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3/22/2018

Komagata district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Komagatachoo 駒形町 Komagata district
Taito ward, 台東区, Taitō, with two sub-districts 駒形一丁目 / 駒形二丁目. South of 浅草 Asakusa



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 .


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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- - - - - #komagata - - - -
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10/21/2015

kajiya blacksmith

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. 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 .

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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
.......................................................................
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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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

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

. - Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. densetsu 伝説 Japanese Legends - Introduction .


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- - - - - #kajiya #blacksmith #kajimachi #edobakufu #teppokaji #国友 #kunitomo - - - -
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9/20/2019

Sumiyoshi Kishu Kaido Highways

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. Kaido 街道 Highways - ABC Index .
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Sumiyoshi Kaido 住吉街道 Sumiyoshi Highway


- source : HP of Sumiyoshi Shrine Osaka -

. Sumiyoshi Jinja 住吉神社 Sujiyoshi Shrines in Japan .
Sumiyoshi Taisha 住吉大社 Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine
located in the Sumiyoshi ward in the city of Osaka.
There are more than two thousand Sumiyoshi shrines found across Japan.

The Sumiyoshi Kaido branches off the 紀州街道 Kishu Kaido, passes across the large compound of the Shrine Sumiyoshi Taisha
and ends at present-day 長居交差点 Nagai intersection.




. Sumiyoshi jinja 住吉神社の諸玩 amulets from Sumiyoshi shrine .

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- quote -
Historic and modern roads in Sakai
Takenouchi Road (Takenouchi old highway)
Nishi-Koya Kaido Highway
Kumano Kaido (Oguri Kaido)
- Nagao Kaido
The Nagao Kaido wasonce known as the Yamato Kaido, a route connecting Nara and Sakai. A small shrine houses a Jizo guardian in front of the Osaka-Izumi-Sennan Highway along with a slone monument with an historical inscription. Another monument in front of Hochigai Shrine is inscribed with a tanka poem from the Manyoshu.
- Kishu Kaido
The Kishu Kaido flourished as an Edo-period trade route between the domains of Kishu and Senshu. At the eastern end of the route there are many rows of old houses and storefronts, and in the shopping district in Zaimokucho-Higashi can be found old signposts indicating the directions of destinations such as Osaka.
- reference source : city.sakai.lg.jp... -


. Takenouchi Kaido 竹内街道 / 竹ノ内街道 Takenouchi Highway .

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Nagao Kaido 長尾街道 Nagao Highway

Connecting 大阪府堺市堺区 the Sakai ward in Osaka with 長尾神社 the Nagao Shrine
in 奈良県葛城市 Katsuragi, Nara.
Passing 二上山 Mount Nijosan and the pass 田尻峠 Tajiri Toge.
The part in Sakai city is also called 花田口筋 Hanataguchi suji road.

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Nagao Shrine 長尾神社
- quote -
... a Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddesses Amaterasu-ōmikami, Toyouke-ōmikami, Mihikahime-mikoto and Shirakumowake-mikoto.
It is located in the city of Katsuragi in Nara Prefecture, Japan.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Shibagaki Shrine 柴籬神社
- quote -
Located centrally between the Nagao-kaido and Takenouchi-kaido highways,
the shrine grounds are located at the site of the ruins of the 18th Japanese emperor's palace.
According to the Kojiki - the oldest existing Japanese historical text - a palace once stood on these grounds. They were the location of the last capital of the Kawachi Dynasty. Scholars say the Kawachi Dynasty was a peaceful time marked by abundant harvests of grains where people lived in happy abundance. With a number of place names in the area such as Mt. Gokuden ("extravagant palace") alluding to the existence of an ancient capital, the region has been designated as holding a high distribution of Buried Cultural Properties in the area.
7-12-22 Ueda, Matsubara-shi, Osaka
- source : osaka-info.jp/en/page... -

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Kishu Kaido 紀州街道 Kishu Highway



A road connecting Osaka and Wakayama,
with Sumiyoshi Taisha in the middle to give the people a chance to partake on the Shrine festivals.
- - - - - Connecting Osaka with 和歌山 Wakayama.

- Stations on the way
大坂城下(大阪市中央区) - Osaka castle
今宮村(大阪市浪速区)- Imamiya village
天下茶屋(大阪市西成区)- Tenga Chaya
住吉村(大阪市住吉区) - Sumiyoshi village
安立町(大阪市住之江区)- Anryu
堺(堺市堺区)- Sakai
下石津村(堺市西区)- Shimo-Ishizu village
高石南村(高石市)- South Takaishi village
下条大津村(泉大津市) - Gejo Otsu vilage
忠岡村(忠岡町)- Takaoka village
岸和田城下(岸和田市)- Kishiwada Castle
貝塚寺内(貝塚市) - temple Kaizukadera
鶴原村(泉佐野市)[孝子越街道と分岐] - Tsuruhara village / branching to Kyoshigoe Kaido 孝子越街道
樫井村(泉佐野市)- Kashii village
信達宿(泉南市)- Shindachi juku station
山中宿(阪南市)- Yamanaka shuku
雄ノ山峠 - Onoyama toge pass
山口宿(和歌山市)- Yamaguchi station - Wakayama
永穂村(和歌山市)- Nango
和歌山城下(和歌山市)- Wakayama castle town




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Kyoshigoe Kaido 孝子越街道 Kyoshigoe Highway
A beach byroad of the 紀州街道 Kishu Kaido.
About 25 km long.
Crossing over the pass 孝子峠 Kyoshi Toge, hence the name
"Highway leading over the Kyoshi pass".


- green on the map

From 本市 Honichi to Wakayama city.
Used to transport seafood and other marine products.
Connecting many villages on the way.

Branching off the Kishu Kaido at 鶴原 Tsuruhara.




- - - - - 孝子峠 Kyoshi Toge Pass - - - - -



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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .



................................................................................. Fukuoka 福岡県
.......................................................................
福岡市 Fukuoka city / 筑前住吉神社一夜の松 Chikuzen Sumiyoshi Jinja


3-1-51 Sumiyoshi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka

. matsu 松と伝説 Legends about the pine tree / 松の木 .
ichiya no matsu 一夜の松 pine tree growing in one night
In 1439, the sacred pine tree of the Sumiyoshi shrine started to bend down and probably fall on another Shrine building, so it had to be cut down.
The next morning, oh wonder, the tree was there straight and high as before.

- quote -
This shrine is dedicated to the gods of
底筒男命 Sokotsutsu-no-kami, 中筒男命 Nakatsutsu-no-kami and 表筒男命 Uwatsutsu-no-kami
and it was officially designated in ancient time as one of the high ranked shrines. It was once admired as the greatest shrine of Chikuzen area (northern part of the present Fukuoka prefecture). The surrounding area was originally a cape at the mouth of Nakagawa River flowing into Hakata Bay. It was worshipped as a tutelary shrine of navigation. The gods were also worshipped as gods of Japanese poem (waka) and ancient famous poet Sogi visited this shrine to pay respect to the god.
The straight shaped roof of the main hall of this shrine is one of the specific features of ancient architectural style, very contrastive to the later Buddhist style. The main hall is designated as a national treasure and the copper axe and sword of the shrine are designated as important cultural properties of the prefecture.
- source : yokanavi.com/en... -

. Empress Jingu Kogo 神功皇后 / 神宮皇后 .
and the Sumiyoshi Shrine




................................................................................. Fukushima 福島県
.......................................................................
いわき市 Iwaki city 住吉神社 Sumiyoshi Jinja
Fukushima, Iwaki, Onahamasumiyoshi, Sumiyoshi−1



. Oni densetsu 鬼伝説 Regional Demon Legends .
At 住吉神社 Sumiyoshi Shrine there is an ema 絵馬 votive tablet. It shows a man with shaven front hair sakayaki 月代 "like a moon", a hachimaki 鉢巻 headband and a large sword at the side. He sits next to an Oni and they play a game of kubihiki 首引き "neck pulling" in a contest of strength, a kind of "Neck tug of war".

. 武士と鬼の首引 Bushi and Oni Kubihiki - tug of war .

. ema 絵馬 votive tablets .



sakayaki 月代 shaven part of the male hairstyle in the Edo period




................................................................................. Ibaraki 茨城県
.......................................................................
鹿島市 Kashima city / Sumiyoshi Jinja in 鹿嶋市小宮作880番地

. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake .
In front of the 住吉神社 Sumiyoshi Shrine there lived a huge serpent. The animal later moved in the pond of the Shrine, but the pond dried out.




................................................................................. Mie 三重県
.......................................................................
猪田村住吉神社 Inodamura Sumiyoshi Jinja 猪田村営 Inodamura no Miya / 猪田神社 Inoda Jinja

This Sumiyoshi Shrine is simply called 猪田神社 Inoda Jinja.
They say a Kotengu had built it. Before WWII, three were many ema 絵馬 votive tablets of Kotengu.


猪田村住吉神社 Inoda-mura Sumiyoshi Jinja
(inoda - field of wild boars) / 猪田村(いだむら)Idamura village
- reference source : genbu.net/data/iga/inoda -

. kotengu 小天狗 minor Tengu, crow-like goblin .





................................................................................. Osaka 大阪府
.......................................................................
住吉区 Sumiyoshi ward 莵原郡住吉村の住吉神社 Ubara district, Sumiyoshi village

sazare-ishi, sazare ishi さざれ石 boulder grown from pebbles
This stone is located in front of the 住吉神社 Sumiyoshi Shrine.
Normally there is no water in its holes, but on 土用に入る日 the first day of Doyo, water begins to accumulate.


sazare ishi さざれ石 boulder grown from pebbles
. sazare-ishi at the Kamo Shrine, Kyoto .

. doyoo 土用 Doyo, the Dog Days of Summer .

- - - - -

shironezumi 白鼠 white mouse
Near 茶屋村 Chaya village along the Sumiyoshi Highway there was a huge mouse, almost as big as a cat, that would jump out and bite people. Small dogs were quite afraid of this beast.
People eventually killed it and buried it, placing a stone on the grave. There is now 鼠の塚 a stone mound for the mouse in the graveyard of Sumiyoshi Shrine.

. nezumi 鼠  Rat, Mouse legends .




................................................................................. Yamaguchi 山口県
.......................................................................
小野田市 Onoda city

Worshippers at 住吉神社 a Sumiyoshi Shrine are never bewitched by the Inugami イヌガミ Wolf Deity.

. Inugami 犬神 / Yamainu 山犬 Wolf / ookami 狼 Okami wolf .

山口県山陽小野田市東住吉町 Sumiyosh. Onoda, Sanyoonoda, Yamaguchi



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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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. kaidoo 街道と伝説 Legends about the old Kaido highways .

. Kaido 街道 Highways - ABC Index .

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

. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - The Japanese Home .

. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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1/20/2016

Ezo Ainu Culture

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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .
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Ezo, Emishi 蝦夷 エゾ Ainu Culture アイヌの文化 Yezo, Yeso, Jezo


Photo by Herbert George Ponting (1870-1935)


. Matsumae in Hokkaido 松前 .
Matsumae, one of the oldest port towns in Hokkaido, used to be busy during the summer months in the Edo period for fishing.
The name Matsumae at that time was almost identical with the old name of Ezo / Hokkaido.

. Kitamaebune 北前船 North-bound trade ships .
Matsumaebune 松前船 Matsumae trade ships to Hokkaido


. Ainu Ryori アイヌ料理 Ainu Food - Introduction .
Their traditional cuisine consists of the flesh of bear, fox, wolf, badger, ox or horse, as well as fish, fowl, millet, vegetables, herbs, and roots.
Archaeological finds
Ainu museum in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
Ainu Religion
Chiri Yukie Chiri 知里幸恵 (1903 - 1922)

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... Ainu Daruma ... アイヌだるま



. Ainu Folk Art and Craft .
- - - - - including
Daruma from Enju Wood エンジュ達磨 / enju 槐 Japanese pagoda tree
Itazu Kunio 板津邦夫, a famous woodcarver, born 1931.
Ainu Kokeshi こけし


collecting
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- quote -
Nibutani-attus 二風谷アツトウシ
A tradition of 紗流川流域 the Saru River basin region since ancient times. It was used in trade with other regions as a product of the Saru River basin during the Edo period.
Nibutani-attus is still made today with the same tools that were used to make it over a hundred years ago.
- source : densan kougeihin -



source : jtcw.jp/2015...
Nibutani ita 二風谷イタ Nibutani carved wooden tray

- quote -
What is Nibutani carved wooden tray ?
Nibutani Ita is a carved wooden tray produced in Biratori-cho, Saru County, Hokkaido.
The origin of the town name, Biratori-cho, is an Ainu word for a cliff, Pirautouru. The characteristic of Nibutani Ita are its patterns. A spiral pattern called Mourenoka, a thorn-shaped pattern called Aiushinoka and an eye-shaped pattern called Shikunoka (all three words are Ainu) are combined to express a beautiful Ainu design. Furthermore, Nibutani Ita always has carved scale-shapes called Ramuramunoka which fill the space between the other patterns. The tray was used daily in the days of the Ainu and it is valued as a delicate craft by modern craftsmen today.
- History
Although Nibutani Ita is assumed to be a tray because of its shape, a song in the folklore of Ainu, Uepekere, mentions Nibutani Ita as a plate on which food was served directly. Blades were a must item for Ainu life and to be able to use the blades skillfully gave men status. For this reason, an Ainu man would put all his energy into making a carved wooden item for a woman who he fancied when they reached marriageable age. With this background, the Ainu-carved wooden items, including Nibutani Ita, have long been used as expensive gifts, presents for exchange or commercial items.
During the Ansei era (1854 – 1859) at the end of the Edo period (1603 – 1868), it was recorded that Nibutani Ita was among the gifts to the Bakufu (government) of the Matsumae Domain. In 1873, Nibutani Ita was exhibited at the EXPO in Vienna. Nibutani Ita was designated as a traditional national craft for the first time in Hokkaido in March 2013.
- General Production Process ...
Biratori Ainu Bunka Joho Center
- source : kogeijapan.com/locale/en... -





Nibutani Ainu Museum 二風谷アイヌ資料館
Nibutani or Niptani (Ainu: ニプタニ), is a district in the town of Biratori in Hokkaido.
With over 80% of the residents being Ainu, it makes it the city with the largest population of its residents being Ainu in all of Hokkaido. It is the site of the Nibutani Dam, and the hometown of Shigeru Kayano. Nibutani is also the site of two Ainu museums "Kayano Shigeru Nibutani Ainu museum" and the "Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum", as well as the Nibutani Family Land.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Ishū Retsuzō 夷酋列像 Ishu Retsuzo - - Ishuretsuzo


- source : hokkaido-np.co.jp/ishuretsuzo-


- quote -C.B. Liddell
The frayed edges of modern Japan
In the Edo Period (1603-1868) and the years that followed, Japan made strenuous efforts to bring together its patchwork of feudal regions into a strongly centralized state with a unified culture. Accordingly, the nation now is one of the most homogenous in the world. But there are a couple of places where this strongly mono-cultural model begins to fray.

One is Okinawa, where there is a somewhat different identity, and the other is Hokkaido, where there are still some traces of the indigenous Ainu people and their culture. While recognizing these different ethnic areas could be problematic — leading to separatism, for example — completely ignoring them is not an option, so it is only fitting that efforts to acknowledge them is made. The exhibition “Ishuretsuzo, the Image of Ezo: Tracing Persons, Things and the World” at the National Museum of Japanese History — and from Feb. 25 at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka — should be viewed in these terms.



Significantly, the exhibition focuses on the Ainu not as a separate and independent culture but rather as symbiotic allies and auxiliaries of the Japanese. The curation was built around the Ishuretsuzo, a series of portraits of Ainu chieftains, painted by Hakyo Kakizaki (1764-1826), a samurai retainer of the Matsumae clan, who occupied the southern part of Hokkaido to defend the border.

Originally there were 12 portraits, painted in 1790, depicting high-ranking Ainu allies of the clan, with one of the portraits being of a woman, noticeable by her lack of a long beard and her tattooed lips.

These surprisingly skillful works were painted in the aftermath of the Menashi-Kunashir War of 1789, when Ainu attacks on Japanese tradesmen and colonists in the northeastern part of the island led to retaliation by the Matsumae clan and their Ainu allies. The whereabouts of the paintings was unknown, until 1984 when 11 of the works were rediscovered at the Besancon Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in eastern France.

These 11 paintings are supplemented by garments and objects, some of which have also been depicted in the pictures, as well as old maps and other artworks showing scenes from Ezo, as Hokkaido was then known. The most impressive item on display is an expansive folding screen from 1741, showing in great detail the town of Matsumae, the headquarters of the eponymous clan. Among the small figures that can be discerned are a group of Ainu visiting the town.


夷酋列像 - Ishuretsuzo

It seems clear from looking at this screen, Kakizaki’s works and the details of the Menashi-Kunashir War, that the Japanese and Ainu were in frequent contact and occupied different economic positions, not separate and exclusive spaces. The Ainu tended to focus on hunting and fur-trapping — the exhibition includes a very large sea otter rug — while the Japanese were traders and farmers.

This was a period when Japan was closed to the rest of the world, except for a strictly controlled stream of trade through Nagasaki. But Ezo’s distance from the capital and its frontier conditions appears to have had a liberalizing effect on trade, with Hokkaido serving as something of a back door to Japan.

This is reflected in Kakizaki’s paintings, which show the Ainu chieftains wearing an outlandish mixture of Chinese, Japanese and even European garments. It is almost as if Ezo was a colder version of Tatooine, the anarchic trading planet in the “Star Wars” movies, with the more powerful Ainu chieftains being particularly colorful characters.

Although tensions occasionally flared up, as in the Menashi-Kunashir War, the mutual benefits for Japanese and Ainu meant that there was good reason for them to get along together.

It is possible to see Kakizaki’s paintings as examples of ethnographic art and depictions of the alien “other.” Attention could be drawn to the evident fascination with which he depicted the hairiness of his subjects and their swaggering and eclectic sense of fashion.

But a more fair-minded appraisal would be to draw attention to the painter’s general realism — his lack of ethnic exaggeration and exoticism. These are works by someone who seems to have been truly familiar with the Ainu people, and it shows. Although Kakizaki’s paintings represent a Japanocentric view of the Ainu, it is one that is nevertheless genuine, sensitive and artistically sympathetic.



'Ishuretsuzo: Shimochi, Ainu Chieftain of Akkeshi, by Hakyo Kakizaki (1790)


'Ishuretsuzo: Tsukinoe, Ainu Chieftain of Kunashiri' by Hakyo Kakizaki (1790)
- source : Japan Times



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- quote -
Kunashiri Menashi no tatakai クナシリ・メナシの戦い Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion
Menashi-Kunashir Battle was a battle in 1789 between Ainu and Japanese on the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaidō. It began in May, 1789 when Ainu attacked Japanese on Kunashir Island and parts of the Menashi District as well as at sea. More than 70 Japanese were killed. The Japanese executed 37 Ainu identified as conspirators and arrested many others. Reasons for the revolt are not entirely clear, but they are believed to include a suspicion of poisoned saké being given to Ainu in a loyalty ceremony, and other objectionable behavior by Japanese traders.

The battle is the subject of Majin no Umi, a children's novel by Maekawa Yasuo that received the Japanese Association of Writers for Children Prize in 1970.

A similar large-scale Ainu revolt against Japanese influence in Yezo was Shakushain's Revolt from c. 1669-1672.
- source : wikipedia -

Shakushain no tatakai シャクシャインの戦い Shakushain's Revolt
an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority on Hokkaidō between 1669 and 1672. It was led by Ainu chieftain Shakushain against the Matsumae clan, . . .
- source : wikipedia -

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

簗崩れこれより蝦夷は鬼の国
yana kuzure kore yori Ezo wa oni no kuni

a broken weir -
from here on its Ezo
land of the Demons


田村正義 Tamura Masayoshi (1938 - )

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雪囲ひ終へて薪積む蝦夷古刹
yukigakoi oete maki tsumi Ezo kosatsu

finishing the snow protection
it is time for collecting firewood
at an old temple in Ezo


Saitoo Setsuko 斎藤節子 Saito Setsuko

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奥蝦夷に建ちし末寺やお取越
石田雨圃子

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Ezomatsu 蝦夷松 / えぞ松 Pine from Ezo, (Picea jezoensis)

えぞ松の雪こぼし出づ春の鹿
瀬戸みさゑ
蝦夷松に幣やゆづり葉年用意
飯田弥伊子
蝦夷松の幹立ち塞ぎ蝶飛べず
岡田日郎
蝦夷松の秋風高き旅路かな
水田むつみ

風渡る蝦夷松の下車組む
工藤蘇虹

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. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

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

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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