machi - towns and villages

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo .
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machi, choo 　町 town and village - districts in Edo 　


地名で読む江戸の町 / 大石学


machiwari, machi-wari 町割り 'division of towns and streets', districts
To keep the security of a big town like Edo, the Bakufu government installed many laws.
The living quarters of Samurai and Townspeople were separated and the temples had their own grounds.
The center of the town development was 日本橋 Nihonbashi.
There were toori 通り roads, suji 筋 small roads and roji 路地 alleys, lanes.
The width of a normal 通町筋 town road was about 6丈 / 18 m, the width of a 横町筋 side road about 2丈 / 6 m, but roads were constantly widened up to 12 meters.
One quarter was about 60間 / 108 m around.
The length of a 町屋 Nagaya quarter was about 20間, with a public square space in the middle.
Each machi 町 square was closed by a kido 木戸 wooden gate. The gates were open from 4 in the morning till about 10 in the evening.




. kido 木戸　The Gates of Edo　.
Takanawa Okido 高輪　大木戸

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Shitamachi 下町 and Yamanote　山の手



- quote -
Yamanote (山の手, "mountain's hand(s)") and Shitamachi (下町, "under city") are traditional names for two areas of Tokyo, Japan.
Yamanote refers to the affluent, upper-class areas of Tokyo west of the Imperial Palace. While citizens once considered it as consisting of Hongo, Koishikawa, Ushigome, Yotsuya, Akasaka, Aoyama and Azabu in the Bunkyō, Shinjuku, and Minato wards, its size has grown to include the Nakano, Suginami and Meguro wards.
Shitamachi
is the traditional name for the area of Tokyo including today the Adachi, Arakawa, Chiyoda (in part), Chūō, Edogawa, Kōtō, Sumida, and Taitō wards, the physically low part of the city along and east of the Sumida River.
... The term originally indicated just the three areas of Kanda, Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi but, as the city grew, it came to cover also the areas mentioned above. Shitamachi was the center of Edo, so much so that the two were often thought of as coterminous. While Shitamachi was not in fact synonymous with Edo, there was originally a certain "conflation" of the two terms, and those born in Shitamachi are typically considered true Edokko, children of Edo. This conflation is evident in the Edo period habit of saying "I am going to Edo" to mean going from the area around Fukagawa in Kōtō ward to anywhere east of the Sumida river.
..... The Shitamachi boom
Alongside the long drive for modernisation that had characterised Japan's post-restoration history, Shitamachi was marginalised for the larger part of the 20th century. In the words of one sociologist, "it was increasingly confined to a defensive position, guarding old traditions and old social norms". After a long period of post-war economic decline, in the 1980s a "Shitamachi boom" emerged, with increased interest in and celebration of Shitamachi culture and history, in particular during the Edo period.
Shitamachi culture is thus depicted as more authentic and traditional (while Yamanote Tokyo is the present and future), and its valorisation has been described as a refuge from the rapid modernisation of the economic boom years.
Popular television dramas, comedy and documentary now "rarefy an often idealised notion of the Edokko, with the same intensity and nostalgia afforded an endangered species".
- - - - - All Shitamachi districts
Chuo ward (including Nihonbashi, Kyobashi and Ginza)
Taito ward (including Ueno, Yanaka and Asakusa)
Arakawa ward
Sumida ward
Koto ward
Edogawa ward
Katsushika ward
Adachi ward
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !



. Tateishimura 立石村 Tateishi Mura Village - Katsushika ward .



under construction
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chikagai 地下街 underground district

choomei 町名 name of a town or street

choonai 町内 neighbourhood


gakuseigai 学生街 town with students


irozato 色里 - iromachi 色町 - towns with prostitutes


. jookamachi, joukamachi 城下町 Jokamachi, castle town .
jooshi 城市 town with a castle wall

jookyoo 上京 going to Tokoy


kaku 廓 red-light district - 廓跡 - 廓町

kokujingai 黒人街 district for "black people"

. Kanda konyachoo, Konyachō 神田紺屋町 Konya-Cho
Konyamachi, district for cloth dyers .

koogai 郊外 outskirts

kura no machi 蔵の町 town with storehouses

kyoo 京 - kyooraku 京洛 Kyoto

kyoosha 狭斜 town in ancient China - or town with prostitutes


kyuushigai 旧市街 old part of a town


minatomachi 港町 / 巷衢 harbour town

. monzenmachi　門前町　"town in front of the gate" .


onsengai 温泉街 hot-spring town


samuraimachi, saburaimachi 侍町 samurai district

shakemachi 社家町 special district in some towns like Tsuruga (Fukui) Nishinomiya (Hyogo) or Fukuoka (Fukuoka)

shichuu 市中 in the city, in the town

shigai 市街 streets, city or town

shimogyoo下京 district in Kyoto

shitamachi 下町 traditional working-class neighborhood - see above

. shokuninmachi 職人町 districts with craftsmen .

shootengai 商店街 shopping district

shukubamachi 宿場町 town with lodgings along an old route

shuto 首都 capital, metropolis

suramu スラム slum


teito 帝都 Imperial Capital

teramachi 寺町 temple district

umetatechi 埋立地 reclaimed land district

uramachi 裏町 back-street district


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CLICK for more books !

[図説]お江戸の地名の意外な由来
中江克己
第１章　地形ゆかりの地名（岩本町　八ツ小路　ほか）
第２章　人名ゆかりの地名（八代洲河岸　神田佐柄木町　ほか）
第３章　説話ゆかりの地名（霞ヶ関　小石川指ヶ谷町　ほか）
第４章　武家ゆかりの地名（番町　有楽原　ほか）
第５章　商人・職人ゆかりの地名（神田紺屋町　神田白壁町　ほか）
第６章　農と漁ゆかりの地名（日比谷　小網町　ほか）
第７章　動植物ゆかりの地名（桜田　小柳町　ほか）
第８章　故郷ゆかりの地名（鎌倉町　神田金沢町　ほか）



日本橋－神田－上野－入谷－根岸－三ノ輪－吉原－南千住
- source : 東京散歩 -

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. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .


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- #shitamachi #yamanote #chiyovillage #districtsinedo -
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jookamachi - castle town

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The following keywords are introduced below:

jookamachi 城下町 Jokamachi, castle town

koku, kokudaka 石/石高 unit of volume, rice bushels
- Nagasakiya　長崎屋

han 藩 feudal domaine, shoohan 小藩 small domaine

monzenmachi　門前町　"town in front of the gate" - of a temple or shrine

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jookamachi 城下町 Jokamachi, castle town
joukamachi 城下町



source :　www.rekihaku.ac.jp


- quote
Lit. town below the castle. A castle town.
A town's fortress was located as a rule in a mountain, while the accompanying settlement of farmers, craftsmen, and merchants was located in a lower location below the mountain. In the case of a medieval castle, the settlement was temporary and the market was held only periodically. Early joukamachi date back to the Kamakura, the Nanbokuchou and Muromachi periods.

In the Momoyama and early Edo periods as the castle structures became more durable, the attendant settlements became permanent, some eventually growing large and prosperous. The term joukamachi came to mean castle city, jouka tokai 城下都会. Castle towns were sometimes laid out to surround the castle. Sometimes the whole castle town was surrounded by a compound, or the castle town would be protected on three sides by water. Military and aristocratic residences, temples and shrines, and merchant residences commonly made up a castle town.

Each class of structure often was grouped together hierarchically within the overall town plan. Frequently, but not always, the town was laid out on a grid. The roads of a castle town were frequently quite narrow, turned and twisted around, sometimes doubling back and ending in dead ends, helping to defend the town against enemy attack.
source : JAANUS



. Edojoo, Edo joo 江戸城 Edo Castle .


Kanazawa


Jokamachi Chofu (castle town)
Chofu had been the centre of culture and politics from ancient times to medieval period, as it entered modern history, Moori Hidemoto built Gomangoku in Chofu-han, thus Jokamachi (castle town) was born.
Due to the feudal warrant in Genna period, the castle was abandoned. What left of it now is only stonewalls. You can find remains of samurai families housing in different sizes in the street layout today, it comes from the feudal period since Moori moved in, there is samurai-machi as you enter Yamate, as well as housing area for high ranking vassals. The remains of earthen walls today still display the richness of its history.
source : www.visit-jy.com


Yonago Castle Town 米子城下町
Situated at the Sea of Japan

under construction
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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

春や昔十五万石の城下町
haru ya mukashi juugomangoku no jookamachi

it's spring - in olden times
this castle town
of great riches
Tr. Gabi Greve

- or rather

it's spring - in olden times
this castle town
of onehundred fiftythousand KOKU
Tr. Gabi Greve


The richness of a domain in the Edo period was calculated in bushels or bags of tax rice (koku, -goku) and 150.000 barrels was not that much, but Shiki was proud of his hometown.
Nowadays the word "jookamachi" is often used with a lot of nostalgia for the good old times in the Edo period.
The castle of Matsuyama is right up on a large hill, overlooking the city and can bee seen from many small streets in the town.

. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 .



The koku, kokudaka (石/石高) is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year (one masu is enough rice to feed a person for one day).
A koku of rice weighs about 150 kilograms.
During the Edo period of Japanese history, each han (fiefdom) had an assessment of its wealth, and the koku was the unit of measurement.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



Edo Hongokuchoo 江戸 本石町 Hongoku district in Edo
also called Gokuchoo 石町 Gokucho
now Nihonbashi . Kodenmachō 小伝馬町 Kodenmacho .
Since many rice dealers lived here, trading in KOKU of rice bushels gave rise to the name.
The district stretches from 1 to 4丁目
At the third 三丁目 Sanchome, there was the famous .
. toki no kane 時の鐘 The Bell to Tell the Time .

Here is the modern version in its memory:



Nagasakiya　長崎屋 Inn at Hongokucho (石町 Gokucho)
Ambassadors coming from Nagasaki for the Edo visit used to stay here and many doctors living nearby enjoyed to talk to the foreigners to increase their knowledge of the world outside Japan.
Herberge der Niederländer in Edo, "Dutch Inn"


Katsushika Hokusai

The owner, 長崎屋源右衛門 Nagasakiya Genemon was also a dealer of 薬種問屋 medicinal herbs.

Other lodgings for foreigners in Kokura and Osaka were named "Nagasakiya. In Kyoto the inn was named 海老屋　Ebiya.

. rangaku 蘭學 / 蘭学 "Dutch Learning" .


それでも江戸は鎖国だったのか ― オランダ宿 日本橋長崎屋
片桐 一男 Katagiri Kazuo
(Was Edo really a "closed country", with the Nagasakiya and the Dutch In?



鎖国と呼ばれた時代、江戸にオランダ人の定宿、長崎屋があった。将軍謁見に出府したカピタンの宿を、杉田玄白、平賀源内らが訪れ、そこは異文化交流のサロンであった。江戸は本当に鎖国だったのか。長崎屋の全貌を描く。
時は江戸時代、日本橋に長崎屋という一軒の宿屋がありました。ちょっと中をのぞいてみましょう。なんと泊まっているのは、帽子にマント姿、紅毛碧眼の異国の人々ではありませんか。実はこの長崎屋、将軍謁見のために長崎の出島から陸路をはるばる江戸まで旅したオランダ人の定宿だったのです。夜ともなればピアノの音色と異国の歌声の聞こえるこの宿を、今日も異国の文物に憧れた蘭学者や文化人、大名らが訪れます。彼らは異文化を体得することで蘭学の発展に貢献し、近代へと続く扉を開こうとしていたのです。 異文化交流サロンとして日蘭交流に貢献しながら、近世の終焉とともに姿を消してしまった、江戸の中の異国、長崎屋。250年にわたる存続に力を尽くした歴代主人たちの努力、そして宿に集う日蘭の群像を通して、「開かれていた、鎖国と呼ばれるトクガワ・ニッポン」の実態を鮮やかに描いた、著者渾身のライフワークです。


. sakoku 鎖国 "closed country" .

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漸寒や一万石の城下町
yaya samu ya ichimangoku no jookamachi

light cold in autumn -
this castle town
of ten thousand KOKU
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Takahama Kyoshi 高浜 虚子 .

I do not know where Kyoshi was when he wrote this.
There are quite a few "ichimangoku" in Japan.

For example Yasugi town in Tottori, former Hakuta Cho 伯太町.
鳥取県安来市
Look at some photos of this town:
source : kominkapro.com/bunka


. WKD : yaya samu 漸寒 a bit cold in autumn .
kigo for late autumn



The poem of Kyoshi is a typical example of a
. WKD : honkadori 本歌取り allusion to another poem .


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春日差し小藩なれど城下町
haru hizashi shoohan naredo jookamachi

sunshine in spring -
only a small domain and yet
a castle town

Ichimura Sumiko 市村須美子


- quote
The han (藩, han) or domain is the Japanese historical term for the estate of a warrior after the 12th century or to a daimyo in the Edo period and early Meiji period.
In Japan, a feudal domain was defined in terms of projected annual income. This was different than the feudalism of the West. For example, early Japanologists like Appert and Papinot made a point of highlighting the annual koku yields which were allocated for the Shimazu clan at Satsuma Domain since the 12th century.
In 1690, the richest han was the Kaga Domain with slightly over 1 million koku.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

see also kokudaka above.


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鬼城忌や俳人多き城下町
kijooki ya haijin ooki jookamachi

Kijo Memorial Day -
so many haiku poets
in the castle town

Furukawa Shimozuru 古川芋蔓


. Murakami Kijo 村上鬼城 .
and Takasaki town 高崎.

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夏みかん土塀に溢れ城下町
natsumikan dobei ni afure jookamachi

summer tangerines
overflowing the mud walls
of the castle town

Kitasato Senju 北里千寿

natsumikan are a speciality of the castle town of Hagi 萩, Yamaguchi.




. WKD : natsumikan, natsu mikan 夏蜜柑 summer mikan tangerines .
kigo for all summer


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お七夜の空荒れ通す城下町
o-shichiya no sora are-toosu jookamachi

Kishikawa Soryuushi 岸川素粒子 -

oshichiya, o-shichi ya 御七夜（おしちや） "seven nights"
in memory of Saint Shinran


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樗牛忌の雪が降るなり城下町
kagyuu ki no yuki furu nari jookamachi

Satoo Ryuushoo 佐藤柳湖 Sato Ryusho

. Kooda Rohan, 幸田露伴 Koda Rohan .
He lived in Kagyu-An 蝸牛庵 "snail cottage". - Kagyuuki 蝸牛忌 "Memorial Day for the Snail"


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城下町どこも坂なす星月夜 松本夜詩夫
城下町は夏の雨ふるいちにちお城の山 涓滴不喚洞
城下町小春の小鳥鳴きにけり 吉武月二郎句集
城下町抜け金魚田の広ごれり 瀧川雅子
城下町瓦光りて夏めきぬ 宮口 征子
城下町眼鏡に梅を映す人 川崎展宏
城下町茶房も遺跡花ミモザ 嶋田摩耶子

かはほりや古地図のままの城下町 内田裕夫
すぐ曲り曲る薄暑の城下町 徳澤南風子
よしきりのこだまをりをり城下町 長谷川双魚
マラソンが見ゆ青梅雨の城下町 柴田白葉女
凌霄や家うち暗き城下町 風間和雄
初日浴ぶレールきらきら城下町 豊田晃

早梅や碧虚を生みし城下町 星野 椿 Hoshino Tsubaki
春がすみ城下町が坐つている 中塚銀太
朝顔が駅のシンボル城下町 玉置浩子
水打てば御城下町の匂かな 芥川龍之介

片影に地震の水槽城下町 西本一都
白炎となる八月の城下町 柴田白葉女
竹伐りて里山せまる城下町 鈴木雅子
羽目板を反らす秋日の城下町 鍵和田[ゆう]子
腐れ鮓近江に古き城下町 田中冬二 俳句拾遺
金魚田の水にゆらぎし城下町 野中亮介
門松も根曳きのままに城下町 蓼汀
雪残りつつ水ぬるむ城下町 杞陽
鮎落ちて山迫りくる城下町 岡山か寿子
鰍釣り舟の出て行く城下町 天野 菊枝
鳥雲に水うつくしき城下町 山崎中
鴨食べる聖夜のくらき城下町 岩淵喜代子
source :　HAIKUreikuDB


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monzenmachi　門前町　"town in front of the gate"
of a temple or shrine
They were especially prosperous with pilgrims during the Edo period.

- quote
Also pronunced monzenchoo.
A settlement in front of the main gate of a temple (or *torii 鳥居 of a shrine), principally engaged in catering to the needs of pilgrims and visitors. Generally a linear settlement made up of houses, inns, hatago 旅籠, and shops mostly selling food and drink or local products on both sides of the approach road to the temple or shrine. Such settlements may often have derived from a market, ichiba 市場, held before the gates of a major sanctuary in the latter part of the ancient period and the mediaeval period.

As specifically pilgrim-oriented townships, they had begun to emerge by the end of the Kamakura period, but they developed enormously in the Edo period, when peaceful conditions and prosperity, combined with a tolerant attitude towards them on the part of the Tokugawa regime, made pilgrimages increasingly popular.

Examples include the monzenmachi before the gates of Zenkouji 善光寺 Zenko-Ji in Nagano prefecture and Kotohira 琴平, before the shrine of Kompira 金毘羅 in Kagawa prefecture.
The term is sometimes applied more widely to religious settlements in general.
source : JAANUS




With a map of the most famous monzenmachi in Japan
source : kanko/monzen


門前や何万石の遠がすみ
monzen ya nan man goku no toogasumi

this temple town -
how many thousand bushels
of far-away mist?

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .





暦売る門前町の古本屋
koyomi uru monzenmachi no furu honya

the used bookstore
of the temple town
sells calendars

Tsuchiya Kyooko 土屋孝子 Tsuchiya Kyoko

. WKD : hatsugoyomi 初暦 "first calendar" .
kigo for the New Year

. koyomi uri, koyomi-uri　暦売り vendor of new calendars .

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山積に門前町のアロハシャツ
yamazumi ni monzenmachi no aroha shatsu

piling up
in the temple town -
these aloha shirts

Suzuki Ryooka 鈴木良戈 Suzuki Ryoka



. WKD : aroha shatsu アロハシャツ aloha shirt .
kigo for summer



ひた洗ふ門前町のキムチ甕 文挟夫佐恵
初不動門前町の鰻の香 片山桃弓
解夏の僧門前町を列なせり 坂本静子
雪吊の門前町に赤子抱く 大峯あきら



. mon, kado 　門 gate .


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. machi, choo 　町 town and village 　 .


. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .


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oyabun - boss

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oyabun 親分　boss, gang leader, godfather

oyabun 親分 "surrogate parent / father", leader
kobun 子分　"surrogate child", gang member, "children of the oyabun"
anikibun　兄貴分 "surrogate elder brother", elder member of a gang/group
- - - - - anibun 兄分


source :　www.raizofan.net


- Two famous oyabun of the Edo period:

. Zenigata Heiji Oyabun　銭型平次親分 .
Fiction caracter


. Shimizu no Jirocho 清水次郎長 and his kobun Ishimatsu 石松 .
(1820 - 1893)


. kyookaku 侠客 Kyokaku, "chivalrous Yakuza" .
. Banzuiin Chōbei 幡随院長兵衛 Banzuin Chobei . (1622–1657)
. Kunisada Chuuji 国定忠治 Kunisada Chuji . (1810-1851)
. Shinmon Tatsugoro 新門辰五郎 . (?1792 / ?1800 - 1875)


. oyakata 親方 boss, foreman, master craftsman leader .

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- quote
Yakuza
Despite uncertainty about the single origin of yakuza organizations, most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo Period (1603–1868): tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.

Tekiya (peddlers) were considered one of the lowest social groups in Edo. As they began to form organizations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities. During Shinto festivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair.

The Edo government eventually formally recognized such tekiya organizations and granted the oyabun (leaders) of tekiya a surname as well as permission to carry a sword — the nagawakizashi, or short samurai sword (the right to carry the katana, or full-sized samurai swords, remained the exclusive right of the nobility and samurai castes). This was a major step forward for the traders, as formerly only samurai and noblemen were allowed to carry swords.

Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was illegal.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


On 10/27 (Dec. 10) in 1803, when Issa was staying with his friend and patron Natsume Seibi in Edo, he wrote a group of winter hokku on one topic. The following three hokku from this group seem to form a loose series that comment on each other. More research needs to be done on the historical context of these three hokku, but I offer the following provisional translations :

across the street
a godfather's house --
blowfish chowder

oyabun to ie muki-oute fukuto-jiru
親分と家向あふて鰒と汁



how much
does your boss eat?
blowfish chowder

nanjira ga oyabun ikura fukuto-jiru
汝等が親分いくら鰒と汁



even in Kyoto,
they say, he has followers --
blowfish chowder

miyako ni mo kobun ari to ya fukuto-jiru
京にも子分ありとや鰒と汁

In the first hokku, Issa says that across the street facing the house he is in -- presumably Seibi's house -- stands the house of an oyabun. The word literally means "surrogate parent" and was traditionally used by the head of a work group who took the role of father or parent to his hired workers, who were called kobun, or surrogate children. This paternalistic relationship meant that the employer paid his workers very little but was required to take care of their needs, as if he were taking care of his children.

In Edo in Issa's time, however, the term oyabun or surrogate father usually had a more specific meaning, one similar to the role of a godfather in the Sicilian mafia. Although the early Edo shoguns outlawed gangs that made money by gambling or selling stolen or low quality goods, by Issa's time such gangs operated semi-openly and were a growing force in the economy.

In contemporary Japan they are referred to as yakuza, though in Issa's time they were generally known by more romantic names and presented themselves as chivalrous do-gooder groups. The house mentioned in Issa's hokku must be a fairly expensive one to rent, since his friend Seibi was a very rich merchant and must have lived in an upscale part of Edo. This Edo godfather must be quite wealthy, and he may have a front business to disguise his gambling or other activities, which were generally permitted if kept out of sight.

Not surprisingly, the godfather likes to eat blowfish, which was not only an expensive delicacy but also a required dish for macho males wanting to symbolically prove their manhood. Blowfish livers and some other parts are extremely toxic and can even cause death, so the toxic parts of the blowfish were carefully cut out before they were cooked. Detoxing techniques weren't perfect, however, and casualties sometimes occurred, so eating blowfish, often in a soup or chowder, must have been a good way for the gang leader in Issa's verse to prove his manliness and bravery to his followers -- and to his opponents. Perhaps the smell of blowfish soup several times drifts across the street to where Issa is staying, and this suggests to Issa that the owner may be a godfather.

In the second hokku someone, presumably Issa, is speaking with some of the godfather's followers or underlings ("children"). It contains colloquial language and is probably for that reason vague. It's not clear what "How much?" refers to, but I take it to refer to blowfish soup. It could refer to many other things, however.

The third hokku seems to take for granted at least one conversation with some of the men working for the gang boss. Or perhaps this is something Issa heard from Seibi or from many people in the neighborhood, though it seems a bit amazing to Issa. The boss or godfather is obviously influential and wealthy, since he is said to have followers or underlings even in the old capital, that is, in Kyoto, the titular capital of Japan, which is far from Edo, the actual center of power. The scale of the godfather's activities seems to transcend the traditional parent/child relationships in ordinary work groups and suggests a wide network of lucrative activities.

Issa seems to regard blowfish as a symbol of the man's power and influence, and perhaps there is a hint that the boss is as puffed up as a blowfish.

Chris Drake



. fugu 河豚 "the pig of the sea". blowfish, pufferfish .
Spheroides and Tetraodontiformes family. Kugelfisch



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兄分の門とむきあふ夜寒哉
anibun no kado to mukiau yozamu kana

cold night --
he stands facing
the older man's door
Tr. Chris Drake


This autumn hokku was written on 8/6 (Sept. 9) of 1804, when Issa was in Edo.
The word ani-bun was not used by siblings. It literally means "surrogate older brother; a man who plays the role (bun) of one's older brother," and in Issa's time it referred primarily to the older man in a same-sex male relationship in which one man was older than the other. In Issa's time same-sex relationships were common and not illegal, and even shoguns and daimyo lords openly had affairs with male pages and advisors. Generally, male love was suppressed only among the samurai and only in cases in which a relationship disrupted the semi-feudalistic chain of command in a particular castle or domain. Among the other classes, including Buddhist monks and Shinto priests, there was no moral or legal stigma attached to same-sex love. The word ani-bun also meant brother-in-law and could be used by younger males to address older males in an organization or tightly structured group.

Issa's hokku, about an open, unhidden night visit, clearly seems to be about a younger man visiting his older male lover's house. Presumably the younger man has dressed well in order to please his older lover, and in the light thrown by a street or house lamp Issa can tell from the man's clothes and hair style that he is involved with the older man living in the house. The fact that the young man stands facing the door for some time suggests complications, which Issa invites the reader to imagine. Has the older lover refused to open the door because he has told the younger man he doesn't want to go on meeting him any longer? Has the younger man heard the voice of another man inside with his lover? Has the older lover closed the door on the younger one and asked him to leave? Is the younger man planning to say something important to his lover that he rehearses in his mind before he knocks on the door? The possibilities go on and on, but by stressing that the fall night feels cold, Issa seems to be suggesting that the two men's relationship has reached a difficult or at least delicate point.

Yosamu or "night coldness" is a word not for bitter cold but for the feeling of coldness felt in autumn when the disparity between daylight and night temperatures is enough to make the night air feel even colder than it is. The word seems to fit very well the emotional coldness the young man feels.

Chris Drake


. nanshoku、danshoku 男色 homosexuality .


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文旦は親分柚子はその子分
buntan wa oyabun yuzu wa sono kobun

buntan
is the great boss, yuzu
is his gang member
Tr. Gabi Greve

Takazawa Ryooichi 高澤良一 Takazawa Ryoichi




. WKD : Citrus fruits (kankitsu rui 柑橘類) .

buntan ブンタン　/ 文旦 Shaddock, Citrus grandis
yuzu 柚子 ゆず　yuzu citrus fruit, Citrus junos

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tarai tub

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tagaya 箍屋 - see below

tarai 盥 -　たらい　tub, basin, washing bowl, wash tub

A wooden tub, used for washing and cleaning.
Some could be very elaborate with laquer decorations.


source :　bunka.nii.ac.jp
badarai, umadarai 馬盥 basin for washing a horse
ashitsuki tarai 足付盥 basin with legs, about 30 cm diameter

badarai no mitsuhide 馬盥の光秀
a famous Kabuki play about Akechi Mitsuhide and Oda Nobunaga
source : www.kabuki21.com

. Mitsuhide - toki wa IMA .




In a Hatago lodging
When entering a hatago, travellers could wash their feet in a wooden basin (tarai たらい) and sometimes a woman servant would carry their luggage up to a room.


. Hatago (旅籠, 旅篭) Lodging in Edo .

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sushi tarai 寿司たらい basin, barrel for making sushi



. sushi oke 鮓桶（すしおけ）barrel for making sushi .
kigo for summer

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taraibune たらい舟 "tub boat"

used for fishing in shallow coastal regions or rivers.
Sado island is especially famous for its taraibune, used to harvest wakame and other treasures from the sea.
Now taraibune are also used to ship tourists on rivers.




. taraibune たらい舟 "barrel boat" and Matsuo Basho .




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A frail hut with a leaking roof in a remote place, dwelling of a man of letters, was also a favorite of the Chinese hermits and Heian poets.
Matsuo Basho phrased it this way:


芭蕉野分して盥に雨を聞夜哉
bashoo nowaki shite tarai ni ame o kiku yo kana

banana tree in a storm
the dripping sound of rain in a tub
all night long . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Matsuo Basho and the Banana plant .


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- - - - - Yosa Buson - - - - -

うぐいすや梅踏みこぼす糊盥
uguisu ya ume fumikobosu nori darai

this bush warbler -
it scatters plum petals
around the glue tub
Tr. Gabi Greve



source :　www.rakanneko.jp

nori 糊, natural glue was used  when changing paper for the sliding doors, for example.


. kan nori 寒糊 (かんのり) glue made in the cold .
from the root of the Tororo aoi plant.
kigo for winter


. WKD : Nightingale, bush warbler (uguisu 鴬（うぐいす）) .



春の夜や盥を捨る町はづれ
haru no yo ya tarai o hirou machi hazure

this spring night -
I pick up a washing tub
at the outskirts of town



洗足の盥も漏りてゆく春や
senzoku no tarai mo morite yuku haru ya

the tub for washing my feet
also has a leak
and spring is coming to an end . . .

The cut marker YA is at the end of line 3. The use of MO is quite interesting here.


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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芦火たく盥の中もちどり哉
ashibi taku tarai no naka mo chidori kana

even in the tub
where reeds are burning ...
a plover!
Tr. David Lanoue


たらいからたらいに移るちんぷんかん
. tarai kara tarai ni utsuru chimpunkan .


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


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tagaya 箍屋 hoop repairman, clamp repairman

taga 箍 is a hoop or clamp, a ring around a wooden barrel or bucket. In the Edo period the hoop was usually made of bamboo or metal.

The tagaya walked around in Edo, calling out for his service.

oke yui　桶ゆい / 桶結い　repairing buckets, barrels and tubs
wagae, wa-gae わがえ /　輪替え "changing rings" (hoops) of buckets, barrels and tubs



Some took the buckets home to repair them, others carried their tools and did the repair work right away at the roadside.

taga o kakeru 「―をかける / 掛ける」 / taga o shimeru 「―をはめる / 締める」
ゆるんだたがを元のように締め直したり、新しいたがに交換して、桶などを再生して歩いた職人さん。


- source : ginjo.fc2web.com


たが掛けはのの字しの字て日を暮し　
tagakake wa no no ji shi no ji te hi o kurashi
たが掛ケはのゝ字しの字て日を暮シ

to repair a hoop
he spends his day bending
and stretching it

This is a visual pun with the hiragana letter NO　の。


たがかけに四五間先キて犬かじやれ
tagakake ni shi-go ken saki ni inu ga jare

when the hoop repairman works
dogs is playing and biting at it
four, five meters away

The repairman had to stretch and fold the long bamboo string many times before applying it around the bucket. During that time the animals would play with one end.




尾州不二見原 Bishu Fujimihara by Hokusai 葛飾北斎

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. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .


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Koorokan Guesthouse

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Koorokan 鴻臚館 Koro-Kan, Chinese Guesthouse

kooro 鴻臚 were officials from China, visiting Japan.

- quote
Korokan is the site that supported Fukuoka’s interaction with visitors from abroad in ancient times. It existed from the 7th to the 11th centuries as a guest house for delegations of emissaries and merchants. It was also used by Japanese delegations on their way to China and Korea. Excavations have turned up many ceramics, among which are items from Islamic countries and Persia. That demonstrates the breadth of interaction that occurred in the area.

The Korokan site, which is rather large, was discovered in one section of Ohori Park in the Fukuoka Castle in 1987. Facilities of this type were also located in Kyoto and Osaka, but only the Fukuoka remains have been discovered. Excavations have been conducted slowly but steadily at the site in the 25 years since its discovery. Visitors can see the excavations from behind a fence. There is also a museum that displays items from the site.

Evidence was found to support the theory that the roof tiles on Korokan were fired at a site in Fukuoka City’s Nishi Ward. Also discovered were the remains of columns that were connected to the East Gate. It is thought a major road to Dazaifu in ancient times started from there.

Before its discovery, Korokan was thought to have been in a different location. Kyushu University Faculty of Medicine Prof. Heijiro Nakayama was the person to theorize it was near Fukuoka Castle. The basis for his conjecture was the poems written by the people who stayed there. According to the scenery they described, the site had to be near the sea and the Fukuoka Castle on a small hill. The discovery of the site after his death vindicated his theory.
source : www.city.fukuoka.lg.jp


- quote
筑紫の鴻臚館は現在の福岡県福岡市中央区城内にあった。
福岡城敷地内に位置する
Tsukushi-Kan 筑紫館, Tsukushi no murotsumi （つくしのむろつみ）
Dazai Koorokan 大宰鴻臚館 Dazaifu
Naniwa no Koorokan 難波の鴻臚館 Osaka
Heiankyoo no Koorokan 平安京の鴻臚館 Kyoto


Fukuoka Kourokan- Museum
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



. Kentooshi 遣唐使 Japanese Embassies to China .
They used to stay in the Koro-Kan too.

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白梅や墨芳しき鴻臚館
hakubai ya sumi kanbashiki koorokan

white plum blossoms -
the fragrant Chinese ink
in the Chinese guest house
Tr. Gabi Greve


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .



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. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .


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hari - cross beam

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hari, ryoo 梁 beam, crossbeam

- quote
A transverse or cross beam positioned at a right angle to a roof ridge. It stretches the width of a building to receive the roof truss.
Hari are tie beams connected to pillars or bracket complexes on top of the pillars, that surround the core of a building at given intervals.



kouryou, kooryoo 虹梁, lit. "rainbow beam"
A generic term for any curved transverse tie beam. It is used almost exclusively in temple or shrine construction.

ebikouryou, ebi kooryoo 海老虹梁 / Also written 蝦虹梁.
An usually-shaped rainbow tie beam thought to resemble the back of a lobster or shrimp or an s-shape turned on its side ～.

MORE
source : JAANUS


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hari from Hikone castle 彦根城の梁

©　More in the Japanese WIKIPEDIA !


ryooboku 梁木 wooden beam


The wooden beams for large buildings were often used with the natural curvings of the trees. This would give a structure more strength during an earthquake.


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古農家 屋根の梁の凍る音
furu-nooka yane no hari no kooru oto

my old farmhouse -
the sound of beams
freezing

. Gabi Greve, December 2005 .


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大梁に鬼餅吊す五寸釘
oohari ni onimochi tsurusu gosun kugi

on the big beam
rice cakes for the demons hang
from a five-sun nail

Kureya Nana 呉屋菜々

In Okinawa
On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, the day of MUUCHI, rice cakes are offered to the deities and then eaten with the wish for the health and well-being of children.
The muchi (mochi) are prepared with brown sugar or the local purple sweet potatoes. The dough is wrapped in fragrant leaves of ginger plants (月桃 gettoo, Alpinia zerumbet).
Sometimes the wrapped mochi are hung from the eves of the home to ward off evil spirits.


. gosun kugi 五寸釘 five-sun nail for curses .


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source :　vrantey

アイヌ小屋丸太の梁に鮭燻し
ainu-goya maruta no hari ni sake ibushi

this Ainu hut -
from the round crossbeams
salmon for smoking

Enoki Miyuki 榎美幸


. Ainu Food アイヌ料理 .

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大梁
舟梁
天井の太き梁
太梁

source : HAIKUreikuDB


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Architecture

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Japanese Architecture - technical terms

Nihon Kenchiku 日本建築 Japanese Architecture - then and now



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. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .
- Introduction -
a long list of rooms and items



. My collection in facebook .


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arakabe 荒壁　/ 粗壁 "rough wall"

daikokubashira 大黒柱 central pillar, "Daikoku pillar"

gootenjoo, goo-tenjoo 格天井 coffered ceiling

. hafu 破風 / 搏風 gable, gables .
karahafu, kara hafu, kara-hafu 唐破風 "Chinese Gable"
chidori hafu 千鳥破風,
sugaruhafu 縋破風,
irimoya hafu 入母屋破風,
chigi 千木,
aori hafu 障泥破風


. hari, ryoo 梁 beam, crossbeam .

hashira 柱 pillar / 太柱 thick pillar

ie 家 house, home

. iori, an 　庵 thatched hut, hut, hermitage .

iriguchi 入口 entrance - door
- deguchi 出口 exit
- hijooguchi 非常口 emergency exit
- kadoguchi 門口 gate
- katteguchi　勝手口　kitchen door
- tobira 扉
- toguchi 戸口 door
- uraguchi 裏口 back door

. jinja　神社　shrines - a LIST .


kabe 壁 wall
. namakokabe　海鼠壁 namako walls .

kaidan 階段 stairs, stairway

kamoi 鴨居 a head jamb

. kasugai 鎹 / かすがい clamp, cramp, cleat, staple .

. kugi 釘 all kinds of nails .
and
kugikakushi, kugi kakushi 釘隠し "hiding the nails" nail-hiding ornament

kura 蔵 storehouse
. WKD : Storehouse, warehouse (kura) .

mon 門 gate / hei 塀 fence
. WKD : mon 門　(kado .

muna 棟 large building (munagi 棟木 ridgepole)

nageshi 長押 horizontal piece of timber

- - - pagpda

. shakan, sakan 左官 plasterer, stucco master - making walls .

shikidai genkan 式台玄関 special entrance for the Tonosama lord.

shiki-i 敷居 wooden groove for sliding doors

. shiro 城 castle, fortress - Burg, Schloss .

sujikai 筋交い diagonal brace

taruki 垂木 rafter

tenjoo 天井 ceiling / ichimai tenjjoo 一枚天井 (Higashiyama)

. - tera　寺　て Temples - a LIST - .

udatsu - udachi, odatsu or odachi うだつ / 卯建 / 宇立 special roof struts - "sleeve wall"
. WKD : udatsu - fire-preventing wall .

yane 屋根 roof


- - - and a few more
source : HAIKUreikuDB

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- - - - - Reference, Books and Links


The Roof in Japanese Buddhist Architecture
Mary Neighbour Parent

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Japanese Buddhist architecture
is the architecture of Buddhist temples in Japan, consisting of locally developed variants of architectural styles born in China.[1] After Buddhism arrived the continent via Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 6th century, an effort was initially made to reproduce original buildings as faithfully as possible, but gradually local versions of continental styles were developed both to meet Japanese tastes and to solve problems posed by local weather, which is more rainy and humid than in China.
The first Buddhist sects were Nara's six Nanto Rokushū (南都六宗 Nara six sects), followed during the Heian period by Kyoto's Shingon and Tendai. Later, during the Kamakura period, in Kamakura were born the Jōdo and the native Japanese sect Nichiren-shū. At roughly the same time Zen Buddhism arrived from China, strongly influencing all other sects in many ways, including architecture. The social composition of Buddhism's followers also changed radically with time. In the beginning it was the elite's religion, but slowly it spread from the noble to warriors, merchants and finally to the population at large. On the technical side, new woodworking tools like the framed pit saw and the plane allowed new architectonic solutions.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Buson visiting Shinto shrine

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .
(1715-1783)


Buson visited quite a few Shinto shrines of Japan in his poetic travelling.
. - - - Shrines and Temples of Japan - - - .


. miko 巫女 shrine maiden, female shrine attendant
kannagi 巫女 (かんなぎ)
okorago 御子良子 shrine maidens at Ise Shrine


under construction
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巫女に狐恋する夜寒かな
kannagi ni kitsune koi suru yosamu kana

Shrine-maidens are
Much loved by foxes
In the cold of night.
Tr. McAuley



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河内路や東風 吹き送る巫が袖
kawachiji ya kochi fuki okuru miko ga sode

Kawachi Road -
the east wind in spring blows
the sleeves of shrine maidens
Tr. Gabi Greve


The road from Yodo to Kawachi. Now part of Osaka.

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巫女町によききぬすます卯月かな
miko machi ni yoki kinu sumasu uzuki kana

Where the shrine maidens dwell
They're washing out their summer clothes:
The Fourth Month is here!
Tr. McAuley


At the shrine maidens' street
ceremonial robes being washed--
early summer.
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert



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samidare ya kibune no shato kiyuru toki

Early summer rain--
just when the lanterns of Kibune Shrine
have been extinguished.
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert


. Kifune Jinja, Kibune Jinjs 貴船神社 Kifune Shrine - Kurama, Kyoto .


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しら梅や北野の茶店にすまひ取
shiraume ya kitano no chaya ni sumaitori

white plum blossoms -
at the tea-house in Kitano
there is a Sumo wrestler
Tr. Gabi Greve

. chaya, -jaya 茶屋 tea shop, tea stall in Edo .



天満祭大魯に逢ひし人もあり
Tenmansai Tairo ni aishi hito mo ari

Tenman Festival -
some people come to meet
poet Tairo

. Haiku Poet Yoshiwake Tairo 吉分大魯 .
(1730 - 1778) Student of Buson


. Kitano Tenmangu 北野天満宮 - Kyoto .
Dedicated to Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真, who loved plum blossoms very much.


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. tsujidoo 辻堂 tsujido, roadside sanctuary .
tsujidoo 辻堂 a small building or hall (doo) at a crossroads (tsuji), where the Deities have to watch over the travellers. Most of them are dedicated to Buddhist deities. The translation as "shrine" might therefore be misleading.


tsujidoo no hotoke ni tomosu hotaru kana

At a wayside shrine,
burning before the Buddha,
a firefly!
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert


The hotoke is most probably a dead person.

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辻堂に死せる人あり麦の秋
tsujidoo ni shiseru hito ari mugi no aki
(1776)

At a wayside shrine
A dead man lies--
Barley harvest time
Tr. Nelson/Saito


at the roadside shrine
there have been people dying ...
autumn of the barley
Tr. ?


- quote
There is a
dead person in
the crossroad's temple;
wheat the
color of autumn.

The word autumn (秋）is used in the seasonal word (季語) but the "kigo" of this haiku is summer　(夏）.
The Kadokawa "Haiku Saijiki, summer" (俳句歳時記夏の部　角川書店編) says that 麦の秋 (wheat's autumn) is:

麦が熟する初夏のころをいい、吾ー六月にあたる。
(The time in early summer when the wheat crops are ripe in May or June.)

It also explains:
麦刈りの時期を控えて短く、農家の人たちは忙しく立ち動かなければならい
(The cutting of the wheat season is kept short because of the rainy season so farmers are very busy and must work very hard.)

Knowing that the wheat harvest is a hard and short time for the farmers, we can understand the meaning of this haiku. Farmers are too busy during this season, so if someone in a farming family dies, they don't have the time to give them a proper funeral. So, the dead body stays in the temple alone because everyone is out in the fields cutting the wheat.

Everyone knows that going to a funeral in Japan is a day long event. You start in the dead person's house in the morning, you go the crematorium, you go back to funeral hall, you go to the temple and then there usually is family party after. It's a long hard day.
Plus, given that funerals in Japan are still community events where neighboring houses send people to help out the bereaving family, a death during harvest would effect every household.

Buson lived in the 18th century, so imagine what a funeral was like in those days. It's easy to see why a wheat farming family during the harvest season wouldn't have the time to do a funeral.
I won't say that this is a great haiku by Buson, but I do think that it does give the sense of the quietness around a farming community when all people are busy working in the fields and it does evoke the bathos of a family who is too busy to honor its just dead. I do know that the next time I have to go to a funeral I will think about this haiku.
source : jamesenglishhouse.eshizuoka.jp


This poem is either by Buson or by Kikaku ? 其角 - 蕪村

Poor people wandering along in Japan often took shelter in these small halls and some died for want of food and energy to carry on.


. WKD : mugi no aki 麦の秋 "barley autumn" .

. WKD : hotoke 仏 dead body, deceased person .


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大和路の宮もわら屋もつばめ哉
yamatoji no miya mo waraya mo tsubame kana


Along Yamato's roads
on shrines and on straw-thatched roofs
the swallows!
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert


. Yamato 大和 and the Yamato Road　大和路　 .
was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan. Later the term was used as the name of the province and also as an ancient name of Japan. The term was semantically extended to mean “Japan” or “Japanese” in general,


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. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - Introduction .

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

. ABC - List of Buson's works in the WKD .
buson


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Okayama - Bunei Sekibutsu

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Bunei Sekibutsu 文英様石仏 Stone Buddhas of the Bunei style - Okayama -
吉備の文英様石仏　

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. Sekibutsu stone statues by Bunei 文英様石仏 - Okayama -
吉備の文英様石仏　 .

Marebito　まれびと　/ 客 / 賓 / 客人 "rare person"
koshinage Jizoo 腰投げ地蔵 "hip-throw" Jizo -
Bishamonten Magaibutsu - 毘沙門天磨崖仏
Kibi no Sekibutsu 吉備の石仏 Stone Buddhas from Kibi


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. Magaibutsu 磨崖仏 Stone Carvings and Sculptures .

. Sekibutsu 石仏　Stone Buddhas .


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