Bakufu Edo Government

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. Edo Bakufu - articles .
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Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government and Administration
Tokugawa bakufu 徳川幕府 Tokugawa Government



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The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the
Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) and
the Edo bakufu (江戸幕府), was the last feudal Japanese military government which existed between 1603 and 1867.
The heads of government were the shoguns, and each was a member of the Tokugawa clan. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo Castle and the years of the shogunate became known as the Edo period. This time is also called the Tokugawa period or pre-modern (Kinsei (近世)).

The bakuhan taisei (幕藩体制) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku, or "tent," is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning "military government" — that is, the shogunate. The han were the domains headed by daimyo.

1 History
2 Government
2.1 Shogunate and domains
2.2 Shogun and the Emperor
2.3 Shogun and foreign trade
2.4 Shogun and Christianity

3 Institutions of the shogunate
3.1 Rōjū and wakadoshiyori (roojuu, roju 老中)
3.2 Ōmetsuke and metsuke (oometsuke 大目付)
3.3 San-bugyō (san bugyoo) - three administrators
3.4 Tenryō, gundai and daikan (Tenryo　天領）
3.5 Gaikoku bugyō (gaikoku bugyoo)

4 Late Tokugawa Shogunate (1853–1867)
5 List of the Tokugawa shoguns
- source : wikipedia

karoo 家老 Karo, chief retainer
He stayed at the domain and looked after the regional affairs on behalf of the Daimyo.

under construction
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- - - - - keywords including BAKU 幕 - - - - -

Bakuchoo Sensoo　幕長戦争 Bakucho Senso war
between the Bakufu and the 長州 Choshu Domain
Chōshū Rebellion
also called 長州征討 Choshu Seito, 長州征伐, 長州出兵, 長州戦争
In the Kinmon Incident on 20 August 1864, troops from Chōshū Domain attempted to take control of Kyoto and the Imperial Palace in order to pursue the objective of Sonnō Jōi. This also led to a punitive expedition by the Tokugawa government, the First Chōshū expedition (長州征討).
第一次長州征討 First Chōshū expedition
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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幕府放鷹制度 rules about takagari 鷹狩り hawk hunting, falconry (BF)
. takagari 鷹狩 hunting with hawks and falcons .

bakufu kansen 幕府艦船 Bakufu ships (BF)
bakufu kansenn　幕府官船

. bakufu goyootashi 幕府御用達 craftsmen working for the Bakufu government .

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. bakuhan taisei 幕藩体制 Bakuhan system .

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Bakumatsu 幕末　end period of the Bakufu (1853 - 1867)

. Bakumatsu 幕末 写真　photo collection .

. Bakumatsu aera 幕末の人　 people visiting Japan (1853 - 1867) .

幕末のジャーナリズムー　Bakumatsu Jurnalism
. kawaraban　瓦版 Edo newspaper, handbill, broadside .

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. bakuryoo　幕領　Bakuryo government land, bakufu-owned land, .
bakufu chokkatsu chi 政府直轄地 / bakufu chokkatsu ryoo 幕府直轄領
shogun's direct holdings, personal land- holdings, personal fief of the Tokugawa
tenryoo, tenryō 天領 Tenryo Government Land "Land of Heaven"


. mizubugyoo, mizu bugyō　水奉行 Waterworks administrator .

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A Shogun (将軍 Shōgun) "general", lit. "military commander"
was a hereditary military dictator in Japan during the period from 1192 to 1867, with some caveats. In this period, the shoguns were the de facto rulers of the country, although nominally they were appointed by the Emperor as a formality. The Shogun held almost absolute power over territories through military means, in contrast to the concept of a colonial governor in Western culture who was appointed by a king.
Sei-i Taishōgun (征夷大将軍, "Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians"
..... in reality shōguns dictated orders to everyone including the reigning Emperor.
Kamakura shogunate (1192–1333)
Ashikaga shogunate (1336–1573)
Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868)
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Shōgun Senge 　将軍宣下 appointment to shogun

After donning his ceremonial attire in the Kuro Shoin drawing room,
the Shōgun would be greeted by the Gosanke households
(three households with direct kinship to the Tokugawa household)
and top-ranking Daimyō in the Shiro Shoin before heading to the Ō-hiroma,
where he would read and receive the written decree delivered by the imperial envoy.
Following the ceremony, he would meet with Daimyō and hatamoto.
Through this process, the Shōgun gained authority of the military, government, and legislative system.
The Ō-hiroma was the stage for clear expression of the social hierarchy,
and the Shōgun reigned with supreme authority over the Daimyō
as each of them knelt down before him in turn according to his status.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library

江戸幕府の征夷大将軍‎ The Tokugawa Shoguns

Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康　(1543–1616) - the first Shogun
..... He received the title sei-i taishōgun in 1603
Tokugawa Hidetada 徳川秀忠　(1579–1632)
Tokugawa Iemitsu 徳川家光　(1604–1651)
Tokugawa Ietsuna 徳川家綱　(1641–1680)
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi 徳川綱吉　(1646–1709)

Tokugawa Ienobu 徳川家宣　(1662–1712)
Tokugawa Ietsugu 徳川家継　(1709–1716)
Tokugawa Yoshimune 徳川吉宗　(1684–1751)
Tokugawa Ieshige 徳川家重　(1712–1761)
Tokugawa Ieharu 徳川家治　(1737–1786)

Tokugawa Ienari　徳川家斉　(1793–1853)
Tokugawa Ieyoshi 徳川家慶　(1793-1853)
Tokugawa Iesada 徳川家定　(1824–1858)
Tokugawa Iemochi 徳川家茂 (1846–1866)
Tokugawa Yoshinobu 徳川慶喜 (1837–1913) - the last Shogun

Tokugawa Tsunenari 徳川恆孝 (1940 - ) the 18th generation
His son, Tokugawa Iehiro , is a University of Michigan-educated translator.

- Tokugawa Branch Families
Tokugawa Mitsukuni of the Mito domain
Tokugawa Nariaki of the Mito domain
Tokugawa Mochiharu of the Hitotsubashi branch
Tokugawa Munetake of the Tayasu branch.

- - - - - The Matsudaira clan (松平氏 Matsudaira-shi)
Matsudaira Motoyasu changed his name to Tokugawa Ieyasu
Other branches were formed in the decades after Ieyasu, which bore the Matsudaira surname. Some of those branches were also of daimyo status.
Matsudaira Katamori of the Aizu branch.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, of Shirakawa
- - - - - 4 Key genealogies
4.1 Main line (Tokugawa shogun)
4.2 Hoshina-Matsudaira clan (Aizu)
4.3 Yūki-Matsudaira clan (Echizen) - Fukui Domain and Tsuyama Domain
4.4 Ochi-Matsudaira clan (Hamada)
4.5 Hisamatsu-Matsudaira clan (Kuwana)
4.6 Ogyū-Matsudaira clan (Okutono)
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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tairoo, tairō 大老 Tairo "Great Elder" - chief councillor
roughly comparable to the office of prime minister.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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A COMPLICATED PATCHWORK
The system for maintaining law and order during the Edo period differed fundamentally from our modern system in that law enforcement and criminal justice were carried out by the same organs. That is to say, one agency or office carried out the functions that are today performed separately by police, prosecutors, and the courts. This means that the administrative and judicial functions of government were merged rather than deliberately separated as they are in modern democratic states.

Although the Tokugawa shogunate held sway over the daimyô (lords) of all the country’s domains, the administration of each of these domains was left to the individual daimyô; in principle, the shogunate administered only its own domains. However, since the administrative apparatus of each domain, including law enforcement and criminal justice, closely resembled the system established by the shogunate, an examination of the latter system should be sufficient to provide an overview of law enforcement in the Edo period.

The top administrative post under the shôgun was that of rôjû, or senior councillors. (At times a tairô, or chief councillor, was appointed as a superior to the rôjû, but this was not a permanent post.) Typically, the shogunate appointed four or five rôjû from among the fudai daimyô, lords of the domains that Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shôgun, had originally granted to his loyal vassals in the early seventeenth century. The rôjû generally took turns managing the shogunate’s administrative affairs according to a monthly rotation system, although they came together to confer on matters of importance. Ranking just below the rôjû were the wakadoshiyori, or junior councillors. They were also chosen from among the fudai daimyô and likewise served according to a monthly rotation. Since the rôjû and wakadoshiyori together made up the top administrative organ of the Tokugawa government, they were inevitably involved in matters pertaining to law enforcement and criminal justice, whether directly or indirectly.

Next in importance in the central administrative apparatus were the metsuke (inspectors) and ômetsuke (inspectors general), whose main job was to monitor and control the activities of the ruling warrior class. The ômetsuke, reporting directly to the rôjû, monitored the daimyô, while the metsuke, who were under the supervision of the wakadoshiyori, focused on the shôgun’s direct retainers—the hatamoto, or bannermen, and the gokenin, or housemen. Both were selected from among the hatamoto. With its reliance on peer monitoring, the metsuke system might be compared to the military police of a modern army or the internal affairs bureau of a police department.

The highest offices with direct police and judicial authority were the three bugyô, or commissioners, who reported to the rôjû. While many of the positions within the vast shogunal bureaucracy had originated as military posts in the era of civil unrest prior to the Edo period, the posts of the three bugyô were created after the shogunate was established in Edo, and they had a distinctly civilian flavor.

The first and highest-ranking of the three was the jisha bugyô (commissioner of temples and shrines), who had authority over the lands of all the temples and shrines in the country, the priests and monks attached to those institutions, and the people living within their precincts. In addition to wielding general administrative authority over these lands and people, the jisha bugyô also adjudicated civil suits, investigated crimes, and tried suspected criminals associated with the temples and shrines.

The central job of the kanjô bugyô (commissioner of accounts) was fiscal management, but the holder of this post also wielded police authority with regard to serious crimes carried out within most of the shogunate’s direct holdings. This is because the authority of the gundai or daikan who directly governed those areas (the name depended on the size of the holding) extended only to the collection of taxes from local farmers and the prosecution and adjudication of civil cases and certain minor criminal cases; in all other criminal cases, the accused, together with the record of the preliminary investigation, was sent to the higher court in Edo, namely the kanjô bugyô. Since the kanjô bugyô thus combined the authority of a finance minister and a chief justice, only the most capable people could fill the post, and they were kept very busy. Four people ordinarily filled it on a monthly rotating basis.
- source : japanecho.com/sum/2004 -

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. nengoo, nengō 年号 Nengo, "year name", era name .


. Edo goyaku　五役（ごやく）　the five official workers of Edo .
御駕籠之者（おかごのもの）okagonomono, o-kago no mono
御中間（おちゅうげん）ochuugen, o-chugen
御小人（おこびと）okobito, o-kobito
黒鍬之者（くろくわのもの）kurokuwa no mono
御掃除之者（おそうじのもの）gosooji no mono, go soji no mono

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rusui, rusui-yaku, rusuiyaku 留守居役 caretaker

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Rusui yaku were samurai officials in the service of Edo period domains, who oversaw the administration of the domain's mansions in Edo or other cities in the lord's absence. They served an extremely important role as the domain's representative in the city, as administrators and intermediaries, facilitating the domain's involvement in political and economic matters in the major metropolises.
The responsibilities of a rusuiyaku
were diverse and extensive, including maintaining the domain's mansion and preparing it for the arrival and residence of the lord or other members of his household; communicating on behalf of the domain with the shogunate and other official institutions, including at times filing formal inquiries or complaints with the shogunate; and communicating with the rusuiyaku of other domains, as intermediaries in arranging various political, personal, or economic matters between domains; among many other activities.
- source : wiki.samurai-archives.com... -


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- - - - - Alphabetical Index of Keywords 用語解説 - - - - -

- AAA - / - BBB - / - CCC - / - DDD - / - EEE -

- FFF - / - GGG - / - HHH - / - I I I - / - JJJ -

- KK KK - / - LLL - / - MMM - / - NNN - / - OOO -

- PPP - / - QQQ - / - RRR - / - SSS - / - TTT -

- UUU - / - VVV - / - WWW - / - XXX - / - YYY - / - ZZZ -


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江戸幕府大事典 Edo Bakufu Daijiten Dictionary
by 大石学 Oishi Manabu
将軍・老中・火付盗賊改・畳奉行・鷹匠、江戸城　( 門・櫓・堀) ・陣屋・奉行所、参勤交代・幕府の儀式...。
家康から慶喜まで、265年にわたり日本を治めた江戸幕府。最新の成果で描く概論と、職制・陣屋・儀式などの用語解説で、幕府の基礎情報を集成。役職存在期間一覧、索引などの付録も充実した.
年中行事 - 官僚制 - 建築物
役職については、支配・役高・詰間などの基本情報から職務内容・改廃・主要人物なども解説。施設(陣屋・奉行所・役所・牢屋・刑場など)については、現在地・構造のほか、設置から廃止までの沿革も詳述する
(江戸幕府大辞典)

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- 内容説明
家康から慶喜まで、２６５年にわたり日本を治めた江戸幕府。最新の研究成果で描く概論と、将軍から牢屋下男にいたる多様な職制や江戸城の諸施設、陣屋、制度・儀式などの用語解説により、幕府の基礎情報を集成する画期的な大事典。役職存在期間一覧・幕府年中行事一覧・江戸城間取り図などの便利な付録・索引も充実した〈江戸幕府〉百科の決定版。

【特色】
●江戸幕府のすべてがわかる
総項目約１８００。初期から幕末まで、２６５年にわたる江戸幕府の政治・制度を理解するための基礎情報を１冊に集成

●江戸幕府をより深く知るための工夫をこらした構成
概説で江戸幕府を総合的に論じ、用語解説で具体的な事項を解説。さらに付録で江戸時代の役職の存在期間や年中行事、幕府施設の所在地などを一覧化する

●最新の研究成果を反映
官僚制・儀式研究・公文書論などの新たな視点も取り入れ、最新の研究成果を反映。施設については、考古学・建築学など周辺分野の成果もふまえて解説する

●江戸幕府の役職・施設を網羅
役職については、支配・役高・詰間などの基本情報から職務内容・改廃・主要人物なども解説。施設(陣屋・奉行所・役所・牢屋・刑場など)については、現在地・構造のほか、設置から廃止までの沿革も詳述する

●江戸城の全貌がよみがえる
城内の各部屋の名称や場所・用途をくわしく解説。そのほか、門・櫓・堀も網羅的に取り上げ、江戸城の全貌を再現する

●充実した巻末付録と、検索が便利な索引を付載
主な付録
＊職制図（江戸時代後期と幕末を含む）
＊役職存在期間一覧
（江戸時代に刊行された武鑑などから、役職が史料にみえる時期を一覧化）
＊幕府年中行事一覧
（御礼惣登城の儀・八朔など幕府の行事から花見・七夕など大奥の行事も一覧）
＊江戸・大坂・京都の地図
（町奉行所など、江戸・大坂・京都それぞれの町中の幕府関連施設の位置を図示）
＊代官所・遠国奉行所の地図
（全国の陣屋・遠国奉行所の位置を図示）
＊江戸城の御殿図
- reference source : yoshikawa-k.co.jp... -


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. Bakufu Meeting with PowerPoint .

. ninsoku yoseba 人足寄場 rehabilitation prison .
Hasegawa Heizô 長谷川平蔵 and
Law Enforcement in the Edo Period

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

葛がくれ幕府御用の銅の道
kuzugakure bakufu goyoo no doo no michi

hidden in Kuzu
the copper road
of the Bakufu

品川鈴子 Shinagawa Suzuko



. doozan 銅山 Dozan copper mines in Japan .
Besshi copper mine 別子銅山 - Ehime
Ashio copper mine 足尾銅山 - Tochigi

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浜木綿の奔放に裂け幕府跡
hamayuu no honbo ni sake bakufu ato

北見さとる Kitami Satoru

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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 .


. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

. samurai, warriour, tsuwamono, bushi　侍, 兵、武士、兵士 .


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Yushima district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Yushima 湯島 Yushima district 　 　
文京区 Bunkyo ward, 湯島 Yushima 1 - 3, 本郷 Hongo 2.
The Northern slope along the 神田川 Kandagawa river was called 湯島台　Yushimadai,
the Southern slope was 駿河台 Surugadai.



湯島天神社 / Hirohsige 広重

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Chiyoda-ku, Sotokanda / Bunkyo-ku, Yushima
After the founding of Edo, this area became a residential area for lower rank vassals of the Shogun, and before long the Yushima-Tenjin Shrine monzencho (a town built originally in front of a temple or shrine) developed.
Yushima-Tenjin Shrine was revered as a god of learning by people of every social station, and lotteries were held within the shrine grounds. From the Genroku Era (1688-1704), the shrine dedicated to Confucius was moved from Ueno-Shinobugaoka, and the Shohei-zaka School was established within the grounds, and became a Shogunate government authorized educational facility.
A Shogunate government riding ground (Sakuranobaba) was established to the west of the shrine, and was used as a forge for cannons at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate government. During the Edo Period, the area surrounding Kanda Myojin Shrine was made part of Yushima.

- - - - - More ukiyo-e about Yushima
広重 / 湯しま天神坂上眺望 / 湯しま天神雪のあくる日 / 湯しま天満宮 / 湯しま天神
- reference source : national diet library : yushima -

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. Yushima Kannon 湯島観音 柳井堂 Yanagii-Do 心城院 Shinjo-In .

. Yushima Tenjin 湯島天神 / 天満宮 Yushima Tenmangu .
Tenman-Gu in Dazaifu 大宰府の天満宮 and 菅原道真 Sugawara Michizane

quote
Yushima Tenmangu is a Shinto shrine commonly called Yushima Tenjin. This shrine was originally established in 458 A.D. in order to worship Ame no Tajikarao no Mikoto, one of deities appears in the Japanese myths. Later, in February 1355, the spirit of Sugawara Michizane, a historical figure, was also enshrined to venerate his extraordinary virtue as a scholar.

In October 1478, Oota Dokan (1432-86), a war lord in Kanto region, made the shrine building anew. Since then, many scholars and men of letters including Hayashi Doshun and Arai Hakuseki Confucian scholars in Edo period, have worshiped this shrine.
Nowadays many students visit this shrine to express their reverence to the enshrined spirit as Kami of Learning. Especially in the season of school entrance examinations, young students visit to pray for the success of passing examinations, presenting votive tablets called Ema.


ema 絵馬 votive tablet

The shrine is also famous for beautiful blossoms of Ume (Japanese apricot) in the precinct.
In February and March, "Ume Matsuri"(Ume festival) is held, and it attracts many visitors who enjoy the Ume blossoms.
- source : yushimatenjin.or.jp


. Ame no Tajikarao no Kami 天手力男神 / 天手力雄神 .


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Yushima Temple Picture (Seidō no Ezu)

The picture shows Yushima Temple, which still exists in Yushima, Bunkyō Ward, Tokyo, looked upon its completion.
It was in 1690 (Genroku 3) that Tsunayoshi, the fifth Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate who was interested in learning, moved the Confucius Temple Kōshi-byō to Yushima.
Aiming to advance Confucianism, Tsunayoshi, the fifth Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, established a temple in Yushima and moved the Confucius temple and private school that had been located at the Hayashi's private residence in Ueno Shinobugaoka. This was the beginning of Yushima Temple. In 1797 (Kansei 9), Hayashi's private school was then founded as a school under the direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate, "shōheizaka school" (also known as Shōheikō).
The school accepted not only Shogun retainers but also children from around the country who passed an entrance examination called "sodoku ginmi". From all over the country, young people who carried their clan's future with them gathered in Yushima.
Unfortunately, the "Kōshi-byō (Confucius temple)" illustrated in the picture was burnt down during the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 (Taishō 12). Today's temple was re-established in the 1930's (Shōwa).
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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Seidō 聖堂（せいどう） Seido

This picture gives a full view of the Yushima Seidō with Kanda River in the foreground.
The private boarding-school of 林羅山 Hayashi Razan in 上野忍岡 Ueno-Shinobugaoka
was moved here in 1690 and named the Seidō.
It was set up as a school under the direct control of the Bakufu government in the Kansei era.
The 昌平坂学問所 Shōhei-zaka Gakumonjo, where students read kanbun (reading Chinese texts in Japanese)
for the purposes of proofreading, was located in the area where
"此辺学問所 (location of school)" is written."
A description in the picture reads
"The first school of its kind in Japan and a most glorious place of Tokyo."
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

- quote -
Yushima Tenmangū Shrine 湯しま天満宮

Yushima-Tenjin is the shrine that enshrines Sugawara Michizane
known as deity of scholarship.
Along with Kannō-ji Temple in Yanaka and Meguro Fudō, it was popular with the populace as one of the
'Edo-Santomi', three shrines that sold official shogunate tomikuji tickets (lottery in the Edo period).
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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Yushima Seidō 湯島聖堂 Yushima Seido, literally "Hall of the Sage in Yushima"
located in the Yushima neighbourhood of Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, was established as a Confucian temple in the Genroku era of the Edo period (end of the 17th century).
The Yushima Seidō has its origins in a private Confucian temple, the Sensei-den (先聖殿), constructed in 1630 by the neo-Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan (1583–1657) in his grounds at Shinobi-ga-oka (now in Ueno Park). The fifth Tokugawa shogun, Tsunayoshi, moved the building to its present site in 1690, where it became the Taiseiden (大成殿) of Yushima Seidō. The Hayashi school of Confucianism moved at the same time.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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source : ndl.go.jp/landmarks
本郷湯島絵図 Map of Hongo and Yushima

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- quote
Yushima - Education at Edo's First University
The Kanda River is a man-made waterway that splits the high land around Kanda in half. The steep-walled valley that carries this river (actually a canal) through Edo was dug in 1638, as part of the Kanda Josui (Kanda water supply) project that Tokugawa Iemitsu organised to supply water to the city. Before that, the whole area was one large plateau. Today, however, the river cuts through a deep valley in the neighborhood known as Ochanomizu, separating two hilly districts.
To the south is Surugadai, a residential area filled with the homes of lower-ranking samurai.
To the north is Yushima, which is the site of Edo's largest schools, and its only "university" -- the Shoheizaka gakumonsho.


お茶之水 / 御茶ノ水 Ochanomizu - 広重 Hiroshige

The Yushima area has been a center of culture and learning since Edo was built. In addition to all the schools in the area, which were constructed more recently, this district is also home to several influential shrines that were built even before Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo in 1592. One of them -- Yushima Jinja -- has long been associated with knowledge and learning. Yushima Jinja sits on the top of Yushima hill, which is one of the highest points in the city. This shrine has been one of the prominent buildings in the area since the late Muromachi era.

From the top of the hill, there is a fine view out over the housetops of Kanda and Nihonbashi, and the blue waters of Edo Bay sparkle in the distance. As the city of Edo grew, many popular teahouses and restaurants grew up around the shrine. Customers liked to gather for long conversations at the teahouses, to enjoy the fine view of the city. In time, these teahouses became popular meeting places for teachers, students, academics and artists. They would hold meetings where they would eat, study, discuss important issues, play shogi (Japanese chess) and enjoy the wonderful view.

However, our destination today is not Yushima, which is several minutes walk from the Kanda River, but a smaller hill much closer to the river, known as Shoheizaka. This hill is named after the area where Confucius was born, and it gets its name because it is the main center of Confucian learning and education in Edo. The hill is covered by a cluster of large buildings that house Edo's main gakumonsho (school district). At the center of the district is the official government daigaku (university) established by the first shogun and run by the Hayashi family, who are the hereditary leaders of this university.

Shortly after Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun, in 1603, he convinced a well-known Confucian scholar from Kyoto, named Hayashi Rinzan (Hayashi Razan), to move to Edo and become one of his main advisors. He needed a very intelligent individual who knew a great deal about government and social structure, and Rinzan was just the man. He helped Ieyasu design the structure for his bakufu government, and develop a set of laws to govern the country. Rinzan built his home in the area near Yushima shrine, and when he was not advising the shogun he gave lectures and tutored the children of leading daimyo and other top government officials.

Many years passed and Rinzan was no longer as busy helping the shogun plan government policy. However, demand for his tutoring continued to increase, so at last he decided to ask the shogun if he could set up his own private school, so he could offer more formal classes. When Ieyasu heard of this plan, he immediately commissioned Rinzan to set up an official government university, to serve all of the samurai families in Edo. He made Hayashi Rinzan the daigaku-no-kashira (head of the university) and decreed that Rinzan's descendants would always inherit this position.



Education is considered very important in Japan. Even farmers in rural areas send their children to the local Buddhist temples to study, or have tutors visit. In the urban areas, well over 90% of the population can read and write. The Buddhist temples across the country play an important role in education. Most Buddhist scriptures are written in Chinese, so in order to understand them, Buddhist monks and priests must study both Japanese and Chinese for many years. Buddhist scholars often travel to China to study, and they bring back many Chinese documents -- not only religious texts, but also books on literature, history, philosophy and so on. For this reason, most Buddhist temples have become centers of knowledge and education. In fact, Hayashi Rinzan was a Buddhist monk before he came to Edo to become Tokugawa Ieyasu's advisor

Ieyasu ordered Hayashi Rinzan to establish a large school that would be open to all children of the samurai class. The working-class people continued to get their education from monks and lay-teachers at the local temples, but Rinzan's new school was to be the main center of learning for the upper classes. Rinzan built the first gakumonsho near his home. It consisted of separate classes for different studies, such as writing, literature, poetry, history, government, and so on. The school was a big success, and it continued to grow steadily.

After Rinzan died, the school was taken over by his son, Hayashi Gaho, who developed a set of courses in different subjects, and who continued to build the reputation of the school. He was succeeded by his son, Hayashi Hoko, who many consider the most influential of all the daigaku-no-kashira. The fifth shogun , Tsunayoshi, was a private student of Hoko, and his early years as a student had a great impression on him. Tsunayoshi was not very athletic, but he loved reading and education. After he became shogun , he tried to repay his old teacher by paying to expand the school that Hayashi Rinzan had founded. In 1691, the shogun set aside a large area of land in Yushima to build larger and more suitable buildings where students could come to study. The area was named Shoheizaka (Shohei hill ) after the place where Confucius was born.

Tsunayoshi believed that education should be available to all people of Edo, so he decreed that the school should be open not only to samurai, but also to lower-class people such as merchants, artisans and farmers, as long as they could afford to pay the school fees. In practice, though, only a few rich merchants were able to send their children to this school. Still, the public lectures held each morning are often attended by commoners, and Yoshitsuna and later shoguns contributed funds to help expand the temple schools (tera-koya ), where the majority of lower-class people get their education.

Today, the gakumonsho is run by the great-grandson of Hayashi Rinzan. Although it has lost some of its influence, and it is no longer quite as open to students from the lower classes, it remains the most important school in Edo -- and probably in all of Japan. There are no grades in the gakumonsho; young and old students attend classes together, though in most of the classes they are separated according to ability. New students start out in courses that teach reading and writing. Younger instructors work with the students one-on-one, teaching them to read and write. At first, the students simply recite the pronunciation of characters and practice writing them. Depending on how quickly the student learns, this phase of study can take anywhere from a few months to two years. There are thousands of characters to learn, and the student must study very hard to learn them all.

After they have developed acceptable reading and writing skills, the students enter classes in reading, literature and mathematics. These classes usually have a few dozen students, and they take turns reading out loud from translations of some of the Chinese Classics, or from famous works of Japanese literature. This not only gives students a basic knowledge of the most important books, but it also helps them improve their reading and comprehension.

The higher-level classes are broken down by subject; for example, students may study history, government, poetry, literature or some other topic. In these classes, the teacher's role is mainly just a moderator. Students debate and discuss with one another the meaning and interpretation of various classic books. A passage will be selected and one student will give a speech explaining their intrepretation. Their classmates will listen, then debate the various interpretations with one another. The teacher may offer suggestions to get the discussion going, but will usually just listen as the students debate. Later, the teacher will give a lecture (often at one of the morning public lectures) and provide their own interpretation of the passage. This method helps the students improve their understanding as well as their debate and discussion skills.

The instruction at tera-koya (temple schools) is similar to that at the gakumonsho, but very few students pass beyond the first two stages, which teach reading, writing, literature and mathematics. Math skills are particularly important for merchant families, and nearly everyone learns how to use a soroban (abacus) in their first year at school. Although boys and girls are kept in separate classes at the tera-koya schools, girls receive nearly the same type of instruction as the boys. At some schools, girls make up nearly half of the total number of students.
This is much more than in rural areas, where girls tend to go to school for only a few years.
- source : Edomatsu


. Shooheizaka Gakumonjo 昌平坂学問所 Shoheizaka Gakumonjo .
and other gakumonjo 学問所 Academies of Higher Learning in the Edo period

. Hayashi Razan 林羅山 (1583-1657) . - Confucian Scholar

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

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- quote 聖橋　Hijiribashi -

A bridge connecting sanctuaries
Hijiri-bashi Bridge is a modern arch bridge on the Kanda River. The grand arch is a Tokyo landmark and is the model for the Otonashi-bashi Bridge in Takinogawa, Kita City.
The bridge may not be sacred, but it has got saintly connections as it connects two sanctuaries. In the north is The Mausoleum of Confucious at Yushima, a former training center for bureaucrats of the Tokugawa shogunate; and on the south is the Byzantine-style Holy Resurrection Cathedral — a designated Important Cultural Property of Japan.
- source : gotokyo.org/en ..

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


. Enmanji 湯島円満寺 temple Yushima Enman-Ji .
1 Chome-6-2 Yushima, Bunkyō
kimi 鬼魅 demon monsters / dakatsu (jakatsu) 蛇蝎 snakes and scorpions
On the 8th day of the 9th lunar month in 1820, there was a strong typhoon. A large tree fell down and two people died below it.
During such a strong wind, people think that demons, snakes and scorpions ride in the sky. Sometimes even if there is no wind, when they ride the sky things may fall down.


. neko 猫 / ねこ と伝説 Legends about cats, Katzen .
neko 猫 cat
At a 煎餅屋 Mochi rice cake store in front of Enman-Ji, a large cat came every night and ate many things. So the shop owner caught it, killed it and asked his wife to dispose of the dead body. After his wife came back, she changed in strange ways, scratched the face of her husband, made movements like a cat. The husband called the neighbours to help him catch and bind the woman. There she begun to cry ニャアニャアワウワウ nyanyaaaa like a cat. She put her head into the bowl of food and liked fish best - just like a cat!

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. Rinshōin 湯島麟祥院 Temple Yushima Rinsho-In .
4 Chome-1-8 Yushima, Bunkyo, Tokyo
麟祥 rinsho is an auspicious name according to Chinese Buddhism.
a Zen-temple near Yushima Tenmangu.

suzume ikusa 雀戦 fight of the sparrows
In 1832 onf the 6th to 10th day of the 8th lunar month, in the nearby forest of the forest, there lived more than 4000 sparrows.
They started to get in a fierce fight and even eat each other.

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



猿飴の湯島の宮の七五三
saruame no Yushima no Miya no shichi go san

the Shichi-Go-San festival
at Yushima Shrine
with Monkey Sweets
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Mizuhara Shūōshi 水原秋櫻子 Mizuhara Suoshi (1892-1981) .

. shichi go san 七五三 "seven five three" ritual .
- - kigo for early winter - -

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- - - To join me on facebook, click the image !

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. Kanda 神田 Kanda district　 .

. Bunkyō 文京区 Bunkyo ward, "Literature Capital" .

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

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

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


[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- - - - - #yushima #edobakufu #yushimatenjin - - - -
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kajiya blacksmith

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .
. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .
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kajiya 鍛冶屋 kajishi　鍛冶師 blacksmith

. Takadono tatara 高殿鑪 Japanese Sword making .
- - - - - including
fuigo 鞴 bellows - an important tool for melting metal
Fuigo Jinja　鞴神社 "Bellows Shrine"
kaji no kami 鍛冶神 Deity of the blacksmiths


There were different blacksmiths for various special items needed in the town of Edo.

kugi kajiya 釘鍛冶屋 special blacksmith for nails
nokaji　野鍛冶　Most local blacksmiths used to make tools for agriculture like sickles and spades.
tookoo 刀工 sword maker

. tansu 箪笥 / 簞笥 -- たんす chest of drawers, Kommode .
The chests were made with all kinds of metal fittings and decorations.


source :　wafusozai.com
saiga shokunin burui 「彩画職人部類（さいがしょくにんぶるい）」より
sword maker 「（刀）鍛冶」


. kugi 釘 nail, Nagel - Introduction .


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teppoo kaji 鉄砲鍛冶 craftsmen producing Teppo guns


source : members3.jcom.home.ne.jp/6785fmqm

- quote -
Nagahama - Shiga prefecture
The skills needed to produce the kazari kanagu (metal decorations) that decorate hikiyama (fetsival floats) can be traced back to the gunsmiths of old Nagahama.
Guns, the first of which were brought by Portuguese sailors to Tanegashima off Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu during the Muromachi era (14th-16th centuries), soon began to be made in old Kunitomo Village in the Nagahama area.
Gunsmithing established itself in this area, and gunsmiths formed a big group known as Kunitomo Teppo Kaji (Kunitomo Gunsmiths).
Guns manufactured in Nagahama, which became a major center of matchlock production, were characterized not only by their functionality but also the beauty of their decorations. Their barrels were ornamented using an inlay technique borrowed from metalworking to create patterns by engraving and cutting off parts of the barrel and fitting another metal into the resultant grooves.
Gunsmiths from Kunitomo were invited by the townsmen of Nagahama to utilize their mastery of inlaying metal to make kazari kanagu for hikiyama. Today in Nagahama, kazari kanagu artist Kiyoshi Tsuji continues the mastery and tradition of inlaying metal.
Kunitomo Teppo no Sato Matchlock Museum - 534 Kunitomo-cho, Nagahama-shi, Shiga
- source : mtlo.co.jp/us/valueone/metal/nagahama -


source : jti.co.jp/tobacco-world/journal

Another famous quarter of the Teppo gunsmiths was in Sakai, Osaka, Teppo Kajiyashiki cho
鉄砲鍛冶屋敷町 / 1-3-22 Kitahatago-cho-Nishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai City
The art of gunsmiths was brought by 橘屋又三郎 Tachibanaya Matasaburo from Tanegashima, and soon the region became Japan's largest producer of matchlock guns.
In the peaceful times of the Edo period, they also made たばこ包丁 sharp knives to cut tobacco.

. teppoo, teppô 鉄砲 Teppo, gun, musket, matchlock, Gewehr .

under construction
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- - - - - special districts and quarters for the blacksmiths in Edo:



. Kajibashi 鍛冶橋 Kajibashi Bridge, "Blacksmith Bridge" .
This neighborhood is home to people who specialise in iron work.

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- - - - - Chiyoda Kanda Kajichoo, Kajimachi 千代田区 神田 鍛冶町


source :　gakuyaura.chesuto.jp

They use hand and feet to work. The one on the right uses his foot to work the box bellows (箱鞴 hako fuigo) to regulate the heat of the fire.


Kajiyachoo, Kajiyamachi 神田鍛冶屋町 in Kanda
This district was established in 1603.
Its Bakufu government supervisor was bakufu kajigata tooryoo 幕府鍛冶方棟梁
Takai Iori 高井伊織
who was also responsible for the blacksmith guild in the Eight Provinces of Kanto (Sagami, Musashi, Awa, Kazusa, Shimousa, Hitachi and Ueno).
Apart from the blacksmiths, there lived other craftsmen working with iron and metal, like the
imonoshi　鋳物師 metal casters
kamashi 釜師 making metal water pots for the tea ceremony - and others.
Many were re-settled by Tokugawa Ieyasu from Sunpu (Shizuoka) and also made the metal parts used for the many buildings in the growing town of Edo.
It was the center of the kinzoku koogyoo 　金属工業 metal industry in Edo.

The Fuigo matsuri 吹子祭 , 吹革祭 Festival of the Bellows was celebrated in these quarters with extra fervor and joy.


CLICK for more street signs!

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Minami Kaji-machi　南鍛冶町　 South blacksmith's village



Kanda kanamono doori 　神田金物通 street of the metal workers


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- quote -
Blacksmith Divinity - Okinawa
Studies related to blacksmithing in Okinawa have taken multi-angled approaches, i.e.archaeological, historical, folkloristic, and also industrial and technological histories. Since iron is not produced in Okinawa, the development of steel making and blacksmithing techniques lagged behind other advanced areas. Thirst for iron and its riches may have well been the source for Okinawan legends regarding the advent of iron and blacksmithing techniques. Seemingly, however, it remains presumable, only through folk tales, as to when, from where, and how the aspired skills in steel making and the art of blacksmithing came to Okinawa. Thus further archaeological progress is needed in the study of this issue. On the other hand, preceding folk studies have taken up a wide range of themes including Yago (屋号)---occupation and/or location-based household nicknames, which may refer to a physical feature unique to family members, toponyms, annual ceremonial festivals and community events, such as bellows festivals, traditional songs, ballads and legends. However the availability of a detailed description of blacksmith divinities remains limited to date.

In Okinawa, ex-blacksmith families own most of the “blacksmith divinity” images. These are mostly in the form of hanging scrolls. Okinawan Blacksmiths{by Hiroaki Fukuchi (福地曠昭) Kaifu-sha 1989} has numerous remarks from blacksmiths interviewed. However, description of the images themselves remain scarce. Quoted below is Mr. Koji Asaoka (朝岡康二) refering to Akaya (阿嘉屋), one of the blacksmith families, which once flourished in Kumoji, Naha:

Originally, the balcksmith family Nareira (宮平) headed the “Mindakari (新村渠) Kanja (Blacksmith) Family”. Akaya, a family of court painters, up until the great-grandfather’s generation, joined Nareira in the mid Meiji Period (latter 19th century), whereby Akaya acquired the blacksmithing technique to reestablish itself as the blacksmith family Akakaji (阿嘉鍛冶). The first master of Akakaji painted and gave out freely many hanging scrolls with the Blacksmith Divinity image to his fellow workers. He had a natural talent for painting, as his ancestors used to be court artists. Although many of these hanging scrolls have been scattered about and lost, several former blacksmith families in Okinawa preserve them. The blacksmith divinity hanging scroll uses the complete mainland style that you would find in Kanayama-ko (金山講) hanging scrolls used in blacksmiths’ self-support gatherings i.e. Kanayama-ko, Japan. In short, Kanayama-sama (金山様) divinity is painted in the center, as Yokoza (横座) the bellow operator sits on the left, while Sente (先手) the assistant sledgehammer swings down from the right. Excluding minor differences, the basic composition was shared all over Japan. Notably, however, the blacksmithing images (Mainland Japanese style) are completely irrelevant to the blacksmithing procedures practiced in Okinawa.

In Japan, the Kanayama-sama divinity hanging scroll would be found in alcoves (床の間) on occasions of Kanayama-ko self-support gatherings. In Okinawa, however, the image is believed to have been used in annual bellows festivals, as self-help groups equivalent to the Kanayama-ko were never formed by Okinawan blacksmiths. (Ref. Koji Asaoka, Ironware Culture of Japan-Comparative Ethnology of Blacksmith, Chapter Four: Okinawan Blacksmith and Ironware Culture, p.184)

Fuchiyue (鞴祭: bellows’ festival) is respected by Okinawan blacksmiths as the hallmark of annual events. It is commonly celebrated on November 8th according to the lunar calendar, in Japan, whereas in Okinawa it is celebrated, by some, on November 7th, or for two days (November 6th and 7th) or for three days (November 7th to 9th).
During Fuchiyue the image of the bellows divinity is respectfully placed in front of the bellows, as sledgehammers, iron holders and other blacksmith tools are put as offerings. Prayers are offered to banish fire, accidents and injury throughout the year. Special dishes are prepared and shared within the neighborhood. In some cases blacksmith families visit and worship Okuma Kanja-ya (奥間鍛冶屋), the first legendary blacksmith enshrined in Okinawa, just as blacksmiths on Miyako Island would visit Funadatedo (船立堂), the sacred praying spot for blacksmiths.

According to Asaoka, the introduction of boxed bellows from mainland Japan, more specifically Sakai, Osaka, relates, particularly, to the attachment that Okinawan blacksmiths have formed to their bellows festival. Fuigo-cho (吹子町) the bellows ”manufacturers” quarter of commercially advanced Osaka is believed to have manufactured standardized boxed bellows for nationwide distribution. Asaoka states that because many Okinawan legends of blacksmith divinities speak not only of iron and the advent of steel-making techniques, but also of the introduction of boxed bellows, this proves that boxed bellows were accepted technologically advanced devices. Bellows festivals in the Ryukyu Archipelago have maintained considerably different ritualistic styles when compared to other village festivals, such as Tanetori-sai (種取祭), seed-sowing ceremonies and bountiful harvest thanksgiving ceremonies (豊年祭). Thus Asaoka retains that Okinawan bellows festivals originated on the mainland and, once introduced to Okinawa, were quickly diffused throughout the Ryukyus.
(Ref. Asaoka, Study of Ironware Culture in the Archipelago of the Ryukyus, pp. 188, 204, 257)

Images of Blacksmith Divinity and the Goddess/God Kanayago (金屋子)
Mainland Japan

In the northern Tohoku area of Japan, during blacksmith self-support gatherings, Kanayama-ko, alcoves or tokonoma (床の間) were adorned with “blacksmith divinity” hanging scroll images. Found in midwestern Chugoku, Japan, instead, would be the “Goddess Kanayago” and pictorial stories on “the birth of steeling technique”. During the Edo period, the scrolled images and pictorial stories were worshipped by tatara steel laborers, blacksmiths and casting workers all over Japan, mainly at iron producing mines.
Blacksmith divinities in ancient Japanese myth included Hinokagutsuchino-kami (火之迦具土神), Kanayamahikonomikoto (金山毘古命/金山彦命), Kanayama-himegami (金山毘売神/金山姫命), Amenomahitotsukami (天目一箇神) and more. On the otherhand, Inarigami (稲荷神), originally a god of rich harvest, was altered to a god of fire, eventually becoming a blacksmith divinity. This occurred, presumably, through the sacred rite of “Ohitaki” (御火焚) for an abundant harvest in the Kyoto and Kinki areas.

The word “tatara” originated in India, meaning blast furnace. In Japan, “tatara” appears in the names of ancient goddesses in Kojiki (古事記) and Nihonsyoki (日本書紀) e.g. Seyatatara-hime (勢夜陀多良比売), Hototataraisusuki-himenomikoto (富登多多良伊須須岐比売命) or Himetataraisukiyori-hime (比売多多良伊須気余理比売). According to myth, Izanaminokami (伊邪那美神) had her private parts (mihoto) seared as she delievered her baby Hinokagutsuchino-kami, and was, thereafter, banished to the netherworld (黄泉). It may well be in this light that the word “hoto” frequently appears in the names of ancient goddesses. Furthermore a wind way bamboo kiro (木呂竹) is inserted from the hole “hoto” to connect the bellows to the basin of a mud furnace, whereby a correlation between “tatara” and the goddesses is also suggested.

Kanayago Shrine in Nishihida (西比田), Hirose Town (広瀬町), Nogi County (能義郡), Shimane Prefecture, is an established center of worship for Kanayago, the goddess/god of steelmaking and blacksmithing. According to the stories of her advent and the origin of the shrine (which dates back to the Edo period), a snowy egret carried Kanayago on its back and flew from Harima Province to a Japanese Judas tree in Kuroda Forest, Nishihida village, Nogi County, Izumo Province.

Since Kanayago has also been worshipped as a child-loving goddess, tatara steel workers in Kamisaibara Village (上斎原村), Tomata County (苫田郡) Okayama Prefecture, for example, are known to have shown their faith in Kanayago (originally the tatara steel workers guardian deity) by inviting children to their homes every New Year (January 1st to 3rd) to tell them the old tales and legends. (Ref. Akinori Maruyama ,“Goddess Kanayago and Children: Folklore from a Tatara Village”)

In contrast, Kanayago’s hatred of adult women (who menstruate and bare children) was a source for the taboo against menstrual blood (赤不浄) as a symbol of uncleanness. However it is frequently noted that the uncleanness of death, which is symbolized by the color black (黒不浄), was readily accepted or even favored in these legends.

Mandarin oranges were believed to have been an offering at the bellows festival, much like as done by public bath owners and glue makers, each of whom were fire-relevant by trade, who gave away rice cakes and oranges to children. According to a legend in Yamaguchi Prefecture, an ugly one-eyed blacksmith deity got away from a barking dog by climbing up a mandarin orange tree.Fierce concentration at their furnaces frequently cost tatara steel workers the loss of an eye. The fact created one-eyed blacksmith divinities legend which in its turn are considered to have been diverted to single-eyed ogres of legend, oni (鬼). It is, presumably, in this context that toponyms such as Onimura (鬼村) and Onigashiro (鬼ヶ城) are often located close to iron mines.

Mandarin oranges were believed to have been an offering at the bellows festival, much like as done by public bath owners and glue makers, each of whom were fire-relevant by trade, who gave away rice cakes and oranges to children. According to a legend in Yamaguchi Prefecture, an ugly one-eyed blacksmith deity got away from a barking dog by climbing up a mandarin orange tree.Fierce concentration at their furnaces frequently cost tatara steel workers the loss of an eye. The fact created one-eyed blacksmith divinities legend which in its turn are considered to have been diverted to single-eyed ogres of legend, oni (鬼). It is, presumably, in this context that toponyms such as Onimura (鬼村) and Onigashiro (鬼ヶ城) are often located close to iron mines.

Images of the Goddess/God Kanayago 金屋子 are largely categorized into the following three styles:
A) A Goddess on a Fox



A goddess in a Chinese dress, wearing a long, thin scarf (領巾) rides on a white fox, with a sword in one hand and a gemstone in the other. In other instances, she may have a magic cane, or wear a jewelled crown and armor, holding a pouch in one hand. The fox wears a jewel in its tail, and may sometimes have a hoe in its mouth. The goddess in Chinese dress, who wears the long, thin scarf (領巾) and carries the sword and gemstone, resembles, in appearance, Dakini (荼吉尼天), the harvest divinity. However Dakini is recognized as the original Buddhist form (honji 本地) of Inari-gami in accordance with the philosophy of honji suijaku (本地垂迹) a theory expounding the correspondence of Shinto and Buddhist deities. Imaginably, Inari-gami and Dakini, both of whom came to be accepted and worshipped as fire and blacksmith divinities, could have been confused to be represented both in the same scene.

B) A Goddess and Two Attendants (Male and Female)
Mainly found in hanging scroll images, which depict the story of the origin of Kanayago Shrine or scenes of steel-making and blacksmithing. Frequently a long-haired woman in sacerdotal kimono, attends a holy area located close to a mountain top and sanctified with a set of hallowed straw ropes (注連縄). A lady of the court in a red hakama and over-robe would be found on the right and a nobleman on the left, both may be standing or seated, ready to serve the goddess. A white fox may accompany the two attendants. At the foot of the mountain, there is a smith’s yard with the foot-pedaled bellows humming with steeling and refining. Court-attired noblemen and blacksmiths (in their medieval hats, eboshi, and aprons, hitatare) would be found laboriously at work.

C) Sampo-kojin (三宝荒神) Image
A series of monochrome hanging scrolls in wood block print, which Kanayago Shrine issued and distributed from the end of the Edo to the early Meiji periods, would find the Kanayago deity seated on a lotus pedestal as Sampo-Kojin. In northern Tohoku, Sampo-kojin as a standing figure is frequently painted on hanging scrolls as a blacksmith divinity. Composition-wise, Sampo-kojin often stands erect on the boxed bellows and blacksmiths are working underneath. Oni, the ogres, are also at work in the smith’s yard, sending wind to the bellows or hammering down as Sente, the assistant hammers.


source :　xxx
金屋子神 - 出雲の伝承 Deity Kanayago from Izumo

Okinawan Images of Blacksmith Divinity
The four blacksmith divinity scrolls that we were able to view during our field studies in the Yanbaru (山原) area, northern Okinawa, had basically the same composition, although they differed in the details. They belong to Type C, as mentioned above, in which the blacksmith deity is expressed as Sampo-kojin (三宝荒神). Furthermore, the four scrolled images show three Oni (鬼), ogres, that are assisting as Sente (先手), a woman in kimono, who is operating the bellows as Hakozashi (箱差し) or Fuigozashi (鞴差し) and a man wearing formal headwear (烏帽子) and an apron (直垂), working as Yokaza (横座). During the forging of iron, the boxed bellows would be found in totally different positions in Mainland Japan, Okinawa and China. At least in the latter medieval period (the Kamakura and the Muromachi eras) in Mainland Japan, it is believed to have been a common practice that Yokaza alone, without Fuigozashi, operated the bellows.

On the other hand, it was a characteristic on Okinawa to have Fuigozashi sit behind Yokaza and operate the boxed bellows, as Yokaza worked without touching the bellows. The first job that an apprentice, in an Okinawan blacksmith’s yard, would be assigned to was Fuigozashi. If so, even though Meuchi (前打 i.e. Sente) and Yokaza are painted in different positions, the four hanging scrolls do not contradict with blacksmithing practices in Okinawa, because they depict how Yokaza and Fuigozashi played distinguishable roles from each other, as Asaoka indicates. Most hanging scroll images from Iwate and Gifu Prefectures (Mainland Japan) have also been found to differentiate between Yokaza and Fuigozashi.

However, the female Fuigozashi (bellows operators) that are in blacksmithing images in hanging scrolls from Okinawa (fig.21,23,24) are rarely found elsewhere. As we have discusssed, most blacksmith divine images in Okinawa are believed to be copies of the originals (that are presumed to have their roots in, and have come to Okinawa from, Mainland Japan, or have been drawn, relying upon information that had been passsed on by word of mouth. Akakanja would have made models of such originals for the many blacksmith divinity hanging scroll images that they created. It is, therefore, not totally deniable that changes might have been made by the painters to reflect more of the real blacksmithing practices in Okinawa.

Although the three headed Sampo-kojin-like figure was depicted frequently as the blacksmith deity in the hanging scrolls that we viewed (fig.24), the balcksmith deity in Okinawa is also imagined as a goddess at times(fig.23). It may be possible to assume the influential role that the myth of the Goddess Kanayago from Izumo Province had while crossing over the sea to Okinawa. We found an example in which a Sampo-kojin-like Blacksmith Divine is represented by three female faces while wearing feminine clothing, whereas Sampo-kojin should be represented by wrathful faces. This image was likely adopted by local painters to fill the gap between the faith of the people and the diffusion of painted images.

Did the images of blacksmith divinities accompany the bellows when they were introduced onto Okinawa from Mainland Japan, or could the images have possibly taken different routes? The question entails further progress in these studies, as well as the discovery of more blacksmith divine images from Okinawa which have hitherto been unseen.

The widespread practicing of bellows festivals was, presumably, fueled by the orders and policies issued by the royal government of the Ryukyus, according to Asaoka (Ironware Culture of Japan--Comparative Ethnology of Blacksmithing, p.257). Blacksmith divinity scrolls could well have been one of the most significant ritual tools that popuralized the bellows festivals. In the 20th year of the King Sho Shitsu (尚質: 1667), the dynasty of the Ryukyus started the “Stationed Blacksmith System” (在村鍛冶制) administered by Ko shoken (向象賢). As Kaji-yaku (blacksmith officials) assigned to villages were non-craftsmen, the system is considered to have spurred the presence of Akakanja and other specialized blacksmith families, as well as that of traveling blacksmith (廻村鍛冶) which was to emerge later. The roles of the Kaji-yaku are assumed to have shifted from blacksmithing to the management of the bellows festivals and smiths’ yards. (Ref. Asaoka,Ironware Culture of Japan-- Comparative Ethnology of Blacksmithing, pp. 152, 193, 224, 249).

In Okinawa the blacksmith divine is worshipped at many uganju (praying spot). Also blacksmith tales are sung in ancient ballads like “Kajiyadi Fu”. Believed to have brought forth the advent of farming with iron farming tools, the balcksmith divinity is also identified with the farming deity. (Ref. Hiroaki Fukuchi, Okinawan Blacksmiths, pp. 255 to 266). According to legend the Kunigami Aji (国頭按司 chief of Kunigami Village), Kaniman (金万・金満), who was the second son of Okuma Ufuya（奥間大親）, the head of Jana Village in the Urasoe quarter, and a younger brother of King Satto (察度王), was believed to have founded the Okuma Kanja Blacksmith family. For helping Kanemaru (金丸), the future King Sho En (尚円), Okuma Kanja was said to have had his second son authorized as Kunigami Aji. The presence of Okuma Kanja continues to date as the ancestor of all Okinawan blacksmiths. Having the power attained through blood-related Monchu (門中) clans and the privileges, such as tax exemptions, and abounding riches, received through such ties, this glorious story of how one family member was promoted to Kunigami Aji is considered to have been suitable for the descendants of blacksmiths. Furthermore, they connected the legend of Okuma Kanja to the myth of the farming divinity and the advent of farming, through which Kaniman was, likely, idealized and idolized as a great ancestor and founder of blacksmith families. Today, Kaniman Aji and his wife are enshrined as founders of Uekaneshi Tunchi (上兼次殿内) or Kaniman Tunchi (金万殿内), in Kaneshi, Nakijin Village (今帰仁村), where the image of the blacksmith divinity has been traditionally recognized as that of Kaniman-sama(fig.35).

References: . . .
- source : okinawazuzou -

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

里並に藪の鍛冶屋も祭哉
satonami ni yabu no kajiya mo matsuri kana

even in the village woods
the blacksmiths celebrate -
festival of the bellows
Tr. Gabi Greve

. WKD : kigo for kaji 鍛冶 blacksmith .


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



........................................................................................................... Kyoto 京都府

Inariyama 稲荷山 Fushimi Inari Shrine　伏見稲荷神社
All the blacksmiths of the region come here to worship.
Once the 三条宗近の鍛冶師 blacksmith Munechika from Sanjo had a dream given to him by the 土祖神 local deity. If he would take the earth from Inariyama and mix it with the water for the blade (刃の湯) he would be able to make wonderful sword blades.
When he did as told in his dream, indeed, his sword became quite famous as Kogitsunemaru 小狐丸.
Now all the blacksmiths and 金物師 metal workers come here to worship.


稲荷山 小鍛冶。刀匠・宗近が稲荷の使いに相づちを打たせ、小狐丸という名刀を作り上げた。
by Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920)
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


"Imayo Kokaji”Sanjo Kokaji (Swordsmith)
. Azuma Odori 東踊 Azuma Dance .




........................................................................................................... Yamagata 山形県
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南陽市 Nanyo City

. blacksmith making a kanabo 金棒 metal stick .


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- source : nichibun yokai database -
鍛冶屋 (36) / 鍛冶 (24) - collecting

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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 .

. densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends - Introduction .


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