Igusa village Suginami

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Igusamura, Igusa mura 井草村 Igusa village
. Suginami 杉並区 Suginami ward . from the first to the 5th sub-district
Kami-Igusa, Shimo-Igusa



. igusa 藺草（いぐさ）rushes, Juncus effusus .
Igusa is the main material for the Tatami floor mats.

- old name of 1654: 武州多摩郡井草村 Bushu Tama Igusa mura
The part in the West, closer to downtown Edo, became 上井草村 Kami (upper).
The part in the East, further away, became 下井草村 Shimo (lower).
Apart from these two, Igusa village is now part of 今川 Imagawa, 善福寺 Zenpuku-Ji, 桃井 Momoi, and Shimizu 清水 and even 上荻 Kami-Ogi and 西荻 Nishi-Ogi.



Igusamori kooen 井草森公園（四丁目）Igusamori Park
Suginami, Igusa, 4−12-1


There are various theories about the name of this village.
1 - The area around 善福寺池 Zenpukuji-Ike pond and 妙正寺池 Myoshoji-Ike pond was a swamp where 藺草 Igusa was growing wild.
2 - ashi 葦 reed was growing in the ponds, then called ike no kusa 池の草. Ikenokusa was then shortened to イグサ Igusa 葦草.
3 - Between the ponds of Zenpuku-Ji and Myosho-Ji there was a grassland. Between pond 池（井）i and soogen 草原 grassland, using the Kanji 井草.
4 - The developer of the area was 長左衛門 Chozaemon, who used the family name 井口 Iguchi. He was also called 草分け長左衛門 Kusawake Chozaemon. kusawake, lit. "dividing the grass and weeds" is a pioneer in farming areas. His familiar name, Iguchi no Kusawake, was then shortened to 井草.

The village started developing, first Kami and Shimo Igusa, around 1644.
Kami-Igusa used to be called 遅野井村 Osonoi mura "slow wilderness well".
This village name comes with a legend of itself.

In 1189, when Minamoto no Yoritomo was on his way to fight the people of Tohoku he passed this area and his soldiers felt very thirsty. They begun digging for water in the ground with their arrows. Finally some water came sprouting out, but very slowly (osoi　遅い). Yoritomo complainde "osoi no" (this is sooo slow)". Eventually this was written as Osonoi.

- - - - - Now back to Igusa Mura.
Around 1827, Osonoi village changed the name to Kami-Igusa.

Igusa village was close to the 青梅街道 Ome Kaido highway.

Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered、板倉重宗 Iwakura Shigemune (1586 - 1657) and 井上正利 Inoue Masatoshi (1606 - 1675) to be the 領主 lords of the village.
In 1645, Igusa mura became the land of Hatamoto 今川直房 Imagawa Naofusa (1594 - 1662) and stayed in his family that way until the Meiji period.


Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147 – 1199)


. Iogi 井荻 Iogi district .
The name I-OGI was constructed of the first letters from Igusa and Ogikubo.

. Ōme Kaido 青梅街道 Ome Kaido Highway .


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Igusa Hachimangu Shrine 井草八幡宮
Kami-Igusa 上井草商店街 / 1-33-1. Zenpuku-ji, Suginami-ku



- quote -
Igusa Hachimangu Shrine has many kinds of plants and trees in the spacious compound, including some cherry trees that are very impressive when the blossoms are in full bloom. Cherry trees along the north approach and two huge lanterns welcome visitors.
The shrine is believed to have been founded in around 1190. In front of the main shrine there used to be a red pine tree and black pine tree planted around 1200 by the Shogun Yoritomo Minamoto. Those trees withered but parts of the roots are now exhibited along the corridor of the front shrine. In 1664 Ujinari Imagawa, an influential samurai of this area, renovated the main shrine, and this vermillion-lacquered shrine is the Suginami’s oldest wooden construction and is still preserved within the main shrine.
Igusa Hachiman Shrine
is famous for yabusame that is held every five years. Yabusame is the art of shooting arrows on horseback. When it first started in around 900, it was just a martial art, but later it became a ritual for Shogun families. When they wished to ward off evil spirits or for a new-born baby’s good health, yabusame was performed.
- source : experience-suginami.tokyo/2016/06/igusa-hachimangu... -




- quote -
Igusa Hachimangu Shrine is a Japanese shrine in Tokyo with a long history. It is said that this shrine was originally built in the Heian Period when samurais had much less power than that of several aristocrats. The Heian period started in 794 and ended about 900 years ago, so Igusa Hachimangu has a really long history.
After the original one was built,
several shoguns prayed for winning the war. For example, Minamoto no Yoritomo did it before his final battle to rule Japan against the enemy force in the northern Japan. Finally he won the battle and found the Kamakura shogunate which means he became the practical ruler of Japan.

The god of Igusa Hachimangu Shrine has some power.
1. Solving troubles around you smoothly and speedily.
2. Giving you an opportunity when you messed up.

Minamoto no Yoritomo defeated the war and was about to die before his battle against the north Japanese.
Are you ready for some sort of “revenge”?
Then Igusa Hachimangu Shrine will give you a special power just like it did for Minamoto no Yoritomo.
- source : tokyoing.net/igusa-hachimangu... -



. yabusame 流鏑馬 archery on horseback .
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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 - The Japanese Home .

. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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