PERSONS - index - PERSONEN

10/07/2015

Hidari Jingoro Carpenter

Carving of a sleeping cat at Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Jingorō was a famous Edo period artist, designer, sculpturer, carpenter, and architect. He was an apprentice for the Chief Architect Hokyo Yoheiji Yusa of the Imperial Court in Kyoto where he studied how to build temples, shrines, and sculptures. After someone cut his right hand, he learned to work with his left hand and became Hidari Jingoroo (Hidari (左) means "left").

Stories about Jingorō are spread in wide regions in Japan.
According to one, he once saw a woman of such exceptional beauty that he made a sculpture of her. Jingorō begins to drink in the company of the sculpture, and it begins to move, following Jingorō's lead. At first it had no emotion and could only imitate Jingorō's movements. However, when he places a mirror in front of the sculpture, the woman's spirit enters and it comes to life.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

Since the cat is watching over the Toshogu shrine compound, even while it is sleeping, there are no mice to worry about.

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CLICK for more of his work !

Tsunagi no Ryu　つなぎの龍 "the Chained Dragon"
秩父夜祭（神社） Chichibu Shrine

The dragon carved by Jingoro came down every night to drink at the pond and caused much damage to the rice paddies.
So it was eventually fixed with a chain.

There are many similar stories, many relating to the dragon, but also to other animals, which come down at night to devastate the crops and cause harm to the local farmers.
(In reality it might have been the wild boars and monkeys . . . as they do it to our day.)

A similar story is told at the temple 最勝寺 in 越生町, Saitama.

A similar story is told at the shrine 大井神社 in 菊川町, Shizuoka.

A similar story is told at the temple 泉福寺 in 桶川市, Saitama.

A similar story is told at the temple 竜巣院 in 袋井市, Shizuoka.
Here the dragon got hit with a sword into its side.

A similar story is told at the temple 竜潭寺 in 引佐町, Shizuoka.
Here the hair of the dragon was cut off.

A similar story is told at the shrine 大門神社 in 浦和市, Saitama.
Its eyes were destroyed by hammering nails into them to keep the dragon in place.

A similar story is told at the temple 米倉寺 in 中井町, Kanagawa.

A similar story is told at the temple 高山寺 in 小川町, Nagano.

A similar story is told about a ryuma 竜馬 dragon-horse carved by Jingoro at the temple 伝誓寺 Densei-Ji in 岡崎市, Aichi.

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A similar story is told about a 虎猫 tiger-cat carved by Jingoro at the temple 法住寺 Hoju-Ji in 大塚町, Aichi.
Here the legs of the animal were cut off.

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A similar story is told about a 猿 monkey carved by Jingoro at the shrine 岩清水八幡宮 Iwashimizu Hachimangu in 八幡市, Kyoto.
A nail was put through his right eye.

A similar story is told about a 猿 monkey carved by Jingoro at the shrine 聖天社 in 妻沼町, Saitama.

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A similar story is told about a kamo 鴨 duck carved by Jingoro at the temple 東福寺 Tofuku-Ji in 流山市, Chiba.

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A similar story is told about a tsuru 鶴 crane carved by Jingoro at the temple 長国寺 Chokoku-Ji in 松代町, Nagano.

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A similar story is told about an uma 馬 horse carved by Jingoro at the temple 慈恩寺 Jion-Ji in 幾川村, Saitama
and at 牛句観音 Ushiku Kannon in 敷島町, Yamanashi.
The horse was fixed with a bridle to keep it in place.

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. Asakusa 浅草 district in Edo .

At the famous Kannon Temple 浅草寺 Senso-Ji there was an 絵馬 ema by 狩野元信 Kano Motonobu, which came out at night and ate all the grass in the neighbourhood.
The people finally asked Jingoro to cut away the horse to get back to peace.

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source :　kappanda.blog.so-net.ne.jp

mamuke no ryuu 真向の竜 a dragon looking straight forward

成相山成相寺 Nariai-Ji
[西国三十三所巡礼] Saikoku Kannon Pilgrimage

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.................................................... Ehime 愛媛県 ....................................................

丹原町 Tanbara

katame buna 片目鮒 the buna fish with one eye
The buna in the pond of temple Kumyooji 久妙寺 Kumyo-Ji have been carved by Jingoro. The Dragon God later plucked them out of the carvings and threw them in the pond, poking out one eye.

.................................................... Gifu 岐阜県 ....................................................

下呂市 Gero

koi 鯉 carp

The carp at the main hall of the shrine 久津八幡宮 Kuzu Hachimangu has been carved by Jingoro. It was so well done that the animal escaped every night to the nearby river Hidagawa 飛騨川 to drink water. That is why the road in front of the shrine began to crumble. So behind the carp someone carved the image of an arrow and that brought an end to the nightly outings of the carp.

. Gero Onsen 下呂温泉 Gero Hot Spring Spa .

.................................................... Kumamoto 熊本県 ....................................................

- - - Here is a collection of legends about Jingoro and the shirikodama of the local Kappa, water goblins.

yamawaroo 山童 "mountain child", Kappa
Jingoro made some straw figures and had them help with his work. When the work was finished he told them not to harm people and threw 1000 of them into the sea (to become Kappa) and 1000 into the mountains to become "yamawaro".

....................................................................... and at 河浦町 Kawaura
The straw figures which Jingoro had made built a temple just over night were of no more use after the building was finished.
When he threw them into the river after that, he told them "Just go and eat the assholes of people". So they became Kappa. When such a Kappa eats rice offerings from a Buddhist altar, he can no longer kill people that way.

....................................................................... and at Amakusa, 五和町 Itsuwa
Jingoro made many straw figures and built the residence of the local lord. When the work was finished he threw them into the river and told them "Just go and eat the assholes of people". This is why the Kappa have come to eat the "shirikodama".

....................................................................... and at Amakusa, 御所浦町 Goshoura
When Jingoro was about to build a house, he got angry about one of the helpers, a good-for-nothing. He told him "Just go and eat the assholes of people" , then hit him with a hammer on the backside and threw the hammer into the sea. He made a straw figure 藁人形 and burried in the ground, which later became a Kappa.

....................................................................... and at 牛深市 Ushibuka
At the time when 平清盛 Taira no Kiyomori had Hidari Jingoro do the carvings for 宮島 Miyajima
Jingoro made straw figures and had them help him. When all the work was done the "straw people" asked what to do now.
"Just go and eat the assholes of people" he said, put a nail through the head of each one and threw it into the sea.
They turned out to become Kappa and now have a plate on their head to keep the water of life in it.

(Considering Jingoro is mostly associated with the Edo period, this is an amazing tale, since Kiyomori lived around 1168.)

. 河童 Kappa legends from Kumamoto　熊本県 .

.................................................... Okayama 岡山県 ....................................................

阿波村 Abason

The dragon carved by Jingoro at the shrine 阿波八幡神社 Aba Hachiman Jinja was coming down every night to roam in the fields and cause a lot of damage. So his eyes were rubbed out and peace returned to the villge.

- Introduction of the Shrine.
- source : www.e-tsuyama.com -

.................................................... Osaka 大阪市 ....................................................

At the temple Shitenno-Ji 四天王寺 there is a carving of a sleeping cat.
In the New Year's morning it is always calling out loudly.

So beside the famous cat in Nikko there is one more.
The cat carving amulet was a precious amulet to keep mice away from the silk worms in former times.

. Shitenno-Ji 四天王寺 - Introduction .

.................................................... Niigata 新潟県 ....................................................

月潟村 Tsukigata

ryuu 龍 Dragon
Once large ships could not move in the harbour and rumor had it the culprit was the Dragon carved in the local temple.
So people hit a nail into its tongue.
From that day on the ships could pass and move freely, but by sunset on that day, the temple hall burned down completely.

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浦佐町 Urasa

Jingoro spent some time in Echigo. There he heared the legend of Bishamonten who exterminated a wild mountain cat 山猫.
So he carved a mask of the mountain cat and fixed it to the entrance of the 毘沙門堂　Bishamon Hall.
After the main festival every year on the 7th day of the 3rd lunar month at midnight, the cat is howling.
Another legend tells that the mountain cat saved the Bishamon Hall from fire and the mask is now an amulet to prevent fire.

Urasa no neko men 浦佐の猫面 cat mask from Urasa
. Niigata Folk Art - 新潟県　 .

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Sado Island, 畑野町 Hatano

Jingoro carved a cock 鶏 for the shrine Kamo Jinja 加茂神社. He used a living cock borrowed from the neighborhood for his model. When the carving was done, the cock died all of a sudden. In his turn, the wood-carved cock was now crowing every morning. The villagers felt quite eery and eventually it was shot with an arrow in its breast. Then silence returned.

.................................................... Saitama 埼玉県 ....................................................

. Chichibu Jinja 秩父神社　Chichibu shrine .

kosodate no tora 子宝・子育ての虎 mother tiger and her children
(The tiger looks more like a leopard with her fur patterns . . .)

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浦和市 Urawa

After a funeral at the temple 国昌寺 Kokusho-Ji a dragon carved by Jingoro came down to eat the dead body, but then damaged the fields while suffering from a stomach ace. When the villagers hit some nails into the wooden head, all calmed down.

kugizuke no ryuu 釘付けの龍 "the nailed-down dragon"

A similar legend is told at 越谷市 Koshigaya. .

.................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県 ....................................................

Numazu 沼津市

wara ningyoo 藁人形 straw dolls, straw figures
Jingoro was ordered to rebuild the 観音堂 Kannon Hall. Since the festival day was close, there was not much time. So Jingoro asked the villagers to make many human straw figures. He blew life in them and they finished the hall in three days and three nights. Since it was finished in the early morning, it was called

source :　city.numazu.shizuoka.jp

Akeno Kannon 赤野観音 "Kannon in the Red (morning sun) Field".

................................................... Wakayama 和歌山県 ....................................................

赤松寺 Akamatsu temple

statue of a tiger 虎置物

.................................................... Yamaguchi 山口県 ....................................................

Shimonoseki 下関市

Temple 引接寺 Injo-Ji carving in the ceiling

.................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県 ....................................................

Kofu 中道町 Nakamichi

bakeneko 化け猫 the monster cat
When Jingoro walked along Yamazaki Shinden 山崎新田 he passed by a old woman suffering pain, so he heaved her on his back and carried her on. But is was in fact the stone statue of Jizo 石地蔵. When Jingoro reached the home of the old woman, there was only a servant telling him, the grandma of the home had just died and grandpa was on his way to the temple. The servant had been told not to let the fire go out, but he was tired and had started to nap. At that moment the dead old grandma had tried to get out of the house and Jingoro tried to hold her back as she tried to climb on the roof. Just than grandpa came back, took a stone, threw it up the roof and hit the grandma.
Since the fire went out, the cat from the temple had sneaked in, walked on the roof and tried to steal the dead body.

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- quote -
Toyo-kan (Mountain Lodge)
The lodge worships the Manekineko (lucky beckoning cat) and Hachidai Ryuo (Eight Great Dragon Kings) (Buddhism god) which are assumed to be carved by the noted sculptor Hidari Jingoro.
- source : www.yamanashi-kankou.jp -

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飛騨の甚五郎 Jingoro from Hida - Sake

名工、左甚五郎の名にあやかった
飛騨の清酒です。シャープな切れ味，辛口ごのみの男酒です。
- source : www.hidaroman.com -

carpenter joys -
today we drink
on Jingoro !

Gabi Greve, July 2015

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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

寒菊や大工は左甚五郎
kangiku ya daiku wa hidari jingoroo

chrysanthemum in the cold -
the carpenter is Hidari
Jingoro

. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規.

. kangiku 寒菊 (かんぎく) chrysanthemum in the cold .
- kigo for all winter -

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耳立てて甚五郎猫は大昼寝
mimi tatete Jingoro neko wa oo hirune

with ears pricked up
the cat from Jingoro
takes its nap

角田よし子 Tsunoda Yoshiko

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Yokai database 　妖怪データベース　 - - - source: www.nichibun.ac.jp -

- Reference - Japanese -

- Reference - English -

. . minwa 民話　folktales / densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends . .
- Introduction -

. Legends about animals 動物と伝説 .

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. Welcome to Edo 江戸 ! .

. Woodwork in Edo .

- - - #hidarijingoro #jingoro - - -
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05/07/2015

Nitta Yoshioki

The death of Nitta Yoshioki at the Yaguchi ferry - 矢ノ口渡合戦にて義興戦死図

The conflict with the Ashikaga clan continued for several decades, and in 1352, Yoshioki ousted Ashikaga Motouji from Kamakura, with the aid of his brother Nitta Yoshimune and cousin Wakiya Yoshiharu. Soon after taking control of the city, however, he was forced out by Ashikaga Takauji. Returning to the countryside of Kozuke and Musashi provinces, Yoshioki continued to fight for some time before being captured by Takezawa Nagahira. He was sentenced to death by the minister of Motouji, Hatakeyama Kunikiyo, and was executed at the age of 28 by drowning in the Tama River at Yaguchi in present-day Ōta ward of Tokyo.

A shrine at 矢口渡 Yaguchi no Watashi, the Nitta Shrine, is dedicated to Yoshioki. He is revered under the name Nitta Daimyōjin (新田大明神).

Yoshioki is the subject of an Edo-period kabuki play by Hiraga Gennai (1728 – 1780) titled Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

He committed suicide at Yaguchi village, and after that many terrible things happened in the village. The two warlords Edo and Takezawa 江戸 - 竹沢, who had fought against Yoshiaki also died of a curse.
So to appease his soul the shrine 新田神社 Nitta Jinja was erected.

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Nitta Jinja 新田神社

During the Nanboku-cho period, there was a brave and great samurai warrior named Nitta Yoshioki. He was the second son of Nitta Yoshisada. During that time, Japan was divided into North and South and they had repeatedly battled. Nitta Yoshioki fought for the Imperial Southern Court and became famous for being a strong warlord who could win against any kind of large army with his wisdom and bravery. However, he was killed by the enemies through a cowardly attack at the "Yaguchi Ferry." Enemies bored holes in the bottom of Nitta Yoshioki and his retainers' boat and fired off arrows from both banks. (Died on October 10, 1358) The Samurai warriors who engaged in Nitta Yoshioki's killing, was cursed by Yoshiaki's haunt and went crazy and died or saw ghost like fire balls, and lighting hit the place many times. Villagers witnessed these horrific events and decided to build a shrine for Nitta Yoshioki at the site of his death in order for his spirit to rest in peace.

Nitta Shrine is a shrine based on "Goryo Shinko” which is a Japanese belief. Japanese people viewed natural disasters that threatened people and great plagues as the work of evil spirits. Since the power of the spirits is enormously strong, people thought that the evil spirits could adversely save the people from accidents or disasters by enshrining them as a god. The belief was widely spread throughout Japan.

Nitta shrine commemorated the 650th anniversary of its construction in October 2008. The shrine is now well known as the "Good Luck Shrine" and is reverenced by Japanese.

- Homepage of the shrine
- source : nittajinja.org -

. goryoo, onryoo 御霊、怨霊 vengeful spirits .

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- quote -
Kabuki - Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi
The play "Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi" was originally written for the puppet theater (Bunraku) and staged in the 1st lunar month of 1770 in Edo at the Gekiza. It was adapted to Kabuki many years later and staged for the first time in the 8th lunar month of 1794 at the Kiriza.

- Summary
During the reign of the Emperor Godaigo, the wicked Ashikaga Takauji attempted to dethrone the Emperor and set up a pretender in his place. A great battle was fought on the Plain of Musashino, near what later became Edo. The commander of the Imperial army was Nitta Yoshioki, a famous soldier. He and his troops fought courageously, but were defeated through the treachery of a man whom Yoshioki believed to be his friend. Yoshioki himself was murdered by this same false friend at Yaguchi, where a ferry crossed the Tama River.
- source : www.kabuki21.com/yaguchi_no_watashi -

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. Nitta Yoshisada 新田義貞　 (1302 - 1338) .

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- Reference - Japanese -
- Reference - English -

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

. Legends and Tales from Edo 江戸の伝説 .

- - - #nittayoshioki #yaguchi - - -
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. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .
woodblock prints

kumoribi no Yaguchi 曇り日の矢口 Cloudy Day at Yaguchi
12 views

Yaguchi 矢口 Yaguchi
20 views

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11/06/2015

Furuyama Moromasa

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Furuyama Moromasa 古山師政

Ukiyoe-Master of the Edo period, dates unknown.

- quote
古山師重の子。姓は古山、名は新七郎（一説には新九郎とも）。
月々堂、文志、文翅と号す。はじめは菱川昌則と称した。江戸両国の江市長屋に住んでいたと伝わる。『浮世絵類考』の一本には師政について「画法を師宣に学ぶ」と記されているが、「此の人に至りて菱川の画風を失ふ」ともあり、残されている作品を見てもその画風は菱川派ではなく、同じ時代に活躍した奥村政信や石川豊信、上方の西川祐信といった絵師たちの影響を受けているといわれる。従来作画期は宝永から延享の頃にかけてとされていたが、「浮世絵屏風」（今治市河野美術館蔵）の発見により、師政は元禄10年（1697年）前後には菱川派の画風で絵を制作し父師重の代筆をしており、更に元禄14年（1701年）頃には菱川一門を離れたことが判明した。

現在までに大判漆絵、浮絵、墨摺絵、紅絵（柱絵2点、浮絵3点を含む）の他に、多くの肉筆画が確認されている。木版画では特に大判墨摺絵の「吉田街道」、紅絵の「新吉原座舗けんすもふ」はよく知られている。肉筆画の代表作としては「梅下美人図」、「踊りの稽古図」、「巳屋店先図」などがある。
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Rare Japanese painting by Furuyama Moromasa
discovered in Edinburgh's Central Library collections

Undated photo of a section of a rare Japanese painting by Furuyama Moromasa, made available by City of Edinburgh Council, Scotland Friday Jan. 4, 2013, depicting early 18th century street life which has been discovered in a library's special collections. The 44ft scroll was donated in the 1940s but its significance has only just been realised by experts in Edinburgh. It is believed to be the largest of his works anywhere in the world. Two other examples of his work are held by the British Museum.
The scroll depicts a street scene from Edo, which became Tokyo, showing shops, theatres and domestic life. A funding application has been made to the Japan-based Sumitomo Foundation for conservation funding, with a result expected in March.

The scroll, by Japanese painter Furuyama Moromasa, is over 44ft in length and depicts an extended street scene in C18th Edo, or Tokyo, showing the shops and theatres and domestic detail of life at that time.

Two of Furuyama Moromasa's paintings are currently held by the British Museum, but this is thought to be the largest of his works discovered anywhere in the world.

AP Photo/ City of Edinburgh Council.

- source : artdaily.com/news - June 2015

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- Reference - Japanese -

- Reference - English -

. Welcome to Edo 江戸 ! .

- - - #furuyamamoromasa #moromasa- - -
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05/06/2015

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi

- quote
the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, thus making him the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of "the dog shogun."
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In 1691, Engelbert Kaempfer visited Edo as part of the annual Dutch embassy from Dejima in Nagasaki. He journeyed from Nagasaki to Osaka, to Kyoto, and there to Edo. Kaempfer gives us information on Japan during the early reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. As the Dutch embassy entered Edo in 1692, they asked to have an audience with Shogun Tsunayoshi. While they were waiting for approval, a fire destroyed six hundred houses in Edo, and the audience was postponed. Tsunayoshi and several of the ladies of the court sat behind reed screens, while the Dutch embassy sat in front of them. Tsunayoshi took an interest in Western matters, and apparently asked them to talk and sing with one another for him to see how Westerners behaved. Tsunayoshi later put on a Noh drama for them.
- snip -
Owing to religious fundamentalism, Tsunayoshi sought protection for living beings in the later parts of his rule. In the 1690s and first decade of the 18th century, Tsunayoshi, who was born in the Year of the Dog, thought he should take several measures concerning dogs. A collection of edicts released daily, known as the Edicts on Compassion for Living Things (生類憐みの令 Shōruiawareminorei, Shorui Awaremi no Rei) told the populace, inter alia, to protect dogs, since in Edo there were many stray and diseased dogs walking around the city.
Therefore, he earned the pejorative title Inu-Kubō (犬公方:Inu=Dog, Kubō=formal title of Shogun).
In 1695, there were so many dogs that Edo began to smell horribly.
- snip -
For the latter part of Tsunayoshi's reign, he was advised by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. It was a golden era of classic Japanese art, known as the Genroku era.
...
In 1695, there were so many dogs that Edo began to smell horribly.
An apprentice was even executed because he wounded a dog. Finally, the trouble was taken to a distance, as over 50,000 dogs were deported to kennels in the suburbs of the city where they would be housed.
They were apparently fed rice and fish which were at the expense of the taxpaying citizens of Edo.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. 犬御用屋敷跡　inu yashiki 犬小屋 remains of the dog kennel .
Yotsuya, Edo

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. Nerima daikon 練馬大根 radish from Nerima .
- - - has been introduced by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, 5th shogun, to help feed the growing population of Edo.

. The Temple Bell at Asakusa, Senso-Ji .
- - - was cast at the orders of the shogun Tsunayoshi.

. Nezu Jinja 根津神社　Nezu Shrine .
The shrine pavilions we see today were constructed under the orders of Tsunayoshi Tokugawa (1646-1709), the fifth Shogun, in 1706.

. Yuuten, Yūten 祐天 Yuten Shami .
Yuten came to be patronized by Keisho-in, the mother of the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi, who is said to have called on him in his hermit's hut on the outskirts of Edo.

. 柳澤吉保 Yanagizawa Yoshiyasu . ［1658 -1714］
special retainer of Tsunayoshi.

- - - - - 生類憐みの令 shōrui awaremi no rei
This law encompasses all living things, humans at first.
Tsunayoshi cared about the people, he was the first to promote Terakoya schools. When the first foreigners came to Japan in the Meiji period, they were surprized at the high level of literacy in this "backward" country.
He also abolished the law of "kirisute gomen", where samurai could kill normal people without any problem.
He also introduced the idea of being gratetful to the ancestors, installing family graves for the first time, gosenzo daidai　御先祖代々. mostly at temple graveyards.
Until then, individuals had individual graves.

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The Dog Shogun:
The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
Author: Beatrice Bodart-Bailey

Tsunayoshi (1646–1709), the fifth Tokugawa shogun, is one of the most notorious figures in Japanese history. Viewed by many as a tyrant, his policies were deemed eccentric, extreme, and unorthodox. His Laws of Compassion, which made the maltreatment of dogs an offense punishable by death, earned him the nickname Dog Shogun, by which he is still popularly known today. However, Tsunayoshi’s rule coincides with the famed Genroku era, a period of unprecedented cultural growth and prosperity that Japan would not experience again until the mid-twentieth century. It was under Tsunayoshi that for the first time in Japanese history considerable numbers of ordinary townspeople were in a financial position to acquire an education and enjoy many of the amusements previously reserved for the ruling elite.

Based on a masterful re-examination of primary sources, this exciting new work by a senior scholar of the Tokugawa period maintains that Tsunayoshi’s notoriety stems largely from the work of samurai historians and officials who saw their privileges challenged by a ruler sympathetic to commoners. Beatrice Bodart-Bailey’s insightful analysis of Tsunayoshi’s background sheds new light on his personality and the policies associated with his shogunate. Tsunayoshi was the fourth son of Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–1651) and left largely in the care of his mother, the daughter of a greengrocer. Under her influence, Bodart-Bailey argues, the future ruler rebelled against the values of his class. As evidence she cites the fact that, as shogun, Tsunayoshi not only decreed the registration of dogs, which were kept in large numbers by samurai and posed a threat to the populace, but also the registration of pregnant women and young children to prevent infanticide. He decreed, moreover, that officials take on the onerous tasks of finding homes for abandoned children and caring for sick travelers.

In the eyes of his detractors, Tsunayoshi’s interest in Confucian and Buddhist studies and his other intellectual pursuits were merely distractions for a dilettante. Bodart-Bailey counters that view by pointing out that one of Japan’s most important political philosophers, Ogyû Sorai, learned his craft under the fifth shogun. Sorai not only praised Tsunayoshi’s government, but his writings constitute the theoretical framework for many of the ruler’s controversial policies. Another salutary aspect of Tsunayoshi’s leadership that Bodart-Bailey brings to light is his role in preventing the famines and riots that would have undoubtedly taken place following the worst earthquake and tsunami as well as the most violent eruption of Mount Fuji in history—all of which occurred during the final years of Tsunayoshi's shogunate.

The Dog Shogun is a thoroughly revisionist work of Japanese political history that touches on many social, intellectual, and economic developments as well. As such it promises to become a standard text on late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth-century Japan.
- source : www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/ -

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Keishooin 桂昌院 Keisho-In, Keishoin

- quote -
Keisho-in - Biography (1627-1705).
The birth mother of the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa. The second daughter of Nizaemon, a green grocer of Horikawa, Kyoto.
Keisho-in entered into service at the inner palace as the adopted daughter of Munemasa Honjo, the Keishi (an officer responsible for running the household) of Nijo Kampaku (Imperial Regent). She was chosen by Kasuganotsubone (the nurse of the shogun Iemitsu), became the concubine of the third shogun Iemitsu, and gave birth to Tsunayoshi. She was called Otamanokata (O-Tama no Kata), became a nun after the death of Iemitsu, and called herself Keisho-in. She rose to Juichii, the highest position for women, and became the power behind Tsunayoshi’s policies. She was also very religious and contributed to building Gokoku-Ji Temple and restoring many temples and shrines.
- snip -
When Otamanokata was a small girl, a priest was said to have predicted that she would rise to greatness.
Just as in the prediction, from being a daughter of a green grocer, Keisho-in rose to the highest possible position a woman could attain. It is a widely accepted theory that her name is the pronoun of Tamanokoshi (Japanese expression for marrying into money) because of her name and how she advanced in the world. In 1680, when Tsunayoshi assumed the role of shogun, she moved into Sannomaru in Edo Castle and intervened in politics.
It is generally believed that the famous law against the harming of animals was drawn up by Keisho-in pressuring Tsunayoshi following the suggestion made by her favorite high priest, Takamitsu. The Matsu no Roka Jiken (the incidence in the Matsu hallway) caused by Asano Takuminokami Naganori at Edo Castle happened during a visit by the Imperial envoy to announce Keisho-in’s new position as Juichii. In Zojo Temple in Shibakoen, where Keisho-in is buried, there are tombs of six shoguns, including the second shogun, Hidetada, and the sixth shogun, Ienobu, as well as the wives and concubines of each shogun.
The Inukimon Gate of the Tokugawa tomb is registered as the City’s tangible cultural property and was originally in front of Ienobu’s tomb. It is a Chinese-style bronze gate decorated with castings of ascending and descending dragons on either side of the gate. The 10 hollyhock crests on the door were added after World War II.
- source : lib.city.minato.tokyo.jp/yukari -

. Otowa Gokokuji 音羽護国寺 Otowa Gokoku-Ji .
This temple was founded in 1681 by 亮賢僧正 high priest Ryoken (1611 - 1687)
on behalf of Shogun Tsunayoshi for his mother, 桂昌院 Lady Keisho-In (徳川綱吉生母).

. Yanagimori Jinja 柳森神社 Yanagimori Shrine .
The shrine was built in the late 17th century by a woman named Keisho-in 桂昌院, the daughter of a lowly greengrocer. As a teenager she was 'scouted' by representatives of Edo castle to join the O-oku -- the harem of women who serviced the Shogun.

. Keisho-In and her retainer Otowa 音羽 .
Otowachoo　音羽町 Otowa district in Edo

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- Reference - Japanese -
- Reference - English -

- - - #tokugawatsunayoshi #tsunayoshi - - -
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02/06/2015

Tanuma Okitsugu

- quote
a rōjū (senior counselor) of the Tokugawa shogunate who introduced monetary reform. He was also a daimyo, and ruled the Sagara han. He used the title Tonomo-no-kami.

His regime is often identified with rampant corruption and huge inflation of currency. In Tenmei 4 (1784), Okitsugu's son, the wakadoshiyori (junior counselor) Tanuma Okitomo, was assassinated inside Edo Castle. Okitomo was killed in front of his father as both were returning to their norimono after a meeting of the Counselors of State had broken up. Okitomo was killed by Sano Masakoto, a hatamoto. The involvement of senior figures in the bakufu was suspected, but only the assassin himself was punished. The result was that the Tanuma-initiated, liberalizing reforms within the bakufu and the relaxation of the strictures of sakoku were blocked.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote -
Tanuma Okitsugu
Tairô (1767/7-1786/8/27)
Tanuma Okitsugu served as Tairô from 1767 to 1786.
Though Tanuma is generally remembered as a terribly corrupt official, John Whitney Hall emphasizes his contributions to the expansion of trade through expansion of government control over it, going so far as to suggest that his programs might have led Japan towards industrializing earlier.
Hall places the blame for Japan's economic and military weakness in the 19th century on the conservative policies of Tanuma's successor, Matsudaira Sadanobu.

As Tairô
Tanuma's time as Tairô is generally associated with political corruption, especially in the form of bribes, and with rampant inflation, and widespread moral decay.
In the 1770s,
Tanuma provided Tsushima han with sizable monetary loans and grants on a number of occasions, eventually putting into place an annual grant of 12,000 ryô which helped the domain accommodate for the decline in the Korea trade caused by continued debasement of silver coinage and expansion of domestic production of ginseng and other goods which drove down the demand for imports; the domain would continue to be paid this grant every year until 1862.

In 1785, he established clearinghouses in Hakodate, Edo, Osaka, and Shimonoseki which oversaw the collection and transportation of marine products to Nagasaki for export; as with similar steps taken in other industries where the shogunate established or reorganized za trade associations, this did not push private merchants out of the business, but rather made them into something akin to government contractors, placing the operations of that business under more direct government oversight, in the hopes of stemming fluctuations, smuggling, and other problems.

The 1783 eruption of Mt. Asama, combined with the nearly ten-year-long Great Tenmei Famine, were widely seen as symbols that the country was in need of serious change and a return to virtuous leadership. Tanuma was ousted from power in 1786, and replaced as Tairô by Matsudaira Sadanobu the following year.

He is buried at the Zen temple Mannen-zan Shôrin-ji in the Komagome neighborhood of Tokyo.
- source : samurai archives -

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Tanuma Okitsugu, 1719-1788, forerunner of modern Japan
John Whitney Hall

This is a study of Tanuma Okitsugu, the most powerful political figure in Japan during the quarter century between 1760-1786. The book also provides a descriptive history of mid-eighteenth-century Japan.
- source : books.google.co.jp -

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Once
Tanuma looked at the pond in his garden and mumbled:
"It would be nice to have some fish swim here!"
And when he came back in the afternoon, the pond was full of the most beautiful koi goldfish - gifts (bribes) from people who depended on his support.

Once
Tanuma got a large gift parcel with the inscription :
"A Doll from Kyoto". When he opened it, it was a living Maiko girl with splendid robed and . . .

. shimonya 四文屋 "Four Mon Shop" .
They begun sprouting up everywhere during the period of Tanuma.
Small shops in Edo where everything cost just one coin, the "Four Mon Coin".
That was the beginning of our 100 Yen Shop, the One Dollar Shop, the One Euro Shop.
Other cheap items in Edo were multiplied with four.

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He supported the trade with foreign countries through the port of Nagasaki, especially
tawaramono　俵物 "goods packed in straw bags"
Nagasaki tawaramono yakusho　長崎俵物役所

- quote -
In the era of Edo, export goods from Nagasaki were such as dried sea cucumbers, dried abalones, dried fins of sharks that were all packed with straw rice bags, or tawara.
Foreign trade payment had been dealt with gold, silver and cotton at that time.
An outflow of these metals from Japan was so immense that a part of its trade payment was replaced with stuffs packed with straw rice bags called tawaramono.
The club was established to gather tawaramono for the convenience of those who were concerned in the first year of Enkyo (1744), but it often moved until being settled at this site in the 6th year of Anei (1777).
Later it was run exclusively by the shogunate but it didn't work well.
The club remained until the end of the shogunate.
Osaka, 2-15, 2-chome, Kitahama, Chuo-ku
- source : www.city.osaka.lg.jp -

- tawaramono sanpin 俵物三品: The three best were
iri namako 煎海鼠（いりなまこ/いりこ）- dried sea cucumbers
hoshi awabi 乾鮑（干鮑（ほしあわび））- dried abalones
fukahire 鱶鰭（ふかひれ）- dried sharks fins

- quote -
Sino-Japanese Interaction via Chinese Junks in the Edo Period
Matsuura Akira
In Japan as well, increased production of these three products — dried sea cucumber, dried abalone, and shark’s fin, collectively called tawaramono or hyōmotsu (俵物 goods in straw bags) — was actively promoted. At the beginning of the Guangxu years (1875–1908), He Ruzhang, appointed as plenipotentiary to Japan, wrote in his Shidong zaji (Miscellany of an Envoy to Japan),
“Many Chinese merchants take raw cotton and white sugar, and return with various marine products such as sea cucumbers and dried abalone.”
He Ruzhang’s note clearly underscores the importance of these products in China even after the Edo era . . .
- Read the full article PDF file, 14 pages :
- source : Matsuura Akira -

Through the tawawamono and payment in 銅　bronze instead of gold he managed to deal with the huge trade deficit of his times.
He founded the "Bronze Bank" dooza 銅座 in Osaka to deal with trade payments.

Since silver was rare in Japan and not enough to print silver coins for trade, he started the import of silver from China and then Holland. This silver also helped to grease the trade within Japan.
Gold was used as payment in Edo (Eastern Japan, whith more gold mines) whereas silver was used as payment in Osaka (Western Japan, with more silver mines). And the poor people used the bronze coins to make their payments.

- - - - - Monetary reform of 1772
nanryoonishugin なんりょうにしゅぎん　南鐐二朱銀　Nanryo Nishu Gin
silver coins introduced by Tanuma

nishububan 貮朱之歩判
nishuban 貮朱判
meiwa nanryoonishugin 明和南鐐二朱銀

- quote -
In the latter half of the 18th century, the demand for small-denomination currency increased due to expanded production of commercial crops in local villages. The Tokugawa Shogunate government issued silver coins (Meiwa Nanryo Nishu-gin <2-shu-gin>) with denominations based on gold coin units. Thus, the silver coins eventually became supplementary currencies of gold coins.
Toward the end of the Edo period, recoinages (Bunsei and Tenpo recoinages) were often carried out to finance the budget deficits of the Shogunate government, which led to chronic inflation. After the re-opening of international trade at the end of the Edo period, Japan experienced a huge outflow of gold coins overseas, and the Man’en recoinage, which was carried out to stop this outflow, caused further inflation, resulting in confusion of the nation’s monetary system toward the Meiji Restoration.
- source : BOJ Currency Museum -

. Coins (zeni, kozeni (銭、小銭) and Japanese money .

. kabunakama, kabu nakama 株仲間 merchant guild, merchant coalition
za 座 trade guilds, industrial guilds, artisan guilds .
Tanuma encouraged the kabunakama system in Edo.
Roju Tanuma 老中田沼意次 - 株仲間の奨励

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. satoo 砂糖 Sato - History of Japanese sugar .
Tanuma
encouraged the trade of white European sugar via the merchants of Nagasaki.
He also introduced the plant satokibi , first grown at his request at a Nichiren temple, the Ikegami Honmon-Ji 池上本門寺 in the South of Edo. From there its growth spread to other suitable areas of Japan.

. koorai ninjin 高麗人参 Panax ginseng .
Tanuma
around 1760 encouraged their planting in Japan. He offered positions as "ministers" (bakushin 幕臣) to the scholars of kanpo 漢方 Chinese medicine plants.
Japanese ginseng 東洋参 (Panax japonicus)

With his great interest in these things, Tanuma was most probably influenced by the great

. Hiraga Gennai　平賀源内　 (1728 - 80) .

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A 狂歌 Kyoka parody poem about Tanuma

白河の清き流れに住みかねてもとの田沼のにごり恋しき
Shirakawa no kiyoki nagare ni sumikanete moto no tanuma no nigori koishiki

River Shirakawa is shorthand for Matsudaira Sadanobu.
tanuma, lit. fields and swamps.
.
古河の清き流れに住みかねてもとの田沼ぞ今は恋しき

We can't get used to the clean flow of Shirakawa -
We rather long for the dirty puddles of fields and swamps.

- quote -
Matsudaira Sadanobu 松平定信 (1759 - 1829)
Japanese daimyo of the mid-Edo period, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief senior councilor (rōjū shuza; 老中首座) of the Tokugawa Shogunate, from 1787 to 1793.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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増補版　通史　田沼意次 - 2013

東日本大震災で破壊してしまった田沼家墓所
The grave of the Tanuma family has been destroyed by the Great Tohoku Earthquake in 2011.

- reference : TBS - Edo no Susume -

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. senryuu, senryū 川柳　Senryu in Edo .

- - - - - The most famous senryu in the times of Tanuma :

役人の子はにぎにぎをよく覚え
yakunin no ko wa niginigi o yoku oboe

the son of an official
learns quite easily
to grab anything

Taking bribes became the rule of the day in the time of Tanuma.

役人の骨っぽいのは猪牙に乗せ
yakunin no honeppoi no wa choki ni nose

a serious official
is best invited
to take a choki boat trip

. choki 猪牙 / chokibune 猪牙舟 water taxi, river taxi .
to the Yoshiware pleasure quarters.
Once an official has learned to enjoy (and spent his money) at the pleasure quarters, he can be kept with more bribes to indulge more and so on . . .

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- Reference - Japanese -

- Reference - English -

- #tanumaokitsugu -
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01/06/2015

Dokyo and Koken

- quote -
Dōkyō (700 – May 13, 772)
was a Japanese monk of the Hossō sect of Buddhism; and he was a political figure in the Nara period.
When Dōkyō cured the illness of Empress Kōken in 761, his place in her court was made secure and influential. When she returned to the throne as Empress Shōtoku following the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion, Dokyo was given authority over religious and civil matters.

In 766, an oracle from the Usa Shrine in Buzen Province was reported to predict peace in Japan if Dōkyō were named emperor. Soon after, a second oracle was brought to Kyoto by Wake no Kiyomaro. It stated:

Since the establishment of our state, the distinction between lord and subject has been fixed. Never has there been an occasion when a subject was made lord. The throne of the Heavenly Sun Succession shall be given to one of the imperial lineage; wicked persons should immediately be swept away.

In response to the second oracle, Dōkyō had Wake no Kiyomaro sent into exile in Ōsumi Province.

When the empress died, Dōkyō was banished from Nara.

- - - - - Timeline
752 (Tenpyō-shōhō 4): Dōkyō was called to the court of Empress Kōken
761 (Tenpyō-hōji 5): Dōkyō cured empress of a serious illness
763 (Tenpyō-hōji 7): He was appointed Shōsōzu in the Buddhist hierarchy
765 (Tenpyō-jingo 1, 2nd month): Empress Shōtoku gave Dōkyō the newly created title of daijō-daijin zenji (Meditation Master who ranks as Chancellor)
766 (Tenpyō-jingo 2): Dokyo claimed that an Usa Hachiman oracle said that he should become Hō-ō (法王, literally, king of the dharma).He was given the title.
770 (Jingo-keiun 4): In the 5th year of Empress Shōtoku's reign, she died; and Dōkyō was exiled to Shimotsuke Province.

- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote
もう一つの神託「道鏡」事件の真相を探る　　　　　
昔々、
奈良に都があった頃、道鏡（どうきょう）と言う、とても偉いお坊さんが居ました。このお坊さんは中国語は勿論、梵語（サンスクリット語）もペラペラの有数の知識人であったばかりでなく、気功術も会得した「超能力」をも兼ね備えていた超人だったので、天皇さまの病気も得意の呪法で、あっという間に治すことが出来ました。元気を取り戻された天皇さまは、この天才超人・道鏡を大変御気に召し、最初は少僧都に、次は大臣禅師に、また次には太政大臣禅師に任じられ、天平神護二年七月（７６６）には、ついに法王にまで任じられたのです。
それから１年半が過ぎた神護景雲三年正月三日、九州にある宇佐八幡宮は『道鏡を皇位につけよ』とのお告げがあったと奏上し、偉いお坊さんも、自分から望んで天皇になろうと思いました。と、まあ簡単に言えばそれだけのお話しなのですが、ことが皇位（天皇の位）に関る事であっただけに朝廷内は大騒動になったのです。それでは、事件の主役・道鏡とは、一体どのような人物だったのでしょう。
- source : www.ten-f.com/doukYoujiken -

Usa Hachiman Jinja 宇佐八幡神社
熊本市龍田町にある弓削神宮 Yuge Jinja in Kumamoto

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「道鏡か否か？愛に揺れた女帝」

source :　chachachiako

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Kooken Tennoo 孝謙天皇 Koken Tenno Empress Kōken
- 称徳天皇 Empress Shōtoku. Shotoku
Empress Kōken (孝謙天皇 Kōken-tennō, 718 – August 28, 770),
also known as Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇 Shōtoku-tennō), was the 46th (with Empress Kōken name) and the 48th monarch of Japan (with Empress Shōtoku name), according to the traditional order of succession.
Empress Kōken first reigned from 749 to 758, then, following the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion, she reascended the throne as Empress Shōtoku from 765 until her death in 770. Empress Kōken was involved in the Rasputin-like affair with priest Dōkyō and appointed him Grand Minister in 764. In 766 he was promoted to Hōō (priestly emperor) and in 770 had tried to ascend to throne by himself. Death of Empress and resistance of the aristocracy destroyed his plans. This incident was a reason for the later move of the Japanese capital from Nara (Heijō).
In the history of Japan, Kōken/Shōtoku was the sixth of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant.
. . .
Koken's reign was turbulent, and she survived coup attempts by both Tachibana Naramaro and Fujiwara no Nakamaro. Today, she is remembered chiefly for her alleged affair with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō (道鏡), a man she honored with titles and power. An oracle from Usa Shrine, the shrine of the kami Hachiman (八幡 in Usa, is said to have proclaimed that the monk should be made emperor; but when the empress sent Wake no Kiyomaro (和気清麻呂) to verify the pronouncement, Hachiman decreed that only one of imperial blood should ascend to the throne.

Bender, Ross.
"The Hachiman Cult and the Dōkyō Incident,"
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 34, No. 2 (1979). pp. 125–153.

- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

- quote -
Yuge no Dookyoo 弓削道鏡 Yuge no Dokyo
道鏡（どうきょう、文武天皇4年（700年）? - 宝亀3年4月7日（772年5月13日））

生地 - 河内国
没地 - 下野国
宗派 - 法相宗
師 - 義淵

奈良時代の法相宗の僧。物部氏の一族の弓削氏の出自で、弓削櫛麻呂の子。俗姓が弓削連であることから、弓削道鏡（ゆげのどうきょう）とも呼ばれる。兄弟に弓削浄人。天智天皇の皇子である志貴皇子の子とする異説もある。祈祷の力をもって皇室に取り入って権力を握り、政治に容喙した。

道鏡塚（下野市の龍興寺）

宇佐神託と左遷
姦通説 / 俗説 / 関連づけられた人物
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote
"The Monk who Moved a Capital ”
(from the Nihon Ryōiki )
It begins
"In ancient Japan, there was an unmarried Empress named Kōken . . .one day she fell ill and a handsome young Buddhist monk named Dōkyō went to her bedside to pray for her health.”

The credited author is one “Takeshi Hanamoto,”
Ross Bender

new translation of Nihon Ryōiki by Burton Watson
-- Record of Miraculous Events in Japan (Columbia University Press, 2013).

The Vermilion Bridge: A novel of 8th Century Japan / Shelly Mydans
(Doubleday 1980).

Narachō no Seihen to Dōkyō (Yoshikawa Kōbunkan) / Takinami Sadako

Women in Japanese Religions (New York University Press, 2015). Barbara Ambros
. . .she notes
"Ultimately both Empress Wu Zetian and Shōtoku were reviled as bad rulers by later Confucian historians who resented both their patronage of Buddhism and the fact that they were female rulers." (pp. 50-51).
Wu Zetian of course was the only woman who ruled China as an Empress in her own right.

- quote from June 3, 2015
It is an interesting question whether Buddhist healing monks could actually attend at the bedside of an Empress. The eminent monk Genbō 玄昉 established the Naidōjō within the Nara palace, and apparently served as a healing monk for Miyako, the mother of Shōmu. The Shoku Nihongi entry for Hōki 1.8.17, after the death of Empress Shōtoku on the fourth day of the month, says that “Over one hundred days had passed during which she was unable to attend to the affairs of government. During this time there were no officials who were able to have audience with her. Only the Kura no Suke Jr 3 Kibi no Ason Yuri went in and out of the bedchamber, reporting to her on affairs.” The lady Yuri was a relative of the Udaijin Kibi no Ason Makibi.

Dōkyō’s obituary from Hōki 3.4.7 says that he met the Empress at the Hora Palace and served as a healing monk. 従幸保良。時侍看病稍被寵幸。
Incidentally the term chōkō 寵幸, which some have seen as proof of an untoward relationship between the Empress and the monk, is not gender-specific or evidence of a sexual liason. It is also applied to the relationship between the Emperor Kōnin and the Sangi Ōtomo no Sukune Ojimaro. (Shoku Nihongi, Enryaku 1.2.3)
- Ross Bender

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