SPECIAL GALLERIES ..... DARUMA MUSEUM (03)

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Welcome to the Galleries Archives
of the Daruma Museum !

. DARUMA MUSEUM
ABC Main Index - A to R 　

. DARUMA MUSEUM
ABC Main Index - S to Z 　

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

. Amulets, Talismans and Folk Toys from Japan .　

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My Happy Haiku Gallery

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GLOSSARY

2013-12-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

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DARUMA MUSEUM GLOSSARY

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GLOSSARY ... VOKABULAR

Most vocabulary is covered in the text of the Darumapedia.
Check here first.

- - - SEARCH all my articles !

Below are words not yet covered in a full article.

If you copy the Japanese kanji given below, you will find photos for most items in the list below.
. GOOGLE for IMAGES

. YAHOO J / E - DICTIONARY
Enter your Japanese or English keyword ... 　

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............................. AAA

aikoku fujinkai 愛国婦人会 women's patriotic association

akitsukami 明神 Manifest Deity

ama no hitsugi 天日嗣 Throne of Heavenly Sun Succession
ama no takamikura 天高御座 High Throne of Heaven

arahitokami 現人神 living god

ashitsuki-bachi 足付鉢 (あしつきばち) bowl with legs

asobibe, asobi be 　遊び部　 play functionaries
asobime　遊び女　/ 遊女　 "play girl" prostitute (sex was called: omatsuri)

............................. BBB

bakuhan taisei 幕藩体制 Bakuhan system (of government)

Beibei kyoodan 皿皿郷談(べいべいきょうだん) A Rustic Tale of Two Heirs
(bei-bei kyodan)

bonchigara, bonchi gara ぼんちがら patterns for boys

Bukkyoo bunka jiten　仏教文化辞典　Encyclopedia of Buddhist Culture, 1989
bu-un chookyuu 武運長久（ぶうんちょうきゅう）continued good luck in the fortunes of war

............................. CCC

chabo ちゃぼ【矮鶏】 Chinese bantam, chicken

chaki ちゃき【茶器】 container for tea ceremony utensils, tea set

champion vase / He Jingbei ... two cylinders joined together, a nuptial cup

chin ちん【狆】Chinese spaniel dog

choku ちょく【勅】imperial edict

chooge 頂華 finial, フィニアル, kirizuma 切妻

............................. DDD

dannaji, danna ji 旦那寺 funerary temple

donsu どんす【緞子】damask, satin damask
..... kinran donsu 金襴緞子gold brocade

............................. EEE

Edo hanjooki　江戸繁盛記 A record of Edo's prosperity

ekoo 回向／廻向 performing ceremonies for the dead

Engishiki, engi-shiki えんぎしき【延喜式】 Procedures of the Engi era (927)

Enshuugonomi, Enshuu konomi 遠州好み "taste of Enshu" (see Kobori Enshu)

............................. FFF

fubako ふばこ【文箱／文筥】 letter dispatch box

fudaraku tokai 補陀落渡海（ふだらくとかい）crossing the sea to reach the paradise of Kannon

fukizumi ふきづみ / 吹墨（ふきずみ) decoration. blowing pigments through a pipe

furegashira 触頭 administrative network head

furyuu 風流 showy spectacles
..... fuuryuu 風流 elegant, acomplished

futatsu hikiryoo no horo 幌　double-striped protective hood

fuuzoku gahoo 風俗が画報 Pictorial Journal reflecting Manners and Customs

............................. GGG

gakureki shakai 学歴社会 credential society, pedigree society

ginbari jippoo (ginbari shippoo) 銀貼七宝 cloisonee with silver foil

gokoku shisoo 護国思想 divine protection of the state (in Buddhism)
... Konkōmyōkyō 金光明経
... Ninnōkyō 仁王経
... Hokkekyō 法華経

gunshin 群臣 officials at the court of Yamato

gusoku 具足 suit of armour of a samurai
..... kogusoku 小具足　smapp pieces of armour equipment (like facemask, forearm sleaves, thigh guards, shin guards, bear-fur boots

gyomotsu, gyobutsu ぎょもつ【御物, ぎょぶつ】 artwork commissioned by rulers. kaiserlicher Besitz

gyooyoo 杏葉 leaf-shaped plate of armour

............................. HHH

haboku はぼく【破墨】 "splashed ink style" for paintings

haitoo はいとう【廃刀】 editc to abolish the carrying of swords in 1876

hakubasami, haku-basami 箔挟（はくばさみ）pincette for holding metal sheets and leaves

han-eri, han eri はんえり【半襟】 decorative collar of an under-kimono

haniwa はにわ【埴輪】clay image at ancient burial mounds

hanshita-e han shite-e 版下絵 last drawing (for a woodcut)

haragake はらがけ【腹掛け】 apron, bib for a child

harimaze はりまぜ【張り交ぜ／貼り雑ぜ】mixing of material for a folding screen or painting

haura, ha ura はうら【羽裏】 lining of a haori coat

heishi 瓶子 (へいし) ritual sake bottle

heishin kikoo 丙辰紀行 Account of a journey in the year Heishin (1671)

Higashiyama seionchoo 東山清音帖 Clear Sound in East Mountain

hinagatabon, hinagata bon 雛型本 books with small pattern designs

hirazoogan ひらぞうがん【平象眼】 flat inlay

hitotsumi, hitotsu mi ひとつみ【一つ身】 kimono for a baby

honmatsu seido 本末制度 head-branch system (of government)

hyakunin isshuu uba ga etoki 百人一首うばが絵解（ひゃくにんいっしゅ）乳母か絵とき The Hundred Poems explained by the Nurse

............................. III

ichigami 市神 deity of the market

ichiji shita-e 一時下絵　initial preparatory sketches

ishime いしめ【石目】 texture for engraving work

ishizara, ishi-zara　石皿 stone-glazed plates, from Seto

............................. JJJ

jinbako じんばこ【沈箱】 box for storing incense wood

jinku okuri 神供送り　sending off divine offerings
(they are thrown in a hole, burned with torches and burried properly)

jinsei 仁政 benevolent rule

jizai okimono　自在置物 realistically shaped figures of animals, plants etc.

joomoku 条目 regulations

juuzenkai 十善戒 ten good precepts (for Buddhists)
... daruma isshinkai 達磨一心戒 / 一心戒文 from Tendai

............................. KKKK

kachikachi yama かちかちやま【かちかち山】 "fire-crackle mountain", children's story

kaikoku zakki 廻国雑記 Miscellania of travelling about the country. 1487

kakihan かきはん【書（き）判】written seal (for authentification)

kakusa shakai 格差社会 gap society

kami asobi 神遊び　divine play. Deities come together to enjoy and feast.

katakiribori かたきりぼり【片切り彫り】 sice-cut engraving

katsurame 桂女 female fishmonger (often prostitute)

kawari-nuri 変塗(かわりぬり)alternative laquering

katakiribori, katakiri-bori かたきりぼり【片切り彫（り）】 side-cut engraving

kebiki odoshi 毛引縅 way oflacing the plates of a cuirass

keka 悔過 ritual of repentance (Buddhism)

kenbyoo けんびょう【硯屏】 screen in front of an inkstone

kendai 見台 reading stand with drawer
... shokendai 書見台（しょけんだい）

keshiboozu, keshi boozu けしぼうず【芥子坊主】 "poppy" shaven head of a priest (or child)

kinji nishiki　金地錦 "golden ground" brocade

kinkeshi 金銷（きんけし）mercury/gold amalgam gilding technique

kinkoo きんこう【金工】 metal work master craftsman

kirikane きりかね【切（り）金／截り金】 cut-gold for decorations

kitooji, kitoo ji 祈祷寺 prayer temple
..... kitoo danna　祈祷旦那 prayer patron

koboku こぼく【古墨】 "Chinese old ink stick"

Koda Shuetsu 迎田秋悦（こうだしゅうえつ Kooda Shuuetsu）(1881 - 1933) artist in laquer ware

koegame, koe-game 肥甕（こえがめ) night soil pot

kohitsu こひつ【古筆】 "painting or calligraphy by the ancients"

kondoo 金堂 "Golden Hall", main hall of a temple complex

kongoosha こんごうしゃ【金剛砂】 garnet stone

konrei choodo 婚礼調度 wedding set, trousseau
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

koodoo 講堂 lecture hall of a temple complex

koshiore ningyoo 腰折れ人形 articulated doll "bending hips"

kugutsu 傀儡 puppeteer-prayer nun (often prostitute)

kusazuri 草摺 tassets (on a suit of armour), a kind of skirt

kyokujitsu ki きょくじつき【旭日旗】 "Rising Sun" flag, for the armed forces.

kyoozoo きょうぞう【胸像】bust (kyozo)
kyoozoo きょうぞう【鏡像】statue reflected in a mirror

............................. MMM

maedate 前立て crest of a helmet, figurehead

makie mei, maki-e mei 蒔絵銘 (まきえめい) signature in maki-e (gold/silver raises laquer work)

me no shita men 目の下面 mask below the eyes (of a coat of armour)

metsubushi めつぶし【目潰し】 pepper blower for blinding a person (used by ninja)

midooshuu 御堂衆(みどうしゅう) "chaplains" of Honganji

migakibake みがき【磨き／研き】 + hake はけ【刷毛】 horsehair brush

mise 見世　business station (shop, store, stall)
..... kakemise　掛店　”suspended store"
..... nakamise　仲見世 "inner store"　at Asakusa

mitsu-ore ningyoo 三つ折れ人形 doll divided into three parts

miyabori shi 宮彫師（みやぼりし）carver for shrines and temples

mokoshi 裳階／裳層 extra decorated roofs of a temple hall

munaita, muna-ita 胸板 breast plate (of armour)
..... oshitsuke no ita 押付の板

............................. NNN

nashiji 梨子地（なしじ） pear-skin background
... muranashiji 斑 spotted
... koinashiji 濃い thick ...

nenjuu gyooji　年中行事　annual schedule of religious events, Jahreszeitenfeste

nerikawa ねりかわ【練革】hardened leather

Nezu Kaichiroo 根津嘉一郎（ねずかいちろう）(1860 - 1940) art collector, Nezu Bijutsukan Museum. Nezu Institute of Fine Arts

Nihon Hanga Kyookai　日本版画協会　Japan Print Association

Nihon minzoku zufu　日本民族図譜　"Native Customs of Japan"

Ni-I no Ama 二位尼　 "nun of the second rank", widow of Kiyomori。平時子

nimaidoo 二枚胴 two-piece cuirass

nyobon 女犯 "sexual indulgence" of monks

............................. OOO

Oguri gaiden 小栗外伝（おぐりがいでん）The Legend of Lord Oguri

oie soodoo, o-ie soodoo お家騒動 household disturbance

okime おきめ【置目】 copying a pattern from a paper on a piece for laquering

okina mai 翁舞 (おきなまい) "old man dancing" at Kagura or as a statue

Onyooryoo 陰陽寮 Yin-Yang Bureau, Bureau of Onmyoo

............................. RRR

raimon らいもん【雷文】 fret, frets, Mäanderband

rikkokushi 六国史 lit. "History of six countries"

robin's egg blue, robin egg blue 薄緑がかった青色, eggshell blue, in the color of the American Robin. Used as a glazing for ceramics.

roiro, ro-iro ろいろ【蝋色／呂色】 / rooiro ろういろ black laquer background

rokudoo　bakku 六道ばっく escape from the suffering of the six realms

Rose Hempel (1920 - 2009)

ryoo no shuuge 令集解 compiled by Koremune no Naomoto
ryoo no gige 令義解

ryuuka suigin りゅうかすいぎん【硫化水銀】mercury sulphide (Niutsuhime is the goddess of mercury)

............................. SSS

saikumono, saiku mono さいくもの【細工物】hand-carved miniature netsuke

sane 実／核 leather plate of a cuirass
..... ita-sane 板さね　metal plates of a cuirass

sankei mandara 参詣曼荼羅 (さんけいまんだら) "pilgrimage mandala"

sannai 山内 inner precinct of a temple

sashimono shi 指物師（さしものし）hair ornament maker

seigaiha mon 青海波文（せいがいはもん）overlapping waves pattern

sei-i taishoogun 征夷大将軍 "barbarian-quelling great general" (Title of Minamoto no Yoritomo)

senpuku rinsoo 千輻輪相 Dharma wheel on the sole of the Buddha

............................. SH SH SH

Shiba Kōkan, Shiba Kokan, Shiba Kookan (司馬江漢)(1747-1818), also Suzuki Harushige (鈴木春重)

shibuichi, shibu-ichi しぶいち【四分一】 , alloy (70% copper, 30% silver), used for laquer ware decorations

shichidaiji junrei shiki 七大寺巡礼私記 "Record of the Seven Temple Pilgrimage", by Ooe Chikamichi 大江親通

shifuku しふくindividual bags (made of cloth)

shiinari 椎様／椎形／椎像 acorn shaped

shika mandara 鹿曼荼羅 deer mandala, shika mandala

shinchuu しんちゅう【真鍮】 brass, brasswork

shingi Shingon shuu しんぎしんごんしゅう【新義真言宗】 "school of the new shingon dogma"

shinkeizu　しんけいず (神経図) true view picture, "diagram of the true form" (Daoist)

shioo しおう【雌黄】 orpiment / like sekioo 石黄(せきおう)

shippoomon しっぽうもん【七宝文】 overlapping circles

shiraniku ningyoo 白肉人形 doll with a white skin (white flesh)

shirochoo gai 白蝶貝（しろちょうがい）pearl oyster shells

shishiaibori ししあいぼり【肉合い彫り】 metal engraving technique

shokkoo nishiki 蜀江錦（しょっこうにしき）brocade with octagon patterns

Shooami Katsuyoshi 正阿弥勝義【しょうあみかつよし】Shoami Katsuyoshi (1832 - 1908) metal craftsman

Shooshoo hakkei 瀟湘八景 "Eight views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers"

shozan engi 諸山縁起（しょざんえんぎ）Origins of various Mountains, 1180

shusei しゅせい anthology

shuushoo 修正(しゅうしょう）会 shuusei - New Year ritual for Nation Protecting

. . . SO

sooshiki bukkyoo　葬式仏教　funerary Buddhism

sorabikibata　そらびき機 draw loom

soshuu jiin hatto　諸宗寺院法度　edict relating to temples and monks of all sects

. . . SU

sumerogi (sumeroki) 天皇すめろぎ【天皇】aonther name for Tenno

Sunpu onbunbutsu no uchi iroiro godoogu choo 駿府 List of various objects in the collection of cultural relics at Sunpu (Tokugawa)

............................. TTT

takabori たかぼり【高彫り】 engraving technique, so that the motive "stands out high"

takazoogan たかぞうがん【高象眼】 high-relief inlay

takumi たくみ【巧み／工／匠】 skillfull master (of a craft)

tatoogami たとうがみ【畳紙】 decorative wrapping paper

tenka taihei 天下太平 a sign of peace in the land (of Yamato). “Great Peace Under Heaven”

terakotta テラコッタ製 tera-cotta

terauke, tera uke　寺受け temple regisrty

tokuwaka ni go-manzai 徳若(とくわか)に御万歳(ごまんざい) "Be always young and enjoy longevity"

tooroo no ono 蟷螂(とうろう)の斧 "ax of a praying mantis"

tsurezure ori　つれづれ織り　tapsetry-weave, kesi

tsurumarumon, tsuru maru mon 鶴丸紋（つるまるもん) round crest with a crane

tsuyu uchi yuto ? 湯桶 / 湯とう spike tea pot style

............................. UUU

uchidashi 打ち出し hammer-reveal technique for metalwork

uma no me zara, umanome, uma-no-me 馬の目 "horse eye" patterns on Seto plates

unkoku ha うんこくは【雲谷派】Unkoku school of painting, Momoyama period
. . . . . Unkoku Toogan 雲谷等顔 (1547 - 1618)

Unno Shoomin / Un-No Shomin 海野勝珉 ( うんのしょうみん ) 1844 - 1915 metal craftsman

urushigaki mei 漆書銘 (うるしがきめい) signiture in black or vermillion laquer

............................. WWW

waki-ita 脇板 armour plate at the side of a court of armes

wayoobi　和様美　Japanese aesthetics

............................. YYY

yakiagari, yaki-agari 焼き上がり ceramic surface

Yakumo Misho八雲御抄 The Sovereign's Eightfold Cloud Treatiese

yakuryoo 役料 "expenses for public duty"

yamato neko 倭根子 (やまとねこ) praizing word for the tenno. "Das Liebe Kind von Yamato"

yaso 八十 - 80, meaning "a lot"

yuukasai 釉下彩(ゆうかさい) decorations with red or yellow pigment and transparent glaze

yuuzen ゆうぜん【友禅】 printed silk

............................. ZZZ

zakuro guchi, zakuroguchi 柘榴口（ざくろぐち) entrance to a public bath

zasu ざす【座主】 chief priest of a large temple

zoogan ぞうがん【象眼／象嵌】 inlay (in metal work or laquer or others)

zuanchoo, zuan choo 図案帳 pattern design books (for kimono etc.)
zuanshuu, zuan shuu　図案集 pattern design collections

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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Ukiyo-e woodblock

2011-12-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

Calligraphy - China

2011-12-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

Tales of Old Japan

2011-11-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

Edo shigusa

2011-11-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Hotei - Pu-Tai

2011-11-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

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Hotei 布袋 Pu-Tai

one of the
Seven Gods of Good Luck 七福神 Shichifukujin　

Yamashina-E Picture
Daruma and YAMASHINA Paintings - Yamashina-E

Benten　弁天
Bishamonten　毘沙門天
Daikoku 大黒
Ebisu 恵比寿
Fukurokujuu 福禄寿
Hotei 布袋
Juroojin　寿老人

. Seven Gods of Good Luck 七福神 Shichifukujin　.

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

Quote from Mark Schumacher:
The Shichifukujin are an eclectic group of deities from Japan, India, and China. Only one is native to Japan (Ebisu). Three are from India (Daikokuten, Bishamonten, and Benzaiten) and three from China (Hotei, Jurojin, and Fukurokuju).

The mystery of number seven has enraptured the Japanese as well. Ancient Japan was founded around seven districts. In Japanese folklore, there are seven treasures and seven deities of good luck (the topic of this story). Japanese Buddhists believe people are reincarnated only seven times, and seven weeks of mourning are prescribed following death.

The list goes on and on -- the seven ups and eight downs of life (Daruma san, you remember), the seven autumn flowers, the seven spring herbs, the seven types of red pepper, the seven transformations, and the popular 7-5-3 festival held each November for children, in which special Shinto rites are performed to formally welcome girls (age 3) and boys (age 5) into the community. Girls (age 7) are welcomed into womanhood and allowed to wear the obi (decorative sash worn with kimono).

Mark Schumacher has many more details and pictures
. . . Mark Schumacher

Link about these seven deities.
http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/jgods.html

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The belief in the seven gods of good luck may have started in the Kamakura period as the belief in Ebisu, who had been introduced from India together with Daikoku and Benten. In the Muromachi period, these three were revered together.
Next from India came Bishamonten and then from China Hotei, Fukurooju and Juroojin.

These seven gods are gathered in one common pilgrimmage for the New Year.
At the beginning of the Edo period Tokugawa Ieyasu started the first set of seven temples from Temple Kanei-Ji in the Ueno area. During the more peaceful time of the seventh Shogun Yoshimune it turned into more of a festivity and tourism and spread over all of Japan.

Nowadays, people visit these temples often as a kind of hiking entertainment or stamp ralley, but it never lost in its popularity.

visiting the temples of the seven gods of good luck
shichifukujin mairi 七福神参り
kigo for the New Year
Saijiki of Ceremonies in Japan

From the Daruma Museum
Seven Gods of Good Luck as Daruma Dolls 七福神だるま

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source :　jugem.jp
Hotei sama 布袋さま

Hotei 布袋 Pu-tai, Bu-Tai, Bu-Dai 布袋

Quoting from my book about Buddha Statues
- Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who

He is the god of contentment and happiness. He is the only one of the seven deities who is modelled after a real person, the Chinese Zen Priest Kaishi (Ki-hi) , who lived around 900 in T'ang China in the Mountain Temple Shimeizan. He wandered around in the country, carrying his few belongings in a big sack. He freely shared his things with people in need and the local children all loved to be around him.

In his free way of life he teaches us to cultivate a mind free of worry and a heart free of wishes, since these are greater treasures than anything else you can carry around in this world.

He is known to be an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya (Miroku Bosatsu) the Future Buddha.

His iconography is simple:
An old, bold man who carries a huge bag. His robe is open and shows his huge belly. Sometimes he holds a Chinese fan (uchiwa) in his hand. Many illustrations show him resting on his huge bag. He is very often represented in Bizen Pottery.

Here you can see him carrying the wishfulfilling jewel and with a child at his side, as quoted by Darkchilde.

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At the Temple Manpuku-Ji in Kyoto, there is this statue
万福寺

Hotei is thought to be based on a Chinese monk named Bu-dai, who became identified as an incarnation of Miroku, the Bodhisattva of the future. The statue is kept in the Tenno-den (Heavenly Kings Hall) of the temple.
http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/japan/mampukuji8.html

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Hotei Daruma on a Stone
石ころに彩色した布袋達磨。　群馬県みなかみ町の“たくみの里”産

© Hisamaro, Seven Goods of Good Luck
七福神グッズいろいろ

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Here is another version of his legend.

He is the god of happiness, laughter and the wisdom of contentment, and is the patron of the weak and children, fortunetellers and bartenders. Hotei is distinguished by his body of generous proportions and round stomach exposed beneath loose robes. His big belly is a symbol of happiness, luck and generosity. On his back he carrys a huge linen bag containing precious things and gifts of good fortune, including children. He also holds an uchiwa, a flat fan of Chinese orgin used by ancient chieftains as an emblem of authority and wish granting. He may sit in an old cart drawn by boys, as the Wagon Priest, and can be compared with the Buddhistic Mi-lo-Fo.

In Chinese Buddhism he is known as Budai, the Loving or Friendly One. He was a wandering Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the ninth century. At his death between 901 and 903, he recited a poem that revealed to the world that he was in fact the Bodhisattva Maitreya in disguise. Maitreya, Chinese Buddhists believe, is the future buddha, who will return to the world and bring innumerable individuals to salvation. This concept of hope for the suffering, combined with Budai's pleasing, human features, made him a most popular Buddhist deity. It was not until the sixteenth century that he was canonised as the sixteenth and last Chinese bodhisattva.
According to Chinese legend he carried a sack of candy to give to children.

He is sometimes worshipped as a god of good luck and prosperity. He is always represented as very stout, with the breast and upper abdomen exposed to view. His face has a widely grinning or laughing expression, and he is also known as the Laughing Buddha. He stands in the first hall of the Buddhist monastery. Because of his constant good nature, he has become the symbol of philosophical contentment.
http://www.holymtn.com/gods/hotei.htm

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Hotei painted by Miyamoto Musashi

Fukuoka Art Museum
布袋見闘鶏図

宮本武蔵は江戸時代前期の剣豪で、二天一流剣法の始祖です。書画にもすぐれた武蔵は、南宋の梁楷の減筆体や海北友松の画風を学び、気迫のこもった水墨画を残しました。この布袋見闘鶏図には、伝・梁楷、海北友松の作品にも同じ図様のものが見られますが、全体的には友松の作品に近いといえます。まさに飛びかからんとしてにらみ合う二羽の鶏を、布袋は悠然と眺めおろしています。この作品の旧蔵者である茶人・松永耳庵は「布袋という絶対者が、争いの絶えない世間を見つめている」と喝破しました。終生戦いの場に身を置いた宮本武蔵が辿りついた境地として見れば、興味は尽きません。
http://www.fukuoka-art-museum.jp/jc/html/jc05/01/hotei.html

More famous paintings of Hotei

By Doi San 土井利位筆
http://www.city.koga.ibaraki.jp/rekihaku/sekka/1-4.htm

By 黙庵霊淵（？～1345?)
http://www.sumitomo.gr.jp/related/senoku02/ipix/exhibit01.html

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Hotei, being a cheerful, contented Buddhist monk, is a wonderful little icon; where just the appearance can have the ability to cheer anyone up from a bad day. His largely exposed, pot-belly stomach protrudes in front of him as he continues to laugh through never ending time. This familiar looking statue can be found just about anywhere in the world, and maybe better known as
the Laughing Buddha.

The name Hotei actually means "cloth bag" or "glutton."
A legend has it that if a person is to rub his belly, it brings forth wealth, good luck, and prosperity.
from albrecht

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Hotei carrying a lady across the stream

Nishimura Shigenaga 1697-1756

Read more about this deity.
http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/jgods.html

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Hotei on a plate made by Kakiemon, Arita.
柿右衛門　色絵布袋図皿
http://www.umakato.jp/tanakamaru/sk_006.html

Another Kutani plate with Hotei

.. //shofu.pref.ishikawa.jp/shofu/intro/

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. Seven Fushimi dolls of Hotei 布袋　

. . . . .

Read a lot more here in an essay by Jennifer Polden.
... onmarkproductions.com/html- hotei_by_jennifer_polden.htm

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You can buy a lot of lucky charms with Hotei here:

http://www.luckfactory.com/chinahoteibuddha1.html

布袋　土鈴 dorei
Clay bell with Hotei, click for more !

布袋　絵馬 ema
votive tablet with Hotei, click for more !

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Die sieben Glücksgötter (Shichi Fukushin)
Besondere Gruppierung "ausländischer" Gottheiten.

Daikokuten, Bishamonten und Benten sind indische Gottheiten, Ebisu ist eine rein japanische Gottheit. Hotei und Fukurokujuu sind chinesischen Ursprungs.

Seit der Muromachi-Zeit besonders von Geschäftsleuten verehrt. Sechs männliche und eine weibliche (Benten) Gottheit. Entweder alle in einem Tempel aufgestellt oder für jede Gottheit ein eigener Tempel, die in den Neujahrstagen alle abgepilgert werden müssen. In einigen Tempeln befinden sich sieben besonders große, auffallend geformte Natursteine, welche die Gottheiten darstel~len.

Oft zusammen auf einem Glücksschiff (takarabune) dargestellt, auf dessen Segel das Schriftzeichen für "Schätze" (takara) steht. Dieses Bild ist besonders am Neujahrsfest glückbringend.

Eventuell aus dem alten Brauch des "Siebenmal Anbeten" (nanado mairi) entstanden, bei dem zum Gionfest in Kyooto an einem Tempel sieben Mal hintereinander ein Gebet gesprochen werden mußte, damit es wirksam wurde. Die Zahl "SIEBEN" ist seit alter Zeit mit Glück verbunden. Es gab auch den Brauch, sieben Statuen des Hotei nebeneinander aufzustellen.
In der Edo-Zeit am 2. Januar legte man sich ein Bild der Glücksgötter unter das Kopfkissen, um einen guten ersten Traum im neuen Jahr zu haben.

Die meisten Gottheiten wurden bei den Ten bereits besprochen, siehe dort.

Hotei
Chinesischer Zenpriester Kaishi (Kihi) des Tempels Shimeizan; lebte in der T'ang-Zeit. Wanderte bettelnd durchs Land, spielte mit den Kindern, trug seine Habe in einem großen Sack mit sich herum. Inkarnation des Miroku Bosatsu. Er lehrte, daß ein Geist frei von Sorgen und ein Herz frei von Wünschen wertvoller sei als alle weltlichen Schätze dieser Erde.

Ikonografie:
Alter, lachender, kahlköpfiger Priester-Schelm. Offene Kleidung, mit herausragendem dickem Bauch. Mit großem Sack, auf dem er oft ausruht; in der Hand einen chinesischen Fächer.

.Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who 　　

Ein Wegweiser zur Ikonografie
von japanischen Buddhastatuen
Gabi Greve, 1994

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. Folk Toys and the Seven Gods of Good Luck

. Seven Gods of Good Luck 七福神 Shichifukujin　.

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Enami Nobukuni

2011-11-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

Agonashi Jizo

2011-10-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

. Jizo Bosatsu　地蔵菩薩 .
Kshitigarbha

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Agonashi Jizo 腮無( あごなし)地蔵
Jizo without a jaw
Jizo without a chin あごなし地蔵尊

隠岐島のあごなし地蔵尊の遷座.
東光院萩の寺 Hagi no Tera, Osaka
大阪府豊中市南桜塚1丁目12番7号

The two figures by the side of Jizo are
Shoozen 掌善（しょうぜん）
Shooaku 掌悪（しょうあく）

Jizo curing a toothace 歯痛平癒

In the year 1870, the temple 伴桂寺 at Oki Island had to close down. The last priest of the temple had been a disciple of the head prist of the Hagi Temple in Osaka, so he gave all his temple treasures to the Hagi Temple, including the statue of the "Jizo without a jaw", made by Ono no Takamura 小野篁（おののたかむら）卿正.
Two years later a special hall was built for the statue,which is a secret statue (hibutsu) and only shown once a year.

ago naoshi 阿古直し ... ago nashi

source :　www.haginotera.or.jp

. Ono no Takamura 小野篁 (802 - 852) .

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The legend from the village of Kanawa
in Omiya Town

Once upon a long long time
far away from this town on the island of Oki, there lived a man who had a painful toothache. For three days, he was crying all day long
"My tooth aces, my tooth aces so much!"
He could not sleep at night and not eat during the day because of the pain.
In the end he pulled out his jaw, threw it away - and died.

But then, how wonderful, he was reborn as a Bodhisattva.

The pious people of Oki Island then made a wooden statue of Jizo without a chin and prayed to it when they got a toothache.

Soon people from far away also came to pray for healing, and as a gift of gratitude placed one nashi pear into a nearby river or lake or the ocean.
(This is a pun on the sound of NASHI, pear, or
NASHI, to have not (a toothache).

One month during the following year, they placed a nashi pear in the water.
And all the nashi pears flow back to Oki Island.

That was all long long ago, and now we come to a story that happened about 160 years ago.

The farmer Hayashi Yasubei from Kanawa 金輪の林安兵衛 went to the wilderness where the Statue was located, hoisted it on his back and carried it all the way to his village, Kanawa, to a little temple. That was in the Year Tenpo 10, on March 24.
So to our day there is a monthly festival at this temple now.
Tenpo 10, by the way, is the year 1841 of the Edo period.

source : www.bunka.pref.mie.

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quote
Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan
Lafcadio Hearn

I had first heard in Matsue of Agonashi-Jizo, while suffering from one of those toothaches in which the pain appears to be several hundred miles in depth--one of those toothaches which disturb your ideas of space and time. And a friend who sympathised said:

'People who have toothache pray to Agonashi-Jizo. Agonashi-Jizo is in Oki, but Izumo people pray to him. When cured they go to Lake Shinji, to the river, to the sea, or to any running stream, and drop into the water twelve pears (nashi), one for each of the twelve months. And they believe the currents will carry all these to Oki across the sea.

'Now, Agonashi-Jizo means 'Jizo-who-has-no-jaw.'
For it is said that in one of his former lives Jizo had such a toothache in his lower jaw that he tore off his jaw, and threw it away, and died. And he became a Bosatsu. And the people of Oki made a statue of him without a jaw; and all who suffer toothache pray to that Jizo of Oki.'

This story interested me for more than once I had felt a strong desire to do like Agonashi-Jizo, though lacking the necessary courage and indifference to earthly consequences. Moreover, the tradition suggested so humane and profound a comprehension of toothache, and so large a
sympathy with its victims, that I felt myself somewhat consoled.

Nevertheless, I did not go to see Agonashi-Jizo, because I found out there was no longer any Agonashi-Jizo to see. The news was brought one evening by some friends, shizoku of Matsue, who had settled in Oki, a young police officer and his wife. They had walked right across the island to see us, starting before daylight, and crossing no less than thirty-two torrents on their way. The wife, only nineteen, was quite slender and pretty, and did not appear tired by that long rough journey.

What we learned about the famous Jizo was this:
The name Agonashi-Jizo was only a popular corruption of the true name, Agonaoshi-Jizo, or 'Jizo-the-Healer-of-jaws.'
The little temple in which the statue stood had been burned, and the statue along with it, except a fragment of the lower part of the figure, now piously preserved by some old peasant woman. It was impossible to rebuild the temple, as the disestablishment of Buddhism had entirely destroyed the resources of that faith in Oki.
But the peasantry of Tsubamezato had built a little Shinto miya on the sight of the temple, with a torii before it, and people still prayed there to Agonaoshi-Jizo.

This last curious fact reminded me of the little torii I had seen erected before the images of Jizo in the Cave of the Children's Ghosts. Shinto, in these remote districts of the west, now appropriates the popular divinities of Buddhism, just as of old Buddhism used to absorb
the divinities of Shinto in other parts of Japan.
source : www.gramotey.com

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Ago nashi Jizo at temple Koosaiji 広済寺 Kosai-Ji
Saitama, Kawagoe, Kita Town 川越市喜多町に広済寺

If you have no chin, you have no teeth and can not get a toothache.
People who got healed when praying to this statue brought a toothpick made from a willow branch as an offering.
source : www.tabi2ikitai.com

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temple Jikooji 慈光寺 Jiko-Ji of the Kannon Pilgrimage
Saitama
埼玉県比企郡ときがわ町
source : ohenro.blog.ocn.ne.jp

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On a roadside near the river Kakogawa in Hyogo
"so that Jizo can help all people who leave town and seek good fortune".

This Jizo stands in a small wooden hall, with a stone marker by its side.
The chin of the statue is covered by a red big, so we do not know wheather it has a chin or not.
加古川　兵庫
source : www.hyogo-c.ed.jp

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Taikichoo in Mie. 大紀町三重県
source :　michihata

. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

More Jizo to help your toothache

. Haitadome Jizoo
歯痛止のお地蔵さん .

Hagami Jizo 歯神地蔵尊
Jizo as God for Toothache

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梅雨最中　ずきずき　ずきと　歯の痛み
tsuyu sanaka 　zukizuki　zuki to 　ha no itami

long rainy season -
splitting splitting splitting
my tooth aches

. Gabi Greve, 2006 .

the god of toothache -
I wish I was there
to add my coin

In the town of Kathmandu in Nepal there is a God of Toothache at a road corner in Thamel, just a piece of wood shaped like a molar itself. If you have a toothache, you go there and hammer one coin wishing your illness might pass.

. Toothache and Haiku .

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With a map of the location:
source : okinoshima.info

. Reference : Agonashi Jizo

. Jizo Bosatsu　地蔵菩薩 .

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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. Amulets and Talismans for your health .　

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Tomoe Gozen - Yoshinaka

2011-10-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Kotoamatsukami zooka

2011-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Kotoamatsukami 別天津神

The three deities of creation.

zooka no sanshin 造化の三神
(sanjin)

The three deities of creation and two more on the far sides:

Umashiashikabihikoji no kami 宇摩志阿斯詞備比古遅神
Amenotokotachi no kami 天之常立神
source : risouen

quote
Kotoamatsukami
"Separate heavenly kami," a name referring to the first five kami appearing in the Kojiki. The five include the "three kami of creation" (zōka sanshin), namely
Amenominakanushi no kami,
Takamimusuhi, and
Kamimusuhi no kami,
together with Umashiashikabihikoji no kami and
Amenotokotachi no kami.
The term "separate heavenly kami" originates in Kojiki itself, which states, "The foregoing five kami are the separate heavenly kami." These five kami are characterized by the fact that they came into existence alone (hitorigami), and after coming into being, "hid" themselves. The term kotoamatsukami is not found in Nihongi.
source : Inoue Nobutaka, Kokugakuin 2005

. . . . .

In Japanese Shinto, Kotoamatsukami (別天津神, literally means "distinguishing heavenly kami") is the collective name for the first powers which came into existence at the time of the creation of the universe. They were born in Takamagahara, the world of Heaven at the time of the creation, as Amenominakanushi 天御中主 (Central master), Takamimusubi (High creation), Kamimusubi (Divine creation), and a bit later Umashiashikabihikoji (Energy) and Amenotokotachi (Heaven).

These forces then became gods and goddesses, the tenzai shoshin (heavenly kami) - Ame no minakanushi no kami; Takami-musubi no ôkami; Kamimusubi no ôkami; Umashiashikabihikoji no kami; Ame no Tokotachi no kami; Kuni no Tokotachi no kami; Toyokumono no kami; Uhijini no mikoto; Suhijini no kami; Tsunokuhi no kami; Ikukuhi no kami; Ôtonoji no kami; Ôtonobe no kami; Omodaru no kami; Kashikone no kami; Izanagi no kami; Izanami no kami; and Amaterasu ômikami.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Ame no minaka nushi no kami
天之御中主神（あめのみなかぬしのかみ）
- 至高の神

Takamimusuhi no kami 高御産巣日神
（たかみむすひのかみ）
- 征服や統治の神

Kami musuhi no kami 神産巣日神（かみむすひのかみ）
- 生産の神

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Amenominakanushi
the first kami to come into being in the Plain of Heaven as a "solitary kami" (hitorigami). He was acknowledged as one of the zōka sanshin ("three kami of creation") and one of the five kotoamatsukami ("separate heavenly deities").
Amenominakanushi
is found at the very beginning of the Kojiki. Amenominakanushi was chief kami of the seven major stars of the constellation Ursa Major. As a result of this influence, Amenominakanushi was made a central deity at the Daikyōin in the early Meiji period. He was also worshipped within sectarian Shinto (kyōha Shintō ).

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quote
Amenominakanushi
Other names: Ame no minakanushi no mikoto(Nihongi)

According to certain of the myths relating the unfolding of heaven and earth, Amenominakanushi was the first kami to come into being in the Plain of Heaven as a "solitary kami" (hitorigami), and to hide his presence. Also counted as one of the zōka sanshin ("three kami of creation") and one of the five kotoamatsukami ("separate heavenly deities"). Amenominakanushi is found at the very beginning of Kojiki, while only appearing in an alternate version within the fourth "alternate writing" quoted in Nihongi.

No mention is made of this kami's activities, and he was not worshiped at any known ancient shrines, with the result that he is considered by some as a kami of abstract character and produced under the influence of Chinese thought.
Kogo shūi states that Takamimusuhi, Kamimusuhi, and Tsuhayamusuhi no kami were all offspring of Amenominakanushi, while Shoku nihongi claims that he was ancestral kami of the Nakatomi clan, and fragmentary records of the Ise no kuni fudoki state that his twelfth-generation descendant was Amenohiwake no mikoto; Shinsen shōjiroku likewise claims him as one of the ancestral deities of certain naturalized clans.

Until the medieval era, Nihongi was considered preeminent to Kojiki, and reference to Amenominakanushi was solely in terms of his role as one of the primeval kami. As students of National Learning (Kokugaku) began to place greater emphasis on Kojiki, however, Amenominakanushi came to be more widely appreciated, and his significance was reevaluated. Hirata Atsutane, in particular, propounded a theology wherein Amenominakanushi was chief kami of the seven major stars of the constellation Ursa Major. As a result of this influence, Amenominakanushi was made a central deity at the Daikyōin in the early Meiji period, and he was worshiped within sectarian Shinto (kyōha Shintō ) as well. During the process of separation of Shinto and Buddhist objects of worship (see shinbutsu bunri), the deity Myoken (the north star) was changed to Amenominakanushi at many shrines.
source : Mori Mizue, Kokugakuin 2005

尊星王像
source : takahashi_hideharu

. Suitengu 水天宮 Shrine for the Water God .
Deity in residence is
Amenominakanushi no kami 天之御中主神 .
Ame no minaka nushi no kami / 天御中主神

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quote
Takamimusuhi
Other names: Takamimusuhi no mikoto(Nihongi),Takagi no kami (Kojiki)

A central kami included in Kojiki's "three kami of creation" (zōka sanshin), and one of the five "separate heavenly kami" (kotoamatsukami). A solitary kami that comes into being after Amenominakanushi, and then "hides away," Takamimusuhi later reappears, together with Amaterasu, as one of the central kami of the Plain of High Heaven (Takamanohara).

Takamimusuhi assembled the conference of heavenly kami that conferred regarding the Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild (tenson kōrin), and he also selected and dispatched messengers to the Central Land of Reed Plains (Ashihara no Nakatsukuni) for the purpose of negotiating for the "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri).

Takamimusuhi's daughter was Yorozuhatahime, who in turn was the mother of Ninigi no mikoto; according to the main text of Nihongi, it was imperial ancestor Takamimusuhi no mikoto who invested Ninigi as ruler of the Central Land of Reed Plains. At the time of the descent of the heavenly grandchild, Omoikane and other descendants of Takamimusuhi were assigned to accompany Ninigi upon his descent. Takamimusuhi also sent a large crow (yatakarasu) as aid during Jinmu's eastern expedition, in this and other ways giving protection to the descendants of the heavenly kami. Nihongi notes that in preparation for his enthronement (sokui), Jinmu himself served in the role of priest-medium and took on the identity of Takamimusuhi, who was also later made one of the eight kami served by the priests of the imperial Department of Kami (Jingikan).

Takamimusuhi was also claimed by numerous clans as founding ancestor. The tradition transmitted by Kogo shūi describes Takamimusuhi as the eldest of Amanominakanushi's three children, calling him Sumemutsukamurogi no mikoto, and identifying him as ancestor of the Tomo and Saeki clans. In later ages, Takamimusuhi was also worshiped as a god of matchmaking, based on the association of the musuhi (or musubi) in his name with the same word meaning "to join."
source : Mori Mizue, 2005

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quote
Kamimusuhi
Other names: Kamimusuhi no kami, Kamimusuhi no mioya no kami, Kamimusuhi no mikoto(Kojiki. Nihongi)

According to Kojiki, one of the three kami of creation (zōka sanshin), and classed as one of the "separate heavenly kami" (kotoamatsukami). Kamimusuhi came into being after Takamimusuhi as the third of the five solitary kami (hitorigami), and her presence was not visible. After Ōgetsuhime was murdered by Susanoo, Kamimusuhi, under the name of the mother deity Mioya no mikoto, transformed the grains produced from Ōgetsuhime's body into seed, thus becoming known as the "ancestral deity" of the five grains (see sojin).

While a heavenly deity (amatsukami), Kamimusuhi has strong links to the earthly deities (kunitsukami) of the Izumo tradition, and when Ōnamuchi was burned to death by his brothers, she granted the wish of Ōnamuchi's mother by restoring him to life; Kamimusuhi's child Sukunahikona later assisted Ōnamuchi with the development of the land.

Finally, when Ōkuninushi was enshrined as a condition for the "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri), the invocation of Kushiyatama initiating Ōkuninushi's worship included the name "Kamimusuhi no mioya no mikoto." These are the general details transmitted by Kojiki, which includes detailed episodes of the Izumo myths. Nihongi, on the other hand, describes Kamimusuhi only in an "alternate writing" relating the unfolding of heaven and earth, and elsewhere once as the parent of Takuhatachijihime (see Yorozuhatahime). Kogo shūi describes Kamimusuhi as the third child of Amenominakanushi, and the ancestor of the Ki clan.

Based both on the fact that Shinsen shōjiroku describes Kamimusuhi as ancestor of numerous Izumo-related clans, and on the fact that the Izumo fudoki transmits the legend of Kamosu no mikoto, some people have theorized that Kamimusuhi was actually a kami of the Izumo lineage. On the other hand, the mythos also relates that Sukunahikona and Yorozuhatahime were the offspring of Takamimusuhi, and given that mioya is a title attached primarily to female kami, it is likely that Kamimusuhi was anciently considered the spouse of the heavenly deity Takamimusuhi.

Kamimusuhi has strong links to the heavenly kami in other ways as well, as evidenced by her status as first in rank among the eight kami served by the priests of the Jingikan, and the fact that she is treated as a heavenly kami in the "spirit pacification" ritual of chinkonsai.
source : Mori Mizue, 2005

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zooka is also a word used by Matsuo Basho in his haiku theory.

Basho said
造化にしたがひ造化に帰れ.
"Follow the zooka, return to the zooka."

自然の力（造化の力）shizen no chikara, zooka no chikara
in
造花随順 zooka zuijun.

(In English, the wrong spelling zoka is sometimes used.)

reference : zooka

quote
In Yamaoka Genrin's pioneering haibun anthology the Daoism-influenced concept of Japanese zoka (Chinese: Zaohua) already had been given fundamental importance in the creation of haikai:
"If we trust all to the endless power of zoka."

For further info. read Chapter Five,
Following Zoka and Returning to Zoka,
of Basho and the Dao:
the Zhuangzi and the transformation of Haikai
by Peipei Qiu.

source : Chen-ou Liu

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. Myooken Bosatsu 妙見菩薩 Myoken .
Star Shrines, Hoshi Jinja 星神社

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Sen Sotan

2011-09-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

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Sen Sotan 千宗旦
Sen Sootan

1578年2月7日（天正6年1月1日）
- 1658年12月19日（万治元年11月19日

quote
Sen Sōtan (千宗旦) (1578-1658)
also known as
Genpaku Sōtan 元伯宗旦,
was the grandson of the famed figure in Japanese cultural history, Sen Rikyū. He is remembered as Rikyū's third-generation successor in Kyoto through whose efforts and by whose very being, as the blood-descendant of Rikyū, the ideals and style of Japanese tea ceremony proposed by Rikyū were able to be passed forward by the family.

He was the son of Sen Shōan and Okame, a daughter of Rikyū, and is counted as the third generation in the three lines of the Sen family known together as the san-Senke (see Schools of Japanese tea ceremony). He helped to popularize tea in Japan. It was in the generation of his children, Sōsa, Sōshitsu and Sōshu, that the three lines of the family 三千家 -- the Omotesenke, Urasenke and Mushakōjisenke -- were established, with these three sons, respectively, as their heads of house. They are counted as the fourth generation in the respective lines.

At around the age of ten, he was sent to live at Daitoku-ji temple, through the wish of his grandfather, Rikyū. He lived at the sub-temple Sangen'in, under the supervision of the priest Shun'oku Sōen.
During the years following Rikyū's death, when the Sen family was disbanded and Sōtan's father found shelter with the daimyō Gamō Ujisato in distant Aizu Wakamatsu, Sōtan was able to stay safely at Daitoku-ji temple. When his father was at last permitted to return to Kyoto and reestablish the Kyoto Sen family, Sōtan left the priesthood and returned to his family.
His father soon left the headship of the family to Sōtan, and moved out.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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宗旦狐を拝みに相国寺
Sotan gitsune at temple Shokoku-Ji
Kyoto

source : www.zuzu.bz

Sootangitsune 宗旦狐（そうたんぎつね）

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quote
Soutankitsune　宗旦狐 Sotangitsune, Sotan Kitsune
A tea ceremony legend that probably dates from the 1st half of the 17c.
An old fox, the story goes, lived in the precinct of Shoukokuji 相国寺 in Kyoto.
In the autumn he would disguise as himself as the famous tea master Sen Soutan 千宗旦 (1578-1658) and often visit tea masters in neighborhoods to drink tea and eat cakes.

Everyone enjoyed the tea master's company even though all knew he was really a fox. Thus, they called him Soutankitsune. The story demonstrates how well known Soutan was in tea houses at that time.
source : jaanus

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The fox would take on the form of an unsui monk　apprentice and sit with them in Zazen for hours. Sometimes he would play Go with the head priest.
Anyway, it was a kind and pious fox.

But sometimes he would go to tea masters' homes nearby, prepare tea for himself and eat all the cakes.

One day the head priest had asked Sotan to come and perform a tea ceremony for his new tea room at the small hall Jisho-In 慈照院 (Jishooin) in the temple compound. The readl Sotan was late and the fox took over his role.
Then the real Sotan showed up late and participated in silence.
Afterwards he said he was surprized at the skill of the fox.

The tea room is called Ishin shitsu 　頤神室（いしんしつ）. From the window you can see the stone statue of the fox through an opening said to be made by the fox when he fled the tea room in great haste.

The fox once stole some abura-age tofu (a food he liked most) from a nearby tofu store but was found out. The owner chased him, the fox fell into a deep well and that was his end.
Another legend says a hunter got him and shot him dead.

After his death, people felt sorry for the funny fox who had been rather kind sometimes and so they build this Inari Fox Shrine to honor his memory.

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Sotan Inari Jinja 宗旦稲荷神社

There is also an Inari fox shrine in his honor in the precincts of the temple.
People come to pray here not only for improvement in their way of tea, but also for good business and good luck.

source : syoindo.noblog.net

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Sotan Tea Room at Entoku-In at Temple Kodai-Ji
高台寺の圓徳院 Koodaiji no Entokuin

The fox had come here too to perform the tea ceremony and even when they found out it was the fox and not the real tea master, the discipled let him go on and to the ceremony.

The fox also went begging with the monks and got enough money to help them from a financial pinch.

When he was so eagerly playing Go with the priest, he even forgot to hide properly and his foxtail popped out, but people just grinned and pretended not to see it.

One day a burgler got into a tofu dealer in the neighbourhood and stole all his money, so the store was almost bankrupt. Sotan the fox heared the story and decided to help (because he had been steeling abura-age from this store sometimes).
He collected many lotus leaves and sold them. Then he used the money to buy soy beans for the tofu dealer and thus helped to revive the shop. Rumors of the fox story of course helped the shop also to sell even more tofu ever after.

To show his gratitude, the tofu dealer made some speciality for the fox,
a tempura from mice (nezumi no tempura 鼠の天ぷら).
Aaa, this was a great pinch for the fox, because if he ate this delicacy, he would loose his power to change into a human being.
Aaa, what to do? What to do?

One bite can not harm, the fox thought, and took a bite, just one ...
but alas, he turned into his fox features. A dog nearby, who was usually kind and sleepy, saw the fox and chased him away and whow and behold ... the fox in his haste fell in a deep well and was gone for ever.
source : kyo-otoko.blog

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netsuke with the Sotan Fox
made by Shishido Too-un 宍戸濤雲さんの作品「宗旦狐」

京都・壬生の根付専門美術館
source : hirosi blog

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Sootangitsune 宗旦狐
茶湯にかかわる十二の短編
澤田ふじ子
ISBNコード： 4-19-892240-3
12 short stories teaching the way of tea

淡交別冊32号　千宗旦 Sen Sotan

Click here for more photos of artefacts with this famous fox
香合 incence container and more

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

INARI / Oinari / Oinari-sama
Messenger = The Fox 狐 (Kitsune)
The Fox Deities of Japan
source : Mark Schumacher

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A tea cup made by Asami Yoshizo
浅見与し三 / 吉峯窯 / 宗旦狐
source : imayashop

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Aaah, and now the dog finds him out,
and our story comes to an end !

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. Tea Ceremony Saijiki - 茶道の歳時記 .

. Inari 稲荷 the Sacred Foxes of Japan .

. Inari Jinja 稲荷神社　Fox Shrines and their amulets .

Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Tosa Mitsuoki

2011-05-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Shichimen Daimyojin

2010-12-31T17:18:00.000-08:00

Kanban Kenchiku

2010-12-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

Bakumatsu People

2010-11-18T23:08:00.000-08:00

Arukigami

2010-06-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Harahoge Jizo

2010-06-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

Karuizawa Usui Pass

2010-06-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

Benten Benzaiten

2010-06-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Benten, Benzaiten 弁天　弁財天

Benten on a dragon

BENZAITEN 弁財天
She is also sometimes mixed up with the God of Water.
In India, the sound of her lute is said to evoke the sound of a flowing river and thus provide rain for the dry areas.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Goddess of Music, Poetry, Learning, & Art
River Goddess, Patron of Children
Protector of the Nation

Shinto Association = Kami Itsukushima Hime 厳島姫命

The sea goddess Benzaiten is the sole female among the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan. Her temples and shrines are almost invariably in the neighborhood of water -- the sea, a river, or a pond. She is the patroness of music, the fine arts (dancing, acting, visual), and good fortune in general, and is often shown carrying a biwa (Japanese mandolin) or playing a lute.

She is often represented as a beautiful woman with the power to assume the form of a serpent, or shown seated on a dragon or serpent and playing a lute. In fact, the snake is almost always associated with Benzaiten, who was originally a Hindu deity (Sarasvati) who represented learning, music and poetry. Such artistic learning and wisdom often bring prosperity, hence her inclusion in the Japanese group of seven luckies. She also has a jewel that grants desires. Some say it is a jade, while others say it is a pearl.

Read more about her here:
Mark Schumacher : Benzaiten

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Offering raw eggs Festival
生卵を奉納するお祭

at Zeniarai Benten　銭洗弁天, Kamakura on the first day of the snake in the new year.
Mi no Kamisama 巳の神様 Snake Deity

Benten is related to the God of Snakes and Serpents, and the favorite food of this animal are eggs. So at the shops around Zeniarai Benten they sell boiled eggs as offerings, to have your wish come true.

弁天卵（ゆで卵）Benten Yudetamago
"Benten Boiled Eggs" are served at some Benten shrines on the evening of December 31, then people line up to ring the bell into the New Year.

. WASHOKU
Eggs as offerings to the deities

quote
Uga Benzaiten　宇賀弁財天,
a deity of good fortune and wealth. Most sources believe Ugajin is none other than Uga no Mitama, the Shinto goddess of foodstuffs mentioned in Kojiki and Nihongi, two of Japan's earliest records. Uga no Mitama is also commonly identified with a male counterpart named Uka no Mitama, the deity of grains. This Shinto pair are further identified with Inari, the parent Shinto god/goddess of rice and agriculture, who is identified with a white fox as his/her messenger.

source
Benzaiten / Mark Schumacher

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Daruma Museum

. The Water God, Sui-jin Suijin 水神,
Sui-ten Suiten水天　

More details about the Water Deities and Snakes

. Shichi-Fukujin　七福神　Seven Gods of Good Luck

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Benten kozoo 弁天小僧 Benten Kozo
"'Benten Musume Meo no Shiranami'"
Shiranami Gonin Otoko(白浪五人男)
The Lad Benten (one of the five famous thiefs)
. . . CLICK here for colorful Photos !
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Benten Fuku-ume 弁天福梅　Benten Lucky Plum wine

Benten musume 弁天娘 "Lady Benten"
a brand of sake ricewine
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Sweets from Zeniarai Benten Kamakura

"the fountain of money" 銭洗いの泉
They come in the form of old coins.

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ningyooyaki 人形焼き waffles
Dough filled with sweet bean paste, pressed in the form of the Seven Gods of Good Luck, including our Benzaiten.

. WASHOKU
Ningyooyaki, ningyoyaki 人形焼 figure waffles 　
(also with Daruma san)

take a bite
from the Benten face -
good luck for you

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Benten dorei 弁天土鈴 clay bell

Benten ema 弁財天絵馬 votive tablet

Benten hariko 弁天張子 papermachee doll

Benten omamori 弁天お守り Benten amulets

. Shichifukujin　七福神 - Amulets .

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H A I K U

kigo for the NEW YEAR

hatsu Benzaiten 初弁財天（はつべんざいてん）
first visit to a Benten shrine
..... hatsu Benten 初弁天（はつべんてん） "first Benten"

fuse mairi 布施参（ふせまいり）
visit a Benten shrine(mairi) and make an offering (fuse)

hatsu mi 初巳 (はつみ) "first snake"
first day of the snake
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Minoo no tomi 箕面の富　（みのおのとみ）
lottery at Minoo
Mino no tomi

Minoo san Benzaiten mairi 箕面山弁財天参（みのおさんべんざいてんまいり）/ 辨財天
Visiting Benten at Mount Minoo

otomi hoo-e 御富法会（おとみほうえ）
Minoo tomitsuki 箕面富突（みのおとみつき）
picking a lottery ticket in Minoo

ichi no tomi 一の富（いちのとみ）first lottery win
ni no tomi 二の富（にのとみ）second lottery win
san no tomi 三の富（さんのとみ）third lottery win

tomifuda 富札（とみふだ）lottery ticket
..... o-tomi san お富さん（おとみさん）

Minoo City is located near Osaka, between Kyoto and Kobe.
At the temple Ryuan-Ji (Ryuuanji, Rooanji 箕面山滝安寺吉祥院) there is a famous lottery every year, since the Nara period. There are also poems of the Kamakura period about this lottery.
People buy a ticket (tomikuji宝くじ), write their name on it and put it in a box. When all have finished, a priest sticks a sharp pole in the box to pick out the first ticket, the BIG LUCK, daifuku 大福.
The person who won the first ticked now had to rush home without sleeping on the way, to ensure the good luck would not diminish.
The winning tickets bring good luck in business, health for the whole family and good fortune in general. They were considered as a good luck talisman 大福御守 from the temple.
The second and third winning lottery ticket were also considered very auspicious.

Other temples later imitated this kind of lottery, but when it became "big business", the government of the Eod period forbid it. Still, lottery was carried out secretly.

Taiyuuji no tomi 太融寺の富 lottery at temple Taiyu-Ji
At the Benten hall 弁天社 of this temple tomikuji 富籤 were sold.
At this shrine lots for the female Benten and the male Ox deity Go-Oo 牛王 were sold.

The wish was for
shichinan sokumetsu shichifuku sokushoo
七難即滅七福即生
sevenfold harm to leave
sevenfold luck to come

This expression is also related to
the Seven Gods of Good Luck.

. Somin Shorai Fu 蘇民将来符 Somin Shorai Amulets .

いの組の一番富の太融寺　
i no kumi no ichiban tomi no Taiyuuji
　
the first lot
from the I-group lottery
at temple Taiyu-Ji
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Ariyama Takehiko 有山武彦

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. WASHOKU
momiji tenpura もみじ天ぷら/ 紅葉の天ぷら
tempura from maple leaves
From Mino Town
and the history of temple Ryuan-Ji 箕面山瀧安寺

Nowadays,the Great Festival of Benzaiten at the temple Ryuan-Ji is on October 10.

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Benten (Benzaiten; Saravasti)
Ben-Ten

Feld- und Flußgöttin der alten indischen Mythologie. Wasser war in Indien eine Kostbarkeit und mit dem Saiteninstrument BIWA wurde versucht, die Geräusche von plätscherndem Wasser nach~zu~ahmen. Daher hat Benten oft eine Biwa (Lautenart) in den Armen und wurde später in Japan zur Göttin der Musik, Literatur und Sprachgewandheit; auch Reichtum, Gesundheit und langes Leben.
Als Gottheit der Künste auch folgende Bezeichnungen: Bionten 美音天, Myooonten 妙音天, Myooten Ongaku 妙音天音楽, Daibenten　大弁天, Daibenzaiten　大弁才天, Daiben Kudokuten 大弁功徳天, Daibenzai Kudokuten 大弁才功徳天.

Die shintooistische Version der Benten ist die Gottheit Itsukushima Hime no Mikoto.
Zur Vermehrung des Reichtums wird Geld in einem Teich der Benten gewaschen (Zeniarai Benten　銭洗弁財天) oder ein altes Goldstück (koban　小判) in der Geldbörse aufbewahrt.

Da es sich um eine Wassergottheit handelt, liegen ihre Tempel oft am oder im Wasser, nur drei große Anlagen in Japan liegen allerdings direkt auf Inseln:
Itsukushima Schrein auf Miyajima bei Hiroshima; 厳島神社
Tempel Hoogonji 　宝厳寺　auf der Insel Chikubuｊima im Biwasee und　竹生島
in den Grotten von Enoshima bei Kamakura. 江ノ島

Der Bote der Benten ist eine Schlange; eine Geldbörse aus Schlangenleder ist besonders begehrt.

Wahrscheinlich identisch mit der Wassergottheit Ugajin　宇賀神 (Menschenkopf mit Schlangenleib). Es gilt folgende Assoziationsreihe des Glaubens:
Benten ... Wassergottheit ... Schlangenleib mit Menschenkopf ... Schlange ...　Drachen.

Ab Kamakura-Zeit Benzaiten genannt und als Göttin für Wohnen, Essen, Trinken und Reichtümer verehrt; ab Muromachi-Zeit auch eine der sieben Glücksgötter.

Ikonografie:
Herabhängende Haare oder Knoten. Im aufgesteckten Haar ein weiterer Kopf oder eine Schlange mit Menschenkopf (Ugajin).

Älteste Formen mit acht Armen (Happi Benten 八臂弁財天):
mit Pfeil, Bogen, Schwert, Axt, Donnerkeil, Stab, Rad der Lehre und wunscherfüllendem Juwel. Es gibt sechs berühmte Benten-Statuen mit acht Armen, eine davon befindet sich als Geheim-Figur in Enoshima.
Japanische Variation seit der Kamakura-Zeit bzw. Edo-Zeit:
7. Glücksgöttin als nackte weiße Frauengestalt mit einer Biwa. Die nackte Gestalt wurde manchmal mit reichen Frauengewändern umhangen.

Besondere Form:

Benten mit 15 Knaben (Juugo Dooji)
十五童子(じゅうごどうじ)
Benten ist von 15 Knaben in chinesischen Gewändern umgeben. Diese Knaben haben besondere Gegenstände bzw. Merkmale:

Aikyô Dôji 愛敬 : Pfeil und Bogen.
Gyuba Dôji 牛馬 : Ochs und Pferd.
Hanki Dôji 飯櫃 : Auf dem Kopf ein Gefäß mit Reis.
Hikken Dôji 筆硯 : Pinsel und Tuschestein.
Inyaku Dôji 印鑰 : Im rechten Winkel gebogener Schlüssel.
Ishô Dôji (Inyaku) 印鑰 : Mit zusammengelegten Kleidungsstücken.
Juusha Dôji 従者 : Drei Juwele.
Kantai Dôji 官帯 : Gürtel für Festlichkeiten.
Keishô Dôji 計升 : Viereckiges Reismaß.
Konzai Dôji 金財: Waage zum Goldwiegen.
Sanyô Dôji 蠶養 : Gefäß mit Seidenraupen.
Sensha Dôji 船車 : Schiff und Lastkarren.
Shômyô Dôji 生命 : Schwert und Juwel.
Shusen Dôji 酒泉 : Krug mit Reiswein.
Tôchuu Dôji 稻籾 : Reisballen.
Zenzai Dôji 善財 : Sack (mit Goldstaub).

Aikyô Dôji ist wahrscheinlich eine Version des Cupid.

Zenzai Dôji als eigenständige Figur wird im Kegon-Sutra erwähnt. Er ist das reinherzige Kind einer wohlhabenden Familie. Als er die Lehre des Monju Bosatsu hörte, bekehrte er sich und studierte unter Monju. Er errang großes Wissen und erlangte schließlich die Erleuchtung. Es gibt Abbildungen in Mandalaform dieser Lebensgeschichte des Zenzai Dooji seit der späten Heian-Zeit (Kegon Kaie Zenchishikizu Mandara 華厳海絵善知識曼荼羅).
. . . CLICK here for Zenzai Doji Photos !

Jeder dieser 15 Knabenfiguren ist als ursprüngliche Gestalt ein Nyorai, ein Bosatsu und ein Ten zugeordnet.

Gabi Greve
. Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who
Ten　天　(Devas)

The Seven Gods of Good Luck and Daruma san
The Eight Gods of Good Luck from Seya 瀬谷八福神

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Gyuuba Dooji 牛馬童子（ぎゅうばどうじ）
at Hashiori Pass, Kumano 箸折（はしおり）峠
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Gyuba Doji (a boy riding on ox and horse)
is a stone statue located in back of Hokyointo (stone stupa) in Hashiori Pass on the Nakahechi route of the Kumano Ancient Road. The statue is only 50 cm tall but it is a symbol of the Nakahechi route.

Next to it stands the statue of En no Gyoja, the founder of mountain practice. It is said that the figure represents the tragic Emperor Kazan on the pilgrimage to Kumano Shrine. Emperor Kazan ascended the Imperial throne at a young age in the middle of the Heian period (794-1192) but was tricked into abdicating by the Fujiwara family’s conspiracy. After his abdication, he became a Buddhist priest and was given the appellation of Hoo (pious ex-emperor).

The name of the pass, Hashiori (literally meaning “breaking chopsticks”), is derived from the old story that when the emperor’s party had a meal at this place, they broke stems of Japanese pampas grass and used them in place of chopsticks.
Gyuba Doji statue keeps on giving a gentle look to the pilgrims on the Nakahechi route.
source : nippon-kichi.jp

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On June 20, 2008, citizens of Tanabe City learned of the defacing of the statue known as “Hashiori Pass Gyubadoji.” The Chinese characters for Gyubadoji can be separated into the parts – Gyu meaning cow, ba meaning horse, and doji meaning a child (in this instance, the young Ex-emperor, Kazan-in). This statue is on the Nakahechi section of the Kumano Kodo World Heritage pilgrimage route and is often used as a symbol of the Kumano Kodo. This pilgrimage trail stretches from Kyoto to Nachi in the south of Wakayama Prefecture with the Nakahechi area.

Gyubadoji is on the first section of the route after it turns inland towards the first of three grand shrines, Kumano Hongu Taisha. It is little more than a twenty minute hike from the main highway leading to Hongu-cho and Kumano Grand Taisha, and it is a relatively easy hike which is popular with visitors to Kumano.
The statue was defaced with the head of Kazan-in, a retired emperor from the 10th century, being taken.
source : kumanokodoguides.blogspot.com

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ema from shrine Hakone Jinja 箱根神社

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O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Mon kado gate

2010-04-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Mon 門　(kado) ...
the gate of a temple, castle, town or estate

Many farmhouses in my area have a "nagayamon" "long gate house", with one room for the retired head of the family (inkyobeya) and some space for storing supplies at the other side of the entrance throughfare.

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The most beautiful "gate" is probably the Yomeimon in Nikko,
part of the world heritage of Nikko.

陽明門【ようめいもん】－日光東照宮

sanmon 山門 "mountain gate" of a Buddhist temple

monzenmachi 門前町 town in front of the gate of a temple or shrine
They vere especially prosperous with pilgrims during the Edo period.

akazumon 不開門
byoumon 廟門
chuumon 中門
Dairimon 内裏門
hakkyakumon 八脚門
kabukimon 冠木門
Narukomon 鳴子門
roumon 楼門
suzakumon　朱雀門
yashikimon 屋敷門
Youmeimon 陽明門 and many more
Read more information about Japanese Gates
JAANUS : gate ... Daimon 大門 (the Big Gate)

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kuchi wa wazawai no kado 口は禍の門
The mouth is the front-gate
of all misfortune.
The mouth is the root of trouble.

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H A I K U

kigo for the New Year

kado no haru 門の春（かどのはる） spring at the gate

. Gate Decoration with Pine, kadomatsu 門松　

. kado nyuudo 門入道（かどにゅうどう）to ward off the demons at the gate 　
oniuchigi, oni uchigi 鬼打木 (おにうちぎ)

. kadorei 門礼（かどれい）New Year visitor ("at the gate" ) 　
..... kado no reichoo 門の礼帳（かどのれいちょう）
book for signing New Year wishes

. kadobiraki 門開き（かどびらき） "opening the gates again" 　
..... kadoake 門明け（かどあけ）

. hatsu kadode 初門出 (はつかどで) first going out 　
..... hatsuasa kadode 初朝戸出（はつあさとで）
first leaving the house on January 1

. kado-uchi 門打（かどうち）"hitting the gate", spring prayer at the gate 　
special ceremony in North Japan

Sanmonbiraki, sanmon biraki 山門開き (さんもんびらき)
opening the temple gate
During the Edo period, the gates of famous temples in Edo were opened on January 16th and people could climb up the gate tower.
Now this custom has been abolished.

SAIJIKI – NEW YEAR OBSERVANCES

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kigo for all spring

hana no mon 花の門（はなのもん）gate with cherry blossoms

kigo for late spring

kado yanagi 門柳（かどやなぎ）willow tree by the gate

Issa and a pipe haiku

by my gate's willow
. kuwae giseru muyoo de mo nashi kado yanagi 　

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kigo for all summer

. kado shimizu 門清水（かどしみず)
clear water at the corners (of an estate) 　

ari no to watari 蟻の門渡り（ありのとわたり）
ants crossing the gate
(according to the Chinese lore)
refers to a row of ants, to a small mountain pass and to the perineum, part of the human body.

mugura no kado 葎の門（むぐらのかど）
gate covered with cleaver weeds
usually of a poor and abandoned home

. mugura 葎 (むぐら) cleavers

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kigo for late summer

kado suzumi 門涼み（かどすずみ）coolness at the gate

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Read the full discussion of the translations here
. Compiled by Larry Bole 　
Translating Haiku Forum

April is National Poetry Month in the US.
Today, 4/22, I received this Poetry Daily Poet's Pick:

門々の下駄の泥より春立ちぬ
かどかどのげたのどろよりはるたちぬ

Kado kado no
Geta no doro yori
Haru tachinu.

At every doorway,
From the mud on wooden clogs,
Spring begins anew.

Issa

— Translated by Daniel C. Buchanan
One Hundred Famous Haiku
Japan Publications, Inc. (Tokyo and San Francisco 1976)

* * * *

Other translations:

Kado-gado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

At every gate,
Spring has begun
From the mud on the clogs.
trans. Blyth

Blyth's comment:
To see the beginning of spring in the black mud that sticks to everyone's 'geta',--this especially belongs to Issa. Up to the present, the mud has seemed only something dirty and unwanted, but as the harbinger of spring the mud now is not seen as an inconvenient and ugly thing, but as a delicate happiness for everybody.

* * * *

Kado kado no geta no doro yori har u tachinu.

Spring has come! In the mud of each family's geta.

trans. Max Bickerton
The Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan, Second Series, Vol. IX, 1932

Bickerton's comment:
In his [Issa's] effort to get away from the banal, his conflicts sometimes are very prosaic. Most people associate spring with new leaves, and cherry blossoms, but Issa looks down to people's feet, and sees its arrival in their geta, dirty with the mud of melted snow.

* * * *

kadokado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

from the mud of geta
going gate-to-gate
spring begins
trans. Higginson
UVA Library Etext Initiative, Japanese Haiku, 'risshun': beginning of spring

* * * *

At every doorway,
From the mud on the wooden clogs
Spring begins anew
trans. Daniel C. Buchanan

I include this translation again because it is also found at the artist Jo Fallon's website:
http://www.jofallon.co.uk/index.php?/work/haiku/

She has illustrated this haiku there with a nice painting.

* * * *

kado-gado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

muddy clogs
at the gates reveal...
it's spring!
trans. Lanoue

My EL version:

kado kado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

at gate after gate
mud-caked clogs--
must be spring!

Issa, trans. Larry Bole

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Issa about becoming 60 !

まん六の春と成りけり門の雪
manroku no haru to nari keri kado no yuki

60 years old
my new spring
snow at my gate

. manroku .. the 60th birthday 　

Issa and the outhouse ...
. nushi ari ya no setchin ni mo kado no matsu 　

Issa and the gate of a graveyard
. omboo ga kado mo soyo-soyo aoyagi zo 　

Issa and the new year at his gate
. waga kado wa hiru sugi kara ga ganjitsu zo 　

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門前や　何万石の　遠がすみ
monzen ya nanmangoku no toogasumi

finally Matsuyama !
the far away haze
of a thriving town
(this is a rather free translation)

. Temple Saimyo-Ji and Issa
最明寺（さいみょうじ）　

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翁忌や何やらしゃべる門雀
okina-ki ya naniyara shaberu kado suzume

Basho's Death-Day--
what are you chattering
sparrows at the gate?

. Issa and the memorial day of Basho 　

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Temple Gate,
no garlic or liquor beyond this point!

. kunshuu sanmon ni iru o yurusazu 　

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. Torii 鳥居
Gate of a Shinto Shrine 　

. Geta, Wooden Sandals, Clogs, 下駄

. haru no doro 春の泥 spring mud 　
..... shundei 春泥

. Kimon, the "Demon Gate" 鬼門　

. Kuromon ("Black Gate") of Temple Kan'ei-ji 　

. Kaminari Mon (Thunder Gate) Asakusa Tokyo 　

. temple gate of Saikoku-Ji 　
with many straw sandals

New temple gate, after the earthquake, in Yonago

Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Hokkeji Temple Nara

2010-04-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Pagoda (too)

2010-04-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Eta and Burakumin

2010-04-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Eta and Burakumin

eta 穢多 (えた) "filthy mass" , burakumin
the "untouchables" of the Edo period
die Unberührbaren

Burakumin (部落民, Literal translation: "small settlement people")
hamlet people

In the feudal era, the outcast caste were called eta (literally, "an abundance of defilement" or "an abundance of filth").
Some burakumin refer to their own communities as "mura" (村 "villages") and themselves as "mura-no-mono" (村の者 "village people").

They are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and the residents of Korean and Chinese descent.

The burakumin are descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered "tainted" with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers, workers in slaughterhouses, butchers or tanners), and traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos.

They were legally liberated in 1871 with the abolition of the feudal caste system. However, this did not put a stop to social discrimination and their lower living standards, because Japanese family registration (Koseki) was fixed to ancestral home address until recently, which allowed people to deduce their Burakumin membership. The Burakumin were one of the several groups discriminated against within Japanese society.

Other outcast groups included the
hinin (非人—literally "non-human") (the definition of hinin, as well as their social status and typical occupations varied over time, but typically included ex-convicts and vagrants who worked as town guards, street cleaners or entertainers. )

In certain areas of Japan, there is still a stigma attached to being a resident of such areas, including some lingering discrimination in matters such as marriage and employment.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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quote
Kan Takayuki suggests that senmin were seen as religious people possessing a special talent which enabled them to interact with the mystical world. Some senmin were also called hafurinotami because they performed hafuri ritual duties. They were untouchable because of some ambiguous feeling involving both fear and reverence. Because of these special powers, senmin could have been a political threat to the Japanese Emperor, a living god and the master Shinto-priest who was supposed to have the same mystical powers. The symbolic power of the purity of the Emperor was enhanced by degrading the senmin class. The Emperor was in the highest position and the senmin were at the lowest in a kind of bipolar religious status.
In order to enhance the Emperor’s religious power, senmin were placed under the direct control of the Emperor or some other powerful clans.
Gradually the Shinto concepts of imi (taboo) and kegare (pollution) became linked to the Buddhist prohibition on taking any life.
source : www.iheu.org/untouchability

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In rural Japan, small settlements and hamlets are also called BURAKU until nowadays.
I live in a hamlet with eight neighbour families, each in turn becomes the "hamlet head" (burakuchoo) for one year, even my husband, when it is our turn. This does not have any negative meaning.

The Class System of Edo
mibun seido 身分制度 (みぶんせいど) Klassensystem

At the end of the Edo period, there were about 6-7% samurai, 80-85% farmers, 5-6% merchants and craftsmen, 1.5% priests for Shinto and Buddhism and 1.6% Eta and Hinin.

shinookooshoo 士農工商 Shinokosho
the four social classes of
warriors, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants

source : blog.katei-x.net/blog

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quote : From the Gutenberg Project
Tales of Old Japan
by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford

THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
Once upon a time,
some two hundred years ago, there lived at a place called Honjô, in Edo, a Hatamoto named Takoji Genzaburô; his age was about twenty-four or twenty-five, and he was of extraordinary personal beauty. His official duties made it incumbent on him to go to the Castle by way of the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange adventure befel him.

There was a certain Eta, who used to earn his living by going out every day to the Adzuma Bridge, and mending the sandals of the passers-by. Whenever Genzaburô crossed the bridge, the Eta used always to bow to him. This struck him as rather strange; but one day when Genzaburô was out alone, without any retainers following him, and was passing the Adzuma Bridge, the thong of his sandal suddenly broke: this annoyed him very much; however, he recollected the Eta cobbler who always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went to the place where he usually sat, and ordered him to mend his sandal, saying to him:

"Tell me why it is that every time that I pass by this bridge, you salute me so respectfully."

GENZABURÔ'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN

When the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, and for a while he remained silent; but at last taking courage, he said to Genzaburô,
"Sir, having been honoured with your commands, I am quite put to shame. I was originally a gardener, and used to go to your honour's house and lend a hand in trimming up the garden. In those days your honour was very young, and I myself little better than a child; and so I used to play with your honour, and received many kindnesses at your hands.
My name, sir, is Chokichi. Since those days I have fallen by degrees info dissolute habits, and little by little have sunk to be the vile thing that you now see me."

When Genzaburô heard this he was very much surprised, and, recollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was filled with pity, and said, "Surely, surely, you have fallen very low. Now all you have to do is to presevere and use your utmost endeavours to find a means of escape from the class into which you have fallen, and become a wardsman again. Take this sum: small as it is, let it be a foundation for more to you." And with these words he took ten riyos out of his pouch and handed them to Chokichi, who at first refused to accept the present, but, when it was pressed upon him, received it with thanks.

Genzaburô was leaving him to go home, when two wandering singing-girls came up and spoke to Chokichi; so Genzaburô looked to see what the two women were like. One was a woman of some twenty years of age, and the other was a peerlessly beautiful girl of sixteen; she was neither too fat nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short; her face was oval, like a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white; her eyes were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even; her nose was aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely red lips; her eyebrows were long and fine; she had a profusion of long black hair; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet voice; and when she smiled, two lovely dimples appeared in her cheeks; in all her movements she was gentle and refined.
Genzaburô fell in love with her at first sight; and she, seeing what a handsome man he was, equally fell in love with him; so that the woman that was with her, perceiving that they were struck with one another, led her away as fast as possible.

MORE is HERE
source : www.gutenberg.org

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Buddhists are not allowed to eat meat of animals with four legs.
The custom of eating meat from four-legged animals in Japan, especially beef, became more popular after the Meiji restauration.
Before modern times, beef was not eaten, only the hides of cows were used for drums and other items.

. WASHOKU
Eating Meat in Japan 　

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Haiku by Kobayashi Issa

えた村の御講幟やお霜月
eta mura no okoo nobori ya o-shimotsuki

in the Eta village
there is a Buddhist banner -
this frost month

Frost Month (shimotsuki)
the eleventh lunar month, now November

. . . . .

えた町も夜はうつくしき砧哉
eta mura mo yo wa utsukushiki kinuta kana

in the outcasts' village too
a lovely night...
pounding cloth

. kinuta 砧 (きぬた) fulling block 　

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shizu 賎（しず）身分の低い者 a person of low standing,
meeserly, vulgar, despicable
vulgar, mean ...
of low social status 身分・社会的地位が低い
poor mazushii 貧しい。misuborashii みすぼらしい

賎 (also as adverb iyashii )

senmin 賎民 (賤民) humble [lowly] people [folk]
despise people (as opposed to the ryoomin 良民, the good citizens)
Pöbel; Gesindel; Lumpengesindel; Plebs ; Canaille.
sogar die Unberührbaren

gesen no tami 下賤の民 people of low birth, humble origin
. . . . .gemin 下民

kawaramono 河原者 "people living at the banks of rivers"
(including travelling actors)

People were also divided into 5 subgroups
ryooko 陵戸・ kanko 官戸・ kenin 家人・kumehi 公奴婢・ shimehi 私奴婢
mehi, dohi 奴婢 means servant
Knecht; Gesinde; Hörige ; Diener.

. . . . .

鬼は賎の目に見えない
oni wa shizu no me ni mienai

demons are not visible to lowly people

. . . . .

花は賎の目にも見えけり鬼薊
hana wa shizu no me ni mo mie-keri oni azami

these flowers can be seen
even with the eyes of lowly folks -
demon thistles

Matsuo Basho

Tr. Gabi Greve : Thistle Haiku
Read a discussion of this haiku.

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賎の子や稲摺りかけて月を見る
shizu no ko ya ine surikakete tsuki o miru

this child of low folks -
after husking rice
it looks at the moon
Tr. Gabi Greve

Peasant children
hull rice
gazing at the moon.
Tr. Thomas McAuley

A peasant’s child
husking the rice, pauses
to look at the moon.
Tr. Makoto Ueda

Husking rice,
a child squints up
to view the moon.
Tr. Lucien Stryk

A farmer’s child
hulling rice arrests his hands
to look at the moon.
Tr. Nobuyuki Yuasa

a poor peasant boy
husking rice, he pauses now
to gaze at the moon
source : www.tclt.org.uk

We have the same kanji 賤 in this word

. yamagatsu 山賤(やまがつ) woodcutters 　
lumberjacks

Read this entry with another haiku by Matsuo Basho.

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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

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Exhibition . Sacred Symbols

2010-03-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

Utasebune boat

2010-03-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Four Seasons Deities

2010-03-11T23:26:00.000-08:00

Fishing Methods

2010-03-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Fishing Methods in Japan

. FISHING METHODS as KIGO 　

A lot have been discussed, as they are kigo for haiku.

Here I will try and introduce more local methods, which are not kigo.

in ABC order of the Japanese.

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hobiki ami ryoo 帆引き網漁
Sail Trawler
fishing trawlers
hobiki sen 帆引き船 boat with sails billowing

This is a special method at Kasumigarua 霞ヶ浦, a large inland sea of Japan.
The sail is huge and should not touch the water when raising it. It takes some strong arms to perform this feast. Once the sail is up, the fishermen can relax and let the wind do the moving.
This method has been abandoned in 1967, until then it was the only method allowed on the lake. But is now revived by the local fishermen as a tourist attraction.

quote
The hobiki-sen use a single, wide rectangular sail and fish by drifting downwind, the sail being used to generate pulling power for the net which is dragged some 60 to 80 meters behind the boat as it travels beam-on (sideways) to the wind and rides crossways up the crests and down the troughs of the waves.

To crew a hobiki-sen in anything but the most balmy breezes takes great skill in handling the sail and spar to prevent capsizing, and indeed many boats did turn turtle until their crews gained experience.

Conversely, in the case of too much wind or none, the boats simply did not go out. The main targeted species of the hobiki-sen fishermen were whitebait(shirauo) and freshwater smelt (wakasagi). The latter were boiled in brine and dried in the sun before being sold to the fishmongers.
source : educationinjapan.wordpress.com

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ishigamaryoo ishigama ryoo 石がま漁（いしがまりょう）
fishing in artificial stone islands

This is a method used at only during the cold days of winter at the lake Koyama-ike 湖山池（こやまいけ）in Tottori.

It is now practised by only a few and is a designated cultural property of Tottori prefecture.

quote
The Koyama-ike Pond is located six kilometers west of central Tottori City in eastern Tottori, close to Tottori Airport. It was an inlet of the Sea of Japan, but became a closed lagoon when deposits from the River Sendai-gawa separated it from the sea. There are seven islets in the pond; the largest, Ao-shima, has a park with a nice promenade and camping ground.

This pond, being 4 kilometers long from east to west and 2.4 kilometers wide from north to south, is almost a lake in size and is a sanctuary for eels, carp and other freshwater fish.
They still practice a traditional style of fishing there, called "Ishigama-ryo," where fishers form a trap with large rocks and wait for the fish to enter.
source : www.jnto.go.jp

This type of fishing takes place on the western side of the lake in Mitsu 三津地区. It makes use of the habits of the freshwater fish in the lake to hide in rock caves. It is done since 1655, maybe even older and now it is performed as a hobby to preserve the tradition by the local fishermen.

The "stone cauldron" (ishigama 石がま（石釜、石竈）is built up from the bottom of the lake, about 2 meters deep and about 50 cm above the sea level. Inside it is like a labyrinth for the fish to hide, with a final "box" (doobako 胴函 ) to catch them at the end.

In the stone island there are many slots where the fishermen can put in their poles to disturb the fish.

On a fine day from the end of January till mit-Feburary the "master" will decide when the hunt starts. If the island on the other side is clearly visible on the quiet lake, the hunt starts. This means for all the fishermen to be working constantly for the next five to seven hours, poking wooden pine poles of about 6 meters in the holes of the rocks and make noise and small waves, slowly driving the fish to the back of the island.
This is the day of "emptying the cauldron" (kama-age 石がま揚げ」.

While the menfolk stand there in the cold, poking their poles, the womenfolk bring them some food. It is only onigiri rice balls and some side dishes which are cut to long poles, so the men can take a nigiri in one hand and stick one of the food items between the fifth and fourth finger, nibbling on the food as they continue to poke with the other hand, standing in the cold the whole day.

Finally the fish are scooped out of the box. Carp, crucian carp, catfish, eel and pond smelt are the most common.
コイ・フナ・ナマズ・ウナギ・ワカサギ

Once the fish are scooped out, they are put into bags and shared with all the families involved in the day's catch. One catch can bring as much as 100 to 200 kg of fish.

During the active times around 1877, there were more than 85 ishigama in the lake. But after the great earthquake in 1943, most of them were destroyed and never built again. Since 2002, there are initiatives to revive this old fishing method and four ishigama are revived.. It is always featured in the local TV news.

湖山池石がま漁を伝承する会
Reference : ”石がま漁”

釣好きのちちでありしよ春霞
tsuri-suki no chichi de arishi yo harugasumi

he is for ever
my father, who loves fishing ...
spring haze

Harugasumi

source : 春霞 with more photos

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kenken gyohoo ケンケン漁法 "kenken fishing"
ケンケン漁
kenkenbune ケンケン船 kenken boats

Small boats, sometimes even with sails, come out with single lines with a lure of small fish and hook, attatched to long poles. Each big fish is caught individually, to perserve its freshness.
They fish for katsuo.
Most famous are the kenken boats from Susami town in Wakayama, すさみのケンケン船.

kenken is said to come from the Hawaian kanaka language, imitating the sound of the fish lure thrown into the water.

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tatakiami ryoo たたき網漁
fishing with a net, hitting the surface

On the five lakes near Wakasa in Fukui, 福井県若狭町の三方湖.
三方五湖（みかたごこ）Mikata goko
A couple has to work in great synchronicity.
One rows the boat, the other (the man) now lowers the net into the lake. Then he rows and the wife hits the lake surface with a very long green bamboo pole, cut freshly from the bamboo grove nearby.
Now the woman rows the boat, while the man pulls the net into the boat. Sometimes rather lagre fish are caught this way.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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. Utasebune fishing for shrimp 　　

打瀬船 / うたせ船 / 打瀬（うたせ）船

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. Ships, boats (fune) 　

Traditional Fishing Tools 釣具 tsurigu

ami あみ【網】fishing net

hikiami, hiki ami ひきあみ【引き網】seine

kabuse ami かぶせあみ【被せ網 / 掩網】cover net

machi ami まちあみ【待ち網】scoop net, waiting for the fish to get in

sade ami さであみ【叉手網】scoop net with two arms

sashi ami さしあみ【刺し網】 gill net

sukui ami すくいあみ【掬い網】scoop fishing net
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

tateami, tate ami たてあみ【立て網】fishtrap, setnet

toami, to ami とあみ【投網】casting net
..... to ami o utsu 投網を打つ to cast a fishing net, throw a cast net

yotsude ami よつであみ【四つ手網】four-armed scoop fishing net

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esa えさ【餌】 bait

ikesu 生洲 / 生け簀 fish preserve
. . . CLICK here for ikesu Photos !
. . . . . funa ikesu 船生洲（ふないけす）
fish preserve in a ship

okibari おきばり【置（き）針】 "keeping the hook in place"
A rod or line is placed into the river or pond the evening before. Next morning, fish are caught.
Mostly for eel and catfish.

shizumi しずみ【沈子/ 沈み】 weight, sinker
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Senker, Gewicht

tsunagizao つなぎざお (繫竿) fishing with many rods

tsuribari つりばり【釣り鉤】 fishhook, fish hook
Fischhaken, Angelhaken

tsuri-ito つりいと【釣（り）糸】 fishing line

tsurizao つりざお【釣り竿】 fishing rod
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Fischrute, Rute

uki うき【浮子】 float (of a fishing line)
buoy
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

zaotsuri 竿釣り fishing with a rod.
A common pastime of the samurai and richer merchants in Edo.

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. FISHING ... kigo for all seasons 　

. WASHOKU : FISH and SEAFOOD SAIJIKI

Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

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Kuhonbutsu Amida

2010-02-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
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Fudo Myo-O Gallery

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Kuhonbutsu Amida

Please check this first , if you are not familiar with
Amida Buddha:

. Amida Nyorai 　

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Takahama Kyoshi, the famous haiku poet, used this expression

haikai kuhonbutsu 俳諧九品仏

to describe the various levels of haiku poets.

Some are very skillful and famous, others are just beginners and trying hard, but all are welcome in the family of haiku poets and in the Paradise of the West. Even the ones who do not write haiku and only enjoy to read them.

Kyoshi also said

俳句は極楽の文学
haiku wa gokuraku no bungaku desu ga,
jigoku no urazuke.

Haiku is the poetry of the "Western Paradise",
but with the full knowledge and experience of hell.

He lost one of his daughters when she was still very young. This strong experience showed in his haiku and in his life. He had a strong attraction to the "paradise in the west, gokuraku" of Amida Buddha.
He had a gravestone erected at Mt. Koya and services were read in his honor while he was still alive. He was well aware of the fleeting moment of a human life.

. 高浜虚子, Takahama Kyoshi
22 February 1874—8 April 1959

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Let us study more about these nine stages,
which are expressed in the
nine hand positions (mudra) of Amida

source : kenji noguchi
http://pub.ne.jp/kenjin/?entry_id=2166813

quote
阿弥陀九品印
Also read Amida kubon-in.
"Mudras of the nine grades of Amida."

The Pure Land joudo 浄土 into which Amida 阿弥陀 (Sk: Amitabha/Amitayus) welcomes his devotees is divided into nine "grades," kubon/kuhon 九品.
These range from the "upper grade: upper birth," joubon joushou 上品上生, to the "lower grade: lower birth," gebon geshou 下品下生. Each grade is represented by a different mudra or hand gesture in 印.

The KANMURYOUJUKYOU 観無量寿経 (Ch: Kuan wuliangshou jing, or Scripture on the Meditation of Amitayus), mentions nine grades of Amida's welcome, but does not mention nine corresponding mudras. Nor do the nine forms of Amida display nine different mudras in the kubon mandara 九品曼荼羅 which E'un 恵運 (798-869) brought back to Japan from China.

Many temples enshrining nine corresponding forms of Amida were constructed in the Heian period, based on the theory of nine grades of rebirth. The only extant example is found at Joururiji 浄瑠璃寺 in Kyoto. Instead of the nine figures each displaying a different mudra, the central deity at this temple forms the "upper grade: lower birth," joubon geshou 上品下生, mudra, while the other eight images form the "upper grade: upper birth" mudra.

By way of contrast, the nine Edo period images of Amida at Kuhonbutsu Joushinji 九品仏浄真寺 in Tokyo present faithful representations of the nine different mudras, thus indicating that the theory had won considerable currency by the Edo period. Recent research has shown that dissemination of the Amida kubon-in occurred after the publication of the BUTSUZOUZUI 仏像図彙 (Collected Illustrations of Buddhist Images) in the Genroku 元禄 era (1688-1704). The nine grades and their respective mudras are:

Upper grade: upper birth joubon joushou 上品上生 ;
Upper grade: middle birth joubon chuushou 上品中生;
Upper grade: lower birth joubon geshou 上品下生 ;

Middle grade: upper birth chuubon joushou 中品上生 ;
Middle grade: middle birth chuubon chuushou 中品中生 ;
Middle grade: lower birth chuubon geshou 中品下生 ;

Lower grade: upper birth gebon joushou 下品上生 ;
Lower grade: middle birth gebon chuushou 下品中生 ;
Lower grade: lower birth gebon geshou 下品下生.
source : www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus

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When Kyohsi visited the temple Kuhonbutsu in Tokyo, Setagaya ward, 九品仏浄真寺(世田谷区奥沢), he wrote the following haiku, while standing on a bridge watching the river

流れゆく大根の葉の早さかな
nagareyuku daikon no ha no hayasa kana

leaves of Japanese radish
float past on the river -
so very fast

This is not just a simple naive "statement as is", characterized by "a lack of deep thinking" (as some Western citics have put it).

Kyoshi is talking about the way natural things evolve, farmers washing the radish upstream, some leaves are washed away, floating on the the river, down to the sea, seawater becoming clouds and later rain on the fields, when farmers plant a new crop next year ... so all is evolving within the natural seasons.

. . . CLICK here for Photos of the temple Kuhonbutsu, Setagaya !

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There are various temples with the nine statues of Amida with the nine mudras.

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In Zaimokuza, Kamakura, where Kyoshi lived, there is a temple called

Kuhonji 九品寺 Temple Kuhon-Ji
内裏山 Dairisan Ryogaku-in Kuhonji

quote
Founder Yoshisada Nitta (1302-1338) was a warlord in Gun'ma Prefecture, roughly 100 kilometers north of Tokyo. His ancestor was the same group as the Minamoto Clan. For the reason that his ancestors did not support Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, when the Minamotos were fighting against the Taira Clan, Yoritomo did not give favors to them. The Nittas were treated badly and not happy at all for almost five generations.
Even 150 years later, Yoshisada had hostility toward the Kamakura Shogunate. Hearing the news that Rokuhara, the stronghold of the Kamakura Shogunate in Kyoto, surrendered in 1333, Yoshisada and his troops rose in revolt against Kamakura. A number of other warlords who were no longer satisfied with Hojo regime also rose and joined the Nitta. Tens of thousands of warriors stormed to Kamakura to fight a battle against the troops of Kamakura Shogunate. A bitter battle developed particularly at the Inamuragasaki district, southwest part of Kamakura, where present-day Gokurakuji and Joju-in stand.

Strategically fortified, Kamakura was not easy to break in for the Nitta troops, and the furious battle continued for several days. But, Nitta and his troops finally succeeded in destroying the fortress. The Hojo regime, and the Kamakura Period, which lasted nearly 150 years, came to a tragic end. Nitta, who himself later had to commit suicide after the defeat in 1337, lamented that so many warriors, both friend and foe, were killed during the civil-war type battle.
This was his motive to found Kuhonji at the site where he had placed his camp. The Temple opened three years after he conquered Kamakura.

About 600 meters northeast of the Temple where the road from the Temple crosses the Wakamiya-Oji main road stands the Kamakura Local Court and fast food restaurant McDonald's. This particular neighborhood was the bloodshed battleground. Recent excavation revealed hundreds of human skeletons which are obviously those of the war-dead were buried around here. After the investigation, those remains were carried to Kuhonji and entombed cordially.

Main Hall
Enshrined as the main object of worship are statues of Amida Trinity, Important Cultural Assets designated by the Municipal Government of Kamakura. Legend has it that the statue was made in Kyoto and was carried down here when the Temple was erected. Unfortunately, the interior of the hall is too dark and unable to make them out. On request, the statues can be viewed. Their appearance seem brand new, as they were gilt as recently as 1963.

The statue of Sho Kan'non or Arya-avalokitesvara in Skt., a 30 centimeters tall cast-metal, was made in 1812 and ranks 16th of the Kamakura Thirty-Three Kan'non Pilgrimage. The Temple also owns a stone statue of Yakushi Nyorai or Bhaisajya-guru in Skt. It was made in 1296 and 96.5 centimeters tall. The stone statue of Yakushi Nyorai is rare in Kamakura, and the work is highly evaluated by connoisseurs. Made of one piece of andesite stone, it is designated as an ICA by Kanagawa Prefecture and is displayed at the Kamakura Museum.

Also owned by the Temple are statues of Enma (the Judge of Hell), or Yama in Skt., and Datsueba, one of the Ten Kings in the Netherworld. Those statue are not enshrined here, but are on view, like the Yakushi Nyorai statue above, at the Kamakura Museum.
source : Kamakura Today, 2002

. . . CLICK here for Photos of Temple Kuhonji !

Joshin-ji Temple and Kuhonbutsu Ryokudo (Green road)
九品仏緑道
Jiyuga-oka Tamagawa, Tokyo
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Kutai Amida-doo 九体阿弥陀堂 Hall with nine Amida statues
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

There was even a pilgrimage in the Edo period to these Kuhonbutsu temples.
江戸九品仏参り Edo kuhonbutsu mairi
It was done most often during the New Year holidays.

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Neun Amida-Statuen
(Kutai Amidazoo, Kuhonbutsu)

Jede lebende Seele gehört zu einer der neun Kategorien geistigen Strebens und Wirkens, den sogenannten neun Klassen des Nirvaana. Diese Kategorien bestimmen den Weg, auf dem eine Seele ins Paradies des Westens eingeht. Daher gibt es auch entsprechend neun Amida-Manifestationen, die durch ihre Handhaltung diese neun Kategorien ausdrücken.
Siehe die "Neun Handhaltungen" des Amida.

Neun einzelne, meist vergoldete Statuen mit den neun verschiedenen Handhaltungen des Amida. Es gibt auch spezielle Pilgerfahrten zu neun Tempeln mit jeweils einer Statue. Manchmal auch drei Tempel mit jeweils drei Statuen. Besonders beliebt während der Fujiwara-Zeit.
Einfache Überlegung: Viele Statuen können viele Menschen retten. (z.B. Tempel Jooruriji in Kyoto.)

Neun Handhaltungen des Amida
(kuhon no in 九品印)

Die Neun Handhaltungen des Amida Nyorai, mit denen er die neun verschiedenen Stadien (kuhon no sekai) des Paradieses des Westens darstellt.

Die Daumen und jeweils ein Finger jeder Hand berühren sich, die anderen drei Finger sind ausgestreckt.

Beide Hände im Schoß in Meditationshaltung: jooshoo;
beide Hände vor der Brust erhoben: chuushoo;
eine Hand erhoben, die andere zur Erde gestreckt: geshoo.

Dabei berühren sich jeweils zwei Finger: Daumen und Zeigefinger: Joobon; Daumen und Mittelfinger: chuubon; Daumen und Ringfinger: gebon. Als Kombination ergeben sich dann "joobon jooshoo" usw.
"BON" drückt die Tiefe des Glaubens aus, "SHOO", wieviel gute Werke getan wurden. Eine Statue mit den Händen jeweils in der mittleren Stellung (chuubon chuushoo) drückt aus, daß dieser Amida ganz normale Menschen rettet, die mäßig glauben und mäßig gute Werke getan haben.

. Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who
Ein Wegweiser zur Ikonografie
von japanischen Buddhastatuen
Gabi Greve

Paradise Publishers, Kamakura 1994, 154 S.,
ISBN 4-938864-01-0

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external LINK to Mark Schumacher

Kubon Amida 九品阿弥陀;
Amida of Nine Levels of Birth in Paradise

Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Tagai Kansho

2010-02-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

Bonten Bonden Brahma

2010-01-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

Shanghai

2010-01-17T00:40:00.000-08:00

Sakasa Jizo

2010-01-11T22:49:00.000-08:00

Myo Ho Mountain Kyoto

2009-12-28T21:35:00.000-08:00