Arakicho district Shinjuku Tsunokami

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. Famous Places and Power spots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Arakichoo 荒木町 Arakicho, Araki district
Shinjuku, no sub-districts
between Yotsuya Sanchome Station of the Marunouchi Line and the Tsunokamizakadori Avenue.
Founded in 1872 as 四谷荒木町 Yotsuya Arakicho.

Before the Edo period, this area was a wilderness on the coast, called
潮踏の里 Shiofumi no Sato or
潮干の里 Shiohi no Sato.

There used to be the slope 荒木坂 Arakizaka and an alley named 荒木横町 Araki Yokocho.
The Samurai 荒木政羽 Araki Masahane (1662 - 1732) lived here.
Masahane is related to the story of the 47 Ronin and Asano Takumi no Kami.
. 47 Ronin and the Chushingura ４７浪人　/ 忠臣蔵　 .

The slope Arakizaka was later re-named to Tsunokamizaka.
There was also a bridge named 津の守橋 Tsunokamibashi over the 玉川上水 Tamagawa Canal. This bridge is now called 北沢橋 Kitazawabashi.

During the Edo period, the estate of 美濃国高須藩 the Daimyo of Takasu Han, 松平義行, Matsudaira Yoshiyuki (1656 - 1715), was located here.
The slope 津の守坂 Tsunokamizaka is also related to Yoshiyuki, who's title was 摂津守 Settsu no Kami
This name has been shortened to "Tsu no kami".

Settsu Province (摂津国 Settsu no kuni) was a province which today comprises the southeastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture.
It was also referred to as Tsu Province (津国 Tsu no kuni) or Sesshū (摂州).
- quote wikipedia -

In the estate of Yoshiyuki was a waterfall and a large pond. The terrain was rough, mountainous and steep.
Once Tokugawa Ieyasu came here to wash muchi 策（ムチ）the whip for his horse,
so the pond was also called 策の池 Muchi no Ike.
In the Meiji period, the estate became a public park and many eateries and hanamachi 花街 pleasure quarters were established.

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- quote
Today, Arakicho has many high quality restaurants and is mostly known as a gourmet town, or a place for food connoisseurs. However, during the later part of the Showa era about 50 years ago, it was more famous as a drinking area. People working at TV, newspaper and other media companies in the nearby neighborhoods of Yotsuya and Ichigaya would often unwind in Arakicho after work. Most of those companies have since moved to new locations but all these small bars and drinking spots still remain.
... This long, straight street is called Sugidaimon Dori 杉大門通り.
“Sugi” stands for cedar and in earlier times this was a cedar tree-lined road. Now it is lined with ornamental lamp posts, giving the street its cosy night atmosphere. The slope beyond the end of the street (ending at Yasukuni Dori Avenue) used to be covered by a cedar forest and the trees were used as raw material for building ships. That area is called today Funamachi 船町 and could be translated as Ship Town. “Daimon” means Big Gate and although the street name doesn’t haven’t any specific meaning in Japanese one can imagine that it was used to transport the wood to the shipyards. ...
... Sharikimon Dori Street 車力門通り
... Don’t forget to glance up occasionally – Arakicho has few high rise buildings but some bars are hidden on the 2nd floor. After the magic bar Kakurenbo on the left (notice that the entrance is just a hole in the wall), take the very narrow alley to the right. You’ll emerge opposite the small Arakicho park on the S-shaped Sharikimon Dori Street 車力門通り. “Shariki” means a cart pulled by a person, and “mon” means gate.
... At the start of the 18th century, the area that would eventually be known as Arakicho town (officially in 1872), was originally the residence of the Japanese feudal lord (“daimyo”) Matsudaira, and thus this road was used by carts bringing supplies to his home. An interesting fact is that Matsudaira happens to be the birth name of Tokugawa leyasu, who was the first to unify Japan in 1600 and the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Tokugawa was a name that he took in 1567 (when he was 24 years old) and which the successive shoguns used till the Meiji restoration in 1868. The other members of the clan continued to use the Matsudaira surname, and thus the Matsudaira family living in Arakicho were related to the first shogun of Japan (more about him later).
- - - - - The Pond of the Whip
On Sharikimon Dori Street, head left and walk past the bar C-shell, another great place for drinks in the evening. Take the next street right and you’ll see a descending staircase on the left. Before going down, glance over your shoulder and notice that the connecting alley is also paved with flagstones.The staircase curves first right then left – we are now entering what remains of the old garden that was part of the Matsudaira residence. At the bottom, you’ll find a shrine, Tsunokami Benzaiten (津の神弁財天), and a small pond, Muchinoike 策の池, or pond of the whip. According to the legend, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan’s first shogun, would go hawking in the garden grounds and would wash his horse whip in this pond. Historical maps show that the pond used to be much larger.
After the end of the feudal system in 1868, the residence was no longer inhabited by a daimyo, and the garden was opened up to the public. Around the edge of the pond many tea houses were built, and guests could be entertained by geisha. At its peak there were up to 200 geisha working in Arakicho, which was then called Arakicho Hanamachi 花街 (“hana” means flower), or geisha district. This period lasted until the middle of the 20th century. Eventually all the tea houses closed and small bars and restaurants opened in their place. Nowadays there are no more tea houses or geisha in Arakicho. ...
- source : tadaimajp.com/2018/05 - arakicho -

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津の守坂通り the present-day Tsunokamizakadori Avenue

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Daikyoochoo 大京町 Daikyocho
- reference source : jk-tokyo.tv/zatsugaku... -

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Shrine Tsunokami Benzaiten 津の守弁財天
and the pond 策の池 Muchi no Ike.

In the nineteenth century the Shinto shrine Tsunokami Benzaiten 津の守弁財天. located in the popular Shinjuku ward (新宿区), had in its garden this small body of water with waterfalls in which the inhabitants of Tokyo could find refreshment during the hot summer days
... The beautiful woodblock print below was made by the artist Shosai Ikkei (昇斎一景), is entitled
"The New Waterfalls at Tsunokami Hill" (津の守坂志ん瀧) and is taken from the series "Selection of Thirty-six Humorous Views of Famous Places in Tokyo" (東京名所三十六戯撰).
- source : artjapanese.com -

津の守坂志ん瀧 New Waterfall at the Tsunokamizaka slope

幽霊に潰される（桐座写真追加、江戸七瀑布ほか東京の納涼施設としての滝について追記）
四谷左門町即ち於岩稲荷とは甲州街道はさんで逆方向、新宿歴史博物館ほど近く。荒木町にかつて美濃高須藩は松平摂津守義行の屋敷があり、急峻な凹地に大池を作り作庭していた(幕末明治に高須四兄弟を輩出)。それは屋敷の四分の一に達するほどで、池の排水施設として作られた石樋は何百年も経た今も地下で機能しているという。明治維新後に武家屋敷が民間に払い下げられたときにここは風光明媚ということで人々が集いぐるりに店屋が建って名所化。
明治5年、玉川上水から引いた水を西崖の上から落とし、懸泉とした。高さ四メートル。これを「津の守の滝」と呼んだ。一景のこの浮世絵はまさにその年に描かれたものです。津の守坂志ん瀧（新滝の意味。津の守坂は現存します。現存する小池は滝壺でこの写真の箇所に該当します、後年はかっぱ池と呼ばれました）。
- source and more photos: okab.exblog.jp... -

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.................................................................................　Fukuoka 福岡県
久留米市 Kurume city 荒木町 Arakicho

. 河童 / かっぱ / カッパ - Kappa, the Water Goblin .
On a suitable day in the fourth lunar month, the children of the hamlet choose a home to come together. They made bamboo poles with small pieces of paper or toys and offered them to 川の神 the Deity of the River.
This would prevent them from being taken away by the Kappa when swimming in the river.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

. Edo, Tokyo　江戸 - 東京 - 伝説 Legends Index .

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Edo - the EDOPEDIA -

8/08/2019

Arakicho district Shinjuku Tsunokami

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