. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Toshima 豊島区 Toshima ward, "Rich Island"
source : ぐるっと豊島
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Toshima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita wards, in the north, and Nakano, Shinjuku and Bunkyo in the south.
The ward was founded on March 15, 1947, and reached a peak resident population of 370,000 in 1965.
..... Although Toshima is a ward, it is referred to as a city. The ward offices are located in Ikebukuro, which is also the commercial and entertainment center of Toshima.
- - - - - History
Toshima was formed in 1932 by the merger of four towns, Sugamochō, Nishi-sugamochō, Takadachō, and Nagasakichō, bordered by the quickly expanding former city of Tokyo.
The area evolved from a suburban agricultural district in the Edo period to the urban commercial center that it is today. The growth was fueled by the construction of various rail lines built in the Meiji and Taishō periods.
The former Somei village, now part of Toshima, is the birthplace of the Somei Yoshino, Japan's most popular variety of sakura (cherry blossom tree). The variety was developed at the end of the Edo period.
- source : wikipedia
. the Toshima-shi 豊島氏 Toshima Clan .
and the Nerima 練馬区 Nerima ward
. Toshima Henro Pilgrimage 豊島八十八ヶ所霊場 .
- - - - - Nagasaki Area 長崎
. Kanamechō 要町 .
. Mejiro 目白 the Mejiro district .
. Nagasaki 長崎 / Minaminagasaki 南長崎 .
. Nishi-Ikebukuro 西池袋 .
. Senkawa / Sengawa 千川 .
- - - - - Nishisugamo Area / Nishi-Sugamo 西巣鴨
. Higashi-Ikebukuro 東池袋 . Ikebukuro Honchō / Kamiikebukuro / Minamiikebukuro
. Kitaotsuka 北大塚 / 南大塚 Minamiotsuka .
. Mejiro 目白 the Mejiro district .
- - - - - Sugamo Area 巣鴨
. Komagome 駒込 Komagome district .
Sugamo (this page)
- - - - - Takada Area 高田
. Mejiro 目白 the Mejiro district .
. Minami Ikebukuro 南池袋 / Nishi Ikebukuro 西池袋 .
Zōshigaya / Zoshigaya 雑司が谷 / 雑司ヶ谷 - see below -
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Map of Bushū Toshima Area, Edo (Bushū Toshima-gōri Edo no Shōzu)
武州豊嶋郡江戸庄図 // Bushū Toshimagun Edo-shō zu
This illustration is a copy, but the original is assumed to be the oldest published map.
Beginning with the castle keep and Mt. Momiji, the pictorial technique is adapted to the topography of Nichieda Shrine, a reservoir to Mt. Atago and Zōjō-ji temple, etc., and the geographical expressions of other districts. It is said to be a transitional piece leading to the making of fully-fledged maps. Many similar types of drawings such as tracings and reproductions are in circulation and are generally called illustrations in the Kan'ei style.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -
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. Ikebukuro district 池袋 "pond bag" .
- - - including Kami Ikebukuro / Nishi Ikebukuro / Higashi Ikebukuro
Kanamecho 要町
. Komagome 駒込 . - districts in Toshima 豊島区 / Bunkyo 文京区
Mukohara 向原
. Minami Otsuka 南大塚 "South Otsuka" .
Sugamo - see below
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Sugamo 巣鴨 Sugamo district "ducks nest"
Toshima ward, Sugamo sub-district 1 - 5.
Sugamo kooshinzuka 巣鴨庚申塚 Koshinzuka mound
江戸名所図会 Edo Meisho Zue
The area used to be a set of swamps, where many water fowl hat their nest (su 巣), especially the ducks (kamo 鴨)- as is written in an old guide book of 1722.
But maybe there is a different reason for the name, which had been written with various characters :
須賀茂 洲鴨 菅面 洲処しやくじい面 洲処面
すが suga refers to a mound of sand carried along by a river, like a"a field of sand" 砂原.
Originally it was suga-mo.
In the Edo period, the Nakasendo Highway passed through the area and it begun to prosper as a rest station. Since 1737, townspeople were allowed to live here. Many gardeners came to live here.
. Somei 染井 district in Edo .
Many uekiya 植木屋, niwashi 庭師 gardeners lived here and in Sugamo.
On the old print of Edo above there are many rest shops along the road beside the mound. They sold dumplings and water melons to the travelers.
Around 1740, potted chrysanthemums were sold here, a well-loved hobby of the Edo population. They even grew a chrysanthemum in the shape of Mount Fujisan and ever more visitors came to Sugamo.
To our day, the Chrysanthemum festival in Sugamo is now well-loved.
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Jizō-dōri 地蔵通り Jizo-dori
is a famous shopping street for the older generation. It is therefore better known as "Harajuku of the old ladies".
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Harajuku may be Tokyo’s centre for flamboyant youth fashion, but Sugamo is where the golden generation go to strut their styles. This otherwise unspectacular corner of Toshima ward is famed for its Jizo-dori, an 800m shopping street where elderly folks from all over the city and further afield stroll, shop and spend quality time with each other.
Although the area essentially owes its popularity among retirees to a single statue – a depiction of the Jizo Bodhisattva housed at Koganji Temple (3-35-2 Sugamo, Toshima-ku, 03 3917 8221), more on that in a moment – its charm has far deeper roots nowadays. Passing underneath the sign that marks the entrance to Jizo-dori – a ubiquitous prop on Japanese television whenever anything senior-related gets airtime – you’ll soon notice that the doorways to virtually every shop, café, clinic and pub lining the street are free of stairs or other obstacles, with most wide enough to be entered in wheelchair.
Equally accessible is the grand temple around which Jizo-dori originally developed, where visitors from near and far queue up for their turn to wash the iron likeness of Togenuki Jizo, the miracle-making statue said to have the power to heal any ailment. Doing the deed at least once a month is supposed to ensure optimal health benefits – a dictate much appreciated by local merchants and eateries, we’re sure.
..... Visiting Sugamo is best done on the fourth, 14th or 24th day of the month, when local shops and restaurants put out stalls over the length of Jizo-dori and the line at Koganji snakes out through the temple gates. If you can’t make it on any of these dates, consider going on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, when the shopping street is off limits to cars between noon and 6pm (3-6pm on other days).
- reference source : timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do... -
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... The district's popular, 800 meter long Jizo Dori shopping street is also affectionately known as the "Old Ladies' Harajuku" in lighthearted comparison to the Harajuku district's status as one of Japan's foremost youthful shopping and fashion destinations.
The flat and handicap accessible shopping street is lined by over 200 shops that sell clothing, traditional food and other goods marketed toward the elderly. Among the most popular items is the district's signature red underwear, which comes in a variety of styles and is thought to bring luck to the wearer. Sugamo is also known for its traditional sweets, especially Shio-Daifuku, pounded rice cakes that contain sweet bean paste and salt to moderate the sweetness.
The original reason for Sugamo's popularity is found at Koganji Temple halfway down the shopping street.
The small temple is home to the highly popular Togenuki Jizo statue which depicts the popular Jizo Bodhisattva and is thought to help heal ailments. People line up in a queue to wash the statue with small hand towels which they then press to their ailing body part in hope of relief. Sugamo becomes particularly lively on the 4th, 14th and 24th of every month when the temple holds a small festival.
- reference source : japan-guide.com... -
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Kooganji 高岩寺 Temple Kogan-Ji
togenuki, toge-nuki Jizoo とげぬき地蔵 Toge nuki Jizo, "Thorn-pulling Jizo"
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If you have an ache or an ailment that has been bugging you, a visit to the Togenuki Jizo Kouganji Temple may just be the cure you need. Millions visit the historic Buddhist temple, located minutes by foot from Sugamo Station on the JR Yamanote Line, to pay their respects each year.
The chief Buddhist image of the temple is the Enmei Jizo Bosatsu who, legend has it, has the powers to miraculously heal illnesses and extend one's life. The name Togenuki, meanwhile, means "thorn removal," and has its roots in Japanese folklore. A housemaid once accidentally swallowed a needle, which she managed to spit out after ingesting a piece of paper that bore the image of the Jizo deity. You can still buy this talisman, known as the o-sugata, at the temple — though a more common practice now is to apply it on a bothersome body part.
- source : gotokyo.org/en... -
. Jizō - Jizo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 - Introduction .
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. Shinshooji 真性寺 / 眞性寺 Temple Shinsho-Ji .
医王山 Iozan 東光院 Toko-In 真性寺 Shinsho-Ji
豊島区巣鴨3-21-21 / 3 Chome-21-21 Sugamo, Toshima ward
. Zenyooji 善養寺 Temple Zenyo-Ji .
- 薬王山 Yakuozan 延寿院 善養寺 Zenyo-Ji
豊島区西巣鴨4-8-25 / Toshima ward, Nishi-Sugamo, 4 Chome 8-25
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Sugamo Okago Machi 巣鴨御駕籠町 Sugamo "Palanquin district"
文京区 Bunkyo ward 本駒込 六丁目 Hon-Komagome 6th sub-district,
豊島区 Toshima ward, 駒込 Komagome second sub-district
Since 1697, the palanquin makers of the Edo Bakufu government lived here, said to be about 51 craftsmen.
They made palanquins for the Shogun himself and for his family. Some of the craftsmen were sworn to secrecy to protect the safety of the Shogun. They were given special black Hanten coats to show their status.
The district was rather long and narrow, with many estates of Samurai in-between.
There was a bridge over a canal, called
Okagobashi 御駕橋(おかごばし) bridge of the palanquin. The name later turned to
Akagobashi 赤子橋(あかごばし) bridge of the baby.
Some say the bridge was re-named because children had been abandoned there.
. kago 篭 / 駕籠 or かご palanquin, sedan chair .
The taxi of the Edo period.
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Zooshigaya. Zōshigaya 雑司が谷 / 雑司ヶ谷 Zoshigaya
豊島区 Toshima ward, first to third sub-district, part in Minami-Ikebukuro
Utagawa Hiroshige
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Heartlands: Zoshigaya
Zoshigaya is only a short walk away from the malls, highways and flashing lights of Ikebukuro, but feels like a silent suburb in comparison.
This homely heartland has maintained its Showa-era (1926 – 1989) atmosphere, with winding lanes lined with family homes and small shops selling everyday conveniences.
A soft silence permeates the air around this shitamachi area that is heavy with history.
- source : metropolisjapan.com/heartlands ... -
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Zōshigaya Hōmyō-ji Temple 雑司谷法明寺 Zoshigaya Temple Homyo-Ji
It converted to Nichiren Buddhism in 1312 (the first year of Shōwa) and in the Edo period, the temple received a shogunal charter from the third shogun Iemitsu,
and became a grand temple in possession of 14 temples such as 真乗院 Shinjō-in, 蓮光院 Renkō-in and
玄静院 Genjō-in and 観静院 Kanjō-in Temples.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -
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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
................................................................................. Sugamo 巣鴨
reimu 霊夢 oracle dream
Around 1802, the younger brother of a Samurai family in Sugamo had a special dream: In 三方 Mikata a cut-off head of a criminal had been put on show with a number written on his head.
At the same time in 谷中 Yanaka at the temple 感応寺 Kanno-Ji there was a tomikuji 富くじ lottery, so he bought a ticked with that number and indeed, he won !!
. tomikuji, takarakuji 宝くじ / 富籤 lottery in Edo .
................................................................................. Toshima 豊島区
There was a Deity who wanted to eat 1000 children. He would pass a home where the skin of みかん a bitter summer orange was divided into three parts and hung up at the entrance. People who did not do this had their children die. During an epidemic in Edo, people say the Deity has come to eat children.
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. Mejiro Fudo 目白不動 Fudo with white eyes .
豊島区高田2-12-39
豊山新長谷寺 Shinchokokuji (Shin-Hasedera) in Toshima has a statue of Fudo Myo-O, made by Kobo Daishi himself.
When Kobo Daishi was in 荷沢河, 大日如来 Dainichi Nyorai appeared to him and then changed into Fudo Myo-O.
The Deity wielded its own sword and cut off its left arm at the ellbow. A lot of smoke and flames came out of this burning wound.
Kobo Daishi made the statue just as he had seen this.
Mejiro is a district with 一丁目 - 五丁目 five sub-districts.
. Mejiro 目白 the Mejiro district .
................................................................................. Bunkyo 文京区
Komagome 駒込
. Shrine Komagome Fuji Jinja 駒込富士神社 .
and the festival with mugiwara hebi 富士祭の麦藁蛇 the straw serpent
source : yosukenaito.blog40.fc2.com
stamp with the straw serpent, from 1965
This shrine is located in :
5 Chome-7-20 Honkomagome, Bunkyo, Tokyo
. Komagome 駒込 Komagome districts in Tokyo .
There are two districts with this name, one in 文京区 Bunkyo ward and one in 豊島区 Toshima ward.
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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
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- - - - - #toshima #sugamo #nottoyoshima #bushu #minamiotsuka #zoshigaya #mejiro - - - -
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