shokunin craftsmen legends

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. Traditional Crafts of Edo - Tokyo .
. - - - - - ABC List of Edo craftsmen　江戸の職人 - - - - - .
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shokunin 職人と伝説 legends about craftsmen, artisans, Handwerker
watari shokunin 渡り職人 wandering craftsman

Edo no waza to takumi 江戸の技と匠 The skilled craftsmen of Edo

. takumi 匠と伝説 legends about master craftsmen .

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三十二番職人歌合絵巻 Sanjuniban Shokunin Uta Awase

source : suntory.co.jp...

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uta awase-e 歌合絵
A series of paintings, usually in handscroll format, arranged as if in a poetry contest utaawase 歌合, where poems composed on assigned topics by members of two opposing teams are judged. These poetry contests originated in the late 9c and became very popular among aristocrats during the 12c. The paintings usually are imaginary portraits of the poets or, occasionally, landscapes described in the poem. Utaawase-e are divided into the following three types. ...
3 Shokunin utaawase-e 職人歌合絵 Illustrations of A Poetry Competition among People of Various Occupations
is a generic term for an imaginary poetry contest in which the competing poets are depicted with the garb and tools of various occupations.
The term shokunin 職人, means craftsmen in modern Japanese,
but in the 13-15c, implied virtually any member of the urban population, as opposed to an aristocrat or a peasant. People such as physicians, fortunetellers, dancers, painters, metal-workers, woodcutters, and gamblers are depicted with poems attributed to them. It is a competition conceived by a single author, and the attribution to persons of various occupations is merely a device to allow artists to explore genre themes. Numerous versions and later copies of illustrations of several different texts of shokunin poetry contests, which were most popular in the late Kamakura and Muromachi periods, are extant.
Two outstanding examples are:
Illustrated Handscroll of The Touhoku'in Poetry Contest among Persons of Various Occupations, Touhoku-in shokunin utaawase emaki 東北院職人歌合絵巻 (early 14c; Tokyo National Museum),
and
Illustrated Handscroll of The Poetry Contest among Persons of Varions Occupations in Thirty-two Rounds, Sanjuuniban shokunin utaawase emaki 三十二番職人歌合絵巻 (Muromachi period; Tenri 天理 Library, Nara).
- source : JAANUS -

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. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .

................................................................................. Aichi 愛知県
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北設楽郡 Kita-Shitara district 設楽町 Shitara town // 材木商の職人 - lumberjack －

. hebi 蛇と伝説 Legends about snakes and serpents .
A baby that had been put to sleep in a mountain hut suddenyl begun to cry. When they looked, a serpent had bitten into its right leg. They looked for the serpent, found it outside and killed it. But they feared the serpent might have been yama no nushi 山の主 the master of the mountain, so they built a small Shinto Shrine to venerate it.
Some time later 材木商の職人 a craftsman working for a lumber dealer damaged the painting of a blind serpent in the Shrine. The next day when he went to work people saw ryuu 龍 a dragon above his head. When they looked closer, it was just a piece of fujizuru 藤蔓 wisteria vine. The man died soon after.

. fuji 藤 wisteria vine .

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furudanuki 古狸 old badger
The trees from a special mountain sold very well. But then strange things happened and the lumberjacks did not work there for long.
Even now, late at night, when the lumberjacks sleep in the small mountain hut, a beautiful young woman appears.
One night a lumberjack took courage and slashed the face of the woman and all could see it was just an old badger.

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- kagiya 鍵屋 locksmith　－
hebi 蛇 serpent . 大きなヤマカガシ a big Rhabdophis tigrinus, tiger keelback
About 25 years ago, a man went to the charcoal maker's hut to fetch the coal. There he found a huge tiger keelback, surrounded by its children and many grand-children serpents.
Later many workers for a locksmith came to get the lumber but the serpent told them they would be killed if they stole anything.
After that the serpent disappeared.

................................................................................. Fukushima 福島県
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- 木挽や左官や製材職人 lumberjacks and plasterers (working at a Shrine) -

ningyoo 人形 a strange doll
About 3 years ago, a lumberjack found a small doll of about 15 cm at the foot of akamatsu 赤松 a Japanese red pine. It was bundled in blue wool and in its stomach a nail was sticking out.
After than the lumberjacks and plasterers begun to have injuries and a local priest took the doll, held special rituals and burned it.

kobiki 木挽職人 working with a special saw
shakan, sakan 左官職人 plasterer
seizai shokunin 製材職人 lumberjack

. Kobikichoo 木挽町 Kobiki district .
kobiki-noko 木挽鋸 special saw of a Kobiki worker

................................................................................. Gunma 群馬県
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太田市 Ota city / 建設職人 construction worker

Choorakuji rei 長楽寺鈴 the bell of temple Choraku-Ji *
At the temple Choraku-JI there is a treasure bell. If it starts to ring, there will be flooding.
During repair work of the hall, a construction worker rang it by accident. And suddenly the sky became dark, it rained heavily and flooding was everywhere.
The sound of the bell awakens the Dragon God . . .

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(3) Miracle of Hasu-ike Pond
Hasu-ike Pond was created in the shape of the Chinese character “heart (心)”. It is said that this pond used to have a special power. If you threw a piece of paper with the thing you desired most written on it into the pond, it would give it to you. However, a long time ago, a monk asked for and received a mosquito net from the pond. But, it was so beautiful that he didn’t want to give it back. The thing was, if you didn’t return to the pond what it had given you, it would lose its special power.
Although he knew this, he never returned the mosquito net. And since then, no one has been able to get anything from the pond.
- reference and more : city.ota.gunma.jp... -

................................................................................. Hiroshima 広島県
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広島市 Hiroshima city // 職人

. Osangitsune オサンギツネ / 於三狐 O-San kitsune fox with three tails.
She liked to make fire with her tail, shape-shift into a raion ライオン lion and play tricks on humans.
But since she was so wicked, a shokunin 職人 craftsman took courage, caught her and wanted to burn her. She begged for help and promised she would show him daimyoo gyooretsu 大名行列 a Lord's procession. After he had seen the procession, the craftsman praised the fox. But since this was not an apparition but a real procession, the craftsman was caught and beheaded.

................................................................................. Hyogo 兵庫県
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神戸市 Kobe // 張子玩具職人 making papermachee dolls

obake ningyoo お化人形 monster dolls
A craftsman of papermachee dolls had moved from Takamatsu. To please the many foreigners in Kobe he started making monster-like dolls which moved, rolled the eyes, cut watermelons and more.

. Koobe ningyoo, Kobe Ningyo 神戸人形 mechanical dolls from Kobe .

................................................................................. Iwate 岩手県
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東磐井郡 Higashi-Iwai district 大東村 Ohigashi mura village // 畳職人 tatami straw mat maker

kitsune 狐 fox
A tatami maker was possessed by a fox and did not find his way home. He ended up at the home of someone else.

. tatami 畳職人 Tatami legends .

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Iwate 和賀郡 Waga district 東和町 Towa town // 藁細工の職人 making things of straw

kitsune きつね fox
A man was waiting for customers at watashibune 渡し舟 the ferry station.
A craftsman making things of straw came along, but he was afraid of fire.
Maybe the spirit of a fox had taken possession of him in the mountain forest.

. wara-zaiku 藁細工 things made of straw .

................................................................................. Kanagawa 神奈川県
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浦賀町 Uraga town // 職人

. yuurei 幽霊 Yurei ghosts .
A craftsman fell in love with a yuujo 遊女 prostitute, but his jealous wife killed the prostitute. From that day on, her ghost came to the room every night and rustled her hair along the shooji 障子 sliding doors. Her husband became all anxious and finally went on a pilgrimage. When he wanted to get a place for the night, he was always asked "For the two of you?"
Eventually he went to the temple 龍本寺 Ryuhon-Ji and died there.

................................................................................. Kyoto 京都府
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下京区 Shimogyo ward // 職人

hara no uchi yori mono iu mono 腹のうちより物いうもの
something talkes inside her intestines
The daughter of 近江屋吉 Omiya Kichi, a craftsman from 烏丸四条 Shijo Karasuma, went to marry a certain 藤 Fuji from 烏丸綾小路 Ayanokoji Karasuma.
She was a very good bride, but Fuji was in love with someone else and divorced her, marrying his love.
The daughter of Kichi went missing after the divorce. The new wife of Fuji became very ill. A large roundworm, 応声虫 Oseichu, begun to live in her intestines and talked. The woman had to answer if the worm asked something. They had exorcist rituals but nothing helped and eventually she died.
Fuji went crazy and died soon after.

source : cromagnon.jp..ouseichuu...

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Oseichu – The Mimicking Roundworm
It starts with a high fever and some stomach pains, and ends with a giant mouth poking out of your own stomach, speaking in your own voice demanding food and drink. It’s bad enough getting sick, but you don’t want to catch a yokai disease. Especially you don’t want to get infected by an oseichu, a mimicking roundworm.
- What Does Oseichu Mean?
Oseichu is made up of three kanji – 応 (O; affirmative, agreements ) + 声 (sei; voice) + 虫 (chu; worm, bug). The three kanji translate roughly into “Voice Mimicking Bug,” all though the word “bug” refers more to the infectious disease type than the insect type.
The term osei (応声) is really only used in relation to this yokai. In fact, sometimes the “chu” is dropped altogether and it is just called an osei.
- The Oseichu of Chusaburo
- Yokai Diseases and Mysterious Bugs
- source : hyakumonogatari.com... -

. yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - ABC-List .

................................................................................. Miyagi 宮城県
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本吉町 Motoyoshi // 壁塗りの職人

kitsune 狐 deceived by a fox 狐
A kabenuri no shokunin 壁塗りの職人 plasterer had helped a farmer with his work and was on his way home. He had gotten some tako 蛸 octopus and iwashi 鰯 sardines and put them in a charcoal bag. But when he reached home, the bag was empty.
He found some leftovers of octopus and sardines scattered at the nest of a fox - aaa, he had been deceived by a fox.

. shakan, sakan 左官 kabe nuri shokunin plasterer, making walls .

................................................................................. Nagano 長野県
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南佐久郡 Minami-Saku district 川上村 Kawakami village // 職人

. kitsune densetsu 狐と伝説 fox legends .
The youngest child of a craftsman was bewitched by a fox. It begun to eat horse droppings and mimizu ミミズ earthworms, and then got lost.
The father got an amulet from 水天宮 the Shrine Suitengu, tore it to pieces and let it float down the river. When it stopped floating, they found the child.

................................................................................. Osaka 大阪府
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大阪市 Osaka city // 植木職人 ueki shokunin

In 大阪城内 the compound of Osaka castle there was a large pine tree whith 植木職人 a special gardener to take care of it.
Once he tried to trim a branch with sharp hasami 鋏 scissors, but he became very sick the same day.

. matsu 松と伝説 Legends about the pine tree / 松の木 matsu no ki .

................................................................................. Saitama 埼玉県
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秩父郡 Chichibu 吉田町 Yoshida town // 畳屋 Tatami straw mat maker

. Chichibu no Tengu 秩父の天狗さま The Tengu from Chichibu .
Once upon a time, it was customary for the local craftsmen to drink a cup of the when they had finished work and were on their way home.
There was one 畳屋 Tatami straw mat maker, who went home without drinking his tea.
After walking for a short while, he heard the sound of cutting wood and it became so dark he could not see the road. Unable to proceed he went back to borrow 提灯 a lantern.
The home owner told him this was the trick of the local Tengu. When he walked back again, it was so light, he almost did not need a lantern.

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所沢市 Tokorozawa city // 桶屋職人 craftsman making buckets

. fukunekozuka, fuku neko zuka 福猫塚 mound of the auspicious cat .

................................................................................. Tokyo 東京都

. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .
職人が木を伐るときには切り口をきれいにしておく。天狗が腰かけるのにじゃまになるから伐るのだという。

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文京区 Bunkyo ward // 弓職人 making bows

hikigaeru ひきがへる toad
At a place named 関口 Sekiguchi in Edo there was 水神の社 a Shrine for Suijin the Water Deity. Along the river in front of the Shrine there grew a lot of makomo まこも草 wild rice .
Once 弓職人 a craftsman making bows named Yahei 弥兵衛 passed there when he saw some large shining eyes, about as larte as one seating mat. This was a huge toad.
He was so afraid he run home and stayed in bed for seven days.

. yumi 弓 bow and 矢 ya arrow .

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豊島区 Toshima ward // 渡り職人の木挽き sawing wood

At the home of a lumber dealer there were often stones falling from the sky.
He had kaji kito 加持祈祷 exorcist rites performed, but nothing helped. Even large grave stones came falling down.
When a couple of wandering craftsmen, which had been sawing wood left the home, the stoned stopped falling.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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

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Fireman's coat (19th century)

decorated with a spider hovering over an abadoned Go board.
The scene is from the story of the warrior-hero Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948–1021) who,
once when sick, was visited by an evil priest in the guise of a giant spider.
Yorimitsu saw through the disguise and attacked the spider priest,
and his four attendants (who were playing a game of Go while guarding him)
leapt up to track the intruder back to his den
. source : collection/japanese-firemans-coats ,,, .

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Edo - the EDOPEDIA -

5/20/2020

shokunin craftsmen legends

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