Kanda district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Kanda 神田 Kanda district　 　

. Chiyoda ku 千代田区 Chiyoda ward .

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, one of the most famous modern is
Jinbōchō 神保町 Jinbocho - the largest bookstore district in Japan.

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Kanda (神田) is a district in 千代田 Chiyoda ward, Tokyo.
It encompasses about thirty neighborhoods. Kanda was a ward prior to 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23.
It is home to the Kanda Myojin (Shinto) shrine, devoted to Taira no Masakado, who led a rebellion against the central government during the Heian period. In the Edo period, the shrine's festival was one of the three most famous in the city.
Kanda is also the home of the Tokyo Resurrection Cathedral which was built by Nicholas of Japan and is the main Cathedral of the Japanese Orthodox Church.
A popular Japanese television series, Zenigata Heiji,
features a fictitious police patrolman (the title character) whose beat is Kanda. Near the end of every show, Heiji fells the bastardly villain by throwing a coin at him.
- Neighborhoods in Kanda (a long list to check)

The Kanda River (神田川 Kandagawa)
stretches 24.6 km from Inokashira Park in Mitaka to the Sumida River under the Ryōgoku Bridge at the boundary of Taitō, Chūō, and Sumida. Its entire length lies within Tokyo, Japan. It drains an area of 105.0 km².
The government of Japan classifies it as a Class I river. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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Kanda 神田
During the Tokugawa shogunate, the Kanda district used to lie at the heart of Edo and constituted the "uptown"
(as opposed to "shitamachi" areas like Asakusa), where nobles and rich businessmen lived, close to the Imperial palace.
It is now a mixed of business district, universities, shrines, pachinko parlours and adult shops. The area around Kanda station itself is of little interest to short-term visitors. Most of the sights are located around 御茶ノ水 Ochanomizu station, in northern Kanda.
The Kanda Matsuri,
Tokyo's second biggest traditional festival (after the Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa) takes place early May at the Kanda Myōjin. During the Edo era, it was one of the few "matsuri" allowed to enter the grounds of Edo Castle. ...
Ochanomizu 御茶ノ水 (literally "tea water")
is the name of a station in the northern part of the Kanda neighbourhood. Ochanomizu is not in itself an official district nor a postal address.
The area covers the districts of Kanda-Surugadai (神田駿河台) and Soto-Kanda (外神田).
The place was named after the river from which water was extracted to make the shōgun's tea during the Edo period.
Jimbochō Jinbōchō 神保町 Jinbocho, Jimbocho
Named after the estate of the 旗本神保家 the Hatamoto Jinbo clan in 1872. There used to be many Shinto shrines in the area.
Now it is Tokyo's bookshop district. Like Ochanomizu it is only a station name, serving western Kanda. It is an academic neighbourhood with lots of schools and two universities (Meiji Daigaku and Nihon Daigaku) reaching as far as Ochanomizu station. The area therefore abounds with students. Jimbochō's bookshops offer everything from rare, antique books to hentai manga. Most of the shops are concentrated along the Yasukuni-dōri Avenue and are small and privately owned.
Sanseidō is the only big bookshop spreading a several floors. It is located at crossing of Yasukuni-dōri and Meiji-dōri Avenues. You will find plenty of English books (and some French and German ones too) at the 5th floor.
- source : wa-pedia.com/japan-guide -

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Ochanomizu Aqueduct, Kanda Service Water Supply Flume
御茶の水 水道橋 神田上水懸樋

Above Kanda River we see a flume, through which Kanda service water flows.
Between the bridge girders we can see in the distance an aqueduct.
This was one of the famous scenes of Edo. During the rule of the second shogun Hidetada,
Kanda River was formed to function as both a means of flood prevention
and an outer moat to Edo Castle and it is linked with Sumida River.
The canyon pictured here was created during this time.
. source - Tokyo Metropolitan Museum .

. Ochanomizu 御茶ノ水 / 御茶の水 / お茶之水 / 御茶ノ水 .


jinboo kooji 神保小路 Jinbo Koji, Jinbo alley
This district is named after a rich feudal lord, Jinbō Nagaharu, Jinboo Nagaharu 神保長治 Jinbo Nagaharu, who had his huge estate in the alley named after him, at the end of the 17th century.
There were two Jinbo Koji alleys, 表 Omote and 裏 Ura. Other feudal lords had their estates in this area too, but after the Meiji restauration, in 1869, they lost their land and the alley was re-named, Jinbocho.



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Kanda - The Estate of Lord Matsudaira 松平屋敷
A short distance from Nihonbashi, just to the north of the high-class shopping districts occupied by the leading merchants, Mitsui Echigo-ya, Ise-ya and Maru-ya, the land rises suddenly from the flat, low-lying districts of the shita-machi (downtown) area to a green, tree-studded plateau. This is the Kanda district, which marks the southwest fringe of the Yama-no-te, the hilly half of the city, where most wealthy samurai have their estates.

When Edo was first built, there was a very large hill in this area known as Kanda-yama. It was the highest point in the entire area, rising above even the neighboring hill where Edo Castle now sits. Tokugawa Ieyasu had his men level this hill, and use the excavated earth to fill in the marshes along the shores of the bay. That is how the downtown area was reclaimed from the sea. Today, all that is left of Kanda hill is a low, flat-topped plateau that overlooks downtown Edo. Since it is located close to Edo Castle and also close to the center of town, many of the leading officials in the Shogun's government have their homes in Kanda. One of these officials is my master, Lord Matsudaira, who is a member of the six-man committee which directly advises the Shogun.

Matsudaira is a very noble family name, since all members of the Matsudaira clan are closely related to the Shogun. In order to ensure that there are no serious squabbles over the succession to the position of shogun, everyone who is more than two generations removed from the current shogun must give up the name Tokugawa and choose another name. Many of the people who had to choose a new family name -- particularly those that were closely related to the first shogun (Ieyasu) or the third shogun (Iemitsu) -- took the name Matsudaira. Although they no longer are considered members of the Shogun's "family", the Matsudairas all maintain close links to the central government, and many of them hold top positions in the bakufu (military government), or in the government of Edo.

Lord Matsudaira's estate is in the center of a neighborhood known as "uchi-Kanda" (inner Kanda). About fifty years after Kanda hill was leveled to build downtown Edo, workmen dug a canal through the middle of the plateau to carry water from the rivers to the northwest of the city into the Sumida river. This was part of the elaborate water system that now supplies Edo with drinking water. The canal was named "Kanda-gawa" (the Kanda river) and since it split the plateau in half, the part closest to Edo castle acquired the name "uchi" (inner) Kanda and the part on the opposite side of the river took the name "soto" (outer) Kanda.


Distribution of Daimyo Yashiki around Edo castle

The Matsudaira estate, like most of the manors maintained by influential samurai, is entirely surrounded by a high wall, whitewashed on the outside and surmounted by an overhanging tiled roof. The roof serves two purposes -- it helps reduce the impact of rain on the packed-earth-and-plaster walls, and it makes it harder for an intruder to climb over the wall. The front gate to the residence is also very solid and imposing. A guardhouse is located right near the gate, and the quarters of the Daimyo's personal guard are right nearby. All high-ranking samurai are allowed to maintain their own private corps of guards at their residences, though there are strict rules on how many men a certain daimyo can employ and how many are allowed to travel with him through the city streets when he goes out.

The wall, the guardhouse and the private bodyguard are all relics of the old days, when leading warlords did not yet trust one another. During the period of civil war, a daimyo's residence was like a small fortress, and the defensive measures were often put to use. Competing daimyo frequently tried to raid one another's manors in Kyoto or one of the other major towns. The rules on the size of each "private army" in Edo were designed to ensure that the daimyo felt safe at home, but would not have enough men to organize an effective revolt against the Shogun. Nowadays, though, the rules are largely ceremonial, and the number of men in the private bodyguard are simply a mark of a person's rank and status.

Once inside the imposing wall, the Matsudaira estate looks like a park. There are acres of beautiful, carefully tended gardens filled with flowers and dotted by ponds and streams. The estates of the major samurai are meticulously maintained by gardeners and servants, and in some cases, these beautifully landscaped gardens almost seem like a paradise. Most of the land inside the estate is actually taken up by these gardens.

Matsudaira yashiki (Matsudaira's manor) is an ornate, sprawling building with many wings leading off in different directions, yet it looks small compared to the vast sprawl of the estate. The building is located next to a small pond, which provides a fine view from the main building. Originally, though, it also had a more practical function, as a line of defence against attack, and a source of water in case the manor came under seige.

The building has dozens of rooms, walkways and semi-detached apartments, since it is home to not only the entire Matsudaira family, but all their servants and retainers as well. The complex can be divided into several sections on the basis of their function. At the center, and facing the front gates, are the rooms where the daimyo meets visitors and conducts business. The household staff lives in small rooms on the wings that lead off from these large, central meeting halls.

To one side of the central halls are the kitchens and storerooms. These are usually located close to the quarters where household staff sleep. These two parts of the house tend to be the busiest. There are people bustling to and fro all day. The guards, as well as visitors to the manor, never go into the private apartments at the rear of the manor; therefore, the main halls and the servants quarters are where most people in the household spend their time. The kitchens are often huge halls detatched from the main buildings. A daimyo's manor needs to have a big kitchen. Since there can be well over a hundred people living on the estate of a high-ranking daimyo, it is a full-time job for several cooks and assistants just to keep everyone in the household fed. Behind the large building at the the front of the manor, and attached to it by long corridors or covered walkways, is the main residence. There are several wings, each occupied by one of the daimyo's wives or one of his elder children. Their private rooms, as well as the quarters of their personal servants, are clustered together. The rooms are arranged with communal living space, kitchens and guest rooms in the front, and the women's quarters furthest back.

Also located near the back of the manor complex are the washrooms and toilets. These are usually at opposite ends of a corridor in the rear of the building. The baths are a very important part of a daimyo's manor. The Japanese love to soak in a hot o-furo (bathtub) at the end of a long day. Nothing else is quite so relaxing in the evening as a nice, hot bath.

Although some of the central buildings are quite impressive, with high, soaring roofs of ceramic tile, most of the manor has only one story, perhaps with a loft for storage or for the servants to use as sleeping quarters. This is largely a practical matter. Although two and three-story buildings are quite common in the downtown area, the upper rooms of large buildings can be unbearably hot in the summer. One-story structures with wide doorways and breezeways are much more comfortable during the long, hot summer months.

There are few furnishings inside the manor. The main meeting rooms are covered with tatami (straw mats), and there is hardly any furniture apart from cushions to sit on (zabuton) and perhaps a small table or a wooden armrest for the daimyo to lean on. When guests eat in these halls, portable wooden table-trays are brought in with the food already on the table. After the guests finish eating, the tables are taken away, along with all the dishes.

In the private apartments, there are a few more furnishings. The women, in particular, may have a number of small tables or stands to put trinkets and jewelry. The daimyo's wives and daughters will probably have small tables in their bedrooms, a large chest or a rack for hanging kimono and a vanity table where they can put on their makeup.

In the evening, the servants will bring in a few lanterns. These are wooden or metal stands with a small oil lamp on top, and a large paper shade on top to block any wind that might blow out the lamp. The only other piece of furniture that is commonly found in people's homes are folding screens, made of wood frames covered by paper. These screens are used mainly for decoration, and they are usually painted with beautiful scenes in vivid colors. The screens are also used to provide a measure of privacy. There are many people in the manor, and particularly in the summer time, all of the sliding doors (shoji are left open to provide a breeze. Therefore, when people are changing clothes or sleeping, they set the folding screens around their bed to provide some privacy.
- source : Edomatsu

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. Daimyoo yashiki　大名屋敷 Daimyo Yashiki Residence .
There were three types in Edo :
shimo yashiki 下屋敷 / naka yashiki 中屋敷 / kami yashiki 上屋敷


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Sotokanda, Soto-Kanda 外神田 "outer Kanda" district
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... the area called Akihabara mainly belongs to Sotokanda (外神田) and Kanda-Sakumachō districts in Chiyoda.
Sotokanda is to the west of Akihabara station, including electric town, ...
There exists an administrative district called Akihabara in Taitō ward, but it is not the place which people generally refer to as Akihabara. It borders on Sotokanda in between Akihabara and Okachimachi stations, but is half occupied by JR tracks.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Akihabara 秋葉原
...a common name for the area around Akihabara Station in the Chiyoda ward ...
Akihabara gained the nickname Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街 Akihabara Denki Gai)
shortly after World War II for being a major shopping center for household electronic goods and the post-war black market.
Nowadays, Akihabara is considered by many to be an otaku cultural center and a shopping district for video games, anime, manga, and computer goods. Icons from popular anime and manga are displayed prominently on the shops in the area, and numerous maid cafés are found throughout the district. It is considered one of the best neighborhoods in Tokyo ...
- History
he area that is now Akihabara was once near a city gate of Edo and served as a passage between the city and northwestern Japan. This made the region a home to many craftsmen and tradesmen, as well as some low class samurai. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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. Shinkawa 新川 Shinkawa sub-district "new river" .

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Tachō, Tachoo, Ta choo 神田多町 Kanda Tacho district 　 　
With two sub-districts, second and third chome, 二丁目　and 三丁目



The name refers to the fields 田 TA, which have been here. The characters first used were
田町 Tacho "district with fields".
Around 1600, there was the first sub-district,　一丁目, but this has become part of the third sub-district.
The greengrocer 河津五郎太夫 Kawazu Goro Daiyu started a 青葉市 vegetable market here around 1606.
After the great fire of Meireki (1657), the area was widened and an official vegetable market established. This existed as 神田青物市場 Kanda Aomono Ichiba until the destruction of the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923).
The market was then relocated to 秋葉原 Akihabara.

In 1911 the districts of Kanda were re-distributed with their present names.

There were other aoba ichi 青葉市 vegetable markets in Edo.

  . Edo 青物町 Aomonocho "vegetable" district .
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
- - - aomono uri 青物売り vegetable vendor

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- - - Kanda subdistricts featured in the Edopedia 神田 :

Daiku choo　神田大工町 Kanda Daikucho, carpenter district

Iwamoto choo 神田岩本町 Kanda Iwamotocho

Kajichoo, Kajimachi 神田鍛冶町 Kanda Kajicho

. Kamakura choo 神田鎌倉町 Kanda Kamakuracho .

Kanazawa choo 神田金沢町 Kanazawa machi

Kijibashi 神田雉子橋 Kanda Kiji-Bashi Bridge
Kijichoo 神田雉子町 Kiji-Cho "pheasant district"

Konya choo 神田紺屋町 Kanda Konyacho

Matsugae choo　松枝町 / 松ヶ枝町 Kanda Matsugaecho

Mikawa choo 神田区三河町 Kanda Mikawa cho

Neribei choo 神田練塀町 Kanda Neribeicho / 練塀小路 Neribei koji

Renjaku choo, Renjaku machi 神田連雀町 Kanda Renjakucho

Saeki choo 神田佐柄木町　Kanda Saekicho

Sakuma choo 神田佐久間町 Kanda Sakumacho

Sarugakuchoo 猿楽町 Sarugakucho 神田猿楽町

Shirakabe choo　神田白壁町　Kanda Shirakabecho

Suda chō 神田須田町 Kanda Sudacho and 小柳町 Koyanagi district

Surugadai　神田駿河台 Kanda Surugadai

Yushima 湯島 Yushima - Education in Edo


. Shrine 神田明神 Kanda Myojin .
at Soto-Kanda (across the river), between the Ochanomizu and Akihabara Stations.
and
Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? – 940)

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- - - - - More to explore :

Higashi-Kanda 東神田 Higashi Kanda
Nishi-Kanda 西神田 Nishi Kanda
Uchi-Kanda 内神田 Uchi Kanda

Aioichō 神田相生町 Kanda Aioicho
Awajichō 神田淡路町 Kanda Awajicho
Hanaokachō 神田花岡町 Kanda Hanaokacho
Higashikonyachō 神田東紺屋町 Kanda Higashikonyacho
Higashimatsushitachō 神田東松下 Kanda Higashimatsushitacho
Hirakawachō 神田平河町 Kanda Hirakawacho
Izumichō 神田和泉町 Kanda Izumicho / 神田和泉橋通り Izumibashi-dori
Kitanorimonochō 神田北乗物町 Kanda Kitanorimonocho
Matsunagachō 神田松永町 Kanda Matsunagacho
Mikurachō 神田美倉町 Kanda Mikuracho
Misakichō 三崎町 Misakicho (borders Nishi-Kanda)
Mitoshirochō 神田美土代町 Kanda Mitoshirocho
Nishifukudachō 神田西福田町 Kanda Nishifukudacho
Nishikichō 神田錦町 Kanda Nishikicho
Ogawamachi 神田小川町 Kanda Ogawamachi
Shikenmachi 神田四軒町 Kanda Shikencho
Tomiyamachō 神田富山町 Kanda Tomiyamacho
Tsukasamachi 神田司町 Kanda Tsukasamachi
Yanagihara 神田柳原 Kanda Yanagihara



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

Kanda Myoojin 神田明神 Kanda Myojin and Taira no Masakado 平将門
Madakado was a very strong man and could fight seven people all alone. When Tawara Tōda 俵藤太 "Rice-bag Tōda" finally cut off his head, the head still kept pursuing him, and finally came to rest in Kanda. It did not die for seven days and kept the eyes rolling, watching people.
Finally Masakado's head mound was erected and the Shrine Kanda Myojin built to appease his soul.
Masakado became the protector of 弓矢の守護神 warriors fighting with bow and arrow.

Kubizuka 将門塚 Head Mound of Masakado and the Toad
When Mitsui Bussan tried to build an office 三井物産ビル, they wanted to buy the land with the 将門塚 Head Mound Kubizuka of Masakado. But they were afraid of the curse of Masakado 将門の祟り and bought a different plot.


When 若王子信行 Wakaoji Nobuyuki (1933 - 1989) was kidnapped in the Philippines in 1986, the company 三井物産 Mitsui Bussan prayed for his safe return.
They made an offering of a huge gamagaeru ガマガエル toad to the 将門塚 Masakado Mound.
(-gaeru, kaeru is a pun with 帰る to come home safely.)

. Taira no Masakado 平将門 / 平將門 Legends .

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. Yanagimori Jinja 柳森神社 Shrine .
千代田区神田須田町2-25 Chiyoda, Kanda, Sudacho
venerating
o-Tanuki san　おたぬきさん the honorable Tanuki badger



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Goji-in 護持院 Temple Goji-In


Here is an Edo-period view of Goji-in Temple Field. Today the field is covered by streets and buildings.
The Goji-in Temple 護持院 that was originally located there burned down in a big Edo fire in 1717, and after that the shogunate left the area as an open field to serve as a park and act as a firebreak to protect against fires that broke out in the downtown commoner area of the city.
. Goji-In Field and streetwalker prostitutes .

Once upon a time, a young carpenter walked along the Goji-In Field when a fox, shape-shifted to a bony prostitute, came close to him and asked for his favour. He became so afraid he ran home immediately.
Soon after that the carpenter married and became quite prosperous. Then the fox possessed his wife and asked to be divorced. Now the carpenter saw he had been deceived again, became crazy and died.

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. Koyanagi choo 小柳町 Koyanagi district "small willow tree" .
reiken 霊剣 the magic sword

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choozubachi 手水鉢 hand-wash basin
At the 神田明神 Kanda Myojin Shrine in the back of the Shrine compound there was 住吉の手水鉢 a handwashbasin from Sumiyoshi.
Once a man had this in his garden, but it was cursed and he gave it as an offering to the Shrine.

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henjoo nanji 変成男子 a boy with a mysterious story
神田和泉橋通り Kanda Izumibashi-dori
Around 1830, there lived a man named 善八 Zenpachi on the Izumibashi road.
Once on a trip he saw a young woman of about 15, 16 years hurrying along and fainting right in front of him. When Zenpachi looked after her, she came back to her senses and opened her eyes. She said she had been kidnapped and barely escaped. Zenpachi accompanied her to her home. She was very greatfull and asked for a memento from Zenpachi to always remember him in gratitude, so he gave her an amulet from 浅草観世音 Asakusa Kannon.
When Zenpachi came back home, his young wife has just given birth and - what a surprize - the newborn baby boy held this amulet of Kannon in his hand.
The girl had died long ago of an illness and through the grace of Kannon had now been re-born as a boy.

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. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .
江戸神田鍋町 Edo Kanda Nabecho district
Around 1715, on the 15th day of the New Year a servant of a merchant in Nabecho had gone to the public bath in the evening. When they heared someone at the gate in the back of the house, they saw this servant in traveller's robes. When they asked him what had happened, he told them he had left on the 13th day of the 12th lunar month the year before.
Maybe a Tengu had been shape-shifting into this servant during that time?

The Nabecho district 神田鍋町 had been founded around 1630 and was abolished in 1911.
It is now part of 千代田区鍛冶町二・三丁目、内神田三丁目.

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. wara ningyoo 藁人形 straw dolls for curses .
神田藍染川 Kanda Aisomegawa / Aizomegawa
In Kanda Aizomegawa a dog had bitten into a suspicious box and out of it came a straw doll for curses.
A serpent had been wrapped around the doll. The head of the serpent had been split by a large nail.

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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

. Legends from Chiyoda ward .

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. Chiyoda ku 千代田区 Chiyoda 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 .

. densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends - Introduction .


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daiku carpenter

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. shokunin 　職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .
. Places and Powerspots of Edo .
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daiku　大工 carpenter and legends

. daiku - Introducing Japanese Carpenters .


CLICK for more photos !
江戸時代大工上棟之図 Edo Carpenters building a roof

tooryoo 棟梁　Toryo, master carpenter
He is a most important person when building a new wooden home, temple or shrine.
They also had the job of an architect in planning and organizing the whole construction.

miyadaiku　宮大工 "shrine carpenter"
specializing in building shrines and palaces

. Hida no takumi 飛騨の匠 master builders from Hida, Gifu .
an expert carpenter or craftsman from Hida
Hida no daiku 飛騨の大工 carpenter from Hida, architect from Hida

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There was a special district in Edo where most of the carpenters lived :

Kanda daikuchoo　神田　大工町 carpenter district in Kanda
tate daikuchoo 竪大工町 (now in Uchi Kanda 内神田三丁目14番 )
yoko daikuchoo 横大工町 / minami daikuchoo 南大工町

This district was founded around 1640 in the Kanei period 寛永 and is mentioned in the
"Edo Map of Kanei 寛永江戸図".
Many carpenters who lived here worked directly for the Bakufu government for the official buildings of Edo.


source :　無涯塾日記

One famous (but fictional) character is the carpenter 吉五郎 Kichigoro in the story
三方一両損 sanbo ichiryo zon, where the famous magistrate 大岡越前守忠相 Oka Echizen is holding court.

The shop of a craftsman making the matoi 纏 standards , a pole with the fire fighters brigade mark, is also located here.
纏屋治郎右衛門 Matoiya Jiroemon

. shokuninmachi 職人町 district with craftsmen in Edo .

Now the 龍谷大学 Ryukoku University is located in this district.

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Another district where carpenters lived was



Umibedaikuchmachi 海辺大工町 Umibe Daikumachi carpenter district on the coast
Umibe Daikucho, Umibe Daiku-Cho , Umibe Daiku-machi
along the river 小名木川 Onagigawa.


Umibe is a district in 江東区 Koto Ward, next to Fukagawa.

River Onagigawa joins the Sumidagawa with the bridge 高橋 Takahashi as main access. Another bridge was 万年橋 Mannenbashi and then
the Shin-Takahashi　新高橋 New Takahashi Bridge. The bridge Takahashi (High Bridge) was build much higher than other bridges to avoid being swept away by flooding of the rivers.

After reclaiming the land the settlement along the river Onagigawa became w river port and was named Umibe Daikumachi in 1713.



Many carpenters skilled in building ships and boats came to live here, hence the name.
funadaiku 船大工 shipbuilder carpenter



The bottom of a wooden boat was often burned to make it more resistant to rotting.


source : adachi-hanga.com/ukiyo-e
歌川国芳 Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Detail from 東都三ツ股の図 Toto Mitsumata no Zu
View of Mitsumata in the Eastern Capital




. River Onagigawa 小名木川 .
and The Gyotoku Salt Fields 行徳塩田 Gyotoku enden

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- - - - - . Bashō-An 芭蕉庵 Basho-An in Fukagawa　深川 .
- Matsuo Basho　松尾芭蕉　－ Haiku Poet


source :　homepage3.nifty.com/onihei-zue
Basho-An was near the Mannenbashi 万年橋　"Ten Thousand Year Bridge".

萬年橋 Mannenbashi bridge - Hiroshige


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source :　刃物　フルカワ
職人絵図　江戸時代　大工　(釿・ノミ・鋸・下げ振りなどが見える)


Craftsmen going out to work were called dejoku, deshoku 出職.
They went to the home of a client to work. The three most important deshoku for construction works 普請三職 were
大工 carpenter, shakan 左官 wall plasterer and tobi 鳶 construction workers.

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The carpenters left home early in the morning to make use of the daylight. Work usually started around 7:00 in the morning
They carried a box with their tools, an important status symbol of each carpenter.
He always kept the box at home over night. If a fire broke out in the neighbourhood he could throw his tool box into the drainage canal before the house (どぶ). So even if he lost his home and place to sleep, he still had his tools and could start all anew the next day.


source and more :　たそがれ日記

doogubako 道具箱 Dogubako, tool box of a carpenter

At 10:00 there was a short break of about 30 minutes.
13:00 was time for a one-hour lunch break.
At 14:00, another short break of about 30 minutes. Including a smoke and a snack.
At 17:00 work was over and the carpenter could go home. On the way he might go to a bath house and be home at 19:00 for dinner.
Bedtime was early, at 20:00.
(There was no electric light in Edo . . . nights were dark, dark, dark.)
If he had to start earlier or work overtime to get a job done, he was payed extra money.

Because of bad weather he usually could not work for about 60 days in a year, leaving him without income for 2 months. His wife had to make ends meet.
He still had enough pocket money to have a drink of Sake at night and get some sweets for the children.

There was a humorous saying in Edo:

大工殺すにゃ刃物はいらぬ、雨の十日も降ればよい.
To kill a carpenter you do not need a sharp blade.
Just let it rain for 10 days.

Before doing some work the craftsman had to haggle about the price for a bit of work with his client, temadori 手間取.

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Kiba　木場


CLICK for more photos !

- quote -
Kiba - Lumberyards and Carpenters
Eitai-bashi (Eitai bridge) is the longest bridge in Edo, and one of the largest in the country. Though not nearly as famous as nearby Nihonbashi, it is probably a more important bridge for the citizens of Edo. The huge, semicircular arch is one of just three bridges spanning the lower reaches of the Sumida river, and linking central Edo with the residential and manufacturing districts on the eastern shore of the river. Although both Nihonbashi and Ryogoku-bashi are more well known, Eitai-bashi is nevertheless an important transportation link from central Edo to the busy lumberyards of Kiba.

Kiba is a low-lying district on the very edge of Edo bay, on the east bank of the Sumida river. It is a very blue-collar neighborhood, and most of the residents live in nagaya (row houses). Many of the people who live here are day laborers and construction workers, who toil in the vast lumberyards that give this district its name.

The word "kiba" literally means "place for wood". The area gets its name because it is the neighborhood designated by the Shogun for all lumber yards. Although many construction companies have offices in the central part of the city, they are prohibited from keeping a large stockpile of wood anywhere near the city center. Instead, they have to keep almost all of their wood stored in Kiba. This is a precaution taken to help prevent serious fires.

When Edo was first built, the main kiba, or lumber yards, were located on the west bank of the Sumida river, in places like Tsukiji and Hamacho. This was the most convenient location, since the wood could be transported there easily by river, and most of the construction work being done in the city was in the downtown areas around Nihonbashi, Kyobashi and Kanda. As the city began to spread out, construction companies set up smaller lumber yards in each part of the city. However, as the people of Edo discovered, this was an invitation to disaster. Fire has always been a serious problem for citizens of Edo. Nearly every building in the city is made of wood, and the houses are packed tightly together, especially in the shitamachi (downtown) areas of the city. If a fire gets started, it usually spreads very fast, and it may destroy many, many buildings before anyone can put it out.

In the crowded, narrow streets of the city, it is often hard to escape from a fire, and many people die every year from even small fires. There is even an old saying among city residents, that "fires and fistfights are the flowers of Edo". Both types of altercations flare up very easily in the crowded downtown neighborhoods. However, when they were planning and building their city, the early Shoguns never imagined that fires could cause as much damage as the Great Meireki Fire did in 1657.

The Great Meireki Fire was the worst catastrophe ever to strike the city, and even today, more than a century later, the city still bears scars from the disaster. Almost half a million people died in the flames, and over half of the city was burned to the ground. After the catastrophe was over, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth Shogun, passed a series of laws and made several changes to the design of the city to help make sure that future fires could not spread so quickly or cause as much damage. One reason why the flames to spread rapidly was that there were many large lumber yards located in the downtown area. Once a big lumber yard catches fire, it is just about impossible to put out, and the flames jump so high that the firemen cannot stop them from spreading to other buildings nearby.

After the Great Meireki Fire, all carpenters and builders were ordered to move their lumber yards to the other side of the river, away from the heavily populated downtown area. The new neighborhood was given the name "Kiba". A number of other changes were made as well, such as widening the roads to create firebreaks, and organising local fire brigades. The job of a fireman is usually held by low-ranking samurai. It is a very dangerous and demanding job, but the firemen of Edo are highly respected, and many local communities look to current or former members of the fire brigade to become their local leaders and peace officers.



Kiba is a very low, swampy area that sometimes gets flooded at extremely high tides and during storms. Although this makes it a rather uncomfortable place to live, it is an ideal place for lumber yards. First of all, it was easy to build a vast network of canals in the area where the lumber yards were located. These canals have a dual purpose -- their main function is as transportation routes, to make it easier to bring wood to and from the lumber yards. In addition, the canals prevent fires from spreading from lumber yard to lumber yard. Although the high tides and floods can sometimes cause damage to the wood (especially if the wood remains under water for too long), it also has a positive effect. Termites cannot build their nests in swampy ground, and the occasional floods destroy any termite nests that have been established in the woodpiles, so the lumber yards of Kiba are almost immune to termite damage.



Wood is brought to Kiba from mountain forests far to the north and west of the city. Lumberjacks working in the forests cut down the tall, straight and hard-wooded trees such as sugi (cedar) and hinoki (cypress). These are the best types of wood for building houses, since the wood is straight, strong and very resistant to water. The logs are then cut into large, semifinished beams, which are tied together like a raft and transported downriver to Edo.

When the huge wooden beams reach Kiba, they are sold to individual lumber merchants or construction companies. The lumber merchants take the huge beams to their own lumber yard where carpenters saw them up into smaller boards and beams, storing them in the lumber yards until they are ready to use.

Most of the lumber merchants have close ties to the construction guilds in downtown Edo. Builders are among the more respected of craftsmen, and master builders can become very wealthy. However, for every master architect and builder, there are usually many lesser craftsmen, apprentices and day laborers who do the dirty work, like carrying heavy beams or bundles of shingles to and from a building site, or tearing down old buildings that are being replaced. The more skilled carpenters tend to live in middle-class areas in Nihonbashi, Kyobashi or Asakusa, while many lower-level workers live in the blue-collar districts near Kiba, where they queue up each day looking for temporary jobs on a construction site.
- source : edomatsu -


. Construction work - Introduction .
Organizing all the artisans to build a home in Edo !


. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .


Kiba no Yugure 木場の夕暮れ Timber Yard, Evening


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. carpenter tools with Daruma .



koshibukuro だるまの腰袋 waist bag
kugibukuro 釘袋 nail bag

. kugi 釘 nail, Nagel - Introduction .

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Daiku Rokusa 大工六三　Rokusa the Carpenter
?Daiku Rokuzo, Daiku Rokuzō



Utagawa Kunisada
A portrait of Ichikawa Ichizo III as Rokusaburo the carpenter,
made for the forthcoming performances of Komamukae Tanomino Tsukkomi (a version of Mijikayo ukina no chirashigaki) at the Morita theatre in 1858.
- source : fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery -

- quote -
OSONO ROKUSA
Sanzesô Nishiki Bunshô / Oku Dôsha Musume Sugegasa
The courtesan Osono, who belongs to the Fukushimaya house in Fukagawa, is ailing because of over-anxiety concerning her lover Komurasaki Rokusaburô (commonly called Rokusa). He has been dismissed from service as samurai because he lost a family treasure, a valuable poem card (shikishi) that had been entrusted to his keeping. .....
Osono's brother Chôan, a doctor who is more a charlatan than a skilled doctor, knows that Rokusa is a hopeless rônin. ...
... Osono, who is readying herself for departure, is met by Rokusa who has come back to kill her. Osono gives him a letter she had written to explain everything. Rokusa understands the circumstances and they go off together.
Trivia
The story of Osono and Rokusa is based on two real events which happened in Ôsaka in 1749: the 18th day of the 3rd lunar month of the 2nd year of the Kan'en era , the courtesan Osono (from the Minami pleasure district) and the carpenter Rokusa committed a double suicide. The same day, a courtesan from the Kita Shinchi pleasures district, who had killed her elder brother and was sentenced to death, was executed. The story of Osono and Rokusa is a fusion of these two real events.
In Sakurada Jisuke III's version, the actions and characters are shifted to Edo.
- source : kabuki21.com -


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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ishidooro 石燈篭 Ishidoro, stone lantern

元禄年中に寺を普請した棟梁が奉納した燈篭を江戸へ運ぼうとしたら、夜関係者が発熱し狂気のように皆燈篭のことを口走った。ゆえに江戸へは運ばず寺に返した。精霊が宿っているのだろう。

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kitsune 狐 fox

王子村稲荷は関八州の稲荷明神の棟梁で、毎年12月晦日に関八州の狐が社前に集まり火を灯す。その燃え方を見て周辺の人は作柄を占う。


................................................................................. Ehime 愛媛県
Joohen 城辺町 Johen

Wakamiya Jinja no ki 若宮神社の木
若宮神社には300年以上経った並木があったが、3年前に集会場を建てるので切り倒してしまった。その木を斬った棟梁は間もなく入院して亡くなり、他の樵も皆亡くなってしまった。

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大洲市 Ozu

yamaneko, yamainu 山猫，山犬
銃の名手左衛門が、山猫の住む「入らずの森」を開拓した。山猫は手出しができずにいたが、ある日娘が一夜の宿を求めて来て、左衛門は共に暮らした。ある日山犬に襲われた飛脚が「山猫の棟梁が左衛門のところに行っていなければ」と言うのを聞く。それが左衛門の耳にも入り、ついには正体を現した古猫をしとめる。


................................................................................. Hiroshima 広島県

funadamasama 船魂様 Funadama Sama
船魂様は女の神様で、女がひとりで乗船することを嫌う。ひとりで乗るときにはデコ（人形）を持って乗るとよいと言われている。船霊様として帆柱の下に収められるのはサイコロ２個と一文銭１２枚、女のデコを１個である。サイコロは大工の棟梁が柳の木から新しく作ったもので、２と２の目が向かい合うように並べる。



................................................................................. Ishikawa 石川県
河内町 Kawachi

tengu 天狗
棟上げの時、天狗除けや魔除けのために、棟梁が屋根の上に六角の糸巻きの枠を立て、それに鯖をつるす。その後、鯖は川に流してしまうという。



................................................................................. Kagoshima 鹿児島県
大島郡 Oshima district

fuiguchi フイグチ
部落に住む大工の棟梁同士が喧嘩した際、ひとりの棟梁がフイグチをする性格であった。もうひとりの棟梁はそれを見抜いていてモドシグチを行った。するとクチを入れた棟梁は眠ったまま死んでしまった。


................................................................................. Kyoto 京都府
亀岡市 Kameoka

shironamazu 白鯰 White Namazu catfish
亀山城の別棟が少し歪んでいたので、棟梁が責任を取って堀に身を投げた。棟梁は白鯰となり、堀の主となった。水の浅くなった月の夜半、白鯰が頭を水面に出して城を見つめるという。


................................................................................. Miyagi 宮城県
栗駒町 Kurikoma

nyuudoo boozu 入道坊主 Nyudo Bozu
棟梁が着工式に呼ばれ、お祝いの魚を藁づとに包んで帰る途中、人気のない道で火にあたる八尺ばかりの入道坊主に会った。持っていた手斧をふりまわしながら通り過ぎたが、いつのまにか入道坊主は消えた。ムジナの仕業だという。


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柴田町 Shibata

amida no kakejiku 阿弥陀の掛軸
山の上集落の近江家は、旅の僧をもてなして阿弥陀様の書かれた掛軸をもらった。あるとき、近江家に普請に入った大工の頭領が、掛軸を盗んで逃げた。家を出た途端大雨が降り出し、狐狸が邪魔をした。雷が鳴り、橋が流れそうになる。命からがら家に帰ったが、掛軸はピカピカと光っていた。翌朝、棟梁はポックリ死んでしまった。掛軸は古道具屋に売り払われたが、今度は大きなネズミが出て道具屋が眠れない。祈祷師に拝んでもらうと元の家に返せという。こうして掛軸は返ってきた。



................................................................................. Osaka 大阪府

kaeruishi, kaeru ishi かえる石
大阪城のかえる石付近に行くと休みたくなる。その石に腰をかけたものは恍惚とし、そのうち屋形が浮かび出て女中が手招く。それで投身するものが絶えないという。淀君の怨霊、人柱に立った大工の棟梁とその女房の伝説、城普請の棟梁のだまし討ちなどの説がある。

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- reference -

- source : nichibun yokai database -
大工 101 legends to explore (00) /// 棟梁


絵巻に描かれた（鎌倉時代の）普請場の様子
- source : unko-mitsuhashi.blog -

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. WKD : daiku 大工　carpenter .

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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. - Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. 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 . ]
- - - - - #daiku #carpenteredo #toryo #miyadaiku - - - -
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Ikegami Honmonji

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Ikegami Honmonji 池上本門寺　Ikegami Honmon-Ji　 　
Chooeizan 長栄山 Choeizan
東京都大田区池上1-1-1 / 1-1-1, Ikegami, Ōta-ku, Tokyo
a temple of the Nichiren sect south of Tokyo, erected where Nichiren is said to have died.



. Nichiren, Saint Nichiren 日蓮 .
(1222 – 1282)

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NICHIREN SHŌNIN AND HONMONJI TEMPLE
- source : honmonji.jp/foreign -

- HP of the temple 池上本門寺
- reference source : honmonji.jp -



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- quote
Ikegami Honmonji
When people talk about "Edo", they usually are referring to the sprawling city that surrounds the castle built by the Shogun. However, not everyone has precisely the same view of what the geographical boundaries of Edo are. There isn't any clear border that divides "Edo" from some other city or province, such as the border between Musashi province and Sagami province, for example. Some people would say that the city's Southern and Western borders are the large gates at Takanawa and Yotsuya. However, the city already sprawls well beyond these two landmarks. The average person usually thinks of "Edo" as a much wider area, extending into the suburbs and farming villages that surround the city, and supply it with much of its food.
For most city residents,
at least, the little town of Ikegami probably represents the furthest southern limit of what they call "Edo". Ikegami is much like any other small farming town in the area, with a few large shops and other buildings lining the main road, clusters of wooden farmhouses with thatched roofs, and extensive fields of rice and vegetables stretching down to the banks of the Tama river. However, one thing about Ikegami distinguishes it from the other villages in the area, and give it an importance in the minds of people not only in Edo, but throughout the country. On top of the steep, flat-topped hill which looms over the town sits a vast temple complex known as Ikegami Honmonji. This is the main temple of one of Edo's strongest Buddhist orders, the so-called Hokke, or "Lotus" sect. The main temple and the multitude of smaller temples, shrines and monesteries dominate the entire town.
The Lotus sect
is an branch of Buddhism which is found only in Japan. The sect was founded by the monk Nichiren back in 1260, and after Nichiren passed away, the site where he was buried became the headquarters of the Lotus sect. For centuries, Ikegami has been the center of religious worship, and a place of pilgrimage for all people who belong to the sect.
- snip -
Nichiren was a poor but very intelligent young man, and at a very early age he became a Buddhist monk. In those days, monesteries were important centers of learning, as well as centers of political power. However, many of the main Buddhist sects had become corrupted by their power, and no longer spend much time on real prayer, meditation and religious devotion. According to tradition, Nichiren spent long years wondering what to do about the corruption. Then, one day he had a revelation which changed his entire life. Thereafter, he decided to try to lead others back to a purer form of religion.
- snip -
Unfortunately, Nichiren was also worn out from his years in exile, and his health began to fail. His followers persuaded him to go to a famous onsen (hot springs) in the northern Kanto area in order to recuperate, but after crossing the Tama river he became so weak and ill that he could not continue. His followers found a place or him to stay at a small temple in Ikegami. Back then, the area was wild and remote. As the name "Ikegami" suggests, the hill on which the temple was built was almost entirely surrounded by marshes and ponds bordering the Tama river. Nichiren died a few weeks later, on October 13, 1282. His followers cremated his body beside the temple, and from that day forward the place where Nichiren died became a holy site for members of the Lotus sect
The road leading into Ikegami
branches off from the Tokaido just a short distance from the river. If you look down the main road you can see the center of town, and a huge stone staircase leading up the hill to the temple complex. Ikegami has grown into a thriving town, since it not only is a center of farming in this area, but also receives hundreds of pilgrims, visiting the temples. On top of the hill, the huge buildings of Ikegami Honmonji soar above even the tall cedar trees that cover the hill. In addition to the many grand buildings and structures on top of the hill, hundreds of smaller temples crowd about its base. The site has become a popular place for the people of Edo to visit, especially those who belong to the Lotus sect.
The main road ends at the base of the hill, and a steep staircase made of large stone blocks lead to the summit of the hill-- 96 steps in all. The broad staircase is thronged with people, passing pilgrims, local villagers making a daily visit to the temple, clusters of street merchants selling religious charms, snacks and other goods, as well as a number of itinerant priests asking the pilgrims for coins.
Climbing up the stairs is exhausting,
but now that we have reached the top, you can take some time to catch your breath. If you look to the south, you can have a great view of the Tama river valley. The Tama basin plays an important role for Edo. This relatively narrow yet fertile plain is filled with rice fields which provide food for the people in the city. It is a truly beautiful sight -- a carpet of lush green that shimmers brightly as the sun reflects off water in the rice paddies. Actually, the majority of the city's food supply comes from farms in the broad plains along the Ara, Edo and Tone rivers, or is brought in by ship from from Naniwa (Osaka). However, those areas are owned by other Daimyo. The land in the Tama basin, on the other hand, is owned directly by the Shogun. The rice grown here, therefore, provides an important supplement to the Shogun's tax revenues.
Although coins are used
for many daily business transactions, rice is still the standard basis of currency and wealth in Edo. All of the Shogun's retainers and samurai are paid salaries based on rice. The standard unit of currency is known as a koku (about 5 bushels of rice). Since rice is the basis of wealth, and the key to maintianing strong finances, Shogun Yoshimune ordered much of the swampy land in the Tama valley to be reclaimed, building dikes and making the land suitable for rice cultivation. For this, and other measures, he earned the nickname kome kubo or "the Rice Shogun".
Well, if you're done enjoying the view, we can move on into the temple itself. As is the case with most Buddhist temples, the entrance to the main temple grounds is guarded by an enormous wooden gate that serves as both an entryway and a watchtower. These gates are not only for decoration. Back in the days when the entire country was at war, temples were often used as fortresses and strong points in the battles. Some of the monks even got involved in the fighting themselves. Therefore, the gates of many temples are as strong and solid as the gates of a castle.
Inside the gate
is a broad, gravel-covered plaza. On either side of the gate are statues of the "Thunder Gods", who guard the entrance and keep evil forces out of the temple grounds.At the opposite end of the plaza is the enormous main hall of the temple. This is used for large gatherings of monks, and it is also the building that the pilgrims visit to make their offerings. Along both sides of the plaza are smaller chapels and shrines to specific gods or saints. Each shrine, as well as the main hall of the temple, has a large offering box in front of the door or building. People throw coins into the box and then clap their hands twice, before saying a prayer. Most people pray for good luck, health or good fortune. There is also a water fountain, where visitors to the temple wash their hands and feet, and rinse out their mouth, to purify themselves before going into the main temple. In front of the temple steps is a huge bronze censer, where monks and visitors burn incense. A column of smoke rises from the enormous bronze vessel, and a wonderful fragrance fills the air.



Ikegami Hommonji also has a five-storied pagoda.
Though there are many temples in Edo, only a few have pagodas, and the one at Ikegami Hommonji is one of the most magnificent. It originally served as a watchtower for the Hokke monks, who were able to scan the Tama valley for any signs that their enemies and persecutors were approaching. Nowadays, though, it is just another decoration in this rich and elaborate temple complex. Although there are many other large temples in Edo, the beautiful rural surroundings and delightful scenery of Ikegami Hommonji make it perhaps the most pleasant and refreshing place to go for a quiet moment of reflection and prayer.
- source : Edomatsu

. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .


池上本門寺の塔 Pagoda of Honmonji Temple at Ikegami



粉雪の降る参道　Honmonji Temple in Snow at Ikegami

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- quote -
Ikegami-Honmon-ji Temple - Eshiki 会式 （えしき）

Eshiki refers to a Buddhist ceremony held in temples of the Nichiren Buddhism around October 13, the anniversary of The Venerable Nichiren's in commemoration of his virtue.
The Eshiki in Ikegami-Honmon-ji Temple is especially lavish, with many worshippers visiting as it was built in the place where The Venerable Nichiren spent the last days in his life.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -

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fukubato, fuku hato omamori 福鳩お守り amulet with auspicious dove
This amulet is only sold from the first day of the New Year until Setsubun in February.



Once in summer there was a long period without rain in the Ikegami area and the farmers were worried about their fields and the crops. Then suddenly they saw a dove flying from Honmon-Ji to a rock and picking at it. When they dug below the rock suddenly clear water begun to flow - a new well was born. They could bring water to the fields and drink again. To show their gratefulness the temple begun to offer an amulet with this the auspicious dove.


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薔薇の雨本門寺裏へ坂をなす
bara no ame honmonji ura saka o nasu

rain on the roses -
the slope in the back
of Honmon-Ji
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Fujita Sooshi 藤田湘子 Fujita Soshi (1926 - 2005) .


. WKD : bara 薔薇 rose .
- - kigo for various seasons - -

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本門寺坂下に詰むお万灯
Honmonji sakashita ni tsumu o-mantoo

temple Honmon-Ji -
down at the slope gathering
of light offerings

高澤良一 Takazawa Ryoichi



mantoo, mandoo 万燈 Manto light offerings for Saint Nichiren

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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 .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends - Introduction .


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Funabashi and Gyotoku

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Funabashi and Gyootoku, Gyōtoku 船橋 と 行徳 Gyotoku

. Funasshi ふなっしー Mascot from Funabashi, Chiba .


江戸名所図会, 船橋

- quote -
Funabashi city is located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture and makes up one part of the Shimōsa Plateau. Funabashi is crossed by the Tone River, and the small Ebi River is located entirely within city limits. Funabashi formerly had wide, shallow beaches, but much of the coast has been industrialized and transformed by reclaimed land.

The name "Funabashi" is mentioned in the Kamakura period chronicle Azuma Kagami. However, the name itself is even more ancient, dating from before the Nara period and the Yamatotakeru mythology. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the Japanese Paleolithic period and shell middens from the Jomon period in the area, indicating continuous inhabitation for thousands of years. A number of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in the area claim to have been founded in the Nara period or Heian period. During the Muromachi periods, the area was controlled by the Chiba clan. During the Sengoku period, the Chiba clan fought the Satomi clan to the south, and the Late Hojo clan to the west. After the defeat of the Chiba clan, the area came within the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the area prospered as a post town on the river crossing of the Tone River, and was largely retained as tenryo 天領 under the direct control of the Shogunate and administered through a number of hatamoto. The area was also a favored hunting grounds for the Shogun. During the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, Funabashi was the location of a minor skirmish between Tokugawa loyalists under Enomoto Takeaki and the pro-Imperial forces of Okayama Domain and Satsuma Domain, during which most of the town burned down.

After the abolition of the han system, the area eventually became part of Chiba Prefecture. Funabashi Town was one of several towns and villages created on April 1, 1889 under Inba District. The area developed rapidly due to its proximity to Tokyo and the presence of numerous military facilities in the area. On April 1, 1937, Funabashi was elevated to city status through merger with neighboring Katsushika Town and Yasakae, Hoden and Tsukada Villages. The new city was host to numerous military installations in World War II, and was bombed in the air raids on Japan in 1945.

The city developed rapidly in the postwar period, with the development of industries, public housing developments and port facilities. With the annexation of neighboring Ninomiya Town in 1953, the population exceeded 100,000. The population exceeded 300,000 in 1969 and 500,000 in 1982. Funabashi was designated a core city on April 1, 2005 with increased local autonomy from the central government. The population exceeded 600,000 in 2006.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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source : otonanonurie

船橋駅　天道念仏踊り之図 Tendo Nenbutsu Odori
Funabashi Station

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- quote
The Gyotoku Salt Fields 行徳塩田 Gyotoku enden
... Gyotoku, a settlement on the shore of Edo bay about 15 kilometers east of the city. To get there, we have to take a boat ride through the canals of Edo. As I have mentioned in the past, rivers and canals criss-cross most of downtown Edo, and one of the fastest ways to get from place to place is by boat. There are many piers and boat landings in the downtown part of the city, but today we are going to a pier that is used only by a special ferry boat operated by the city officials -- the water taxi to Gyotoku. Gyotoku is a very important site in this region, since it is the home of the Gyotoku salt works.

Gyotoku kashi (Gyotoku wharf), located in the Nihonbashi district, is the starting point for a busy water taxi service . There are always boats preparing to land or depart, since there is a steady stream of townspeople travelling to and from the working-class suburbs east of the Sumida River. The wharf is named Gyotoku kashi after the town of Gyotoku, which is the last stop on the route. The watashi-bune (ferry-boats) follow one of several regular routes through the canals of Edo, but Gyotoku -- at the eastern end of Edo Bay -- is the final destination for all of them.

When Edo was first built, the flat marshy land on the east bank of the Sumida River was almost uninhabited. This low-lying land to the east of Edo was a marshy delta, formed by several large rivers that empty into Edo Bay. Even the isolated areas of solid ground in this area flooded easily during heavy rains, and there were few reliable sources of fresh water along the shore of the bay -- only when you went up-river beyond the high tide line could you get fresh water from the rivers. The marshes were a barrier that blocked traffic east from Edo. To get to the rich rice lands of Shimosa province you had to make a long detour to the north, along the Chiba Kaido, or else travel across Edo Bay by boat, rounding the marshes to the south and then swinging north again, up the coast to the towns of Gyotoku and Funabashi, which serve as the gateway to Shimosa province.

When Tokugawa Ieyasu first arrived in Edo, one of his first priorities was to find a way to build transportation links across the marshes east of the Sumida River. To secure the necessary food and goods needed for the city of Edo to grow, it was essential to transport the rich harvest of rice and vegetables from the provinces to the North and east of Edo to markets in the downtown area. The city also needed salt from Gyotoku, which is the only town in the area suited for salt production. Therefore, in around 1602 Ieyasu ordered his men to begin building canals through the marshlands to connect all of the major river systems in the eastern Kanto region. The network of canals and rivers now extends across a wide area to the north and east of Edo

One main canal, known as the 小名木川 Onagigawa (Onagi river), runs due east from the Sumida River near Nihonbashi to Gyotoku. This was one of the first canals to be built, though today, many other channels have been built, and the marshlands are crisscrossed by a checkerboard of canals. Once the canals were completed, transportation through the area became even smoother than travel by land. More and more people moved into the area as fresh water was made available, and today the area is a bustling neighborhood of blue-collar homes and small businesses.

When the boat is full of passengers, the captain uses his long bamboo pole to push off from shore. The watashi-bune are generally driven by two boat pilots using long poles of bamboo. There is also a broad rudder on the stern of the boat, which can be used to propel the craft in places where the water is too deep for the poles to reach bottom.

The boat travels down the canal from Nihonbashi to the Sumida River. When we reach the river the pilots slow down as they try to maneuver their way through the crowd of boat traffic. The Sumida river is Edo's main thoroughfare, carrying even more traffic than the Tokaido or any of the other main roads. The city is quite crowded and many of the streets are narrow, so it is hard to transport goods through the streets. Horse carts would be a nuisance to pedestrians, so they are hardly ever used in the downtown area. Instead, all goods are carried by boat to the nearest wharf, and then transported to their destination on the backs of nimpu (porters). The Sumida river is always thronged with boat traffic, and it is amazing to watch the boat pilots skillfully guiding their craft in and out of traffic. It seems amazing that there are so few collisions.

The boat sails past the huge, arching span of Eitaibashi (Eitai Bridge). This towering bridge links the port districts of Nihonbashi, Minato and Tsukiji with the blue-collar neighborhood of Fukagawa. It is supported by several dozen huge columns, each carved from the trunk of a single huge hinoki (cypress) tree. The wood is highly resistant to water and rot, and it may last for as much as a hundred years before the bridge needs to be repaired. On the opposite shore of the Sumida river, just a short distance upriver from the bridge, is a broad waterway branching off from the main river channel. This is the Onagigawa (Onagi River　小名木川).

The Onagigawa runs due east from the Sumida River, near Nihonbashi, to the Ara River, just a short distance from Gyotoku. The shoguns built this canal shortly after they moved to Edo, in order to provide quick and easy transportation between Edo and the rich provinces to the east. In addition to the constant stream of ferry boats, there are also many takase-bune (large cargo boats), which use the canal to carry loads of rice, vegetables and other agricultural products from the rich farms in Shimosa, Kazusa and Kotsuke Provinces.

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.

. Sarue 猿江町 Sarue - "Monkey Inlet" along the Onagigawa .

As our boat glides down this busy waterway, it passes through a series of small farming villages separated by occasional broad stretches of reeds and marshes. Before Edo was settled, this area of rivers and marshes was virtually uninhabited, but now it has become a thriving center of vegetable farming. Because of the rich soil, and the strong demand for vegetables from city dwellers, farmers in the towns along the Onagigawa have become quite prosperous. In fact, many varieties of vegetables take their names from farming communities in this area, such as Sunamura melons and Kasai leeks.

However, as your boat moves further and further east, the small farming villages become fewer and more widely scattered, and the swamps and marshes broader and more filled with wildlife. The broad East-West canal continues onward through the marshes. Though there are few signs of habitation along the banks of the canal, boat traffic remains heavy. Your own boat continues to glide along the flat surface of the canal. The sun is rising higher into the sky, and the two boat pilots are sweating heavily as they propel the craft with their long poles. They seem to be poling more energetically now, since you have almost reached your destination.

At last, the sparkling waters of Edo Bay come into view, and you can see the small but busy village of Gyotoku strung out along the shoreline. Clouds of steam rise from the low buildings along the canal, and on the flat land beside the bay, the sun sparkles off the salt fields, where salt is being produced for sale in Edo. Salt is a very important commercial commodity in most countries, and in Edo, the situation is no different. Salt is very important in the daily live of Edo's citizens for many reasons.



Salt is an important part of the diet. Japanese food tends to be rather plain, especially the staple meals of the lower classes, which consist mainly of rice and perhaps a small amount of fish or vegetables. To spice up their diet, the people are very fond of shoyu (soy sauce) and miso. Both of these are made mostly from soybeans and salt. Salt is also needed to preserve fish. Naturally, most people in Edo prefer their fish to be as fresh as possible. However, many of the fishing villages that supply Edo with food may take several days or even weeks to ship their produce to the markets in the city. If the fish is not sold right away, it has to be preserved in salt or else it will get rotten. A very large amount of salt is used to preserve fish -- many times more than the amount needed just for a healthy diet. For this reason, many fishing villages produce salt locally, at least on a small scale

In addition, people in Japan use salt in many rituals, as a symbol of purification. Priests throw salt on new building sites to purify them, and throw salt on the temple grounds for the same reason. When a person dies, the relatives throw salt outside the door of the house to keep evil spirits away. Merchants often put little piles of salt just outside their door to keep away bad luck. This is especially common at the beginning of the New Year. Finally, sumo wrestlers throw salt into the ring before they start wrestling, in order to purify the ring for the start of the match.

The demand for salt is so great that the price is quite high in Edo. Merchants ship large loads of salt all the way from Western Japan. The best places to make salt are places with a long, flat beach that is fairly hard-packed, and which gets fairly large changes in the water level from high tide to low tide. There are many places like this along the Seto Inland Sea, in Western Japan, and these are the main centers of salt production. In the Edo area, though, Gyotoku is about the only good location in the area which has a beach that is wide enough and sandy enough to be suitable for producing salt.

We have arrived at low tide and the sun is quite hot. This is a good time to see the salt workers in action, since it is an ideal time for drying the salt. People are busily walking to-and-fro, carrying buckets on poles on their shoulders. There is a steady and constant traffic of people from the edge of the sea to the flat, hard-packed square fields that are laid out in a checkerboard across the wide, flat beach.

The salt workers fill their buckets with sea water from a small channel that has been dug to bring the water a little ways up the beach, even at low tide. They then carry the buckets to the drying fields, where they pour the water into the field until a shallow layer covers the flat ground. The sea water is left to evaporate, and when all the water is gone, it leaves a crust salt. The workers will continue to add water a bit at a time and let it evaporate, continuing the process for as long as a week.

After a few days of adding water again and again, then waiting for it to evaporate, there will be a thick crust of salt coating the field. This salt crust can then be raked up into piles and collected. the piles of salt are then stored in little storehouses until other workers can come by to collect it. The dried salt is then carried to the boiling houses further up the beach.

A cluster of boiling houses is located not far from the salt fields; this is where the salt is processed and purified. Workers carry bundles of raw salt into the buildings, where it is carefully wrapped in very finely-woven silk cloth and then placed in a tub of water. The salt dissolves in the water, but the sand, dirt and grit that was mixed with the salt remains trapped inside the cloth. Finally, the supersaturated salt water is poured into huge boiling vats. Fires built underneath the vats boil off all the water, and when the water is all gone, the salt that is left in the bottom of the vats is clean and pure enough to eat.
- source : Edomatsu


行徳塩田
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. enden　塩田 salt fields - Introduction .

. Umibedaikuchmachi 海辺大工町 Umibe Daikumachi carpenter district on the coast .
along the river 小名木川 Onagigawa

. Chiba Kaido 千葉街道 Chiba Highway .
passing Funabashi

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Gyotoku Kaido 行徳街道 Gyotoku Highway
From 市川市 Ichikawa city in 千葉県 Chiba to 浦安市 Urayasu town.
Now National Highway Nr. 6.



- quoting the wikipedia
Ichikawa City (市川市, Ichikawa-shi)
The city has a concentration of the wide-area traffic network that connects the center of Tokyo with many areas of Chiba Prefecture. Major rail routes and roads pass through the city.
The area around present-day Ichikawa has been inhabited since the Japanese Paleolithic period.
... During the Nara period, Ichikawa was the provincial capital of Shimōsa Province and is mentioned in the Man'yōshū. During the Heian period, this area was the center of the rebellion by Taira Masakado. During the Sengoku period, it was the site of a major battles (Battle of Kōnodai) between the Satomi clan and the Later Hōjō clan. ...

Urayasu (浦安市, Urayasu-shi)
Urayasu is best known as the home of the Tokyo Disney Resort, which opened in April 1983,
... The area around Urayasu was tenryo territory within Shimōsa Province controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period. Urayasu served as an important fishing village for the Edo capital. Until the industrialization of the city it was a major center of production of nori, an edible seaweed, hamaguri, the common orient clam, and asari, the Japanese cockle. All three are important elements of the traditional Japanese diet.

- map from Ichikawa city -

. Kaido 街道 Highways of Japan .

- quote -
Imai-no-Watashiba Ferry 今井の津頭

The Imai river boat was used to cross Edo River until 1912 (the first year of Taishō) until Imai Bridge was built. - source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

- quote -
The remains of the ferry at Imai was the eastern gate of Edo in Edo period, and it was the physical distribution base in Edogawa river.
It was on the east bank near the Imaibashi Bridge. Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder of Edo Bakufu landed near the ferry at Imai and passed through Gongenmichi Road to go hawking at Togane after he moved to Edo after the Seige of Odawara by Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
And it is said that the Second Shogun, Hidetada Tokugawa and the lord of Ootaki, Honda's also used this ferry.
Moreover, the ferry was described on the essay 'Azumaji no Tsuto (the trips in East Japan)' by the renga poet Socho in late Muromachi period so it had existed there at that time. In Edo period, only residents near Imai could use this ferry. Anyway, it was a very beautiful spot that Mt. Fuji could be seen and thousands of ships passed through Edogawa River to bring thousands of products from Tohoku (north east Japan) and Kita Kanto (northern Kanto) region.
In the Meiji era, some steam boats appeared on the river, so Edogawa River was much crowded with people and boats. The remains of the ferry at Imai tells how prosperous water transportation in Edo period was before cars and trains would develop.
- source : travel.smileandhappiness.net/imainowatashi -
Imaibashi 今井橋 Imaibridge, Imai Bridge

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Rakugo Nakishio 落語「泣き塩」"Weeping Salt"

yakishio and nakishio 焼き塩 boiling salt and crying salt


行徳塩、製造工程の最終工程「焼き塩風景」　

泣き塩」の舞台を歩く - 古今亭志ん朝 Kokontei Shincho
- source : ginjo.fc2web.com/219nakisio -

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船橋のふわふわ動く胡蝶哉
Funabashi no fuwafuwa ugoku kochoo kana

the lake butterfly
at Funabashi moves
ever so softly . . .


船橋や花藻もよらず瀬を早み
Funabashi ya hanamo mo yorazu se o hayami


. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 .

. WKD : "lake butterfly", kochoo 胡蝶（こちょう） .
- - kigo for spring - -

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行徳の水辺したしき草じらみ
Gyotoku no mizube shitashiki kusajirami

村沢夏風


船橋に夏の日低くなりて没る 山口波津女
船橋に立つ日憧れ卒業す 高林蘇城
船橋に駄馬騒ぎ出す霰かな 会津八一
船橋の船に洩る水温みけり 繞石句集落椿
船橋を少年去らず五月の航 大井雅人

摘草や船橋ゆるゝ風の中 野村喜舟

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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

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

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends - Introduction .


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