. Famous Places and Power spots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Mejiro 目白 the Mejiro district
目白一丁目 - 目白五丁目 with five sub-districts.
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The district's name is after Mejiro Fudō, which is one of the Goshiki Fudō.
Mejiro is home to the prestigious Gakushuin University.
The university's predecessor was established in 1877 to educate the children of the nobility.
Its notable alumni include most members of the present Imperial House of Japan
as well as the 59th Prime Minister of Japan Tarō Asō.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. Mejiro Fudo 目白不動 Fudo with white eyes . .
When Kobo Daishi was in 荷沢河 Hezawa, 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.
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Mejiro - A Historic and Quiet Town
- - - - - Townscape and Security
Mejiro is known as one of the most prestigious residential areas on the JR Yamanote Line.
There are a number of academic institutions such as the Gakushuin University in this small hilly area.
Mejiro Bunka Mura, a residential district developed by the Seibu Group is located on the west of JR Mejiro Station, while Tokugawa Village is located on the east, on the site of the former Owari Tokugawa family’s residence.
Both of the districts have quiet neighborhoods. Streets around the station are lined with banks, shops, and restaurants, but there is no entertainment district, thus ensuring that Mejiro is a safe place to live.
- - - - - Mejiro - The Town of History and Academics
The name, Mejiro, comes from the Mejiro Fudo Temple which is one of the Five Color Edo Fudo Temples (Goshiki Fudo).
In the Edo Period (1603-1868), the residences of daimyo (feudal loads) and hatamoto (direct retainer of the shogun) were built on Mejiro Hill.
Since then, the area has historically been home to government officials. The area around the hill is also a high-class residential district where many prestigious houses have been built on the ruins of former nobilities’ residences.
Mejiro has been known as a town of academics since the Gakushuin University was established as an educational facility for members of the Imperial family and members of the nobility in the Meiji Period (1868-1912).
- source : tokugawa-village.jp ... -
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Mejiro - White Eyes
- - - The Famous White Horse Theory
This theory says, without stating much else, that a famous white horse was born here, a 白い名馬 shiroi meiba, if you will. This theory is plausible because, well… ok, anything’s possible. But naming a place after a single white horse seems a little silly. Anyways, the etymological basis for this derivation is that the original place name was 馬白 Mejiro “white horse” – 馬 representing a dialectal variant of ma (horse), me.
- - - The “Tokugawa Iemitsu Did It” Theory
Having researched a ton of Tōkyō place names this year, I’m starting to see patterns emerge that set off my BS detectors. Theories that say the third shōgun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, came into some place and renamed it are a dime a dozen.
The story states that one day Tokugawa Iemitsu came to Meguro for falconry and thought the name 目黒 Black Eyes was inauspicious and ordered the area to be called 目白 White Eyes. The stupidest thing about this theory is that anyone who looks at a map will see that the modern Meguro and Mejiro are nowhere near each other. And while – yes, anything is possible – there could have been another village called Meguro here at one point, it’s pretty unlikely. Even if it was true, why didn’t Iemitsu care about the other Meguro? And he was the shōgun for fuck’s sake – the samurai dictator of the realm. I doubt he was such a pussy as to change the names of villages simply because the name scared him.
- - - The “Buddha Did It” Theory
At the beginning of the Edo Period, the super monk, 天海 Tenkai, was placed in charge of developing Buddhist temples in the area. His pet project was to build a cluster of 5 temples dedicated to Acala, called 不動 Fudō The Unmovable One in Japanese.
Each temple’s statue of Fudō had a different colored pair of eyes. The one in 目黒 Meguro Black Eyes had black eyes. The statue in 目白 Mejiro White Eyes had white eyes. The presence of a temple established by Tenkai, which was part of a grouping of 4 other temples was prestigious for the area and probably brought many pilgrims to the town’s 門前町 monzen-chō (town built at the front of a temple). The area then derived its name from this temple’s claim to fame, the white eyed statue.
This theory sounds plausible on the surface, but the fact is that the name Mejiro pre-dates the Edo Era, so sorry to say, the statue’s eye color might originate from the place name, but the place name does not originate from the statue. The name Mejiro allegedly first appeared in one of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s original surveys of Edo when he moved into the area and was sizing up his new holdings.
- - - Tokugawa
in 1932, the head of the 尾張徳川家 Owari Tokugawa-ke Owari branch of the Tokugawa Family built a residence here. Since then, his property has been turned into an exclusive planned community called the Tokugawa Village. It’s home to high ranking diplomats and über-rich douche bags of every stripe and it’s home to the 徳川黎明会 Tokugawa Reimeikai Tokugawa Dawn Society which sounds like an evil cult, but on the surface it seems to be a group dedicated to historical research related to the Tokugawa. It’s affiliated with the prestigious 徳川美術館 Tokugawa Bijutsukan Tokugawa Fine Art Museum in Nagoya which preserves the largest collection of art and property of the Tokugawa family and has a hell of a gift shop if you want goods with the Tokugawa family crest printed on them.
- source : japanthis.com... -
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Mejiro-shita Ōarai-no-seki 目白下大洗堰 the weir at Mejiro-shita
which used 井の頭池 Inokashira-Ike pond as a water source to all around the city of Edo.
Water drawn from Inokashira-Ike pond, 善福寺池 Zenpukuji-Ike pond, etc. was divided into two courses at this dam.
water was first sent to the residence of Mito Tokugawa household
and then distributed to all of Edo through the underground.
The remaining water was discharged into the Edo River.
The facility was built during the governance of the 3rd Shogun Iemitsu.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -
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. Toshima 豊島区 Toshima ward .
. Kaido 街道 Highways - ABC Index .
. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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