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. Famous Places of Edo .
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Fukagawa 深川 Fukagawa district
This is one of the representative
shitamachi Old-town parts of Tokyo.
Now in Kootoo Kōtō 江東区 Koto Ward.
The name goes back to
Fukagawa Hachiroemon 深川八郎右衛門
In 1596, Tokugawa Ieyasu was hunting in the region and found some people working in the wetland, trying to make ditches. Ieyasu asked them the name of the place, but it did not have any.
Ieyasu asked the leader of the group of seven people about his name.
“I am Fukagawa Hachiroemon from Settsu Province, and these are my followers,"answered the man. He had been sent to develop this part of the Kanto area by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
“Well, then, name the area Fukagawa," Ieyasu told him.
So Hachiroemon continued to built a village and fields for his followers.
Settsu 摂津 is now part of Osaka.
The family of Hachiroemon became the village head of 27 sub-villages of the Fukagawa area.
In 1757 the family died out, however.
Their graves are now in 泉養寺 Senyo-Ji（市川市国府台）.
Hachiroemon was buried and his soul came to recide in the Shrine in his honor,
深川神明宮 Fukagawa Shinmeigu.
The Shrine is located in the old home of Hachiroemon. He had a small Hokora shrine, where he prayed every day to 伊勢神宮 the Deity of Ise Jingu for the safety of his followers and the development of the region.
The Mikoshi and festivals of this Shrine are well-loved among the Edoites.
The most important is
例大祭は8月14日（蔭祭り）
August 18 - Kage-Matsuri
- reference source : fukagawa-shinmei.com -
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. Fukagawa Fudo Do (Fudoo Doo) 深川不動堂 Temple .
The Fudo Hall in Fukagawa was the "Edo Branch" of the famous Fudo in Narita.
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Fukagawa Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine 富岡八幡宮
Open Garden at the Hachiman Shrine in Fukagawa
Mountain Opening at Fukagawa Hachiman Shrine
Opening of the Garden at Fukagawa Hachiman Shrine
深川八幡山開き
Fukagawa Hachiman yamabiraki 歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige
. Monzen-Nakachō 門前仲町 Monzen-Nakacho district . - Koto
lit. a town at the gate of a temple or shrine.
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Fukagawa Tomioka Hachiman Shrine 深川富岡八幡
Tomigaoka Hachimangū Shrine was founded at Eitai-jima
(present-day Saga-chō, Kōtō Ward) in 1627 (the fouth year of Kan'ei). It is also called Fukagawa Hachimangū and as the tutelage deity of Genji, it was protected by their descendent, the House of Tokugawa, and so propspered as the largest Hachimangū in Edo.
The Festival is counted as one of the "Three grand festivals of Edo",
along with Sannō Festival of Hie Shrine in Akasaka and Kanda Festival of Kanda Myojin Shrine.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -
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. Fukagawameshi ふかがわめし/ 深川 Rice from Fukagawa .
Fukagawa-don, a bowl of rice topped with a miso-based stew of clams (asari) and green onions.
CLICK for more info about the
Basho-An 芭蕉庵 in Fukagawa.
The Basho-An had had been a caretaker's lodge at a Carp Farm owned by Sugiyama Sanpu, the Koiya 鯉屋.
. Sugiyama Sanpu 杉山杉風 (Sampu), Matsuo Basho and Fukagawa .
. Fukagawa 深川 and the Tatsumi Geisha 辰巳芸者 .
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. Fukagawa Sagacho district 深川佐賀町 .
. Susaki, Suzaki 洲崎 / 須崎 / 州崎 Susaki area .
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A Blue-Collar Working District
Fukagawa is one of the newer neighborhoods in downtown Edo. It is located on the east bank of the Sumida river, just a short distance inland from
Kiba. In fact,
Kiba is officially a part of the Fukagawa area, with the same local officials responsible for governing both areas. Like Kiba, Fukagawa is a slightly marshy, low-lying district criss-crossed by dozens of canals. There are a few main roads through the area, most of them running parallel to the coast from the area around Eitai bridge. However, the easiest way to get around Fukagawa is by boat.
The main east-west canals -- the Onagigawa and the Konakigawa -- run from the Sumida river in downtown Edo to the Ara river, about 10 kilometers to the east. Both are busy thoroughfares for both passenger traffic and goods. Some of the passengers riding to and fro on the canals are travelling between their homes in Fukagawa and the downtown area. However, there are also many people from the city who are on their way to one of the many sites of interest in Fugagawa. But regardless of where they are headed, almost all of the people in this area travel by boat, because Fukagawa is the center of the network of canals that criss-cross the city.
One landmark that draws only a few visitors, but is nonetheless a place of great importance in Edo, is the so-called "banana villa" (Basho-an).
It is
the home of Matsuo Basho, one of Japan's greatest poets.
snip
Not far from the banana villa is another landmark of Fukagawa -- the
Tomioka Hachiman Shrine. The shrine is located right in the heart of Fukagawa. The main road, Nakamachi-dori, crosses in front of the temple's main gates, and a huge boat landing with wide stone steps brings visitors right to the front gates of the temple. In front of the boat landing is a broad plaza surrounded by tea shops and food stalls. Nakamachi-dori runs past the boat landing, from east to west, and just across the street is the first torii gate that marks the entrance to the shrine. Tomioka Hachiman Shrine was built around 1625, not long after the main canal from Edo to Gyotoku was completed. The shrine is dedicated to the war god, Hachiman. Many of Japan's major cities -- especially cities that have served at the headquarters of the bakufu (military government) -- have shrines to Hachiman.
- snip - see LINK above - Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine 富岡八幡宮
Before Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo, the Hachiman shrine in this area was located a bit further to the east, in
Sunamura. The tiny village of
Sunamura is located on a patch of high ground in the midst of the marshes, about five kilometers east of Edo. It is one of the oldest settlements in the area, but remains fairly rural and isolated due to the surrounding marshes. ...
Although many of the visitors to
Tomioka Hachiman Jinja and Sanju-San Gendo are samurai, the Fukagawa neighborhood is mainly home to blue-collar workers who work in various parts of Edo. While almost the entire shita-machi area of Edo can be roughly described as "working class", few areas are as representative of the hard-working day laborers who keep the city running smoothly. The neighborhoods of Edo are divided into cho ("towns") that average about one hectare in size (2.5 acres). Each cho has its own local leaders and its own local services such as the ban-nin ("town watch", or police) and the shobo-nin (firefighters). Most cho are further divided into about a dozen ban ("blocks" of houses). In Fukagawa, most of the ban are occupied by five or ten row houses (nagaya). These are long, two-story buildings that contain up to a hundred individual "apartments". Usually, two row houses are built around a central square with one or more wells and some green space between the two buildings where people can relax and socialize, and where the children can play.
The central square between the row houses is the focus of daily life for residents. Most nagaya have only small windows facing the street, while the doors of each apartment face the central square. The central square is semi-paved, and has a few small trees and shrubs. At one end of the square is a large well, which everyone in the "block" uses for washing and drinking water. At the other end of the square is a public toilet. In most residential districts of Edo, public toilets are the norm. The people of Edo do not dump their sewage into the rivers or oceans, as is done in many other cities around the world. Instead, all human waste is collected, composted and recycled as manure for farming. This is one reason why Edo has a relatively low incidence of disease -- there is no sewage to pollute the water supply or serve as a breeding ground for bacteria. In this sense, sanitation in Edo is far more advanced than in most other parts of the world. Manure collectors visit the neighborhood once a week, and carry away the waste to a composting area in the countryside. This keeps the entire town clean and sanitary.
The apartments in the nagaya are very small. Each individual unit has a single room about six tatami mats in size. A tatami is a heavy straw mat used on the floor of most Japanese homes. Since the mats are always made to a specific size, rooms are often measured in terms of the number of tatami on the floor. A six-tatami room is about 3.5 meters (12 feet) square.
Typically, an entire family -- parents, children and perhaps grandparents as well -- will live in one of these rooms. However, in cases where several adult siblings live in the same "block", they may share the cost of a separate third apartment for the grandparents.
These relatively crowded conditions are one reason why the central square is the focus of daily life. Houses are too small for the family to spend all day indoors. In fact, the apartments are mainly used just for sleeping. All other daily chores are done in the central square.In the evenings, after a hard day's work, the men will bring out mats and spread them on the ground, then spend the evening talking to their neighbors, smoking, sipping sake and eating the food that the women of the neighborhood have prepared.
source : www.us-japan.org/edomatsu
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Fukagawa Kiba 深川木場 Fukagawa Timberyards
by 長谷川雪旦 Hasegawa Settan
Kiba means a timber yard where timber is stored.
In Edo, since Tokugawa Ieyasu had opened the shogunate government, demand for timber had increased due to the construction of Edo Castle, Daimyo residences, temples and shrines and town houses and so, and in 1641 (the eighteenth year of Kan'ei), the government gathered all the timber yards to Eitai-jima.
It is then called Kiba (later, Motokiba) and became the origin of the place name.
In 1701 (the fourteenth year of Genroku), with the expanding of urban areas and the further increase of demand for timber, Kiba was moved to slightly eastwards, Fukagawa, and that was the birth of the 300,000 square meters of Fukagawa Kiba.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -
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. Sunamura 砂村 "Sand village" districts .
It has four sub-districts, North, East, South and New : 北砂 Kitasuna、東砂 Higashisuna, 南砂 Minamisuna and 新砂 Shinsuna -
Since 1889 known as 砂町
Sunamachi, combined with other small districts nearby.
Sunamachi Ginza Shopping District -located at Kitasuna
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Fukagawa Edo Museum - 深川江戸資料館
is a community culture center that was established in 1986. It has an Edo period display of reconstructed Fukagawa Saga-cho houses as well as a small theater and a lecture hall, coupled with the Shirakawa branch of Koto-ku administrative office. Since its opening, the center has held exhibitions regarding the history of Edo Fukagawa and has provided space for many cultural activities.
source : www.kcf.or.jp/fukagawa
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. Hamagurichoo 蛤町 Hamaguri Cho district .
former 深川蛤町 一・二丁目
Fukagawa Hamaguri cho first and second district until 1911
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深川上の橋
Fukagawa Kami no Hashi
. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .
Twenty Views of Tokyo
初雪や懸けかかりたる橋の上
hatsu yuki ya kakekakaritaru hashi no ue
first snow -
on the bridge
under construction
Tr. Gabi Greve
Written in 1693 元禄6年冬
The Great Bridge of Fukagawa 深川大橋 over the Sumida river 隅田川 had been under construction.
Basho took a great interest in the waterways of Edo, he had been working for the waterworks government department for a while.
Later, when the bridge was finished, he expressed his joy in another hokku:
皆出でて橋を戴く霜路哉
mina idete hashi o itadaku shimoji kana
everybody comes out
to use the new bridge
and the frosty road . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve
Written on the 7th day of the 12th lunar month in 1693, 元禄6年12月７日
On the 8th day １２月８日, the bridge was named Shin Oohashi 新大橋
Shin Ohashi "New Big Bridge".
Finally it was named Shin Ryoogokubashi 新両国橋.
Shin Ryogoku-bashi.
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
hashi o itadaku - "to partake of the bridge", to use the bridge in gratitude, since now it was possible to reach the other shore without a great detour to find another bridge.
MORE - places visited by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .
大はしあたけの夕立 -
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重
Shin-Ōhashi - Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847 - 1915)
. WKD : Bridge (hashi 橋) .
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- Kobayashi Issa -
洲さき汐干かり shiohigari at Fukagawa Susaki 深川洲崎 in Spring
Hiroshige
深川や桃の中より汐干狩
Fukagawa ya momo no naka yori shiohigari
Fukagawa !
through the peach blossoms
people are gathering shells
Tr. Gabi Greve
. WKD : shiohigari 汐干狩 hunting (for clams and seafood) on the shore .
shiohigari - gathering shells and small seafood at low tide.
Fukagawa had a great flatland tidal area where people could collect cheap seafood.
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深川や蠣がら山の秋の月
Fukagawa ya kakigara yama no aki no tsuki
Fukagawa --
an oyster shell mountain
and autumn's moon
Makoto Ueda explains that many residents of Fukagawa shucked shellfish, creating hills of shells. He translates
kakigara as "seashells," but Issa's meaning would seem to be more specific;
Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa
Tr. and Comment : David Lanoue
深川や舟も一組とし忘
Fukagawa ya fune mo hito-gumi toshiwasure
Fukagawa--
on a boat, too, a party
drinks away the year
Tr. David Lanoue
古池や先御先へととぶ蛙
. furu ike ya mazu o-saki e to tobu kawazu .
yamabuki ya mazu o-saki e to tobu kawazu - Issa at the Basho-An 芭蕉庵
. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 Issa in Edo .
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深川や敗戦の日も祭笛
Fukagawa ya haisen no hi mo matsuribue
Oh Fukagawa!
even on Cease Fire Day
the sound of festival flutes
Tr. Gabi Greve
Itoo Itoko 伊藤いと子 Ito Itoko
. WKD : haisen no hi 敗戦の日 Cease Fire Day .
Day the World War II ended in Japan, August 15
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素堂忌に深川遠き祭かな
Sodoo ki ni Fukagawa tooki matsuri kana
on Sodo Memorial day
in far-away Fukagawa
there is a festival . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve
Masuda Ryuu-U 増田龍雨 Masuda Ryu-U (Dragon-Rain)
(1874 - 1934)
He studied haiku with 久保田万太郎 Kubota Mantaro.
Yamaguchi Sodoo 山口素堂 Yamaguchi Sodo
. WKD : Sodoo Ki 素堂忌 (そどうき) Sodo Memorial Day .
On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month 陰暦八月十五日.
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深川のかんかん照りの祭かな
Fukagawa no kankan-deri no matsuri kana
during the greatest summer heat
at Fukagawa there is
the festival . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve
Ooki Amari 大木 あまり Oki Amari
(1941 - )
She was born in Tokyo.
source : blog.goo.ne.jp/twinshiro/e
Festival at Fukagawa Hachimangu - 深川八幡祭り(深川祭)
. WKD : 深川八幡祭 Festival at Fukagawa Hachimangu .
kigo for early autumn
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Lumberyard at Fukagawa (Fukagawa kiba 深川木場)
from the series One Hundred Views of Musashi Province (Musashi hyakkei no uchi)
Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915)
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. Kootoo ku, Kōtō 江東区 Koto ward, "East River" .
and many legends from Fukagawa :
Fukagawa Kitagawa 深川北川町 / Fukagawa Sendai Kaigan 深川仙台海岸
. 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 .
. Japanese Architecture - The Japanese Home .
. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .
. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
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