだいえどひゃくばけもの）Todai Edo Hyaku Bakemono
"An Album of One Hundred Monsters"
(Toodai Edo Hyakkabutsu)
This essay is not about Yokai, or ghosts or spooks.
He describes the "monstrous people" of his times, from Samurai to merchants to doctors to Kabuki actors and more.
青山三右衛門, 山田由林, 中村七三郎, 鵜野長斎, 紙屋五郎兵衛 . . .
- Read all the names of the 27 people here:
source : izumikawauso.cocolog-nifty.com
宝暦当時江戸市中の噂に上った、人物を、士庶とりまぜて二十七名、二十三章に記述するものである

- English reference : Todai Edo Hyaku Bakemono -

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- quote
A Christian Samurai: The Trials of Baba Bunko
by William J Farge SJ

Although Japanese scholars have acclaimed Baba Bunko (1718-1759) as the most outstanding essayist and public speaker of the Tokugawa period (1603-1868). Western historians of Japan have long ignored him. This is because Bunko's very existence contradicts the historical narrative that they have constructed. According to that narrative, Christianity in Japan ceased to exist by 1640, except in small, scattered communities, centered mainly on the Nagasaki area.

Through a close critical analysis of Baba Bunko's often humorous, but always biting, satirical essays a new picture of the hidden world of Christianity in eighteenth-century Japan emerges - a picture that contradicts the generally-held belief among Western historians that the Catholic mission in Japan ended in failure. A Christian Samurai will surprise many readers when they discover that Christian moral teachings not only survived the long period of persecution but influenced Japanese society throughout the Tokugawa period.

Bunko's bold assertion that a representation of the Eucharist would be more appropriate as a symbol for Japan than the coat of arms of the emperor or the insignia of the shogun would eventually lead to his arrest, trial, and execution. The legal proceedings against him reveal the government's embarrassment at the failure of its attempts to eliminate Christianity.

This historical and literary study focuses on the personal as well as the public lives of many of the historical figures who were prominent in politics, philosophy, religion, and culture in the eighteenth century. The decadent state of Buddhism, the decline of Confucianism, and the popularity of the Yoshiwara "pleasure" quarters are some of the topics that illuminate this new history of early modern Japan and of the survival of Christianity.

The first complete English translation of Baba Bunko's Contemporary Edo:
An Album of One Hundred Monsters is included as an appendix.
- source : amazon.com

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- quote about "A Christian Samurai" -
Baba Bunkō (1718–59), a samurai from Iyo domain in Shikoku, set out in 1751 to begin a new life in the capital of Edo (now Tokyo) as a bureaucrat in the government of Tokugawa Ieshige (1711–61), the Japanese shogun... - snip snip-
1. Deus Restored
2. Tokugawa Christianity
3. Popular Games and Monster Stories
Gossip about the samurai class and rumors of scandal in the private lives of public officials were constantly circulating in the capital. Baba Bunkō took advantage of his listeners’ interest in the comings and goings...
4. Raindrops Falling in the Forest
The “monster” that attracted Baba Bunkō’s attention as no other was the daimyō 金森頼錦　Kanamori Yorikane. Between October and November of 1755, Kanamori had arrested more than five hundred peasants from...
5. Baba Bunko's Political and Social Dissent
Although censorship was enforced sporadically and was never very effective during the Tokugawa period, the bakufu did take measures to ensure that security would not be threatened. Officials kept a close eye...
6. The Decline of Tokugawa Neo-Confucianism
7. Baba Bunko's Literary Heritage
Modern Western historians have not included Baba Bunkō in their accounts of the Tokugawa period, except occasionally in passing or as a footnote. Perhaps this is because they consider Bunkō’s writings to be of...
8. Kabuki Actors, Monks, and Courtesans
The propensity of not a few samurai to become romantically involved with a male onnagata actor or with a courtesan of one of the “pleasure” districts did not go unnoticed. Bunkō speculates that their illicit liaisons...
9. The Breakdown of Social Order
10. The Christian Question
After Bunkō renounced his samurai status, resigned his government post, and began giving lectures criticizing various aspects of the prevailing culture of Tokugawa Japan, he turned to writing satirical essays and...
Contemporary Edo: An Album of One Hundred Monsters

- with PDF files to download from here:
- source : muse.jhu.edu/book -
Welcome to Project MUSE

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馬場文耕集 / 馬場文耕 (著), 岡田哲 (著) Okada Tetsu

Matsuzaki Gyojin Baba Bunko Muno Zokudan Baba Bunko Edo Chobun Shu
Buya zokudan (Secular tales in the martial field) by Baba Bunko, 1757)

- reference : baba bunko -

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The most extreme case was Baba Bunko (1718— 1759), the only writer throughout the entire Edo period to be executed for the crime of violating publication laws ...
- An Edo Anthology: Literature from Japan’s Mega-City,
Jones, Sumie, Watanabe, Kenji
- source : books.google.co.jp -

Baba Bunko (1718?-1758), for example, who was active during the 1750s, was savagely critical of contemporary political authority ...
- Edo Culture: Daily Life and Diversions in Urban Japan,
Matsunosuke Nishiyama, Gerald Groemer
- source : books.google.co.jp -

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Baisaoo, Baisaō 売茶翁 Baisao, "Old Tea Seller"
賣茶翁（ばいさおう） / 高遊外 Ko Yugai.
(1675 – 1763)

Baisaō with his portable tea stand,
as depicted in a gently comical caricature painting of the late 19th–early 20th century

- quote
was a Japanese Buddhist monk of the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism, who became famous for traveling around Kyoto selling tea. The veneration of Baisao during and after his lifetime helped to popularize sencha tea and led to the creation of the sencha tea ceremony.

Baisao went by many names during his lifetime, as was common at the time. As a child, he was known as Shibayama Kikusen. When he became a monk, his Zen priest name was 月海元昭 Gekkai Gensho. Baisao, the nickname by which he is popularly known, means "old tea seller." He acquired this name from his act of making tea in the Kyoto area.
Later in his life, he denounced his priesthood and adopted the lay name of 高遊外 Ko Yugai.

Baisao was born in the town of Hasuike in what was then Hizen Province.
- snip -
Tea
Around 1735, Baisao began selling tea in the various scenic locations in Kyoto. At this time, he had not yet formally given up his priesthood. Baisao never sold his tea for a fixed price. Instead, he carried a bamboo tube with which he collected donations. He lived an ascetic life, despite his lasting friendships with illustrious individuals, and used the meagre donations from his tea peddling to keep himself nourished. As for his tea equipment, he carried it all in a woven bamboo basket he called Senka ("den of the sages") that he lugged around on a stick over his shoulder.

Baisao's method of preparing tea was referred to as sencha, or "simmered tea". In this method, whole tea leaves would be tossed into a pot of boiling water and simmered for a short period of time. This style of tea differed from matcha, the most common tea in Japan at the time, which consists of tea leaves ground into a fine powder. The method of brewing tea by grinding it into a powder and whisking it with hot water was popular in China in the Song dynasty, during which Zen Buddhist monks first brought the practice to Japan. By contrast, the Obaku school of Zen specialized in brewing loose leaf green tea, a style that had gradually become popular in China during the Ming dynasty. Sencha partisans of the time opposed the rigid, elaborate formalism of the traditional chanoyu tea ceremony, which uses matcha. The comparative simplicity of adding tea leaves to water appealed to many Japanese monks and intellectuals (among them Baisao and much of his social circle) who admired the carefree attitude advocated by the ancient Chinese sages. Baisao himself saw tea as a path to spiritual enlightenment, a point he made repeatedly in his poetry.

It is not known where Baisao originally obtained his tea leaves from, but by 1738, the sencha method of brewing tea had become popular enough that one of his acquaintances, a tea grower in Uji, developed new production methods to create a type of tea named after the brewing method. This sencha tea was made of whole, young leaves which were steamed and then dried. This technique differs from the typical Chinese method of producing loose leaf tea, which does not involve steaming. Baisao himself praised the tea highly, and the term sencha has come to refer primarily to the tea leaves produced by this method, not to the method of brewing them.
- snip -
Baisao's poetry and calligraphy
are considered important in the Zen history of Japan, especially in Kyoto where Baisao was well known. His poetry was highly regarded by the artists of 18th century Kyoto, which was more "liberal" than the capital city of Edo (modern Tokyo). Over 100 of his poems have survived. Some of Baisao's writings were published in 1748 as A Collection of Tea Documents from the Plum Mountain (Baisanshu chafu ryaku). In this text, Baisao argued for the philosophical superiority of sencha over chanoyu, and wrote that priests who performed the chanoyu tea ceremony were as far from the example of the ancient sages as heaven from earth.
- snip -
Today, Baisao is considered one of the first sencha masters. After his death, sencha continued to rise in popularity, gradually replacing matcha as the most popular type of tea in Japan.
- source : wikipedia

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高遊外売茶翁佐賀地域協議会
佐賀市松原４丁目６番１８号 / Saga, Matsubara
- source : kouyugaibaisao.com -

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The Old Tea Seller: Life and Zen Poetry in 18th Century Kyoto
by Baisao (Author), Norman Waddell (Translator)

Baisao was an influential and unconventional figure in a culturally rich time period in Kyoto. A poet and Buddhist priest, he left the constrictions of temple life behind and at the age of 49 traveled to Kyoto, where he began to make his living by selling tea on the streets and at scenic places around the city. Yet Baisao dispensed much more than tea: though he would never purport to be a Zen master, his clientele, which consisted of influential artists, poets, and thinkers, considered a trip to his shop as having religious importance. His large bamboo wicker baskets provided Baisao and his customers with an occasion for conversation and poetry, as well as exceptional tea.
The poems, memoirs, and letters collected here trace his spiritual and physical journey over a long life. This book includes virtually all of his writings translated for the first time into English, together with the first biography of Baisao to appear in any language. It is bound to establish Baisao’s place alongside other Zen-inspired poets such as Basho and Ryokan.
- source : www.amazon.com -

The Old Tea Seller: Life and Zen Poetry in 18th Century Kyoto
By Baisa Baisa
- source : books.google.co.jp -

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Searching for the Spirit of the Sages: Baisaō and Sencha in Japan
by Patricia J. Graham - 1996
PDF file

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Baisaō on a Footbridge by 伊藤若冲 Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800)

- quote -
賣茶翁 Baisaō (1675-1763)
..... Baisaō was an inspirational and unconventional figure in a culturally rich time period in Kyoto.
.....
Book reviewed by Joseph S. O’Leary, Sophia University
Book reviewed by Vladimir K.
.....

- - - - - Two quotes from Baisaō:
“The price for this tea is anything
from a hundred in gold to a half sen.
If you want to drink free, that's all right too.
I'm only sorry I can't let you have it for less.”

“What's the tea seller got in his basket?
Bottomless tea cups?
A two-spouted pot?
He pokes around town for a small bit of rice,
Working very hard for next to nothing ---
Blinkering old drudge just plodding ahead ...
Bah!”

portrait by 田能村竹田 Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835)

More illustrations and translations of his writing are here :
- source : terebess.hu/zen/mesterek -

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Making the busy streets my home
right down in the heart of things
only one friend shares my poverty
this single scrawny wooden staff.
Having learned the ways of silence
within the noise of urban life
I take life as it comes to me
and everywhere I am is true.

Rambling free beyond the world
enjoying the natural shapes of things
a shaggy eight-year-old duffer
scraping out a living selling tea.
He escapes starvation, barely,
thanks to a section of bamboo,
a tiny house with a window hole
provides all the shelter he needs.

Outside, carts and horses pass
annulling both noise and quiet
inside, easy talk at the stove
banishes notions of host and guest.
He lives under a row of tall pines
beside a temple of guardian sages
where the pine breeze sweeps clear
the dust of fame and profit.

I'm not a Buddhist or Taoist
not a Confucianist either
I'm a brownfaced white-haired
hard up old man.
People think I just prowl
the streets peddling tea.
I've got the whole universe
in this tea caddy of mine.

Left home at ten
turned from the world
here I am in my dotage
a layman once again;
A black bat of a man
(it makes me smile myself)
but still the old tea seller
I always was.

Seventy years of Zen
got me nowhere at all
shed my black robe
became a shaggy crank.
now I have no business
with sacred or profane
just simmer tea for folks
and hold starvation back.
Tr. Norman Waddell

Baisao makes a good case for a simple but elegant life of attention, beauty, and contentment that honors old age and the impermanence of life.
- source : spiritualityandpractice.com -

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朱泥ダルマ彫煎茶 Cup for Sencha
made from shudei 朱泥 red clay from China

. Sencha 煎茶　 .
a Japanese green tea, specifically one made without grinding the tea leaves.

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仙台市の売茶翁（ばいさおう）の「みちのくせんべい」
- reference : takedala/dokugen -

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It was supposed to open in November 2016 - BUT

Thanks to the new governor, Yuriko Koike　小池百合子.

Toyosu was chosen by former Governor of Tokyo Shintarō Ishihara for relocating Tsukiji fish market, but there was a longstanding controversy over this plan due to the toxic contamination of the chosen relocation area.
(wikipedia)

MetGov - Tokyo Metropolitan Government

September 28 - NHK
Koike told the metropolitan assembly on Wednesday that confusion over the planned relocation of a wholesale food market has resulted in loss of public trust.
The Tokyo government had planned to move the Tsukiji market to Toyosu this year after decontaminating the site, where a gas production plant once stood. But the work was not carried out as recommended by experts.
Koike criticized the government's handling of the problem, saying those making decisions have all denied knowledge of the discrepancy, prompting public frustration.
She stressed that it's her job to find out who decided what, when decisions were made, and whether a cover-up took place.

- last updated : 2016 - September 30 -
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This was the original plan, with morido 盛土 layers of clean soil
a layer of gravel/concrete
2 meters cleaned ground
2.5 meters new ground
a thick layer of concrete

Now suddenly these layers are missing and the buildings are standing on
謎の空洞 mysterious empty boxes, hollow space.

MetGov says the hollow spaces have a concrete cover of 40 cm thickness. But not all of the ground is covered.

September 30, Friday NHK
The head of the Tsukiji market greengrocers' union says he feels betrayed by the Tokyo Metropolitan government.
Mikio Izumi spoke to reporters after watching Governor Yuriko Koike's news conference on Friday. His union is made up of about 450 fruit and vegetable dealers.
He said it is extremely disappointing that officials did not carry out the decontamination work as they had originally proposed. He added that he hopes Tokyo officials never again present market dealers with false explanations.
Izumi said the dealers are also shocked by the latest groundwater test at Toyosu, which found benzene and arsenic slightly in excess of environmental standards.
He said he wants a panel of experts to assess the results and consider measures to remedy the situation.

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- - - - - 東京都知事　Governors before Koike 　

They obviously never asked too many questions.

September 27:
Koike is going to meet Ishihara regarding the capital's troubled new wholesale food market.
Ishihara was in charge when controversial decontamination steps were taken at the site.

There have been five heads of the Toyosu Project since 2008, it seems. And all claim they thought the morido was done properly.

September 30, Friday - NHK
An inquiry into the Toyosu market site has concluded that former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara did not influence the location's underground design plan.
The inquiry confirmed that in May of that year, Ishihara told a Tokyo government official in charge of the wholesale market to study a different plan to cut costs. Ishihara proposed burying empty concrete chambers called caissons under the market's buildings.
But the market's chief told the governor the next year that the idea would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more. Ishihara reportedly said he understood.
The inquiry team says several other Tokyo government officials have also testified that Ishihara's idea had nothing to do with the subsequent construction of empty spaces beneath the market buildings.

..............................................................................................................................................

There are many open questions :

Who signed the plan for the building standing not on the morido,
but with an open box space of about 4.5 meter high?

Was there a misunderstanding, since everyone claims it should be above the morido?
Or was it deliberate by someone in the city office? (quite possible)
or the construction firm (hardly believable) ?

Was there a plan to built an underground space for maintenance above the morido with stilts to support this?

How far above ground is the main access road for the dealers to reach their allocated spaces ?
It seems it is higher that necessary.

September 13, 2016 - NHK news
Former and current Tokyo metropolitan officials apparently knew they were misinforming the public about steps to counter soil pollution at a new wholesale market site, but took no action.

Sept. 23? - NHK news
Possible change in assessment on new market site
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has suggested that the environmental assessment for the city's proposed new food market may need to be altered.
She hinted at the possibility on Friday, while speaking to reporters.
It was recently revealed that the market site had not been completely filled in with clean soil, as recommended by experts.
The metropolitan government issued an environmental assessment report for the new market in 2011. It stated there will be no impact from exposure to contaminated substances after decontamination efforts are completed.
A gas plant used to stand at the site and harmful substances were detected. The report was based on experts' advice to fill the site with clean soil as part of decontamination efforts.
Koike says that generally speaking, if any problem arises from what was previously reported that must be included in a new assessment.
She also says it will take about a month to decide whether to conduct a fresh investigation and about another 15 months to put together.

The 4.5-meter layer of clean soil is missing from under five main structures at the new market location.

September 27, 2016 - NHK
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says its officials asked an architectural design firm to create empty spaces beneath the capital's new wholesale food market, against the advice of experts. ...
The Tokyo government is looking into why the spaces were created despite the fact that experts said back in 2008 that the entire compound should be filled with clean soil. ...
The probe has yet to determine who decided to go against the advice and when the decision was made.

September 28, 2016 - NHK
Ryoichi Kishimoto, The chief official of Tokyo's wholesale food markets has apologized for misinformation about measures taken to deal with soil pollution at the site of a new market.
... He apologized for causing people to worry. ...
- but no explanation for the WHY !

September 30, NHK - Friday
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has come up with an investigative report on decontamination work at the capital's planned new wholesale food market in Toyosu. NHK has learned that the report says officials were unable to determine who decided not to fill the market's foundations with clean soil or when the decision was made.
... The report says officials in bureaus in charge of the matter began discussing in 2008 a plan to create spaces underground for monitoring contamination even after the market's opening. In 2009, they created an image of the spaces with heavy machinery placed underground.
Officials then proceeded with studies on soil decontamination between 2010 and 2013. In August 2011, department and section chiefs are said to have confirmed at a meeting a policy to create underground monitoring spaces.
... The report attributes the problem to a lack of communication between superiors and subordinates as well as employees in administrative sections and those in engineering sections. In addition, it's not clear who was responsible for the entire project.
... full discussions of the issue next week.
..... A former chief official of Tokyo's wholesale food markets Naoyuki Tsukamoto says he knew that the ground under the buildings of the new Toyosu market was not covered with clean soil. Tsukamoto is one of 5 former chief officials that served in the post during the planning of the decontamination measures. ..... On Friday morning, Tsukamoto said in an NHK interview that he saw the buildings' blueprints, but that he didn't think it was a problem.
.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike says an inquiry has failed to find out who was responsible for not putting clean soil under the buildings of the capital's new food market.
She hinted at a further investigation.
... She said that in August 2011, department and section chiefs confirmed the basic policy of creating the spaces. Officials are said to have discussed measures to deal with polluted soil between 2010 and 2013.
... Koike suggested she will consider new steps, including a further probe and introducing a whistleblower system to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

..............................................................................................................................................

- - - - - monitoring space 　モニタリング　

Toyosu market basement areas created for emergency cleanup work
Why would this be necessary if the ground was properly prepared with 4.5 m clean soil?

.................................................

Why is now the gravel layer open and only partly covered with concrete?

..............................................................................................................................................

anzen anshin　安全　安心　to be safe, to feel safe
The motto of the new Toyosu market.
BUT
many now think, even if the water is pronounced anzen,
the whole project does not feel anshin for a food market.

The water under the buildings the pools - how much is it tainted?
There are differences in the findings of the parliament party members and the Town Officials.

The water level seems rising (it rained a lot around Spetember 20 - 26). It is now almost 30 cm.

September 13th
The first results: hexavalent chromium and arsenic.

September 17, 2016
Benzene, a toxic chemical, was not found in water in the basement - says the MetGov.

Sep 18
arsenic and chromium found at density levels around 10 to 35 percent of the legal limit.
These substances do not evaporate into the air.

Sep 21
Some members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly say that a cyanide compound has been detected. The level exceeds the government-set environmental standards.

- NHK news -
Lead detected in water at Tokyo's new market site
The Tokyo Prefecture government says that a slight amount of lead was found in water that has accumulated below the site of a proposed new food market.
They show that the amount of lead in the water is about one tenth the level permitted by environmental standards.
The samples from the site in the Toyosu also contained traces of arsenic.
They were tested for 7 harmful substances. The water did not contain benzene, cyanogen or hexavalent chromium.

September 30
toxic substances in excess of environmental standards.
It was the 8th in a series of surveys that began 2 years ago, following the completion of soil decontamination work at the site. It was the first test in which measurements exceeded limits.
The officials say that 2 of 3 groundwater samples collected near the market's fruit and vegetable building contained the chemical benzene.
One of them measured 1.1 times the environmental standard and the other 1.4 times.
Another sample contained arsenic measuring 1.9 times the standard.
In the previous 7 surveys, the substances measured below the standards.
..... The Tokyo government officials say the figures are preliminary and detailed analyses and opinions from experts are needed before taking action.
Professor Minoru Yoneda:
the groundwater is not for drinking and he does not believe it would pose a threat to human health. !!!!!

- - - - - air pollution in the underground box space - - - - -

Sep 18
While traces of benzene are still in Toyosu’s air, its density level is within the safety limit, according to metropolitan government data.

Sep 26
Benzene has been found in the air . .. in low levels.

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- - - - - one special building for the administration people
管理施設棟 kanri

(who will be sitting there all day . . .)

There is just one building in the complex built as planned above the morido.
With a pit for monitoring above the morido.

WHY ?

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- - - - - Money and the price of it all

original bid about 63 billion yen (628 million dollars) in November 2013.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's projected prices for construction contracts rose by 60 percent in the second round of tenders, from the failed first round.
Three joint venture groups headed by 3 major construction firms took part first, but all retracted their tenders.
- second round of bidding 3 months later, about 1.03 billion dollars.
The 3 groups each won a contract, at prices ranging from 99.7 to 99.9 percent of the revised projected prices.
Professor Hiroshi Arikawa of Nihon University:
if the Tokyo government had to change the prices following requests from construction firms, its system to calculate projected prices must also come under scrutiny.

In 2014, the decontamination (and morido) was completed at a cost of
85.8 billion Yen.

How much money was "saved" with the new plan and where is the money now?

How much will the restauration from the new reality to a safe market cost?

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Why do some of the piping hang high up under the ceiling?

Why are some pipings so low that no maschinery can drive around in these spaces?

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- - - -- The open hatchets to let down equipment -

If the buildings were safe, why the need to do this "just in case?"

Why are some hatches right beside the building (3 m x 6 m)
and at least one other further away, with a road above?
Is the whole ground from this hatchet to the building now open?

Are the hatchets connected to the buildings? with an open door?

Why do they have a slit of about 3 mm around, where rain water can get through?

If heavy equipment has to be dismanteled to get down,
what kind of equipment is there DOWN there to get them together again?

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- - - - - Earthquake

Since the original building was planned for 4 stories
is the new building with its underground space the same quake proof structure?

the revetment work carried out by the contractors wasn’t sufficient to stabilize the ground in the area, pointing out that parts of the Toyosu site liquefied during the March 2011 quake, bringing sand and stones to the surface.

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- - - - - Future plans since September 2016 - - - - -

What can be done to secure the place as it is now and
open the fish market at some point in the - far - future?

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- reference : NHK World News -

- reference : Japan Times -

- reference : ひるおび豊洲　-

- general online reference -

豊洲市場の特徴 (Japanese HP of the project, it seems)
- reference source : shijou.metro.tokyo.jp/toyosu -

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. Kaido 日本の街道 The Ancient Roads of Japan .
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Kooshuu Kaidoo, Kōshū Kaidō 甲州街道 Koshu Kaido Road
The Highway from Edo via Kofu to Suwa

One of the Edo Gokaidoo 江戸五街道 Edo Gokaido, Gokaidō - Edo Five Routes
Five Kaido starting at Nihonbashi, Edo

Koshu Kaido 甲州街道 Kōshū Kaidō
Nakasendo 中山道 . 中仙道 Nakasendō
Nikko Kaido 日光街道 Nikkō Kaidō
Oshu Kaido 奥州街道 Ōshū Kaidō
Tokaido 東海道 Tōkaidō

The Koshu Kaido was especially planned by Tokugawa Ieyasu to secure his route to escape Edo in case of an attack.
He had a group of 100 special armed guards live in Shinjuku to help and protect him in case of need.

. Hyakuninchoo　百人町 Hyakunincho district .
teppoogumi hyakunin tai 鉄砲組百人隊　100 Riflemen Team
Hyakunin (hundred-man) brigade of shooters //100 men musket (teppo) corps
stationed in Shinjuku

From Sekino-shuku (関野宿) there was a possibility to use the river 相模川　Sagamigawa to ship luggage coming from Kyoto to the coast (now to the towns of Chigasaki and Hiratsuka) and from there by boat to Edo.

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There are 44 post stations along the Kōshū Kaidō:

Tokyo
Nihonbashi's highway distance marker, from which modern highway distances are measured
View of Mt. Fuji from Tama River in Fuchū

Starting Location: Nihonbashi (Chūō)
1. Naitō Shinjuku (内藤新宿) (Shinjuku)
2. Shimotakaido-shuku (下高井戸宿) (Suginami)
3. Kamitakaido-shuku (上高井戸宿) (Suginami)

Fuda-Goshuku（布田五宿）Five Stations from Fuda (Chōfu, Chofu)
They are all small posts.
4. Kokuryō-shuku (国領宿) (Chōfu)
5. Shimofuda-shuku (下布田宿) (Chōfu)
6. Kamifuda-shuku (上布田宿) (Chōfu)
7. Shimoishihara-shuku (下石原宿) (Chōfu)
8. Kamiishihara-shuku (上石原宿) (Chōfu)

9. Fuchū-shuku (府中宿) (Fuchū, Fuchu)
10. Hino-shuku (日野宿) (Hino)
11. Hachiōji-shuku (八王子宿) (Hachiōji, Hachioji)

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12. Komagino-shuku (駒木野宿) (Hachiōji)
There was a special barrier (sekisho　関所) to prevent women to get out of Edo and weapons to come into the town. The barrier was beside a steep river.

CLICK for more photos !

At the barrier were two stones, one for the traveller to place his hands 手付き石 tetsuki ishi, while the official checked his papers, and one to place his papers in front of the official 手形石 tegata ishi.

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13. Kobotoke-shuku (小仏宿) (Hachiōji)
Also called 富士見関 because Mount Fujisan could be seen from here.
There were no lodgings at this station.

Kanagawa Prefecture
14. Ohara-shuku (小原宿) (Sagamihara)
15. Yose-shuku (与瀬宿) (Sagamihara)
16. Yoshino-shuku (吉野宿) (Sagamihara)
17. Sekino-shuku (関野宿) (Sagamihara)

Yamanashi Prefecture / Kōfu
18. Uenohara-shuku (上野原宿) (Uenohara) - Momotaro legend
19. Tsurukawa-shuku (鶴川宿) (Uenohara) - Momotaro legend
20. Notajiri-shuku (野田尻宿) (Uenohara)

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21. Inume-shuku (犬目宿) (Uenohara)- Momotaro legend

甲州犬目峠 Inume Toge Pass by Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎　

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22. Shimotorisawa-shuku (下鳥沢宿) (Ōtsuki, Otsuki) - Momotaro legend
23. Kamitorisawa-shuku (上鳥沢宿) (Ōtsuki) - Momotaro legend

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24. Saruhashi-shuku (猿橋宿) (Ōtsuki) - Momotaro legend
It was famous for its 猿橋 Saruhashi, the "Monkey Bridge".

- quote -
Located in Otsuki is one of Japan's most famous bridges. The 1300 year old wooden bridge crosses the Katsura River in Yamanashi as it flows between two high cliffs. The ingenious cantilevered design is said to have been inspired by monkeys holding hands to cross the river. Obviously it must have been rebuilt many times, but the basic design has never been changed.
- source : japantravel.com/yamanashi -

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25. Komahashi-shuku (駒橋宿) (Ōtsuki, Otsuki)
26. Ōtsuki-shuku (大月宿) (Ōtsuki) - Momotaro legend
27. Shimohanasaki-shuku (下花咲宿) (Ōtsuki)
28. Kamihanasaki-shuku (上花咲宿) (Ōtsuki)
29. Shimohatsukari-shuku (下初狩宿) (Ōtsuki)
30. Nakahatsukari-shuku (中初狩宿) (Ōtsuki)
31. Shirano-shuku (白野宿) (Ōtsuki)
32. Kuronoda-shuku (黒野田宿) (Ōtsuki)

33. Komakai-shuku (駒飼宿) (Kōshū)
34. Tsuruse-shuku (鶴瀬宿) (Kōshū)
35. Katsunuma-shuku (勝沼宿) (Kōshū)
36. Kuribara-shuku (栗原宿) (Yamanashi)
37. Isawa-shuku (石和宿) (Fuefuki)
38. Kōfu-shuku (甲府宿) (Kōfu, Kofu)
39. Nirasaki-shuku (韮崎宿) (Nirasaki)
40. Daigahara-shuku (台ヶ原宿) (Hokuto)
41. Kyōraiishi-shuku (教来石宿) (Hokuto)

Nagano Prefecture

42. Tsutaki-shuku (蔦木宿) (Fujimi, Suwa District)
43. Kanazawa-shuku (金沢宿) (Chino)
44. Kamisuwa-shuku (上諏訪宿) (Suwa)
Ending Location: Shimosuwa-shuku 下諏訪宿 (Shimosuwa, Suwa District)
(also part of the Nakasendō)

- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- reference source : free-age.jp/bridgestone-

There are various legends along the Koshu Kaido. Even Momotaro, the Peach Boy, was here!
This story is basically fun with the pun words.
桃太郎伝説もある甲州街道
From the mountain in the North of the road, called 百蔵山 Momokurayama (momo is a pun with momo 桃, the peach) the peach came rolling down the river. It was picked up at 鶴島 Tsurushima (Tsurukawa) in 上野原 Uenohara. From this peach Momotaro was born. When he grew up, he got his helpers, the dog from 犬目 Inume, the 雉 pheasant (bird) from 鳥沢 Torizawa and the monkey from 猿橋 Saruhashi.
They went to Mount 九鬼山 Kukiyama (Mountain of the nine demons) in 大月南方 Otsuki-South
and to Mount 岩殿山 Iwatonosan, Iwadonosan in 大月北方 Otsuki-North to drive away the demons.
One of the demons was wounded and bleeding, so now at the shrine 子神神社 Nenokami Jinja there can be found red soil, remains of the demon's blood.

- reference source : ymnco2.sakura.ne.jp/me/onitue -

The red soil, used for a stone wall in the shrine compound, had to be demolished in 2003 due to the danger of collapsing.

. Momotaroo 桃太郎 Momotaro the Peach Boy .

- 大月桃太郎研究会 - facebook -

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.................................................................................　Fukushima 福島県
平田村 Hirata

The old demon hag from Adachihara in Nihonmatsu 二本松の安達が原の鬼ババア
used to kill and eat travellers on the Koshu Kaido. From others she extracted money or valuable things.

source : rg-youkai.com/tales/ja/07_fukusima

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

安達が原の鬼婆
安達が原の岩屋に鬼婆が住み、旅人を食べる。泊まった僧侶に骸骨の山を見られ、殺そうとしたが観音像とお経の力に近づくことができず、そのうち朝日が昇って、鬼婆は光にやられて死んだ。

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甲州街道こうしゅうかいどう
- reference source : jinriki.info/kaidolist/koshukaido -

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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -

お山開きし甲州街道となりにけり
O yamabirakishi kooshuu kaidoo to nari ni keri

after the opening
of the mountain this becomes
the Old Koshu Road . . .

. Tomiyasu Fuusei 富安風生 Tomiyasu Fusei .
(1885 - 1979)

. yamabiraki 山開 "opening the mountain" .
- - kigo for late summer - -

Usually a ritual at a shrine at the foot of the mountain, with members then climbing the mountain for the first time in this new season.

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. 　Reference and LINKS - Books .
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An Edo Anthology:
Literature from Japan’s Mega-City, 1750-1850
Editor: Jones, Sumie; Watanabe, Kenji
University of Hawaii Press

During the eighteenth century, Edo (today’s Tokyo) became the world’s largest city, quickly surpassing London and Paris. Its rapidly expanding population and flourishing economy encouraged the development of a thriving popular culture. Innovative and ambitious young authors and artists soon began to look beyond the established categories of poetry, drama, and prose, banding together to invent completely new literary forms that focused on the fun and charm of Edo. Their writings were sometimes witty, wild, and bawdy, and other times sensitive, wise, and polished. Now some of these high spirited works, celebrating the rapid changes, extraordinary events, and scandalous news of the day, have been collected in an accessible volume highlighting the city life of Edo.

Edo’s urban consumers
demanded visual presentations and performances in all genres. Novelties such as books with text and art on the same page were highly sought after, as were kabuki plays and the polychrome prints that often shared the same themes, characters, and even jokes. Popular interest in sex and entertainment focused attention on the theatre district and “pleasure quarters,” which became the chief backdrops for the literature and arts of the period. Gesaku, or “playful writing,” invented in the mid-eighteenth century, satirized the government and samurai behavior while parodying the classics. These entertaining new styles bred genres that appealed to the masses.
Among the bestsellers were lengthy serialized heroic epics, revenge dramas, ghost and monster stories, romantic melodramas, and comedies that featured common folk.
source : www.uhpress.hawaii.edu

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- source : Kinokuniya Webstore -

Some of the translations presented here are the first available in English and many are based on first editions.

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: The Production and Consumption of Literature in a Flourishing Metropolis
Notes for the Reader

I Playboys, Prostitutes, and Lovers
Seki the Night Hawk, 1753
Yamaoka Matsuake / Robert Campbell

"A Lousy Journey of Love: Two Sweethearts Won't Back Down" 1783
Hiraga Gennai / Timon Screech

At a Fork on the Road to Hiring a Hooker, 1798 (Sara Langer, Trans)
Umebori Kokuga

Intimations of Spring: The Plum Calendar, 1832-1833.
Illustrated by Yanagawa Shigenobu and Yanagawa Jusan (Shigenobu II)
Tamenaga Shunsui / Valerie L. Durham

II Ghosts, Monsters, and Deities
One Hundred Monsters in Edo of Our Time, 1758
Baba Bunko / William J. Farge

Rootless Grass, 1763, 1769
Hiraga Gennai /David Sitkin

Thousand Arms of Goddess, Julienned: The Secret Recipe of Our Handmade Soup Stock,
1785. Illustrated by Kitao Masanobu -- (Santo Kyoden)
Shiba Zenko /Adam L. Kern

The Monster Takes a Bride, 1807. Illustrated by Katsukawa Shun'ei
Jippensha Ikku /Adam Kern

Epic Yotsuya Ghost Tale, 1825
Tsuruya Nanboku IV / Faith Bach

III Heroes, Rogues, and Fools
Playboy, Grilled Edo Style, 1785. Illustrated by Kitao Masanobu
Santo Kyoden / Sumie Jones

Osome and Hisamatsu: Their Amorous History---Read All About It!, 1813 219(28)
Tsuruya Nanboku IV / Sakurada Jisuke II / Caryn Callahan

Opening section from The Tale of the Eight Dog Warriors of the Satomi Clan,
1814-1842. Illustrated chiefly by Yanagawa Shigenobu and Keisai Eisen
Kyokutei Bakin / Ellen Widmer

Funamushi episodes from The Tale of the Eight Dog Warriors of the Satomi Clan, 1814-1842.
Illustrated chiefly by Yanagawa Shigenobu and Keisai Eisen
Kyokutei Bakin / Valerie L. Durham

Eight Footloose Fools: A Flower Almanac, written in 1820, published in 1849.
Illustrated chiefly by Keisai Eisen, Utagawa Kuninao, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Ryutei Rijo / Dylan Mcgee / Christopher Robins

Benten the Thief, 1862
Kawatake Mokuami / Alan Cummings

IV City and Country Folks
Mr. Senryu's Barrel of Laughs, Edo Haikai Style, 1765-1838
Karai Senryu / Jason Webb

"The Housemaid's Ballad" and Other Poems, 1769
Domyaku Sensei /Andrew Markus - In the World of Men, Nothing But Lies, 1812. Illustrated by Utagawa Kuninao
Shikitei Sanba / Joel Cohn

The Floating World Barbershop, 1813-1814. Illustrated by Utagawa Kuninao
Shikitei Sanba /Charles Vilnis

Tales from the North, 1818
Tadano Makuzu / Bettina Gramlich-Oka

V Artists and Poets
On Farting, c. 1774, c. 1777
Hiraga Gennai / William F. Sibley

The "Peony Petals" Sequence, 1780
Yosa Buson / Takai Kito / Chris Drake

Peasants, Peddlers, And Paramours: Waka Selections
Roger K. Thomas

Icicle Teardrops and Butterfly Wings: Popular Love Songs
John Solt

VI Tourists and Onlookers
Comparisons of Cities-
(1) Anonymous,
"What They Think Good about Kyo and Edo,"
c. 1820,
(2) Shiba Kokan, "On Good and Bad Things about Kyo and Edo" (A Letter
to Yamaryo Kazuma), 1813, and
(3) Kimuro Boun, Tales of the Kyo I Have Seen, 1780
Timon Screech

Songs of the Northern Quarter, 1786
Ichikawa Kansai / Mark Borer

Outlandish Nonsense: Verses on Western Themes
Timon Screech

An Account of the Prosperity of Edo, 1832: "Urban Chivalry" and "Honjo District"
Terakado Seiken / Andrew Markus

Source Texts and Modern Editions
List of Contributors
Permissions
Index of Names
Subject Index

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .
(1715-1783)

. hatsumono, hatsu-mono 初物　first things - Introduction .

There are many New and First activities and things throughout the year.

There are 386 kigo starting with 初...,　and
119 of them do not relate to the New Year.

There are 93 kigo that end with ...初 and
7 of them do not relate to the New Year.

Some translations are from the friends at this facebook forum:
. Formal Haiku - The Art of 5-7-5 .

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初秋や余所の灯見ゆる宵のほど
hatsuaki ya yoso no hi miyuru yoi no hodo

Early autumn--
Lights of houses are on
Even in a young evening.
Tr. Shoji Kumano

The start of autumn!
Evening is at the point where
other's lights are seen.

All the more expensive hard cover anthologies of the famous haiku writers will include prose versions of the haiku that include everything that the haiku hints at. Kumano's translation is a rendering of the prose piece accompanying this haiku in the Buson anthology I have. I think that writing everything in just kills the poetry in the original.
By making the evening the subject, Buson is able to give us a scene that accurately depicts the falling darkness through time so we can stand and watch the house lights in the houses he looks down upon come on. It catches the mood of the time of year when evening falls earlier and earlier.
Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

Lights of houses on
even in a young evening—
early autumn’s start
Tr. Bill Dennis - facebook

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初冬や日和になりし京はずれ
hatsufuyu ya hiyori ni narishi kyoo hazure

Winter comes
And with it the weather
Outside of the capital.
Tr. Thomas McAuley

初冬や訪はんと思ふ人来ます
hatsufuyu ya towan to omou hito kimasu

The first of winter--
One I've wanted to visit
Called on me.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

Early winter--
I thought I was going visiting
but the person has come here.
Tr. Sawa and Shiffert

Winter has begun!
The one I was hoping of
visiting does come.

When winter comes people tend to hunker down and stay at home, which can lead into a desire for the company of others. Buson hasn't been able to rouse himself to go visit a person that he wants to see, but now that person has come to visit him.
With an interesting twist, Buson has turned the negative connotations that usually follow the coming of the winter into a positive emotion.
Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

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初氷何こぼしけん石の間
hatsugoori nani koboshiken ishi no ai

The first ice--
What was spilled
Between the stones?
Tr. Nelson and Saito

. yamadera no suzuri ni hayashi hatsugoori .
山寺の硯に早し初氷　

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hatsushimo ya fukikaeshi aru kuzu no ha ni

The year's first frost--
On the kudzu leaves
Flipped over by the wind before.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

初霜やわづらふ鶴を遠く見る
hatsushimo ya wazurau tsuru o tooku miru

The year's first frost--
An ailing crane
In the distance seen.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

winter's first frost--
visible in the distance
an ailing crane
Tr. Ueda

the first frost;
seeing a suffering crane
in the distance
Tr. Michael Haldane

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初潮に追はれてのぼる小魚かな
hatsushio ni owarete noboru shoogyo kana

By the first full tide
Pursued Upstream
swim the fries.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

By the high tide
swept away so they swim upstream,
the tiny fish!
Tr. Sawa and Shiffert

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. hatsu yuki no soko o tatakeba take no tsuki .
初雪の底をたたけば竹の月

The first snow
Emptying itself to its last flake--
The moon above bamboo.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

when the first snow
strikes the lowest culms
bamboo moonlight
Tr. Addis

A bamboo moon
Is caressing the round
Of early snow
Tr. ?

The season's first snow,
A few flakes slowly falling --
Bamboo and moonlight.
Tr. Jim Wilson - facebook

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- hatsushigure初時雨 first winter shower

秋のあはれわすれんとすれば初時雨
aki no aware wasuren to sureba hatsushigure

Autumnal sadness
Just about to forget as I was--
The first winter shower.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

みのむしの得たりかしこし初時雨
minomushi no etari kashikoshi hatsushigure

A bagworm--
Complacent and proud
The first shower in winters.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

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- hatsune初音 first call of the bush warbler

うぐいすの枝ふみはずす初音かな
uguisu no eda fumihazusu hatsune kana

A warbler
Missing its footing on a twig--
Its first song in spring.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

うぐひすの麁相がましき初音哉
uguisu no sosoo ga mashiki hatsune kana

The warbler's
inexperienced simplicity is better
year's first song
Tr. Crowley

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To join BUSON on Facebook, click the image!

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. hatsumono, hatsu-mono 初物　first things - Introduction .

. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - Introduction .

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

. BUSON - Cultural Keywords and ABC-List .

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#busonhatsumono #hatsumonobuson #firstthingsbuson
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. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .
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sentaku 洗濯 washing, doing the laundry in Edo

In rural Japan, washing was often done at a river side. Some villages also had a special small waterway run through the main street and homes could use this water.
Remote homes all had a special well or wakimizu湧き水, fresh water welling out from the mountains and kept in a container, to be used for drinking, washing, bathing etc.

In towns, wells were the place to get water and cleaning the wells was important.

. sarashi-i . 晒井 cleaning the well .
kigo for early summer
and
idohori shi　井戸堀師 craftsman digging a well or making a new well

The Water Deity of Katsuyama, Okayama

The goodwill of the God of Water is very important to a rice-growing and farming society.
. Suijin sama 水神様 The God of Water .
Mizu no Kamisama 水の神様 / Sui-ten Suiten 水天

Doing the laundry for a big family in the Edo period . . . without electricity, was hard work.

Water was placed in a bucket and the cloth was rubbed on
sentakuita, sentaku-ita 洗濯板 a wooden board.

Natural soap consisted of wood ash and fat or some alkali substance.

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source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library
洗い張り arai-hari by 歌川国安 Utagawa Kuniyasu (1794 - 1832)

A kimono was usually taken apart and the pieces washed and later sowed together again:
arai-hari, araihari, arai hari 洗い張り / 洗張り
tokiarai, toki-arai 解き洗い / 解洗い　take apart and wash

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In the past, a kimono would often be entirely taken apart for washing, and then re-sewn for wearing. This traditional washing method is called arai hari. Because the stitches must be taken out for washing, traditional kimono need to be hand sewn.
Arai hari is very expensive and difficult and is one of the causes of the declining popularity of kimono.
Modern fabrics and cleaning methods have been developed that eliminate this need, although the traditional washing of kimono is still practiced, especially for high-end garments.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

source : lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/siryo-search

arai-hari in the Meiji period
The wooden plates were covered with 糊 natural glue and the pieces stretched on them.
The plates were made of sugi杉 one piece of cedar wood.
The glue was funori布海苔 made from sea weed.

Drying the robes on lines, bamboo poles or placing the parts of a kimono on wooden plates -
this gave reason to a special business in Edo:
. hari-ita uri 張り板売り vendors of wooden plates to dry a kimono after washing .

- reference : arai hari -

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. idobata kaigi　井戸端会議　debates (gossip) at the well .
Women used to come to the village wells and designated places along rivers to do the laundry
and the mental laundry (gossip)。

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. oni no inu ma ni sentaku 鬼の居ぬ間に洗濯 .
Doing the laundry while the devil is away.
the mice enjoy the home while the cat is away

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.................................................................................　Shizuoka 静岡県
浜松市 Hamamatsu

sentakugitsune, sentaku kitsune 洗濯狐 the Fox doing laundry
Near the river 平釜川 Hiragama thre was a temple with many trees in the compound. At night, a fox came to the river and people could hear the sound of ザブザブ zabu zabu as if he was doing the laundry.

CLICK for more photos !

. kitsune densetsu 狐　伝説 fox legends - Introduction .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
洗濯 68 to explore / 14 洗濯物
洗濯狐 - ok

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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

洗たくの婆々へ柳の夕なびき
sentaku no baba e yanagi no yuu nabiki

to the old woman
doing laundry, the evening
willow bows
Tr. David Lanoue

source : lotusgreenfotos.blogspot.jp - Doris Boulton

. WKD : yanagi 柳 willow .
- - kigo for late spring - -

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. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Chaya Shirōjirō 茶屋四郎次郎 Chaya Shirojiro

- quote
Chaya Shirōjirō
was the name of a series of wealthy and influential Kyoto-based merchants who took part in the red-seal trade licensed under the Tokugawa shogunate. Members of the Chaya family, they were also centrally involved in the country's production and trade in textiles. Along with the Suminokura and Gotō families, the Chaya were one of the top merchant families in Edo period Kyoto.

Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu茶屋四郎次郎清信 (1545-1596)
likely the first of the line, was the son of a ronin of the Nakajima family, descended from lords of a territory in Owari province. His father, a friend of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, was crippled in the wars of the Sengoku period. Adopted into the Chaya family, he established a humble business in Kyoto making drapes. He developed a strong business relationship with one of his clients, Matsudaira Hirotada, and later sent his son Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu to Mikawa province to serve as a squire to Hirotada's son, now known as Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Kiyonobu thus became one of the primary suppliers of the Tokugawa family, and quickly came into great wealth and influence in Kyoto. He accompanied Ieyasu in battle, at both the Mikatagahara (1573), and served him in other ways, as an intelligence agent in Kyoto and in secretly transporting messages and goods for Ieyasu during the time when Toyotomi Hideyoshi held power. He obtained a red-seal license (朱印状　shuinjō) from Hideyoshi, permitting him to trade in the ports of southern Vietnam, where he obtained silks and other goods. Chaya was supposedly the one who informed Ieyasu of Oda Nobunaga's death in 1582, and thus allowed him to escape the forces of Akechi Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi, who seized power in the aftermath.

He is said to have helped design the layout of the city of Edo, and for his last year or so of life, did not leave Ieyasu's side. He repeatedly refused formal posts as governor of various Tokugawa lands, insisting that he was not a soldier, and was granted a stipend of 200 koku instead.

Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyotada　茶屋清忠　(1584-1603)
Following Kiyonobu's death in 1596, his son Kiyotada took over the family business, and succeeded his father in his relationship with the Tokugawa lord. Kiyotada fought at the battle of Sekigahara (1600), and soon afterward was made head of all the merchants in the Kansai region, "with particular jurisdiction over the business community of Kyoto".

However, Kiyotada died young, in 1603, at the age of nineteen.

Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyotsugu　茶屋清次　(1584-1622)
Thus, with the patronage of the shogunate behind them, the remaining brothers Kiyotsugu (1584-1622), Michizumi, and Nobumune took over the Chaya family business, worked to monopolize the trade in raw silk, and served as official suppliers of a variety of goods to the shogunate. Kiyotsugu was assigned by Ieyasu to help oversee shogunal operations at the formal trading post in Nagasaki, where he could keep an eye on the foreign traders and Christian missionaries, while working to his own commercial benefit as well.

A friend of artist Honami Kōetsu, Kiyotsugu was active socially in the Kyoto art world, and was known as both a patron of the arts in general, and a collector of tea bowls and other implements of the Japanese tea ceremony.

Beginning in 1612, the family obtained official licenses (朱印状　shuinjō) from the shogunate to continue trade with Cochinchina (aka Dang Trong, present-day southern Vietnam); these merchant vessels thus came to be known as chaya-sen (茶屋船, "Chaya ships").
- source : wikipedia

- reference : chaya shirojiro -

Ieyasu had Shirojiro Kiyonobu settle in a part of Asakusa, now known as
Chayamachi 茶屋町 Chaya machi .

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Shinkun Iga-Goe 神君伊賀越え "The Heavenly Lord retreats via Iga"
also called
"Shinkun Koka-Iga Goe" or Tokugawa Ieyasu Iga-goe no kinan

. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

Shirojiro helped Tokugawa Ieyasu during his hasty retreat from Sakai (Osaka) via Iga to Mikawa by going before him, paying money to the village heads to let Ieyasu pass.
This was also achieved with the help of Hattori Hanzo, a Ninja from the Iga and Koga region.

- quote -
Iga-goe(Crossing Iga)
TOKUGAWA Ieyasu experienced four disasters in his life, among which, according to him, Crossing Iga was the most difficult. When he learned his predecessor ODA Nobunaga committed suicide because of rebellion, he was on his way home with only 30 odd allegiants in civilian clothes, although they were all chief retainers. Ieyasu said, “I should kill the rebel, but we are too small a party to fight against the rebel force. It may be better for me to remain in dignity by committing suicide by harakiri.” A follower then made a proposal, however, “Let’s return home, raise forces, and send a punitive expedition against the rebel. That is our obligation to Nobunaga.” So, they discussed how they would be able to escape.

Although they were annoyed by bandits and riots that usually accompanied rebellion, they could somehow come to Iga through a number of dangerous points with the aid of several local lords. After they entered Iga, local warriors of Koka and Iga guided them to Ise. Thereafter, they returned home on ships. Ieyasu later hired two hundred Koka and Iga men and appointed HATTORI Hanzo to the head of the group, which is the beginning of the Iga section of Tokugawa shogunate.
- source : ninja-museum.com/ninja-database -

. Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 . (1543 - 1616) .

- reference : ieyasu igagoe -

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shuinsen 朱印船 "red seal Ships"
ships with a special license for trade with Vietnam

CLICK for more photos !

- quote -
Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with red-sealed letters patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century. Between 1600 and 1635, more than 350 Japanese ships went overseas under this permit system.
..... The Red Seal system appears from at least 1592, under Hideyoshi, date of the first known mention of the system in a document. The first actually preserved Shuinjō (Red Seal Permit) is dated to 1604, under Tokugawa Ieyasu, first ruler of Tokugawa Japan. Tokugawa issued red-sealed permits to his favourite feudal lords and principal merchants who were interested in foreign trade. By doing so, he was able to control Japanese traders and reduce Japanese piracy in the South Sea. His seal also guaranteed the protection of the ships, since he vowed to pursue any pirate or nation who would violate it.
..... Ship design ...
The ships were managed by rich trading families such as the Sumikura, Araki, Chaya and Sueyoshi, or by individual adventurers such as Suetsugo Heizo, Yamada Nagamasa, William Adams, Jan Joosten or Murayama Toan. The funds for the purchase of merchandise in Asia were loaned to the managers of the expedition for an interest of 35% to 55% per trip, going as high as 100% in the case of Siam.
..... The 350 Red Seal ships recorded between 1604 and 1634, averaging about 10 ships per year,
..... In 1635, the Tokugawa Shogunate officially prohibited their citizens from overseas travel, thus ending the period of red-seal trade. .....
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

- reference : shuinsen ship -

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時鳥繪になけ東四郎次郎
hototogisu e ni nake higashi shirojiroo

hototogisu
sing to the painting
the east is blanched white
Tr. Cheryl A. Crowley

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .
at temple 大徳寺 Daitoku-Ji
The sky in the East is pale white (shirojiro 白じろ)
Shirojiroo is short for Kano Motonobu元信, Genshin Shirojiro) 1476-1559

. hototogisu ホトトギス, 時鳥 Little Cuckoo .
- - kigo for summer - -

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hooki broom

Yaozen restaurant

Aoyanagi Restaurant

kagami mirror

inro pillbox

nikki diaries

Priest Jiun Onko Sonja

Hyakunincho district

kirie zu maps

Kasugacho district

Edo Philosophy

Nichosai Artist

Baba Bunko

Baisao old tea seller

Toyosu Fish Market Tokyo

Koshu Kaido

Edo Anthology Book

Buson hatsumono first things

sentaku washing in Edo

Chaya Shirojiro