Haniwa figures

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. ABC List of Heian Contents .
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haniwa　埴輪 / はにわ terracotta clay figures
and the clan Hajibe, Haji-Be 土師部 / 土部



The Haniwa (埴輪) are terracotta clay figures which were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th century AD) of the history of Japan.
Haniwa were created according to the wazumi technique, in which mounds of coiled clay were built up to shape the figure, layer by layer.
The Haniwa were made with water-based clay and dried into a coarse and absorbent material that stood the test of time. Their name means “circle of clay” referring to how they were arranged in a circle above the tomb. The protruding parts of the figures were made separately and then attached, while a few things were carved into them. They were smoothed out by a wooden paddle. Earth terraces were arranged to place them with a cylindrical base into the ground, where the earth would hold them in place.
- MORE in the WIKIPEDIA !


. doguu, Dogū 土偶 clay figure, clay figurine .
small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period (14,000 BC to 400 BC) of prehistoric Japan

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haniwa はにわ【埴輪】“clay cylinder” or “circle of clay”
clay image at ancient burial mounds
discussion on Japanese haniwa (埴輪) and the kofun (古墳) period.
..... haniwa were meant to be seen.
That is, instead of being buried deep underground with the deceased, haniwa occupied and marked the open surfaces of the colossal tombs. However, it is unlikely that they were readily visible to any person who happened to pass by since the tombs were sacred, ritualized spaces that were usually surrounded by one or more moats. As a result, close visual contact with haniwa would not have been easy for unauthorized visitors. .....
Monumental tombs and early Japan
Three periods in tomb-building practices
Evolution and placement of haniwa
Haniwa in the form of animals, people and buildings
What role did haniwa play?
Style
Closeup of the Warrior Haniwa
- source : Dr. Yoko Hsueh Shirai -

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Haji ware (土師器 Hajiki)
is a type of plain, unglazed, reddish-brown Japanese pottery or earthenware that was produced during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was used for both ritual and utilitarian purposes, and many examples have been found in Japanese tombs, where they form part of the basis of dating archaeological sites.
- History -
Haji ware evolved in the 4th century AD (during the Tumulus period) from the Yayoi ware of the preceding period. The ornate decorations of Yayoi pottery were replaced by a plain, undecorated style, and the shapes began to become standardized. Great amounts of this pottery were produced by dedicated craft workshops in what later became the provinces of Yamato and Kawachi, and spread from there throughout western Japan, eventually reaching the eastern provinces. Some Haji ware pottery has been found in the enormous tombs of the Japanese emperors. By the end of the 5th century, Haji pottery was imitating Sue ware forms.
In the Nara period,
Haji ware was often burnished and smoke-blackened by being fired in an oxygen-reduction atmosphere but at low temperatures. This sub-style is known as kokushoku-doki.
Haji ware came to an end with the development of glazes and ceramics in the late Heian period.
During a 2007 underwater archaeology survey on Ojikajima by the Asian Research Institute of Underwater Archaeology, examples of Chinese ceramics and Haji ware was recovered.



- Characteristics -
Haji ware is typically a rust-red pottery, made of clay that was built up in rings or coils, rather than being thrown on a potters wheel. The exterior and usually the interior surfaces were finished by scraping smooth with a piece of wood. It was fired at temperatures below 1000 deg C in surface fires or oxidizing fires rather than kilns.
Most of Haji ware
is undecorated and has wide rims. However, ritual and funerary objects were also made in the form of houses, boats, animals, women, hunters, musicians, and warriors, which were often placed inside tombs On occasion, these objects were placed outside the tomb to guard it. One pot that was found at an archaeological site in Hachiōji, Tokyo has a globular body, averted mouth, rounded base, solid triangular handle, painted in dark grey pigment on one side with a human face painted on the front.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Hajibe 土師部 / 土師氏 / 土部とも書く。
土師連(むらじ)を伴造(とものみやつこ)とし、朝廷に埴輪(はにわ haniwa)・土師器(はじき hajiki)を貢進し、葬礼をも担当したトモまたはその部民。『日本書紀』垂仁(すいにん Suinin)天皇32年条に、土部連の始祖
野見宿禰(のみのすくね Nomi no Sukune)が出雲(いずも Izumo)国（島根県）土部100人を率い殉人(じゅんにん)の代用として埴輪をつくった説話がみえる。
土師部は出雲をはじめ山城(やましろ)、摂津(せっつ)、河内(かわち)、和泉(いずみ)、遠江(とおとうみ)、武蔵(むさし)、下総(しもうさ)、常陸(ひたち)、美濃(みの)、若狭(わかさ)、丹後(たんご)、但馬(たじま)、因幡(いなば)、石見(いわみ)に設定された。雄略(ゆうりゃく)天皇17年条に贄土師部(にえのはじべ Nie no Hajibe)の貢進がみえ、のち諸陵司の伴部となった。
［前川明久］
- source : kotobank.jp -


. Hajidera 土師寺 and 道明寺天満宮 / Osaka .
Domyoji Tenmangu Shrine originates in Haji Shrine that Haji Tribe built in 3 A.D. to enshrine their ancestor Amenohohi no mikoto (the son of Amaterasu Omikami, the goddess of the sun).

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Kofun (300 – 710 AD)
From the late 4th century AD, the dead start to get gifts in their tombs such as iron weapons and armour. These, and tomb paintings, are clear signs of contact with Korea and immigration of Korean artisans. So, next to the Suebe clay work that we have seen already in the Joumon period, these immigrants started making Hajibe clay work (darker, reddish). They made Haniwa out of this, which are little clay figures or cylindrical shapes, put on top of tomb hills. Also, there is evidence of some Japanese state being politically and militaristically involved on the Korean peninsula.
- source : ansui.wordpress.com/ -


Hajibe : Families or clans of potters (some from Korea) who, from about the fourth ... Yayoi pottery, mainly for the Yamato court; they probably also made haniwa.

- reference : haniwa hajibe clan -

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野見宿禰と大和出雲 / 池田 雅雄

. Nomi no Sukune 野見宿禰 .
and the Sumo Jinja 相撲神社
The 菅原氏 Sugawara clan is said to be descended from 天穂日命 Ameno Hohino Mikoto and the Haji clan, one of whose ancestors was Nomi no Sukune, famous as the pioneer of Sumo.

Nomi no Sukune is mythically credited with contriving the haniwa, the terracotta figurines, which were used doing the Kofun period ...
Making the first haniwa under Nomi no Sukune's supervision ...

A potter from Izumo named Nomi no Sukune declared:
"It is not good to bury living men upright at the tumulus of a prince. ... Let it be the law for future ages to substitute things of clay for living men and set them up at tumuli." ...

- reference : haniwa nomi no sukune -

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mogari もがり【殯】 funeral rites

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THE MOGARI RITE THROUGH THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE CULTURE
..... The supposed etymology is as following. Mogari - from mo (mourning) + agari (ascend to heaven, /soul/ is flying away). Araki - /temporary/mausoleum (tomb) of newly dead \whose spirit is not appeased yet/, comp.; aramitatama - "spirit unappeased", arabotoke - newly dead /before first obon/, arakuchi - first after someone's death shaman's interrogation with his spirit; kijo:shiro - castle, palace, iwaki - "rock/cave tomb", ishiki - stone tomb, okutsuki - deep tomb, imaki - new tomb.
.....
Asobi-be
In- & outside the hinkyu (esp. of a dead sovereign) mogari-no matsuri (funeral festival) took place; its purpose was to call back the soul and bring the dead back to life, to pacify his potentially dangerous spirit in order to pass it to the successor or to send it off to nether world; thus the deification of the dead began. It included mogari-no asobi (funeral "play/game") with various dancing and singing. Beside relatives and officials there were two groups of funeral ritualists called Haji-be and Asobi-be.
Haji-be were constructing hinkyu, tombs, making haniwa. Asobi-be danced chinkon/tamafuri-no mai (dances to appease the souls of the dead) and sang shokonka/chinkonka (songs to call back and pacify the souls).
Asobi-be represented the occupational group of traditional Japanese shamans who were involved not only in funeral rituals, but also in the seasonal erotic festivities kagai\utagaki, other festivals and ceremonies (including Daijosai). Ecstatic dances of Asobi-be (from Hijiki-wake clan) lately developed in nembutsu-odori performed in Buddhist sect Ji-shu: (or Yugyo-ha - School of Wanderers, "yu/asobi"); thus sect Ji-shu: derived from exorcist rituals of asobi-be. Particularly, among its followers were Nogaku actors.
- - - - - read the essay here
- source : ru-jp.org/yaponovedy_baksheev -

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細長いだるまのような踊る埴輪です
A long dancing Haniwa, like Daruma



Look at many more new-type Haniwa items - 2015 - Let's make Haniwa!
- source : kumagaya-bunkazai.jp/museum -


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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures


............................................................................. Kyoto　京都　

. Fukakusa-yaki 深草焼 Clay Dolls from Fukakusa .
Clay Dolls from Fushimi - 伏見土人形

Fushimi Doll is a clay doll whose originator is said to be Hajibe who settled in Fukakusa
before the Nara era. 土師部　Hajibe is a tribe who was notable for their skills in making Haniwa (a clay image placed in ancient burial mounds) and earthenware.
The doll was made of clay from Mt. Inari, and was distributed widely, not only in old capital provinces but to Shikoku and Kyushu. The doll became the precursor of clay dolls that number approximately 90 types nationwide, such as Hakata Doll, Tsutsumi Doll of Sendai and Nakano Doll of Shinshu.
- source : ndl.go.jp/scenery/kansai -



............................................................................. Miyazaki 愛媛県



. haniwa ningyoo はにわ人形 Haniwa dolls .



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

Kappa-type Dogu from Niigata, Itoigawa region
新潟土偶（カッパ型）from 新潟県糸魚川市長者


source : haniwadokoro.cart.fc2.com


. 河童 / かっぱ / カッパ - Kappa, the Water Goblin of Japan! .




............................................................................. Osaka　大阪　


埴輪馬 haniwa horse

. Osaka, Sakai town 堺市 .
住吉大社の諸玩具 Clay Dolls and Toys from shrine Sumiyoshi Taisha


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- Reference in Japanese 埴輪 -
- Reference in English -

. Legends - Heian Period (794 to 1185) - Introduction .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

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haniwa gangu　埴輪玩具 Haniwa toys


CLICK for more photos !

. gangu 玩具伝説, omochcha おもちゃ toy, toys .

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source : 白馬の少年

春愁や遠きいくさの埴輪武士
shunshuu ya tooki ikusa no haniwa bushi

spring melancholy -
this Haniwa soldier
of long times past

高知城 seen at the castle in Kochi

河野南畦 Kano Nankei (1913 - 1995)

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冬の日に埴輪掘りたる人死ぬか
とろ～と冬日が溶ける埴輪かな

萩原麦草

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時雨るるや手あげて埴輪夫を恋ふ
野見山朱鳥


太刀佩ける埴輪をのこに梅咲けり
福田蓼汀

愛する時獣皮のような苔の埴輪
赤尾兜子


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- #haniwafigures #haniwadolls -
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. Yakimono 焼物　/ Setomono 瀬戸物 pottery, crockery .
- Introduction -

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Kamakura Gongoro

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. Legends - Heian Period (794 to 1185) - Introduction .
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Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa 鎌倉権五郎景政 Legends
(born 1069)
鎌倉景正 Kamakura Kagemasa / 平景正 Taira no Kagemasa / Kagemasa 景政



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Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa 鎌倉権五郎景政 (born 1069)
a samurai descended from the Taira clan, who fought for the Minamoto clan in the Gosannen War of Japan's Heian period. He is famous for having continued to fight after losing an eye in battle during that war. This was in 1085, when Kagemasa was sixteen years of age.

The progenitor of the Nagae and Kagawa clans, Kagemasa is also claimed as an ancestor by Oba Kagechika, a famous figure of the Genpei War (1180–1185). The family name "Kamakura" comes from his family's residence in the city of Kamakura (in today's Kanagawa prefecture), where his father was a powerful official. The exact identity of his father is unclear, but most scholars cite either 平景成 Taira no Kagenari or 平景通 Taira no Kagetōri as likely names.

Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa is the hero of the kabuki play Shibaraku, one of the most widely-recognized of all kabuki roles and one most associated with the form among those with only a cursory knowledge of the form. Kagemasa is represented in the play with bold red and white face makeup, and a massive costume with huge sleeves, often bearing the crest of the actor Ichikawa Danjūrō.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Gosannen no Eki 後三年の役 （1083年 - 1087年）



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The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, gosannen kassen), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū.
The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power within the warrior clans of the time.
The Gosannen kassen
arose because of a series of quarrels within the Kiyohara clan (sometimes referred to as "Kiyowara"). The long-standing disturbances were intractable. When Minamoto no Yoshiie, who became Governor of Mutsu province in 1083, tried to calm the fighting which continued between Kiyohara no Masahira, Iehira, and Narihira.
Negotiations were not successful; and so Yoshiie used his own forces to stop the fighting. He was helped by Fujiwara no Kiyohira. In the end, Iehira and Narihira were killed.
During the Siege of Kanezawa,
1086-1089, Yoshiie avoided an ambush by noticing a flock of birds take flight from a forest.
Much of the war is depicted in an e-maki narrative handscroll, the 後三年合戦　絵巻　Gosannen Kassen E-maki, which was created in 1171. The artwork is owned today by the Watanabe Museum in Tottori city, Japan.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Shibaraku (暫 / しばらく) "Stop a Moment!"
is among the most popular pieces in the Kabuki repertoire, and one of the celebrated Kabuki Jūhachiban (Eighteen Great Plays)



The plot centers around the figure of Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa, who has become the stereotypical bombastic hero of the kabuki stage, with red-and-white striped makeup and strong, energetic movement. The historical Kamakura Kagemasa is famous for his bravery for having continued to fight after losing an eye in battle in the Gosannen War (1083-1087).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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"Shibaraku"
Kiyohara Takehira has ordered his retainers to kill people who will not obey his orders. Kamakura Gongoro appears with the shout "Shibaraku" (Wait a minute!) and rescues these people.
In Edo Kabuki, actors made annual contracts with theaters. The performance in November, celebrating the opening of the new contract year, was called Kaomise (face-showing) and was the most important annual event. It introduced the actors who were members of the company. For the Kaomise, it was customary to create a scene such as this in which all major actors were on stage together, and to include a character with a strong sense of justice who appeared on stage after shouting, "Shibaraku" and saved innocent people who were in imminent danger of being killed by evil men.

Among various works performed for Kaomise, this scene was performed many times, and was gradually refined until fixed dramatic techniques were established. In the Meiji period, this "Shibaraku" scene began to be performed as an independent act, as it is today. "Shibaraku" allows audiences to enjoy stylized dramatic techniques rather than the story of a play.
The hero of this play performs in the Aragoto style, the specialty of each Ichikawa Danjuro generation. Therefore, "Shibaraku" is included as one of the Kabuki-juhachiban (18 best plays), the collection of plays established as "Ie no gei" (specially chosen repertoire for the actor's family) of the Danjuro family.


Kamakura Gongoro wears the type of wig called Kurumabin to which Chikara-gami ornaments made of washi (Japanese paper) are attached, with the type of Kumadori makeup called "Sujiguma" and a costume called suo with enormous sleeves showing the mimasu [3 nested square rice measures], the Ichikawa Danjuro family crest. These are all designed to make Gongoro appear large and strong.
Tsurane
The long speech spoken without a break by Gongoro on the Hanamichi is called Tsurane. This allows the audience to hear the actor's elocution, one of the arts of Aragoto. Basically, the content of this speech, in which many puns are included, is changed for each production.
Keshogoe
When Gongoro has moved from the Hanamichi to the Hombutai (main stage) and is removing the top layer of his costume, voices on stage shout "A-rya, ko-rya" repeatedly, and other voices shout "Dekkee" synchronized with Gongoro's Mie (poses). These voices, called Keshogoe, are praising the Aragoto actors. Keshogoe shouts also praise Soga Goro in "Kotobuki soga no taimen."
- source : ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/kabuki -


. Kabuki and Narita San Ichikawa Danjūrō .

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Takizawa Bakin 滝沢馬琴 七不思議，妖怪

nana fushigi 七不思議 seven wonders of Edo
from the year 1789 - 寛政11年 夏江戸の七不思議。
雷獣を捕えた。女が卵を生んだ。子児が桶で水死した。和睦の後に刀傷におよんだ。三日月井戸の争論が３日に和睦した。匹の牝犬に２匹の牡犬が交尾していた。

鎌倉権五郎景政を祭った社に参詣したら目がつぶれた。
If someone visited a shrine dedicated to Kamakura Gongoro, his one eye would be lost.
(Maybe this is the Shrine in Kamakura.)

. Edo Nana Fushigi 江戸七不思議 The Seven Wonders of Edo　 .


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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.................................................................. Akita　秋田　 ....................................................................
Yokote 横手市 金澤町

ugui 石斑魚 Japanese dace
At the shrine 金澤八幡神社 Kanezawa Hachimangu in Yawata-119 Yawata, Yokote, Akita
there were 土鈴 clay bells with a Japanese dace with only one eye and 土偶 small clay statues of Kamakura Gongoro.
Gongoro lost his right eye by a hit with an arrow during the siege and 後三年の役 "Later three year's war" of Kanezawa (around 1086 - 89). Gongoro was just 16 years at that time.
He pulled out the arrow at the river 厨川 Kuriyagawa and washed his wound there, thus polluting the river. Now the fish in the river have only one eye.
The clay figures and bells depict him and 石斑魚の土鈴 the Ugui river fish with only one eye.
(It may have been a kajika 鰍 bullhead fish, fam Psychrolutidae.)

. ugui 石斑魚 Japanese dace .

Fish in the rivers coming from 鳥海山 Mount Chokai-San all have only one eye (sugameuo 眇魚) .
Here again is the legend of Kamakura Gongoro having washed his eye after being shot.



............................................................. Fukushima 福島県　 ...............................................................
南矢野目 Minami Yanome

mekko shimizu 半盲清水 clear well with one-eyed fish
Because Gongoro washed his wounded eye here in the "clear water".
- reference and photos : MASAの道中日記 -


.................................................................. Ibaragi 茨城県　 ....................................................................
牛久町 Ushiku machi

Gongoro no Onnen 鎌倉権五郎の怨念
奥州征伐に向かった鎌倉権五郎が、非業の最期を遂げた場所だとされている。この地に果てた権五郎の怨念で、附近の土地を作ると目患をする。病人が出ると言って恐れられていた。


.................................................................. Iwate 岩手県　 ....................................................................
Morioka, 厨川 Kuriyagawa

katame no sakana 片目の魚，メッコ鰍 fish with one eye
The kajika 鰍 bullhead fish in the river Kuriyagawa have only one eye.
This is because Gongoro washed his wounded eye in the river.


.................................................................. Mie 三重県　 ....................................................................
鈴鹿市 and 津市 Suzuka and Tsu

mearai ike, me-arai ike 眼洗池 pond where he washed his eye
The turtles and fish in this pond have all only one eye.
Gongoro had a stronghold there and washed his wounded eye in the pond.


.................................................................. Miyagi 宮城県　 ....................................................................
亘理町 Watari

kataha no ashi, kataba no ashi 片葉の芦 One-sided Reed
Kamakura Kagemasa was had a wounded eye by an arrow and wanted to wash in a pond. When some reeds disturbed him, he cut them down and they turned to become one-sided reeds.
This legend is told in many other ponds of Japan:

宮城郡利府町神谷沢 鏡ヶ池 Miyagi, Rifu, Kamiyazawa
仙台市南町裏の池、仙台市片平丁西側牢屋敷隣りの池、白石市柳町角田街道沿道田の中の池、白石市越河亀井清水、多賀城市市川鴻ノ池、黒川郡富谷町志戸田行 神社御手洗池、石巻市真野萱原長谷寺の池、栗原郡金成町姉歯赤坂岩蔵寺堤、白石市葭ヶ池、柴田郡柴田町船迫清水、栗原郡高清水町勾当山。

katame no buna 片目の鮒 crucian carp with one eye
In the river Nikkawagawa 新川川 Gongoro washed his wounded eye.


. buna densetsu 鮒 伝説　crucian carp - kigo and legends .


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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -

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. Persons of the Heian Period (794 to 1185) 平安時代 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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景政が片目をひろふ田螺かな
Kagemasa ga katame o hirou tanishi kana

Kagemasa
picks up a mud snail
with one eye . . .

. Kikaku Takarai Kikaku 宝井其角 .
榎本其角 Enomoto Kikaku (1661-1707)

Goryoo Jinja 御霊神社 Goryo Jinja
3-17 Sakanoshita, Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kagemasa is the deity in residence.

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The Shrine is dedicated to the soul of an extraordinarily brave samurai with great physical strength who had lived here before the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). His name is Kagemasa (Gongoro) Kamakura (1069-?), thereby local people call the Shrine " Gongoro-san". .

At the age of 16, he joined a battle at a southern part of Akita Prefecture as a retainer of Yoshiie Minamoto (1039-1106, great-grandfather of Yoritomo Minamoto, the founder of Kamakura Shogunate). During the bitter battle, his left eye was shot by an enemy's arrow. Undaunted, he bravely continued fighting. When he came back to the camp, the arrow was still in his eye. His colleague tried to help remove it putting his foot on Kagemasa's forehead. Kagemasa got furious and accused the colleague of his rude manner. Samurai were full of pride and self-respect those days, and the face being stepped on by foot meant to break the samurai code and was never bearable for Kagemasa. The colleague apologized for his rudeness and the arrow was eventually pulled out in proper manner. To commemorate this episode, a pair of fletchings were employed as the crest of the Shrine and they appear on the tiles of roof. Kagemasa's prowess and manner were highly praised as a role model of Kanto samurai. Hence the Shrine is credited by the locals with its power of healing eye diseases. Also to praise his braveness, a Jizo statue named Yagara (arrow) was made and had been enshrined at Engakuji. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the 1923 earthquake. Today, a stone monument for this statue stands at Keisho-an of Engakuji and is listed 14th of the Kamakura Twenty-Four Jizo Pilgrimage.



In the Shrine's ground, there are a pair of round stones which are dubbed Tamoto-ishi or a "sleeve stone" and Tedama-ishi or a "stone in one's hand". Legend has it that the larger stone (left) weighing 105 kilograms was in Kagemasa's sleeve-pocket and the smaller one weighing 60 kilograms was in his palm as if they had been his toys. The stones are to show he was a man of muscle.

There are quite a few Jinja named Goryo in Japan. Go is a prefixal honorific and ryo means souls. According to Shinto dogma, those who died an unnatural death, died by violence or in a state of anger or resentment need to be buried with courtesy and reverence, and their souls should be enshrined. Otherwise, it is believed, people will incur divine wrath and punishment, or revenge will be exacted by the malevolent spirits of the dead. Goryo Jinja were thus erected throughout Japan to exorcise evil spirits, and special services are performed regularly to soothe the revengeful spirits. In the Shrine, wooden statues of Kagemasa and his wife are enthroned on the altar, but they are not visible. As usual in Shinto shrines, only a round mirror is placed in the center.
- source : kamakuratoday.com/e -


. tanishi 田螺 paddie snails, mud snails .


. 御霊神社 Goryo Jinja Shrines in Japan .

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source : kamakuratoday.com/suki/mochida


- - - - - There is a saying about Kagemasa

景政の目玉田螺も力餅
Kagemasa no medama tanishi mo chikaramochi

tanishi 田螺 / タニシ mud snails are said to be a medicine for eye disease. In their form they look almost like an eyeball.

There is alos a deity 片目の生砂神 for lost eyes.
- reference : www.geocities.jp/kasaamiryou/topix4/... pdf file -
(More to be explored.)




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You will find an old stone guidepost engraved　"Goryo Shrine Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa" in front and "Road bound for Hasedera Temple" on the side. Actually, this place has been a very important cross roads from Enoshima and Hase since Kamakura era or maybe more ancient times.

Mochiya Kichibei, the founder of CHIKARAMOCHI YA, opened his store right behind the guidepost. It is a story of 300 years ago.

- - - - - Chikaramochi and Kamakura Samurai history
A Kamakura Samurai named Gongoro Kagemasa became famous for his brave actions and success in the battles of 1083-1087 at TOHOKU (the northern region of Japan). He was just 16 years old at that time but already very strong. When his troops returned in triumph they began the contest of strength using 60-kilo, 100-kilo stones here at Sakanoshita. They all admired Gongoro's strength.

Later who knows when, these stones were placed at Goryo shrine and the rice cakes were put on the stones for offering to Gongoro. Those cakes were also delivered to the worshipers and came to be called Gongoro's CHIKARAMOCHI.

Long later but still long time ago, our ancestor started making the house-brand cake named CHIKARAMOCHI so that people would keep in mind the brave samurai, Gongoro Kagemasa for the future. 　(Those stones are exhibited at Goryo shrine even now.)

Times had changed into the modern age and the MEIJI government regulated the license for handling the sweet products at stores. CHIKARAMOCHI YA took it in 1885. ......long time has passed...... Now we enjoy the local activities, for example, Goryo festival together with many people and shops such as Mitome store who is also a very long established store here.
18-18 Sakanoshita, Kamakura City,
- source : chikaramochi-ya-en.com -


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