Danjiri Mikoshi Festival Float

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. Legends about Mikoshi .
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Festival Float with Daruma
Daruma-Ren だるま連、祭り



平成7年（1995年）小池工務店により解体修理を行う。
特に腰板の額縁を新品に交換することで屋台のガタつきを直した。
屋台解体日＝平成7年（1995年）1月17日～阪神淡路大震災の日
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/fukude/matsuri/lst/14k/14k.htm


http://www.ne.jp/asahi/fukude/matsuri/grp/mya/mya.htm

　民芸品調の卓上祭り屋台
遠州は屋台祭りが盛んな地方として知られていますが、関連の民芸品が少ないことから今回民芸品調のお祭りグッズとしてミニ屋台の制作を企画。岐阜県の専門工房に依頼し3ヵ年弱の期間を費やしてこのたび完成となりました。
掛塚を発祥地として天竜川流域各地に見られる屋台で、当地福田・掛塚および天竜市二俣の3つをモデルにして各特徴を表現し、小さくても雰囲気を感じさせる形になるよう留意しています。
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/fukude/matsuri/grp/mya/mdl/mdl.htm


danjiri 山車（だんじり）
yatai 山車（やたい / 屋台)



. dashi 山車（だし）festival float
is a kigo for all summer.

The Chinese characters signify a mountain on a cart.

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岸和田だんじり Kishiwada Danjiri Festival

畑町のだんじり
Daruma float from Hata-Cho



Look at more beautiful carvings of the floats:
source : 桜井の駅


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Danjiri Matsuri Festivals だんじり祭り
岸和田 Kishiwada (Osaka)
八百津
泉州
灘のだんじり祭り
西浦だんじり祭り
堺市鳳だんじり祭り
南河内だんじり祭り

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, Osaka
September, on the "Respect for the Aged Day"

Danjiri festivals are common throughout Japan, but if you say
"Danjiri Matsuri" (festival) to a Japanese, there is one festival that will come to mind: the violent, exuberant mayhem that takes place every September in Kishiwada, Osaka.

The "danjiri" are the large wooden floats, or portable shrines, that are pulled around a pre-set route on the day of the festival. These shrines are kept in storage for a year and are quite beautiful.

Prior to the festival, there are ceremonies and prayers. The ornate shrine is taken out and readied; then the fun starts.

Where is the Danjiri Festival?
The Danjiri Festival is held in Kishiwada City, Osaka. Kishiwada is a working class castle town that was rural until recently. Today it is a suburb south of the city of Osaka, not far from Kansai International Airport.

What is the Danjiri Festival?
The Danjiri Matsuri dates to the 16th century, and is believed to have its origins in the "Inari Matsuri" that was held in 1703. Like many fall festivals, it is essentially a harvest festival to pray for a good harvest. It was created by the Lord of Kishiwada Castle and has always had a wild side to it.

In the past, that could have been said about most festivals in Japan. In the post-war period, however, festivals, like most aspects of Japanese life, have become tamer affairs. The good folk of Danjiri however continue to resist this, and it remains a dangerous festival with several deaths not uncommon each year.

The reason for this is that men stand atop the floats as they weave and turn down narrow streets. These men are sometimes thrown off and crushed below.
source : www.japanvisitor.com

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Iga Ueno Danjiri Museum
伊賀上野だんじり会館

One of Ueno city's big annual events is the 400 year-old
Ueno Tenjin festival 上野天神祭り　held between October 23rd to 25th. Originally a sacred agricultural ritual, the festival has elaborate portable shrines and demon-costumed revellers parading in the streets, but a main feature is the nine danjiri carted through the city. The danjiri is a type of dashi, a traditional Japanese festival float on wheels. When not being used in the festival, the Iga Ueno Danjiri Museum houses three of these floats for public viewing.

The three danjiri floats are encased in a large round glass-walled exhibition room, set about with life-sized models reenacting a festival scene. The floats are mounted on a turntable to make it possible to see them from every angle. As it is, visitors are able to walk and see completely around the showcase from the first floor, as well as partway from above the second.
source : The Yamasa Institute


. . . CLICK here for Photos of the museum!

. . . CLICK here for Photos of the festival!
上野天神祭りのだんじり

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Awaji Danjiri Matsuri 淡路だんじり祭り
Danjiri festival at Awaji Island, Hyogo

淡路島.賀集八幡神社春祭りだんじり



quote
Danjiri and Danjiri Chorus
Awaji Island has a profusion of festivals.
There is said to be a total of 300 danjiri in the greater Awaji area. The main is the futon danjiri 布団だんじり with five layers of red futons. The danjiri are pulled around by shrine parishioners in spring and fall.
Created as a group performance based on puppet shows as a sideshow for festivals, the danjiri chorus is also known as jorurikuzushi. The chorus skillfully takes highlights of the story and puts melodies to them. The songs are arranged using danjiri taiko drums and clappers, and there are chorus tsurebushi and solos called puppet katarikomi like storytelling and furi like fork ballad. Katari is placed in the intervals of the chorus and solos.
Many chorus groups have sprung up recently and contests are held.
The singing is now considered a folk art of Awaji.
source : www.yumebutai.org


だんじりは伝統工芸 ... the festival float is an important traditional folk art
source : awajidanjiri.jimdo.com



miniature of a danjiri futon float

It was made by 肥田利一 from 生穂町 and is not made any more.

futon taikodai 太鼓台 Futon drum float
. chossa taikodai ちょっさ太鼓台 Chossa Drum Futon Float . Sanuki, Kagawa
and more details about these futon floats.



mikoshi with kokeshi wooden dolls こけしみこし

. kokeshi こけし wooden dolls .



Mikoshi Daruma


. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .

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Suimu Jinja Mikoshi makuri 水無神社 神輿まくり
(スイムジンジャ）

Shrine festival where simple wooden mikoshi, made anew every year, are paraded through town for two days and then
thrown on the road, forward and sideways, with people standing on them, jumping off in the last moment . . .



Suimu Shrine (水無神社) is located in Kiso, Nagano Prefecture. Record said, it was established in the middle of the 13th century. It has thousand years old Hinoki Trees. Inside of the hall, there are many beautiful large Ema votive tablets. It has been respected by the people of Kiso as the guardian of the valley.
The most famous festival Mikoshimakuri, takes place on July 23.

Kiso Fukushima 木曽福島町内 Nagano
CLICK for more photos !
- source : www.nanchara.net/mikoshimakuri -



Minashi Jinja 水無神社
located in the city of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The kanji for the shrine are also sometimes read as Suimu. The full name is Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Shrine (飛騨一宮水無神社 Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Jinja), as it was once the main shrine of Hida Province.
. . . believed that it was constructed during the reign of Emperor Seiwa during the late-9th century.

Because of firebombing activities during World War II, Minashi Shrine served as a refuge for Atsuta Shrine's Kusanagi from August 21 to September 19, 1945.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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photo source : ikuta blog


だんじりを桜の下に引き出して
danjiri o sakura no shita ni hikidashite

they pull
the danjiri float
below the cherry blossoms

Oe Nobuki 大恵宣樹 from Iga, Ueno
http://www.itoen.co.jp/new-haiku/17/kasatoku03.html


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mikoshi　神輿、御輿 portable shrine
kigo for all summer









Daruma Mikoshi だるま神輿


. Kawagoe Daruma Mikoshi 川越だるま神輿 .


source : popeye.sakura.ne.jp/saitama...
Kawagoe dashi 川越山車 festival float from Kawagoe


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. Oita Folk Art - 大分県 .

Nakatsu mikoshi　中津神輿　Nakatsu Festival Float


source :　www.asahi-net.or.jp

The mikoshi is modelled from the Nakatsu Gion Festival 中津祇園祭り.
This toy tradition is no longer alive.
And
. akaheko tenjin 赤へこ天神 Tenjin sama with a red robe . - clay doll


- quote -
Nakatsu Gion Festival 中津祇園祭り
This festival has 570 years of tradition and is designated as an intangible folklore cultural asset by Oita prefecture. There will be fireworks on the first day.
On the 2nd day (morning parade) and the 3rd day (returning parade) floats called Gionguruma will parade through Fukuzawa street.
Many events are held during the festival. There are Floats parading around and dancing all over the city while the festival is held.
- source : www.visit-oita.jp -




. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

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source :　koshi/shurui.html


. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .

輿の花盗人よぬす人よ
o-mikoshi no hana-nusubito yo nusubito yo

a blossom thief
in a fancy palanquin!
a thief!
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku was written in the 1st month (February) of 1813, when Issa had returned to his hometown and was preparing to engage in the final strenuous negotiations with his mother-in-law and younger half brother over his inheritance. It seems possible to see the blossom thief as, on one level, an self-ironic image of Issa himself returning to "blossom-steal" his inheritance back from the people who have been keeping it from him. The exclamations might be his ironic imagined representations of the thoughts or whispered remarks of his mother-in-law and the many villagers in his hometown who consider him a greedy, pushy outsider. Even so, as a blossom thief and not an actual thief, Issa expects to be forgiven if he persists.

The most immediate image, however, is praise for a very beautiful cherry tree in full bloom. A thief of blossoms -- usually of cherries but sometimes of plums or other blossoms -- means someone who breaks off a blossoming sprig and takes it home. Popular renga grew out of linked verse festivals held under cherry trees in full bloom (hana-no-moto) in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the custom of taking home a sprig of cherry blossoms was tolerated to a certain extent for religious reasons, since the sprig was to believed to be part of the body of the cherry-tree god, and the sprigs were worshiped in people's homes. The custom continued over the centuries.

The term "blossom thief" also came to refer to doing something for the sake of great beauty or value that ordinarily wouldn't be allowed. For example, prince Atsumichi (981-1007) wrote the following waka when he visited the mansion of the aristocrat and poet Fujiwara Kintou bearing a sprig of cherry blossoms for his host:

If my name
be Blossom Thief
so be it!
I break off only
a single branch

The prince visited with his new lover, the famous woman poet Izumi Shikibu, who is doubtless the greatest blossom of all in the poem, though she is not mentioned directly. The relationship was a bit scandalous, since a short time earlier Izumi Shikibu had been the lover of prince Atsumichi's older half-brother, who suddenly died of the plague, making prince Atsumichi's actions a bit thief-like. Still, Izumi Shikibu is such a superb poet and person that the prince feels sure he will be forgiven.

In Issa's hokku, many people in his hometown are probably breaking off sprigs with cherry blossoms on them to take home with them, but Issa focuses on an expensive, decorated palanquin. The character Issa uses (輿) is usually read o-mikoshi, the special palanquin of the emperor or a god that is carried on the shoulders of many men, and this is the reading of the editors of Issa's collected works. Issa might also be using the term ironically to refer to any pompously luxurious palanquin. The scholar Maruyama Kazuhiko, however, reads norimono, which is also possible. A norimono was a special luxurious palanquin hanging from a thick, horizontal beam carried by two carriers, one in front and one in back, that had sliding doors on the sides, as opposed to an ordinary palanquin that was open at the sides or often simply a seat hanging from a pole.

In Issa's time only a few people were allowed to ride in an enclosed palanquin: high-ranking samurai, high-ranking monks, herbal and/or acupuncture doctors, women, children, and commoner males who had paid to get special permission from the authorities. I doubt Issa is referring to the emperor, and unless there is a festival going on, it wouldn't be a palanquin carrying a god. It seems likely that Issa is referring to someone of rank or power who has stopped beneath the tree because of its striking beauty and is breaking off a sprig to carry with him or her, probably as a gift to someone who hasn't been able to see the tree. The tone of the hokku is exclamatory, as if Issa were pointing out a shocking crime in progress.

Actually it must be mock-exclamatory, since Issa is at the same time suggesting that this cherry tree is so extremely beautiful that even people who usually ride hidden inside fancy palanquins are willing to get out and act like an ordinary commoner blossom thief. There is no doubt some social satire here, but Issa is also expressing his highest praise for the tree, which is able to make people of all classes humble before it. This is consistent with Issa's usual view that all humans of whatever class are equal in the eyes of Amida.

Chris Drake


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. Float with Dragon Decoration .
From Omi Hachiman Sagicho Festival 近江八幡　左義長まつり


. Matsuyama no mikoshi 松山のみこし mikoshi models .
Ehime


. otabisho, o-tabisho 御旅所　/ お旅所 sacred resting point .
for the mikoshi during a procession

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santai mikoshi 三体みこし three mikoshi
for the Gion Festival of Onomichi 尾道祇園祭

. Hiroshima Folk Art - 広島県　 　 .

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Shizuki Mikoshi 志筑神興
. Hyogo Folk Art - 兵庫県　 .


. WKD : Festivals of Japan 　


. WKD : mikoshigusa 神輿草（みこしぐさ） mikoshi plant .
Geranium nepalense. cranesbill

. Legends about Mikoshi .

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- #mikoshi #danjiri #float -
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Shakuhachi Flute

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. Komuso begging monks 虚無僧 .
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Shakuhachi, the Bamboo Flute

bamboo flute -
the blind monk plays
with the autumn winds


and Komusoo 虚無僧 Komuso Monks
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Some links about the shakuhachi

The shakuhachi is certainly Japan's most well-known woodwind instrument. A ertically-held bamboo flute, it is made from the very bottom of a bamboo tree. Bamboo is hollow except for this nodes which are spaced at Intervals along the pipe. These nodes are knocked out to form the complete hollow length of the pipe. Four fingerholes are put on the front of the instrument and a thumbhole on the back. The mouthpiece is the open top of the pipe itself with the front side cut at a slight and angle to facilitate blowing the instrument.

Although the placement of holes and tuning of the instrument is a very delicate process, the instrument itself is of a basically simple construction. It is this very fact, however, which allows for very complex techniques in playing the instrument such as the use of the breath with changes in the blowing angle for great or minute changes in sound quality, or partial-holding of fingerholes to make delicate pitch changes.

The instrument takes its name from its standard length of one foot (shaku) and eight (hachi) parts of a foot (called sun), approximately 54cm. There are other lengths of the instrument as well, all with the general name of shakuhachi.
http://www.j-music.com/aki/bamboo.html

http://www.shakuhachi.com/


The International Shakuhachi Society is a world forum for people interested in the Japanese bamboo flute. It enables various players, schools, composers, ethnomusicologists and hobbyists to share information with a wide
and sympathetic audience.
http://www.komuso.com/


Pictures of the blind and seeing monks called
<> Komusoo <> 虚無僧


http://www.komuso.com/images/komuso.gif

http://www.komuso.com/images/komuso4.gif


The Photo-Gallery of famous players
http://www.komuso.com/people/photos.html

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Shakuhachi, on the following link:

Rooan. The first komusoo
In honor of his shakuhachi (or hitoyogiri), he called himself
Fuuketsu doosha , the Person of the Way of the Wind and Holes.
He also was the founder of the komusoo temple in Kyoto, Myooan-ji or　Meian-ji, and the same person also known as Kyoochiku Zenji.

- reference -

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Isoda Koryūsai　磯田湖竜斎　 (1735–1790)
Komuso and Beauties


- quote -
The komusō (虚無僧 komusō, hiragana: こむそう; also romanized komusou or komuso)
were a group of Japanese mendicant monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism who flourished during the Edo period of 1600-1868. Komusō were characterized by a straw bascinet (a sedge or reed hood named a tengai or tengui) worn on the head, manifesting the absence of specific ego.[
They were also known for playing solo pieces on the shakuhachi (a type of Japanese bamboo flute). These pieces, called honkyoku ("original pieces"), were played during a meditative practice called suizen, for alms, as a method of attaining enlightenment, and as a healing modality. The Japanese government introduced reforms after the Edo period, abolishing the Fuke sect. Records of the musical repertoire survived, and are being revived in the 21st century
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. donkorogoma どんころ独楽
Donkoro spinning top for gambling .

It has the images of symbols of good luck to make a bet on.
一富士 Fuji、ニ鷹 Hawk、三なすび/茄子 eggplant、
四だるま Daruma san 五虚無僧 Komuso monk、六西行 poet Saigyo.
Gamblers bet on one side to come up as top and if it does, they get their money back about sixfold.


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The end-blown bamboo flute, the shakuhachi, is another noteworthy solo instrument. It first developed under the influence of Zen priests, with new schools of performance growing up from the 16th to 19th centuries.

http://web-japan.org/museum/music/music.html
http://web-japan.org/museum/music/music01/music01.html

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Studied Shakuhachi with Izu Hiroshi, master of Tozan school
source : ウベ・ワルタ Uwe Walter
He lives in a little village in the backwoods of Kyoto.

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quote
History of the Japanese Shakuhachi Flute
The Shakuhachi flute has been traced back as far as ancient Egypt and is thought to have migrated through India and China before being brought back to Japan by monks who were studying abroad in China during the 6th century.
... snip
The Fuke Sect of monks was dissolved around 1871 when the Tokugawa government fell and the Meiji Restoration began. Because of the special arrangement the Fuke Sect had with the Shoguns the Meiji would not honor the Fuke sect in order to weed out and eliminate spies and the Shoguns holdouts. The playing of the shakuhachi became forbidden and its use went underground.
When the Meiji government did permit the use of the shakuhachi again it was played as an accompanying instrument to the shamisen and koto. Many of the honkyoku and important documents were lost during the hiding. It wasn't until 1883 in Kyoto, Japan that the shakuhachi was revived by the Myoan Society at the old Fuke Temple, Myoan-ji. This society is responsible for much of the traditional shakuhachi music we have today.
source : www.zenbambooflutes.com




Elegant Shakuhachi Version of
Ushiwakamaru Serenading Jôruri-hime
奥村政信　Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764)

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Also see my musings about BAMBOO in general,
there are some shakuhachi photos in the Bamboo album

Bamboo Art
Bamboo as a Kigo
My Bamboo Haiku





尺八や　秋の空に響きおり

shakuhachi ya
the sound of autumn
in my valley

GokuRakuAn November 2007
Shakuhachi Concert with Gerhardt Staufenbiel


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From Zen Master Ikkyu (15th century)

The Dreamy Sound
of Bokushitsu's Shakuhachi
Awakened Me from Deep Sleep
One Moonlit Night

A wonderful autumn night, fresh and bright;
Over the echo of music and drums from a
distant village
The single clear tone of a shakuhachi brings a
flood of tears--
Startling me from a deep, melancholy dream.

[from Ikkyu, Zen Master. Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu.
Translated and edited by John Stevens. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.]
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Von Zen Meister Ikkyu (15 Jahrhundert)

Der Verträumte Klang
Von Bokushitsu’s Shakuhachi
Erweckte mich aus tiefem Schlaf
Eine mondhelle Nacht

Eine wunderbare Herbst-Nacht, frisch und hell,
Über dem Echo der Musik und Trommeln aus einem entfernten Dorf

Der einzelne klare Tone der Shakuhachi bringt eine Flut von
Tränen -
Aufgeschreckt bin ich aus einem tiefen, melancholischen Traum.

[von Ikkyu, Zen-Meister. Wilde Wege: Zen-Gedichte von Ikkyu. Übersetzte
und bearbeitete von John Stevens. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.]
…deutsche Übersetzung Mario Trinkhaus

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まづ知るや宜竹が竹に花の雪
mazu shiru ya Gichiku ga take ni hana no yuki

first you must know this !
Gichiku and his bamboo (flute)
bring "snow" to the cherry blossoms

or

first you must know this !
Gichiku and his bamboo (flute)
bring the cherry blossoms to fall like snow

Matsuo Basho
Written in 延宝5年. Basho age 34.

「吉野の山を雪かと見れば、雪ではあらで、や、これの、花の吹雪よの」
The cherry blossoms of Yoshino are famous for "haha no fubuki" cherry blossoms scattering like snow.

Too Saburo 藤三郎 Gichiku 宜竹 (ぎちく)
was a famous Shakuhachi flute player.
Kaijo Shuurin 景徐周麟 (1440 - 1518)

A monk of the Rinzai Sect Musoo 夢窓.
Also called Hanin 半隠, Taishoo 対松.
The shakuhachi at his time was a famous Hitoyogiri 一節切.

One of his famous tunes was "Yoshinoyama".
It was quite a hit in the Edo period and made Basho think of Yoshino.

. Mount Yoshino and more haiku about Gichiku .


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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©　Two Haiga by Emile Molhuysen, Delft, 2007








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不動尊竹で吹きたり手向けかな
fudouson take de fukitari tamuke kana
in Fudo Myo-O's sanctum,
blowing bamboo as an offering

(bamboo, as in shakuhachi flute)

natsu no hi take to kaeru no duetto kana
summer's day- a duet of frog and shakuhachi!

kunpuu ni ukabu shakuhachi no oto kana
floating on the summer wind, the sound of shakuhachi

Glenn Swann (chikukai)
(my own haiku and translation)
http://www.myspace.com/glennswannshakuhachi
http://shakuhachiflute.blogspot.com/

Translating Haiku Forum, August 2009

Glenn lives near asama yama, close to a fudo-son waterfall in karuizawa called sengataki.


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***** . komusoobana 虚無僧花 "komuso monk flower" .
Lamium album. white nettle


. Fue 笛 Flute playing Daruma 　

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. komusoo 虚無僧　説 Komuso legends about begging monks .


source and more komuso monsters : togetter.com/li

お猪口が變化した小さな虚無僧のような姿をした妖怪
little monster wearing a 猪口 Sake cup as Komuso hat.


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- #komuso #shakuhachi -
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Japanese Ghosts

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
. yuurei 幽霊 Yurei ghost, Geist .
. kaijuu 怪獣 Kaiju - mythological beasts .
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Japanese Ghosts and Ghost Stories
kaidan 怪談

O-Bake, お化け, anything that is fearful or super-large or otherwise out of the normal range is called O-Bake. We grow huge pumpkins in the garden, O-bake kabocha.

There is, of course also
O-Bake Daruma お化け達磨 !!



From the side


http://ebikani.org/youkai/hariko/obakedaruma.htm

Here are a few more papermachee monsters to click and have fun:
http://ebikani.org/youkai/hariko/mokuzi.htm

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Here is another Monster Daruma, from a computer game.
出たー！お化け達磨



Look at some more photos here:
http://syarekou.hp.infoseek.co.jp/games/kiga5/kiga5.html
Copyright (ｃ) 2001 Syarekoube

Now let us look at some of the more traditional Japanese Ghosts.

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Lafcadio Hearn has introduced the Japanese Ghost Stories in his great book
KWAIDAN.

Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn - Project Gutenberg - to download

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. Yotsuya Kaidan 四谷怪談 The Ghost Story of Yotsuya .

Hanga by Hokusai about the lantern ghost of O-Iwa, the jealous wife.

お岩さん　　天保２、３（1831-32）年頃
葛飾北斎美術館
http://joho.ehime-iinet.or.jp/rekihaku/kakonotokubetutenji/

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CLICK for more samples .

One Hundred Ghosts walking at Night
"Gazu Hyakki Yagyoo" "画図百鬼夜行”
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/asin/4309726089

There is a story about Fujiwara Tsuneyuki 藤原常行 (863 - 875).
He ventured out at night to meet his sweetheart in Eastern Kyoto, although his parents had asked him not to frequent this region. In the dark he happened to see the march of the 100 demons - oh dear !
He runs away in fear toward the Northern Gate of the Shinzen 神泉 cemetary, but the demons come after him. Still they can not harm him, because his mother had swen a magical mantra, 尊勝陀羅尼 (sonshoo darani), into his robes to protect him.
source :　ja.wikipedia


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Record of One Hundred Goblins,
by Kyôsai, Kyoosai Kawanabe
hyakki gadan 百鬼画談


http://www.city.koga.ibaraki.jp/rekihaku/hyakki.htm


In this woodblock-printed book by the gifted Meiji artist Kawanabe Kyôsai (1831-1889), the tradition of telling ghost stories is shown. On certain nights, especially in the summer, people gather together to tell ghost stories by the light of one hundred string wicks burning in an oil lamp.
As each story is told, one of the wicks is extinguished, thus making the room darker and darker. At the conclusion of the hundredth story, the room is thrown into darkness--and a spirit is said to appear.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images/8728s.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images.html


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Thirty-six ghosts by Taiso Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
新形三十六怪撰

prints were published from 1889 until 1892.
Yoshitoshi's Strange Tales
by John Stevenson
source : Jan van Reek


. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡芳年 .

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Hokusai made a great collection of 100 monster prints
One Hundred Ghost Stories
(Hyaku monogatari 百物語)
kigo for late summer

One of my favorite is the Dish Mansion (Sara yashiki　皿屋敷)


© Tokyo National Museum
http://www.tnm.go.jp/en/servlet/Con?pageId=B01&processId=01&event_id=2040

More about the One Hundred Ghost Stories
http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hyakumonogatari.htm


. お菊と焼継屋 O-Kiku and the Yakitsugiya .
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige - and the surprised pottery repairman
... a Japanese ghost story (kaidan) of broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate ...

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Scroll of Monsters Yookai Emaki 妖怪絵巻


Look at them all here:
http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/kikaku/index59/

And the collection of monster painting of the kids
http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/kikaku/index59/emaki/index.html


. Buson Yokai Emaki 蕪村妖怪絵巻 Buson Monster Scroll .
. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 (1715 - 1783) Painter and Poet .


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Old Household Tools, Tsukumogami 付喪神

According to "Yin-Yang Book", more than 100-year-old tools get souls and disconcert the public. Those tools are called Tsukumogami. At every beginning of a new year, the event called Sweeping soot is held in which old tools are thrown away on an alley.


http://ddb.libnet.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/exhibit-e/otogi/tsukumo/tsukumo.html

After reading the explanation about the spirits of the old tools I finally understood why second-hand is such a hard business in Japan. Nobody wants to get the vengeful spirit, that might come with an old cupboard or shoe. Most old belongings of a dead person are ritually burned.

When we moved into the old farmhouse, we had a long purifying ceremony to make sure that Grandpa, who lived there all his life, would not stay with us for ever... Now, I guess, he is happily looking down at the Paradise Hermitage, GokuRakuAn.

Here is another link to it:
... many people were frightened at the possibility that their objects might come alive and present new problems for them, so they would often throw them away when they reached 99 years. Because of this, when the items did come alive, they would sometimes be angry that they had been thrown out after being used so long. They would band together and oftentimes go back and scare the people who had thrown them out, for being so wasteful.
http://www.youkaimura.org/tsuku.htm


. WKD - Ningyoo kuyoo 人形供養
Memorial Ceremony for old dolls 　 .


- quote -
Understood by many Western scholars as a type of Japanese yōkai, the Tsukumogami (付喪神, "Kami of tools") was a concept popular in Japanese folklore as far back as the tenth century, used in the spread of Shingon Buddhism. Today, the term is generally understood to be applied to virtually any object, “that has reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and self-aware,” though this definition is not without its controversy.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. tsukumogami haiku by Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .

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The Ground Spider, The Earth Spider
Tsuchigumo zooshi 土蜘蛛草紙 scroll 　



The story is from the Heian Period. Look at all the photos of this old scroll here.
.. longuemare.hp.infoseek.co.jp/tutigumo_...



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It became a great success as a Kabuki Play later on.

It was only in Meiji period, late 19th century when TSUCHIGUMO was arranged as KABUKI play. The beautifully costumed evil character Earth Spider and its performances of throwing paper threads like spider webs, won public popularity.



http://ueno.cool.ne.jp/mirukashihime/kabuki.htm



Tsukioka Kōgyo 月岡耕漁 Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927)


Mask of tsuchigumo 土蜘蛛, the Ground Spider
for the famous Mibu Kyoogen 壬生狂言 performance
. Mibudera 壬生寺 Mibu-Dera - Kyoto .

Katsushika Hokusai - Raiko and the Earth Spider

- kumo 蜘蛛と伝説 Legends about spiders / Spinnen -


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Book about some - - - - - 怪奇鳥獣図巻 strange animals



Look at some more here:
http://www.kousakusha.co.jp/DTL/kaiki.html

... ... ...

The Old Chinese Sutra about Mountain and Sea Creatures
古代中国で編纂された地理と博物学の本『山海経』


http://www.chinjuh.mydns.jp/sengai/bovtigro/pa20.htm

Click on any of the clickable words.
http://www.chinjuh.mydns.jp/sengai/p01.htm


. kaijuu 怪獣 Kaiju - mythological beasts .
genjuu 幻獣 Genju, mysterious creature, cryptid


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The Complete Database about Ghosts
In Japanese
このデータベースには、日本民俗学の文献から集められた怪異・妖怪伝承についての20,719件の書誌情報が入っています。
source : www.nichibun.ac.jp/youkaidb .


Animals, ghosts and Yōkai depicted in Ukiyo-e
source : through-the-sapphire-sky .



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Quote from About Japan. Read more on these link pages. http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa102800.htm Obake, Bakemono Literally means, "transforming thing." "O" is an honorific prefix and "bake" is a noun form for the verb "bakeru (to change, to transform)." It can also be used more generally to refer to anything that is weird or grotesque. Yuurei According to Shinto beliefs, all people have a soul called "reikon." When a person dies, the reikon leaves the body and joins the souls of its ancestors. However, when a person dies suddenly by murder, is slain in battle, commits suicide, or when he or she hasn't been given an appropriate funeral, the reikon may become a yuurei to seek revenge. Many yuurei are female ghosts who suffered badly in life from love, jealousy, sorrow, or regret. Male yuurei are less common. Yuurei usually appear in a white kimono (katabira), which people were buried in the old days, and have no legs. They also wear a white triangular piece of paper or cloth (hitaikakushi) on their forehead. They usually appear between 2 and 3 a.m. http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa102800.htm I will tell you about "youkai," and look at the characters for them. Youkai literally means, "bewitching apparition." They include monsters, goblins, and ghouls. They usually appear at dawn or dusk. Unlike yuurei, which are the souls of the dead and downright scary, youkai are comical, bizarre and mischievous in some way. Here are some youkai. Oni Oni, demons or ogres, are one of the most famous youkai. They are huge and have horns. The color of their body is red, blue, or black. They usually carry a big iron club (kanabou). They are best known for guarding the gate of Buddhist hell. They also often appear in folktales. (Momotaro, Issun-boshi etc.) They are dumb, cruel, and malicious. On Setsubun (Feb. 3rd), there is a custom to drive away evil sprits. People scatter soybeans outside of doorways, shouting "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi! (Demon out, Good luck in!)." Kappa Kappa are supernatural creatures which live both on land and in water. They are as tall as a four or five year old child. They have a beak-like snout, and fins on their hands and feet. They also have a shell on their back, and a water-filled dish on their head. As long as the dish is full of water, kappa keep their supernatural powers. Kappa are known for dragging people into the water and pulling out their livers through their anuses. Although kappa harm people sometimes, there are also many tales where they have helped people. They are very curious. They often appear in cartoons because of their lovable images. Kappa love sumo wrestling and cucumbers. That is why cucumber sushi rolls are called "kappa maki". "Okappa" are bobbed hairstyles because they look like the kappa's hairstyles. Kappa are excellent swimmers. There is a saying "Kappa no kawa nagare (a drowning kappa)" which means, even an expert can make mistakes sometimes. Rokurokubi Female monsters with long, flexible necks. They look just like ordinary humans during the day, but at night, they extend their necks to frighten or spy on people. They sometimes turn their human faces into those of demons. Yuki-Onna A snow woman, appears in a white kimono on a stormy night. She causes travelers to become lost and freeze to death. Click here to read the story of "Yuki-Onna" by Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo). Hitotsume-Kozou A one-eyed goblin, literally has a large eye in the center of its face. It looks like the shaved head of a priest. It does not play tricks, but just scares people. Tengu Tengu is also a youkai. Click here to read about "tengu." http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa110400.htm

- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Water Goblin -
My Kappapedia

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Read Mark Schumacher about
Amano Jyaku Amanjaku、Amanojaku 天邪鬼
Fox (Oinari)　お稲荷さま
Kappa 河童
Tengu　天狗
ONI (DEMONS) in Japanese Buddhist and Shinto Traditions

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Some more links about the ghosts and monsters of Japan

Japanese Ghosts
By Tim Screech

The Japanese world of the supernatural comprises a dizzying array of characters, from the humorously bizarre to the downright terrifying. In the 18th century, Toriyama Sekien attempted to categorize the many different types of ghostly beings that inhabit the Japanese landscape, its heavens and its hells; the results of his efforts filled four huge volumes. Here, Tim Screech takes us on a slightly more abbreviated tour.
http://www.mangajin.com/mangajin/samplemj/ghosts/ghosts.htm



No-Masks List
Ghosts & Spirits
Hannya
Demons
http://www.pasar5.com/NOH_MASK/mlist.html



Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in Japanese Lore
Norman A. Rubin


The Realm of the Hell-Dwellers
A Buddhist Perspective
The eight hot hells and eight cold hells lie thousands of miles beneath the surface of the southern continent Jambudvipa. The major hells are stacked one on top of the other with the worst hell on the bottom.



The Wheel of Becoming
Bhavachakra artwork copyright by Ryuei. 2000.
http://nichirenscoffeehouse.net/ShuteiMandala/vedic.html



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The vengeful spirits, goryoo, onryoo 御霊、怨霊

. Vengeful spirits, onryo




akuryoo 悪霊 evil spirit

悪霊がきてざわめきぬ黒葡萄
akuryo ga kite zawamekinu kurobudo

an evil spirit has come -
the black grapes are in uproar

Katsumi Ozawa 小澤克己


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- - - - -  Read my articles about

Bakeneko, the Monster Cat ... 化け猫

Oni, Japanese Demons ... 鬼　と美術

TENGU and DARUMA

Tsuchinoko, tsuchi no ko ツチノコ or 槌の子 Hammerspawn legendary reptile, almost a snake

Ghosts (yookai, bakemono) .. and haiku



Halloween, Hallowe’en , and kigo for haiku

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Suggested further Reading

Japanese art is laden with images and allusions. Contemporary viewers may encounter difficulty recognizing the literary and historical allusions and other cultural codes embedded in early modern Japanese works. However, a more careful viewing leads to the exciting recognition that Japanese art covers themes familiar to Westerners and Easterners alike. The individual versus society; humanity and the forces of nature; this world vis á vis the Ultimate--are among the themes handled in Japanese art as they are in other cultures' artistic expressions.

Read a great exploration with many woodblock prints here:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images.html


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天野行雄さんによる妖怪民芸品４選
Exhibition of the Monster Folk Art by Amano Yukio



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Pandemonium and Parade
Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai

Michael Dylan Foster
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10977.php

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. Oni 鬼　Demon Amulets .


. WASHOKU
Yookai 妖怪 Monsters and Japanese Food


. yuurei 幽霊 Yurei ghost, Geist .

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- #tsuchigumo #spider -
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