Showing posts with label - - - Places and power spots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label - - - Places and power spots. Show all posts

7/26/2017

Matsugae district

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
- for Siebold, see below -
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Matsugaechoo 松枝町 / 松ヶ枝町 Matsugae-Cho district

In 大奥 Ōoku, the Women's quarters of the Edo castle lived an Elder Lady named 松ヶ枝 Matsugae.
In 1705, when she retired, this district was given to her to live.



Nearby is the pond Otamagaike お玉ヶ池 and Otama Inari Shrine お玉稲荷. 
During the middle ages, this area was along the highway to Oshu, and there was a beautiful woman named Tama who served tea to travelers near the reservoir. 2 men proposed marriage to Tama, however she could not decide between them and drowned herself in the reservoir. It is said the village people dedicated the small shrine to Tama's spirit.
. Kanda Konyachō 神田紺屋町 Konya-Cho district .


source : saurus.coolpage.jp/Walking-Kanda...

Otama Inari Shrine お玉稲荷 

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. Medicine in Edo .

Itoo Genboku 伊藤玄朴 Ito Genboku
(1801 – 1871)



He was born in Saga prefecture in 神埼仁比山 Kanzaki Niiyama.
A doctor and surgeon who had studied with Siebold. He lived in Matsugae district.
He was the first to use a cowpox vaccine.




- quote -
Tomb of Ito Genboku
Ito Genboku was a physician of Dutch medicine at the end of the Edo Period. He was born into an agricultural family from what is now Saga Prefecture in 1800. Wishing to become a doctor, he translated from the Dutch language and studied Western medicine under the German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold in Nagasaki.
He began his practice in Edo (present day Tokyo) in 1828 and, in 1831, became an official physician of the Saga Domain. From 1833, he began to receive many students and visitors at his residence-cum-school known as the Shosen-do located on Shitaya Izumibashi Street.
The central focus of his endeavors came to be the foundation of the first inoculation center in Edo. Built in 1858 in Kanda Otamagaike, it was relocated the following year in Ito's neighborhood on Shitaya Izumibashi Street. In 1860, the Bakufu government took over direct control of the center, renamed it the Seiyo Igaku sho (Institute of Western Medicine), and appointed Genboku in charge of its management. After the transition from Tokugawa rule to the Meiji State in 1868, the institute served as the predecessor of what is now
the University of Tokyo School of Medical Science.


In 1871 Ito Genboku died at the age of 72 and was buried here at Tenryu-in Temple.
- source : taito-culture.jp/city... -


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Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold  フィリップ・フランツ・バルタザール・フォン・シーボルト
(1796 – 1866)
a German physician, botanist, and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. He was the father of the first female Japanese doctor, Kusumoto Ine.


- Arrival in Japan
On 28 June 1823, after only a few months in the Dutch East Indies, Siebold was posted as resident physician and scientist to Dejima, a small artificial island and trading post at Nagasaki, and arrived there on 11 August 1823. During an eventful voyage to Japan he only just escaped drowning during a typhoon in the East China Sea. As only a very small number of Dutch personnel were allowed to live on this island, the posts of physician and scientist had to be combined. Dejima had been in the possession of the Dutch East India Company (known as the VOC) since the 17th century, but the Company had gone bankrupt in 1798, after which a trading post was operated there by the Dutch state for political considerations, with notable benefits to the Japanese. ...
... In 1824, Siebold started a medical school in Nagasaki, the Narutaki-juku, that grew into a meeting place for around fifty students. They helped him in his botanical and naturalistic studies. The Dutch language became the lingua franca (common spoken language) for these academic and scholarly contacts for a generation, until the Meiji Restoration.
- Japanese family
During his stay in Japan, Siebold "lived together" with Kusumoto Taki (楠本滝), who gave birth to their daughter Kusumoto (O-)Ine in 1827. Siebold used to call his wife "Otakusa" (probably derived from O-Taki-san) and named a Hydrangea after her. Kusumoto Ine eventually became the first Japanese woman known to have received a physician's training and became a highly regarded practicing physician and court physician to the Empress in 1882. She died at court in 1903.
... Siebold Incident
In 1826 Siebold made the court journey to Edo. During this long trip he collected many plants and animals. But he also obtained from the court astronomer Takahashi Kageyasu several detailed maps of Japan and Korea (written by Inō Tadataka), an act strictly forbidden by the Japanese government. When the Japanese discovered, by accident, that Siebold had a map of the northern parts of Japan, the government accused him of high treason and of being a spy for Russia.
The Japanese placed Siebold under house arrest
and expelled him from Japan on 22 October 1829. Satisfied that his Japanese collaborators would continue his work, he journeyed back on the frigate Java to his former residence, Batavia, in possession of his enormous collection of thousands of animals and plants, his books and his maps. The botanical garden of Buitenzorg would soon house Siebold's surviving, living flora collection of 2,000 plants. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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- quote -
Collecting Japan. Philipp Franz von Siebold’s Vision of the Far East
The octagonal box contains a game with countless finely painted shells, each one a miniature in its own right. It is Japanese and dates from the Edo period (1603-1868). This exquisite object will be on display in the comprehensive special exhibition that includes lacquered and tortoiseshell work, ivory carvings and porcelain, filigree Buddha figures, sacred censers, huge scroll paintings and richly decorated textiles, as well as toy figures and material samples. The approximately 300 individual items, all collected by Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866), a Würzburg doctor and scientist working for the Dutch, provide a fascinating insight into the secular and sacred craftwork of Japan. The exhibition, which is being organized jointly with the Museum of Japanese History in Sakura (Prefecture of Chiba), sheds light on the life of the collector and his time, the basis on which he organized his collections and his encyclopaedic approach to his mission of making Japan comprehensible to the west. ...
- source : Museum Fünf Kontinente, München, Germany -



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- quote -
The Legend of Yoshitsune
Could Genghis Khan have actually been a Japanese samurai who went to Mongolia?

The first person who introduced this theory was a well known German Doctor, Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (1796-1866), who was sent to Japan in 1823 by the Dutch government. He carried out research and established a Western style medical school in Edo period Japan while it was still under the rule of samurai.
In his seven volume series “Nippon,” he wrote about Yoshitsune and Genghis Khan. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) after the modernization of Japan, some intelligentsia discussed this theory. However it was Oyabe Zenichiro’s substantial bestseller of 1924, Genghis Khan wa Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune Nari [Genghis Khan was Yoshitsune] which made this theory known to the public.
- Harada Minoru -

. Genghis Khan (1162 - 1227) .

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. isha 医者, ishi 医師 doctors in Edo .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .



oyako tanuki 親子狸 parent and child badger
o-tanuki san おたぬきさん the honorable Tanuki

Once a Tanuki badger family, who lived near the pond Otama-ga-ike お玉ヶ池, close to 東紺屋町 Eastern Konya-Cho.
The original story tells of a wooden sculpture which the 6th Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu 徳川家宣 (1662 - 1712) gave his retainer hatamoto of the 河原林家 Kawarabayashi clan. After the Meiji Restauration, the estate of the clan had to be removed, so the Tanuki statues were given to the shrine.
Praying here brings good luck in all kinds of contests 勝負事.

. Yanagimori jinja 柳森神社 and Tanuki legends .

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- reference : nichibun yokai 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 .

. Kanda 神田 Kanda district .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- - - - - #matsugae #matsugaecho #otamagaike #itogenboku #siebold - - - -
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7/10/2017

Taito ward

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
- - - - - Ageya, Shitaya and Iriya
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Taitoo, Taitō 台東区 Taito Ward



- quote
Taitō (台東区 Taitō-ku) is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is known as Taito City.
- source : wikipedia

Taito is a rather new name from 1947, combining the old Shitayaku 下谷区 Shitaya Ward and
Asakusaku 浅草区 Asakusa ward. Asakusa and Ueno were rather famous places since the Edo period.

- - - - - Its sub-districts are :
. Asakusa 浅草 / Asakusabashi 浅草橋 .
- . Asakusa Kuramae 浅草御蔵 .
. Matsugaya 松が谷 .
. Negishi 根岸 Negishi district .
. Okachimachi 御徒町 Okachimachi district .
. Ueno 上野 / Ameyoko アメ横 .
..... Shinobazu no Ike 不忍池 Shinobazu Pond / 黒門 Kuromon
. Ueno Sakuragi, Uenosakuragi 上野桜木町 .
. Yanaka 谷中 Yanaka district .

. Shubi no Matsu 首尾の松 "Pine of Success" - Kuramae .


They all have their separate entries in this Edopedia.

Senzoku 千束  see below
Torigoe / Torikoe 鳥越 see below

. Hashiba 橋場 Hashiba district, "place with a bridge" .
- former Asakusa Hashiba machi, Hashibacho 浅草橋場町

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Shitayaku, Shitaya ku 下谷区 Shitaya Ward
One of the original 15 wards of Tokyo (1889).


Shitaya Hirokoji 下谷広小路  Utagawa Hiroshige

Sanmaibashi bridge 三枚橋 Shitaya Hirokoji / Hiroshige

. Shitaya Jinja 下谷神社 .
to pray for 円満和合 a happy couple
- and 小野照崎神社 Onoterusaki jinja to pray for 学問芸能 Learning and progress in the arts

. Shitaya Sakamoto Fuji 下谷坂本富士 - Fujizuka 富士塚 mound .
(within the grounds of the Onoterusaki shrine)

. Chokugaku Fire 勅額火事 - October 9, 1698 .
from Surugadai to Shitaya 下谷, Then to 下谷池之端 Shitaya Ikenohata and on to Asakusa.
... Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 and the Shitaya Fire Haiku. Issa lived in Shitaya at that time.



上野山した」 Uenoyama Shita
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige 名所江戸百景 Meisho Edo Hyakkei

- Reference with all the sub-districts of Shitaya
- reference source : edo.amebaownd.com...-



Ikenohata Benten 池の端弁天 Benten Shrine at Ikenohata
小林清親 Kobayashi Kiyochika

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- - - - - Iriya 入谷 - - - - -

- quote -
Iriya / Shitaya Area Guide
Shitaya and Iriya are neighbourhoods just north-east of Ueno Park on the other side of the railroad tracks. Taito Ward is the ward in which the bulk of Old Tokyo remainders can be found. However, it is not only Ueno and Asakusa where some gems can be discovered, the number of small temples and shrines in Iriya/Shitaya is impressive, and it retains the shitamachi feel that is common in several old Tokyo communities. When strolling through the streets, you will see many old houses in between the relics of worship. In particular check the streets around Hoshoji and
手児奈せんべい Tekona Senbei.
The good thing about Shitaya and Iriya are that there are actually no major tourist attractions and it is therefore likely one of the most authentic shitamachi areas in Tokyo. I visited this place at the start of the year, when many Japanese people were doing a 7 lucky gods pilgrimage and I could not spot many tourists. Iriya/Shitaya is just a couple of minutes away from Uguisudani Station on the Yamanote line, which gives easy access to the rest of Tokyo.
One major event in this area of Tokyo
is related to the Iriya Kishimojin (Shingen-ji Temple). Every year in July, the Morning-Glory Festival (Iriya Asagao Matsuri) is held at the temple grounds around Tanabata on 7 July. This festival at Iriya Kishimojin began in the Meiji period after a gardener planted morning glory flowers in various parts of Iriya. It grew to become a festival in which around 120.000 plants are on display, attracting 400.000 visitors over three days. It was organised for the 68th time in 2017.
You might see the name “Shitaya” pop up in the wider neighbourhood as well (such as Shitaya Shrine), as Shitaya used to be the name of a whole ward before the administrative reform of 1936. The same is true for Iriya, which spanned a larger area than is now apparent from the postal address system. ...
- 英信寺 Eishinji Temple -
This temple has a large string of prayer beads (called juzu) in front of its main shrine building that crackles as fireworks when you pull them to pray. It also enshrines Daikokuten, one of the seven lucky gods. Interesting is that if you look at the statue of Daikokuten, it resembles Benzaiten on the right side, Bishamonten on the left side, so you get 3 lucky gods at the same time. The birds they keep at this place are also nice.
- 法昌寺 Hoshoji Temple -
Hoshoji temple sports a huge colorful buddha poster and was very popular as one of the stops on the local 7 lucky gods pilgrimage as it has a small shrine on its grounds dedicated to Bishamonten.
- source : old-tokyo.info/shitaya-and-iriya -




. Iriya Kishimojin 入谷鬼子母神 Iriya Kishibojin .
and the market selling Morning-Glories, asagao ichi 朝顔市
Iriya asagao ichi 入谷朝顔市 morning glory market at Iriya

There is another famous Kishibojin Hall in Zōshigaya 雑司谷鬼子母神堂 / 雑司ヶ谷 Zoshigaya.
- quote -
Zōshigaya Kishimojin-dō 雑司谷鬼子母神堂
Together with Kishimojin in Iriya, Kishimojin-dō Temple in Zōshigaya attracted many worshipers.
It is said that the origin of Kishimojindō was in 1561, when Yamamura Tan`emon
dug out the image of Kishimojin from a well in the neighborhood of present-day Mejirodai,
and enshrined it in 東陽坊 Tōyōbō (annexed to 法名寺Hōmyo-ji Temple on a later day).
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -

. Kishibojin, Kishimojin 鬼子母神と伝説 Legends about the deity Kishibojin .

. Zoshigaya 雑司が谷 / 雑司ヶ谷 .

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Exhibition 浮世絵でめぐる台東区

浮世絵師が描く江戸のまち



- reference source : city.taito.lg.jp/index -

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- quote -
The Taito-ku Shitamachi Museum
Alan Gleason
One of central Tokyo's 23 wards, Taito-ku contains some of the most historic sites and popular tourist destinations in the entire metropolis -- the museums and zoo in Ueno Park, the Asakusa entertainment district, Sensoji temple with its big red lantern. The area's reputation as an adult amusement mecca extends several centuries back into the Edo period, when it also contained the bustling Yoshiwara red-light district, backdrop to many a Kabuki play and ukiyo-e print.

Over the past century, Taito-ku has gone through some wrenching changes -- leveled by fire twice, after the Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and in the fire-bombings of 1945, then subject to rapid, often indiscriminate postwar development like the rest of the city. Yet the district has managed to hang on to some of the old flavor of the shitamachi once inhabited by plebeian Edoites. It has also displayed sufficient civic pride to build its own museum, with funding and exhibit materials donated by local residents, in homage to the shitamachi culture. ...



Ueno-koen 2-1, Taito-ku, Tokyo
- source : dnp.co.jp/artscape/eng -

. Shitamachi 下町 and Yamanote 山の手 .


. Minowa 三ノ輪 / 箕輪 Minowa district .


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Senzoku 千束 Senzoku district "1000 measures"
Taito ward 台東区 千束, in the Shitaya area



The name Senzoku is very old. The area was near 浅草天王町 Asakusa Tenno-Cho, reaching all the way to 千住 Senju.
One explanation of this name "1000 measures of rice" say the area was near the 浅草寺 Asakusa Temple Sensō-Ji and had to provide kuyoo 供養 food offerings (rice) for the 1000 priests and monks of the famous temple district:
senzoku 千僧供 food offerings for 1000 monks.
But this explanation is most probably wrong.
soku (zoku) 束 was a measurement for the amount of 穎稲 rice before the harvest, 1束 - 稲10把
(10把 - 1刈)- 束刈(そくかり)sokukari / 束把刈(そくはかり)sokubakari
This would suggest that on the fields of the temple, they harvested 1000 soku of rice.

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Ageyamachi 揚屋町 Ageyamachi district
東京都台東区千束 / Taito City, Senzoku, 4 Chome−46−46 揚屋通り Ageyadori street
One of the districts in the old 吉原内 Yoshiwara.



- quote -
ageya 揚屋 Also called ageya jaya 揚屋茶屋.
A type of town house machiya 町家, found in the pleasure quarters yuukaku 遊廓, of Edo period cities where the higher ranking and more cultivated entertainers and prostitutes, yuujo 遊女, served their clients.
These establishments were based in okiya 置屋 in Kansai 関西 region and yuujoya 遊女屋 in Edo.
In the early Edo period, the Edo pleasure quarter Yoshiwara 吉原, reputedly contained eighteen ageya. The ageya supposedly were impressive as architecture, being larger than hikite jaya 引手茶屋. The ageya had tsukiagedo 突上げ戸 in the windows of their upper-storeys, whereas the hikitejaya had kooshi 格子.
The ageya also had a place outside for visitors of warrior, bushi 武士, rank to tether their horses. In the Horeki 宝暦 era (1751-64), the ageya ceased to exist in Edo, and hikite jaya were built in their place. Moreover, the yuujoya of Edo came to combine residential and reception functions.
Architects continued to build ageya in Kyoto and Osaka. A surviving Edo period example is the Sumiya 角屋 in Shimabara 島原, Kyoto (now a National cultural property). The Sumiya takes the form of a large townhouse with an omoteya 表屋, providing a 31m frontage of kooshi overlooking the street, and a tsunoya 角屋 at the rear. There are also several lavishly appointed suites of zashiki 座敷 on the upper floor of the Sumiya.
- source : JAANUS -

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Shrine Senzoku Inari Jinja 千束稲荷神社
東京都台東区竜泉2丁目19番3号 / Taitō, Ryusen, 2 Chome−19−3

Built around 1670. It used to be in the compound of 浅草寺 Asakusa Temple as
上千束稲荷(西宮稲荷)Nichinomiya Inari and
下千束稲荷 - the protector shrine of the district 北千束郷 Kita-Senzoku.



Known as "the shrine of 樋口一葉 Higuchi Ichiyo".
- reference source : senzokuinari.tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp -

. Higuchi Ichiyo 樋口 一葉 (1872 - 1896) .
pen name of Japanese author 樋口奈津 Higuchi Natsu.


. Ootori Jinja 鷲神社 Otori Jinja .
台東区千束3-18-7 -- 3 Chome-18-7 Senzoku, Taitō ward

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. 北千束 Kita North Senzoku, 南千束 Minami South Senzoku .
Ōta ku 大田区 Ota ward

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Torigoe 鳥越 (とりごえ)Torigoe district (Torikoe)
With the sub-districts Torigoe 1 and 2 and Asakusabashi 3 to 5

The name of this district dates back to the Heian period, the village Torigoe mura 鳥越村, and the legend about
. Minamoto no Yoshiie Hachimantaro 源八幡太郎義家 / 源義家 .

In the Edo period, after the removal of a small hill the new flat area was called Asakusa Torigoe Cho 浅草鳥越町 in 16435.



- quote -
In this map, the area outlined in red and labeled “頒暦所御用ヤシキ” (Hanrekishogoyouyashiki: Observatory for the Calendar; the lettering is upside-down from this angle) is the Astronomical Observatory in Asakusa constructed in 1782 (2nd year of the Tenmei Era). At first, this observatory was used to compile the Kansei Calendar. Afterwards, the Tenmonkata (Official Astronomer) continued to use it for observations until the fall of the Shogunate.
Previously,
Torigoe Hill had been located in the northern part of the area shown in this map; and farther north was a pond named Himegaike. But to help ease the land shortage inside of Edo (now Tokyo), the pond was filled in and the hill was flattened. With the hill to the north gone and low lying river banks to the east and the south, this site had clear lines of sight, making it suitable for an observatory. Perhaps that’s why it was chosen.
In modern times
when we think of observatories, we envision sites located far from urban areas to optimize the observing conditions. But looking at this map, to the north-west of the observatory is Torigoe Shrine; to the north is Jyusyo Temple; and to the north-east is Saifuku Temple, which is listed on maps of important Edo sites. Turning to the south where the Torigoe River is located, we find Fudasashi Gokaisei Kaisyo (a government accounting office). It can definitely be said that this is an urban area. On the other hand, since the observations don’t seem to have suffered due to being located within a city, we can get a sense of how dark the Edo nights must have been. The Astronomical Observatory in Asakusa is also included in Hokusai Katsushika’s “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” under the name Torigoe-no-fuji (Torigoe’s Unparalleled [View of Mt. Fuji]).
- source : nao.ac.jp/en/gallery -



. tenmondai 天文台 The Edo observatory .



Spring Snow at Torigoe Shrine
Kasamatsu Shiro

. Torikoe Jinja 鳥超神社 / 鳥越神社 Shrine Torikoe Jinja .
also spelled とりごえじんじゃ Torigoe Jinja.
The shrine is the final resting place of the legendary leader 日本武尊 Yamato Takeru no Mikoto. A former prince and ruler in Japan, stories of Yamato Takeru have been told for centuries.
The deity of the shrine was first called Hakuchoo Myoojin 白鳥明神 Hakucho Myojin (Swan Deity).
In the late Heian period, Minamoto no Yoshiie was shown his way through the wetlands by 白い鳥 "white birds" 越 crossing over.
To show his gratitude, Yoshiie venerated 鳥越大明神 Torigoe Daimyojin.
Thus the name Torigoe (birds crossing over) was given to the whole district.


. Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? - 940) .
and his head at shrine Torikoe Jinja 鳥越神社


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東京都台東区清川 Kiyokawa district
Taito, 清川一丁目 - 清川二丁目 first to second sub-district




Asajigahara 浅茅ケ原(あさじがはら)
A swamp along the 奥州街道 Oshu Kaido highway with many big and small ponds.
A wide field of sparsely growing cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica)


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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

Asakusa Kannon 浅草観音 and temple 浅草寺 Senso-Ji, Asakusadera .
Around the year 1802, a country bump came to Edo for sightseeing. After visiting the Asakusa Kannon he then was on his way back home. On the bank of the river he met a very drunk man who attacked him and killed him . . . at least the man lost his conscience and fell to the ground. When he came back to his senses, he felt for the amulet of the Asakusa Kannon, which he had placed into his breast pocket. The imprint of Kannon had disappeared from the paper. Now he knew that Kannon had taken his place and saved his life.



. More Legends about Asakusa Kannon 浅草観音 .


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daija 大蛇 huge serpent

The beautiful daughter of the 禁丹屋 Kintan shop had attracted the attention of the huge serpent in the pond Shinobazu no Ike and disappeared in the pond.
Later when part of the pond was filled with land and water became scarce, one beautiful lady was seen coming out of the pond, taking a ride in a wooden cart all the way to a lake in Chiba. and continued to live there.

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okame おかめの 面 face mask of O-Kame san

Once an 鳴物師 instrument maker picked up the mask of おかめの面 O-Kame san. Since he had picket it up, his family experienced a lot of misfortune. And every time before something bad happened, the mask opened her mouth and laughed. He finally broke the mask and burned it in a fire. But even after everything was reduced to ashes, when he turned around the mask was again sitting on the chest of drawers, with an open mouth, laughing loudly.



. Okame, Okamesan おかめ【お亀/阿亀】O-Kame San .

. Narimono no Kamisama 鳴り物の神様 "Deity of Instruments" - Ebisu .

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Taira no Masakado 将門

After the beheading of Masakado, his head flew to the shrine 鳥越神社 Torigoe Jinja, which is located in 東京都台東区鳥越 Taito ward, Torigoe.
. Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? - 940) .

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yuurei 幽霊 ghost

Around 1884 there lived a monk named 霊瞬 Reishun at 三縁山 Sanenzan. He frequently went to the pleasure quarters of Yoshiwara and eventually fell in love with 琴柱 Lady Kotoji. He told her about his miserable life and how all would change if he had some money to get a better job. So Kotoji gave him all her money, made him promise never to go to Yoshiwara again and committed suicide.
When he went back anyway, the ghost of Kotoji showed up and scolded him severely. Now finallyt he changed his easy-going way and later became a high-ranking priest.

. Yoshiwara 吉原 pleasure quarters of Edo .

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- reference : nichibun yokai 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 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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7/02/2017

Senju district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Senju 千住 Senju district
千住 Senju, "one-thousand homes" - the local people call the place "Senji".


千住の大はし Great bridge at Senju
Utagawa Hiroshige

Since traffic passing Senju was busy since the early Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu allowed a large bridge to be built over the river 隅田川 Sumidagawa in 1594. It was about 200 meters more upstream than the bridge is now, and the postal station 千住宿 Senju-Shuku was on the North side of the bridge (Kita Senju). Most Daimyo stayed here on their way in and out of Edo, heading North. Providing fresh food for the many travellers was important.
Along the river where also lumber yards, storing the lumber coming downriver in rafts from Chichibu.

Kita-Senju 北千住 North-Senju
Minami-Senju  南千住 South-Senju


- quote -
Adachi-ku, Senju / Arakawa-ku, Minamisenju
Description
There are several theories for the origin of the area name, some say it is related to the 千手 senju (thousand hand) Kannon statue that was located at 勝専寺 Shosen-Ji Temple,
and others say it was related to the fact that the Chiba clan lived there (In Japanese the first character of the name 千葉 "Chiba" can be read as "sen" and "ju" can mean lived, so this could mean something like "place where the Chiba clan lived").


千住花街眺望ノ不二 - Senju kagai yori chobo no Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai

This was the first post station on the Nikko-kaido Road (Oshu-kaido Road) and one of the 4 posting stations of Edo. In 1594 the Senju-ohashi Bridge was constructed on the Arakawa-river (present day Sumida-gawa River), and the area developed as an important place for transportation and travel in conjunction with the construction of the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Iemitsu in Nikko in 1625.
From the Kyoho Era (1716-36) onward, morning markets were held every day in the やちゃば "yacchaba" (yatchaba) within the posting stations, and were as popular as the fish markets of Nihonbashi. The area also supposed Edo's prosperity through water transport as a stopping point on the Kawagoe yofune (Kawagoe evening ships) which linked Kawagoe and Edo in a single evening and transported tourists as well as grain, fuel and fresh fish.
There was an execution ground in Kozukahara on the southern coast, which was known as the area where Sugita Genpaku and Maeno Ryotaku attended the autopsies of executed criminals in 1771.
In 1667, the Ekoin Temple was established in order to hold memorial services for those who died while in prison or who were executed.
- source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks/e...


回向院, Eko-In, Ekoin Temple at Ryōgoku and the Moto-Yanagibashi Bridge
Utagawa Hiroshige
. Ekoin Kannon, Ekō-in 回向院観音 Temple - Ryogoku .
Shoshuzan Muen-Ji Eko-In 諸宗山 無縁寺 回向院


. Kozukahara, Kozukappara keijō 小塚原刑場 Kozukappara execution grounds .
located near the southwest exit of Tokyo's Minami-Senju Station. ...
and
kubikiri Jizoo 首切り地蔵 Jiso Bosatsu to help the beheaded


There is also a theory about a beauty named 千寿 Senju ("A thousand long lives"), mistress of 足利義政 Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436 - 1490), who was born in a village here, thus later giving her name to the place.



千住大橋 Senju Ohashi Bridge - - 江戸名所図会 Edo Meisho Zue

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- quote -
Hikari-chagama 光茶銚 the shining tea kettle
This depicts a teahouse called "Jiji-ga-chaya", a little distance away from Senju-shuku.
It is said that there was a famous tea kettle in this teahouse that was bright and shiny.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -
. chagama 茶釜と伝説 Legends about tea kettles, water kettles .

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Senjuunegi, Senjuu negi 千住葱 leek from Senju, Senjunegi 千寿葱
They are best when simply grilled over charcoal.



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Kita Senju 北千住 "North-Senju"



source : tomochika0430


Senju shuku 千住宿
first stop on the Oshu Dochu and Nikko Dochu 奥州道中 - 日光道中

. Edo shishuku 江戸四宿 The four most important SHUKUBA out of Edo .

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. tsukegi no ema 北千住 付け木の絵馬 votive tablet on a wooden frame .
made at the shop Yoshidaya 吉田家


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

行く春や鳥啼き魚の目は泪
yuku haru ya tori naki uo no me wa namida

spring is leaving ..
birds sing and the eyes of fish
are full of tears


Basho at Senju 千住 in 1689, taking final leave from his friends.
Departure 千住 江戸、旅立ち . 3月37日 (now May 16)

. Matsuo Basho, Oku no Hosomichi 奥の細道 .

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. Takebe Soochoo 建部巣兆 Takebe Socho (1761-1814) .
He was one of the leading haiku poets of Edo during his time, together with Suzuki Michihiko 鈴木道彦 and Natsume Seibi 夏目成美.
He was a famous resident of the Senju 千住 district.

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. Kobayashi Issa in Edo 小林一茶 .

早立は千住留りか帰る雁
haya tatsu wa Senju-domari ka kaeru kari

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. Adachi ku 足立区 Adachi ward .

. 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 .

. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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6/24/2017

Kanda Saeki Sakuma district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Kanda Saekichoo and Sakumachoo 
神田佐柄木町 Saekicho - 神田佐久間町 Sakumacho  


Kanda 神田 "field for the gods" :
The land was under the directive of Ise Jingu Shrine to grow rice for the Shrine offerings.
Kanda has a lot of sub-districts, see here:
. Kanda 神田 Kanda district .

Here are two sub-districts named after a person who lived there.

For 猿江 Sarue, see below.
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Kanda Saekichoo 神田佐柄木町 Kanda Saeki-cho, Kanda Saekicho

Saeki Yataroo 佐柄木弥太郎 Saeki Yataro
a togishi 研ぎ師 polisher of swords and blades, had his official estate and workshop here and the area was named after him.
Polishing and sharpening sword blades was very important in the times of Samurai. There were different ways to polish a sword, some were the secrets of a family of craftsmen.
Saeki the First had lived in Suruga (Shizuoka) and worked for Tokugawa Ieyasu. After moving to Edo Ieyasu called on Seaki the Second to live in Edo and polish the swords of the Shogun.





. Renjakuchoo, Kanda renjaku machi 神田連雀町 Renjaku-Cho district .

A Kabuki play 矢の根 Ya-no-Ne, Yanone
with the appearance of polishing master Saeki Yataro
『扇恵方曽我 (すえひろえほうそが)』の一幕として上演され、幕府御用の砥物師(とぎものし)togimonoshi 佐柄木弥太郎家

. kenma 研磨 sword polishing - Introduction .



source : ingressmosaik.com/mission

"Until the Kanei peroid (around 1623) adjoining Saeki-Cho and Kiji-Cho was the residence of Lord Hori Tango no Kami. To abbreviate "in front of the residence of the Lord of Tango", people would say "Tanzen".
In this area there were many bathhouses, and also beautiful female bath attendants, and a lot of carousing young men and the like who were learning kabuki in the "Tanzen style".
source : google books - Marcia Yonemoto



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Kanda Sakumachoo 神田 佐久間町 Kanda Sakumacho district 

Sakuma Heihachi 佐久間平八
A zaimoku 材木 timber, lumber merchant, who moved here in 1744 from the Honzaimokucho lumber district.
Soon there settled many lumber merchants and the district was even called
Kanda Zaimoku-Cho 神田材木町 Lumber district of Kanda


The district has four sub-districts along the Kanda river.
There were often huge fires in this district, and people even called it (with a sad pun in mind)
Akuma Cho 悪魔町 - アクマ町 "the Devil"s district".
The storing place for timber and lumber was therefore moved from Sakumacho to 深川猟師町 Fukagawa Ryoshi-cho, and then on to 猿江 Sarue and on to 木場 Kiba.




. Edo, Kiba Lumberyards and Carpenters .
- 本材木町 Honzaimokucho, Honzaimoku-cho lumber district
- The Lumber Industry in Early Modern Japan

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江戸神田佐久間町の大火 Great fire in Sakumacho 1829


source : lib.iii.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ono_collection

- Text:
神田さくま町かしより出火折しも西北の風はけしく土手下へ飛火御もミくら近辺町家平一めんと成る塩とめニて焼止る其節人々東西にまよひ親にわかれ子にはなれけむりにとりまかれ人々多く死す誠ニあわれの事とも也右之画図見るにつけても火の用心可被成候御屋敷町家ヲよこたてを諸々つもり凡七十二里■■([虫喰])もなるべし蔵のかず凡千百五十戸まいの余凡はし■■([虫喰])大はし小はしとも二百余おちる.

The strong North-West-Wind on April 24 fanned the fire and more than 2800 people lost their lives.
More than 370000 homes were lost.

In March 1834 another fire, the 甲午火事 Kogo fire started in Sakuma, and more than 4000 people lost their lives.



source : bo-sai.co.jp/kantodaisinsaikiseki


防火守護の地 Bosai Shugo no Chi
A memorial stone for all the brave people who protect the city form fires.
In the 和泉公園 Izumi park.


. taika 江戸の大火 Edo no Taika "Great Fires of Edo" .

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Sakuma Tenmondai 佐久間天文台 Sakuma observatory
Sakuma no Sokuryoosho 佐久間町の測量所 Sokuryosho surveying office

神田佐久間町2丁目


source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/scganishii

It was set up on order of Shogun Yoshimune in 1746 and used for 13 years. The place had been used as an empty space to prevent the spreading of fires.
The building was placed on an artificial hill.

. tenmondai 天文台 Edo observatories .


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Kanda-Sakumachō (神田佐久間町)
This district is located on the northeastern part on Chiyoda Ward. Kanda-Sakumachō 1-chōme borders Kanda-Hanaokachō and Kanda-Matsunagachō, and the district's 2 - to 4-chōme border Kanda-Izumichō on the north. The district borders Asakusabashi, Taitō, and Higashi-Kanda, Chiyoda on the east. The district's 1-chōme borders (across Kanda River) Kanda-Sudachō and Kanda-Iwamotochō, and its 2- to 4-chōme border Kanda-Sakumagashi on the south. The district borders Soto-Kanda on the west. Kanda-Hirakawachō is located between Kanda-Sakumachō 1-chōme and 2-chōme.

Sakumagashi (佐久間河岸), officially Kanda-Sakumagashi (神田佐久間河岸)
This district is located on the northeastern part of Chiyoda Ward. It borders Kanda-Sakumachō on the north, (across Mikura Bridge) Higashi-Kanda 3-chōme on the east, (across Kanda River) Iwamotochō 3-chōme and Higashi-Kanda 2-chōme on the south, and (across Izumi Bridge of Shōwa-dōri Avenue) Kanda-Sakumachō 1-chōme on the west.
source : wikipedia



source : bo-sai.co.jp/kantodaisinsaikiseki


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Saruechoo 猿江町 Sarue Cho - "Monkey Inlet"
深川猿江町 Fukagawa Sarue Cho since 1934


亀戸村 Kameido became 猿江裏町 Sarue Uramachi
猿江村 Sarue Mura became 猿江町、猿江裏町
深川猿江裏町 - since 1934 : 猿江町1・2
深川上大島町 - since 1934 : 猿江町2
深川本村町 ^ since 1934 : 猿江町2



In the beginning of the Edo period this was a wetland with all kinds of reeds and used for hunting with hawks.
Around 1610, on orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a canal was constructed here as 小名木川 Onagigawa to ship the salt from Chiba to Edo.

The Onagigawa cuts a wide path through the marshy lowlands to the east of Edo. There are many explanations for how the canal got its name. The characters O - NA - GI ("small", "name", "tree") do not make much sense unless they were a person's name -- perhaps this was the name of the person who oversaw construction of the canal. Another likely explanation is that the name was originally Unagi-gawa (eel river). The river is, in fact, filled with eels, and many unagi fishermen can be seen along the river, fishing for these delicacies. Perhaps the pronunciation changed over time, and people forgot the original source of the name.
. 小名木川 and 行徳 Gyotoku salt fields .

The North side of this canal was soon developed into fields and living quarters and called Sarue.

The SARU of this name does not refere to the monkey, though.
Around 1060, when Minamoto no Yoshiie during his war with the Northern Territories passed here, his vassal, 猿藤太 Mashira no Tota, died and his body, clad in full armor, was left in the inlet e 江. His name includes the Chinese character used for monkey, saru 猿.
Later the farmers erected a shrine to appease his soul and venerated him as a deity.



Sarue Jinja 猿江神社 / Sarue Inari 猿江稲荷
江東区猿江2-2-17 / 2 Chome-2-17 Sarue, Kōtō ward

The deities in residence in this shrine are
天照大御神 Amaterasu Omikami, 宇迦之御魂命 Uka no Mitama no Mikoto and 猿藤太 Mashira no Tota,


ema 絵馬 votive tablet
- source and more photos : Peter Sidell -

. Minamoto no Yoshiie Hachimantaro 源八幡太郎義家 / 源義家 .

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猿江泉養寺 Sarue - Temple Senyo-Ji



All kinds of white and red lotus flowers grew in the pond of the temple and many people came to visit.


猿江 摩利支天祠 Sarue - Marishiten Shrine



- source and more photos of the modern area :
- source : symphonic-net edo meisho zue -

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The Edo estate of the 九鬼家 Kuki family of the 丹波綾部 Tanba Ayabe domain was in Sarue.
In their park was an old pine, the famous
小名木川五本松 Onagigawa Gohon Matsu


Edo Meisho Zue



広重 Utagawa Hiroshige - Five Pines at the Onagi canal

. Kuki shi 九鬼氏 Kuki ke 九鬼家 the Kuki clan, Kuki family .


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猿江恩賜公園 Sarue Onshi Park



- quote -
... Formerly a timberyard during the Edo Period, it opened as a park in 1932 and since been cherished by residents and visitors from inside and outside of Tokyo. It is a microcosm of Japanese society, the old (neatly carved out gardens and jarimichi, gravel paths) and the new (tennis courts and food trucks with African cuisine.
- source : Daniel Penso -


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. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .

. 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 .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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