4 Aug 2018

EDO - Okubo district Shinjuku

https://edoflourishing.blogspot.com/2018/07/okubo-district-shinjuku.html

Okubo district Shinjuku

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
. Persons and People of Edo - Personen .
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Ookubo, Ōkubo 大久保 Okubo district, Shinjuku
東京都新宿区大久保一丁目から大久保三丁目 Shinjuku ward, from the first to the third sub-district,
百人町 Hyakunincho district

ookubo 大窪 "great sunken place", "great hollow"




. Hyakuninchoo 百人町 Hyakunincho district .
Hyakunin (hundred-man) brigade of shooters
During the Edo period, the villages of 柏木 Kashiwagi and 大久保 Okubo were agricultural districts on either side of Hyakunin-cho where samurai warrior residences were located.

Ookubomura 大久保村 Okubo village
In 1713, the village came under the jurisdiction of the Edo Bakufu government.
In the South was the Shimo-Yashiki estate of 一橋the Hitotsubashi family.

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- quote
Shin-Ōkubo 新大久保
is a neighborhood within Tokyo's Shinjuku ward known for its extensive Korean community. It is built around Shin-Ōkubo Station and is accessible on the Yamanote Line. Shin-Ōkubo is home to both Korean residents in Japan as well as Korean immigrants, and has seen an upsurge in popularity due to Hallyu pop-culture. In recent years Nepali people have settled in the area and have opened up Nepali restaurants.
Shin Sang-yoon, the director of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, stated that Koreans began coming to Shin-Ōkubo around 1983 because at that time it was one of the most inexpensive areas of Tokyo. By July 2013 several nationalistic anti-Korean demonstrations done by Japanese have occurred in Shin-Ōkubo.
- source : wikipedia


新大久保コリアンタウン Shin-Okubo Koreatown


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- quote -
新大久保 Shin-Ōkubo, literally New Okubo.
... this area wasn't Edo.
West of Edo Castle was all suburbs. The first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, strategically relocated many of his 旗本 hatamoto direct retainers out here. He gave some of them extraordinarily large fiefs for their rank and charged them with the defense of the roads coming into his capital. Very much a Sengoku Period general, he rightly assumed that attacks from the sea in the east would be unlikely, but a land based attack from the west could prove a threat. One of the main entrances to the city was the Yotsuya Ōkido 四谷大木戸 Yotsuya Checkpoint on the Kōshū Kaidō 甲州街道 Kōshū Highway which was in this area. This area, by the way, was known not as Edo, but as 武蔵国豊多摩郡 Musashi no Kuni Toyotama-gun Toyotama District, Musashi Province in those days.This place name,
while seemingly auspicious on the surface, is generally believed to have quite humble roots. You see, a river called the 蟹川 Kanigawa used to flow through the area between Kabukichō 1-2 chōme 1st & 2nd blocks of Kabukichō and Shinjuku 6-7 chōme 6th & 7th blocks of Shinjuku. By their very nature, rivers tend to be in geographic depressions, which made this area good for farming, but prone to flooding. This part of Toyotama seems to have been no different. At the area dividing Nishi-Ōkubo West Ōkubo and Higashi-Ōkubo East Ōkubo, there was a particularly noticeable drop in elevation, an 大きな窪地 ōki na kubochi, if you will. If the story is to be believed, the locals called it an 大窪地 ōkubochi which was eventually reduced to ōkubo.
- source : japanthis -


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Ookubo eki 大久保駅 Okubo station / Shin-Okubo station

is a railway station on the Chūō-Sōbu Line in Shinjuku.
1-17-1 Hyakuninchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo



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. Shrine Kaichu Inari Jinja 皆中稲荷神社 .
Once upon a time there was a region called Okubo 大窪 in the Musashi plain.
Descendants from the Ise Shrine called Oshi 御師 settled there and soon built a shrine (around 1533).


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Nishimuki Tenjinsha 西向天神社
東京都新宿区新宿6-21-1
This shrine had been built by Saint Togano Myoe 栂尾明恵上人 in 1228. Since the main hall faces West, it is called
"West-facing Tenjin Shrine".
It was the protector shrine of 東大久保村鎮守 Higashi Okubo village.

. Myoe Shonin 明恵上人 (1173 - 1232) .

Once the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu came here for hunting with hawks. He gave a golden natsume 棗 tea caddy to the head priest with the request to rebuilt the shrine.
The shrine is therefore also known as
Natsume Jinja 棗神社


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The name Ōkubo-ke 大久保家 Ōkubo Family, Okubo clan
is a distinctly samurai name of rather high pedigree. They were a branch of the Utsunomiya-shi 宇都宮氏 Utsunomiya Clan which could trace their lineage back to the 900's. The founders of this new branch were among the most loyal retainers of 松平弘忠 Matsudaira Hirotada. In case you don't recognize that name, he was the father of the first Edo shogun, 徳川家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Later, the Ōkubo clan served Ieyasu well. In fact, the second family head, a certain 大久保忠世 Ōkubo Tadayo, served in nearly all Ieyasu's military campaigns and even commanded his corps of bodyguards. After Ieyasu had secured the title of shogun, he elevated Tadayo to daimyō status gave him Odawara-han 小田原藩 Odawara Domain. This meant the Odawara clan controlled the 箱根関所 Hakone Sekisho Hakone Check Point as well as 箱根山 Hakone Yama Mt. Hakone, a region famous in Japanese mythology and renowned for its natural hot springs, beautiful lakes and coastal areas.
Odawara, Mt. Hakone, and the Ōkubo clan have nothing to do with this suburb of Edo.
- japanthis


. Okubo Hikozaemon 大久保彦左衛門 - Ōkubo Tadataka 大久保忠教 .
(1560 – 1639)

. Okubo Nagayasu 大久保長安 .

Ōkubo Toshimichi 大久保利通 (1830 – 1878)

- - - More Okubo names in the WIKIPEDIA !

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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

................................................................................. Okubo 大久保


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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
tba

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- - - To join me on facebook, click the image !

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. Shinjuku 新宿区 Shinjuku Ward .

. 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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- - - - - #okubo #okuboshinjuku - - - -
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3 Aug 2018

GOKURAKU - Raigo the soul goes to heaven

https://gokurakuparadies.blogspot.com/2018/08/raigozu-amida-coming-at-death.html

raigozu Amida coming at death

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. Japan - Shrines and Temples - Index .
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raigoo, raigō 来迎 Raigo, the soul on the way to paradise
"Decent of Amida Buddha", "Amida Coming over the Mountain"


- quote
Buddhist Art and Amida Raigo Triads
This topic may seem a bit difficult, but try to follow as best you can. It's about a certain type of Buddhist statue. Actually this type of statue does not appear alone, but as a set of three: in the center is a Buddha called Amida, and on either side sits an Bodhisattva-attendant, one named Seishi and one named Kannon.
This set is called an Amida Raigo Triad.

We will talk about what raigo means later, but before we begin, take a look at this Amida Raigo Triad from a temple called Joshoko-ji, in the mountains north of Kyoto.



- - - - - Paintings and Sculpture
- snip -

- - - - - Raigo and Sculpture
Buddhas are considered, like God, to be an Absolute existence and thus require no surrounding environment. Though Buddhas themselves need no enhancement, however, their followers, such as Buddhist angels or Bodhisattvas, sometimes are enriched with depictions of movement or surrounding atmosphere. Here too, however, we see the limitations of sculpture in depicting movement. On ancient Buddhist wall paintings, angels appear to be floating lightly through the heavens around the Buddha. But when these same kinds of angels were incorporated in sculpture and attached to the Buddha's halo, however, they lost their lightness and seemed to become more rigid. This is probably because of the innate differences between painting and sculpture.

The above may be one of the reasons that Japanese sculptors did not often try to incorporate surrounding environment into their sculptures. In the Heian Period, however, belief in the Pure Land spread, and people began to believe that after death they would be reborn in the Pure Land Paradise of Amida Buddha. As this belief spread, so too grew the desire to see expressions of the Pure Land in Buddhist sculpture. The result were images depicting Amida Buddha coming down from the far-off Pure Land Paradise to meet the souls of the dead and take them back with him to heaven. These images are called raigo, and usually had Amida in the center with an attendant on either side. This is the Amida Raigo Triad!

Scenes of this Amida Raigo Triad riding clouds, crossing mountains, and flying through the wind were easy to express through the medium of painting, but many difficulties arose when trying to express such scenes through sculpture, such as in the triad above. Why? Well, think about the nature of sculpture: it is impossible (or it was in those days) to create a sculpture that floats in mid-air. It is also difficult to express speed. To compensate, the sculptors of the Joshoko-ji triad tried to give the attendants a sense of tension and presence by depicting them leaning forward.

Towards the end of the Heian Period, perhaps reflecting changes in the society as a whole, artistic expression became more realistic, both in painting and sculpture. One area in which this can be seen is in the Raigo sculptures. The triad above from Joshoko-ji Temple is one of the earliest experiments in realism in a Raigo triad. Let's compare it with a painting of the same period.

- photo of Yushihachimanko Juhachika-in Temple
What are the differences in the way this Bodhisattva-attendant is portrayed in painting and in sculpture? In the painting, the central triad and their surrounding Bodhisattva ride upon clouds, and cross mountains rich with autumn color as they gradually make their descent. On the other hand, though the sculpture does not show the autumn mountains over which the triad is crossing, it does show all three figures on clouds, and the two attendants crouched on their knees are leaning forward, giving them the same sense of speed and presence within an environment that we see in the painting.
- source : Kyoto National Museum - Shiro Ito



. . . CLICK here for more Photos  !

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source : sendai-c.ed.jp...

木造阿弥陀如来・二十五菩薩像及び地蔵菩薩立像 - Sendai
Amida, 25 Bosatsu and Jizo statue

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source : enpukuji.co/homotsu...
Temple 円福寺 Enpuku-Ji-Tokyo

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Temple 即成院 Sokujo-In - Kyoto

. . . CLICK here for more Photos of statues !


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raigoozuu 来迎図 Raigozu, illustrations of the way to paradise



- quote -
Amida (Amitabha) Coming over the Mountain
The popular, Kamakura Period painting theme of "Amida Coming over the Mountain," usually shows the central image of Amida facing forward with both hands held over his breast. This pattern can be seen in the Zenrinji and Konkaikomyoji "Amida Coming over the Mountain" scrolls. In this scroll, however, Amida comes not over a mountain but across a valley, accompanied by six Bodhisattva attendants. He faces not forwards but to the left, with his right hand raised and his left hand down. Though this posture is atypical of "Amida Coming over the Mountain" paintings, it is common in other raigozu ("Decent of Amida Buddha" paintings). Since it contains no other narrative elements, such as the pious Buddhist on his deathbed awaiting Amida's salvation in the Chionin raigozu scroll, it can be categorized as a variation on the "Amida Coming over the Mountain" theme.
The composition of this work is well-balanced and its portrayal of the figures is elaborate and reverential. It can be counted among the representative Buddhist paintings of the Kamakura Period.
- source : Kyoto National Museum -

- Seated Amida (Amitabha) with Raigo Mudra, hand position of welcoming spirits of the dead.
- source : Kyoto National Museum -

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阿弥陀二十五菩薩来迎図 Amida and 25 Bosatsu coming
Temple 知恩院 Chion-In


source : chion-in.or.jp...

- quote -
Raigo of Amida (Amitabha) and Twenty-five Attendants
This outstanding work depicts Amida (Amitabha) and twenty-five attendants as they descend on clouds over steep mountains down from Heaven. They are on their way to meet a dead person, depicted in the bottom-right, to accompany back to Heaven. This scene is known as "Rapid Descent," because of the especially swift appearance of the clouds. Flying clouds and the depiction of figures and garments in gold are characteristic of Buddhist paintings in the Late-Kamakura Period.
This scene depicts
jo-bon jo-sho (first class, upper birth), the highest state of death, evident from the dead person seated upright in front of a sutra scroll and the pagoda in the sky in the upper-right of the painting. The mountains in the background are high, but their smooth contour lines produce a gentle effect typical of the Yamato-e paintings. Though the scene depicted in this work is imaginary, its elements of landscape expression are impressive.
- source : Kyoto National Museum -


. Chion-In 知恩院 / 智恩院 .
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto


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観経九品来迎と鳳凰堂来迎図 Byodo-In
平等院鳳凰堂



. 平等院 Byodo-In - The Phoenix Hall in Uji .


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. 高野山 Koyasan, Mount Koya, Wakayama .


高野山聖衆来迎図

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来迎図 by 濱田隆 Hamada Takashi
日本の美術 No273 - 1989年



. . . CLICK here for more Photos  !


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- Further reference by Mark Schumacher, Buddhist Statuary
- 25 Bodhisattva (Nijūgo Bosatsu, Nijugo Bosatsu, 二十五菩薩) -
- Amida Buddha 阿弥陀如来 -
- Apsaras - 雲中供養菩薩 - serving Amida Buddha -

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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

. kiraigoo 鬼来迎 (きらいごう) "Welcoming the Demons" .
kigo for late summer
..... Oni Mai 鬼舞"Demon's Dance"
Bon-Kyogen dance performed on the 16th of July, at the temple 広済寺 Hozai-Ji in Chiba.


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. Japanese Legends - 伝説 民話 昔話 – ABC-List .

................................................................................. Aomori 青森県 
梵珠山 Mound Bonjusan (486 m)

go raigoo sama 御来迎様 / go toomyoo 御灯明 heavenly light
On the 26th day of the seventh lunar month, the moon in its last quarter looks almost like a boat and the local people see it like the 阿弥陀三尊 Triad of Amida, Seishi and Kannon.
To pray to the three, villagers climb to the temple on Mount Bonjusan and pray the whole night.


- Kannon temple at Mount Bonjusan

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bakemono 化物 monster / raigoobashira 来迎柱
A young man once stayed over night at an old temple where monsters live. From below the Raigobashira pillar there came a monster, mumbling obosaru obosau オボサルオボサル, so he picked it up and carried it back home. Next morning he saw that it was a bag full of big and small gold coins.


- source : dannoh.or.jp/history... -
檀王法林寺 Dannō-hōrinji, Temple Danno-Horin-Ji, Kyoto 来迎柱

raigoubashira :
Two or four-circular pillars right and left at each corner of the Buddhist altar to define the most sacred place in a temple where Buddhist images are enshrined.
- JAANUS




................................................................................. Ibaraki 茨城県 
常総市 Joso city

. kitsune densetsu 狐 伝説 fox legends .
In the district of 飯沼郷 Iinuma at the temple 弘経寺 Gugyo-Ji there was a priest well versed in religious discussions, but in fact it was a fox. Another priest wanted to expose this and told the fox/priest he would give him anything he wanted.
The fox said he wanted to see Amida. The real priest told the fox that he could see Amida, but he should not pray to it, since he would then die.
But when the apparition of Amida Raigo came down from heaven, the fox was overwhelmed and begun to pray. And there - he fell down dead immediately.



................................................................................. Nagano 長野県 

Ajari-ike 阿闍梨池 pond of the Ajari
. Higo Ajari 肥後阿闍梨 / 備後阿闍 the Ajari of Higo, Acharya of Higo.
Kooen, Kōen 皇円 Saint Koen and his faith in 弥勒菩薩 Miroku Bosatsu.



................................................................................. Nara 奈良県 

. Temple Taimadera 当麻寺 / 當麻寺 and princess 中将姫 Chujo .
Princess Chujo was a nun at temple Taimadera. She prayed to Amida for her Raigo and six days later, she died and her Mandala was completed.



................................................................................. Tochigi 栃木県 

. tanuki 狸 - mujina 狢 - racoon dog, badger legends .
An old Tanuki had lived at the temple 茂林寺 Morin-Ji, taking care of the tea kettles. Once he fell asleep and his tail begun to show, so the priest now knew he was not a human and threw him out of the temple. To show his gratitude for the many years of his stay, the Tanuki showed the others an apparition of
釈迦来迎 Shaka Raigo, Shakyamuni coming down and died.
The priest then made a grave for the Tanuki and put the lid of the tea kettle on top of it.


source : matsui-ikuo.jp/blog...
- 茶席 釈迦来迎図 -


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

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. Oojoyooshuu, Ōjōyōshū 往生要集 Ojoyoshu, Ojo Yoshu .
by Genshin 源信  (942-1017), Eshin Soozu 恵心僧都 Eshin Sozu
dai oojoo 大往生 daiojo - sudden death
pokkuri  ぽっくり sudden death

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - Index .


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- - #raigozu #raigo #amidaraigo #amidatriad -
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2 Aug 2018

EDO - Ikebukuro district

https://edoflourishing.blogspot.com/2018/07/ikebukuro-district-toshima.html

Ikebukuro district Toshima

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

Ikebukuro district 池袋 "pond bag"
Ikebukuro mura 池袋村 Ikebukuro village

Toshima 豊島区 池袋本町 Ikebukuro Honcho, 池袋 Ikebukuro, 西池袋 Nishi-Ikebukuro

. Toshima ward and 巣鴨 Sugamo .



In the Edo period, Ikebukuro mura was a farmer's area outside the main city. It was only incorporated in 1818.
There were many ponds and wide forests, with foxes voices to be heard. There even lived a white snake in the pond.
There was also a meandering river with many ponds like bags surrounding it.
The ponds have all been filled with the arriving of modern times.

- quote
Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan.
Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits.
At the center of Ikebukuro
is the train and subway station, a huge urban gathering shared by the JR East lines, the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and the Tōbu Tōjō Line. It is one of the main commuter hubs in the western Yamanote area of Tokyo.
Ikebukuro Station is the third-busiest station in Japan, and the world.


Around the station
are the Seibu and Tōbu department stores. Seibu, written with the characters for "West" and "Musashi (province)" 西武, is on the east end of the station and Tōbu, written with the characters for "East" and "Musashi" 東武, is on the west end. East of the station, on the site of Sugamo Prison, stands Sunshine 60, which was Tokyo's tallest building at the time of its construction. The Sunshine 60 contains a large and popular shopping mall, which contains various attractions including an aquarium, a Pokémon Center, and cat cafes. Adjacent to Sunshine City, on Meiji-Dori, is the Toyota Amlux Building which houses the Toyota showroom. Otome Road, a leading shopping area for otaku products aimed at women, is located nearby. Marui and Don Quijote also have department stores in the area. The principal electronics retailer in Ikebukuro is Bic Camera. There is a small pleasure district located in Nishi-Ikebukuro, similar to Shinjuku's Kabukichō.


- map of Ikebukuro station

The old village of Ikebukuro
stood to the northwest of the station. Most of the area on which modern Ikebukuro is built was historically known as Sugamo. In the Taishō and Shōwa periods, the relatively low land prices attracted artists and foreign workers, who lent a somewhat cosmopolitan atmosphere to Ikebukuro.

Until October 1, 1932 when Toshima ward was established, the area was an independent municipality of Ikebukuro-mura (池袋村).
The kanji for Ikebukuro literally means pond bag.
Outside the west exit of Ikebukuro station near an entrance to the Fukutoshin Line is a small plaque explaining how the area used to have multiple lakes, hence the name.


There is a small statue of an owl
located near the center of the city called Ikefukurō-zō (いけふくろう像), meaning pond owl statue.
It is a play on words from the alternative meaning of "fukuro" as "owl" (although owl is pronounced with a long final "oh", rather than a short "o" in the word "fukuro" for bag). The owl statue has become a famous meeting place along the lines of the statue of Hachikō located outside Shibuya Station.
- - - - - Ikebukuro Tokyo Chinatown
Ikebukuro is home to many ethnic Chinese who arrived in the 1980s, leading to a variety of Chinese goods and services being provided in the district, which are popular among tourists interested in Chinese culture. However, the Ikebukuro Chinatown is smaller and less populous than Yokohama's Chinatown just to the south of Tokyo.
- source : wikipedia



- - - - - modern Ikebukuro - - - - -

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- - - - - Ikebukuro Chinatown - - - - -



- quote -
A New Chinatown Emerges in Tokyo's Ikebukuro
Chinatowns have existed as ethnic enclaves in Japan since the nation opened its borders to the outside world in the mid-nineteenth century. More recently, as Japan and China build closer economic ties, a new Chinatown is taking shape in Tokyo's Ikebukuro.
..... Japan's three major Chinatowns are enclaves established by old overseas Chinese as they interacted with Japanese society over a long period of time. I wondered whether the growing number of new overseas Chinese were forming a new Chinatown in Japan.
- - - - - A Chinatown Takes Shape in Ikebukuro
The solution to this puzzle came in the words of a Chinese studying in Japan. Toward the end of the 1990s this Chinese student told me that Ikebukuro is a convenient place for Chinese, because there are plenty of part-time jobs and shops offering whatever a Chinese person might need.
Prompted by this statement, I began to explore the east and west sides of Ikebukuro Station, and eventually I discovered a concentration of Chinese restaurants, supermarkets, bookstores, Internet cafes, and travel agencies founded by new overseas Chinese on the north side of the station. This was visible confirmation that, as I had seen in other countries, a new Chinatown was being formed. In 2003 I named this area "Ikebukuro Chinatown." At first, searching the Internet for "Ikebukuro Chinatown" would only bring up my website, but a similar search now will yield more than 100,000 hits. Ikebukuro Chinatown has been featured in television programs and newspaper and magazine articles, and many people have become aware of its existence.
- - - - - Japanese Language Schools and Reasonable Rents
- - - - - Out and About in Ikebukuro Chinatown
The gateway to Ikebukuro Chinatown is the north exit of Ikebukuro Station, a popular meeting place for many Chinese. Not one minute on foot from the north exit is Yangguangcheng, a Chinese supermarket with characteristic red signage. On the fourth floor in the building across the street is Chinese Foods Youyi Shangdian, the successor to Zhiyin Chinese Foods, whose shelves are stocked with a full range of Chinese foods. O the second floor of the same building is Wenshengtang, a Chinese bookstore.
Unlike Japan's three major Chinatowns,
many of the Chinese businesses in Ikebukuro Chinatown are located on the upper floors or in the basements of multitenant buildings. The first floor is frequently occupied by a Japanese chain store or a Japanese business in existence for some time. Vacancies are few for those new overseas Chinese hoping to start a business on the first floor. Hence, the trick to walking about Chinatown is to keep your eyes directed upward.
As of June 2015, I have counted about 210 Chinese businesses to the north and west of Ikebukuro Station, of which some 60 are Chinese restaurants.
- source : Yamashita Kiyomi -


Chuka Ryori 中華料理 Chinese Food
Chinatown 中華街 in Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki


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Kami-Ikebukuro 上池袋



Ocha-agare Jizo お茶あがれ地蔵 Jizo drinking tea

In the Genroku priod, the ghost of a woman who was not allowed to marry the man of her choice and had died appeared around the statue of Jizo every night and sighed:

お茶上がれーお茶上がれー
"Have some tea, have some tea"
.


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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

................................................................................. Ikebukuro 池袋

ayashiki koto あやしきこと a strange thing
In 赤坂伝馬町 Akasaka, Denmacho, a strange something appeared every night, yes, every night.
Almost like Ikebukuro no Kai 池袋の怪 the Yokai from Ikebukuro.
One evening a villager left a brush and paper outside and next morning, it had written something on the paper.


岡本綺堂 池袋の怪 - 青空文庫 - Book by Okamoto Kido (1872 - 1939)
- Japanese Text -

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. kitsune densetsu 狐 伝説 fox legends .
The foxes from 野中 Nakano were eight siblings, and always played around human beings without any harm.
Most of them took the form of a beautiful man and got married. This is the same behaviour as 池袋村の狐 the foxes from Ikebukuro village.

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. ubugami 産神 "deity of birth" .
guardian deity of pregnant women, newborn babies and one's birthplace
A woman from Ikebukuro village did not like to worship the local deity of birth, but if they did not go to pray there, they would get a divine punishment.
So the women from Ikebukuro village built a prayer group and kept the sanctuary properly.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -


Ikebukuro no Onna - The Woman from Ikebukuro
池袋の女(いけぶくろのおんな)は、江戸時代末期における日本の俗信の一つ。
- reference source : wikipedia -


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すこし酔ひ跣足で歩く池袋
sukoshi yoi hadashi de aruku Ikebukuro

a bit drunk
I walk barefeet
in Ikebukuro


岡田史乃 Okada Shino (1940 - )



池袋二丁目常の目刺出て
岡本眸 Okamoto Hitomi (1928 - )

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A Haiku poet named
- 池袋寛 Ikebukuro Kan -

昼の虫日向国府という田舎
hiru no mushi Hinata Kokufu to iuu inaka

insects at daytime -
a countryside named
Hinata Kokufu


. insects at daytime, hiru no mushi 昼の虫 .
kigo for autumn


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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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28 Jul 2018

YAMANOKAMI - Kochi legends

https://japanshrinestemples.blogspot.com/2017/08/yama-no-kami-regional-16-kochi.html

Yama no Kami Regional 16 Kochi

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. Yama no Kami 山の神 Yamanokami - Introduction .
. Ta no Kami 田の神 Tanokami - Introduction .
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Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain
and Legends from Kochi 高知県


. Legends about Yamanokami 山の神と伝説 .



. Izanagi Ryu いざなぎ流 rituals from Monobe, Shikoku .
from the 香美市物部町 Monobe area, Kami city, in the eastern part of Kochi Prefecture.
In Monobe it is not uncommon to find households that worship the spirits of ancestors in the ceiling as miko-gami -- onzaki-gami and Hachiman-shin, as well as taka-gami,
They also perform many rituals for Yamanokami and 水神 the Water Deity for protection of natural disasters.

山の神様や妖怪 Yamanokami and Yokai Monsters
If someone uses something in the mountain forest, he has to repeat in his mind "Yamanokami, bring xxx back to me, let me find xxx!"
and then pee on the spot. This will make him find his lost item.

If someone wants to go to he mountain for work, he has to call out:
"I will now go to the mountain !" and offer some ritual Sake.
It is not allowed to cut down trees that are sacred to Yamanokami.

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高知県四万十市田野川山の神 Kochi Ken, Shimantogawa Tanokawa Yamanokami village

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. - Yama no Kami and the sacred Sakaki tree .
幡多郡 Hata district 大正町 Taishocho // 中村市 Nakamura town // 土佐郡 Tosa district

. Yamanokami and taiko 太鼓 the big drum .
幡多郡 Hatta district 大正町 Taisho // 高岡郡 Takaoka district 窪川町 Kubokawa

. Yamanokami and Tengu 天狗 the Mountain Goblin .
吾川郡 Agawa district // 大川村 Okawa //
Tengu and 傘松 Kasamatsu pine trees

. Yamanokami no yadorigi 山の神さんの宿り木 sacred tree for Yamanokami .
Aoki アオキ / 青木 Aucuba japonica, Japanese laurel // madogi 窓木(マドギ)"window tree"
There are many taboos about cutting these trees.

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furusoma ふるそま the old woodcutter
The sound of a tree being cut and falling down can be heard, when Yamanokami is angry. This is called "the old woodcutter"
Once upon a time, a woodcutter had forgotten his sumisashi 墨差し bamboo pencils in the forest. It is said that he could use them later after death to continue his work.


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- Hidarugami ヒダル神 The Hunger Gods -
In Tosa, when making a 弁当 Bento food offering for Yamanokami or Hidarugami, there are always a pair of chopsticks added.
This will prevent Hidarumami to take possession of a person. If one fears to have been possessed, one has to throw some part of the clothing behind oneself.

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oto 音 strange sounds
Sometimes there are strange, loud sounds at 杉の尾山 the cedar tree of Oyama. If it sounds like someone shouting, there will seen be strong rain.
People perform rituals and prayers on these occasions.


sumiyaki 炭焼 making charcoal
炭焼達 charcoal makers who own only a small mountain forest do not worry about using the Sakaki tree.
But the owners of large mountain forests respect the Sakaki as a "taboo tree".

. - Yama no Kami and the sacred 榊 Sakaki tree .


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幡多郡 Hata district 大月町 Otsuki

Every month on the 30th day is a festival day for Yamanokami.
A special Aoki tree with three prongs is a seat of Yamanokami.
Once a family member became ill and a diviner told them to perform rituals for Yamanokami, since the deity felt a bit lonely. So they performed rituals on the first, fifth and ninth lunar month and the family payed for all of them.

. Yama no Kami matsuri 山の神祭り Yamanokami festivals .

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The Komatsu family belonged to the Heike Ochudo soldiers.
Once upon a time, 小松玉姫 Princess Komatsu Tama combed her hair and some of it fell on the hakama 袴 trousers of her elder brother. He killed her on the spot for this disrespectful behaviour. She cursed the whole area and to appease her she was venerated in a special shrine as Wakamiya Sama 若宮様 the Young Deity. To memorate the event, a scroll and a mirror were offered to the shrine.
Once a pilgrim stole these items, but he also got cursee.

. Heike Ochudo 平家落人 the defeated soldiers of the Heike clan .


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北宇和郡 Kita-Uwa district 三間町 Mima Cho

. yamanba ヤマンバ "Old Mountain Hag" .
There was a field where hie 稗 barn millet grew.
One year there were many weeds, so the farmer burned down the field to get rid of them. Only yakeishi 焼石 burned stones remained in the field.
A short while later, the family became extinct.
The burned stones 焼石 where Yamanokami, venerated as an old mountain hag in this village.

- More about the yakeishi
Gifu 岐阜県 金山下呂町
gaaranbe ガーランベ Kappa
老母が毎晩芋餅を焼いているとガーランベ(河童)がやって来て盗み取ろうとするので、老母は餅の中に焼石をまぜたところ、河童は知らずに大火傷をして逃げ出した。焼石をセンバ(十能)に入れてガーランベの懐に投げ込んだというのもある。

Shizuoka 静岡県 磐田郡 佐久間町 水窪町
山姥は山に住み、里に来て子守りをしたり、藤の皮で布を織ったりした。子守りしていた子を食べ、村人に焼石を食わされて天竜川に逃げ、秋葉山に住んだという。
.
倉木山の山姥が里の子守りの子を食べてしまったので、焼石を食わせて退治した。祟ってはいないが、小さな社を建てて祀った。


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高岡郡 Takaoka district 佐川町 Sakawa

The 20th of every month is sacred to Yamanokami. People do not eat in the morning and see this as a food offering to Yamanokami. They are not allowed to use the word hidarui ひだるい, meaning "I am hungry" on this day.

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oigesama お神母様 O-Ige Sama
This is a female deity to watch over the water for the rice fields. Her sacred tree, a kusunoki 楠 camphor tree had been a disturbance for the fields and someone cut branches off it.
His home burned down in a huge fire the same night.
The tree is also sacred to Yamanokami and if someone cuts it down in the shrine compound, there will be great disaster and illness in the whole hamlet.

This deity is also called オイケ様 O-Ike sama, 伊気様 / 稲毛様
神母八幡、神母大明神、御神母、神母大神、神母荒神、荒神神母、神母天王、老気明神、井下大明神、稲毛大明神、御居解、蛇母大明神
・女神で作神様
・保食神(うけもちがみ=オオゲツヒメ・ミケツヒメ・ウカノミタマ神・ミズハノメ神)で、お社日様
・オイゲ様の池には大鰻が棲み、その鰻は神の使い(鰻は虚空蔵さん・北辰妙見・弁天様の使神)
・泣沢女(なきさわめ)で、女の百姓神
・オイゲ様の神体は陽根石、或いは陽根石と女陰石の一対
・百姓神で、神母・山の神・オサバイ(お三昧)様の三神
・水の神様である
・女を嫌う神様である
・伊勢神母大明神(アマテル神)のことである


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土佐郡 Tosa district 本川村 Hongawa village

山の神の祟り curse
yama naki ki naki 「山泣き木泣き」"the mountain weeps, the trees are weeping"
is a pproverb in Tosa.
On the 12th day of every month, it is not allowed to cut trees. If it is done, the roots will not wither properly and the bark will roll inside.

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土佐郡 Tosa district 土佐山村 Tosayama mura

kazefuke カゼフケ "meeting with a bad wind", catching a cold
In Tosa they say "meeting with a relative of Yamanokami".
A diviner can tell them what happened. Usually a woodcutter had cut down a divine tree and this is the punishment.
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sakiyama サキヤマ / 杣 forest workers, wood cutters
They must observe taboos. Not to make fire in the woods. Not to use the words 針、猫、猿、坊主 needle, cat, monkey or priest.
Never go seven people in a group.
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tatari yama 祟り山 cursed mountain
The owner of a cursed mountain is bound to suffer.
A man recently bought such a mountain, but soon became quite ill.
There are also taboo trees in the forest, with something like a serpent hanging around the trees.
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山の神の祟り curse
Once a young man had been working in the forest, but when he came home his leg was hurting very much.
A diviner told him he had cut down a divine tree and this is the punishment.
To apologize, he brought a ritual wand and placed it at the root of the cut tree, also 白餅 12 white mochi rice cakes.
After the offerings, he got well soon.
A woman
had been digging for mountain yam near the small shrine of Yamanokami. When she came home her leg was hurting very much.
A diviner told her to aoplogize and make offerings. After that she got well soon.

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- reference source : nichibun yokai database -

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. Legends about Yamanokami 山の神と伝説 .

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. Yama no Kami 山の神 - Table of Contents - .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

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sangaku shinkoo 山岳信仰 religion of the High Mountains is a different matter.

. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja 神社) - Introduction .

. kami 神 Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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MINGEI - tawaraushi cow with straw bundles

https://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.com/2018/04/tawara-ushi-cow-straw-bundle.html

tawara ushi cow straw bundle

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. ushi 丑 / 牛 ox, oxen (cow, bull, calf) .
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tawara ushi, tawaraushi 俵牛 cow with straw bundles

An auspicious amulet for a good rice harvest. Well loved by the farmers of the Edo period.
Cows and horses were the most important means of transportation.
Cows were much slower than horses, but in the end they all reached their goal.
One of the oldest versions is a doll from Fushimi 伏見人形, Kyoto.
The dolls are made of clay or papiermachee.



source : nakashimamenya.jp/gangu/shop...


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- ABC - List of tawara ushi from the Prefectures
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................................................................................ Aomori 青森県  
Shimokawara yaki 下川原焼 clay figures from Shimokawara / Hirosaki (Shitakawara yaki (したかわらやき))

下川原の俵牛

About 8 cm high. This cow does not only carry rice bundles, but also daikon 大根 big radishes.
This was an amulet for rice and vegetable farmers.
The radish is also an amulet for the fertility of the family.



................................................................................ Iwate  秋田県 


A well liked motive, also on tea cups etc.




................................................................................ Miyagi 宮城県  


source : shop.swimsuit-department.com...
仙台の郷土玩具の俵牛 Tawara ushi from Sendai



................................................................................ Mie 三重県 

Tsuu ningyoo 津人形 dolls from Tsu city






................................................................................ Shiga 滋賀県  


source : asahi-net.or.jp/~vc3k-nrm...
Obata no Tawara-Ushi 小幡の俵牛 from Obata town




source : obatadeko.main.jp...

nezumi nori tawara ushi ネズミ乗り俵牛 cow with rice bundles and a rat
Obata deko 小幡でこ Obata doll





................................................................................ Shimane 島根県 

Matsue hariko 松江張子 papermachee doll from Matsue city






................................................................................ Shizuoka 静岡県 

. Kanaya tsuchi ningyo 金谷土人形 clay dolls from Kanaya .


source : tokai.or.jp/yoshizen/gallery...
About 13 cm high and 16 cm wide.


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青磁 牛 俵牛 置物 縁起物 - yahoo auctions



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. Reference - 俵牛 人形 .


. gangu 玩具 伝説, omochcha おもちゃ  toy, toys and legends .
- Introduction -

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. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples .


. Tohoku after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011

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- - - #tawaraushi #cowstrawbundle - - - - -
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SHRINES - Samuhara Shrine Osaka

https://japanshrinestemples.blogspot.com/2018/07/samuhara-shrine-osaka.html

Samuhara Shrine Osaka

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
. Shinto Shrines (jinja 神社) - Introduction .
. kami 神 Shinto deities .
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Samuhara jinja サムハラ神社 Samuhara Shrine, Osaka


大阪府大阪市西区立売堀2-5-26 / 2 Chome-5-26 Itachibori, Nishi-ku, Ōsaka-shi,

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A Shinto-derived new religious movement which began in 1935 when Tanaka Tomisaburō (1868-1967) rebuilt a dilapidated shrine in Okayama.
After he had experienced a close brush with death on the frontline during the Russo-Japanese War, Tanaka felt he had received power from a talisman inscribed with four ideograms which he read sa-mu-ha-ra, and in turn he began to make miniature amulets (omamori) of this sort which he distributed for free.

Because of such proselytizing activities, however, the regional authorities accused him of using an unauthorized shrine to conduct private business, and as punishment, the shrine he had constructed was stripped of its contents and burned to the ground in 1936.
Tanaka, however, continued his activities of distributing amulets to troops being sent to the Asian front during World War II, and following the war in 1951, he registered his movement under the Religious Corporations Law (Shūkyō Hōjinhō) and rebuilt the shrine. In 1952 he moved the shrine to its present location.
After Tanaka's death his adopted son Tanaka Kōichi succeeded him.
-- Headquarters: Osaka Prefecture.
-- Nominal membership: approximately 500,000 (S)
- source : Yumiyama Tatsuya, Kokugakuin

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shuin 朱印 stamp



omamori お守り amulets

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- Reference : サムハラ神社
- Reference : samuhara shrine


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja 神社) - Introduction .

. kami 神 Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .


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The four letters SA MU HA RA help protect the body from harm and grand a long life.
Since they are shinji 神字 characters of God, they can not be expressed with normal 漢字 Kanji characters and can not be reproduced on a computer.
They have been used since olden times for amulets of temples,

サムハラ神社
無傷無病、延命長寿の神として知られる。𪮷〓𪮷𪮇(サムハラ)[3][4]とは不思議の4文字で、身を守ると言われている。これは漢字のような文字であるが、神字であり漢字とは異なる。Unicodeには、〓のみが収録されておらず、活字変換は不可。他の文字は全てCJK統合漢字拡張Cに収録されている。
東大寺(西東大寺)(千葉県西市)、雷山千如寺大悲王院(清賀上人により十転化の功徳があるという)など各地の寺社のお守りの呪文に使用されている。
サムハラの故事
曾子が病になって臨終の際に、弟子に体の全部を調べさせ、一つの傷痕もないのを見て安心し「父母に体を受けて生まれて幸いにも一つの傷痕もなくお返しする事ができるのは孝を尽くしたことだ」と言い、生命の守護神(𪮷〓𪮷𪮇大神)に深く感謝したという。

身體髮膚 受之父母 不敢毀傷 孝之始也[5]
身体髪膚これを父母に受く、あえて毀傷せざるは孝の始めなり
— 孝経
加藤清正は文禄・慶長の役の時、𪮷〓𪮷𪮇を武器の刃に彫りつけて信じていたために万死に一生を得たという。
『耳嚢[6]』巻2に、1782年(天明2年)、新見愛之助という小姓が登城の時に馬ごと坂の下に落ちたが怪我がなかった。他の者に理由を聞かれると領民から送られた守護札を見せ「領民が野においてキジを矢で射たが当たらず、逃げようともしない。弓がうまい者たちが競ったが駄目であった。このキジを捕まえたところ背中に𪮷〓𪮷𪮇の4文字が書いてあった。『この文字を書いた札を懐に入れておくと良いことがある』と流行った。」と語った[7]との記述がある。
平田篤胤の『仙境異聞』(上) 三之巻[8][9]に慶長年間に大樹公(征夷大将軍のこと)が狩で発見した鶴の羽にあった文字(𪮷〓𪮷𪮇の文字)が怪我よけとして広まり、寅吉が仙骨の人の符字のようなものに見たが、「ジヤク、コウ、ジヤウ、カウ」というように聞いたがよく知らないと言ったという。
岡田挺之の随筆『秉穂録』に「福岡で鶴を捕ったところ、鶴の翼に「さむはら」という四文字の符字があった。長命の符字であるだろうと人々はこれを写し取って帯びた。また斎藤実盛の位牌が淡路のある寺にあり、位牌の背にこの四文字がある。最近、江戸でこの符字を帯びた人が落馬したが怪我が無かったので、これを帯びることが流行した。」とある[10]。
國安仙人(万延元年(1860年)7月23日-大正元年(1912年)9月28日 幼名 米太郎 普明光美 加波山神社の摂末社普明神社に祀られる。)が信者に与えたタク字びよる霊符の最初の4文字がサムハラの文字(読みは「けん しょう けん ご」)であったという[11]。
- - - その他
𪮷〓𪮷𪮇はサンスクリット語の samvara (「三跋羅[12](さんばら)sanbara」)という言葉に由来するという。
短刀に刻印し守り刀とされた[13]。
厭勝銭(えんしょうせん)の一種にサムハラ銭 samuhara sen がある[14][15](厭勝銭は流通貨幣ではなく、縁起物もしくは護符として所持した銭。ここでは弾除けの祈念銭)。
- reference source : weblio.jp/wkpja/content... -



samuhara sen サムハラ銭 coin with SAMUHARA inscription



samuhara tsuba サムハラ鍔 sword guard
. The Sword Guard 鍔 Tsuba   .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

「■□■△」
(■は手偏に「合」の下に「幸」。□は手偏に「台」。△は手偏に「己」の下に「口」)

....................................................................... Fukuoka 福岡県 .....

Once a tsuru 鶴 crane was caught, with the four letters SAMUHARA on its wings.
People thought these letters would protect and bring a long life, so they copied them.

At 淡路 Awaji there was a temple with the ihai 位牌 Buddhist mortuary tablet of 斉藤実盛 Saito Sanemori.
On its back side were the letters SAMUHARA.

. Saito Sanemori 斉藤実盛 (794 - 1185). .


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

In 1668 a 鉄砲師 gun specialist from 紀州 Kishu named 吉川源五兵衛 came to Edo. At 大宮鷹場 the hawking area of Omiya in the village of 吉野村 Yoshino he shot 白い雉 a white pheasant. When he could get close, he saw on its back the leggers SAMUHARA.
He thought this was an amulet to protect from injuries, so he wrote the letters on paper and shot at them.
After that he never hit the target.


....................................................................... Tokyo 東京 .....

A man in Edo had carried a SAMUHARA amulet on his body. When he fell from his horse one day, we was not hurt.
Soon this kind of amulet became popular in Edo.


.......................................................................
. Chiyoda ku 千代田区 Chiyoda ward .

samuhara さむはら / サムハラ
In 1652, the Shogun went hawk hunting. The hawk caught a large goose. The four letters of SAMUHARA were written on the breast of the bird.
- - - - -
Ushigafuchi, Ushigabuchi 牛ヶ淵 (うしがふち)
The canal at Kudansaka 件坂下 / 九段坂 is called 牛ヶ淵 "riverpool of the bull".
It is a 魔所 bewitched place.
Once in 1782, a Samurai rode here on his horse, but he fell down and tumbled into the "Riverpool of the Bull". But the man and his horse did not show any wounds.
This is because once the Samurai was hunting for pheasants and shot at a kiji 雉 pheasant. He followed the bird and finally caught it and saw the four letters SAMUHARA written on its wings. Since then he had kept an amulet with these words in his breast pocket.


.......................................................................
. Kami-Meguro 上目黒 .

In 1652, the Shogun went hawk hunting. The hawk caught a large goose. There were four letters written on the breast of the bird.
The letters were SA MU HA RA.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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