2009/12/31

Welcome !

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Welcome to the Galleries Archives
of the Daruma Museum !


Introducing Places, People and Things Japanese
Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

Introducing Japanese Deities, Buddist and Shinto
O-Fudo-Sama, Fudo Myo-O

Asian Animals in Art
Dragon Art Gallery




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My Happy Haiku Gallery


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SEARCH all my articles





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2009/06/05

Temple Seal shuuban

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Temple Seal 宗判 shuuban

In the Kanbun period (1661 - 1673) it became a regulation that every person in Echizen had to register with a temple and get a stamp of approval and recognition. This would also bring the temples in closer contact with their followers and believers (monto 門徒 ).

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十宗判

 ( 1 ) 法我倶有宗……犢子部など。法と自我の実在を説く。
 ( 2 ) 法有我無宗……説一切有部など。法の実在と無我を説く。
 ( 3 ) 法無去来宗……大衆部など。現在のみの法の実在を主張。
 ( 4 ) 現通仮実宗……説化部など。現在の法のなかで五蘊の実在と十二處十八界の非実在を区別。
 ( 5 ) 俗妄真実宗……説出世部など。世俗の法の虚妄性と出世間の真実性を論じる。
 ( 6 ) 諸法但名宗……一説部など。すべての存在は仮名のみで、すべて無体であると説く。
 ( 7 ) 一切皆空宗……大乗初教(始教)。一切の法の空・不可得を説く。
 ( 8 ) 真徳不空宗……大乗終教。一切の法は根本的真理(真如如来蔵)のはたらきに摂まるとする。
 ( 9 ) 相思倶絶宗……大乗頓教。ことばを離れた真理そのものを提示する。
 (10) 円明具徳宗……別教一乗。究極の無礙自在の法門。

法蔵の五教判

華厳宗の五教十宗判

source ... huayan


諸宗判教対弁抄 shoshuuhan kyootaibensho
Look at the Japanese text here
source : archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp


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H A I K U



かすむ日や宗判押しに三里程
kasumi hi ya shuuban oshi ni sanri hodo

hazy day -
to get my temple stamp I walk
about seven miles


Kobayashi Issa, 1821
Tr. Gabi Greve


David Lanoue states
The expression shûban oshi refers to a census taker stamping his seal.

day mist--
the census taker reckons it
about seven miles


source : David Lanoue



Nakamura Sakuo states
On one day of silent and peacefull Spring Issa walked to a temple for stamping seal that prove himself as Buddhist of Joodo-shuu.It was like in dream as he was strolling in the day mist.



source : Sakuo Nakamura
Everyday Issa

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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2009/06/03

Carpet dantsu

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Dantsu, Japanese carpets

The latest issue of the Daruma Magazine, Issue 63, has an article about
dantsu, Japanese cotton carpets or rugs

Daruma Magazine

Daruma Magazine Issue 13 . dantsu
with many illustrations

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I watched a TV special about these carpets just the other day.
だんつう【段通/緞通】dantsuu

They come from three areas, Ako in Hyogo prefecture is most famous. Nabeshima and Sakai are next.
Ako was also famous for its salt production and quite a rich city.
These carpets came into fabrication at the Meiji- and Taisho-Period.

They were made from cotton, since wool is not suitable for the Japanese climate.
The threads are quite long and make a comfortable cushion to sit on.
The carpets came in the size of a zabuton cushion or the size of a tatami and could be used for the tea ceremony. Many dantsuu could be placed in a great temple hall for celebrations, to have the visitors sit more comfortable and warm in winter.


CLICK for more  段通 photos
zabuton style, made from silk


. . . CLICK here for 緞通 Photos !


The Japanese name for carpet is
juutan じゅうたん【絨毯/絨緞】

Mostly used for carpets from Persia, China and other Asian countries.


Some vocabulary, mostly about patterns used for Japanese carpets:

amiriken あみりけん 網利剣 sharp sword with net mesh pattern
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

chuuhana ちゅうはな dark blue color

dantsuuba, dantsuu ba 段通場 dantsu carpet mills

hanabishi はなびし【花菱】flower-shaped rombus patterns
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

ichimatsu moyoo いちまつ(もよう)【市松模様】checkered pattern
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


CLICK for more photos inuriken pattern
inuriken, inu riken いぬりけん  犬利剣 sharp sword and dogs (with pine trees and animals)


kani botan かにぼたん【蟹牡丹】crab and peony pattern
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

kikkoo きっこう【亀甲】tortoise shell pattern
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

sanjuu ichinen gata 三十一年形 31年形 さんじゅういちねんがた "pattern from the year 31"
special of the Ako dentsu rugs



sujitsumi すじつみ applying sissors to cut the border of each pattern

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quote
IN olden times woven rugs were not known in Japan.
The wealthy classes of Japan covered their floors with grass, over which they spread the skins of animals. The poorer classes had not even skins, but only reeds or straw. About four hundred years ago silk and wool rugs were introduced into Japan from Persia, China, and India. For a time the Japanese imitated these rugs, but later the industry ceased.
Since the opening up of the country, however, rug-weaving has prospered, and the introduction of fine cotton yarns of uniform quality has increased greatly the growth of all textile industries. The modern Japanese rugs are made of cotton or jute, and are used extensively in the United States in summer homes. In the towns which produce these rugs little children may be seen busily engaged in weaving, their small fingers being very deft at this work.

The chief colors employed by the Japanese in their rug-weaving are blue, white, and sometimes a beautiful pink. In weaving, designing, and coloring, as in everything else the natives do, their exactness of finish and thoroughness in detail are noticeable. The Persian designs which were once reproduced in Japan are now supplanted by designs purely Japanese. The dragon is a favorite design in some of the older rugs.
source : www.oldandsold.com

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Ako City Tabuchi Museum of Art
田淵記念館(たぶちきねんかん)
Tabuchi Kinenkan


The Ako City Tabuchi Museum of Art displays artwork donated by the Tabuchi family, a family that successfully engaged in the salt making business during the Edo period. The collection includes Japanese paintings, calligraphy, tea ceremony equipment, and marriage ceremony artifacts. In addition, there is a wide selection of tea ceremony equipment which are displayed according to each season.
source : www.kansaiartbeat.com

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H A I K U


juutan 絨毯 じゅうたん carpet
dantsuu 緞通(だんつう)Japanese carpet
juutan 絨緞(じゅうたん) carpet
kaapetto カーペット carpet, Teppich
Persian rug, Perserteppich

kigo for all winter
Although it is in our homes all year, we feel the warmth from it most in the winter months, especially in Japan, when you sit on the floor and have an insulating carpet on the tatami mats.



My Carpet Meditation Nr. 1

morning meditation -
the mind crawls along
carpet patterns




My Carpet Meditation Nr. 2


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summer heat ...
my cat hides under
the silk carpet

My Cat Haiku Kun
Gabi Greve, Summer 2008



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by the riverside
dragons on the carpet
bask under the sun


Sunil Uniyal, New Delhi
WHCindia


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sinking into
the soft red carpet
my aching knees


CLICK for Claudia,s Carpet

Claudia Cadwell
. WKD ... on FACEBOOK . June 2009



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O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2009/05/23

Kekkaiseki kekkai ishi

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"Boundary Stone Markers" 結界石
kekkaiseki, kekkai ishi


CLICK for more kekkaiseki photos

kekkai, the barrier between here and there, this world and the other world.
Sanskrit : siimaa-bandha

zekkai 絶界 absolute boundary

Reference : kekkai

kekkai seki, stone markers beside a temple gate to show the border of our normal world and the world of Buddhist studies and training.
Stones that separate sacred space from secular space.



CLICK for more kaidanseki
At Zen temples, they are also called
kaidanseki 戒壇石.




"old woman stones" 姥石 (うばいし) uba ishi
Marks the departure of mother and child, or places where women were not allowed to enter in former times, for example at the foot of Mount Koya.
There is also a place in the mountains called Ubaishi daira 姥石平.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
shibari-ishi


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Now we come to a type of special border stones,
to prevent the entering of ricewine, liquor, garlic and garlic chives into a Buddhist monastery !

kunshu 葷酒 garlic and liquor, strong-smelling vegetables and ricewine


不許葷酒入山門

CLICK for more photos

葷酒山門に入るを許さず
kunshuu sanmon ni iru o yurusazu

葷 KUN refers to garlic chives and garlic.

It could also read
不許葷辛酒肉入山門

No garlic, garlic chives, spices, liquor or meat.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


山門禁葷酒 sanmon kinkunshu
Garlic and liquor are forbidden from here on.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


葷酒山門(くんしゅさんもん)kunshu sanmon
Temple Gate, no garlic or liquor beyond this point!
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Some temples called the hot ricewine
"hot water of wisdom" hannyatoo 般若湯(はんにゃとう)
or "water of wisdom" chie no mizu 智慧の水.



葷酒山門にいるを許さず紅葉哉
kunshu sanmon ni iru o yurusazu momiji kana

no garlic and wine
beyond the temple gate ...
red autumn leaves


Terada Torahiko 寺田寅彦
(November 28, 1878 - December 31, 1935)
source : jofuan/myhaiku


WASHOKU
Garlic chives


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照るもみじ葷酒の山門酔ひにけり
teru momiji kunshu no sanmon ei ni keri

shimmering red leaves -
at the gate forbidding sake and garlic
we are drunk already


source : 佐々木昭 Sasaki Akira

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椿寺葷酒の入るを許されよ
tsubakidera kunshu no iru o yurusare yo

camellia temple -
forgive us for bringing
liquor and garlic


source : Ikeuchi Komachi 池之小町





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CLICK here for more sekimori sekimori-ishi 関守石 stone markers guarding a border
"barrier-keeper stone"
also used in tea house gardens, usually bound with a black or brown hemp rope, to indicate a stone path that people should not step on.
also called
tome-ishi 留石, 止石 stone markers "preventing the entry"
"stopping stone"
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Read my friend Mark Schumacher

Sai no Kawara 賽の河原 Japanese Limbo for Children

STONES, STONE MARKERS, AND STONE MEMORIALS IN JAPAN


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In Japanese folklore, a kekkai (血塊, lit. blood lump),
is a blood homunculus created during a childbirth that is not sanctified. It is a hideous, amorphous blob of blood that lurks about and frightens people with its horrible appearance.

Due to all the taboo surrounding blood in Japanese culture, a special ceremony must be performed to remove the impurity. If this act was not performed, a kekkai was formed and created havoc and fright among the village until the rite was completed.

Kekkai, (結界), is the Japanese word for a protective ward, which is entirely unrelated to the blood homunculus. It is featured in anime such as Kekkaishi and X (manga).
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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no garlic and rice wine
beyond this point ...
cherry blossom time


Gabi Greve, Spring 2009


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Die Abgrenzung des Heiligen Bereiches

Die Abgrenzung des heiligen Bereiches (kekkai, S: siimaa-bandha) eines esoterischen Altars von der alltäglichen Welt war besonders wichtig, da das Heilswesen während einer Zeremonie in den Flammen visualisiert wird.
Zu den Gegenständen, die der Abgrenzung des Heiligen Bereiches dienten, gehören die vier Grenzpflöcke und die Altar-Schnur.

Vier Grenzpflöcke
(shiketsu, kongooketsu, shihooketsu; S: vajra-kiilaka )
Vier Pflöcke an den Ecken, Vajra-Pfähle, Eckpfosten, Grenzpfähle.
"ketsu" bedeutet eigentlich Pfosten (kui).

Funktion:
Sie stehen an den vier Ecken eines Altars für Zeremonien. Zur Abgrenzung des heiligen Bereiches werden ihre Spitzen mit der Altar-Schnur verbunden.

Bei Feueropfern befindet sich an der Seite, an welcher der leitende Priester sitzt, eine Art kleiner Torbogen, manchmal nur aus zwei Stäben und der darübergelegten Altar-Schnur bestehend. Durch dieses Tor kann der Priester die Gegenstände auf den Herd legen und die heiligen Handlungen auf dem Altar ausführen.

Bei den verschiedenen Sekten des esoterischen Buddhsimus finden sich unterschiedliche Formen für verschiedene Verwendungszwecke.
Der Typ mit einem Wunschjuwel am Ende wird z.B. bei Initiationszeremonien und der Typ ohne Wunschjuwel bei Feueropfern, z.B. vor dem Bau eines Gebäudes als Opfer an den Erdgott (chindan, jishizume kuyoo) verwendet.

Form:
Nach der Form der Spitze unterscheidet man drei Typen:
1. Spitze in der Form wie ein Donnerkeil mit einer Spitze.
2. Spitze in der Form wie eine runde Lotusknospe (mikai rengegata).
3. Spitze in der Form wie ein Wunschjuwel. Der Schaft hat die Form wie ein Donnerkeil. Dieser Typ wird nur für Initiationszeremonien verwendet.

Ein Grenzpflock besteht aus folgenden Teilen: Spitze in einer der oben beschriebenen Formen. Sechs- bis achtkantiger Schaft, unverziert (sobun) oder mit Lotusblüten, Dämonenaugen mit Dekorbändern (himo) an beiden Seiten, Lotus-Halter (renza) oder Chrysanthemen-Halter (kikuza ) und dem Pflock zum Einstecken (hozo) am unteren Ende.

Ein Pflock mit einer Spitze wie ein Donnerkeil und mit unverziertem Schaft wird "Diamantwelt-Grenzpflock" (kongookaiketsu, kongooketsu) genannt. Kuukai brachte Grenzpflöcke in Form eines Donnerkeils mit, daher werden derartige Typen bei der Shingon-Sekte bevorzugt.
Ein Pflock mit Spitze wie eine Lotusknospe und verziertem Schaft mit Lotusblüten wird "Mutterschoßwelt-Grenzpflock" (taizookaiketsu, taizooketsu) genannt.
Länge: 20 - 35 cm.

Material: Je nach Sekte und Zeremonie unterschiedlich. Z.B. bei befriedenden Riten aus Milchholz, bei mehrenden Riten aus Granatapfelbaum-Holz (kichijoomoku), bei bannenden Riten aus Eisen.
Weiterhin werden vergoldete Bronze (sehr häufig) und andere Metalle verwendet.


Feueropfer-Altar (gomadan, goma kadan)

Form: In der Mitte auf dem Altar ist ein Feueropfer-Herd eingelassen und an den vier Ecken stehen die vier Grenzpflöcke, die mit der Altar-Schnur verbunden sind. Die Grenzpflöcke und die Altar-Schnur werden auch "Gegenstände zur Abgrenzung des heiligen Bezirkes" (kekkaigu) genannt.

Die Kultgegenstände des esoterischen Buddhismus
(mikkyoo hoogu 密教法具, mitsugu)
Gabi Greve


Buddhistische Kultgegenstände Japans


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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2009/05/15

Muso Kokushi Soseki Zuiki

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Muso Kokushi Soseki 夢窓 疎石(むそう そせき)

夢窓国師 Musoo Kokushi, Muso Kokushi
建治元年(1275) - 観応2年9月30日(1351, October 20))



妙智院. 重要文化財 夢窓疎石像 無等周位筆


Memorial Day for Muso : KIGO
Musoo-Ki 夢窓忌 (むそうき)
Soseki Ki 疎石忌(そせきき)
kigo for autumn

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Musō Soseki (夢窓疎石) (1275 - October 20, 1351)
was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer. He is also known as Musō Kokushi (国師) ("national Zen teacher"), a posthumous name given him by Emperor Go-Daigo. His mother was the daughter of Hōjō Masamura.

Originally from Ise Province, now part of modern-day Mie Prefecture, Soseki was a ninth-generation descendant of Emperor Uda.

In 1325 Emperor Go-Daigo requested that he come to Kyoto to become head priest of the great temple of Nanzenji. The following year he founded Zen'o-ji in his native Ise.

Zen gardens have proven to be one of his most lasting contributions to his country's culture. To Musō designing new gardens and altering existing ones was an integral part of the practice of Zen.

Gardens by Musō Soseki

CLICK for more of his garden photos
The following is a list of gardens known to be by Musō Soseki or attibuted to him.

Eiho-ji in Tajimi, Gifu prefecture
Erin-ji, in Yamanashi prefecture
Myōshin-ji in Kyoto
Rinsen-ji in Kyoto
Tenryū-ji in Kyoto
Tōnanzen-in in Kyoto
Enkaku-ji in Kamakura
Jōchi-ji in Kamakura
Zuisen-ji in Kamakura

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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ZUIKI 随喜 to weep with joy

CLICK for original LINK
芋の葉に置く白露の
たまらぬは これやずいきの涙なるらん

imo no ha ni oku shiratsuyu no
tamaranu wa kore ya zuiki no namida naruran

This is a famous waka poem by Muso Kokushi, which gave the plant its name ZUIKI.

on the leaf of a taro
a white dewdrop lingers
and then falls off -
yes indeed this is
a tear of joy (of the Buddha)

zuiki, in a Buddhist context, means to feel joy at the joy of others and thus fill your own heart with their joy. In extension, it meand "tears of joy".
After many read this poem, they used this word ZUIKI to refer to the plant itself and its stem when they cook it.


zuiki 芋茎(ずいき)stem of the taro
Sato-Imo 里芋 taro

Originally it meant the leafstalk, petiole of the plant and used to be called imoshi いもし in the Heian period.

WASHOKU :
YASAI . Vegetable SAIJIKI


zuiki : Freudentränen vergießen



Zuiki matsuri ずいきまつり【芋茎祭/瑞饋祭】
Vegetable Decoration Festival

ずいき祭 , a kind of harvest thanksgiving festival
For four days from October 1 to 4 at the shrine Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto.

CLICK for more matsuri photos The festival is in memory of Sugawara Michizane菅原道真, the great the patron saint of scholarship, who is enshrined at Kitano Tenman-gu 北野天満宮. Michizane was a great scholar and statesman during the 9th century. He had carved a wooden image that is enshrined here. The festival originated when the people who lived around Kitano Tenman-gu had a very good harvest one year.
Participants carry around portable shrines (mikoshi) on which the gods and spirits ride through the area. The roofs of the mikoshi are covered with the large leaves of taro and all are decorated with vegetables, called zuiki mikoshi ずいきみこし.
The festival started in the reign of Emperor Murakami (村上天皇 946-967), when the people supporting the shrine (神人(じんにん jinnin・じにん jinin) made offerings of their harvest. Later in 1527 they started to make figures out of vegetables and add them to a mikoshi. In the peaceful Edo period around 1607 they made even bigger portable shrines which looked like the round onion heads 葱華輦(そうかれん sookaren, soo 葱 is a long green onion with a round head), the roofs thatched with large taro leaves.
Since 1702 the mikoshi took the form of hooren 鳳輦(ほうれん) with a large phoenix (hoo) on the top. Since 1802 they took the form of chigi 千木(ちぎ) "like a palace with many roofs".
Since most of the material are fresh vegetables, the mikoshi are newly decorated every year.

CLICK for original LINK ... chuusan 55

Most used vegetables are
taro stalks and leaves, ears of rice, eggplants, chille peppers, yuzu citrons, sesame in white and black, bamboo, chestnuts, persimmons, myooga ginger, hair from corn, yuba tofu, fu gluten, nori, aonori and konbu seaweed and red and withe paper stripes.


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Gardens by Kobori Enshu
Kobori Enshu 小堀遠州 (1579 - 1647)

Zen Garden Master Shunmyo Masuno 禅庭氏 増野さん


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夢窓忌や谷の緑の錆びはじむ
Musoo-ki ya tani no midori no sabi-nijimu

Muso Memorial Day -
the green of the valley
begins to get rusty


Juuyoo 重陽
http://tourikadan.sakura.ne.jp/cgi-bin/html/hikou47.html


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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2009/05/08

Kubikiri Jizo

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Jizo with his head cut off - 首切り地蔵
kubikiri Jizo, kubikiri Jizoo

Chop-Neck Jizo / Neck chop Jizo
jizo statue with its neck severed

There are various legends about Jizo statues with a head cut off.

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Jizo statues in the are of the ninja in Iga 伊賀忍者.
The Iga and Koga fighters were the only ones to resist the onslaught of Oda Nobunaga to unify the area. They had promised to help each other to defent themselves. Nobunaga first defeated the Koga and then marched on into Igaland.
The Iga seemed to be driven back and then he came back with a large army of 45000 soldiers and defeated them.
The area with stone statued, which were also beheaded by the soldiers to show their might, are still to be seen today.

CLICK For original Link, NHK HISTORIA
source: NHK Historia


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Kubikiri Jizo Son 首切地蔵尊
The fugitives of Heike (the Taira clan), who were defeated in the battle of the Uji River and driven into the mountains, died a violent death in present-day Tanba City in 1184. Feeling sorry for them, the villagers erected several stones and placed flowers in front of them to pray for the repose of their souls.
By and by the stones became famous as Jizo statues, which have the power to fulfill people’s wishes. 3 statues of Jizo with no heads stand side by side on the stone steps and 7 in the small hall.
Those statues are known for fulfilling the wishes concerning the head such as academic accomplishment, prevention of becoming forgetful with age, and recovery from illness. A lot of students taking an entrance examination to a university come to pray for these Jizo statues during the season of the entrance exams.
On the days of Jizo Festivals held in March and September every year, a lot of visitors come to the mountain, which is also known as a nice place for hiking.
source : nippon-kichi.jp
丹波市山南町


CLICK for more photos

More PHOTOS
首切り地蔵


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Mizuyoshi Town 水吉

Three stone heads of Buddha stautes
石造仏頭(せきぞうぶっとう) sekizoo buttoo


CLICK for original LINK : portal.jmix.jp/furusato/bunkazai.php?chk3=on

head of Amida, 73 cm
head of Kannon, 71 cm
head of Jizo, 55 cm

in 三和区水吉

The Jizo had been in Mizuyoshi Jizo Yashiki 水吉地蔵屋敷.
Kannon and Amida come from 水吉字堂. They are generally known as the

Jizo with the cut head.
The bodies have been made of a natural stone in nature and the head of each deity had been put on top of that. The heads are rather large.
Niigata Prefecture
新潟県上越市三和区水吉


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There is even a detective story from Nara with this title!

大和路首切り地蔵殺人事件
和久峻三



reference

The statue is on the Kasuga trail in Nara.

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At the temple Enmei-Ji in Tokyo
延命寺

小塚原刑場跡

CLICK for more photos

This statue is 3.6 meters high and was erected in 1714.
It has been put up for those who could not get the final buddhist rites in the time of dying. They were executed. See also below, kubizuka.
At the Kotsukappara execution grounds in Minami Senju.


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Kubizuka, memorial stone pagodas and mounds
for the beheaded ... 首塚



MORE
Jizoo Bosatsu (Kshitigarbha) 地蔵菩薩



Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2009/04/30

Koryo Museum Korea

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Koryo Museum of Art 高麗美術館
15 15 Kita Shitiko Town
Kyoto, 26 6038108 Japan
+81 75 491 1192


Japanese HP of Koryomuseum of Art

Reference in English




きらめく朝鮮の技-螺鈿漆器と象嵌青磁
CLICK for more photos
Dazzling world of Korean Craftsmanship
Inlaid Lacquer Ware and Celadon Ware

Exhibition
April 30 till June 28 2009

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朝鮮の仏教文化―人と思想と建築と

Buddhism in Korea
Exhibition May 23 till July 4

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"Masterpieces of Korean Art from the Joseon Dynasty"
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum
Korean art of living
Daruma Library


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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2009/04/06

Wilson Shieh

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Wilson Shieh


Music Families


Hong Kong gong bi (fine line) painter Wilson Shieh
unveils his latest woodblock prints at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. Shieh created this new series, titled Music Families, using the ancient Japanese Ukiyo-e technique. Meticulously and colorfully rendered, this new woodblock series displays Shieh’s characteristic attention to detail and playful wit.

source: review.redboxstudio.cn

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"Before I learned the fine-brush technique, I considered this style as just a kind of antique craftsmanship. But after all, as you can see, I have adopted the fine-brush manner in my work.
The ancient sense of beauty looks fresh to contemporary eyes."

Wilson Shieh

Reference . Wilson Shieh



. . . CLICK here for more of his paintings !


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she plays
quite a different tune -
summer evening



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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan


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2009/03/31

Ashura

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Ashura, Asura (あしゅら) 阿修羅

The most famous statue of an Ashura is at the temple Kofuku-ji (Koofukuji興福寺(こうふくじ) ) in Nara.
CLICK for more photos

To make a statue of dry laquer (kanshitsu 乾漆, Trockenlack) you needed quite a wealthy sponsor, since laquer was one of the most expensive materials at this time.

quote
(Japanese: “dry lacquer”),
technique of Japanese sculpture and decorative arts in which a figure or vessel is fashioned with many layers of hemp cloth soaked with lacquer, the surface details being subsequently modelled with a mixture of lacquer, sawdust, powdered clay stone, and other materials. The technique has two varieties: hollow kanshitsu (called dakkatsu), made by preparing the rough shape with clay and covering the surface with lacquered hemp cloth, the clay being subsequently removed to leave the inside hollow; and wood-core kanshitsu (mokushin), in which a hemp-cloth coating is applied over a core carved of wood. Vessels are made by the hollow kanshitsu method, sculpture by either method.
source : www.britannica.com


quote
One was the hollow dry lacquer method (*dakkatsu kanshitsu 脱活乾漆), and the other was the wood-core dry lacquer method (*mokushin kanshitsu 木心乾漆). The hollow dry lacquer technique was the first to be used in Japan, and was popular during the Hakuhou and Nara periods. A rough core was first modelled in clay and then layers of hemp cloth soaked in lacquer were applied over the surface, each layer being left to dry before the next layer was added. The clay core was then removed, forming a lightweight hollow statue. A wooden framework was often fitted inside the statue to prevent it warping.
Surface details were modelled with a thick paste known as *kokuso-urushi 木屎漆: a mixture of lacquer, flour, and wood-powder. In wood-core dry lacquer statues the basic shape of the statue was first carved in wood, and then lacquer was applied over the wood. Layers of hemp cloth were used as for the hollow dry lacquer statue, and surface details were added using kokuso-urushi. The lacquer layer tended to be between 1-3cm thick; as the technique developed during the Nara period, the wooden core was carved to an increasing degree of precision and the lacquer layer was made gradually thinner.
source : www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus


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quote
Beings just below humans in the Six States of Existence. Asuras are demigods, or semi-blessed beings. They are powerful, yet fierce and quarrelsome, and like humans, they are partly good and partly evil. In their earliest Hindu and Brahman manifestations, the Ashura are always fighting the Ten (Deva) for supremancy (often battling the deities commanded by Taishakuten, the Lord Indra of Hindu mythology).
The Ashura are sometimes compared to the Titans of Greek mythology -- in one legend, they stand in the ocean with the water coming up to only their knees. But in most accounts, the Ashura are not giants. Some say Ashura was an Indian royal who converted to Buddhism. In other Hindu traditions, Ashura is a sun goddess, feared for bringing droughts.

In Japan, Ashura is often shown with three faces and six arms, with the side faces often expressing the violent warrior aspects associated with Ashura's Hindu origin.
Read more
source: Ashura
Mark Schumacher



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The National Treasure Ashura Exhibition
国宝 阿修羅展
2009年3月31日

CLICK for museum link

Statue from the Tenpyo period around 734

Tokyo National Museum


"The National Treasure Ashura
and Masterpieces from Kohfukuji"

at the Tokyo National Museum presents Buddhist statues treasured by Kofukuji temple. Located in the ancient capital of Heijo-kyo in present day Nara Prefecture, Kofukuji temple has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and celebrates its 1,300th anniversary in 2010. Coinciding with a reconstruction project for the temple's Chukondo (Central Golden Hall), the exhibition showcases 70 items, including wooden sculptures from the seventh century, as well as artifacts excavated from the Chukondo site. Among the highlights is Ashura, a statue of the Buddhist deity of war that has been designated a National Treasure. Ashura statues normally express anger, but the statue at Kofukuji temple is a slender and lovely young boy. The 14 surviving statues from a set of the Devas of the Eight Classes and the Ten Great Disciples of Buddha will be on display together outside the temple for the first time; till June 7.
source : Japan Times

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Trockenlackverfahren 乾漆

In der Nara-Zeit waren Tonplastiken und Trockenlack-Figuren am häufigsten. Sie gestatteten eine bessere Detailgestaltung als Holzschnitzereien. Später wurden sie aber kaum noch ausgeführt. Trockenlack-Figuren haben einen stabilisierenden Kern (shinboo) aus Ton, der mit in Lacklösung getränktem Hanfstoff überzogen wurde; es folgten mehrere Schichten Stoff und Lack. Zum Modellieren wurde dann Lack mit Holzspänen und Stroh versetzt und aufgetragen. Nach der Vollendung wurde der Tonkern entfernt und durch ein leichtes stützendes Holzgestell ersetzt
Derartige Figuren eigneten sich besonders zum Umhertragen in Prozessionen, da sie relativ leicht waren.
Trockenlack-Figuren sind relativ unempfindlich gegen Feuchtigkeit, chemische Zersetzung und Ungeziefer.

Bei Tonplastiken wurde ein Holzkern mit Ton überzogen, bis eine rohe Figur fertiggestellt war. Darüber kamen Schichten von feinem Ton gemischt mit Leinenstoffen. Die letzte Schicht zum endgültigen Modellieren bestand aus feinstem Ton mit Bindemittel und kleinen Papierschnitzeln oder Tierhaaren. Die Oberfläche erhielt dann noch einen Überzug von feinem weißem Muschelkalk mit Zusatz von Glimmerpulver, das Glanz geben, den Trocknungsvorgang beschleunigen und die Gefährdung durch Feuchtigkeit mindern sollte. Darüber befand sich dann häufig noch eine Farbschicht, die aber heute meist verloren ist.

Die meisten Holz- und Trockenlackstatuen wurden abschließend mit Goldlack überzogen. Entweder wurde Blattgold direkt auf dem Holz angebracht oder das Holz zunächst mit einer Schicht Hanfstoff überzogen, diese lackiert und geglättet und darauf das Blattgold angebracht (kinpaku-oshi). Für das Gesicht verwendete man meist sieben Schichten Blattgold, für den Körper fünf Schichten und für Nimbus und Sockel drei Schichten. Derartige Statuen nennt man "Statuen mit Lackbeschichtung" (shippakuzoo 漆箔像).

© Gabi Greve
Buddhastatuen (Buddhastatues) Who is Who
Ein Wegweiser zur Ikonografie von japanischen Buddhastatuen



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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2008/12/23

Shaka Nehanzo

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Shaka Nehanzo Temple Anaoji
Kameoka City, Kyoto 穴太寺
京都府亀岡市曽我部町穴太東ノ辻46


© tatubou44 with more photos

The "Buddha entering Nirvana" (nehanzoo) is a kind of nadebotoke 撫で仏 and people come to touch and rub him on the part where their own pain is felt. Some got better and now send a futon cover for the statue. The head priest uses all the covers from so many people, a different every day sometimes, to keet the buddha from cold in winter and heat in summer.
If it is covered, you just turn away the futon and rub the statue at the place of your pain.
You can see his neck is quite cleanly rubbed.
Usually Binzurusama is the rubbed one, a Shaka lying down to be rubbed is very seldom, maybe the only one in Japan. But it is heartwarming to see people flock around him with their sincere wish to get better.

. . . CLICK here for Photos 釈迦涅槃像(撫で仏)!



Anao-ji is the 21st temple on the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage.
In 962 the priest at the temple was shot by a local samurai. When the warrior entered the temple to steal the rich altar-fittings he found the statue of Kannon pierced with an arrow and bleeding from her breast. The samurai repented and went on to fund many of the temple's works. His grave is in the temple grounds.
source :  www.taleofgenji.org


. . . CLICK here for English Photos !


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Anaoji's wooden Gautama Buddha statue


© PHOTO : www.city.kameoka.kyoto.jp



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Shaka Nyorai 釈迦如来  Gautama Buddha


Introducing Buddha Statues

撫で仏と賓頭盧, びんずる、びんづる ビンヅル
Nadebotoke and Binzuru, the Arhat



Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2008/12/21

If you meet the Buddha

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!


When I once (more than 30 years ago) tried to outsmart my Japanese Archery (Kyudo) teacher with Western Wit and this saying, he gave me the "Asiatic smile" and replied:

Be careful with Asian wisdom.
The first Buddha you are going to meet on the WAY
is yourself.

Are you ready to kill ?


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The text on the painting reads: Hui-K’o, the great general, (retired), was troubled in his search for the way. Many times he beseeched the Daruma to teach him and to pacify his mind.

Always, The Daruma refused.

To show his utter sincerity, Hui-K’o cut off his own left hand.

“What do you seek?”, asked The Daruma.
“Peace of mind”, replied Hui-K’o.
“Show me this mind of yours”, said The Daruma, “and I will pacify it”.
“But when I seek my mind, I cannot find it”, was the reply.
“THERE!” , said The Daruma, “I have pacified your mind!”
----- “YES!”, said Hui-K’o, and laughed.

Hui-K’o retired about 525 C.E., I think, and after the very first “satori” or “sudden and complete awakening”, became the second Patriarch of Chan, or Zen, Buddhism. Satori is sort of the central and defining characteristic of the Chan or Zen variety of Buddhism.
In the painting, The moon-filling tile patch, (where an agonized Hui-K’o holds his severed hand and the Daruma’s back is turned to him),is a Penrose P-3 tiling. That is to say, it is based not on the darts and kites ,(p-2), but on the fat-and-skinny rhombs,(P-3).

A plot for the moon-covering patch is shown on a scrap of paper on the ground in front of the Daruma. I think Prof. Paul Steinhardt called this patch a “seed” in his Physics Review Letters piece de-mystifying how quasicrystals might form without somehow reading the future.

Mystical, and replete with B.S. though it is like any religion, I have much more respect for Zen Buddhism than for any other religion. And not merely for its aesthetics. Zen is the only religion I know of that provides for its own transcendence.
Thus: Zen says,

If you meet the Buddha
on the path to enlightenment,
kill him.


Here one finds no equivocation or uncertainty about what to do if doctrine or dogma or specifically religious values of any sort or sanctity should interfere with your progress toward wisdom and enlightenment. I
In short: Dispense with the B.S. and get on with the enlightenment!
source :  2000 John A.L. Osborn

Thank you, John !


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Embrace nothing:
If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.
If you meet your father, kill your father.
Only live your life as it is,
Not bound to anything.


Gautama Buddha


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Zen Master Lin Chi spoke thus:

If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.
If you meet a Patriarch, kill the Patriarch.


Lin Chi isn't condoning murder, he is using a metaphor to explain the nature of Buddhism.
Don't believe what some one says, no matter how holy they are, just because they say it.



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The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients
Sheldon B. Kopp


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If you meet the Buddha on the road . . . buy him!

CLICK for LINK !


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They ask me why I live in the green mountains.
I smile and don't reply; my heart's at ease.
Peach blossoms flow downstream, leaving no trace
- And there are other earths and skies than these.


Li Po 李白 (701-762)


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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2008/10/29

Ogata Korin

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Ogata Korin, Ogata Koorin (尾形 光琳)

1657 - June 2, 1716

CLICK for more photos


Koorin Ki 光琳忌 (こうりんき) Korin Memorial Day for Haiku
summer kigo


東京国立博物館 大琳派展

. . . CLICK here for Japanese Photos !

. . . CLICK here for English Photos !



Golden glories : Museum in Ueno celebrates Rinpa
Michael Dunn

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Kakitsubata ... Iris

Korin Plums (koorin no ume 光琳の梅), a sweet


Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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2008/09/07

Tsukiji Fish Market

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Tsukiji Fish Market

quote
Tsukiji fish market (Japanese: 築地市場, Tsukiji shijō, tsukiji shijoo) is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors (few Japanese casually visit the market).



History
The first market in Tokyo was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Edo period to provide food for Edo castle (nowadays Tokyo). Tokugawa Ieyasu invited fishermen from Tsukudajima, Osaka to Edo in order to provide fish for the castle. Fish not bought by the castle was sold near the Nihonbashi bridge, at a market called Nihonbashi Uogashi 日本橋魚河岸 (literally, "fish quay") which was one of many specialized wholesale markets that lined the canals of Edo (as Tokyo was known until the 1870s).

In August 1918, following the so-called "Rice Riots" (米騒動 kome soodoo), which broke out in over one hundred cities and towns in protest against food shortages and the speculative practices of wholesalers, the Japanese government was forced to create new institutions for the distribution of foodstuffs, especially in urban areas. A Central Wholesale Market Law was established in March 1923.

The Great Kantō earthquake on September 1, 1923, devastated much of central Tokyo, including the Nihonbashi fish market. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the market was relocated to the Tsukiji district, and after the construction of a modern market facility was completed in 1935, the fish market began operations under the provisions of the 1923 Central Wholesale Market Law.
Three major markets in Tsukiji, Kanda and Koto began operating in 1935. Smaller branch markets were established in Ebara, Toshima, and Adachi, and elsewhere. At present, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's system of wholesale markets includes more than a dozen major and branch markets, handling seafood, produce, meat, and cut flowers.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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The Official Tsukiji Homepage

It is said that "Uogashi" or a riverside fish market dates back to the 16th century, the beginning of the Edo period. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun and builder of Edo as is now Tokyo, invited fishermen from Tsukudajima, Osaka and gave them a privilege for fishing in order to let them supply seafood to Edo Castle. The fishermen purveyed fish to the Castle and sold the remains near the Nihonbashi bridge. It was the origin of Uogashi.

Then, to meet the growing demand for fish with the increase in population, Nihonbashi Uogashi was reformed and developed into a market. The market was lead by wholesale merchants licensed by the Shogunate who bought fish from local ports, sold them to jobbers in the market and thus built up a large fortune, forming their own distributing network. Vegetables markets handling vegetables gathered in the suburbs of Edo were established in Kanda, Senju and Komagome: the Edo's three big vegetable markets. The markets attained prosperity led by wholesalers and jobbers like fish markets.

During the Edo period the market price was determined chiefly by negotiated transactions between sellers and buyers. Public auction was hardly taken place except in vegetable markets. In the Meiji and Taisho eras, the privilege of wholesale merchants were abolished. In 1923 some 20 private markets in Tokyo were destroyed almost completely by the Great Kanto Earthquake. After the earthquake, Tokyo City as it then was undertook to construct a central wholesale market on the bases of the Central Wholesale Market Law which had been promulgated in the same year. As a result, the three markets of Tsukiji, Kanda and Koto were founded and the growing population then led to a succession of new markets.


Tokyo Central Wholesale Market handled 787,782 tons (2,888 tons a day) of marine products, 748 billion yen (2.8 billion yen a day) total in 1993. Some 450 kinds of fish are received; this figure is unparalleled in the world. Marine products sections are set up in three markets: Tsukiji, Ohta and Adachi. Above all Tsukiji Market, handling 87% of the total amount, is one of the biggest markets in the world.


December 2008
Various problems have arisen in association with the increased number of tourists (including sanitation management problems such as temperature control issues caused by the entry and exit of large numbers of unauthorized persons, and problems with visitors impeding the auction and other trading activities), especially at the early morning auction held in the tuna wholesale area.
For these reasons, tourists are currently not allowed to enter the tuna wholesaling areas.

source : www.tsukiji-market.or.jp


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CLICK for more English information
Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World
Theodore C. Bestor
University of California Press, 2004 (ISBN 0-520-22024-2)

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To cut the large maguro tuna fish, there are specialists with long knives of more than two meters, almost a sword, handled by two persons to cut a fish very efficiently.
maguro knife, maguro boochoo マグロ包丁
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

A knife with two handles is used by one person to cut pieces out of the filets of maguro.

A knife with a stopper is used by one person to cut smaller pieces, to make sure they do not cut themselves, since it takes a lot of power to push the knife through the hard skin and muskles of the fish.

There are specialists who sharpen the knives every day after use.

smaller maguro knives, kaitai boochoo マグロ解体包丁

Cutting a large maguro is sometimes performed for tourists.


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CLICK for more photos

In the precincts at the North end there is a small shrine in honor of the God of Water, 水神さん suijin san. This is a female deity who protects fishermen and is the protector of this fish market. The famous kabuki actor Ishikawa Danjuro comes here to worship and celebrate his strong connection to his supporters of the market. They even offered an opening curtain to the Kabuki theater.

Danjuro painted a poster for the festival of the day of the fish, toto no hi 魚の日(ととのひ)
CLICK for more photos
Poster by Ichikawa Danjuro 市川団十郎

toto, 10月10日, the tenth of the tenth months.

The famous Kabuki play of Sukeroku 助六 (すけろく)relates a story of the old uogashi fish market of Edo, where the hero wears the famous purple headband. It is one of the favorite roles in the Ishikawa repertoire.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of Sukeroku !


The deity venerated at the shrine at Tsukiji is Mizuha Nome no Mikoto 彌都波能賣神 ミズハノメノミコト, a child of Izanagi no Mikoto, founder of Japan.
An annual festival 水神祭 is held in his honor.
The present mikoshi carried around was re-constructed in 1928.
市場を見守る魚河岸水神社
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Suijin, the God of Water 水神 Mizu no Kamisama

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The building looks almost like a train station, in the fashon of the Museum Musée d'Orsay in Paris, with rounded beams and decoration parts in the iron columns. It is in the form of a fan to make room for a connecting train system to transport the fish. Today thousands of huge trucks come and go to carry the fish.

Inside a lot of small electric cars with special capacity to turn around on the spot carry the fish from here to there.

CLICK for original LINK and more photos

Most stores continue for many generations and even if they are contestants in the business, most are old friends. The daily auctions of tuna and other fish are a small war, but when it is over, it is done and they help each other and learn from each other. Spotting a good fresh maguro and go for it in an auction is a task usually done by the elders with a lot of experience. The language of their fingers as they communicate with the auctioneer, all over within a few minutes, it is a spectacle in itself and draws many tourists.


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Shrine Tsukiji Namiyoke Inari Jinja
波除稲荷神社

"protection from waves"

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Build almost 350 years ago, when the sea of the area was filled with land for the city building of Edo after the Fire of Meireki in 1657.

It is an Inari shrine that was built on the water's edge when this part of Tokyo (then Edo) was created from landfill after the Meireki Fire of 1657.
One night the workers saw a strange light and took a boat to investigate. They found a part belonging to an Inari Fox Shrine 稲荷大神 for worship. When they came back, they errected a shrine to honor the Fox Deity and prayed for protection at sea.

When the fishmarket of Edo was relocated to Tsukiji in 1923, this shrine was also relocated to protect the area and the business.

There are special Haiku Offerings at this shrine during the Setsubun festival in February.
奉納俳句

波除稲荷神社 Homepage

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築地発ことば遊びは五七調
Tsukiji hatsu kotoba asobi wa go shichi choo

it originated in Tsukiji ...
playing with words rhyming
five seven pfive


月路乃京泉 Title of a Book
(ISBN:4-434-05612-3)

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WASHOKU ... Japanese Food SAIJIKI


Fish Market, a haiku topic

Daruma Pilgrims in Japan


Tsukiji Fischmarkt
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2008/07/26

Asakayama

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Asakayama ... 安積山 ( あさかやま )

Place name in Hiwada Town, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture.
福島県郡山市 日和田町
A "pillow word" (utamakura) of the Manyo-Shu.

It is situated in a plain and the name refers to the domain of Asaka 阿尺(あさか)国. Asaka can also be written with these Chinese characters: 浅香.

CLICK for more photos
Hiwada

Asakayama is a place well known to the poets of old.
Even Matsuo Basho, on his tour to the Narrow Roads of the North, visited this mountain area in July 17, 1689. It is close to Shirakawa.
Now it serves as the Nature Park, where you can enjoy the cherry blossoms and later on the azaleas.


More Japanese resources

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Oku no Hosomichi : Station 12 - Sukagawa

The following day, 5.1, they went on to Hiwada, a post town on the northern highway which provided courtesans and other comforts and entertainments for travellers. The place is called Hiwada because the houses are thatched with cypress bark (hiwada).

The Mount Asaka Basho refers to is located north and east of Hiwada. Today there is another mountain by the same name near Lake Inawashiro, but it is not the mountain Basho visited. The mountain Basho visited is much used as a pillow word, for example in MYS, v. 16 in a poem by Uneme beginning Asakayama. When Basho speaks of many marshes in the area, this, too, is a pillow word.

Sora reports on the area saying, "To the right of Mount Asaka is a low lying area which by then was largely fields, but a few marshes remained. The area still retains the ancient name Asakanuma.

source :  www.uoregon.edu

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Two ancient wooden tablets (mokkan 歌木簡 ) from the Man'yōshū, containing the following waka have recently been found in Shiga prefecture, at the archeological site of the Shigaraki Palace in Kōka City. On the backside the slat showed part of the Naniwa-tsu waka from the Kokinshū which Ki no Tsurayuki had paired with the Asakayama poem.

滋賀県甲賀市



(安積香山 影副所見 山井之 浅心乎 吾念莫国)
 
(訳)
安積山の影までも見える澄んだ山の井のように浅い心でわたしは思っておりませぬ

like the clear moutain well
that reflects the shadow
of Mount Asakayama
my heart is not shallow
when I think of you
Tr. Gabi Greve


聖武天皇が造営した紫香楽宮(しがらきのみや)(742―745年、滋賀県甲賀市)跡で出土した木簡に、最古の歌集・万葉集の郡山市にまつわるとされる「安積山(あさかやま)の歌」が書かれていたことが分かり、甲賀市教委が22日発表した。
Japanese Reference May 22, 2008


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安積山影さへ見ゆる山の井の浅き心を我(あ)が思(も)はなくに
安積山影さへ見ゆる山の井の浅き心を我が思はなくに
安積山影さへ見ゆる山の井の浅き心を吾思はなくに

Manyo-Shu 16-3807 万葉集 : A Collection of a Myriad Leaves. Man'yōshū
Saki no Uneme 前采女 . さきのうねめ

Asakayama kage sae miyuru yama no i no
asaki kokoro o aga mo wa naku ni


asakayama kage sae miyuru yama no i no
asaki kokoro o wa ga omowanaku ni

Asakayama -
Like the deep mountain well
that reflects even the shadow of things,
I think of you
Not with a shallow heart


Tr. Yasuhito Kakiya




The love I bear you
is not like the shallow pool
mountain spring water
holding the mirrored image
of Mount Asaka itself.


Tr. Helen Craig McCullough



Asaka Mountain -
In a shallow mountain spring
A clear reflection:
Not so shallow is the heart
Where my thoughts mirrored you.


Tr. Edward Cranston


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Asakayama Kage sae miyuru Yama no i no
Asaku wa hito o Omou mono ka wa

JSTOR: Lord Tamekane's Notes on Poetry. Tamekanekyo Wakasho



Read another waka about Asakayama

Asakayama asaku mo hito o omowanu ni
nado yama no i o kakenaharuran


Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike


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The Mountain Well at Akasayama ... 山ノ井清水

There are two places who claim to be IT.


At Hiwada Town 日和田町



At Katahira Town 片平町


source : www.bashouan.com


In Katahira there is also a park in honor of Uneme,
Uneme Park (Yamanoi Park)
Princess Haru was Uneme for the Imperial Court, and her sad love story was told from generation to generation. "Spring-water of Yamanoi" is told to be the place where the princess threw herself into the water.
source :  www.kanko-koriyama.gr.jp


Uneme is also a general name for an attendant at the Imperial Court, a kind of waitress at the table of the emperor.


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More Japanese Waka with this place name

山の井のあさき心も思はぬに影ばかりのみ人のみゆらん
(読人不知[古今])
ゐても恋ひふしても恋ふるかひもなくかく浅ましくみゆる山の井
(源順)
山の井の浅き心をしりぬれば影みんことは思ひ絶えにき
(待賢門院堀河[玉葉])
くやしくぞ結びそめけるそのままにさて山の井のあさき契りを
(藤原為子[続後撰])
八雲たつ道はふかきを安積山あさくも人のおもひいる哉
(藤原基家[続古今])
花かつみかつみても猶頼まれず安積の沼の浅き心は
(小倉公雄[続千載])
山の井の水の心は浅けれどあかで年ふる柴の庵かな
(寂真[新続古今])

source :  yamatouta

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tanka waka

Basho : Oku no Hosomichi 2007

Utamakura, place names used in Poetry


Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

World Kigo Database

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2008/07/13

Konpira Daigongen

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Konpira Daigongen . 金毘羅大権現
(こんぴらだいごんげん) Kompira Daigongen,
Konbira Daigongen, Kombira Daigongen, Kompira Gongen

Shrine Kotohira, Kotohiragu (Kotohira Guu) 琴平宮


This deity is often simply called "Kompira San" こんぴらさん.
It is the Hindu deity Kum-bhira, Kumbhira (クンビーラ).



Konpira Daigongen is Kubira Taishou of the Twelve Yakushi Generals, or the same deity of Kinbira Taishou.
Konbira originally means a kind of crocodiles, becoming a head of demon deity, he was the divine protection of Oushari-jou (the castle of Buddha). It is famous that he descended to Matsuoji-temple in Sanuki (present Kagawa) and became the divine protection the sea.

source: www.butuzou.co.jp . Kurita

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Buddhist Syncretism in Japan

... at Mount Kompira, by affinity of name with its sea god, the Buddhist guardian Kumbhira, originally a Hindu crocodile god of the Ganges River, was said to have flown to Japan and became Kompira. He was accompanied by Elephant's Head Mountain near Bodh Gaya, which figures in the hagiography of the Buddha. Mount Kompira does resemble an elephant's head, although not as much as conventionalized views by Hiroshige and other artists. Given the animism of mountain worship, various divinities could be perceived in Hindu fashion as riders on their mounts. Beyond being a crocodile god, suitable to protect seafarers, Kompira was elevated to a Great Incarnation of the Buddha (daigongen).

Anthropomorphic iconography exists of Kompira Daigongen riding the mountain in the form of a white elephant - a creature associated with the Buddha, having served also as the mount of the ancient Hindu god Indra.

In time the Shinto-Buddhist hybrid Kompira Daigongen became identified with the Shinto kami of Mount Kompira, O-kuni-nushi-no-mikoto, one of the founding gods of Japan who was vaguely associated with crocodiles in the White Hare of Inaba myth in the Kojiki. A component from Chinese culture was later assimilated with the identification of the Buddhist and Shinto divinities atop Mount Kompira, with Daikokuten in the guise of one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. In iconography he carries a bag like the kami O-kuni-nushi, with "Daikoku" a double pun on the Chinese characters for "O-kuni."

Two more triads can be documented. The second on Mount Kompira is an Eastern Pure Land Triad of the Medicine Buddha Yakushi Nyorai as ruler, Kompira Daigongen as delegate, and Fugen Bosatsu as attendant. Here Fugen (Sanskrit: Samantabhadra Bodhisattva) rides a white elephant in iconography and has been closely associated with the Shingon Buddhist temple on Mount Kompira.

Read the full article HERE
source :  Steve McCarty


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This statue is about 70 cm high.
It is carved from plain camphor tree wood.


© PHOTO : shouryu.com


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More in the Daruma Museum Library


During the eighteenth century, as the imperial house began to gain in stature, people identified Konpira Daigongen with the twelfth-century emperor Sutokuin, thereby associating the powers of the god with both the imperial house and with the supernatural powers of tengu, for both Sutokuin and the seventeenth-century priestly reviver of Mt. Zôzu were envisioned in the popular imagination as such winged, long-nosed creatures...
Meiji Civilization and the Politics of Shinto at Kotohira Shrine
Sarah Thal (Rice University) 2002


My Visit to Konpira San in Shikoku.. Kompira San and Daruma San
金毘羅さんと達磨さん


Gongen Deities of Japan


O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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