Mamiana district, Azabu, Minato

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Mamiana, 麻布狸穴町 Azabu Mamiana district "hole of a Mami badger"
Minato ward, Azabu Mamiana cho 麻布狸穴町 Azabu-Mamianachō
From 麻布狸穴町 to 麻布台二丁目 Azabudai

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In the Azabu district, 猯（まみ=アナグマ anaguma） MAMI is the name of a common animal, the

. anaguma アナグマ（あなぐま/ 狸） badger. Meles meles, Dachs .

猯, (まみ）Mami / mami 魔魅 "deceiving spirit"
mujina 狢（むじな） badger // mamidanuki まみだぬき // sasaguma ささぐま //
anahori あなほり "the one making holes"

- quote -
Mujina (貉) is an old Japanese term primarily referring to the Japanese badger.
In some regions the term refers instead to the raccoon dog (also called tanuki) or to introduced civets. Adding to the confusion, in some regions badger-like animals are also known as mami, and in one part of Tochigi Prefecture badgers are referred to as tanuki and raccoon dogs are referred to as mujina.
..... In Japanese folklore, like the fox and the raccoon dog, badgers are frequently depicted as yōkai that shapeshift and deceive humans.
These badger demons (mujina) often take the form of an attractive woman with a promiscuous nature, usually causing mischief in their partners lives. They are first seen in literature in the Nihon Shoki in the part about Empress Suiko's 35th year (627), where it states,
"in the second month of spring, there are mujina in the country of Mutsu (春2月、陸奥国に狢有り), they turn into humans and sing songs (人となりて歌う)"
demonstrating that, in that era, there was the general idea that mujina shapeshift and deceive humans.
In the Shimōsa region, they are called kabukiri-kozō (かぶきり小僧), and they would shapeshift into a kozō (little monk) wearing a strangely short kimono with a kappa-like bobbed head, and frequently appear on roads at night without many people and say, "drink water, drink tea (水飲め、茶を飲め)."
The story in Lafcadio Hearn kaidan collections called "Mujina" about the witnessing of a faceless ghost (a noppera-bō) is also well-known.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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In this district in Azabu, there lived quite a lot of bagders, digging holes in the ground, hence the name.
At the end of the slope 狸穴坂 (麻布狸穴町) Mamianazaka, Mamiana-zaka there was a large hole.
In 1644, the Shogun 徳川家光 Tokugawa Iemitsu ordered a group of men to observe this hole and write a record about it.
At the top of the slope was a plain where many Samurai estates were located.
At the bottom of the slope the townspeople lived.

Nowadays, the embassy of Russia and Namibia are located at the Mamianazaka.

In the Edo period, it was part of the 豊島郡 Toshima district of 飯倉町 Iigura, later called
飯倉狸穴町 Iigura Mamiana cho.

Around 1874, the Marine built an observatory here, then relocated to 麻布台2丁目 Azabudai second sub-district.

At the bottom of the slope three was a 蕎麦屋 Soba shop called Tanuki Soba 狸蕎麦（作兵衛蕎麦 Sakubei Soba), which featured rather dark Soba buckwheat noodles.
In the Edo period, badgers from this area came to live and dig their holes in 徳川の大奥 the harem of Edo castle. A man named 内田正九郎 Uchida Shokuro was ordered to get rid of them. The souls of the badgers are now venerated at Sakubei Soba and he called his food "Tanuki Soba".

. soba 蕎麦 buckwheat - plant and and food .

狸穴坂 (麻布狸穴町) Mamianazaka, Mamiana-zaka

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In 1962, many of the old names of Minato ward were dismissed.
1978, 麻布狸穴町 Mamiana and 麻布永坂町 Azabu Nagasaka were still used, because the people living here insisted on keeping an old tradition.

- source: wikipedia
麻布新旧町名対照 old and new district names of Azabu

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. Azabu Nana Fushigi 麻布七不思議 Seen wonders of Azabu .
mamiana no kodoo 狸穴(まみあな)の古洞 the old hole of a Mami badger

東京名所図会「狸穴坂の景」

In the Edo period there were many places to rent horses, one was in 飯倉 Iigura (Iikura), now 麻布十番 Azabu Juban.
The slope up to the horses was very steep, within a 竹薮 thick bamboo grove and sometimes the horse-leaders even got lost.
At the bottom of the slope was an old hole of a Mami badger.

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Mamiana kooen　狸穴公園 Mamiana Park
63 Azabumamianacho, Minato

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Azabu Nagasakachoo, Azabu-Nagasakachō 麻布永坂町 Azabu Nagasakacho district
No sub-districts

The name refers literally to the "long slope" of this area, running from South to North.
In 1869, the areas of 麻布永坂町 Azabu-Nagasakacho, 板倉永坂町 Itakura-Nagazakacho and 麻布永坂光照寺門前 Azabu Nagazaka Kosho-Ji Monzen were united to just one,
Asabu Nagasakacho.
In 1872, Samurai estates, shrines and temples nearby were added.

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Edo - the EDOPEDIA -

10/01/2018

Mamiana district, Azabu, Minato

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