. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Azabu district 麻布 "hemp cloth"
Minato ward
source : jin3.jp/juban/history...
①一の橋 ②二の橋 ③古川 ④善福寺 ⑤仙台坂（仙台藩屋敷） ⑥がま池 ⑦有栖川宮記念公園
⑧一本松 ⑨南山小学校 ⑩毛利家 ⑪六本木 ⑫広尾 ⑬四の橋 ⑭狸穴 Mamiana
麻布十番 の 歴史 History of Asabu Juban
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Azabu is an area within Minato ward in Tokyo, Japan, built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo. Its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts:
Azabu-Jūban 麻布十番, Azabudai, Azabu-Nagasakachō, Azabu-Mamianachō, Nishi-Azabu, Higashi-Azabu, Minami-Azabu, Moto-Azabu and Roppongi.
It is known as Tokyo's most expensive upscale residential district; many artists, business people, and celebrities reside there.
- History
The name Azabu literally means hemp cloth. Until the early Edo period, the area was agricultural. Archaeological evidence indicates that the area was inhabited as far back as the Jōmon period. The Juban Inari shrine (formerly known as Takechiyo Inari) was constructed in AD 712, the temple of Zenpuku-ji in 824,
and the Hikawa Shrine in 939 (on orders of Minamoto no Tsunemoto).
The area became urbanized in the 17th century,
after Tokugawa Ieyasu established his seat of government in nearby Edo.
Azabu soon became home to the Juban Horse Grounds, Edo's largest horse market.
In 1859, the first United States delegation in Japan was established at Zenpuku-ji.
- source : more in the wikipedia
. Hikawa Jinja shrines 氷川神社 .
A group of 100 Koga ninja members 甲賀百人組 settled in Kanda in Edo, in
Koogamachi 甲賀町（こうかまち） Koga Machi, Koga Village.
This placename was kept until 1933, when it was renamed to
神田駿河台一、三丁目 Kanda Surugadai Ichi - Sanchome.
And Kogaichoo in Azabu 麻布の笄町（こうがいちょう）は「甲賀町 Koga-cho・伊賀町 Iga-cho」was named after the Koga and Iga ninja.
. Surugadai 駿河台 .
. Azabu Nana Fushigi 麻布七不思議 seven wonders of Azabu .
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Azabu Kita Higakubo 麻布北日ヶ窪町
To the South is the river 古川 Furukawa, there is a valley up to the Roppongi Hills.
In the Edo period there lives Samurai and townspeople together. There were also the busy temple areas of
麻布正信寺 Azabu Shoshin-Ji
and
麻布教善寺 Azabu Kyozen-Ji.
The estate of 毛利甲斐守邸 Lord Mori Kai no Kami was also in this area, the Mori Park is a historical landmark to our day.
ヒルズの毛利庭園 Mori Koen park in Roppongi Hills
- reference source : azabusaiken.ttcbn.net/machi... -
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Azabuichibeichoo 麻布市兵衛町 Azabu Ichibei district, Azabu Ichibee
Azabuichibei, Azabu Ichibei machi, azabuitibei
Minato ward, part of Roppongi 1 and 3 sub-district, Roppongi 4 sub-district
港区六本木一丁目の一部、六本木三丁目の一部、六本木四丁目
This small district borders on many other small districts in this hilly area and has access via many steep slopes.
Around 1610, it was part of the village 今井村 Imai mura, called 今井台町 Imaidai village.
In 1695, it was named after the village headman, 黒沢市兵衛 Kurozawa Ichibei.
In the beginning of the Edo period, there was a small okabasho 岡場所 red-light district, which was abolished during the Tenpō no kaikaku 天保の改革 Tenpo reform in 1840.
In 1869, part of the temple area of 麻布陽泉寺 Azabu Yozen-Ji was added and the name changed to 麻布市兵衛町 Azabu Ichibei, including the first and second sub-district, 麻布市兵衛町一丁目 and 麻布市兵衛町二丁目.
There were some rich estates in the first district, while the second district housed the townspeople and their shops.
During WWII most of the sub-districts was lost in flames, including the official 偏奇館 Henki-Kan, where 永井荷風 Nagai Kafu had lived.
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Kafu Nagai (1879 - 1959). Writer.
..... His Association with Minato City
Lived in seclusion by naming his painted house Henki-kan.
Nagai lived in a two-story timber house in Azabu Ichibei-cho (now 1-chome Roppongi) in 1920 and named the house “Henki-kan” because it was painted. He started his life of seclusion in this Western-style house with an extended kitchen and no shoji screens, sliding paper doors, or tatami mats.
The Great Tokyo Earthquake occurred in 1923, but the house fortunately received no fire damage, only a few fallen roof tiles.
..... In 1945, however, the house was destroyed in the Great Air Raids of Tokyo, and he lost his books, except for his diary and a briefcase containing his rough draft of a novel. Twenty?six years of his time in Henki-kan had ended, and until his death in 1959 at the age of 79, he never returned to Minato Ward. .....
- source : lib.city.minato.tokyo.jp/yukari... -
. Kafu the Scribbler, by Edward Seidensticker .
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Nadare-zaka なだれ坂 "Landslide slope"
The name of this slope has been written using different kanji, but it received its name because there had been a landslide.
It was also known as Kokoku(-ji)-zaka , Sachikuni-Zak and Ichibei-zaka.
Between 3-2 and 3-4 Roppongi
- source : minato-ala.net... -
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Ichimi-zaka 市三坂 "Ichi-Mi slope"
A new slope road opened around the year Meiji 20. It connected two sub-districts:
Ichibei town named after the village headman and 三河台町 Mikawadai-machi where the 松平三河守忠直 Matsudaira, Govenor of Mikawa, Tadanao's residence stood,
used the first kanji character from each town to make this road's name.
- source : ractive-roppongi.com... -
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Princess Kazu (和宮 親子内親王 Kazu-no-miya Chikako naishinnō
(1846 - 1877)
... A series of tragedies hit Princess Kazu between 1865 and 1867. Her mother, who followed her to Edo to keep her company, died on 10 August 1865, followed by her husband shōgun Iemochi, who died in Osaka while commanding the Chōshū Expedition on 20 July 1866. She became a Buddhist nun, receiving the title of Seikan'in-no-miya (静寛院宮)[1] on 9 December 1866, but just a few weeks later her brother Emperor Komei would also pass away. ...
Seikan'in arrived in Tokyo in 1874 and she took up residence in the home of Katsu Kaishū, in the mansion in Azabu ichibei-cho.
She remained there until her death in 1877 of beriberi, at the young age of 31. Her grave is at Zōjō-ji, in Minato, Tokyo.
- source : wiki/Princess_Kazu... -
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The Strange Tale of Oyuki, 1993 film
Faced with a bout of ill health, global traveller, western-educated novelist Kafu Nagai (1879-1959) began to chronicle sundry episodes in his life, as well as thoughts and observations of contemporary Japanese society, in a series of intimate journals that would eventually span the early half of 20th century. Based on A Strange Tale from East of the River, Nagai’s semi-autobiographical novella, the events presented in The Strange Tale of Oyuki begins in 1920, as a middle-aged Nagai (Masahiko Tsugawa) having recently moved into a new residence in Ichibei in the Azabu district, attempts to impress his doting mother (Haruko Sugimura) – the only relative who accepts his excessive and disreputable lifestyle – by painting the house in time for her arrival.
- source : filmref.com/2017... -
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Azabuipponmatsuchoo , Azabuipponmatsu 麻布一本松町 Azabu Ipponmatsu district "one pine tree"
元麻布一丁目, 二丁目 Moto-Azabu, first and second sub-district
Around 1670, Ipponmatsu was created in the former Azabu mura 麻布村 Azabu village.
In the beginning there were many Samurai estates and temples, but later the townspeople and merchants took over.
Edo Meisho Zue
The print shows the compound of the temple 長伝寺 Choden-Ji and close to it many shops.
There was also a tea stall and next to it an old large single matsu 松 pine tree.
This tree was also called kanmuri matsu 冠松 "crown pine tree"
and provided shadow for the travelers.
source : deepazabu.blogspot.com/2013...
The old pine tree was destroyed by a fire in 1772, but has been replaced several times after that. The present tree was planted after WWII.
. matsu 松 pine tree - information .
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江戸の華名勝會 / 江戸の花名勝会 Edo no Hana Meisho E - Sanbangumi 三番組
The Flowers of Edo: A Collection of Famous Places
An entertaining feature of the Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e prints is the use of double meanings, which often relate to place names, within the text that accompanies many of the famous landscape scenes.
..... The reference to the constant threat of flames in the city is also reinforced in each of the prints, by the display of the troop name, number and emblem of the firemen responsible for protecting the relevant Edo district pictured. Moreover, as fire-fighters were admired as great examples of enthusiasm and bravery, they were likely considered as much a Flower of Edo as any popular Kabuki actor or fashionable Ukiyo-e print artist of the period. .....
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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. Azabu Nana Fushigi 麻布七不思議 seven wonders of Azabu .
Several legends surround Ippon-Matsu,
for example, it is also called "Kanmuri-no-Matsu" and "Shugetsutei-no-Hagoromo-no-Matsu."
There is also a common belief that offering sweet sake in a bamboo cylinder to the tree will help cure a cough and the tree is called one of the seven wonders of Azabu. These legends and superstitions are thought to stem from the belief that gods resided in the giant trees lining the old roads. Today's pine trees were planted by the local community association after the war.
Tanukizaka 狸坂
It is said that a tanuki (raccoon dog) sometimes appeared and bewitched people. The slope is also called Asahi-zaka (morning-light slope), because it slopes upward toward the east. With Ippon-Matsu, one of the seven wonders of Azabu, as a landmark, there are four slopes branching off:
Tanuki-zaka, where the tanuki is said to have appeared;
Daikoku-zaka, site of Daiho-ji, a temple dedicated to Daikokuten, one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune;
Kurayami-zaka, a slope that was always dark because of the trees covering it; and
Ippon-matsu-zaka, named for the lone pine tree. At the top of Ippon-matsu-zaka stands Hikawa-jinja (shrine) dedicated to Bishamonten (god of war).
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Azabu Ipponmatsu-zaka 麻布一本松坂 Ipponmatsuzaka slope, Ipponmatsu slope
. saka, sakamichi 坂道 the many slopes of Edo .
- reference source : deepazabu.blogspot.com/2013 -
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. Mamiana, 麻布狸穴 Azabu Mamiana district "hole of a Mami badger" .
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Azabu Nagasakachoo, Azabu-Nagasakachō 麻布永坂町 Azabu Nagasakacho district
No sub-districts
板倉永坂町 Itakura-Nagazakacho and 麻布永坂光照寺門前 Azabu Nagazaka Kosho-Ji Monzen
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Roppongi 六本木 Roppongi district, "six trees"
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... famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It is in the central part of Tokyo, south of Akasaka and north of Azabu.
The name "Roppongi", which appears to have been coined around 1660, literally means "six trees".
Six very old and large zelkova trees used to mark the area; the first three were cleared, and the last were destroyed during World War II.
Another legend has it that the name comes from the fact that six daimyo Lords lived nearby during the Edo period, each with the kanji character for "tree" or a kind of tree in their names. Roppongi was not extensively populated until after the Meiji Restoration, although the area was trafficked for centuries and served as the site of the cremation of Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada's wife in 1626.
In 1890,
the Third Imperial Guard of the Imperial Japanese Army was moved to a site near Roppongi (now home to the Pacific bureau of Stars and Stripes). The influx of soldiers led to the area's rise as a nightlife district, briefly interrupted by the Great Kanto earthquake which flattened the area in 1923. Roppongi was administratively part of Azabu Ward from 1878 to 1947.
... Starting in the late 1960s, Roppongi became popular among Japanese people and foreigners alike for its disco scene, which attracted many of Tokyo's entertainment elites. Contributing to the international scene was the location of several foreign embassies and foreign corporate offices in the Roppongi area. However, many dance clubs shut down in the recession following the market crash of 1989.
The Roppongi area received a major economic boost in 2002–2003 when the Izumi Garden Tower and the Roppongi Hills high-rise complexes were completed. These projects brought high-end office and condominium space to Roppongi for the first time. The Tokyo Midtown project, which was completed in 2006, and includes the first Tokyo Ritz-Carlton Hotel, continued this trend. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
................................................................................. 麻布市兵衛町 Azabu Ichibei
kitsune 狐 the fox
In June 1752, the maid servant of a villager of Azabu Ichibei village was suddenly possessed by a fox. They tried all kinds of exorcism, but nothing helped.
The fox seemed to live in 松平紀伊守様屋敷 the estate of Matsudaira, Governor of Mikawa.
His daughter was from the Inari shrine of 石川近江守様屋敷の稲荷, his wife from the Inari shrine of 山王町の稲荷.
So they built a small Inari shrine to honor the fox family and prayed for the protection from fires.
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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -
冬空や麻布の坂の上りおり
fuyuzora ya Azabu no saka no agari-ori
this winter sky -
I walk up the slope
in Azabu
永井荷風 Nagai Kafu
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昔麻布大山道の桔梗かな
野村喜舟 Nomura Kishu (1886 - 1983)
. kikyoo 桔梗 Platycodon grandiflorus .
- - kigo for autumn - -
石焼藷に雪降る麻布中之橋
Azabu Naka no Hashi
有働亨 Udo Toru (1920 - 2010)
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. Minato ku 港区 Minato ward, "Harbour ward" .
. 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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