Ezo Ainu Culture

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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Ezo, Emishi 蝦夷　エゾ　Ainu Culture アイヌの文化　Yezo, Yeso, Jezo


Photo by Herbert George Ponting (1870-1935)


. Matsumae in Hokkaido 松前 .
Matsumae, one of the oldest port towns in Hokkaido, used to be busy during the summer months in the Edo period for fishing.
The name Matsumae at that time was almost identical with the old name of Ezo / Hokkaido.

. Kitamaebune 北前船 North-bound trade ships .
Matsumaebune 松前船 Matsumae trade ships to Hokkaido


. Ainu Ryori アイヌ料理 Ainu Food - Introduction .
Their traditional cuisine consists of the flesh of bear, fox, wolf, badger, ox or horse, as well as fish, fowl, millet, vegetables, herbs, and roots.
Archaeological finds
Ainu museum in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Ainu Religion
Chiri Yukie Chiri 知里幸恵 (1903 - 1922)

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... Ainu Daruma ... アイヌだるま



. Ainu Folk Art and Craft .
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Daruma from Enju Wood エンジュ達磨 / enju 槐 Japanese pagoda tree
Itazu Kunio 板津邦夫, a famous woodcarver, born 1931.
Ainu Kokeshi　こけし


collecting
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Nibutani-attus 二風谷アツトウシ
A tradition of 紗流川流域 the Saru River basin region since ancient times. It was used in trade with other regions as a product of the Saru River basin during the Edo period.
Nibutani-attus is still made today with the same tools that were used to make it over a hundred years ago.
- source : densan kougeihin -



source : jtcw.jp/2015...
Nibutani ita 二風谷イタ Nibutani carved wooden tray

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What is Nibutani carved wooden tray ?
Nibutani Ita is a carved wooden tray produced in Biratori-cho, Saru County, Hokkaido.
The origin of the town name, Biratori-cho, is an Ainu word for a cliff, Pirautouru. The characteristic of Nibutani Ita are its patterns. A spiral pattern called Mourenoka, a thorn-shaped pattern called Aiushinoka and an eye-shaped pattern called Shikunoka (all three words are Ainu) are combined to express a beautiful Ainu design. Furthermore, Nibutani Ita always has carved scale-shapes called Ramuramunoka which fill the space between the other patterns. The tray was used daily in the days of the Ainu and it is valued as a delicate craft by modern craftsmen today.
- History
Although Nibutani Ita is assumed to be a tray because of its shape, a song in the folklore of Ainu, Uepekere, mentions Nibutani Ita as a plate on which food was served directly. Blades were a must item for Ainu life and to be able to use the blades skillfully gave men status. For this reason, an Ainu man would put all his energy into making a carved wooden item for a woman who he fancied when they reached marriageable age. With this background, the Ainu-carved wooden items, including Nibutani Ita, have long been used as expensive gifts, presents for exchange or commercial items.
During the Ansei era (1854 – 1859) at the end of the Edo period (1603 – 1868), it was recorded that Nibutani Ita was among the gifts to the Bakufu (government) of the Matsumae Domain. In 1873, Nibutani Ita was exhibited at the EXPO in Vienna. Nibutani Ita was designated as a traditional national craft for the first time in Hokkaido in March 2013.
- General Production Process ...
Biratori Ainu Bunka Joho Center
- source : kogeijapan.com/locale/en... -





Nibutani Ainu Museum 二風谷アイヌ資料館
Nibutani or Niptani (Ainu: ニプタニ), is a district in the town of Biratori in Hokkaido.
With over 80% of the residents being Ainu, it makes it the city with the largest population of its residents being Ainu in all of Hokkaido. It is the site of the Nibutani Dam, and the hometown of Shigeru Kayano. Nibutani is also the site of two Ainu museums "Kayano Shigeru Nibutani Ainu museum" and the "Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum", as well as the Nibutani Family Land.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Ishū Retsuzō 夷酋列像 Ishu Retsuzo - - Ishuretsuzo


- source : hokkaido-np.co.jp/ishuretsuzo-


- quote　－C.B. Liddell
The frayed edges of modern Japan
In the Edo Period (1603-1868) and the years that followed, Japan made strenuous efforts to bring together its patchwork of feudal regions into a strongly centralized state with a unified culture. Accordingly, the nation now is one of the most homogenous in the world. But there are a couple of places where this strongly mono-cultural model begins to fray.

One is Okinawa, where there is a somewhat different identity, and the other is Hokkaido, where there are still some traces of the indigenous Ainu people and their culture. While recognizing these different ethnic areas could be problematic — leading to separatism, for example — completely ignoring them is not an option, so it is only fitting that efforts to acknowledge them is made. The exhibition “Ishuretsuzo, the Image of Ezo: Tracing Persons, Things and the World” at the National Museum of Japanese History — and from Feb. 25 at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka — should be viewed in these terms.



Significantly, the exhibition focuses on the Ainu not as a separate and independent culture but rather as symbiotic allies and auxiliaries of the Japanese. The curation was built around the Ishuretsuzo, a series of portraits of Ainu chieftains, painted by Hakyo Kakizaki (1764-1826), a samurai retainer of the Matsumae clan, who occupied the southern part of Hokkaido to defend the border.

Originally there were 12 portraits, painted in 1790, depicting high-ranking Ainu allies of the clan, with one of the portraits being of a woman, noticeable by her lack of a long beard and her tattooed lips.

These surprisingly skillful works were painted in the aftermath of the Menashi-Kunashir War of 1789, when Ainu attacks on Japanese tradesmen and colonists in the northeastern part of the island led to retaliation by the Matsumae clan and their Ainu allies. The whereabouts of the paintings was unknown, until 1984 when 11 of the works were rediscovered at the Besancon Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in eastern France.

These 11 paintings are supplemented by garments and objects, some of which have also been depicted in the pictures, as well as old maps and other artworks showing scenes from Ezo, as Hokkaido was then known. The most impressive item on display is an expansive folding screen from 1741, showing in great detail the town of Matsumae, the headquarters of the eponymous clan. Among the small figures that can be discerned are a group of Ainu visiting the town.


夷酋列像 - Ishuretsuzo

It seems clear from looking at this screen, Kakizaki’s works and the details of the Menashi-Kunashir War, that the Japanese and Ainu were in frequent contact and occupied different economic positions, not separate and exclusive spaces. The Ainu tended to focus on hunting and fur-trapping — the exhibition includes a very large sea otter rug — while the Japanese were traders and farmers.

This was a period when Japan was closed to the rest of the world, except for a strictly controlled stream of trade through Nagasaki. But Ezo’s distance from the capital and its frontier conditions appears to have had a liberalizing effect on trade, with Hokkaido serving as something of a back door to Japan.

This is reflected in Kakizaki’s paintings, which show the Ainu chieftains wearing an outlandish mixture of Chinese, Japanese and even European garments. It is almost as if Ezo was a colder version of Tatooine, the anarchic trading planet in the “Star Wars” movies, with the more powerful Ainu chieftains being particularly colorful characters.

Although tensions occasionally flared up, as in the Menashi-Kunashir War, the mutual benefits for Japanese and Ainu meant that there was good reason for them to get along together.

It is possible to see Kakizaki’s paintings as examples of ethnographic art and depictions of the alien “other.” Attention could be drawn to the evident fascination with which he depicted the hairiness of his subjects and their swaggering and eclectic sense of fashion.

But a more fair-minded appraisal would be to draw attention to the painter’s general realism — his lack of ethnic exaggeration and exoticism. These are works by someone who seems to have been truly familiar with the Ainu people, and it shows. Although Kakizaki’s paintings represent a Japanocentric view of the Ainu, it is one that is nevertheless genuine, sensitive and artistically sympathetic.



'Ishuretsuzo: Shimochi, Ainu Chieftain of Akkeshi, by Hakyo Kakizaki (1790)


'Ishuretsuzo: Tsukinoe, Ainu Chieftain of Kunashiri' by Hakyo Kakizaki (1790)
- source : Japan Times



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Kunashiri Menashi no tatakai クナシリ・メナシの戦い Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion
Menashi-Kunashir Battle was a battle in 1789 between Ainu and Japanese on the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaidō. It began in May, 1789 when Ainu attacked Japanese on Kunashir Island and parts of the Menashi District as well as at sea. More than 70 Japanese were killed. The Japanese executed 37 Ainu identified as conspirators and arrested many others. Reasons for the revolt are not entirely clear, but they are believed to include a suspicion of poisoned saké being given to Ainu in a loyalty ceremony, and other objectionable behavior by Japanese traders.

The battle is the subject of Majin no Umi, a children's novel by Maekawa Yasuo that received the Japanese Association of Writers for Children Prize in 1970.

A similar large-scale Ainu revolt against Japanese influence in Yezo was Shakushain's Revolt from c. 1669-1672.
- source : wikipedia -

Shakushain no tatakai シャクシャインの戦い Shakushain's Revolt
an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority on Hokkaidō between 1669 and 1672. It was led by Ainu chieftain Shakushain against the Matsumae clan, . . .
- source : wikipedia -

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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -

簗崩れこれより蝦夷は鬼の国
yana kuzure kore yori Ezo wa oni no kuni

a broken weir -
from here on its Ezo
land of the Demons

田村正義 Tamura Masayoshi (1938 - )

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雪囲ひ終へて薪積む蝦夷古刹
yukigakoi oete maki tsumi Ezo kosatsu

finishing the snow protection
it is time for collecting firewood
at an old temple in Ezo

Saitoo Setsuko 斎藤節子 Saito Setsuko

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奥蝦夷に建ちし末寺やお取越
石田雨圃子

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Ezomatsu 蝦夷松 / えぞ松 Pine from Ezo, (Picea jezoensis）

えぞ松の雪こぼし出づ春の鹿
瀬戸みさゑ
蝦夷松に幣やゆづり葉年用意
飯田弥伊子
蝦夷松の幹立ち塞ぎ蝶飛べず
岡田日郎
蝦夷松の秋風高き旅路かな
水田むつみ

風渡る蝦夷松の下車組む
工藤蘇虹

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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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- - - - - #ezoainu #ainuezo #matsumae #hokkaido #nibutani - - - -
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tsujigiri killings

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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tsujigiri 辻斬り "to cut someone down at a crossroad"
"to try out one's new sword on a chance wayfarer"

. samurai, buke　侍、 武家 Samurai - Introduction .


CLICK for more books !

Tsujigiri killings are a well-loved subject of the Samurai Jidaigeki literature and films.

tameshigiri　試し切り "trying out a new sword"
usually done on the bodies of executed people

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- quote
Tsujigiri (辻斬り or 辻斬 tsuji-giri, literally 'crossroads killing')
is a Japanese term for a practice when a samurai, after receiving a new katana or developing a new fighting style or weapon, tests its effectiveness by attacking a human opponent, usually a random defenseless passer-by, in many cases during nighttime. The practitioners themselves are also referred to as tsujigiri.

In the medieval era, the term referred to traditional duels between bushi, but in the Sengoku period (1467-1600), widespread anarchy caused it to degrade into indiscriminate murder, permitted by the unchecked power of the bushi. Shortly after order was restored, the Edo government prohibited the practice in 1602. Offenders would receive capital punishment. The only known incident where a very large number of people were indiscriminately killed in the Edo period was the 1696 Yoshihara spree killing (吉原百人斬), where a wealthy lord named Yoshihara had a psychotic fit and murdered dozens of prostitutes with a katana. He was treated by authorities as a spree killer and sentenced to death. Later, a kabuki play was made about the incident.
The practice of tsujigiri has been cited in the philosophical debate over moral relativism, notably by Mary Midgley in her 1989 work Can't We Make Moral Judgements?.

Kiri-sute gomen 斬捨御免 or 切捨御免,
literally, "authorization to cut and leave" - the body of the victim
is an old Japanese expression dating back to the feudal era right to strike (right of samurai to kill commoners for perceived affronts). Samurai had the right to strike with sword at anyone of a lower class who compromised their honour.
- - - - - Conditions
Because the right was defined as a part of self defense, the strike had to follow immediately after the offense, meaning that the striker could not attack someone for a past grievance. Also, due to the right being self-defense, it was not permissible to deliver a further coup de grâce. Moreover, the samurai who exercised the right had to prove the correctness of his action in court by producing a witness. Punishment for the incorrect exercise of this right was severe. An offender could be beheaded without being allowed to perform seppuku and have his house abolished, meaning that none of his sons could succeed the title. Due to the seriousness of the punishment, many performed seppuku to pre-empt the verdict. A samurai visiting a different feudal province had to be extremely careful, especially if it was in Edo, the seat of the Shogun. Wrongful executions of commoners from different feudal provinces were seen as an offense against a feudal state. It was thus advisable for samurai visiting different provinces to be accompanied by a servant, so as to provide witness.

- - - - - Right of defense
Because of the somewhat arbitrary nature of this right, anyone who was at the receiving end had the right to defend themselves by wakizashi (short sword). This situation was most common in the case of a higher samurai exercising the right against a lower ranked samurai as samurai would always carry wakizashi.
The expression is still sometimes used in modern-day as "I apologize in advance for this one" for the subtle humor in offering what amounts to an unsympathetic apology.
An instance of Kiri sute gomen is described in the story of the Hōgyū Jizō statue. A boy, whose father was killed by Kirisute gomen, made 100 stone statues in later life, in Kumamoto.
- source : wikipedia


tameshigiri (試し斬り, 試し切り, 試斬, 試切)
is the Japanese art of target test cutting. The kanji literally mean "test cut" (kun'yomi: ためし ぎり tameshi giri). This practice was popularized in the Edo period (17th century) for testing the quality of Japanese swords. It continues to the present day, but has evolved into a martial art which focuses on demonstrating the practitioner's skill with a sword.



. . . . . there were a wide variety of cuts used on cadavers and occasionally convicted criminals, from tabi-gata (ankle cut) to O-kesa (diagonal cut from shoulder to opposite hip). The names of the types of cuts on cadavers show exactly where on the body the cut was made.
- source : wikipedia

Ō-Edo Shitai-kō 大江戸死体考 “Reflections on the Corpses of Edo”

- reference : - PMJS tsujigiri discussion


. seppuku 切腹 -- harakiri 腹切り ritual suicide .

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Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami
By John Breen, Mark Teeuwen
On his deathbed Tokugawa Ieyasu had the sword 三池光世 Miike Mitsuyo “tested” on a prisoner, only to declare the sword to be the seat of a kami he himself is going to become after his death.
- reference : books.google.co.jp -

Miike Mitsuyo
The Tokugawa shogunate founder Ieyasu had such an unswerving belief in the spiritual power of this sword that on his death bed he officially transferred his spirit to it, vowing to ensure the eternal prosperity of the shogunate. As a gesture to indicate the Tokugawa family’s position of ultimate control, he ordered the tip of the sword, when displayed, to be pointed toward the region of the Toyotomi clan, which had threatened his hegemony. The sword was the symbol of Ieyasu’s role as protector of the country and became treasured as the main object of worship in the deification of Ieyasu as Tosho Shinkun, the Great God of the Shrines of Eastern Japan.
- source : Yoko Haruhara -


. katana, nihonto 日本刀 The Japanese Sword .

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"Trying Out One's New Sword," by Mary Midgley
- - - - - Summary
Midgley argues that not only is moral isolationism – the view that one ought to respect other cultures but not judge them – incorrect, it is logically incoherent. She does so by presenting four self-contained arguments: that judgment is logically antecedent to respect, that outsiders can judge foreign cultures, if on a provisional basis, that moral isolationism leads to a complete inability to make moral judgments of any kind, and that cultures are not, as moral isolationism holds, subject to isolating barriers.
. . . . . First, she argued that
"there is a contradiction between the claim that we cannot understand these rules, and the claim we must respect them." (Midgely) This only means that we, ourselves, can understand people in other cultures. In the following paragraphs, Midgely was able to illustrate some relevant examples to explain the importance of analyzing other culture’s morals in order to form educated judgments about them. She gives an example of ancient Chinese samurai warriors whom before going off to battle would test the sharpness of their swords on innocent strangers. (Midgely)
. . . . . "The Japanese custom tsujigiri involves an owner of a sword and a traveler; the situation is that this owner will have to try out his/her sword to any traveler. This is to check if the blade is really that sharp and that the sword can really kill someone in just a single blow."
source : npapadakis.wordpress.com

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Kajiwara Heizô Homare no Ishikiri　梶原平三誉石切
石切梶原　ー Kabuki
first presented as a Joruri puppet theater　三浦大助紅梅靮 in 1730 at the 大阪竹本座　Takemoto-za in Osaka.
The title "Kajiwara Heizô Homare no Ishikiri" was used for the first time in June 1892, in Nagoya at the Suehiroza.



Ôba Saburô and his bombastic villainous brother Matano Gorô, who are both Heike warriors, are at a shrine in Kamakura celebrating their recent victory over the enemy general, Yoritomo, when Kajiwara Heizô, who also fought in the same battle, enters and joins them.

An elderly man and his daughter then appear and approach Ôba. Old Rokurôdayû wishes to sell a precious sword in his possession to help his daughter Kozue, and asks Ôba to buy it. Just as Ôba is about to go ahead, his brother objects and says that before anyone parts with 300 gold pieces he wants the sword examined. Kajiwara, who is known to be an outstanding swordsman, agrees to examine the sword. As he does so, he notices not only its excellence but sees something on the hilt that indicates the sword is a treasure of the enemy Genji, but he keeps that information silent. Kajiwara gives the sword his unqualified approval, and the sale is about to through again when Matano says that if it doesn't cut well it is more useless than a rusty fish knife, and insists that it is tested-by cutting two condemned prisoners in half.

The prison official reports that unfortunately there is only one prisoner currently under the death sentence, so Ôba says that he cannot buy the sword and readies himself to leave. Rokurôdayû, however, is desperate to sell the sword because he is secretly a Genji sympathizer and he needs the money to give to the Genji cause, so he offers himself as the second body, on the understanding they give the money to his daughter after his death. Matano is satisfied and plans to do the slicing himself, but Kajiwara intervenes and says he will test the sword. The condemned man is brought in and lain on top of Rokurôdayû. Kajiwara brings down the sword with precision, but only the criminal is killed. Rokurôdayû is still safely in one piece. Matano is disgusted that the sword has failed its reputation and leaves with Ôba. Kajiwara then reveals that he deliberately gauged the power of his stroke so that Rokurôdayû would not die. He, Kajiwara, recognizes the power and significance of the sword, and will buy it for himself, for he is also secretly a Genji sympathizer. And to prove the sword is in no way defective he brings it down on a stone water trough, cutting it clean in two. All three are delighted with the outcome and leave for Kajiwara's mansion to settle payment.
- reference : kabuki21.com/ishikiri -

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

In Kanagawa, Yokohama 横浜市, 泉区
To appease the souls of people who got killed in a hold-up (追剥ぎ oihagi) or Tsujigiri people built a 供養塔 stone memorial for prayers.
Later wild cats begun to dance around this stone.

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Hōgyū Jizō 放牛地蔵 Hogyu Jizo, Kumamoto
are Japanese stone statues; mostly of Ksitigarbha and other kinds of stone statues made by Buddhist monk Hōgyū (around 1672-1732) between 1722 and 1732 in Kumamoto, Japan. When Hōgyū was about 14, in 1686, his father was killed by a samurai. Later he made stone statues for the repose of the soul of his father.
In January 1686,
a blacksmith called Hichizaemon, a heavy drinker, threw a bamboo blower at his son. It accidentally hit the forehead of a samurai, Ohyano Genzaemon. Despite repeated apologies, Genzaemon immediately killed Hichizaemon with a sword, that being legal at the time by kiri sute gomen. Genzaemon, the son and his sister all wrote witness statements, and the Bugyō did not punish Genzaemon.
Out of grief,
the son entered the Buddhist priesthood for the repose of his father, and offered a prayer with a vow that he would make 100 stone statues. He made 107 stone statues between 1722 and 1732. He died in 1732. The 100th statue was in Ōjō-in Temple in Kumamoto, and it was the biggest statue (186 centimetres (73 in) high) among others standing on the big stone lotus.


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- - - - - maybe
Hideo Nagata studied every statue of Hōgyū and stated that the Hogyu was not the boy whose father was killed. The statues might be connected with the circumstances of the time such as famine.
- source : wikipedia -



放牛さんとへふり地蔵
正田吉男／文　上原恵／絵　杉山静香／絵


. Jizō - Jizo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 - ABC List .

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michikiri, michi-kiri 道切 / 道切り "Cutting off the Road"
tsujigiri 辻切り（つじぎり） cutting off a crossroad

At the part where the main road enters a village, Dososhin deities are enshrined, sacred 注連縄　shimenawa ropes (or sometimes snakes made of straw) and other amulets are hung and 草履　zori (or waraji) straw sandals are offered to the deities in order to prevent evil spirits and monsters (or Kappa in this story) from entering and drive them away.

. Kanjonawa rope 勧請縄 sacred rope above a road .

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]- - - - - #tsujigiri #kirisutegomen #tameshigiri #hogyujizo #ishikiri - - - -
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taika great fires

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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taika 江戸の大火 Edo no Taika "Great Fires of Edo"



During the Edo period, when people lived closely in wooden homes and used open fire for cooking, fires were especially terrible.
Fire and fighting are the flowers of Edo (kaji to kenka wa Edo no hana)
is an old proverb of these dangerous times.

hatsu kaji 初火事 first fire
The first fire of the new year is often seen as a bringer of bad luck, if it happens during the first three days of the New Year.

Matsuo Basho's first "Basho Hut (Bashoo An 芭蕉庵" burned down, on January 25, 1683.

. WKD : kaji 火事 fire .
hi no ban　火の番 on the lookout for fire
machibikeshi, machi hikeshi 町火消し local fire brigade
hi no yoojin 火の用心 fire prevention goods

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江戸の火事と火消 / 山本純美

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Fires in Edo
were fires which occurred in Edo (江戸), now Tokyo, during the Edo period. The city of Edo was characterized by frequent great fires as the saying "Fires and quarrels are the flowers of Edo" goes.
Even in the modern days, the old Edo was still remembered as the "City of Fires" (「火災都市」). The city was something of a rarity in the world, as vast urban areas of Edo were repeatedly leveled by fire. The great fires of Edo were compared to the Chinese gods of fire Shukuyū (祝融) and Kairoku (回禄), and also humorously described as "autumn leaves".
..... During the 267 years between 1601 (Keichō 6), the year after the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い), and 1867 (Keiō 3), the year of Taisei Hōkan (大政奉還, literally "return of sovereignty"), Edo was struck by 49 great fires.
..... The strong winter monsoon from the north was a meteorological condition unique to Edo. It contributed to many winter and spring fires that occurred in dry weather brought about by prevailing northwest and north winds.....

December 26, 1601 / 6 Keicho/11
March 10or11, 1641 / 8 Kan-ei/1/29or30 - Oke-machi Fire 桶町火事
March 2–3, 1657 / 3 Meireki/1/18-19 - Great Fire of Meireki 明暦の大火
January 25, 1683 / 2 Tenna/12/28 - Great Fire of Tenna 天和の大火
October 9, 1698 / 11 Genroku/9/6 - Chokugaku Fire 勅額火事
December 25, 1704 / 16 Genroku/11/29 - Mito-sama Fire 水戸様火事
March 14, 1745 / 2 Enkyo/2/12 - Rokudō Fire 六道火事
March 22, 1760 / 10 Horeki/2/6 - Hōreki Fire 宝暦の大火
April 1, 1772 / 9 Meiwa/2/29 - Great Fire of Meiwa 明和の大火
April 22, 1806 / 3 Bunka/3/4 - Great Fire of Bunka 文化の大火
April 24, 1829 / 12 Bunsei/3/21 - Great Fire of Bunsei 文政の大火 / 江戸神田佐久間町の大火 Great fire in Sakumacho 1829
. March 16, 1834 / 5 Tempo/2/7 - Kōgo Fire 甲午火事 - and Sakuma Fire .
March 2, 1845 / 2 Koka/1/24 - Aoyama Fire 青山火事
November 11, 1855 / 2 Ansei/10/2 - Earthquake Fire 地震火事

Tokugawa shogunate's fire prevention measures
Firefighting organizations
- machibikeshi (町火消, chōnin firefighters).
- buke hikeshi (武家火消 samurai firefighters)
-- daimyō hikeshi (大名火消, daimyo firefighters) and
-- jōbikeshi (定火消, hatamoto firefighters).

Anti-arson measures
- Hitsuke tōzoku aratame 火付盗賊改方

Urban planning - fire barrier zones
- Hiyokechi 火除地 and hirokōji 広小路
- Fire-resistant and fireproof structures
- Prohibitions and fire alert orders
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Meireki no Taika 明暦の大火 Great Fire of Meireki
March 2–3, 1657 / 3 Meireki/1/18-19
... also known as the Furisode Fire, destroyed 60–70% of the Japanese capital city of Edo (now Tokyo) on March 2, 1657, the third year of the Meireki Imperial era. The fire lasted for three days, and is estimated to have claimed over 100,000 lives.
Legend
The fire was said to have been started accidentally by a priest who was cremating an allegedly cursed kimono. The kimono had been owned in succession by three teenage girls who all died before ever being able to wear it. When the garment was being burned, a large gust of wind fanned the flames causing the wooden temple to ignite.
. . . . . On the 24th day of the new year, six days after the fire began, monks and others began to transport the bodies of those killed down the Sumida River to Honjo, Sumida,_Tokyo, a community on the eastern side of the river. There, pits were dug and the bodies buried; the Ekō-in (Hall of Prayer for the Dead) was then built on the site.
. . . . . Under the guidance of Rōjū Matsudaira Nobutsuna 松平信綱, streets were widened and some districts replanned and reorganized
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

Matsudaira Nobutsuna 松平信綱 (1596 – 1662)
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period, who ruled the Kawagoe Domain. First serving Tokugawa Iemitsu as a page, Nobutsuna was renowned for his sagacity. He was named a rōjū in 1633. Nobutsuna led the shogunal forces to their final victory over the rebellion at Shimabara. His court title was Izu no Kami, which was the origin of his nickname, "Izu the Wise" (知恵伊豆 Chie Izu).
. . . . . In his later years, he joined senior Tokugawa officials such as Hoshina Masayuki in supporting the underaged 4th shogun, Ietsuna. With Hoshina he planned how to rebuilt the town of Edo after the great fire.
. . . . . Shogun Ietsuna calls him "as ugly as a toad".
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


The bridge 両国橋 Ryogokubashi across the　隅田川 Sumida river was constructed on request of Hoshina and Matsudaira to provide an escape road for the townspeople. The land on the other side soon thrived as a popular amusement district, as did many other of the newly built hirokooji　広小路 Hirokoji, Wide Roads, which provided space for yatai 屋台 stalls and evening business.

. Ryoogokubashi 両国橋　 Ryogokubashi bridge .


The 天守閣　tenshukaku tower of Edo castle was also lost during the Meireki fire.
It was not rebuilt any more, to express the lasting peace of the Tokugawa bakufu and the money was spent to rebuilt the town. The gates at the other bridges of Edo were also kept open for free transportation and trade in Edo, thus improving the life of the citizens. This also expressed the now lasting peace of the Bakufu, showing that a castle for war defense was no longer needed.

. Edo joo 江戸城 Edojo, Edo Castle .

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October 9, 1698 - Chokugaku Fire 勅額火事
Also called 元禄江戸大火 or 中堂火事
It started from Kyobashi and by a southern wind spread fast. Soon it came down from Surugadai to Shitaya 下谷、Kanda Myojin Shita 神田明神下 and 湯島天神下 Yushima Tenjin Shita.
Then to 下谷池之端 Shitaya Ikenohata and on to Asakusa. It was stopped by a great rain after 22 hours.
More than 3000 dead.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Shitaya 下谷 and modern Taitō-ku 台東区 Taito Ward .

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April 22, 1806 - Great Fire of Bunka 文化の大火
文化3年3月4日
Also called 丙寅の大火 or 車町火事 or 牛町火事.
It started in 車町, passed the Kamiyashiki of the Satsuma clan.
It destroyed much of the Ryogoku, Kyobashi and Nihonbashi districts of Edo, and on to Kanda and Asakusa.
Next day came a great rain and the fire extinguished.
More than 1200 dead.

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 and the Shitaya Fire Haiku .
Issa lived in 下谷 Shitaya at that time.

- quote -
Ueno Hirokoji / Shitaya / Yamashita
The area around the present day Ueno Park (the former Kan'ei-ji Temple).
Ueno Hirokoji is the area from the entrance to present day Ueno Park to Matsuzakaya.
After the Great Fire of Meireki (1657), the street width was widened and the area was made into a firebreak. This was a shopping quarter lined with grocery stores, restaurants and other shops along the route of the Onarimichi (a special road used by the imperial family, regents and advisers and the shogun) successive Shoguns throughout history when they went to worship at the Kan'ei-ji Temple.
At the intersection of the present day Chuo St. and Shinobazu St. the Shinobu-gawa River flowed, and there were 3 bridges over it so the area was called Mihashi (three bridges). Matsuzakaya and Mihashi were both pictured in nishiki-e.
Shitaya refers to a section on the east side of Kan'ei-ji Temple (present day Ueno Park), and the name (lower valley) was in reference to Ueno, which was a plateau.
Yamashita (below mountain) refers to being beneath Toeizan. It was located in the area within the present day JR Ueno Station building and the plaza in front of the station. In 1737 it was made into a firebreak after a fire, and became an amusement district with stores and entertainment booths rather than a residential area.
- reference source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks/e/sights -

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Three Great Fires of Edo 江戸の三大大火

Meireki 明暦の大火
Meguro Gyooninzaka 目黒行人坂の大火 Meguro Gyoninzaka (Meiwa no taika)
Hinoe Tora 丙寅の大火 (Bunka no taika)


- source : gakken.co.jp/kagakusouken -

- quote -
Meguro Gyōnin-zaka slope and Fuji 目黒行人坂冨士

Gyōnin-zaka is a steep slope at Shimo-Meguro, Meguro Ward.
The slope was so named because ascetics from Mt.Yudonosan in Ushū (Yamagata Prefecture)
built a Dainichinyorai-do hall there. ("gyōnin" means "ascetic".)
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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Tokyo 文京区 Bunkyo Ward

. The Fire at 伝通院 Temple Denzu-In, Dentsu-In .

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Tokyo 中央区 Chuo Ward

At the Great Bunsei Fire on there was a shop sign that did not burn.
Near the origin of the fire, there was a small hut that did not burn.

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Tokyo 練馬区 Nerima

kitsune 狐 the fox
There lives an old fox in the temple. When he called out, he warned people of a fire, so three or four times a great fire could be averted. He is therefore called

火消稲荷 Fire-extinguishing Inari
a form of hi no kami inari 火の神稲荷, Inari as a Fire Deity.

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Tokyo 西多摩郡 Nishi-Tama district 檜原村 Hinohara village

akai kami 赤い紙 a red paper
A poorly looking traveler was refused to stay over night.
The traveler went to the outskirts of the village, folded a red paper and let it fly.
The paper flew to the home where the traveler had been refused and caused a fire.
Many other homes also burned down that night in a large fire.

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Tokyo 品川区 Shinagawa ward

O-Koojin sama お荒神様 the Venerable Kojin Deity
Once there was a fire in a shopping area in front of Shinagawa station.
A man took a small sancutary of the Kojin Deity, placed it on the roof in the direction of the fire and opened the doors of the sanctuary.
Soon the wind changed direction and the fire stopped at his neighbours house.
. Kojin, Aragami 荒神と伝説 Legends about the Aragami deity .

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- source : nichibun yokai database -

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. taika 大火と伝説 Legends about big fires in Japan .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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Tenryo Government Land

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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tenryoo, tenryō 天領 Tenryo Government Land "Land of Heaven"
bakuryoo　幕領　Bakuryo government land, bakufu-owned land
bakufu chokkatsu chi 政府直轄地 / bakufu chokkatsu ryoo 幕府直轄領
shogun's direct holdings, personal land- holdings, personal fief of the Tokugawa



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Tenryō, gundai and daikan
The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as bakufu chokkatsuchi; since the Meiji period, the term tenryō has become synonymous.
In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle and lands gained as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka. By the end of the seventeenth century, the shogun's landholdings had reached four million koku. Such major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, and mines, including the Sado gold mine, also fell into this category.
- source : wikipedia

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. Ashio doozan 足尾銅山 Ashio Dozan, Ashio Copper Mine . - Tochigi
and Besshi doozan 別子銅山 Bessgu copper mine, Ehime

. Gyotoku enden 行徳塩田 Gyotoku salt fields in Chiba .

. Hita 日田市 - Bungo no Kuni Hita 豊後国日田 . Oita
Hita Tenryo Matsuri　日田天領まつり　Hita Tenryo Festival
Tenryo Hita Hina Doll Festival　天領日田雛まつり


. Iwami Ginzan 石見銀山　Silver Mines at Iwami, Shimane .

. Sadokoku Sado koku 佐渡国 Sado Province .


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信濃の天領陣屋 Jinya Government Building in Shinano
江戸幕府の天領 - 村上直
天領（江戸幕府直轄領）研究の第一人者である村上直氏が、全国的な観点から天領を捉える。天領の設定と存在意義、天領の開発と代官頭、関東と畿内の天領、天領の地域的分布、天領と代官支配、幕府の職掌分化と代官、代官と遠国奉行などについて解説する。
- source : town.iijima.lg.jp -


- quote -
天領という用語は、
明治初期に旧幕府直轄領が天皇の御料（直轄領）になったときに天領と呼ばれるようになったため、さかのぼって幕府時代のものも天領と通称するようになったもので、江戸時代に使われていた用語ではない。江戸時代には支配所　shihaisho（しはいしょ、しはいじょ）、支配処（しはいしょ、しはいじょ）と呼んだ。また通称で御料 goryo（ごりょう）、御料所 goryosho（ごりょうしょ、ごりょうじょ）、御料地 goryochi（ごりょうち）、公儀御料 kogi oryo （こうぎごりょう）などとも呼ばれた。
なお、現在では幕府領、幕領という語が用いられることもあり、その中に旗本知行地（約300万石）も含めて呼ばれることもある。
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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CLICK for more types of Sake and even Tenryo water!

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天領の空かがやかす雉の綺羅
tenryo no sora kagayakasu kiji no kira

the glittering
of the pheasant brings a shine
to the "Land of Heaven "
Tr. Gabi Greve

Endoo Masako 遠藤正子 Endo Masako

. WKD : kiji　雉 pheasant .
- - kigo for all spring - -


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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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bakuhan system

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bakuhan 幕藩 Bakuhan feudal system

The bakuhan taisei 幕藩体制 was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan.
Baku, or "tent," is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning "military government" — that is, the shogunate.
The han were the domains headed by daimyo.

. bakufu 幕府 The Edo Government and Administration .



The Tokugawa (or Edo) period brought 250 years of stability to Japan. The political system evolved into what historians call bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han (domains) to describe the government and society of the period. In the bakuhan, the shogun had national authority and the daimyo had regional authority.
This represented a new unity in the feudal structure, which featured an increasingly large bureaucracy to administer the mixture of centralized and decentralized authorities. The Tokugawa became more powerful during their first century of rule: land redistribution gave them nearly seven million koku, control of the most important cities, and a land assessment system reaping great revenues.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote
Tokugawa Political System
The Tokugawa political system was perhaps the most complex feudal system ever developed. It was similar to the European feudal system (pope, emperor or king, feudal barons, and retainers in Europe compared to emperor, the shogun, the daimyo, and samurai retainers in Japan), but it was also very bureaucratic, an attribute not associated with European feudalism.

This political system was called the bakuhan system. Baku comes from bakufu which was the government the Tokugawa leaders used to administer their private affairs inside their own fief. Han means domain and refers to the 250-plus domains that existed throughout the Edo period. Thus, bakuhan refers to the co-existence of the Tokugawa government with separate, independent governments in each of the fiefs. Since each daimyo was a retainer of the shogun, the bakufu or shogunate had some power across all of Japan. This was not a federal system or even a centralized hierarchy of political authorities; rather, it was a system in which two levels of government existed with a high degree of independence.

The Tokugawa shogunate was very much like any domainal government in that it was responsible first for the administration of a limited territory, the fief of the Tokugawa house. As such, it concerned itself with controlling the samurai class, collecting taxes (primarily on agriculture), maintaining civil order, defending the fief, controlling the cities, encouraging commerce and manufacturing which were required by the fief, limiting undesirable types of commerce and so on. In most domains, the scope of government was similar. In fact, as the Edo period wore on, most domains copied the system of the shogunate.

The Tokugawa shogunate also had responsibilities and concerns which went beyond those of ordinary domains; the Tokugawa shoguns were, after all, hegemons presiding over a whole country.

The Tokugawa government alone dealt with the imperial court, the imperial nobility and the emperor himself. The emperor was the source of legitimacy since the office of shogun was an imperial appointment. Furthermore, Confucianism which was the official ideology of the Tokugawa house during the Edo period focused attention on the emperor. Thus, the Tokugawa shogunate established a monopoly on access to the imperial court. As the period wore on, the monopoly was breached, but it is essentially true that the Tokugawa controlled and manipulated the court for its own purposes.

The shogunate held a near monopoly over foreign trade and foreign affairs. The trade monopoly was important because significant profits were available to the Tokugawa alone. Foreign trade was also permitted through Satsuma domain to the Ryukyu kingdom (Okinawa) and through Tsushima domain to Korea, but generally speaking diplomatic matters were closely controlled by the Tokugawa.

Foreign relations were crucial because control of them made a statement to the political public that the Tokugawa house was in control of all aspects of government; it was an additional source of legitimacy. In line with this, the Tokugawa shogunate restricted diplomatic contact by prohibiting any Europeans except the Dutch from coming to Japan after 1639; this was the policy of national seclusion (sakoku). But even seclusion was an exercise of power which impressed observers and encouraged submission.

Perhaps the most important role of the shogunate was control of the domains, the han. This was precisely what had been lacking in the Warring States period, the ability of central authority to enforce peace. During the forty years before the Edo period, the three unifiers, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, evolved a system which proved increasingly capable of ensuring the loyalty and obedience of vassals. The Tokugawa shogunate took this previous experience and honed it to perfection.

Elements of this system included a police and spy network which reported any suspicious activity by samurai or daimyo. Daimyo were required to report any proposed marriage alliances between domains to the shogunate for approval. Contact between domains was prohibited to reduce opportunities for plotting against the shogunate. The number of castles, their size and their strength were very strictly limited.

The shogunate could punish daimyo for transgressions in a variety of ways; a domain could be reduced in size, the daimyo could be shifted to an entirely different domain, or, the ultimate sanction, suicide could be demanded, perhaps with the additional punishment of his lineage being reduced in status to a non-daimyo level.

The most important aspect of the system of controlling the han was the sankin-kotai system, or the system of alternate residence in Edo. This grew out of the Warring States period practice of demanding high-ranking hostages from vassals or allies to guarantee good behavior. The founder of the shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was himself a hostage for nearly 13 years as a young boy.

The Tokugawa, however, formalized the keeping of hostages. They established rules which specified for each daimyo a period of time every year (or two or three) during which the daimyo must live in Edo. The daimyo’s family would have to live in Edo when the daimyo returned to his domain, so that the one stood hostage for the other.

Not only did this provide hostages, but it also placed an economic burden on the daimyo which drained away resources that otherwise might have gone into military preparations against the shogunate. The daimyo had to maintain a large residence and support facilities in Edo as well as in their domain. They also had to travel to and from Edo along a route dictated by the shogunate. Most traveled on the Tokaido because the Nakasendo was used by the imperial court, but the overall burden was spread between the two roads. The whole system consumed about 25% of the income available to most daimyo.

The shogunate was only one part of the bakuhan system, however; the domains were the other. The domains were independent with regard to their internal arrangements as long as there was no conflict with the shogunate’s interests. In practice, the domains voluntarily duplicated the shogunate’s system of government to a large degree because the interests and problems of a daimyo at his level were similar to those of the shogunate: how to maintain stability and order. Furthermore, the powers which the shogunate exercised over the domains had the effect of forcing the domains to behave in much the same manner since they were facing the same requirements.

For example, all substantial domains maintained commercial operations in Osaka, the national market, in order to sell rice and other commodities so as to raise the cash required by the alternate attendance system. This standardization did much to reduce regional differences and potential antagonisms throughout the Edo period.

Like the shogunate, the daimyo had a high interest in pacifying and controlling their subjects and the samuraiin general. During the late 16th Century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi disarmed the peasants through a series of sword hunts with the intention of reducing their contribution to turmoil and to pin them to agricultural activity alone. In the years after 1588, samurai were progressively removed from their independent fiefs in the countryside and brought into the daimyos’ castle towns to live. The samurai became separated from the peasantry both in social role and place of residence.
- source : nakasendoway.com


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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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Sumitomo family business

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. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .
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The Sumitomo family　住友家
and doozan 銅山 Dozan copper mines in Japan

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The Sumitomo Group, of which Sumitomo Corporation is a key member, dates to the 17th century establishment of a book and medicine shop in Kyoto by 小次郎政友　Masatomo Sumitomo. Sumitomo's brother-in-law 蘇我理右衛門　Riemon Soga developed a technology to extract silver from copper, and Soga's son (who married Sumitomo's daughter) 住友友以　Tomomochi Sumitomo expanded this smelting business to Osaka.
From this start, the Sumitomo family expanded its business into copper mining (the Besshi copper mine), followed by textiles, sugar and medicine trading.
Its 家号 Yago house name was 泉屋 Izumiya.

The Sumitomo family was close to the Tokugawa shogunate throughout the Edo period. During the 1860s, this relationship became a liability for the firm as the Tokugawa clan warred with rivals in western Japan. Following the Tokugawas' defeat, Sumitomo was almost ruined and under pressure to sell the Besshi mine, which by that point was nearly unworkable. However, Sumitomo kept the mine and improved its output through adoption of new Western techniques.
During the rapid westernization of Japan in ensuing decades, Sumitomo started various new trading, manufacturing and financing businesses, becoming one of the major zaibatsu of early 20th century Japan.

Sumitomo Corporation (住友商事株式会社 Sumitomo Shōji Kabushiki-gaisha)
is one of the largest worldwide Sogo shosha general trading companies, and is a diversified corporation. The company was incorporated in 1919, it is a member company of the Sumitomo Group.
- source : wikipedia




Sumitomo Corporation
- source : sumitomocorp.co.jp -

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住友家の起源 - 始祖・家祖・業祖
住友の姓は、戦国の末、もともと先祖に順美平内友定という人物がおり、桓武天皇の曾孫・高望王の二十二代目にその子・小太郎（忠重）が父の姓と名をとって「住友」の姓を称して室町将軍に仕えて、備中守に任じられたのに始まる。

平家の末裔である戦国武士だった住友家の先祖は、国取り物語の戦国時代を有為転変の歴史を生きる。室町将軍に仕えた「始祖」・住友忠重の子・頼定は、足利義晴に仕え、頼定の子・定信は刑部承と称した。そして、定信の子・定重は、今川義忠（今川義元の祖父）に仕えるが、定重の子・信定の代になり、今川氏が滅んでしまったので、摂津の中川清秀に仕え、入江土佐守と称し、中川十六騎の一人として知られたが、尾崎の陣で戦死してしまう。また入江土佐守（信定）の子・政俊は越前国の柴田氏に仕え、若狭守と称し越前丸岡城にあったが、柴田勝家と共に北庄城で滅んでしまった。政俊の子・長行は、徳川家康の子で結城家へ養子入りした結城秀康に用いられるが、住友家の武家の歴史はここまでである。戦国の習いとはいえ、武家社会の興亡の激しさと無情を感じたのか長行は、自分の子供たちに武家の世界から足を洗わせた。
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -



新居浜市角野新田町3丁目13番

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The Besshi copper mine (別子銅山 Besshi dōzan) was a rich source of copper in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture.
The deposits were discovered in 1690, and mining began in the following year. From then until the closing of the mine in 1973, Besshi produced about 700,000 tons of copper, and contributed to Japan's trade and modernization. The Sumitomo family managed the mine, which helped build the Sumitomo zaibatsu. The Dōzan River was named after the copper mine.
The Minetopia Besshi theme park uses some of the mine's facilities.
- source : wikipedia -

During the Edo period, the copper had to be carried from the high mountain down to the beach at Niihama. Male porters with 45 kg in a backpack and female porters with 30 kg had to go down a very small and dangerous mountain path of about 12 kilometers with this load.
In a recent re-creation some male porters made it for just a few meters and than had to give up because it was too dangerous.
Hirose Saihei 広瀬宰平 (1828 - 1914)
was the first 初代住友総理人 Director-General.
- source : Rules Governing the House of Sumitomo -
At the beginning of the Meiji period, modern equipment was introduced by Hirose as much as possible, with mountain railroads and ropeways to carry the burden.
But the immense smoke produced during the melting process caused damage to the local crops 煙害問題.
Iba Teigo 伊庭貞剛 (1847 - 1926) - second director genera.
Even a re-location of the ovens and a huge chimney on an uninhabited island off Niihama 四阪島 could not solve the problem and only caused further damage to a large part of the surrounding farms. Finally special filters were developed to contain the poisonous smoke.
The history of Besshi Copper Mine was taken up in a very instructive TV infotainment in january 2016.


Hyakunen no Kei, Watashi ni Ari
Shirarezaru Meiji SangyouIshin Leader Den
Cast: Enoki Takaaki, Ishiguro Ken,
Asari Yosuke, Asaka Mayumi, Hiki Rie, Yamada Kinuo, Patrick Lample
Synopsis:
Sumitomo’s first director general was Hirose Saihei (Enoki Takaaki) who grew up at the Besshi Copper Mine run by the house of Sumitomo in Shiga Prefecture from young. He convinces Sumitomo to embark on modernising its mine “for the sake of Japan 100 years into the future”.
Persistent and particular about modernisation at the hands of the Japanese, he was an active proponent of transferring Western technology. He made his subordinate Shiono Monnosuke (Asari Yosuke) study in France and learn mining technology. This is how the copper mine was rapidly modernised.
But on the other hand, the smoke emissions from smelting mill caused environmental problems. It was Hirose’s nephew Iba Teigo (Ishiguro Ken) who volunteered to tackle this difficult situation. In order to solve the root of the problem, Iba proposed an incredible plan to move the modern smelting mill, which was completed less than 10 years ago, to another place just like the current. A furious Hirose was absolutely against this reckless plan. But Iba talked him into it and even carried out a huge reforestation plan to restore nature at the mountains of Besshi that had been devastated by mining and smelting that spanned 200 years. Iba would go on to become Sumitomo’s second director general.
How far did the reforms of Hirose and Iba get?
- source : jdramas.wordpress.com -

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葛がくれ幕府御用の銅の道
kuzugakure bakufu goyoo no doo no michi

hidden in Kuzu
the copper road
of the Bakufu

品川鈴子 Shinagawa Suzuko



別子銅山のぼれば桔梗また桔梗
Besshi doozan noboreba kikyoo mata kikyoo

Besshi copper mine
climbing up there are Chinese bellflowers
and more bellflowers

津村芳水 Tsumura Hosui


. kikyoo 桔梗 Chinese bellflower - Platycodon grandiflorus. .
- kigo for autumn -

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草笛に吹くよ別子の銅山節
kusabue ni fuku yo Besshi no doozanbushi

blowing it
on a reed flute -
the Besshi Copper Mine Song

品川鈴子 Shinagawa Suzuko




別子銅山せっとう節 Besshi Dozan Settobushi
江戸時代から鉱山へ出稼ぎにきた坑夫たちによって歌い継がれた作業歌とされています。
女は絣の着物にタスキがけ、男は坑夫のいでたちで登場します。
- reference -


. kusabue 草笛 "reed flute" .
- kigo for summer -

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- - - - - There was one more important copper mine in Japan.

Ashio doozan 足尾銅山 Ashio Dozan, Ashio Copper Mine

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The Ashio Copper Mine, Ashio, Tochigi prefecture, became very significant from the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. It was the site of major pollution in the 1880s and the scene of the 1907 miners riots.



The Ashio mine has been in existence at least since 1600 when it belonged to the Tokugawa shogunate. At that time it produced about 1,500 tons annually, although this declined when the mine was closed in 1800. It became privately owned in 1871 following the industrialisation initiated by the Meiji restoration. By 1877 it became the property of Furukawa Ichibei, and by the 1880s production had increased dramatically, reaching 4,090 tons by 1885, 78 per cent of the total output of the Furukawa mines and 39 percent of Japan's copper production.

The Ashio mine was shut down in 1973.
The Ashio Copper Mine Incident is the name given to the environmental disaster that occurred as a result of the Ashio mining operations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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. Kaido 街道 the old highways .

akagane kaido あかがね街道 / 銅街道 copper highway
doozan kaido 銅山街道 copper mine highway

Connecting the Ashio copper mine with the 前島河岸 Maejima coast.
About 45 km long with a difference in hight of about 600 m.


- CLICK for more photos !

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製錬のにほひかそかに夏山路
seiren no nioi kasoka ni natsu yamaji

the faint smell
of metal smelting
on the summer mountain road

上村占魚 Uemura Sengyo (下野足尾銅山)

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足尾銅山枯葉に重さありにけり
Ashio doozan kareha ni omosa ari ni keri

Ashio copper mine
and the withered leaves
feel so heavy . . .

渡辺恭子 Watanabe Kyoko




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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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Akita 阿仁合村 Aniai - 阿仁銅山 Ani copper mine

gingitsune 銀狐 the silver fox
Once upon a time a rich merchant from Osaka found a silver fox in his garden, but when he woke up from this dream, his wife had turned into a silver fox. So the wife-fox left her husband, but he came after her, travelling around in Japan. One day his wife-fox appeared again and told him, if he climbed up this mountain he would find precious metal.
This is the beginning of the Ani doozan 阿仁銅山 copper mines in Ani .

阿仁鉱山 Ani Kozan mines for copper, gold and silver.
Copper was first found in 1716. Shut down in 1987.



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Originally developed as a gold mine in 1300s, Ani mine became one of the top three copper mines in Japan with the highest record copper production in 1716 when operated by the Satake clan.
German mining engineers were invited in the 19th century to further improve its production. Ijinkan is a western building that used to accommodate such engineers, including Adolf Meckel, and was later used as a guesthouse after they left. The building was designated a national cultural asset in 1990.
- source : akita-ecotown.com -

. Kaido 街道 Highways of Japan .

Ani Kaidoo 阿仁街道 Ani Kaido Highway

From 角館 Kakunodate via the pass 大覚野峠 Daigakuno Toge to 阿仁銀山町 Ani Ginzan town, then to 米内沢 Yonaizawa and 小繁 Kotsunagi.
The part until the pass is also called
大覚野街道 Daigakuno Kaido
- reference and photos : akitabi.com/ani... -

Connecting to
角館街道 Kakudate Kaido, 刈和野街道 Kariwano Kaido, 生保内街道 Obonai Kaido and 五城目街道 Gojome Kaido.


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Akita 土川 Tsuchikawa - 杉沢銅山 Sugisawa copper mine

katame no sakana 片目の魚 fish with one eye
The stonefish (kajika 鰍) from Tsuchikawa village living below the copper mine lost one eye when the paths were hit by a landslide and the blood of the killed workers flowed down the river, filling one of the fish's eyes.

This mine for gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc in the 大仙市 Daisen town district was closed in 1972.

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Gifu 洞戸村 Horado

hitokui Ebisu 人喰いエビス man-eating Ebisu
This man-eating Ebisu was hit by an arrow from 正之御前 Masa no Gozen at 弓保木, the blood of Ebisu flew down the river at 赤谷 Akadani and he finally fled to 恵比寿山 Mount Ebisusan to the copper mine grotto 銅山岩屋 (also called Ebisugura エベスグラ.)

There is a small shrine in honor of Masa no Gozen 正の御前, 正之御前社.
It is about 540 meter high on Ebisu mountain.



In the shrine is a deity and two bronze mirrors.
A warrior from Echizen who had lost his head in battle and his retainer Masa no Gozen burried it on the mountain.
- source : sankyoharinko -

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- source : nichibun yokai database -

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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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