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.

- quote -
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.)




- quote -
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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Rokusan Six Three

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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Rokusan　六三 伝説　legends about Rokusan, Deity of Illness
六三さま / ろくさんさま　Rokusan Sama
Rokuzoosama ロクゾウサマ Rokuzo Sama
rokusan 六算 / ロクサン　/ ロクサン様 Rokusan Sama

- - - - - 六三さまという神様
Rokusan Sama is a deity that resides in various parts of the body, but in a different part every year.
This part is prone to become sick.
There are various types of changes of Rokusan:
tobi rokusan トビロクサン "jumping Rokusan"
tsuki rokusan 月ロクサン Rokusan changing every month
toshi rokusan 年ロクサン Rokusan changing every year

六三 ＝ 無産 musan - without possession or job
活動が停止した部分、弱くなった部分、を除くご祈祷。これが六三除です。

Rokusan is related to
. kyuusei 九星 Kyusei, the "nine special stars" .
.

If people do not take precautions and rituals to prevent Rokusan Sama to become violent
(Rokusan no yaku 六三の厄), this part will become very sick.
It is best to perform some rituals (Rokusan yoke 六三除け) before going to see a doctor for treatment.
rokusan yoke no majinai ロクサンヨケの咒 / 呪 spell against Rokusan



When someone is ill the cure is made by "calculating with six" (roku san 六算).
First take the age of the ill person and divide it by 9. The remaining number can now be equated to a part of the body.
(Example: someone is now 31, divided by 9, remains 4. He might be affected with a breast or stomach disease.)

1 and 3 are lower legs, 2 and 6 are the sides, 4 is the breast or stomach,
8 are the thighs, 5 and 7 the shoulders, 9 is the head.
The sides vary for men and women.

During a pregnancy, it is best to use an amulet near the points 2, 6 and 8 to pray for easy delivery.
People either apply the amulet directly to their own body or get a paper figure with the numbers from a temple and apply it here.

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立正院 きしもじん Rissho-In Kishimojin
福島市松川町信夫隠５番地 Fukushima
- reference source : kishimojin.net -


. Kishimojin 鬼子母神 Kishibojin .
Karitei, Kangimo

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.................................................................. Fukushima 福島県 ....................................................................
Nishi Aizu, 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata

rokusan yoke ロクサン除け "preventing Rokusan"
Rokusan yoke no majinai ろくさんよけのまじない
People who know a lot of spells (咒 / 呪 ju, majinai) do not go hunting very often.
Once a man had a stomach ache and asked an old man for a ritual to prevent Rokusan. He was healed quite fast.
Sometimes it helps to rub an abacus on the painful spot and say a spell, sometimes it helps to plaster an amulet with some pine resin (松脂 matsuyani) over the painful spot.


.................................................................. Gunma 群馬県 ....................................................................

rokusan 六算 / ロクサン calculating with SIX - ( soomi rokusan 惣身六算)

When someone is ill the cure is made by "calculating with six".
First take the age of the ill person and divide it by 9. The number can now be equated to a part of the body.
1 and 3 are lower legs, 2 and 6 are the sides, 4 is the stomach, 8 are the thighs. 5 and 7 the shoulders.
If the healing was successful, offering of Tofu, sekihan 赤飯 red cooked rice and dango 団子 rice balls were made to the 稲荷 Inari deity.

. Kappa and Tōfu kozō 豆腐小僧 Tofu Kozo, The Tofu Boy .



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

In various parts
rokusan ni ataru ロクサンに当る to be attacked by Rokusan
This could happen for various reasons:
During the days of doyo 土用 Doyo :
If people would dig a hole or hammer a nail.
If people had to enlarge the space for the family graves,

. doyoo 土用 Doyo days .
four times a year, the 18 days before each changing to the next season,


.................................................................. Saitama 埼玉県 ....................................................................
戸田市 Toda

When getting ill, it is best to perform a ritual for Rokusan before visiting a doctor.


.................................................................. Tochigi 栃木県 ....................................................................
粟野町 Awano

rokusan sama ロクサン様 Rokusan sama
Pain in the shoulders, lower back or legs is often simply called "Rokusan".
People visit elders who perform rituals to get rid of Rokusan (rokusan sake ロクサン避け).
They also offer special kinds of Tofu bean curd to Rokusan or the Family Deity (ujigami sama 氏神様).


masudoofu マス豆腐 / 枡豆腐 Tofu in a wooden Masu cup.


. Kappa and Tōfu kozō 豆腐小僧 Tofu Kozo, The Tofu Boy .


.................................................................. Yamanashi 山梨県 ....................................................................
秋山村 Akiyama

If someone has pain without any known cause, it might be due to Rokusan.
Dividing the age of the ill person by 9, and if the rest of the number falls on a number of Rokusan, then he is the cause of the illness.
金神様に失礼なことをしたのであてられたので、３差路に段を作っておがんでわびる。

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Yamanashi, 北都留郡 Kitatsuru district

hime konjin sama no tatari ヒメコンジン様の祟り the curse of Hime Konjin Sama
In every house there are for Konjin Sama deities to protect the premises.
One of them is the female "Princess Konjin Sama".
If people do not treat her spot nicely, someone will get ill. They must keep the area around the outside toilet clean and not cut branches from the Silverberry (グミの木 gumi, Elaeagnus pungens), otherwise their lower back will start aching the same day due to the influnce of Rokusan.
If someone gets ill in this way, he has to seek help from a person performing rituals for Hime Kojin Sama and Rokusan or learn a special spell to repeat secretly to himself.


. Konjin, Konjin Sama 　金神, 金神様 deity of metal .

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

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amulet from
. 中野不動尊 Nakano Fudo Son Temple .
福島市飯坂町中野 / Iizakamachi Nakano, Fukushima

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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bikuni Buddhist nun legends

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
- ningyo 人魚 human fish - see below
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bikuni densetsu 比丘尼　伝説　Legends about Buddhist nuns
ama 尼 nun



tako bikuni 蛸比丘尼 the Octopus nun

. bikuni 比丘尼 Buddhist Nuns .
- Introduction -
- - - - - including
heoi bikuni, he-oi bikuni 屁負比丘尼 / 屁負比丘 fart-pretending nuns
uta bikuni 歌比丘尼 singing nun
bikuni 比丘尼　prostitutes clad as nuns in Edo
Kumano bikuni 熊野比丘尼 nun from Kumano

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sennen bikuni 千年比丘尼 a young nun for 1000 years
never growing old, because once she ate the meat of a "human-fish"

The "human fish" 人魚 (ningyo) is most probably a Dugong.
Whoever eats its meat will live for 1000 years without changing his/her features.
- source : Dugong dugon -

A young woman eats a piece of fish found in the left-overs of her father, a fisherman.
When she learns about the fact that it was a "human fish" she decides to become a nun to atone for her deed. And then . . .

There are many legends about her in many parts of Japan, after all she lived for 1000 years with the features of a beautiful woman. When she stayed at a temple for a while, people became suspicious of her never-changing beautiful features and eventually she had to leave for another place. Often she planted a walking stick in the temple compound before leaving, which sprouted to live on . . .



Yashima Kameyama 八島亀山 in Okayama 岡山
After the young woman had left her birthplace . . there was a young man from Kameyama, who visited the temple 善光寺 Zenko-Ji in Nagano, where he saw a beautiful nun in the temple and told her about Kameyama、so she became quite homesick. When he went back and told the story to the fishermen in Kameyama they went to the back of Mount Boyama 坊山 and found the remains of her old small temple. There was also an old tree, byakushin ビャクシン / 柏槙 (a kind of mountain juniper) to our day, which had sprouted from her walking stick.
This tree was then found to have a disease infecting the Japanese pear trees nearby and was cut down eventually.

In Asakuchi　浅口, Okayama in the hamlet of 貞見 Sadami
there is another tree that has sprouted from her walking stick. It has sprouted, as she had foretold, "tsue wa ikitsuku made"　杖は活き着くまで. . . and now there is another hamlet with a pun on that nearby :
Tsukuma 津熊 .
The tree that sprouted from her stick was a huge yanagi 大柳 willow tree.
It was so strong and perfect that the tree was cut down and its trunck became a beam for the famous 三十三間堂,　京都 Hall of 1000 Buddha Statues in Kyoto, Sanjusan Gendo.

. Legends about the roof beams for 三十三間堂 Sanjusan Gendo .

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hyakunen bikuni　百年比丘尼 nun for 100 years

...................................

yao bikuni 八百比丘尼（やおびくに）nun for 800 years

- quote -
One of the most famous folk stories concerning ningyo is called
Yao Bikuni (八百比丘尼, "eight-hundred (years) Buddhist priestess") or
ハッピャクビクニ Happyaku Bikuni.

The story tells how a fisherman who lived in Wakasa Province once caught an unusual fish. In all his years fishing, he had never seen anything like it, so he invited his friends over to sample its meat.

One of the guests, however, peeked into the kitchen, noticed that the head of this fish had a human face, and warned the others not to eat it. So when the fisherman finished cooking and offered his guests the ningyo's grilled flesh, they secretly wrapped it in paper and hid it on their persons so that it could be discarded on the way home.

But one man, drunk on sake, forgot to throw the strange fish away. This man had a little daughter, who demanded a present when her father arrived home, and he carelessly gave her the fish. Coming to his senses, the father tried to stop her from eating it, fearing she would be poisoned, but he was too late and she finished it all. But as nothing particularly bad seemed to happen to the girl afterwards, the man did not worry about it for long.

Years passed, and the girl grew up and was married. But after that she did not age any more; she kept the same youthful appearance while her husband grew old and died. After many years of perpetual youth and being widowed again and again, the woman became a nun and wandered through various countries. Finally she returned to her hometown in Wakasa, where she ended her life at an age of 800 years.



ningyo (人魚, "human fish", often translated as "mermaid")
is a fish-like creature from Japanese folklore.
Anciently, it was described with a monkey’s mouth with small teeth like a fish’s, shining golden scales, and a quiet voice like a skylark or a flute. Its flesh is pleasant-tasting, and anyone who eats it will attain remarkable longevity. However, catching a ningyo was believed to bring storms and misfortune, so fishermen who caught these creatures were said to throw them back into the sea. A ningyo washed onto the beach was an omen of war or calamity.
..... gyojin 魚人 fish-man, human fish
- More about ningyo Ningyo (人魚) "human fish" :
- source : wikipedia -

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Yao Bikuni 八百比丘尼（やおびくに）
金川寺 Kinsen-Ji in Fukushima -
喜多方市塩川町金橋字金川
- source : bqspot.com/tohoku/fukushima -

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yao bikuni 八百比丘尼 a nun for 800 years
sometimes called Shiira bikuni シイラ比丘尼 The Nun Shiira from Iwate



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Iwate, 釜石　Kamaishi - and Miyagi 南三陸町 Minami Sanriku

One day a fisherman went fishing near Hiraizumi, when a strange old man living in a cave gave him a strange red fish to eat.
His companion 五郎三郎 Gorosaburo did not eat the fish meat but took it home with him and told everyone not to eat it. His young daughter of 6 years named シイラ Shiira was so tempted to eat this meat, she did not listen to her father's warning and ate it.
After this Shiira never died and lived as a nun for at least 200 years. Now nobody knows where she is.
The old man is said to have been 海尊仙人 Kaison Sennin.

After the death of 平泉の秀衡 Lord Hidehira in Hiraizumi, his retainer Gorosaburo took his life to follow his master, as was the custom of the times.
The wife of Gorosaburo took their young daughter Shiira and hid at 本吉郡の竹島 Takeshima Island in the Motoyoshi district.
The Heavenly Nymph at the Cave of the same name at Takeshima island 竹島の天女洞 refers to the girl Shiira, who lived more than 250 years, always looking like a woman in her forties.


Togura 戸倉 - Takeshima 竹島
Different from the other islands in the inlay, this island is of a soft white rock.

shiira 鱰／鱪 / シイラ is the name of the common dolphin, Coryphaena hippurus.


. Hitachibo Kaison Sennin 常陸坊海尊仙人 .


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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.................................................................. Aichi 愛知県 ....................................................................
知多郡 Chita gun 南知多町 Minami Chita

yao bikuni 八百比丘尼 a nun for 800 years

Once upon a time in the Heian period
a young woman ate a piece of meat from a "human fish" . . . and had to live for 800 years as a young beauty.
She walked around in many parts of Japan . . .




.................................................................. Niigata 新潟県 ....................................................................
Sado, 相川町 Aikawa

. happyaku bikuni ハッピャクビクニ and 猿田彦大神 Sarutahiko .




.................................................................. Okinawa 沖縄県 ....................................................................
石垣市 Ishigaki city

. shinshi 神使 messenger of god, divine messenger .
Once three outcasts of the village caught a human fish and wanted to eat it. They did not know it was 神の使い the messenger of the Deity. From the meat came a whisper that there would soon be a Tsunami 津波.
The three apologized and put the human fish back into the sea.
On the 10th day of March, 1771, there was a strong quake and Tsunami and all the houses, except the ones of these three men, were swept away.




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

. happyaku bikuni 八百比丘尼 / ハッピャクビクニ .
This Bikuni must have lived for more than 1000 years.


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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
yokai database - bikuni (54 entries)
血まみれの比丘尼
八百比丘尼
断食の比丘尼 and many more
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -

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manga nihon mukashibanashi database
鏡騒動
耳柿
ドジョウ取り爺さん
八百比丘尼
- source : nihon.syoukoukai.com -

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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Manyoshu Poetry Collection

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. ABC List of Heian Contents .
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Man'yōshū 万葉集 / 萬葉集 Manyoshu Poetry Collection
Collection of Myriad Leaves
Manyoo-Shuu, Manyo-Shu, Manyoo'shuu, Manyōshyū
Gedichtsammlung Manyoshu



- quote -
The Man'yōshū  万葉集, literally "Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves",
(see Name below) is the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, compiled sometime after 759 AD during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in a series of compilers, is today widely believed to be Ōtomo no Yakamochi, although numerous other theories have been proposed. The collection contains poems ranging from AD 347 (poems #85–89) through 759 (#4516), the bulk of them representing the period after 600. The precise significance of the title is not known with certainty.

The collection is divided into twenty parts or books; this number was followed in most later collections. The collection contains 265 chōka (long poems), 4,207 tanka (short poems), one tan-renga (short connecting poem), one bussokusekika (poems on the Buddha's footprints at Yakushi-ji in Nara), four kanshi (Chinese poems), and 22 Chinese prose passages. Unlike later collections, such as the Kokin Wakashū, there is no preface.
The Man'yōshū is widely regarded as being a particularly unique Japanese work.
- Translating the Name -
Although the name Man'yōshū literally means "Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves" or "Collection of Myriad Leaves", it has been interpreted variously by scholars. Sengaku, Kamo no Mabuchi and Kada no Azumamaro considered the character 葉 yō to represent koto no ha (words), and so give the meaning of the title as "collection of countless words". Keichū and Kamochi Masazumi (鹿持雅澄) took the middle character to refer to an "era", thus giving "a collection to last ten thousand ages".
The kanbun scholar Okada Masayuki (岡田正之) considered 葉 yō to be a metaphor comparing the massive collection of poems to the leaves on a tree. Another theory is that the name refers to the large number of pages used in the collection.
Of these, "collection to last ten thousand ages" is considered to be the interpretation with the most weight.
- snip snip -
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !




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- quote - Michael Hoffman
‘It is I who rule’ — Japan’s ‘Manyoshu’ morning

What fun civilization is in its infancy! How bright and fresh the world looks at the dawn of consciousness! Listen:

Your basket, with your pretty basket,
Your trowel, with your little trowel,
Maiden, picking herbs on this hillside,
I would ask you: Where is your home?
Will you not tell me your name?

It was morning in Japan. Night — if night is a fitting metaphor for Neolithic prehistory — had been long, tens of thousands of years long. China, Egypt and Mesopotamia had thousands of years of civilization behind them; classical Greece had come and gone; classical Rome, long past its prime, was dying. Still, Japan slept on.

The pre-agricultural, preliterate, seemingly endless Jomon Period (circa 12,000 B.C. to circa 200 B.C.) evolved at last into the agricultural, still preliterate Yayoi Period (circa 200 B.C. to A.D. 250), without sparking a transformation dramatic enough to be called civilizing. Then, with startling abruptness, nudged by China via Korea, Japan awoke from its primeval slumbers.

The watershed event is the arrival, circa A.D. 405, of a Korean scholar named Wani. He brought to the imperial court the gift of letters — reading and writing. Chinese became the official language. Soon courtiers and nobles were steeped in Confucian and Buddhist learning. In 645, a palace revolution fused a multitude of independent clans into a quasi-Chinese-style state under the Emperor’s divine but tender sovereignty. Its tenderness we gather from the poem just quoted, for its author is the fifth-century Emperor Yuryaku — who proceeds, very tenderly indeed, to introduce himself to the maiden:

It is I who rule
Over this wide land of Yamato (an ancient name for Japan);
It is I who reign over all.

Thus opens the glorious “Manyoshu,” Japan’s first, many say its best, poetry anthology. “Best” — meaning what? Beauty, shimmering beauty; and innocence, a rare innocence — rare because generally a culture that has risen to this level of linguistic mastery has already lost its innocence. Japan, having risen so very fast, hadn’t.

“Manyoshu” (“Collection of Myriad Leaves”) consists of 4,000-odd poems composed over three centuries, Yuryaku’s being among the earliest, the latest dating to roughly 750, the height of Japan’s first great era, the brilliant Nara Period (710-794).

Unlike later Japanese anthologies, the “Manyoshu” was not produced under imperial auspices. The editing process remains something of a mystery. Scholars speak of earlier poem collections that have not survived, so the “Manyoshu” may not have struck its contemporaries, as it does us, as genius bursting naked from a vacuum.

The poems are astonishing in their variety. There are short poems and long poems — a remarkable fact in itself, for the Japanese long poem, the choka, was soon afterwards to die out, leaving the short tanka to reign supreme. There are poems by emperors and courtiers, naturally, but also by ordinary people, the poor, the lowly

Cold and bitter is the night!
As for those poorer than myself . . .
how do you struggle through life?

— people whom later ages would scorn and ignore.

There are poems of joy and poems of grief, of travel and of domesticity, of love in all its myriad aspects and of nature — nature portrayed as only a newly awakened sensibility can portray her

You boatmen that come rowing ...
Ply not too hard your oars...
lest you startle into flight
the birds beloved of my dear husband!

— and we see here an impulse that over time came to seem inseparable from the Japanese consciousness, a reaching out to nature as the ultimate symbol of everything that makes life wonderful; or as the ultimate consolation when life turns sad past bearing

The cloud drifting over the brows
Of the hills of secluded Hatsuse —
Can it, alas, be she?

The poems span the emotional spectrum — or rather, not quite: Where, one wonders, is anger? Was “Manyo man” never angry? That seems unlikely. A better hypothesis is that he (and she, for many of the poets are women) thought anger unworthy of poetry — as was war, for though conscripted frontier guards march gamely to their distant postings

At the bidding of my great Sovereign
I set out as defender of the isle . . .

they sing no paeans to martial glory, lamenting instead the wrenching pain of leaving home

My mother picking up the hem of her skirt,
Stroked me with it and caressed me . .. 

A pity we have space only for snippets. Where to begin?

Today, taking my last sight of the mallards
Crying on the pond of Iware,
Must I vanish into the clouds!
- - - “Composed in tears,”
a marginal note laconically informs us, “when (a certain Prince Otsu) died by Imperial order on the bank of Iware Pond.”


I gather shells and pebbles
For my darling at home,

sings Fujiwara Kamatari, the guiding hand behind the revolution of 645 and founder of the prepotent Fujiwara clan, power behind the throne for centuries to come. And who was his “darling at home?” A palace attendant named Yasumiko. Hear Kamatari’s whoop of exultation when she consented to be his:

O, Yasumiko I have won!
Mine is she whom all men,
they say, have sought in vain.
Yasumiko I have won!”

Ranked among the greatest of the Manyoshu poets is Kakinomoto Hitomaro (late seventh, early eighth centuries):

Like the sea-tangle, swaying in the wave
hither and thither, my wife would cling to me . . .

His wife died:

I journeyed to Karu and searched the market place
where she was wont to go!
… But no voice of her I heard …
Alas, she is no more, whose soul
was bent to mine like the bending seaweed!

Grief makes happiness seem vain — or is it happiness that makes grief seem vain?

Instead of wasting thoughts on unavailing things,
it would seem wiser
to drink a cup of raw sake.

That’s the spirit! It’s one of the famous “Twelve poems in praise of sake” by Otomo Tabito (665-731). Have we room for one more?

Grotesque! When I look upon a man
who drinks no sake, looking wise —
how like an ape he is!”

- source : Japan Times, 2016 -


. Kakinomoto Hitomaro 柿本人麻呂 Hitomaru 人丸) .

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Manyo Daisho-Ki 万葉集代匠記 / 萬葉代匠記 Man'yō Daishōki

. Keichuu, Keichū 契沖 阿闍梨 Keichu Ajari .
(1640 - 1701)


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- Reference in Japanese 万葉集 -
- 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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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #manyoshu　#manyooshuu -
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- backup - legends about trees

the original is HERE
http://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.jp/2015/05/legends-about-trees.html
June 2016 木と伝説

legendsabouttrees #trees



.[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. minwa 民話　folktales / densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends .
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Legends about trees - - 木と伝説


Tamamura Kōzaburō (1856 - 1923)


. ki 木, jumoku 樹 trees of Japan .
meiboku 名木 famous tree / meiboku hyakusen 名木百選 The 100 most famous trees of Japan
shinboku 神木 Sacred tree, "Tree of a Deity"
- Introduction -


. shinboku 神木 Sacred tree, "Tree of a Deity" .
yama no kami no yadorigi 山の神の止り木 / 山の神の宿り木 Yamanokami resting tree
yama no kami no yasumigi 山の神の休み木


. madogi 窓木 "window tree" .
13 legends to explore

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. enoki 榎 nettletree, Chinese hackberry tree .
4 legends to explore

. Gingko 銀杏 Gingko biloba .
42 legends to explore


. katsura 桂 Japanese Judas tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum .
to explore
. keyaki 欅　/ けやき / ケヤキ 伝説 Legends about the Zelkova tree .


. kunugi 櫟 Quercus acutissima ーoak .

. kusu no ki 楠木 camphor tree .
老樟 old camphor / 樟 18 to explore / 楠木 2 / 楠 71 / お楠という嫁

. kuwa 桑 mulberry tree and kaiko 蚕 silk worms .
- kuwa - 184 legends to explore -
kaiko 蚕 102 legends to explore



. matsu 松 pine tree .
shoochikubai 松竹梅 (しょうちくばい) - pine, bamboo and plum
. Tengumatsu, Tengu matsu 天狗松 / Tengu no matsu 天狗の松 Tengu pine tree .
- 935 legends to explore

. nashi 梨の木 Japanese pear .
16 to expore


. sakaki 榊 Sakaki tree, Cleyera japonica . *
This is the sacred tree of Japanese Shinto.
71 to explore


. Shii oak tree 椎の木 . *
10 legends to explore - and relation to
. Heike Ochudo densetsu　平家落人伝説 legends about Heike Ochudo .
椎葉村 / 椎原 Shiibaru village


. sugi 杉, 杉の木 cedar tree, cryptomeria .
306 legends to explore
. sugi 天狗と杉と伝説 Legends about Tengu and Cedar trees .
----- Tengusugi, Tengu-sugi　天狗杉 Tengu Cedar Tree.
----- . sakasa sugi 逆さ杉 / 逆杉 upside-down cedar tree .
- 06 to explore



. yanagi 柳 willow tree .
- - - - - . - daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake - .
jayanagi (hebiyanagi) 蛇柳 the "serpent willow tree" Snake Willow - Kabuki


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- ABC - List of trees from the Prefectures

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. . . . . . . . . . Okayama 岡山県

Mukuchijima 六口島(むくちじま) Mukuchi Island
One of the islands of Mizushima 水島諸島, near Kurashiki.

On the island there is a valley called "Yanagi no tani 柳の谷", valley of the willow tree.
There was a time when a huge willow tree grew there, hence the name.
The tree was so huge that the ships coming in to the harbour could see it from afar and adjust their journey to it. So it helped to keep the local waterways quite safe.
In the nearby village there lived a beautiful girl called O-Ryu, who liked the tree very much. Every day she went to it, praised it and stroke its huge trunk.
The tree liked her visit and always stroke her back gently with its huge branches.

It was during the construction of a special large temple hall in Kyoto, the Sanjusan Gendo 三十三間堂, when everyone was looking for trees huge enough to support the heavy roof. Eventually a white arrow, sign of being chosen for the building, was stuck into the tree.

When the news spread, O-Ryu was all in tears and could not be consoled.
Then one day woodcutters came to the island and whacked their huge ax into the stem of the tree. The tree shook in pain - and O-Ryu, who stood nearby, also felt a pain as if a knife was stuck into her body.
Every time the woodcutters whacked at the tree, O-Ryu was hit by pain.
Finally the tree was felled and they tried to pull the heavy stem to the beach for transport by sea. But however many strong men pulled at the ropes, the stem would not move one bit.
O-Ryu went back to the Valley of the Willow tree, hugged the stem and bid it good bye. Then she sat on it - and oh wonder - the tree slid down to the beach with no further ado. The stem was shipped to Kyoto and is now a roof beam 棟木 of the famous Sanjusan Gendo Hall.

- おかやま伝説紀行　- by Tateishi san 立石憲利
- source : books.google.co.jp -


In Mie prefecture there is a another story about a huge willow tree for the Sanjusan Gendo Hall.
The roof beams for the hall had to be about 100 meters long and were not so easy to get.

Yooji Yakushi Doo 楊枝薬師堂 The Yakushi Hall of Yoji Village - 浄薬寺Joyaku-Ji
A huge willow tree of the village had to be felled and brought to Kyoto for the Sanjusan Gendo Hall, which was built on request of 後白河上皇 /後白河天皇 Go-Shirakawa Tenno (1127-1192). He had a severe headache all the time and wanted to construct a large temple to pray for healing.
Once the temple was built, the Emperor's headache was healed.



To show his gratitude for the willow tree, Go-Shirakawa himself carved a statue of 薬師如来 Yakushi Nyorai and placed it in a temple in the village, now called the Yakushi Hall of Yoji village, better known locally as
頭痛山平癒寺 "The temple which heales Headaches".
The present-day temple building dates back to 1411.

三重県南牟婁郡紀和町楊枝
- reference -

- - - - another version of the legend
In a former life 後白河法皇 Emperor Goshirakawa had been a mountain priest named 蓮華坊 Renge-Bo, but he had fallen into a ravine and lost his life. A willow tree grew on the spot, piercing the skull and causing the Emperor a constant headache whenever the wind blew the branches of the tree.
On a pilgrimage to Kumano to get rid of the headache, the Emperor learned of his former life and made a search for the skull. He buried the skull properly and used the willow tree to make a beam of the Sanjusan Gendo hall 柳で三十三間堂の棟木. Other versions say he had a Statue of Kannon made and placed the skull inside to show this greatfulness for being relieves of the headache.
. dokuro 髑髏と伝説 Legends about the Skull .


At the Sanjusan Gendo Hall in Kyoto, there is a
ritual services for the willow trees 柳のお加持 "Rite of the Willow"



combined with the famous arrow shooting contest



. ooyakazu 大矢数 "shooting many arrows" .
tooshiya 通し矢（とおしや）

- quote -
Sanjūsangen-dō
The temple complex suffered a fire in 1249 and only the main hall was rebuilt in 1266. In January, the temple has an event known as the Rite of the Willow (柳枝のお加持), where worshippers are touched on the head with a sacred willow branch to cure and prevent headaches.
A popular archery tournament known as the Tōshiya (通し矢) has also been held here, beside the West veranda, since the Edo period.
- source : wikipedia -

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- quote -
The Spirit of the Willow Tree
About one thousand years ago (but according to the dates of the story 744 years ago) the temple of 'Sanjusangen Do' was founded. That was in 1132. 'Sanjusangen Do' means hall of thirty-three spaces; and there are said to be over 33,333 figures of the Goddess Kwannon, the Goddess of Mercy, in the temple today.
- snip -
There lived in the village a young farmer named Heitaro, a great favourite, who had lived near the old tree all his days, as his forefathers had done; and he was greatly against cutting it down.
- snip -
On seeing this, Heitaro addressed the men. 'My friends,' said he, 'the dead trunk of the tree which you are trying to move contains the spirit of my wife. Perhaps, if you will allow my little son Chiyodō to help you, it will be more easy for you; and he would like to help in showing his last respects to his mother.'

The woodcutters were fully agreeable, and, much to their astonishment, as Chiyodō came to the back end of the log and pushed it with his little hand, the timber glided easily towards the river, his father singing the while an 'Uta.' There is a well-known song or ballad in the 'Uta' style said to have sprung from this event; it is sung to the present day by men drawing heavy weights or doing hard labour:--

Muzan naru kana
Motowa kumanono yanagi no tsuyu de
Sodate-agetaru kono midorigo wa
Yoi, Yoi, Yoito na!

Is it not sad to see the little fellow,
Who sprang from the dew of the Kumano Willow,
And is thus far budding well?
Heave ho, heave ho, pull hard, my lads.

In Wakanoura the labourers sing a working or hauling song, which also is said to have sprung from this story of the 'Yanagi no Sei:--

Wakano urani wa meishoga gozaru
Ichi ni Gongen
Ni ni Tamatsushima
San ni Sagari Matsu
Shi ni Shiogama
Yoi, Yoi, yoi to na.

There are famous places in Wakanoura
First Gongen
Second Tamatsushima
Third, the pine tree with its hanging branches
Fourth comes Shiogama
Is it not good, good, good?

A third 'Uta' sprang from this story, and is often applied to small children helping.

The waggon could not be drawn when it came to the front of Heitaro's house, so his little five-year-old boy Chiyodō was obliged to help, and they sang:--

Muzan naru kana
Motowa Kumanono yanagi no tsuyu de
Sodate-agetaru kono midorigo wa
Yoi, Yoi, yoi to na.

Is it not sad to see the little fellow,
Who sprang from the dew of the Kumano Willow,
And is thus far budding well?
Heave ho, heave ho, pull hard, my lads.

- source : www.sarudama.com - Scott Foutz -


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- Now back to Okayama -

. sennen bikuni 千年比丘尼 a young nun for 1000 years .
Often she planted a walking stick in the temple compound before leaving, which sprouted to live on . .

Yashima Kameyama 八島亀山
There was also an old tree, byakushin ビャクシン / 柏槙 (a kind of mountain juniper) to our day, which had sprouted from her walking stick.
This tree was then found to have a disease infecting the Japanese pear trees nearby and was cut down eventually.

In Asakuchi　浅口, Okayama
there is another tree that has sprouted from her walking stick. It has sprouted, as she had foretold, "tsue wa ikitsuku made"　杖は活き着くまで. . . and now there is another hamlet with a pun on that nearby :
Tsukuma 津熊 .
The tree that sprouted from her stick was a huge yanagi 大柳 willow tree.
It was so strong and perfect that the tree was cut down and its trunck became a beam for the famous 三十三間堂,　京都 Hall of 1000 Buddha Statues in Kyoto, Sanjusan Gendo.


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マンガ昔話データベース Manga Mukashibanashi database　－神木
東光寺のケヤキ　/ 七本ひのき /とんぼのやどり木
- source : nihon.syoukoukai.com -

妖怪　データベース　yokai database －神木 - 88 entries
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -


. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .
- Introduction -

- - - #treelegends #legendstrees - - - - -
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. Join the MINGEI group on facebook ! .  



. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples .


. Tohoku after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011

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