Iidamachi district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
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Iidamachi, Iida-machi　飯田町 Iidamachi district and Kudanzaka

This district got its name during the time of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
In 1590, when Ieyasu inspected the area around his new residence in Edo, he found that in this area there lived only 17 farming families.
The head of one of them was 飯田喜兵衛 Iida Kihei,
who served as guide for Ieyasu. Kihei knew all the details of the area and could answer to all the questions of Ieyasu, so he was made headman of the area, and Ieyasu gave it his name, Iida-machi.


Iidamachi was later part of the Shitamachi downtown districts for the townspeople. One hill above it was called
飯田町中坂 Iidamachi Nakazaka



There was also the slope Kudanzaka 九段坂 on the hillside, which was called 飯田坂Iidazaka before the settlement of the nine sub-slopes.

The river along its borders was 飯田川 Iidagawa, with a bridge called 俎橋 Manaitabashi (lit. Chopping Board Bridge). The Manaita area was a busy river port, with a lot of food landing here.
Many people working for the kitchen of the Shogun (賄方 makanaikata) lived here.
The district was even jokingly called 台所町 Daidokoro-cho, "Kitchen district".


千代田村があって14軒の中の１軒が飯田喜兵衛 Home of Iida Kihei in Chiyoda-mura village

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. Iidabashi　飯田橋 Iidabashi Bridge .



Iidabashi Station (飯田橋駅 Iidabashi-eki)
is a major interchange railway station which straddles Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shinjuku and Bunkyō wards. It was originally built as Iidamachi Station (albeit in a slightly different location), terminus of the then Kobu railway, precursor to today's Chūō Line.

Iidamachi Station (飯田町駅 Iidamachi-eki)
was a railway station on the Chūō Main Line located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Iidamachi Station was operated by Kōbu Railway, Japanese Government Railways, Japanese National Railways and Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight). Its location was 0.5 km from Suidōbashi Station and 0.4 km from Iidabashi Station.
The station was built in 1895 as the terminal of the Kōbu Railway, a predecessor of the present Chūō Main Line. It ceased to serve passengers in 1933, but continued to serve freight until 1997. - March 9, 1999 - Station officially closes.
After the closure, the site of the station was redeveloped and became a business district named I-Garden Air. One of the buildings in the area is the headquarters of JR Freight.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !





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Kudanzaka 九段坂　Kusansaka, Kudan slope


九段坂　- 牛ヶ淵　Kudanzaka Ushigabuchi
Utagawa, Hiroshige




東京名所　九段さかの灯籠 Kudanzaka Lighthouse (Kudanzaka tôrô)
広重、安藤徳兵エ Hiroshige III, Ando Tokobei

東京名所 Tokyo meisho
- source : mfa.org/collections -


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- quote
... luxury is said to have been prodigious when Tanuma Okitsugu was in power, but the commoners were still quite plainly dressed, as may be seen from the fact that among the inhabitants of Iidamachi Edo there was only a single person who possessed a haori (coat) and this gentleman was so afraid of gossip that he never put on the haori until out of sight of his neighbours.
----- The Economic Aspects of the History of the Civilization of Japan
By Yosaburō Takekoshi
- source : books.google.co.jp/books

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In the Nakazaka district lived the famous writer
. Takizawa Bakin 滝沢馬琴 / Kyokutei Bakin 曲亭馬琴 . (1767 - 1848)


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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 .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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Matsugae district

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
- for Siebold, see below -
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Matsugaechoo　松枝町 / 松ヶ枝町 Matsugae-Cho district

In 大奥 Ōoku, the Women's quarters of the Edo castle lived an Elder Lady named 松ヶ枝 Matsugae.
In 1705, when she retired, this district was given to her to live.



Nearby is the pond Otamagaike お玉ヶ池 and Otama Inari Shrine　お玉稲荷.　
During the middle ages, this area was along the highway to Oshu, and there was a beautiful woman named Tama who served tea to travelers near the reservoir. 2 men proposed marriage to Tama, however she could not decide between them and drowned herself in the reservoir. It is said the village people dedicated the small shrine to Tama's spirit.
. Kanda Konyachō 神田紺屋町 Konya-Cho district .


source : saurus.coolpage.jp/Walking-Kanda...

Otama Inari Shrine　お玉稲荷　

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. Medicine in Edo .

Itoo Genboku 伊藤玄朴 Ito Genboku
(1801 – 1871)



He was born in Saga prefecture in 神埼仁比山 Kanzaki Niiyama.
A doctor and surgeon who had studied with Siebold. He lived in Matsugae district.
He was the first to use a cowpox vaccine.




- quote -
Tomb of Ito Genboku
Ito Genboku was a physician of Dutch medicine at the end of the Edo Period. He was born into an agricultural family from what is now Saga Prefecture in 1800. Wishing to become a doctor, he translated from the Dutch language and studied Western medicine under the German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold in Nagasaki.
He began his practice in Edo (present day Tokyo) in 1828 and, in 1831, became an official physician of the Saga Domain. From 1833, he began to receive many students and visitors at his residence-cum-school known as the Shosen-do located on Shitaya Izumibashi Street.
The central focus of his endeavors came to be the foundation of the first inoculation center in Edo. Built in 1858 in Kanda Otamagaike, it was relocated the following year in Ito's neighborhood on Shitaya Izumibashi Street. In 1860, the Bakufu government took over direct control of the center, renamed it the Seiyo Igaku sho (Institute of Western Medicine), and appointed Genboku in charge of its management. After the transition from Tokugawa rule to the Meiji State in 1868, the institute served as the predecessor of what is now
the University of Tokyo School of Medical Science.


In 1871 Ito Genboku died at the age of 72 and was buried here at Tenryu-in Temple.
- source : taito-culture.jp/city... -


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Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold 　フィリップ・フランツ・バルタザール・フォン・シーボルト
(1796 – 1866)
a German physician, botanist, and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. He was the father of the first female Japanese doctor, Kusumoto Ine.


- Arrival in Japan
On 28 June 1823, after only a few months in the Dutch East Indies, Siebold was posted as resident physician and scientist to Dejima, a small artificial island and trading post at Nagasaki, and arrived there on 11 August 1823. During an eventful voyage to Japan he only just escaped drowning during a typhoon in the East China Sea. As only a very small number of Dutch personnel were allowed to live on this island, the posts of physician and scientist had to be combined. Dejima had been in the possession of the Dutch East India Company (known as the VOC) since the 17th century, but the Company had gone bankrupt in 1798, after which a trading post was operated there by the Dutch state for political considerations, with notable benefits to the Japanese. ...
... In 1824, Siebold started a medical school in Nagasaki, the Narutaki-juku, that grew into a meeting place for around fifty students. They helped him in his botanical and naturalistic studies. The Dutch language became the lingua franca (common spoken language) for these academic and scholarly contacts for a generation, until the Meiji Restoration.
- Japanese family
During his stay in Japan, Siebold "lived together" with Kusumoto Taki (楠本滝), who gave birth to their daughter Kusumoto (O-)Ine in 1827. Siebold used to call his wife "Otakusa" (probably derived from O-Taki-san) and named a Hydrangea after her. Kusumoto Ine eventually became the first Japanese woman known to have received a physician's training and became a highly regarded practicing physician and court physician to the Empress in 1882. She died at court in 1903.
... Siebold Incident
In 1826 Siebold made the court journey to Edo. During this long trip he collected many plants and animals. But he also obtained from the court astronomer Takahashi Kageyasu several detailed maps of Japan and Korea (written by Inō Tadataka), an act strictly forbidden by the Japanese government. When the Japanese discovered, by accident, that Siebold had a map of the northern parts of Japan, the government accused him of high treason and of being a spy for Russia.
The Japanese placed Siebold under house arrest
and expelled him from Japan on 22 October 1829. Satisfied that his Japanese collaborators would continue his work, he journeyed back on the frigate Java to his former residence, Batavia, in possession of his enormous collection of thousands of animals and plants, his books and his maps. The botanical garden of Buitenzorg would soon house Siebold's surviving, living flora collection of 2,000 plants. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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- quote -
Collecting Japan. Philipp Franz von Siebold’s Vision of the Far East
The octagonal box contains a game with countless finely painted shells, each one a miniature in its own right. It is Japanese and dates from the Edo period (1603-1868). This exquisite object will be on display in the comprehensive special exhibition that includes lacquered and tortoiseshell work, ivory carvings and porcelain, filigree Buddha figures, sacred censers, huge scroll paintings and richly decorated textiles, as well as toy figures and material samples. The approximately 300 individual items, all collected by Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866), a Würzburg doctor and scientist working for the Dutch, provide a fascinating insight into the secular and sacred craftwork of Japan. The exhibition, which is being organized jointly with the Museum of Japanese History in Sakura (Prefecture of Chiba), sheds light on the life of the collector and his time, the basis on which he organized his collections and his encyclopaedic approach to his mission of making Japan comprehensible to the west. ...
- source : Museum Fünf Kontinente, München, Germany -



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- quote -
The Legend of Yoshitsune
Could Genghis Khan have actually been a Japanese samurai who went to Mongolia?
The first person who introduced this theory was a well known German Doctor, Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (1796-1866), who was sent to Japan in 1823 by the Dutch government. He carried out research and established a Western style medical school in Edo period Japan while it was still under the rule of samurai.
In his seven volume series “Nippon,” he wrote about Yoshitsune and Genghis Khan. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) after the modernization of Japan, some intelligentsia discussed this theory. However it was Oyabe Zenichiro’s substantial bestseller of 1924, Genghis Khan wa Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune Nari [Genghis Khan was Yoshitsune] which made this theory known to the public.
- Harada Minoru -

. Genghis Khan (1162 - 1227) .

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. isha 医者, ishi 医師 doctors in Edo .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .



oyako tanuki 親子狸 parent and child badger
o-tanuki san　おたぬきさん the honorable Tanuki

Once a Tanuki badger family, who lived near the pond Otama-ga-ike お玉ヶ池, close to 東紺屋町 Eastern Konya-Cho.
The original story tells of a wooden sculpture which the 6th Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu 徳川家宣 (1662 - 1712) gave his retainer hatamoto of the 河原林家 Kawarabayashi clan. After the Meiji Restauration, the estate of the clan had to be removed, so the Tanuki statues were given to the shrine.
Praying here brings good luck in all kinds of contests 勝負事.

. Yanagimori jinja 柳森神社 and Tanuki legends .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -


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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

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

. Kanda 神田 Kanda district .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売　- Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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muken no kane bell

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. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Muken no Kane 無間の鐘 "Unlimited Bell", "Soundless Bell", "the Bell of Muken"
mugen no kane 無限の鐘 - "The Bell of Hell"
mugen jigoku / muken jigoku 無間地獄 Hell of Avici.
Buddhist Hell of "Uninterrupted, Eternal Torment"

. kane　鐘 bell, temple bell - Introduction .

There are various temples in Japan who claim this bell.

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- quote -
Keisei Dôjôji - Mugen no Kane Shindôjôji 無間鐘新道成寺
"Keisei Dôjôji"
is a variation of the famous dance "Musume Dôjôji" (created in 1753) about a young girl who is rejected by a priest. He flees from her and hides under the bell at Dôjôji Temple. She pursues him and in her rage transforms into a serpent, which wraps itself around the bell. The bell is destroyed and the priest is fried to a crisp!


In "Keisei Dôjôji",
the girl did not transform herself into a serpent, but rather appeared as Katsuragi, a beautiful, high-ranking courtesan, thereby reflecting the close relationship between Kabuki and the pleasure quarters at the beginning of the 18th century when "Keisei Dôjôji" was created.
The story included a parallel tradition that the person who strikes the bell during life will be visited with unlimited wealth, but on death they will suffer unlimited torment in hell.
The courtesan describes her life and emotions in the pleasure quarters, which was like being lost in dark clouds of passion, as well as her punishment in hell, which she says is a forest of tightly packed swords through which souls are relentlessly pursued and their flesh cut to shreds. She has now come to pray to the bell that has caused her so much trouble. Hoping that her prayers will clear away her burden of sin, the spirit of the courtesan disappears.
- Courtesy of Jean Wilson (1999)
- reference source : kabuki21.com... -

. Anchin and Kiyohime 安珍・清姫 - 道成寺 Dojo-Ji .

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Hirakana Seisuiki "The Soundless Bell"


The story of the lovers 梅枝　Umegae and Genta.

Mugen no Kane 無限の鐘 The legendary Bell of Hell.
The person who strikes this bell becomes immensely rich in this world but will go directly to hell after his/her death to suffer eternally.
In Kabuki, many dances were created based on this legend and in association with the world of courtesans, always desperately helping their lover in need of money and ready to sacrifice themselves by striking the Bell of Hell. Nowadays, the only surviving mugen no kane scene is part of one act of the epic drama "Hirakana Seisuiki", commonly called "Mugen no Kane" or "Kanzaki Ageya".
- source : kabuki21.com...-


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Umegae muken no mane 梅が枝無間の真似
Parody of Umegae Striking the Bell of Limitless Hell
歌川国義 Utagawa Kuniyoshi


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. ume ga e utau 梅が枝うたう Umegae, Poetry for plum branches .
kigo for the New Year

- quote -
Umegae　梅枝
A pictorial subject based on "A Branch of Plum" Umegae, Chapter 32 of
GENJI MONOGATARI 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji).


In the chapter,
Genji's household is preparing for the coming of age ceremony of the princess who will become the Akashi Empress (明石). On the tenth day of the Second Month Genji holds a competition to determine the incense she will use at court. He gathers scents from several people and calls on Prince Hotaru (Hotaru Hyoubunokyou 蛍兵部卿) to judge them. The scene most frequently chosen for illustration shows Genji and Prince Hotaru looking at two jars sent by Princess Asagao (朝顔), one indigo with a pine branch, one white with a plum branch from which most of the blossoms have fallen, and to which she has attached a poem. The Crown Prince also has his coming of age ceremony in this chapter.
In the Third Month the third daughter of the Minister of the Left (the third in rank of the three main ministers of state, below the Minister of the Right and the Prime Minister) is presented at court, while the Akashi Princess is presented in the Fourth Month.
At this time Tou no Chuujou 頭中将 (To no Chujo, here called the "Palace Minister", or Naidaijin 内大臣) begins to reconcile himself to the love between Yuugiri 夕霧, Genji's son, and his daughter Kumoi no kari 雲井雁.
- source : JAANUS -


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source : mfa.org/collections...Denman Waldo Ross Collection..

Ukiyo tokei Muken no kane 浮世とけいむけんのかね
A Floating World Clock as the Bell of Muken
Gakô Senkadô 西村重長　Nishimura Shigenaga (1697 - 1756)


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source : mfa.org/collections... William Sturgis Bigelow Collection...

Mitate Muken no kane zu 見立無間鐘図　Parody of Muken no Kane
川又常行　Kawamata Tsuneyuki (1677 - ?)

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- - - - - Once upon a time


- reference source : ochakaido.com/rekisi/mukashi... -

At the time of 聖武天皇 Emperor Shomu Tenno (around 730)
there lived an Immortal, 仙人, in the village of 菊川村 Kikugawa in Shizuoka.
He prayed every day to 不動明王 Fudo Myo-O and then went to the village for alms. After this, he rang the bell at the top of 粟ヶ岳 Mount Awagatake 淡ヶ嶽.
This bell could be heard all over the 遠州 Enshu region (now Shizuoka). Each ring had a special prayer wish:

一つつけば、事故や災難をまぬがれ、one - prevent accidents and disasters
二つつけば、病気にならず、- two - do not become ill
三つつけば、家内安全、- three - peace and well-being at home
四つつけば、運が開けて出世する、- four - find good luck for your business life
五つつけば、子宝に恵まれ、- five - be blessed with children
六つつけば、幸運がつづき、- six - may good luck continue
七つつけば、大金持ちになる、- seven - may you become rich

and so on for each ring.
The villagers climbed up to the temple to participate from these good prayers.
But the path to the temple was steep and narrow, and in their hurry they pushed and some fell into the ravine, some even died.
When the head priest saw all this, he decided to exclude the villagers from the prayers of the Immortal and threw the bell into the deep well.
This became known to our day as
"mugen no ido" 無間の井戸 "the endless well", "eternal well" at the top of Mount Awagatake.




Muken no Kane is 遠州七不思議 one of the seven wonders of Enshu. at 無間山観音寺 Mukenzan Kannon Temple.

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Daimugenzan 大無間山 is a mountain in Shizuoka.



- Read a long legend here:
. The perpetual life-giving wine and sennin heavenly immortals of Mt. Daimugenzan .
- - - - - excerpted from ANCIENT TALES AND FOLK-LORE OF JAPAN by Richard Gordon Smith [1918]


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at 瀬戸内海 - 塩飽本島 Setonaikai Shiwaki Honjima Island
極楽寺 Temple Gokuraku-Ji, at the 観音堂 Kannon-Do hall

The temple has the family graves of the 丸尾家 Maruo Clan.
The temple bell relates to the story of 丸尾五左衛門 Maruo Gozaemon, a former Samurai turned very rich merchant of the Edo period.


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


. abi jigoku 阿鼻地獄 / 無間地獄 Avīci, Buddhist Hell of Avici .
is called 無間地獄 "Mugen Jigoku".
... the hell of "Uninterrupted Torment" (Avici), where big dogs, pythons and monsters with many heads vomit volumes of flame to burn the sinners.
Avīci hell is also known as the "Mugen-Do, non-stop way" (無間道).


.................................................................................　Nagano 長野県
佐久市 Saku city 野沢町 Nozawa

Near Nozawa town there lived a 長者 very rich man. Once he was involved in a law suit and wanted to win it. So he pledged to go to 高野山 Mount Koyasan to ring the bell Muken no Kane, if he won. He won the law suit, but after that misfortune continued, he lost more and more money and after his sudden death nobody of the family wanted to live in his mansion.


.................................................................................　Niigata 新潟県
佐渡市 Sado city 相川町 Aikawa

hiru 蛭 leech
Around 1610 a person born in Tajima (Now Northern Hyogo) came to Aikawa and made a fortune in the gold mines of Sado. But he became very stingy and on the last day of the year went to the gold mine and slept there. His wife was at home preparing New Year food and wondered what to do about him. Then she remembered the lore about Muken no Kane. She pretended the grounding mortar was a bell and banged it with the pestle. From that day on the family became even richer and more gold was found in the mines.
Legend says that one can hit this bell only once in a lifetime for a positive wish. On the grave of such a person will be leeches for the next seven generations. And indeed, when her husband died, leeches showed up on his grave stone.


.................................................................................　Shizuoka 静岡県
周智郡 Shuchi district 水窪町 Misakubo

hebi 蛇 serpent
Once a person went to a special riverside, オトボウ淵, to make a wish and then rung Muken no Kane. He soon became a very rich man. But after his death a serpent showed up at the riverside. If anyone wanted to approach the riverside, he had to hang some smartweed (Persicaria）around his hips for protection.


.................................................................................　Wakayama 和歌山県
有田郡 Arida district 清水村 Shimizu

hiru 蛭 leech
Once a man rung the Muken no Kane and then became very rich.
But since then the soy been rice gruel the family eat on the fifth day of the New Year suddenly turned into very large leeches.

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日高郡 Hidaka district みなべ町 Minabe

To make a Muken no Kane people need a special clay and water, and then put inside it the statues of Ebisu and Daikoku when firing the pottery.
If during this process there was a huge sound, the wish was granted and the person became rich. But in reverse he had to promise to refrain from something he liked, for example not making special New Year food. One man even promised he would offer his body after this death to be eaten by the wolves.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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Muken-no-kane
Fuga hibachi muken no kane uki-e kongen - The Elegant Brazier,
Sato nomi sao muken no kane goto
- reference : "muken no kane" kabuki -




source : traveljapanblog.com/wordpress...
muken jigoku 無間地獄 Hell of Incessant Suffering


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. Edo Culture via Ukiyo-E on Facebook .

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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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Taito ward

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo　江戸の名所 .
- - - - - Ageya, Shitaya and Iriya
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Taitoo, Taitō 台東区 Taito Ward



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Taitō (台東区 Taitō-ku) is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is known as Taito City.
- source : wikipedia

Taito is a rather new name from 1947, combining the old Shitayaku 下谷区 Shitaya Ward and
Asakusaku 浅草区 Asakusa ward. Asakusa and Ueno were rather famous places since the Edo period.

- - - - - Its sub-districts are :
. Asakusa 浅草 / Asakusabashi　浅草橋　.
- . Asakusa Kuramae 浅草御蔵 .
. Matsugaya 松が谷 .
. Negishi 根岸 Negishi district .
. Okachimachi 御徒町 Okachimachi district .
. Ueno 上野 / Ameyoko アメ横 .
..... Shinobazu no Ike 不忍池 Shinobazu Pond / 黒門 Kuromon
. Ueno Sakuragi, Uenosakuragi　上野桜木町 .
. Yanaka 谷中 Yanaka district .

. Shubi no Matsu 首尾の松 "Pine of Success" - Kuramae .


They all have their separate entries in this Edopedia.

Senzoku 千束　 see below
Torigoe / Torikoe 鳥越 see below

. Hashiba 橋場 Hashiba district, "place with a bridge" .
- former Asakusa Hashiba machi, Hashibacho　浅草橋場町

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Shitayaku, Shitaya ku 下谷区 Shitaya Ward
One of the original 15 wards of Tokyo (1889).


Shitaya Hirokoji 下谷広小路　 Utagawa Hiroshige

Sanmaibashi bridge 三枚橋 Shitaya Hirokoji / Hiroshige

. Shitaya Jinja 下谷神社 .
to pray for 円満和合 a happy couple
- and 小野照崎神社 Onoterusaki jinja to pray for 学問芸能 Learning and progress in the arts

. Shitaya Sakamoto Fuji 下谷坂本富士 -　Fujizuka 富士塚 mound .
(within the grounds of the Onoterusaki shrine)

. Chokugaku Fire 勅額火事 - October 9, 1698 .
from Surugadai to Shitaya 下谷, Then to 下谷池之端 Shitaya Ikenohata and on to Asakusa.
... Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 and the Shitaya Fire Haiku. Issa lived in Shitaya at that time.



上野山した」 Uenoyama Shita
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige 名所江戸百景 Meisho Edo Hyakkei

- Reference with all the sub-districts of Shitaya
- reference source : edo.amebaownd.com...-



Ikenohata Benten 池の端弁天 Benten Shrine at Ikenohata
小林清親 Kobayashi Kiyochika

- quote
Kintaien 錦袋円

At Ueno's 池之端仲町 Ikenohata-nakachō a medicinal remedy called "Kintaien"
was sold that could reputedly cure all ills,
and this picture shows the shop front of an apothecary called 勧学屋 "Kangaku-ya".
In 1675 (Enpō 3), the priest, 勧学坊了翁 Kangakubō Ryōō (1630-1707),
commenced this business, with proceeds from sales going towards
the purchase of complete Buddhist scriptures and the management of a library.
"Kintaien" had a great reputation as being an effective restorative and detoxing agent,
and it proved a very popular souvenir of Edo.
. source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library .
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- - - - - Iriya 入谷 - - - - -

- quote -
Iriya / Shitaya Area Guide
Shitaya and Iriya are neighbourhoods just north-east of Ueno Park on the other side of the railroad tracks. Taito Ward is the ward in which the bulk of Old Tokyo remainders can be found. However, it is not only Ueno and Asakusa where some gems can be discovered, the number of small temples and shrines in Iriya/Shitaya is impressive, and it retains the shitamachi feel that is common in several old Tokyo communities. When strolling through the streets, you will see many old houses in between the relics of worship. In particular check the streets around Hoshoji and
手児奈せんべい Tekona Senbei.
The good thing about Shitaya and Iriya are that there are actually no major tourist attractions and it is therefore likely one of the most authentic shitamachi areas in Tokyo. I visited this place at the start of the year, when many Japanese people were doing a 7 lucky gods pilgrimage and I could not spot many tourists. Iriya/Shitaya is just a couple of minutes away from Uguisudani Station on the Yamanote line, which gives easy access to the rest of Tokyo.
One major event in this area of Tokyo
is related to the Iriya Kishimojin (Shingen-ji Temple). Every year in July, the Morning-Glory Festival (Iriya Asagao Matsuri) is held at the temple grounds around Tanabata on 7 July. This festival at Iriya Kishimojin began in the Meiji period after a gardener planted morning glory flowers in various parts of Iriya. It grew to become a festival in which around 120.000 plants are on display, attracting 400.000 visitors over three days. It was organised for the 68th time in 2017.
You might see the name “Shitaya” pop up in the wider neighbourhood as well (such as Shitaya Shrine), as Shitaya used to be the name of a whole ward before the administrative reform of 1936. The same is true for Iriya, which spanned a larger area than is now apparent from the postal address system. ...
- 英信寺 Eishinji Temple -
This temple has a large string of prayer beads (called juzu) in front of its main shrine building that crackles as fireworks when you pull them to pray. It also enshrines Daikokuten, one of the seven lucky gods. Interesting is that if you look at the statue of Daikokuten, it resembles Benzaiten on the right side, Bishamonten on the left side, so you get 3 lucky gods at the same time. The birds they keep at this place are also nice.
- 法昌寺 Hoshoji Temple -
Hoshoji temple sports a huge colorful buddha poster and was very popular as one of the stops on the local 7 lucky gods pilgrimage as it has a small shrine on its grounds dedicated to Bishamonten.
- source : old-tokyo.info/shitaya-and-iriya -




. Iriya Kishimojin 入谷鬼子母神 Iriya Kishibojin .
and the market selling Morning-Glories, asagao ichi　朝顔市
Iriya asagao ichi 入谷朝顔市 morning glory market at Iriya

There is　another famous Kishibojin Hall in Zōshigaya 雑司谷鬼子母神堂 / 雑司ヶ谷 Zoshigaya.
- quote -
Zōshigaya Kishimojin-dō 雑司谷鬼子母神堂

Together with Kishimojin in Iriya, Kishimojin-dō Temple in Zōshigaya attracted many worshipers.
It is said that the origin of Kishimojindō was in 1561, when Yamamura Tan`emon
dug out the image of Kishimojin from a well in the neighborhood of present-day Mejirodai,
and enshrined it in 東陽坊 Tōyōbō (annexed to 法名寺Hōmyo-ji Temple on a later day).
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Museum -

. Kishibojin, Kishimojin 鬼子母神と伝説 Legends about the deity Kishibojin .

. Zoshigaya 雑司が谷 / 雑司ヶ谷 .

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Exhibition 浮世絵でめぐる台東区

浮世絵師が描く江戸のまち



- reference source : city.taito.lg.jp/index -

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- quote -
The Taito-ku Shitamachi Museum
Alan Gleason
One of central Tokyo's 23 wards, Taito-ku contains some of the most historic sites and popular tourist destinations in the entire metropolis -- the museums and zoo in Ueno Park, the Asakusa entertainment district, Sensoji temple with its big red lantern. The area's reputation as an adult amusement mecca extends several centuries back into the Edo period, when it also contained the bustling Yoshiwara red-light district, backdrop to many a Kabuki play and ukiyo-e print.

Over the past century, Taito-ku has gone through some wrenching changes -- leveled by fire twice, after the Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and in the fire-bombings of 1945, then subject to rapid, often indiscriminate postwar development like the rest of the city. Yet the district has managed to hang on to some of the old flavor of the shitamachi once inhabited by plebeian Edoites. It has also displayed sufficient civic pride to build its own museum, with funding and exhibit materials donated by local residents, in homage to the shitamachi culture. ...



Ueno-koen 2-1, Taito-ku, Tokyo
- source : dnp.co.jp/artscape/eng -

. Shitamachi 下町 and Yamanote 山の手 .


. Minowa　三ノ輪 / 箕輪 Minowa district .


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Senzoku 千束 Senzoku district "1000 measures"
Taito ward 台東区　千束, in the Shitaya area



The name Senzoku is very old. The area was near 浅草天王町 Asakusa Tenno-Cho, reaching all the way to 千住 Senju.
One explanation of this name "1000 measures of rice" say the area was near the 浅草寺 Asakusa Temple Sensō-Ji and had to provide kuyoo 供養 food offerings (rice) for the 1000 priests and monks of the famous temple district:
senzoku 千僧供　food offerings for 1000 monks.
But this explanation is most probably wrong.
soku (zoku) 束 was a measurement for the amount of 穎稲 rice before the harvest, 1束 - 稲10把
（10把 - 1刈）- 束刈（そくかり）sokukari / 束把刈（そくはかり）sokubakari
This would suggest that on the fields of the temple, they harvested 1000 soku of rice.

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Ageyamachi 揚屋町 Ageyamachi district
東京都台東区千束 / Taito City, Senzoku, 4 Chome−46−46 揚屋通り Ageyadori street
One of the districts in the old 吉原内 Yoshiwara.



- quote -
ageya　揚屋 Also called ageya jaya 揚屋茶屋.
A type of town house machiya 町家, found in the pleasure quarters yuukaku 遊廓, of Edo period cities where the higher ranking and more cultivated entertainers and prostitutes, yuujo 遊女, served their clients.
These establishments were based in okiya 置屋 in Kansai 関西 region and yuujoya 遊女屋 in Edo.
In the early Edo period, the Edo pleasure quarter Yoshiwara 吉原, reputedly contained eighteen ageya. The ageya supposedly were impressive as architecture, being larger than hikite jaya 引手茶屋. The ageya had tsukiagedo 突上げ戸 in the windows of their upper-storeys, whereas the hikitejaya had kooshi 格子.
The ageya also had a place outside for visitors of warrior, bushi 武士, rank to tether their horses. In the Horeki 宝暦 era (1751-64), the ageya ceased to exist in Edo, and hikite jaya were built in their place. Moreover, the yuujoya of Edo came to combine residential and reception functions.
Architects continued to build ageya in Kyoto and Osaka. A surviving Edo period example is the Sumiya 角屋 in Shimabara 島原, Kyoto (now a National cultural property). The Sumiya takes the form of a large townhouse with an omoteya 表屋, providing a 31m frontage of kooshi overlooking the street, and a tsunoya 角屋 at the rear. There are also several lavishly appointed suites of zashiki 座敷 on the upper floor of the Sumiya.
- source : JAANUS -

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Shrine Senzoku Inari Jinja 千束稲荷神社
東京都台東区竜泉2丁目19番3号 / Taitō, Ryusen, 2 Chome−19−3

Built around 1670. It used to be in the compound of 浅草寺 Asakusa Temple as
上千束稲荷（西宮稲荷）Nichinomiya Inari and
下千束稲荷 - the protector shrine of the district 北千束郷 Kita-Senzoku.



Known as "the shrine of 樋口一葉 Higuchi Ichiyo".
- reference source : senzokuinari.tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp -

. Higuchi Ichiyo 樋口 一葉 (1872 - 1896) .
pen name of Japanese author 樋口奈津 Higuchi Natsu.


. Ootori Jinja 鷲神社 Otori Jinja .
台東区千束3-18-7 -- 3 Chome-18-7 Senzoku, Taitō ward

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. 北千束 Kita North Senzoku, 南千束 Minami South Senzoku .
Ōta ku 大田区 Ota ward

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Torigoe 鳥越 （とりごえ）Torigoe district (Torikoe)
With the sub-districts Torigoe 1 and 2 and Asakusabashi 3 to 5

The name of this district dates back to the Heian period, the village Torigoe mura　鳥越村, and the legend about
. Minamoto no Yoshiie Hachimantaro 源八幡太郎義家 / 源義家 .

In the Edo period, after the removal of a small hill the new flat area was called Asakusa Torigoe Cho 浅草鳥越町 in 16435.



- quote -
In this map, the area outlined in red and labeled “頒暦所御用ヤシキ” (Hanrekishogoyouyashiki: Observatory for the Calendar; the lettering is upside-down from this angle) is the Astronomical Observatory in Asakusa constructed in 1782 (2nd year of the Tenmei Era). At first, this observatory was used to compile the Kansei Calendar. Afterwards, the Tenmonkata (Official Astronomer) continued to use it for observations until the fall of the Shogunate.
Previously,
Torigoe Hill had been located in the northern part of the area shown in this map; and farther north was a pond named Himegaike. But to help ease the land shortage inside of Edo (now Tokyo), the pond was filled in and the hill was flattened. With the hill to the north gone and low lying river banks to the east and the south, this site had clear lines of sight, making it suitable for an observatory. Perhaps that’s why it was chosen.
In modern times
when we think of observatories, we envision sites located far from urban areas to optimize the observing conditions. But looking at this map, to the north-west of the observatory is Torigoe Shrine; to the north is Jyusyo Temple; and to the north-east is Saifuku Temple, which is listed on maps of important Edo sites. Turning to the south where the Torigoe River is located, we find Fudasashi Gokaisei Kaisyo (a government accounting office). It can definitely be said that this is an urban area. On the other hand, since the observations don’t seem to have suffered due to being located within a city, we can get a sense of how dark the Edo nights must have been. The Astronomical Observatory in Asakusa is also included in Hokusai Katsushika’s “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” under the name Torigoe-no-fuji (Torigoe’s Unparalleled [View of Mt. Fuji]).
- source : nao.ac.jp/en/gallery -



. tenmondai 天文台　The Edo observatory .



Spring Snow at Torigoe Shrine
Kasamatsu Shiro

. Torikoe Jinja 鳥超神社 / 鳥越神社 Shrine Torikoe Jinja .
also spelled とりごえじんじゃ Torigoe Jinja.
The shrine is the final resting place of the legendary leader 日本武尊 Yamato Takeru no Mikoto. A former prince and ruler in Japan, stories of Yamato Takeru have been told for centuries.
The deity of the shrine was first called Hakuchoo Myoojin 白鳥明神 Hakucho Myojin (Swan Deity).
In the late Heian period, Minamoto no Yoshiie was shown his way through the wetlands by 白い鳥 "white birds" 越 crossing over.
To show his gratitude, Yoshiie venerated 鳥越大明神 Torigoe Daimyojin.
Thus the name Torigoe (birds crossing over) was given to the whole district.


. Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? - 940) .
and his head at shrine Torikoe Jinja 鳥越神社


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東京都台東区清川 Kiyokawa district
Taito, 清川一丁目 - 清川二丁目 first to second sub-district




Asajigahara 浅茅ケ原（あさじがはら）
A swamp along the 奥州街道 Oshu Kaido highway with many big and small ponds.
A wide field of sparsely growing cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica)


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

Asakusa Kannon 浅草観音 and temple 浅草寺 Senso-Ji, Asakusadera .
Around the year 1802, a country bump came to Edo for sightseeing. After visiting the Asakusa Kannon he then was on his way back home. On the bank of the river he met a very drunk man who attacked him and killed him . . . at least the man lost his conscience and fell to the ground. When he came back to his senses, he felt for the amulet of the Asakusa Kannon, which he had placed into his breast pocket. The imprint of Kannon had disappeared from the paper. Now he knew that Kannon had taken his place and saved his life.



. More Legends about Asakusa Kannon 浅草観音 .


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daija 大蛇 huge serpent

The beautiful daughter of the 禁丹屋 Kintan shop had attracted the attention of the huge serpent in the pond Shinobazu no Ike and disappeared in the pond.
Later when part of the pond was filled with land and water became scarce, one beautiful lady was seen coming out of the pond, taking a ride in a wooden cart all the way to a lake in Chiba. and continued to live there.

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okame おかめの 面 face mask of O-Kame san

Once an 鳴物師 instrument maker picked up the mask of おかめの面 O-Kame san. Since he had picket it up, his family experienced a lot of misfortune. And every time before something bad happened, the mask opened her mouth and laughed. He finally broke the mask and burned it in a fire. But even after everything was reduced to ashes, when he turned around the mask was again sitting on the chest of drawers, with an open mouth, laughing loudly.



. Okame, Okamesan おかめ【お亀／阿亀】O-Kame San .

. Narimono no Kamisama 鳴り物の神様 "Deity of Instruments" - Ebisu .

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Taira no Masakado 将門

After the beheading of Masakado, his head flew to the shrine 鳥越神社 Torigoe Jinja, which is located in 東京都台東区鳥越 Taito ward, Torigoe.
. Taira no Masakado 平将門 (? - 940) .

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yuurei 幽霊 ghost

Around 1884 there lived a monk named 霊瞬 Reishun at 三縁山 Sanenzan. He frequently went to the pleasure quarters of Yoshiwara and eventually fell in love with 琴柱 Lady Kotoji. He told her about his miserable life and how all would change if he had some money to get a better job. So Kotoji gave him all her money, made him promise never to go to Yoshiwara again and committed suicide.
When he went back anyway, the ghost of Kotoji showed up and scolded him severely. Now finallyt he changed his easy-going way and later became a high-ranking priest.

. Yoshiwara 吉原 pleasure quarters of Edo .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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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 .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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