Edo - the EDOPEDIA -

3/26/2018

Kiyosumi district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
- Shirakawa, see below
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Kiyosumi choo, Kiyosumi machi　清住町 / 清澄町 Kiyosumi district
江東区 Koto ward.
From the first to the third sub-district. 清澄一丁目から清澄三丁目.
Neighboring to 白河 Shirakawa district, 清澄白河 Kiyosumi Shirakawa,
Near the 深川村 Fukagawa village in Edo, 深川清澄町 Fukagawa Kiyosumi Cho.

Named after Kiyosumi Yahē 清住弥兵衛 Kiyosumi Yahei
- quote -
He must have been a man of considerable means because it’s said that he financed the filling in and reclamation of the original marshland which effectively gave access to the high ground (where Kiyosumi Park is now located). The details about this family and personage are obscure, but if this tradition is true, these efforts to fill in the swamps would have made the lowlands not only livable, but suitable for business and its hilltop areas desirable for feudal lords serving sankin-kōtai duty.
This area was located near rivers which made it good for transporting goods. So the area definitely prospered after the land reclamation and so the name of Kiyosumi Yahē apparently stuck.
- source : japanthis.com/tag/kiyosumi... -

The area in the beginning of the Edo period was quite a swamp and there soon were eight small fishing villages along the 隅田川 Sumida river.
In 1629 they were allowed to become eight independentvillages,
Fukagawa Ryooshimachi Hakkachoo 深川猟師町八ヶ町
Fukagawa Ryoshimachi Hakkamachi (eight fishing villages in Fukagawa).
Yahei became the head of Yahei-machi 弥兵衛町.
The fishermen were obliged and privileged to bring their fish and nori 海苔 seaweed to the kitchen of the Shogun.
In 1695 the area was re-named to Kiyosumi machi.

The names of the seven other villages according to their headmen were
次郎兵衛町 Jirobei / 藤左衛門町 Tozaemon / 親兵衛町　Shinbei / 利左衛門町 Rizaemon /
助十郎町 Sukejuro / 彦左衛門町 Hikozaemon / 助右衛門町 Sukeemon
Sometimes 大島町 Oshima was counted as Nr. 9

In 1695, the individual names were changed to
清住町 Kiyosumi / 佐賀町 Saga / 相川町 Aikawa / 熊井町 Kumai /
冨吉町 Tomiyoshi / 諸町 Moro / 黒江町　Kuroe / 大島町　Oshima

In 1932, the Chinese characters for Kiyosumi were changed to 清澄町.

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Kiyosumi Teien 清澄庭園 Kiyosumi Park

- quote -
The grounds of Kiyosumi Teien (清澄庭園) were originally the residence of an Edo era merchant, and eventually changed ownership to a feudal lord who turned them into a garden. During the Meiji Period, the founder of Mitsubishi bought the garden to entertain his guests. It was donated to the city of Tokyo and opened to the public in 1932.
A highlight of the Kiyosumi Teien landscape garden
are the many stones set around the grounds. Landscape stones are highly sought after and valuable, and some of the ones in the garden are famous stones that were acquired from all across Japan.
When strolling the garden's grounds
be sure to venture across the stepping stone paths that are set in the water. This is called "isowatari", and from the stones you can see fish and turtles under the surface of the pond as well as reflections of the garden in the water.
The park is a short walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station
- source : japan-guide.com... -

清澄橋　Kiyosumibashi bridge

Built in 1950, 22 m long and 12 m wide.
Northern side : 江東区清澄３丁目 - Kiyosumi
Southern side : 江東区福住２・深川１ - Fukagawa

清洲橋 Kiyosu Bridge // Kiyosubashi Bridge
. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .

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古池や蛙飛び込む水の音
furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto

Basho Memorial stone

. Kiyosumi Garden Pond and Matsuo Basho .
Those fish ponds of course do not exist anymore, but there is a large pond in the Kiyosumi Gardens not far from the Basho Museum. Not surprisingly, one of the three frog-and-pond haiku stones stands right in this garden.
In the expectation that this pond will help me to evoke the proper atmosphere I proceed to the Kiyosumi Gardens.
- quote G. Blankestijn -

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. Shiba Sonome 斯波園女 (1664 - 1726) .
In 1690, Sonome became a student of Matsuo Basho. Her correspondence with Basho is quite well loved.
Her grave at park, close to Kiyosumi Teien 清澄庭園
at the temple 雄松院 Oshoin .
1 Chome-1-8 Shirakawa, Koto, Tokyo

At the temple Reigan-Ji is the grave of 松平定信 Matsudaira Sadanobu,
the Daimyo of 陸奥国白河藩 the Shirakawa domaine in Mutsu (Tohoku).
The first temple had been on 霊巌島 Reiganjima island, but was lost in 1657 during the great fire of Meireki.
The temple was relocated to its present place.

. 松平定信 Matsudaira Sadanobu (1758 - 1829).

. Matsuo Basho at Shirakawa no Seki 白川の関 .

Since the completion of the station 清澄白河駅 Kiyosumi Shirakawa Eki the area prospered ever more.
There are remarkable pieces of sparkling Silver art on the walls.

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深川江戸資料館 Fukagawa Edo Museum
1 Chome-3-２８ Shirakawa, Koto

quote
Fukagawa Edo Museum -　深川江戸資料館
is a community culture center that was established in 1986. It has an Edo period display of reconstructed Fukagawa Saga-cho houses as well as a small theater and a lecture hall, coupled with the Shirakawa branch of Koto-ku administrative office. Since its opening, the center has held exhibitions regarding the history of Edo Fukagawa and has provided space for many cultural activities.
- HP of the museum
source : www.kcf.or.jp/fukagawa...

夕薄暑江戸の資料に猪牙舟も
yuuhakusho Edo no shiryoo ni chokibune mo

mild summer evening
at the Edo Period Museum
there is even a Choki boat

Saitoo Toshiko 斉藤淑子 Saito Toshiko

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. Kōtō 江東区 Koto ward, "East River" .

. 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 .

. 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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- - - - - #kiyosumi #kiyosumiyahei #shirakawa #shirakawadistrict #fukagawamuseum #kiyosu #hasuikiyosu - - - -
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3/22/2018

Komagata district

The name Komagata-Cho is mentioned in books since about 1661.
(浅草駒形 Asakusa Komagata).

koma 駒 is another word for uma 馬 horse.
Komagata means "form of a horse", "looking like a horse".
Thetemple hall 駒形堂 Komagata Do could be seen from boats down the river Sumidagawa, looking like a white horse running, koma kake　駒駆け.
komakake changed in the local dialect to Komagata.

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Komagata doo 駒形堂 Komagata Do Hall

Komagata-dô Azuma-bashi　駒形堂 Komagata Hall and Azuma Bridge
Hiroshige

Komagata-do,
dedicated to the horse-headed guardian deity of mounted travelers, one of the many manifestations of the bodhisattva Kannon, marks the original gateway to Senso-ji, standing formerly on the threshold of the land and waters from where Kannon is said to have emerged in the ancient past. Because of this legend, the hall was originally facing the river, and fishing was forbidden as a mark of respect.
. Asakusa 浅草 district in Edo .

- reference source : senso-ji.jp/guide... -

The main deity was Kannon Bosatsu, a statue which was found near the 駒形橋 Komagata bridge.
The hall is near Komagata Bridge beside the 隅田川 Sumidagawa river. It was the first hall for the Kannon statue, which is now in the main temple of Asakusa,
The first Komagata Do Hall was built in 942 by 平公雅 Taira no Kimimasa, right next to the boat landing place at the river. So visitors first came to the Komagata Do Hall to pray and then went to the Asakusa Kannon temple. The front of the temple was first located facing the river, but eventually it was rebuilt to show the back to the river. The present-day hall was built in 2003.
One priest of the Asakusa Kannon temple, 網野宥俊僧正, knew that the original place of the statue was in the Sumidagawa, so the Kannon must like fresh things from the water and thus he installed Bato Kannon 馬頭観音 the Horse-headed Kannon in the hall. For the people to pray to, he had the statue made like a horse (umagata 馬形), later written 駒形.

. Asakusa Kannon　浅草観音 - 浅草寺 Temple Senso-Ji .

. batoo Kannon 馬頭観音 Bato Kannon, "Horseheaded Kannon" .
- Introduction -

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Komagata no asagiri 駒形の朝霧 morning mist at Komagata

source : national diet library
一勇斎国芳 Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi

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. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .

Komagata kashi, Komagatagashi 駒形河岸 Komagata embankment

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Komagata-bashi 駒形橋 Komagata Bridge
Length/ Width: 146.2m/ 22m

source : gotokyo.org/en/kanko/taito...

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. Deity 駒形明神 Komagata Myojin / 馬鳴菩薩 Memyo Bosatsu .
menari myoojin 馬鳴明神 "neighing horse deity"

© PHOTO :　kawamura

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Komagata Jinja 駒形神社　Shrines devoted to the gods and goddesses of horses

. Komagata no ookami 駒形大神 the great gods of Komagata .
- - - - - Composed of six gods:
Amaterasu oomikami (天照大御神)
Amenotokotachi no mikoto (天之常立尊)
Kuninosatsuchi no mikoto (国之狭槌尊)
Wagatsu no mikoto ( 吾勝尊)
Okise no mikoto (置瀬尊)
Hikohohodemi no mikoto (彦火火出見尊)

- - - - - 駒形神社 Komagata shrines in Tohoku
駒形神社(柿ノ沢)　// 駒形神社(綾織) // 駒木の駒形神社

Arakawa Komagata Jinja 荒川駒形神社
遠野市附馬牛町上附馬牛14 / Tsukimo-Ushicho Kamitsukimo-Ushi, Tōno,

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.................................................................................　Fukushima 福島県
石川郡 Ishikawa district 平田村 Hirata

A horse had been drinking from the water under a rock of the shrine for 八大神様 Hachidai Sama (the eight dragon deities). It became very large and flew off to heaven.
The footsteps of the horse are still seen on the rock and the region was called Komagata.
Komagata mura 駒形村 Komagata village, now part of 喜多方市 Kitakata town.

.................................................................................　Miyagi 宮城県
栗原郡 Kurihara district 花山村 Hanayama village

- Mount Komagatayama 駒形山

deities Komagatane Gongen 駒形根権現 and Ontake Gongen 御嶽権現
The deities from the mountains of 駒形根 Komagatane and 御嶽 Ontake came down to meet in 陸奥 Mutsu, near 築館 Tsukidate. Near the river 一迫川 Ichihasamagawa they found beautiful flowers in bloom and named the mountain 花山 Hanayama "Mountain with Flowers".
On the way back the Kami from Ontake became sleepy, but the Kami from Komagatane kept going and pursued the way with the most beautiful landscape. This is now mount 御駒山 Okomayama.
The Kami from Ontake came later and took another route. This is now 御嶽権現の山 the mountain of Ontake Gongen, where beautiful shakunage 石楠花 rhododendron are flowering.
Komagatane Gongen became jealous and wanted some flowers too, but since he had left Ontake behind earlier on, he did not get any.
To our day, these rhododendron flower only at mount 御嶽山 Ontakesan and not on mount 駒形山 Komagatayama.

Komagatane Jinja 駒形根神社
Miyagi Prefecture, Kurihara, Kurikomanumakura, Ichinomiya 11

.................................................................................　Nagano 長野県
小県郡 Chiisagata district 長和町 Nagawa

Komagata-iwa 駒形岩 Komagata Rock
Rock with the imprint of a horse

. uma 馬 koma 駒伝説　horse legends .

.................................................................................　Tokyo 東京都
台東区 Taito ward

onna no ushi-oni 女の牛鬼 a female Ushi-Oni demon
At 浅草駒形 Asakusa Komagata a female Ushi-Oni demon has been seen running around.

. ushi oni, ushioni, gyuuki 牛鬼 "bull-demon" .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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

source : matcha-jp.com...
"Dozyo(Loach fish)" is one of the regional menus eaten by locals since Edo era (17th Century~). At those times there used to be shops selling "Dozyo-jiru", a dish of rice bowl with dozyo soup poured on. We can say that it was one typical fast food back then.
Traditional Dojo Loach Fish Gourmet at ”Komagata Dozyo”, Asakusa

. dojoo 泥鰌 Loach, weather loach, weatherfish, Dojo loach .
- kigo in various seasons

駒形のどぜうの霧に工事燈
Komagata no doseo (dojoo) no kiri ni koojitoo

石原八束 Ishihara Yatsuka (1919 - 1998)

初弁天駒形泥鰌に歩を変へぬ
緒方梧葉

- Komagata Dojo 駒形泥鰌 Hot Pot with Komagata Loach -

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

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

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
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- - - - - #komagata - - - -
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3/12/2018

Hachioji district

In the autumn of 913, 妙行 priest Myogyo came from Kyoto and built his hermitage at
深沢山 Mount Fukasawayama (445 m). He sat in a cave and meditated, not paying attention to the strong disturbing wind, thunder and all kinds of heavenly distractions, which came and went like mist and fog. Myogyo kept meditating and reciting the Sutras.
Now 大蛇 a huge serpent came dangling down from the cave, encircled the saint and fell asleep. Myogyo took his nyoi-bo 如意棒 priest scepter and hit the serpent gently on the head:
"Wake up, please!" The serpent opened its eyes and left quietly.
Next morning a deity came to him with his eight children (hachi oji):
"My children and myself have great respect for your virtues! You may use all the land to spread the good words and we will protect all the people on it. I am the deity Gozu Tenno and these are my eight children."
「私は牛頭天王で伴っているのは八王子です」

source : en-nichi.seesaa.net/article...

Myogyo continued his meditation and in 916 proclaimed Fukasawayama as 天王峰 Mount Tenno-Mine　and the eight peaks around it as 八王峰 Mount Oji-Mine. He built a sanctuary on each one and spread the belief in Gozu Tenno and his Hachi Oji in all parts.
Then he built a temple at the foot of Mount Fukasawayama, which became quite large within time.
In the year 939 the story reached the ears of the Emperor 朱雀天皇 Suzaku Tenno and he bestowed a new name to the priest :
Kegon Bosatsu Myogyo 華厳菩薩妙行
The name of the temple is 牛頭山神護寺 Gozusan Jingo-Ji.
- reference source : takaopress.net/kegonbosatsu -

八王子神社 Hachioji Jinja

牛頭天王 Gozu Tenno and his eight princes (八王子 hachi ooji) are celebrated at the shrine
八王子神社 Hachioji Jinja and 八王子権現社 Hachioji Gongensha.

. 牛頭天王 Gozu Tenno - Heavenly King with an Ox-Head .

八王子権現社 Hachioji Gongensha

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- quote
Hachiōji (八王子市 Hachiōji-shi) is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis,...
- - - - - History
The area of present-day Hachiōji was part of ancient Musashi Province. It has been an important junction point and post town along the Kōshū Highway, the main road that connected the historical Edo (today's Tokyo) with western Japan.
Hachiōji Castle was built during the Sengoku period in 1584 by Hōjō Ujiteru, but was soon destroyed in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
During the Edo period, the area was Tenryō controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate.
In the post-Meiji Restoration reform of July 22, 1878, the area became part of Minamitama District in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The town of Hachiōji was created on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of municipalities law. Minaitama District was transferred to the administrative control of Tokyo Metropolis on April 1, 1893. Hachiōji gained city status on September 1, 1917.
..... The city is surrounded on three sides by mountains, forming the Hachioji Basin which opens up toward the east in the direction of Tokyo. The mountain ranges in the southwest include Mount Takao (599 m) and Mount Jinba (857 m),
- More in the wikipedia ! -

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- quote -
Kokubunji village charcoal Kiln

This scene depicts a charcoal kiln in Kokubunji village and the people working there.
Kokubunji was a center of charcoal production along with Hachiōji.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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. Kōshū Kaidō 甲州街道 Koshu Kaido Highway .
The Highway from Edo via Kofu to Suwa
11. Hachiōji-shuku (八王子宿) (Hachiōji, Hachioji) postal station

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. Pilgrimage to 36 Fudo Temples in Kanto / Bando .
08 . 高尾山 Takao-San 八王子 Hachioji .

. Kongooin 金剛院 Kongo-In .
39-1 Ueno-machi, Hachioji, Tokyo 八王子東京 / 武州八王子高野山

. Shooeizan 松栄山 Shoeizan 了法寺 Ryoho-Ji .
This temple in Hachioji near central Tokyo belongs to the Nichiren sect.

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. Tama-ori, Tama Ori 多摩織　Woven Fabrics from Tama .
In Hachioji, which was known as the "City of Mulberries," sericulture (the raising of silkworms) and textile manufacturing have both long flourished; and these factors have contributed to the continued weaving of various textiles in the area.

. Legends about Mount Takao-San and its Tengu 天狗 .
and Izuna Daigongen 飯縄大権現

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神奈川県 Kanagawa 津久井郡 Tsukui district 城山町 Shiroyama

kamikakushi 神隠し spirited away
Once the farmer 小松の高さん Komatsu no Taka-san, who had been ill for many years was suddenly spirited away. About two weeks later he came home in a rikshaw, all the way from Mount Takaosan.
But now he had become quite crazy and lost his mind completely.

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. hikarimono 光り物 great light .
At night on the 8th day of the 10th lunar month, a huge stone fell from the sky in Ushigome.
The year before, a similar stone had fallen down in 八王子 Hachioji.
There was thunder in the night and a light like a lightning.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
62 八王子　東京 (01)
71 to explore 八王子 (01)
Including places named Hachioji in other parts of Japan
八王子神社 in Ishikawa

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八王子駅出でて直ぐ桑がくれ
hachiooji eki idete sugu kuwa gakure

out of Hachioji station
right into
the mulberries
Tr. Gabi Greve

三橋敏雄 Mitsuhashi Toshio

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. Hachioji sennin dooshin 八王子千人同心 1000 officials from Hachioji .

. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

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

. 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 . ]
- - - - - ##kaihachioji - - - -
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3/10/2018

Hibiya district

To the South of the inlet is
Hibiya mura　日比谷村 the village of Hibiya.
Next to Hibiya mura were 桜田村 Sakurada mura, 老月村 Rogetsu mura and other villages.

In the process to develop the city of Edo, Tokugawa Ieyasu had the inly refilled and the land was used for living quarters of Edo government officials and Daimyo.

. Shin Sakanacho 新肴町 Shinsakanacho "new fish market .
and the relocation of Rogetsumura　老月村.

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- quote
Hibi 篊 are bunches of bamboo or brushwood used to grow and farm 海苔 nori (a kind of seaweed).
The area was known for people and shops farming and selling nori (which was grown on hibi). Those people and shops would have been referred to as 篊屋 hibi-ya (hibi-people/hibi-shops). As the area grew (and the nori farmers presumably moved out), the place name came to be written 比々谷 Hibiya which has no meaning).
The first character means “comparison” and represents the sound ひ hi. The second character just means “repeat the previous sound.” (the second “hi” becomes “bi” according to euphonic rules called 連濁). The final character is common in Japanese place names and means “valley.” This final character is also meaningless because there is no valley here. If anything, it’s part of the alluvial plain created by the waters in Tokyo Bay.
Sometime in the Edo Period, 比々谷 came to be written as 日比谷 and that is the way it is still written today.
The characters as they are now are “sun” “compare” and “valley, respectively.
If you go to Hibiya Park today, you’ll notice that there is a large pond near the Imperial Palace (Edo Castle). This pond was part of the system of moats around Edo Castle. The moat is gone today, but the pond is in its place. If you walk around the pond, you’ll notice a line of stone wall fortifications which match the castle area. This was one of the moat’s walls. Also, you’ll notice a photo spot called 日比谷見附 Hibiya-Mitsuke (The Hibiya Approach). This was the path to the 日比谷御門 Hibiya Go-Mon, one of many gates into the castle. Btw, 見附 means “approach” or “walkway.”
The area that is the Hibiya park today used to house 2 daimyōs’ upper residences; Saga domain and Chōshū domain.
- source : japanthis.com/2013...

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- photo : Tokyo National Museum - 旧江戸城写真帖＿日比谷見附図 1871

日比谷見附 Hibiya-Mitsuke
With the landfill of the Sotobori canal the Hibiya Mitsuke was also taken down and only a small piece of its stone wall is left now.

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Hibiya Kooen 日比谷公園 Hibiya Koen Park
..... in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, Japan. It covers an area of 161,636.66m2 between the east gardens of the Imperial Palace to the north, the Shinbashi district to the southeast and the Kasumigaseki government district to the west.
The land was occupied by the estates of the Mōri clan and Nabeshima clan during the Edo period, and was used for army maneuvers during the Meiji period.
It was converted to a park and opened to the public on June 1, 1903.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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. Tokyo Daijingu 東京大神宮 .
The new era of Modern Japan began with the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and a new shrine was built in Tokyo in 1880 with the approval of Emperor Meiji. This shrine enabled people in Tokyo to worship the deities enshrined in the Grand Shrine of Ise from afar. At first this new shrine was called 'Hibiya Daijingu,' taking the name of the area in which it was located.
After the Kanto Earthquake, it was moved to its present site of Iidabashi in 1928,
and it was renamed 'Iidabashi Daijingu'.

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

bakemono 化けもの ghost
On the underground pathway that connects the 銀座 Ginza with 日比谷 Hibiya, there is a Yurei ghost showing up once in a while.
Walking down the stairway from the Ginza side, where is a whirl of golden hair fluttering in the wind, following people. If people try to run away from it, it moves even faster toward them. When they reach the other side at Hibiya, the ghost disappears in a puff.

日比谷神明 Hibiya Shinmei
In the year 1005 on the 16th day of the 9th lunar month, a 御神幣 ritual wand and 大牙 a huge animal fang fell from the sky. All the villagers were afraid and wondering about its meaning, when out of nowhere a young girl of 7 years appeared. The girl got in a state of trance and said the was 伊勢内外宮の神 the deity from great Ise Jingu Shrine. She was back from a trip to the 鹿島 Kashima region, where she had fought with an army of invaders. She had left these two objects as proof of her visit and the villagers should hasten to built a shrine to venerate them.
The child came back to it senses, but disappeared just as suddenly as she had come from nowhere.
The shrine built was named 日比谷神明宮 Hibiya Shinmei-Gu.
Now it is known as 芝神明社 Shiba Shinmei-Sha, 芝大神宮 Shiba Daijingu.
1-12-7 Shiba daimon, Minato ward
The deities in residence are
Amaterasu Omikami (the sun goddess) and
Toyouke no Okami (deity of agriculture and industry)

. Shiba Daijinguu 芝大神宮 Shiba Daijingu .
In former times, it was also called
Iikura Myoojin Guu 飯倉神明宮 Iikura Myojin Gu / Iikura Shinmei Gu
Shiba Myoojin Guu 芝神明宮 Shiba Myojin Gu / Shiba Shinmei Gu

source : metmuseum.org/art...
江戸名所　芝神明 Famous Places of Edo: Shiba Shinmei
Utagawa Hiroshige II

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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

秋晴の植木かつぎて日比谷かな
akibare no ueki katsugite Hibiya kana

Hibiya
with the potted trees
in splendid autumn weather . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

岸本尚毅 Kishimoto Naoki (1961 - )

日比谷公園ガーデニングショー Hibiya Park Gardening Show
A gardening exhibition held at Hibiya Park in Tokyo, includes various events; gardening competition, flower arrangement workshop, outdoor activity experiences and more.
- reference : Hibiya Park Gardening Show -

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秋晴れの都バスは花壇の日比谷過ぎ
高澤良一

黒南風の日比谷にをりぬ湘子亡し
戸塚時不知

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

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

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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Otemachi district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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- for Hirakawa, see below

Ootemachi, Ōtemachi 大手町 Otemachi district
千代田区 Chiyoda ward.
The name refers to the Ōtemon 大手門 Otemon main gate of the Edo Castle.

- quote
Otemachi is located north of Tokyo Station and Marunouchi, east of the Imperial Palace, west of Nihonbashi and south of Kanda. It is the location of the former site of the village of Shibazaki, the most ancient part of Tokyo.
Ōtemachi is known as a center of Japanese journalism, housing the main offices of three of the "big five" newspapers as well as being a key financial center and headquarters for large Japanese corporations. It is also the location of the Japan Postal Museum.
The Tokyo Fire Department is headquartered in Ōtemachi, as is the Japan Meteorological Agency.

View of a part of Ōtemachi as depicted in the Edo-zu byōbu screens

Ōtemachi derives its name of Ōtemon ("Great Hand Gate") of Edo Castle.
During the Edo period, various daimyōs constructed their lavish residences outside the castle, such as the residence of the daimyō Matsudaira Tadamasa. Ōtemachi was completely destroyed during the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657. It was rebuilt, albeit on a smaller, less grand scale. Ōtemachi remained however in the possession of the various daimyō families until the end of the Tokugawa system and the start of the Meiji period in the 1860s.
The various daimyō families lost their lots as the area was repossessed by the government, who constructed various governmental offices. Today nothing remains of its residential past, the area is dotted with modern high-rise buildings.
In order to gain revenue, the government decided to sell the area into private hands. The area was completely redeveloped.
- - - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

under construction
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Hirakawachoo　平川町 Hirakawa-Cho, Hirakawa district
Hirakawa is sometimes spelled 平河, "flat river".

In the Eod period, it was located in front of the 平川御門 Hirakawa Gomon Gate, leading to Hirakawamura 平川村 Hirakawa village.
Hirakawa village is now known as Otemachi. Other parts have become 一ツ橋 Hitotsubashi and 九段南 Kudan-Minami.

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Hirakawa-mon (平川門) is said to have been the main gate to the Sannomaru of Edo Castle. It is also said to have been the side gate for maidservants and therefore called the Otsubone-mon.
The shape of this gate is in the masugata, similar to the Ōte-mon. However a watari-yagura-mon is built to an adjacent left angle within the kōrai-mon, of which it has two. The other kōrai-mon is located to the west of the watari-yagura-mon which was used as the "gates of the unclean" for the deceased and criminals from within the castle. Outside this gate is a wooden bridge with railings crowned with giboshi ornamental tops.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

Hirakawabori 平川堀 Hirakawa moat

Hirakawabashi 平河橋 Hirakawa bridge

Yoshida Hiroshi

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平川天満宮 / 平河天満宮 Hirakawa Tenmangu, Hirakawa Tenjin
This Shrine is the closest to the living quarters of the Emperor in Tokyo, and thus quite popular.

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The history of Hirakawa Tenmangu Shrine starts with Ota Dokan (1432-1486), the poet-warrior-monk tasked with designing and building Edo Castle (today's Imperial Palace Tokyo). Ota is said to have had a dream about the Heian era scholar, Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), who is venerated as a deity in Japan. Then the very next day, he happened to be presented with a scroll of one of Sugawara's works. Taking these as a sign, he established a shrine to Sugawara no Michizane on the northern edge of the castle, not far from the Hirakawamon Gate, which he planted with Chinese plum trees - what is today's Bairinzaka (梅林坂 Plum Tree Slope).
Then, in 1607,
soon after the first Shogun of the Edo era, Ieyasu Tokugawa, occupied Edo Castle, the shrine was moved to its present location in the area then known as Kaizaka, renamed Hirakawacho after the shrine.
Hirakawa Tenmangu Shrine was the shrine at which all three branches of the ruling Tokugawa clan petitioned at, and every New Year, the head of the shrine was afforded the status of being allowed a personal audience with the Shogun.
Also, being dedicated to Japan's most eminent scholar, Hirakawa Tenmangu shrine has been worshiped at by later scholars, notably the blind scholar 塙保己一 Hokiichi Hanawa (1746-1821) and the scholar of Western science,
高野長英 Choei Takano (1804-50), and continues to be associated with learning, and success in learning, to this day. As such, the shrine is a renowned destination for students praying for success in examinations.
Hirakawa Tenmangu
suffered destruction several times, the latest being by bombing in the Second World War, and was reconstructed in 1969, the only "original" parts being the copper torii gate that was donated by local residents in 1844, and the stone guardian lions, dating from 1852.
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There are no less than 5 stone cows on the grounds.
The cow is associated with Tenjin shrines, which are always shrines for scholars. The most famous one in Tokyo is Yushima Tenjin shrine in east Tokyo. The god Tenjin is usually depicted riding on a cow. Stroking one, or all, of the stone cows here at Hirakawa Tenmangu is believed to endow you with scholarly aptitude.
- source : japanvisitor.com... -

. Sugawara Michizane 菅原道真 and the Tenmangu Shrines .

. Oota Dookan 太田道灌 Ota Dokan (1432 - 1486) .

. Hanawa Hokiichi 塙保己一 Hanawa Hoki-Ichi (1746 - 1821) .

. Takano Chōei　高野長英 Takano Choei (1804 - 1850) .

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- - - - - Two famous people who lived in Hirakawa :

Yamada Asaemon 山田浅右衛門 a clan of sword fighters
The first Yamada Asaemon Sadatake 山田浅右衛門貞武（1657 - 1716）
His name lived on for 9 generations till
Yamada Yoshisuke 山田吉亮（1854 - 1911）

The last one of the clan, Yoshisuke, was nick-named the "head-cutter"
kubi-ori Asaemon 首折り浅右衛門 -
kubi-kiri Asaemon　首切り浅右衛門 "Decapitator Asaemon"
manga Kubikiri Asa 首斬り朝 "Neck-chopper Asa".

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Matsumoto Ryoojun 松本良順　Matsumoto Ryojun
(1832 - 1907)
doctor of the 14th Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi

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Matsumoto Jun 松本順
(also known as Matsumoto Ryōjun 松本良順) (July 13, 1832 – March 12, 1907) was a Japanese physician who served as the personal physician to the last shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. He also studied photography with J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdervoort (1829–1908), though he was somewhat unimpressed with his instructor's skills, once describing the result of one of Pompe van Meerdervoort's photographic experiments as "a meagre black shadow". Foreign Minister Hayashi Tadasu was his brother.
Matsumoto was born as the son of the domain physician of Sakura Domain, at the clan's Azabu residence in Edo. He was sent to Nagasaki in 1857 to study rangaku, during which time he studied both western medicine and photography. When Swiss photographer Pierre Rossier arrived in Japan in 1859, Matsumoto ordered Maeda Genzō to assist Rossier. Maeda subsequently became a pioneering Japanese photographer. Another link between Matsumoto and photography dates from some point between 1857 and 1859 when he adopted the 13-year-old future photographer Uchida Kuichi.
Matsumoto helped the Aizu Domain modernize its medical practices, and in 1868 moved to Kyoto to assist Aizu daimyō Matsudaira Katamori during the latter's tenure as Kyoto Shugoshoku. The situation in Kyoto was very unsettled, and Matsumoto befriended Shinsengumi leader Kondō Isami and rendered medical assistance to them. During the Second Chōshū expedition of 1866, he served as personal physician to the 14th Tokugawa shōgun, Tokugawa Iemochi.
During the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, he volunteered his services as an army medic accompanying the infantry supporting the Shogunate. After the Battle of Aizu in 1868, he made his way to Sendai, and enlisted with the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei. Briefly imprisoned after the war by the new Meiji government, he was released through the efforts of Yamagata Aritomo, who asked him to help develop the medical corps of the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army.
During the Meiji era, he maintained his relations with former retainers of the Shogun. He also was instrumental in helping Nagakura Shinpachi and Saitō Hajime build a monument to the Shinsengumi at Itabashi in Tokyo. He subsequently served in the House of Peers and received the title of baron (danshaku) under the Kazoku peerage system. Matsumoto died in 1907, and his grave is at the temple of Myodai-ji in Ōiso, Kanagawa.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

. General Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? – 940) .
His tomb (which contains only a kubizuka 首塚 monument to his head) is near exit C5 of Tokyo's Ōtemachi subway station.
Masakado was one of the most feared "onryo" (vengeful ghosts) in Japanese history.

. Kanda Myojin Shrine 神田明神 . - Tokyo
The three deities enshrined are Daikokuten, Ebisu, and Taira no Masakado.

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

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

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳　Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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- - - - - #otemachi #hirakawa #kudanminami #hitotsubashi - - - -
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