17 Jun 2018

EDO - Toshima and Sugamo district

https://edoflourishing.blogspot.com/2018/06/toshima-ward-sugamo.html

Toshima ward Sugamo

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Toshima 豊島区 Toshima ward, "Rich Island"


source : ぐるっと豊島

- quote
Toshima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita wards, in the north, and Nakano, Shinjuku and Bunkyo in the south.
The ward was founded on March 15, 1947, and reached a peak resident population of 370,000 in 1965.
..... Although Toshima is a ward, it is referred to as a city. The ward offices are located in Ikebukuro, which is also the commercial and entertainment center of Toshima.
- - - - - History
Toshima was formed in 1932 by the merger of four towns, Sugamochō, Nishi-sugamochō, Takadachō, and Nagasakichō, bordered by the quickly expanding former city of Tokyo.
The area evolved from a suburban agricultural district in the Edo period to the urban commercial center that it is today. The growth was fueled by the construction of various rail lines built in the Meiji and Taishō periods.
The former Somei village, now part of Toshima, is the birthplace of the Somei Yoshino, Japan's most popular variety of sakura (cherry blossom tree). The variety was developed at the end of the Edo period.
- source : wikipedia


. the Toshima-shi 豊島氏 Toshima Clan .
and the Nerima 練馬区 Nerima ward



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Sugamo 巣鴨 Sugamo district "ducks nest"
Toshima ward, Sugamo sub-district 1 - 5.


Sugamo kooshinzuka 巣鴨庚申塚 Koshinzuka mound
江戸名所図会 Edo Meisho Zue

The area used to be a set of swamps, where many water fowl hat their nest (su 巣), especially the ducks (kamo 鴨)- as is written in an old guide book of 1722.
But maybe there is a different reason for the name, which had been written with various characters :
須賀茂 洲鴨 菅面 洲処しやくじい面 洲処面
すが suga refers to a mound of sand carried along by a river, like a"a field of sand" 砂原.
Originally it was suga-mo.


In the Edo period, the Nakasendo Highway passed through the area and it begun to prosper as a rest station. Since 1737, townspeople were allowed to live here. Many gardeners came to live here.

. Somei 染井 district in Edo .
Many uekiya 植木屋, niwashi 庭師 gardeners lived here and in Sugamo.

On the old print of Edo above there are many rest shops along the road beside the mound. They sold dumplings and water melons to the travelers.
Around 1740, potted chrysanthemums were sold here, a well-loved hobby of the Edo population. They even grew a chrysanthemum in the shape of Mount Fujisan and ever more visitors came to Sugamo.



To our day, the Chrysanthemum festival in Sugamo is now well-loved.

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Jizō-dōri 地蔵通り Jizo-dori
is a famous shopping street for the older generation. It is therefore better known as "Harajuku of the old ladies".

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Harajuku may be Tokyo's centre for flamboyant youth fashion, but Sugamo is where the golden generation go to strut their styles. This otherwise unspectacular corner of Toshima ward is famed for its Jizo-dori, an 800m shopping street where elderly folks from all over the city and further afield stroll, shop and spend quality time with each other.
Although the area essentially owes its popularity among retirees to a single statue – a depiction of the Jizo Bodhisattva housed at Koganji Temple (3-35-2 Sugamo, Toshima-ku, 03 3917 8221), more on that in a moment – its charm has far deeper roots nowadays. Passing underneath the sign that marks the entrance to Jizo-dori – a ubiquitous prop on Japanese television whenever anything senior-related gets airtime – you'll soon notice that the doorways to virtually every shop, café, clinic and pub lining the street are free of stairs or other obstacles, with most wide enough to be entered in wheelchair.
Equally accessible is the grand temple around which Jizo-dori originally developed, where visitors from near and far queue up for their turn to wash the iron likeness of Togenuki Jizo, the miracle-making statue said to have the power to heal any ailment. Doing the deed at least once a month is supposed to ensure optimal health benefits – a dictate much appreciated by local merchants and eateries, we're sure.
..... Visiting Sugamo is best done on the fourth, 14th or 24th day of the month, when local shops and restaurants put out stalls over the length of Jizo-dori and the line at Koganji snakes out through the temple gates. If you can't make it on any of these dates, consider going on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, when the shopping street is off limits to cars between noon and 6pm (3-6pm on other days).
- reference source : timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do... -




- quote -
... The district's popular, 800 meter long Jizo Dori shopping street is also affectionately known as the "Old Ladies' Harajuku" in lighthearted comparison to the Harajuku district's status as one of Japan's foremost youthful shopping and fashion destinations.

The flat and handicap accessible shopping street is lined by over 200 shops that sell clothing, traditional food and other goods marketed toward the elderly. Among the most popular items is the district's signature red underwear, which comes in a variety of styles and is thought to bring luck to the wearer. Sugamo is also known for its traditional sweets, especially Shio-Daifuku, pounded rice cakes that contain sweet bean paste and salt to moderate the sweetness.
The original reason for Sugamo's popularity is found at Koganji Temple halfway down the shopping street.
The small temple is home to the highly popular Togenuki Jizo statue which depicts the popular Jizo Bodhisattva and is thought to help heal ailments. People line up in a queue to wash the statue with small hand towels which they then press to their ailing body part in hope of relief. Sugamo becomes particularly lively on the 4th, 14th and 24th of every month when the temple holds a small festival.
- reference source : japan-guide.com... -


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Kooganji 高岩寺 Kogan-Ji



togenuki, toge-nuki Jizoo とげぬき地蔵 Toge nuki Jizo, "Thorn-pulling Jizo"


- quote -
If you have an ache or an ailment that has been bugging you, a visit to the Togenuki Jizo Kouganji Temple may just be the cure you need. Millions visit the historic Buddhist temple, located minutes by foot from Sugamo Station on the JR Yamanote Line, to pay their respects each year.
The chief Buddhist image of the temple is the Enmei Jizo Bosatsu who, legend has it, has the powers to miraculously heal illnesses and extend one's life. The name Togenuki, meanwhile, means "thorn removal," and has its roots in Japanese folklore. A housemaid once accidentally swallowed a needle, which she managed to spit out after ingesting a piece of paper that bore the image of the Jizo deity. You can still buy this talisman, known as the o-sugata, at the temple — though a more common practice now is to apply it on a bothersome body part.
- source : gotokyo.org/en... -




. Jizō - Jizo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 - Introduction .

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. Shinshooji 真性寺 / 眞性寺 Shinsho-Ji .
医王山 Iozan 東光院 Toko-In 真性寺 Shinsho-Ji
豊島区巣鴨3-21-21 / 3 Chome-21-21 Sugamo, Toshima ward


. Zenyooji 善養寺 Temple Zenyo-Ji .
- 薬王山 Yakuozan 延寿院 善養寺 Zenyo-Ji
豊島区西巣鴨4-8-25 / Toshima ward, Nishi-Sugamo, 4 Chome 8-25


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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

................................................................................. Sugamo 巣鴨

reimu 霊夢 oracle dream
Around 1802, the younger brother of a Samurai family in Sugamo had a special dream: In 三方 Mikata a cut-off head of a criminal had been put on show with a number written on his head.
At the same time in 谷中 Yanaka at the temple 感応寺 Kanno-Ji there was a tomikuji 富くじ lottery, so he bought a ticked with that number and indeed, he won !!

. tomikuji, takarakuji 宝くじ / 富籤 lottery in Edo .



................................................................................. Toshima 豊島区

There was a Deity who wanted to eas 1000 children. He would pass a home where the skin of みかん a bitter summer orange was divided into three parts and hung up at the entrance. People who did not do this had their children die. During an epidemy in Edo, people say the Deity has come to eat children.
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. Mejiro Fudo Temple 目白不動 Fudo with white eyes .
豊島区高田2-12-39
豊山新長谷寺 Shinchokokuji (Shin-Hasedera) in Toshima has a statue of Fudo Myo-O, made by Kobo Daishi himself.
When Kobo Daishi was in 荷沢河, 大日如来 Dainichi Nyorai appeared to him and then changed into Fudo Myo-O.
The Deity wielded its own sword and cut off its left arm at the ellbow. A lot of smoke and flames came out of this burning wound.
Kobo Daishi made the statue just as he had seen this.



................................................................................. Bunkyo 文京区
Komagome 駒込

. Shrine Komagome Fuji Jinja 駒込富士神社 .
and the festival with mugiwara hebi 富士祭の麦藁蛇 the straw serpent


source : yosukenaito.blog40.fc2.com

stamp with the straw serpent, from 1965

This shrine is located in :
5 Chome-7-20 Honkomagome, Bunkyo, Tokyo

. Komagome 駒込 Komagome districts in Tokyo .
There are two districts with this name, one in 文京区 Bunkyo ward and one in 豊島区 Toshima ward.


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- reference : nichibun yokai database -


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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - The Japanese Home .

. Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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