Sekigahara

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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Sakigahara　関が原 / 関ケ原 / 関ヶ原

The village of Sekigahara 関ケ原町 Sekigahara-cho is located in the Fuwa District of Gifu.
In 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara took place here.

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The Battle of Sekigahara
(関ヶ原の戦い/ 關ヶ原の戰い Sekigahara no Tatakai)
was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
took three more years to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the daimyo, but Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa bakufu, the last shogunate to control Japan. Japan had a long period of peace after the battle.
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- - - - - Seeds of dissent from Sekigahara
While most clans were content with their new status, there were many clans, especially those on the western side, who became bitter about their displacement or what they saw as a dishonorable defeat or punishment. Three clans in particular did not take the aftermath of Sekigahara lightly:
The Mōri clan,
headed by Mōri Terumoto (Mori Terumoto), remained angry toward the Tokugawa shogunate for being displaced from their fief, Aki, and being relocated to the Chōshū Domain, even though the clan did not take part in the battle at all.
The Shimazu clan,
headed by Shimazu Yoshihiro, blamed the defeat on its poor intelligence-gathering, and while they were not displaced from their home province of Satsuma, they did not become completely loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate either. Taking advantage of its large distance between Edo and the island of Kyūshū as well as its improved espionage, the Shimazu clan demonstrated that it was virtually an autonomous kingdom independent from the Tokugawa shogunate during its last days.
The Chōsokabe clan,
headed by Chōsokabe Morichika, was stripped of its title and domain of Tosa and sent into exile. Former Chōsokabe retainers never quite came to terms with the new ruling family, the Yamauchi clan, which made a distinction between its own retainers and former Chōsokabe retainers, giving them lesser status as well as discriminatory treatment. This class distinction continued even generations after the fall of the Chōsokabe clan.
The descendants of these three clans would in two centuries collaborate to bring down the Tokugawa shogunate, leading to the Meiji Restoration.
- - - More details in the WIKIPEDIA !




Sekigahara Kassen Byōbu (『関ヶ原合戦屏風』),
Japanese screen depicting the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い).
This 1854 replica recreates the original Hikone-jō Bon Sekigahara Kassen Byōbu (彦根城本『関ヶ原合戦屏風』 by Sadanobu Kanō (狩野貞信) from the 1620s and was a treasure of the Lord Ii of Hikone (彦根藩井伊家) thereinafter.
However, it is not a faithful rendition of the original, with some noticeable omissions and design alterations throughout the layout. Collection of The Town of Sekigahara Archive of History and Cultural Anthropology (関ヶ原町歴史民俗資料館所蔵), found in a private collection of a long-term resident of Ōgaki, near Sekigahara.
- source : commons.wikimedia.org -


. Mori Terumoto about winning a battle .
"The Mori Clan should never be involved in a battle!".

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. Nakasendoo　中山道 Nakasendo Road .

58. Sekigahara-juku 関ヶ原宿


Hiroshige print

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Sekigahara-juku is convenient because it is located at the intersection of many roads. In addition to being part of the Nakasendō, it also is connected to the Hokkoku Kaidō and the Ise Kaidō. However, its location has also been the site of many battles, including the Jinshin War and the Battle of Sekigahara.
In 1843,
the post station had 1,389 residents and 269 buildings. Among the buildings, there was one honjin, one sub-honjin, and 33 hatago.
As the area around the former Sekigahara-juku remains a convenient and popular transportation hub, there are no ruins of the former post town to be found. However, because of all the battles in their area, there are many other ruins that can be seen.
- source : wikipedia -

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- quote - Japan Times -
Battle of Sekigahara: a war set in stone
by Stephen Mansfield
They were selling steamed buns and mugwort ice cream to a handful of history buffs when I arrived at the entrance to War Land, or to use its full name, The Immersion Museum — Sekigahara War Land.
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The open valley basins of Gifu Prefecture at the very center of Honshu, where the town of Sekigahara lies, were easily co-opted as theaters of war. It’s no coincidence, given the martial history of the region, that the prefectural town of Seki, sitting on the Nakasendo trunk road connecting Tokyo (then Edo) and Kyoto, was once known as the premier sword-making spot in the country.


CLICK for more photos !

Sekigahara was second only to the Battle of Okinawa in being the largest armed conflict between two opposing armies to take place on Japanese soil. It was unquestionably the foremost confrontation between two Japanese forces. In terms of Japanese history, the battle altering the future course of the nation might be compared to Gettysburg.
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- source : japantimes.co.jp/life/2016/03/19-

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In 1600, Sekigahara, the dividing point between eastern and western Japan, was the scene of a decisive battle fought between the Eastern Army led by Tokugawa Ieyasu who aimed to unite Japan under his rule, and the Western Army formed to fight the Tokugawa forces under the command of Ishida Mitsunari.
Although the Western Army had a slight upper hand at first, the situation reversed when Kobayakawa Hideaki defected to the Eastern Army resulting in its victory.



The Battle of Sekigahara, regarded as one of the largest pivotal conflicts in Japanese history, lasted only six hours. Three years later, Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate at Edo (present-day Tokyo) and took over the rule of Japan. The town of Sekigahara which served as the battlefield of this massive battle abounds today with historic battle-related landmarks. We invite you to come and explore the army base camps and historic landmarks of the Battle of Sekigahara which will take you back to the time of this historic battle. You can also enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings as you stroll around the town of Sekigahara.
- source : kanko-sekigahara.jp -



- further reference -

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やぎ乳アイス Ice cream from Goat's milk
笹尾山麓で関ヶ原名物 - speciality from Sekigahara


. aisukuriimu アイスクリーム ice cream .

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shigure hamaguri 時雨蛤 clamshells in sweet syrup
This refers back to the famous battle of Sekigahara (1600), near Ogaki castle, where the fishermen of Kuwana gave some clams to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The clams are harvested out of the sand and then left for a while in a bucket of plain water to spit out the sand they still have in their body. They are then boiled in this water with shredded ginger roots and then cooled. Next they are simmered in special soy sauce from Ise (tamari shoyu たまり醤油) and flavored with sweet mizuame syrup.

. WASHOKU - clamshell, hamaguri 蛤 (はまぐり) .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

Yamabushi 山伏 mountain priest
During the Battle of Sekigahara, a Samurai cut off the legs of a mountain priest and took away all his food. The Yamabushi cursed him until the seventh generation and then died.
Since then, if a Head of this Samurai family inherits the name, he will suffer from heavy pain in his legs. If he passes on the Headship, he will be healed.

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Ehime 愛媛県 砥部町 Tobe

mekura hebi メクラヘビ the blind snake
Once upon a time
in the 芳賀家 Haga famili, which served as village head, there was a very special woman. She had been to the Battle of Sekigahara and came back. But the family thought of her as a shame and killed her.
Since then there roamed a blind snake in 猿谷 Saruya and got killed, but was later venerated in a Shinto shrine.
She became the deity 芳賀大明神 Haga Daimyojin.

and not related another legend from Matsuyama
八股榎お袖大明神（やつまたえのきおそでだいみょうじん）
Yatsumata Enoki O-Sode Daimyojin
- source : wikipedia -

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Gifu 岐阜県

Nagaragawa no kajika 長良川の河鹿 the Kajika frogs of Nagaragawa
The he lost the battle, female attendants of Oda Hidenobu 織田秀信 (1580 - 1605) threw themselves in the river Nagaragawa and died. Their souls became the Kajika frogs.

. kajikagaeru　河鹿蛙 Polypedates buergeri, river frog .


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Mie 三重県 松坂市 Matsuzaka

Kawakami Hachimangu 川上八幡宮　Shrine
At the battle of Sekigaraha, the head of 大谷刑部 Otani Gyobu (Otani Yoshitsugu, 1559 - 1600) was burried at the roots of some 菖蒲 Japanese Iris by a vassal. A wandering priest observed this, and told Tokugawa Ieyasu that he had cut off the head. Later he became the first Lord of the Todo Clan of Ise 伊勢の藤堂家.
The head of Gyobu was burried at the Shrine Kawakami Hachimangu, but it brought a curse with it.
So the Head of the Todo clan cound never visit this shrine.

川上八幡宮　-　三重県津市美杉町川上3498
3498 Misugicho Kawakami, Tsu, Mie - - - HP of the shrine S
- reference : wakamiya.info-


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Shiga 滋賀県

At the battle of Sekigahara, the leader of the loosing Western Army pleaded for its soldiers not to be beheaded,
but the Eastern Army, in its frenzy of victory, beheaded them all. A serpent living in the weeds there was all washed in blood and became blind and all white.
The souls of the dead slipped into its body and to our day a white serpent lingers on the mountain roads of the region.

When Ishida Mitsunari 石田三成 lost the battle of Sekigahara, his wife and her attendants threw themselves into the ponds 千貫池 Senkan-Ike and 万貫池 Mankan-Ike. Their curse stayed with the ponds and during a great rainfall at night people hear their crying and sniffing voices to our day.

. Ishida Mitsunari 石田三成 (1560 - 1600) .


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Shizuoka 静岡県

Otoragitsune, O-Tora-Gitsune お寅狐 the Fox named Tora (Tiger)
In this area, there are many stories about people being bewitched by a special fox, the
Toragitsune.
When he heard the sound of guns during the Battle of Sekigahara, he run away and became lame on one leg. People who are bewitched by this fox become lame, but also begin to talk about war strategy.

関が原の戦いで鉄砲の音がしてから逃げたらビッコになったという。
. Otoragitsune, O-Tora-Gitsune お寅狐 The Fox named Tora (Tiger) .
and the Battle of Nagashino (長篠の戦い).


- LINK to many ema 絵馬 votive tablets with O-Toragitsune:
- source : youkaiodaie.blog.fc2.com -

This seems a mix-up with the name of the battle of Nagashino,
Nagashino Shitaragahara　長篠設楽原　(ながしの したらがはら).


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関ヶ原畦一筋の野火走る
Sekigahara aze hitosuji no nobi hashiru

Sekigahara -
burning the small paths
between the withered fields
Tr. Gabi Greve

山本悦子 Yamamoto Etsuko

. WKD : nobi 野火（のび）fire of the withered fields .
noyaki 野焼 (のやき) burning the withered fields
- - kigo for spring - -



source : momotaro.naganoblog.jp


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蚊柱のさまよい歩く関が原
岩下四十雀

あらたまの虹かかりゐる関ケ原
鈴木恵美子

胴赤き蟻のさまよふ関ケ原
荒島禾生

古藁塚は伏兵霧の関ヶ原
柴田奈美

- source : haikureiku database -
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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. 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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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]- - - - - #sekigahara - - - -
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Yayosugashi district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Yayosugashi 八代洲河岸　 / やよすがし Yayosu Quay
Now in Chuo Ward. Yaesu 八重洲

Yayosu / Yeasu is named after the Dutch merchant from Holland,
Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn
ヤン・ヨーステン ファン・ローデンスタイン (1557 - 1623) / 耶揚子


source : rootsdiscovery/yaesu3

A map from 1865. The letters 「八代洲（やよす）川岸」 can be seen beside the gate 和田倉門前.
Jan Joosten presented Tokugawa Ieyasu with 24 lion cubs 虎の子.
In 1872 this area became 八重洲町 Yaesu and in 1929 part of Marunouchi 丸の内.
The district was named 中央区八重洲 in 1954.
Yaesu Avenue has a monument dedicated to Jan Joosten and his life after his arrival in Japan on the Liefde with William Adams.


. William Adams - Miura Anjin 三浦按針 .
(1564 - 1620)

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Nihonbashi, Yaesu-dōri / Chūō-dōri
Joosten was born in Delft 1556 and died in the South Chinese Sea 1623.


The monument is located in the middle of the Yaesu-dōri (= Jan Joosten Avenue) on the intersection with the Chūō-dōri (Chuo Avenue).

Bronze plaque with two rings, which are shaped as navigtational instruments. The left is dedicated to Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn, includes a copy of the Jan Joosten bust made by L. Braat, which is found a couple of hundred meters further in the Yaesu Shopping Mall. The right ring is dedicated to the ship De Liefde. Both halves contain a long explanation in Japanese and Dutch.



- source : vanderkrogt.net/statues

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Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn
(c. 1560 – 1623), or simply Jan Joosten, was a native of Delft and one of the first Dutchmen in Japan, arriving as one of William Adams's shipmates (the second mate) on the De Liefde, which was disabled on the coast of Kyūshū in 1600.
- - - - - Early life in Japan
The De Liefde departed Rotterdam in 1598, on a trading voyage and attempted a circumnavigation of the globe. It was wrecked in Japan in 1600. The 24 survivors were received by future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who questioned them at length on European politics and foreign affairs. As with William Adams, Joosten was selected to be a confidant of the Shogun on foreign and military affairs, and he contributed to the development of relations between the Netherlands and Japan, thereby weakening the influence of Portugal and Spain.

For his services, Jan Joosten was granted a house in Edo (now Tokyo) in a part of the city that came to be called "Yayosu Quay" after him — his name was pronounced yan yōsuten in Japanese (short: Yayōsu (耶楊子)) — and the name exists in the name of Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. Although not allowed to return to the Netherlands, Joosten was allowed to take a Japanese wife and was given a permit to engage in foreign trade. He was privileged to wear the two swords of the samurai and received an annual stipend which placed him (along with Adams) among the ranks of the hatamoto or direct retainers of the Shogun. Joosten was said to be a drunk with a choleric temperament, and at one point was not welcome at Ieyasu's court.



Joosten is reported to have made a fortune in trade between Japan and Southeast Asia, chartering several Red Seal Ships under license from Tokugawa Ieyasu.
After the establishment of the Dutch Factory in Hirado, he became a middleman between Dutch merchants and the Shogunate.
He is also said to have been to Siam on one of his ships, with the Japanese adventurer and author Tenjiku Tokubei. Later, he attempted to return to the Netherlands, but after reaching Batavia, he was denied permission by Dutch authorities to proceed further.
He drowned in the South China Sea in 1623 when his ship sank as he was returning to Japan.
- - - source : WIKIPEDIA


Tenjiku Tokubei 天竺徳兵衛 (1612 - c. 1692)
a Japanese adventurer and writer of the early 17th century. He traveled to Southeast and South Asia, hence his "Tenjiku" (Japanese: 天竺, East Asian name of "India") nickname.
He was born in Sendo-machi, Takasago-cho, in today's Hyōgo Prefecture in 1612. His father was a salt wholesaler.
At the age of fifteen, in 1626, Tokubei was hired by a trading company in Kyoto. He pursued commercial activities aboard Japanese Red Seal Ships.
In 1627, Tokubei visited China, Vietnam and Siam (modern Thailand) on board a Japanese Red Seal ship. He would stay for some time in Siam and again visit the country on board one of the ships of the Dutch adventurer Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn. He also sailed to India, to the source of the Ganges, and the country of Magadha, and returned with great wealth and numerous stories to tell.
Upon his return to Japan,
and after the introduction of the Seclusion policy (Sakoku), Tokubei wrote an essay titled "Tenjiku Tokai Monogatari" (天竺渡海物語, "Relations of sea travels to India") on his adventures in foreign countries, which became very popular in Japan.


彩入御伽草 Eiri Otogi Zôshi - Kabuki actor 尾上松助 Onoe Matsusuke
Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国

- - - - - The Kabuki character ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)
Utagawa Hiroshige was born in 1797 in the Yayosugashi district of Edo, the son of Ando Genemon, a member of the fire-fighting brigade maintained by the Tokugawa Shogunate. At the time, Kitagawa Utamaro and Toshusai Sharaku were at their prime as ukiyo-e artists. Ukiyo-e, which means art of the floating world, refers to the impermanence of life and the enjoyment of pleasure free of mundane concerns. ...
After the death of his parents in 1809, Andō Tokutarō (Hiroshige) took over his father's place as a firefighter.
- source : bk.mufg.jp/global/newsroom -

江戸の八代洲河岸（やよすがし）定火消屋敷の同心、安藤源右衛門の子.
. Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 .

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八重洲大路ふと秋風に出遇ひけり
Yaesu ooji futo akikaze ni deai keri

at Yaesu Road
I come to meet a bout
of autumn wind . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

Sutoo Shooko 須藤省子 Suto Shoko (1923 - )


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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

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

. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .


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Kojimachi district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Koojimachi, Kōjimachi 麹町 / 麴町 Kojimachi district
. Chiyoda ku 千代田区 Chiyoda ward - "Fields of Eternity" .



Many shops who made and sold Koji for Japanese food lived in this area, hence the name.
For example 麹屋三四郎 Kojiya Sanshiro.



Another explanation links the name to the beginning of the road to Koshu, Koofuji　国府路 Kofuji, pronounced fast as Koji and soon written with the character 麹.

. kooji 麹 Japanese yeast .
with Aspergillus oryzae or A. sojae
To make soy sauce, miso paste, rice wine and other types of Japanese food and drink.


During the Edo period, many wholesalers lived here, also carpenters and wall plasterers and many merchants which delivered to the Bakufu government　(goyootashi 御用達) and Edo castle.
okuishi 奥医師 　Doctors who attended to the Tokugawa concubines of Ooku 大奥 also lived here.

Kojimachi is a long district with many sub-districts, the third one, Sanbancho often simply called "Bancho", where many Hatamoto retainers lived. They had a special area for horse training, 騎射調練馬場.


source : ameblo.jp/tkyburabura

Since 1865, the second and third sons of 旗本 Hatamoto came here, placed 焙烙 Horoku earthen plates on their head and tried to hit them down while riding in two fighting groups. ほうろく調練場.

Now it is a very expensive area with luxury appartment houses.

麹町 … 宮城(皇居)とその周辺地域

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A neighborhood in Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Prior to the arrival of Tokugawa Ieyasu, it was known as Kōjimura (糀村 Kojimura). The area developed as townspeople settled along the 甲州街道　Kōshū Kaidō. In 1878 Kōjimachi became a ward in the city of Tokyo. It was the forerunner of Chiyoda which is now a special ward.

The Kōjimachi ward was larger than past day Kōjimachi. The area centered upon Kōjimachi including the districts of the Banchō (番町 Bancho) area, Kudanminami, Kioichō, Hirakawachō and Hayabusachō is sometimes referred as the Kojimachi area (麹町地区).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Edo Nana Fushigi 江戸七不思議 The Seven Wonders of Edo　 .
番町七不思議 Banchoo Nana Fushigi

. Hayabusachoo, Hayabusachō 隼町 Hayabusacho district . - Chiyoda

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Kojimachi Shimizudani 麹町清水谷
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Shimizudani Park, famous for cherry blossom and autumn foliage viewing,

During the Edo period (1603-1868),
the area was known as the Shimizudani valley because the Kishu Tokugawa, Owari Tokugawa, and Ii families had residences here, and fresh water would gush out from between the Kishu and Ii homes.
This is reproduced in the 心字池 Shinji-ike pond found there today.
In 1878, after the Meiji Restoration, Okubo Toshimichi, one of the three great nobles of the Restoration, was on his way to the Imperial Palace in Akasaka when the Kioizaka Incident, in which he was assassinated by Shimada Ichiro, a samurai from Ishikawa Prefecture, broke out here. This incident shocked the world at the time, and a monument to Okubo Toshimichi was erected at the site, which later became Shimizudani Park.
Later, in 1890,
the land in the area was donated to the city of Tokyo, and as part of the city's urban planning strategy, the park was opened as the Shimizudani Park. In 1956, the park became a metropolitan park, and in 1965, it was transferred to the Chiyoda City, where it remains today.
Incidentally, Hotel New Otani Tokyo now stands on the site of the Ii family's former residence, and the Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho and the Sophia University campus stand on the site of the Kishu Tokugawa family's residence and the Owari Tokugawa family's residence respectively.
Shimizudani Park is also characterized by its seasonal scenery.
In spring, the Somei Yoshino and weeping cherry trees bloom, and the avenue of double-flowered cherry trees facing the park turns the area peach-colored. In the fall, the leaves of the trees and ginkgo trees begin to change color, giving visitors a sense of the changing of the seasons.
- source : visit-chiyoda.tokyo -

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. 麹町地区 Kojimachi and other sub-districts in Chiyoda .
List of sub-districts featured in the Edopedia

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Soto sakurada benkeibori kojimachi Kojimachi and the Benkei Canal at Soto Sakurada
by Hiroshige 広重 - 糀町一丁目山王祭ねり込 Sanno Festival at Kojimachi I-chome


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Kojimachi and Bancho - an old samurai residential area
The Kojimachi and Bancho areas stretch from Hanzomon Station to the east of the Kokyo (Imperial Palace), towards Shinjuku. The area was formerly used as a residential area for Edo Period samurai but in the early 21st century the area is significantly different to that found here in earlier times.
The Kokuritsu Gekijo (National Theatre of Japan), Japan's only classical art theater stands near Hanzomon Station today. The building was designed to imitate the Azekura-zukuri (Azekura style) of Todaiji Temple near Nara and its splendid atmosphere embodies the beauty of Japanese tradition. Offering Kabuki in the 'Large Theater,' Hogaku (traditional Japanese music), Gagaku, and Bunraku (a form of Japanese puppet show) in the 'Small Theater,' and Rakugo (a traditional Japanese sit-down comedy), Manzai (a Japanese stand-up comedy), and Kodan (storytelling) in the Engeijo (Engei Hall), it has something for everyone. In addition, tours can be taken of its exhibition room: THE best place to know about Japanese traditional performing arts.
- 'Bancho.' Its name originates from the fact that 'Bankata' soldiers used to live here. ('Bankata' soldiers consisted of Hatamoto who served under the direct control of the ruling Shogun.)
... Chidorigafuchi 千鳥ケ淵 moat "Plover Moat" ... Uchibori-Dori ...
... Walking around Kojimachi and Yotsuya, you will often feel the mood of the old Edo Period. The coexistence of modern buildings alongside their older counterparts. Fashionable shops in a quiet residential area sat amidst historical monuments being an example. It is a fun area to walk around and to browse through shops that catch your eye. Or, for the more historically inclined, it is another interesting area of the capital in which to tour historical sites and to glimpse Japanese history.
- source : att-japan.net/en -

- quote -
Chidorigafuchi Moat
The name of this moat northwest of the Imperial Palace, Chidorigafuchi, is said to come from its unusual shape. The structure of the walls resembles plovers, called chidori in Japanese.
From around the end of March to early April, the walkways around the moat are tinted pink by hundreds of cherry trees. The Chiyoda Sakura Festival is held at the same time, so for the duration of the cherry blossom season the trees are lit up at night. This magical sight draws Tokyoites and visitors alike. Enjoy an evening walk under the glowing tunnel of flowers.
- source : japan.travel/en... -
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The Banchō area (actually consisting of six neighborhoods, from Ichibancho to Rokubanchō),
an upper class residential area, home of the embassies of Belgium, the UK and Israel.
Ichibancho 一番町 First district
Nibancho 二番町 Second
Sanbancho 三番町 Third
Yonbancho 四番町 Fourth
Gobancho 五番町 Fifth
Rokubancho 六番町 Sixth district

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In Edo, meat was offered at the market of Kojimachi 麹町.
chiku 畜 referred to four-legged animals that should not be eaten by Buddhists and kin 禽 referred two-legged animals, birds to be eaten.

momonji referes to the meat of wild animals, like wild boar, deer, monkeys or Tanuki badgers and even dogs. (Dog meat was a favorite with the samurai of the Satsuma domain 薩摩.
The first momonjiya shop in Edo was most probably the Kooshuuya　甲州屋 Koshuya in Koojimachi　麹町 Kojimachi.
Yamaokuya 山奥屋 offered wild boar and monkey meat.

. momonjiya ももんじ屋 / 百獣屋　 selling meat "from one-hundred wild animals" .
kedamonoya　獣屋 dealers in wild animals
yamaokuya 山奥屋　dealers with stuff from the far-away mountains
kusuriguiho　薬食舗　restaurant serving "medicine" meat



麹町狐を馬に乗せてくる
koojimachi kitsune o uma ni nosete kuru

Kojimachi town -
a fox comes riding
on a horse

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

haifuri tanuki 灰降狸 the ash-throwing Tanuki


source : plala.or.jp/cotton-candy

In the year 1854 in the 6th lunar month there was constantly ashes raining down to the ground of the 平河天満宮 Hirakawa Tenjin Shrine in 麹町 Kojimachi.
People thought it was the malicious deed of a Tanuki badger.

Another legend tells of stones raining from the sky near the back entrance of the Shrine, sometimes 50 to 60 during day and night. They were rather large stones with moss on them. Some looked like pieces of roof tiles. But they never hurt any person.
When someone collected the stones in one place during a day, they were all gone after the next night was over.

On a stormy night, it rained hairs of an animal in Kojimachi. Since people there used to eat meat of animals, even horses, it might have been the hair of the 天馬 "heavenly horse" mentioned in the sutra 山海経 Sengai Kyo.

. 江戸 Edo - 妖怪 Yokai monsters, 幽霊 Yurei ghosts .

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. Kappa 河童 water goblin .
In 1785, 麹町飴屋 a sweet shop in Kojimachi, every evening there came a child, begging for a sweet. one evening the shop owner followed the child and saw it disappear in the canal. Now he knew this must have been a Kappa.
A few days later, the child came back again, got his sweet and paid for it. That was the last time the Kappa showed up.

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三年坂 Sannenzaka / Sannen-zaka
In the middle of Sannenzaka there is a bake-yashiki 化け物屋 / bakemono yashiki 化物屋しき Monster House.
if a couple walks here late at night, the face of the woman might begin to get longer or smaller and become quite horrifying.
The light in the room goes on and off and a woman lying down being ill suddenly goes up to do some cleaning and then disappears on the spot.

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Sara yashiki 皿屋敷 "the Dish Mansion"
This is a famous story centering around an old well in Kojimachi or Bancho 番町皿屋敷. More legends about this story relate to a well in Izumo, Harima and other regions.

A Japanese ghost story of broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate of "O-Kiku and the Nine Plates"
. Sara yashiki　皿屋敷 "the Dish Mansion" .

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kai-i 怪異 something strange
Dote Yonbancho 土手四番町

In March, a man living in Yonbancho was suddenly able to float things in the air, like his dinner tray, tobacco tray or even a stone mortar.
Some said it was a curse of a mountain priest or an 陰陽師 Onmyoji or even the Kami and Buddhas themselves and performed exorcistic rituals, to no avail. Some said it was a forebode that his family would perish. Some said something similar had happened to a man in 目黒 Meguro, but that was not true. Eventually he had to dismiss four of his workers and the strange thing stopped.

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shari 舎利 sacred bones of Buddha
Once there lived a man in Kojimachi, who did not believe in the Laws of Buddha 仏法.
But one day a sacred bone of Buddha came out of his forehead.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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source : yasuda.iobb.net/wp-googleearth_e

麹町　壱丁目 Kojimachi First District
「江戸名所図会」 - - 山王祭 Sanno Festival
絵左の天水桶に描かれる屋号が岩に見えるので、岩城枡屋前

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麹町十三丁目まで祭かな
koojimachi juusanchoome made matsuri kana

until the thirteenth district
of Kojimachi
its festival time . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

Nomura Kishuu 野村喜舟 Nomura Kishu (1886 - 1983)


. WKD : matsuri 祭り festival .
- - kigo for all summer - -

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炎天や麹町なし水巴なし
enten ya koojimachi nashi suiha nashi

this blazing sky -
no more Kojimachi
no more Suiha

Saitoo Kuuge 斎藤空華 Saito Kuge (1918 - 1950)


Watanabe Suiha 渡辺水巴 (1882 - 1946) Haiku Poet
Suiha ki 水巴忌 Suiha memorial day (August 8)
- reference -

. WKD : enten 炎天 blazing sky .
- - kigo for all summer - -

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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. 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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- - - - - ##kojimachi ##koojimachi #bancho #shimizudani - - - -
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Bakurocho

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Bakurochoo, Bakuro-chō 馬喰町 Bakurocho
日本橋　Nihonbashi Bakurocho



This is quite an old district of Edo.
The head horse dealers 高木源兵衛 Takagi Genbei （Takagi Genbe'e）and 富田半七 Tomita Hanshichi lived there since about 1580. They also traded in cattle.

BAKURO refers to a place for horse riding and horse trading (馬市). It soon became known as a district of inns (hatago　旅籠) where people prepared for their trips out of Edo, buying supplies and gifts of all kinds. From here the Road to Oshu（奥州 街道 Oshu Kaido ) started.
(In the busiest times there were about 40 Hatago inns.)
Therefore there are many wholesale stores in the district, which had four sections.
Section 4 馬喰町四 leads over to Asakusabashi Bridge.
There were also special kujiyado 公事宿　(accomodations for people who came to Edo for trials of lawsuits)
- see below.



Bakurocho was the area where Tokugawa Ieyasu kept a few hundred horsed to prepare for
Sekigahara 関ヶ原出陣 the Battle of Sekigahara.
bakuro 馬工郎 is the old name for the horse owners and traders, who came to live there.
In the nearby districts of 大伝馬町 Odenmacho and 小伝馬町 Kodenmacho there lived more
umakata 馬方 "horse men" in the service of the Bakufu.

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馬喰町馬場 - - Bakuro-chō (馬喰町), which in ancient times was written as 博労町, was the site of a horse market.
It stretched from 1 chōme to 4 chōme, and on the north side of 3 chōme,
there was a parade ground called "hatsune no baba" 初音の馬場 (also known as 追回しの馬場 "oimawashi no baba").
From the mid-Edo period onward, a number of inns were built in the area,
and there was the publication of an Edo tourist guide
which set Bakuro-chō as the starting point.
The site was in what is now Bakuro-chō 1 chōme, Nihonbashi.
. Tokyo Metropolitan Library .

The mansions of Bakufu officials dealing with the "eight districts of Kanto", Kan Hasshu 関八州の幕府直轄領 were also located in Bakurocho.



Utagawa Hiroshige: Hatsune Riding Ground
馬喰町 初音の馬場　Hatsune no Baba
This is one of the oldest Horse Grounds in Edo.

The print shows the shop of Murasakiya 紫屋染物店, a cloth dyer,
and
a high hi no mi yagura 火の見櫓 watch tower for fires. The large empty space was a special place to prevent fires from spreading (hiyoke chi 火除け地).



. umakata 馬方 "horse person" .
the owner of the horse or a servant in charge.

bakuroo choo 博労町
An old spelling is bakuroo choo 博労町
bakuroo 博労 Bakuro dealers of horses (馬の善し悪しを鑑定し、売買・仲介をする人)


Close to Bakurocho is also
Yokoyamachoo 日本橋 横山町 Nihonbashi Yokoyama-chō .
Bakuro-Yokoyama is a now district in Tokyo Shitamachi.

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Yamanote (山の手, "mountain's hand(s)") and Shitamachi (下町, "under city")
are traditional names for two areas of Tokyo, Japan. Yamanote refers to the affluent, upper-class areas of Tokyo west of the Imperial Palace. While citizens once considered it as consisting of Hongo, Koishikawa, Ushigome, Yotsuya, Akasaka, Aoyama and Azabu in the Bunkyō, Shinjuku, and Minato wards,[1] its size has grown to include the Nakano, Suginami and Meguro wards. Shitamachi is the traditional name for the area of Tokyo including today the Adachi, Arakawa, Chiyoda (in part), Chūō, Edogawa, Kōtō, Sumida, and Taitō wards, the physically low part of the city along and east of the Sumida River.
The two regions
have always been vaguely defined, as their identity was more based on culture and caste than on geography. While Tokugawa vassals of the warrior caste (hatamoto and gokenin) lived in the hilly Yamanote, lower castes (merchants and artisans) lived in the marshy areas near the sea. This dual class and geographic division has remained strong through the centuries while evolving with the times, and is still in common use today. Indeed, the two terms are now used also in other parts of the country. The term Yamanote still indicates a higher social status, and Shitamachi a lower one, even though de facto this is not always true.
Both the Yamanote and the Shitamachi have grown gradually over the years, and the map above shows them as they are today.
- - - - - Yamanote - - - - - - snip -
- - - - - Shitamachi - - - - -
The term originally indicated just the three areas of Kanda, Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi but, as the city grew, it came to cover also the areas mentioned above. Shitamachi was the center of Edo, so much so that the two were often thought of as coterminous. While Shitamachi was not in fact synonymous with Edo, there was originally a certain "conflation" of the two terms, and those born in Shitamachi are typically considered true Edokko, children of Edo. This conflation is evident in the Edo period habit of saying "I am going to Edo" to mean going from the area around Fukagawa in Kōtō ward to anywhere east of the Sumida river.
While the Yamanote grew west on the Musashino Plateau, in time the Shitamachi expanded east beyond the Arakawa river, and now includes the Chūō, Kōtō (Fukagawa), Sumida, and Taitō wards, plus part of Chiyoda ward.
The center of Ueno in Taitō lies at the heart of the old Shitamachi and still has several museums and a concert hall. Today the immediate area, due to its close proximity to a major transportation hub, retains high land value. The Shitamachi Museum in Ueno is dedicated to the area's way of life and culture, with models of old environments and buildings.[9]
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

Centered around the castle of Edo, the main areas were
. joonan 城南 Jonan, south of the castle . - Shinagawa
and
Joohoku 城北 Johaku, north of the castle
Joosai 城西 Josai, west of the castle


. Taito-ku 台東区 Shitamachi Museum .

. Shitamachi 下町 "the low city" .


- 山手線29駅各駅の魅力を探る names of 29 stations of the Yamanote sen train.
- reference source : homes.co.jp/cont/town... -

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. Edo Nana Fushigi 江戸七不思議 The Seven Wonders of Edo　 .


Bakurocho Nana Fushigi 馬喰町七不思議 Seven Wonders of Bakurocho

鼠に似た怪しい異国の獣 - a strange beast from a foreign country, looking like a rat / mouse
卵を生む女房 a woman who was laying eggs (like a hen)
犬の珍しい行為 a dog who behaved in strange ways
天水桶の溺死 someone drowned in a rain water barrel
仲裁後の手傷 hand wound after the arbitration
三日月井戸の暗号 the code of the sickle moon well
先祖の因縁がめぐる御霊社詣 visiting shrines with attachments to the ancestors



馬喰町妖獣殺人事件
風野真知雄 Kazeno Machio (1951 - )

訴訟でやってくる者たちが泊まる〈公事宿〉のひしめく日本橋馬喰町。お裁きがまさに始まろうとした御白州で、獣に食いつかれたような傷を残して公事師が突然死んだ。〝マミ〟が出たという騒ぎ、卵を産んだ女房、三日月井戸. . . 馬喰町七不思議のなかに隠された巨大な悪事に根岸備前守が挑む。
source : ganken.jp/nittoweb/2014


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kujiyado, kuji yado 公事宿（くじやど）lawsuit inn
"lawyers' inn”, suit inn, litigation inn, Gasthaus für Litiganten


公事宿 裏始末４　孤月の剣 / 氷月葵

There were cases where managers and assistant managers of kujiyado were acting as kujishi 公事師, or kujishi were employed by kujiyado (雇下代).
Kujishi is a Japanese term used to refer to persons who would stand in for the relevant parties involved in a lawsuit in the Edo period.

- quote -
In the Edo period, legal matters were taken care of at kujiyado (litigation inns). The owners of these inns were the equivalent of lawyers. Mostly they dealt with disputes over money. Of the 35,000 civil suits that were addressed in 1718, about 33,000 of them involved money.
- reference : factsanddetails.com/japan -

- reference : edo kujiyado -

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公事訴訟や裁判のために地方から来た者を宿泊させた江戸時代の宿屋。
公事人宿・出入宿・郷宿 Goyado・御用宿 Goyoyado とも呼ばれた。
「公事宿」という名称は主に江戸の宿屋に用いられ、地方の城下町や代官所の陣屋近くにあった宿屋は「郷宿」（ごうやど）と呼ばれることが多かった。両者を総称して「御用宿」（ごようやど）ともいう。また、江戸の公事宿は旅人宿と百姓宿に分けられるが、両者をまとめて江戸宿と呼ぶこともあった。大坂では、大坂町奉行所の御用を勤めた御用宿を用達（ようたし）と呼んだ。
江戸の公事宿は、馬喰町小伝馬町旅人宿、八拾弐軒百姓宿、三拾軒百姓宿（三拾組百姓宿）、それに十三軒組があり、それぞれ仲間組織を形成し、独占営業権を与えられていた。旅人宿は町奉行所と、八拾弐軒組は公事方勘定奉行所、
三拾軒組は馬喰町御用屋敷とそれぞれ密接な関係にあり、百姓宿はそれぞれの役所の近辺に建てられていることが多かった。三拾軒組は関東郡代との結びつきも強く、また八拾弐軒組は評定所・勘定奉行所の出火駆付御用も務めた。三組の仲間組織は、それぞれが役目・権益にまつわる由緒をもち、またそれぞれ得意客のいる縄張りも抱えていた。
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. hatago (旅籠, 旅篭) lodgings in Edo .
They were also called hatagoya (旅籠屋).

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秋の蚊の声や地下鉄馬喰町
aki no ka no koe ya chikatetsu Bakurocho

the voice of
mosquitoes in autumn - underground station
Bakurocho
Tr. Gabi Greve

Oogushi Akira 大串章 Ogushi Akira (1937 - )



Bakuro Yokoyama Subway Station

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. 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 .


[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- - - - - #bakurocho #kujiyado #yamanote #shitamachi - - - -
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Aomonocho District

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Aomonochoo　青物町 Aomonocho "vegetable" district

. Edo Dento Yasai 江戸伝統野菜 Traditional Vegetables of Edo .



After Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the town, many people came to work here and to feed them all was one of the great projects that had to be taken care of. For fresh vegetables, Ieyasu had a market set up with the help of

Soga Kozaemon 曽我小左衛門　/ 曾我小左衛門
He had come from Odawara, Kanagawa and settled in the district near Nihonbashi and Yorozucho 萬町 / 万町, which soon took the name of the Odawara original.

- quote
江戸へ行った小田原の『青物町』
- source : 田代道彌

To the North of Aomonocho was
Ikedai Yashiki　活鯛屋敷　
where the fish for Edo Castle were kept in ikesu　生洲 fish preserve ponds.

Soon other wholesalers came to live in Amonocho too, like tea merchants, soy sauce merchants, dried foods merchants and even incense stick merchants and many more
問屋が多く、定飛脚問屋、乾物問屋、茶問屋、紙煙草入問屋、鍋釜問屋、干菓子問屋、薬屋、筆墨硯師、醤油酢問屋など . . .
Near the wholesalers, smaller vegetable shops also set up business.

Most of this area got lost and parts of it are now reconstructed and excarvated from the ruins.

aomono-tori 青物取り taking green things,
is still a common word for collecting sansai　山菜 mountain vegetables in spring.


Nihonbashi Ichome 日本橋１丁目 First District of Nihonbashi
現在の日本橋１丁目の地は、中央通り（日本橋通り）を中心に、通１～４丁目、通 １丁目新道、西河岸町、呉服町新道、元四日市町（活鯛屋敷・日本橋蔵屋敷）江戸橋広小路、本材木町１・２丁目、万町、青物町、平松町の一部、佐内町などの多くの町があり、江戸城下の中心として活気あふれる庶民の町でした。Yorozucho 万町とAomonocho 青物町の間の 南北の通りを中通りといいました。
- source : makibuchi/chuo_aruku -


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Edo no Aomono Ichiba 江戸の青物市場 Vegetable Markets in Edo
In the "three vegetable district" 青物三ケ町 Aomono Sangamachi in Kanda
Tachō, 多町 Tacho - 連雀町 Renjakucho - 永富町 Eifukucho

. Daikongashi 大根河岸 Daikon-gashi district - Kyobashi . - Chuo
"Radish-Riverbank"

. Tachō, 神田多町 Kanda Tacho district .
and the greengrocer 河津五郎太夫 Kawazu Goro Daiyu


From there street vendors would take off every day.



aomono uri 青物売り vegetable vendor

正徳４年（1714）から幕府御用となり、享保１０年（1725）には、問屋は９４人も居たというのです。
- source : edosanpo.blog109 -

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There are other districts in Japan with this name.

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神奈川県 Kanagawa　小田原 Odawara



Aomonocho Shotengai　商店街　 Shopping Street


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岩手県 Iwate, 盛岡市 Morioka



The district used to be called 仙北町新小路 Senboku and was re-named to Aomonocho in 1812. It is the district in front of the shrine 駒形神社 Komagata Jinja.



The 明治橋 Meiji Bridge of Aomonocho

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. Kappa legends from Iwate 河童 / かっぱ / カッパ .

カッパ Kappa and Sumo wrestler 七つ瀧 Nanatsu-Taki (Seven Waterfalls)
At 青物町 Aomonocho there lived a former Sumo wrestler, he now dealt with horses (bakuroo バクロウ). Once he went to the river with a horse, where he met a Kappa. The Kappa wanted to pull the horse into the water, but the strong Nanatsutaki pulled him out with ease. The Kappa apologized and promised never to pull humans into the water again.
He promised to stay off from 明神淵 Myojin-Fuchi to 御舟小屋 Ofune-Koya. And all other Kappa would also respect this promise.
Since this day, no fatal water accidents happened there and people now bring offerings to the local shrine festival

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- - - - -　 H A I K U　 - - - - -

青物を買ふ女房の袷かな
aomono o kau nyoobo no awase kana

the summer robe
of my wife buying
vegetables . . .


貧乏な青物店や夏大根
binboo na aomonoten ya natsu daikon

this poor
vegetable shop -
Daikon in summer

. Kawahigashi Hekigoto 河東碧梧桐 .


. daikon 大根　Radish, Reddish, Raphanus sativas .

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春風や青物市の跡広し
harukaze ya aomono ichi no ato hiroshi

spring wind -
the remains of the vegetable market
are quite large

at Senju 千住 in Tokyo

こほろぎや青物市のこぼれ菜に
koorogi ya aomono ichi no koboreha ni

this cricket -
it sits on a fallen leaf
at the vegetable market

. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 .


. koorogi 蟋蟀 cricket, Gampsocleis buergeri .
- kigo for autumn -

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そらまめ剥く祭の路地の青物屋
野澤節子

はつゆきや青物市のよめがはぎ
高井几董

大根干す青物市場のフエンスにも
五十嵐波津子

打水を店の中まで青物屋
中田勘一

朝寒や青物洗ふ高瀬川
村上霽月

青物に涼しき月の巷かな
尾崎紅葉

青物を軒に培ひ長屋夏
石塚友二

魚屋に青物売つて小鳥来る
石川桂郎

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. 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 .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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Fukiyacho District

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Fukiyachoo 葺屋町 Fukiyacho District of roof thatchers
yanefuki, yanebuki 屋根葺 roofing, roof covering, roofer
kayabuki 茅葺 thatching, thatched roof
. 中央区 Chuo Ward - 日本橋 Nihonbashi .



In former times this was a large wetland with lots of reeds.
In 1615 it was drained and made into a district.
Many craftsmen for roof thatching came to live here, hence the name.
- - - - - yanefuki 屋根葺き roofer, see below

In 1634, the famous Kabuki theaters were erected in the area and nearby Sakai.
堺町 - 葺屋町 Sakai Machi, Fukiya Choo
. Edo Sanza 江戸三座 - the three famous Kabuki theaters of Edo .

Soon there were many small tea stalls in the area.


Fukiya and Sakai

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Kayabacho 茅場町
Kayabacho is in the southern part of the Nihonbashi area.
In the Edo Period, reed fields abounded in the area. Many merchants selling roof thatch lived here.
Since Kayabacho is near the Tokyo Stock Exchange, it has become a business district with many stock brokerage firms. It is called one of the world's Big Three financial centers and Japan's Wall Street. The streets are filled with businessmen.Going to Nippon Budokan and Tokyo Disney Resort is also convenient.
There are many business hotels around the subway station.In 1887, Tokyo Dento Co., Japan's first electric power company, built Japan's first power plant in Kayabacho. It started supplying electricity to nearby customers such as Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) and the Tokyo Post Office.Two branches of the Kamejima River flow through Kayabacho and empty into the Sumida River. The Kamejima River branches off from the Nihonbashi River.Upstream where the Kamejima River branches off, there is the Nihonbashi Sluice Gate. And downstream at the river mouth is the Kamejima River Sluice Gate. Both gates prevent flooding caused by high tide countercurrents.
- source : gurunavi.com/en -


Minami Kayabachoo 南茅場町 Minami Kayabacho, Minami-Kayabacho
Apart from the roof thatch dealers, soon more drinking places and restaurants were built there.


Kaikoan restaurant at Minami-Kayabacho
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige
東都高名会席尽　茅場町　葛の葉 (Kuzunoha)
Kaiko-an, Minami-Kayabacho

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- quote
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (Cladium mariscus), rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost, local vegetation. By contrast in some developed countries it is now the choice of affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home, would like a more ecologically friendly roof, or who have purchased an originally thatched abode.
A thatched roof
is usually pitched between 45–55 degrees and under normal circumstances this is sufficient to shed snow and water. In areas of extreme snowfall, such as parts of Japan, the pitch is increased further.
- source : wikipedia


- quote -
kayabuki yane 茅葺屋根. Lit. thatching with miscanthus.
However, the word kaya 茅 includes the use of many kinds of grasses, reeds and straw. Although thatched roofs are usually associated with vernacular dwellings minka 民家, some shrine or temple buildings or gates still use this type of roofing material. Thatch roofs last a maximum of about 30 years, before thatching becomes necessary. About half the thatch can be removed, dried out and reused.
... The shape and pitch of thatched roofs vary from region to region. The steepest roofs use the gasshou style gasshou-zukuri 合掌造 (gasshozukuri), to shed snow easily while in milder areas the pitch used is relatively gentle.
- Read the details here :
- source : JAANUS-


. WKD - kaya fuku 萱葺く thatching a roof .
kaya karu 萱刈る (かやかる) cutting miscanthus (reeds)
ashi kari 蘆刈 (あしかり) cutting reeds
kaya - Schilfgras




yanefuki 屋根葺き roofer, craftsman making roofs
yaneya　屋根屋 roof maker

They used all kinds of material for roofs in Edo.
One of their most important tools were the kugi　釘 nails made of various materials.
They placed a bundle of them in the mouth to have both hands free and spit them out as work proceeded.

. kugi 釘 Japanese nail, Nagel - Introduction .


More details about the craftsmen:
. yane　屋根 roof - Dach / yaneya　屋根屋 roof maker .
okugai 屋蓋, lit. roof covering.

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. Shirakawa go 白河郷 Shirakawa - Gifu .
The houses in the villages in the valley are unique to Japan. They are very big, and have thick thatched roofs that come down steeply.

. iori, an 庵 thatched roof hut .

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- quote
itabuki　板葺 Wood shingles
Widely used in Japan for buildings of many kinds, ranging from palaces, elite residences, shrines and temples to ordinary houses *minka 民家. Itabuki is believed to have been used at a high social level as early as the Asuka period. On vernacular houses, it was particularly used in mountainous areas where material for thatch was relatively hard to obtain. In urban districts it was gradually displaced during the last years of the Edo period by tile, which was both fireproof and longer lasting (itabuki roofs lasted about 30 years).
Generally, the shingles were made from a log split first into quarters along the grain, and then cut or split (with wedges or a hatchet nata 鉈) into progressively thinner boards. These were less than 75mm thick, and their width was less than three times their thickness. The preferred materials were cedar sugi 杉, sweet chestnut kuri 栗 and chamaeciparis pisifera sawara 椹. Reddish, sinuous lumber was preferred.
Shingle types, in declining order of quality,
included: tochi 栩, tokusa 木賊, masa 柾, koba 木羽, and kokera 柿.
It is clear from a comparison of early medieval itabuki on vernacular houses, as depicted in illustrated handscrolls emaki 絵巻, and itabuki shown in late Muromachi to Momoyama period painted screens *byoubu-e 屏風絵, that there was a general tendency for the shingles to get smaller.
In the late Heian period,
the distance from ridge to intermediate pillars irigawabashira 入側柱, and from intermediate pillars to outer pillars kawabashira 側柱 were each spanned with a single long shingle. In the Momoyama period, four or five shingles seem to have been enough to cover the distance from ridge to eaves, suggesting that the length of individual shingles was reduced by half. By the later Edo period,
large shingles averaged between 45-85cm in length by 9-15cm in width by 1cm thick, while small ones averaged 30cm in length by 12cm in width by 3mm thick. Roofing undertaken with the larger type is called naga-itabuki 長板葺, and with the smaller, ko-itabuki 小板葺. Doubtless dwindling timber resources led to this diminution in size.
From medieval times,
however, small shingles came to be used in more refined itabuki roofs on elite residences, shrines, and presumably developed to simulate the effects of cypress-bark roofing hiwadabuki 桧皮葺. In these roofs, the lap of the shingle courses was far greater.
A variety of names were used for such roofs,
according to the detail and the type and thickness of the single, but the best known are tochibuki 栩葺 and kokerabuki 柿葺. Other forms of itabuki include sogibuki 殺ぎ葺, noshibuki 熨斗葺, yamatobuki 大和葺, odawarabuki 小田原葺, tontonbuki とんとん葺 and ishioki itabuki 石置板葺.
The character of itabuki roofs varied from the most curvaceous elegance possible, kokerabuki, which could be used for nearly any shape of roof, to the straight, shallowly pitched roofs of ishioki itabuki houses, which were almost invariably gabled kirizuma yane 切妻屋根. Fixings as well as shingle size had much to do with this contrast: kokerabuki shingles were held in place with bamboo nails, while ishioki itabuki was held in place with stones. Roofs could not be steep or the stones would roll off.

hiwadabuki 檜葺 cypress-bark thatched roofing
A roof covered with layers of Japanese cypress hinoki 桧 (檜) bark shingles. The shingles are usually 45-60cm in length, 4-15cm in width, and 9-12cm thick. The extension from the overlap of one shingle over another is 1-2cm. Cypress shingles are secured with bamboo nails.

kokerabuki 柿葺 simple shingled roof
A roof covering made with a layer of thin wooden shingles made of cypress. The shingles are about 0.3cm-0.5cm thick, 9cm-15cm wide and about 30cm long. The shingles are secured with bamboo nails. Sometimes cedar or persimmon wood is used.
- source : JAANUS -


. amigasamon 編笠門 watttle-hood gate .

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Yamanashi 山梨県 千代田村 Chiyoda village
Once a roof is finished thatching, 天狗 Tengu is invited and worshipped. Tengu (and his deity version, Sarutahiko) is seen as a deity of water and should help to protect the home from fires.
The roof makers 屋根屋 have since olden times prayed to Sarutahiko as the deity of their profession.

. Sarutahiko densetsu 猿田彦伝説 Sarutahiko Legends .

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. 中央区 Chuo Ward - 日本橋 Nihonbashi .

. 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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