. Mie Folk Toys

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Mie Folk Art - 三重県



The capital is the city of Tsu　津市.

Great Ise Shrine 伊勢神宮, Ise Jingū
. Ise Grand Shrine 伊勢神宮 - Introduction .


Mie is home to the Iga ninja　伊賀忍者.
. Ninja Daruma 忍者だるま - Ninja introduction .

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Futami Ura town 二見浦

Futami no kaeru 二見の蛙 frog from Futami
amulets from Shrine Futami Okitama Jinja 二見興玉神社

. Shrine Futami Okitama Jinja 二見興玉神社 .

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Iga Ueno Town 伊賀上野

roosha dorei 楼車土鈴 clay bell with festival float



The Iga Plain is surrounded by various mountain ranges, where the Ninja lived and practised. In October there is a great festival at the Shrine 上野天満宮 Ueno Tenmangu, where local craftsmen and carpenters show their skills in making nine festival floats (roosha, danjiri). The festival originated during an epidemic with the hope to expell the deities of illness and many amulets for health are available at the shrine. People wear large 能面 Noh-Masks and walk around in an oni gyooretsu 鬼行列 "Demon Procession".
The clay bells, about 14 cm high, represent most of the details of the floats. The clay is fired at low temperatures, so their sound is rather low.
The local store 老舗漬物店 has a great collection of these clay bells.

The famous haiku poet
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 .
was born in Iga, Ueno. And some say he was a Ninja himself . . .

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Igayaki, Iga-Yaki 伊賀焼 Iga pottery, Iga ware



- quote -
Iga ware comprises ceramic products made in the Iga City area of Mie Prefecture. Using local clay and traditional techniques, Iga ware carries a rich tradition that can be traced back to the Nara Period (710-794), featuring easy-to-hold shapes prized by tea masters and a natural, almost wild beauty actualized by the unique quality of the baked clay. Its beauty is one of a kind—untamed, shining and free.

The origins of Iga ware can be traced back some 1,200 years, when peasants in the area began to fire everyday items and agricultural tools. The quality of their products was so highly regarded at the time that there is a Nara Period record of Iga ware being offered to the prestigious Kotaijingu, one of the two primary buildings of the revered Ise-Jingu Shrine.

While production fell off in later years, during the Muromachi Period (1336-1573), a potter known as Jiro Dayu revived Iga ware, having such a profound effect that he is now regarded as the founder of its distinctive style.

During the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–1603), with the flourishing of wabi-cha (literally, “austere tea”—now known as tea ceremony), the unique and natural style of Iga ware grew in popularity. The fact that the military commanders of Iga Province (the western part of today’s Mie Prefecture) were also tea masters may also have had a strong influence on the development of the craft.

With the changing trends and styles of tea ceremony during the Edo Period, Iga ware again fell into decay. However, in the 18th century, craftsmen from Kyoto and areas such as Seto in northern Aichi Prefecture were invited to Iga to produce everyday items that made the best use of the area’s natural resources, thus laying the foundation of modern Iga ware. It was from around this time that Iga ware began to expand from the limited production of tea ware to a wider range of products such as earthen pots, yukihira (glazed earthenware pans with handles) and other tableware.

In addition to 3-million-year-old Iga clay, Iga ware incorporates a form of clay known as gaerome, which contains abundant coarse silica particles. When baked, the unglazed pottery is both porous and fireproof, making it excellent for cooking, as excess water can be absorbed from the ingredients to enhance the flavor of the dish.
Merging the Iga area’s rich natural resources with traditional designs,
Iga ware is a craft that thoroughly reflects the essence of Mie.
- source : japan-brand.jnto.go.jp/crafts -

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Iga Kumihimo 伊賀組みひも　Iga string art
Kumihimo are beautiful, braded cords with silk, gold, and silver threads. Most of the kumihimo in Japan are produced here.



Iga Kumihimo Center Kumi no Sato
- source : mieinfo.com/en/exploring-mie -

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Ise town 伊勢 and Grand Ise Shrine



take narigoma 竹鳴りごま spinning bamboo top making a sound
This spinning top is made from wood and bamboo to produce a humming sound when spun. The string is wound around the grip on the top and then pulled.
The top begins to spin with the sound of booo ボーッ.

take ganguu　伊勢竹玩具　toys made from bamboo
They were favorite presents from a visit to the Ise Shrine.


takebue 竹笛 flute from bamboo　



takehebi 竹蛇 toy serpent from bamboo


. Take gangu 竹玩具　bamboo toys - Introduction .

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. Ise no inu hariko 伊勢の犬張子 papermachee dog from Ise .

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Ise no nerimono 伊勢の練り物 twisted clay dolls
made with the chips of the woodcarvers and woodworkers of the Ise Shrine buildings.



Favorite souvenirs from Ise Shrine since olden times. Many of them are painted red as amulets to ward off disease and evil influence.
Most of them have a part that can move, like the mouth of the lion mask or the legs of the octopus. The turtle or wild boar can move around by pulling a string.

. nerimono 練り物 "twisted" clay dolls - Introduction .

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saigi　賽木、伊勢の賽木（いせのさいぎ） wooden dice from Ise
also called ishinago 石子 / イシナゴ　/ 石投 / 擲石 or mameki　豆木.
いしなどり / 石な取り ishinadori / いしなごとり ishinagotori / 石投げ ishinage



Made until the beginning of the Showa period.
Dice for games played usually by girls. It can also be played with stones and pebbles.
This game was already popular in the Heian period.
One wooden block is about 4.1 cm wide, the top is decorated with colored patterns of 千鳥 Chidori birds, flowers and others in red and green. It can be broken down to 9 small pieces to play with.
The pieces can be used for various games. Throwing one stone in the air and use the same hand to pick up another dices or two or more, in various orders and arrangements, according to special songs.
It is a bit similar to the お手玉 Tedama hand-ball game.


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

春風や十づつ十の石なごに
harukaze ya juu-zutsu juu no ishinago ni

spring breeze --
over the game stones
ten at a time

Issa is referring to ishinadori, a game that is played with little stones. The player would toss a stone in the air, pick up another stone, and then catch the tossed one. Edwin A. Cranston, A Waka Anthology (Stanford Univeristy Press, 2006) 2.411; see also Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 114.
In Issa's haiku an expert player is scooping up ten stones at a time.


石なごの玉の手元へ椿哉
ishinago no tama no temoto e tsubaki kana

reaching toward
the marble shooter's marble...
camellias

(ishinado) ... similar to the old English game of jackstones. In my translation, I use the more familiar game of marbles.
Tr. and comment : David Lanoue


- quote -
ishinago no ochikuru tama no hi fu mi yo itsutsu mutsu nanatsu yakamashi noyoya
pebble-game falling stones/jacks' one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight=noisy world!

In the time a jackstone takes to fall . . ?
"One!" "Two!" "Three! " I hear them bawl
"Four!" "Five!" "Six!" Why must they yell?
"Seven!" rhymes heaven but noise is hell!

There are degrees of anger. The ancient scholar was irked by the gall of a wet-nurse coming to work with a paltry supply of her goods while Issa was furious about what happened to his documents. The above is an example of Issa mildly angry. It is more a complaint than a maledicta. Issa also had complaints about certain repetitive bird calls getting on his nerves, or geese gaggling when a stroke took away his voice, etc. But all are haiku.
This is a kyoka. Like his silverfish, a single line, as there is no real break in the flow of the original, the pun is not explanatory like mine but natural, turning the eight, yatsu into yakamashi, or "noisy" half-way through the word. English would need a different content, say, counting farts up to something one eight/ate to match it. But, there is more than a pun in the poem. I feel Issa may have been playing upon Saigyo's hyperbolic metaphor of the transience of life:

いしなごの 玉の落ちくるほどなさに 過くる月日は かはりやはする
ishinago no tama no ochikuru hodonasa ni suguru tsukibi wa kawari ya wa suru

Mad in Translation - - -By Robin D. Gill
- source : books.google.co.jp -

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. kibikiguruma 木曳き車 car for hauling wood .
for the new shrine for the regular Ise Shrine renewal, 御木曳 okibiki, o-kibiki


. eto 干支 amulets with the zodiac animals .
from Ise Shrine 伊勢神宮


. Somin Shoorai Fu 蘇民将来符 Somin Shorai amulet from Ise


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Kuwana town 桑名

Ishitori matsuri no dashi 石取祭の山車 floats of the "Stone Bringing Festival"



. Kuwana Ishitori Festival .



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Suzuka town 鈴鹿市

sumi ningyoo 墨人形 dolls from Sumi writing ink





Suzuka is most famous for the productioｎ of Sumi writing ink, right after Nara.
The origin of Suzuka-zumi ink is said to date back to the year 780, where the ink was made with soot taken from the burned pine trees that grew in the mountains of Suzuka.
Suzuka ink is loved by many calligraphers.
- reference and more photos : bunka.pref.mie.lg.jp/haku -

鈴鹿墨　Suzuka ink



In the beginning of 9th century, this kind of ink stick was originally made of soot collected after firing pine trees.
Today also, they make ink sticks (smoke black ink stick, blue ink stick and pine tree smoke ink stick) by collecting soot produced by burning plants and putting such materials in wooden molds, as people did in old days.
- source : pref.mie.lg.jp -


. sumi ningyoo 墨人形 dolls made from Sumi writing ink .
Nara

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Ise katagami　伊勢型紙　Ise pattern paper from Suzuka
pattern paper for dyeing, craft pattern paper



Ise pattern paper is a beautiful paper used for dyeing kimonos, carefully engraved with carving knives.
Ise katagami is used as dye pattern for hand printing on fabrics which is said to be initiated in about 8th century.
It is made of Japanese style paper bonded in many layers using vegetable glue.
On that paper, craftsmen carved sensitive pattern using a fine, sharp edged carving knife.
After carving, the cut papers are hardened with lacquer. The carving technique includes file carving, push carving and so on.
- source : pref.mie.lg.jp -

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paper stencils for dyeing
..... Multiple layers of thin washi paper are bonded with a glue extracted from persimmon, which makes a strong flexible brown coloured paper. The designs can be extremely intricate, and consequently fragile. Nowadays the stencils are sometimes sold as artwork, attached to hand fans, or used to decorate screens and doors in Japanese rooms. For kimono printing the stencils are stabilized by attaching them to a fine silk net. In past times, human hair was used instead of silk, but silk is less likely to warp and can be finer. .....
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Edo Sarasa 江戸更紗 Printed Silk Calico .
with katagami - stencil paper from tesuke washi 手漉和紙 handmade Japanese paper treated with persimmon juice.


Paper Stencils and Japonisme
Katagami Stencil in Japan for Kimono Dress
Katagami - Ishii Collection
- reference : katagami paper -


. katatsukeshi 型付師 pattern maker for Edo komon .
katatsuke, kata-tsuke 型付 pattern stamping, pattern dyeing
伊勢型紙 糸入れ　Ise-katagami ito-ire　and more

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Tado village 多度町

. hajiki saru はじき猿 "repelled monkey" .
- - - - - and
Matsuzaka saru hajiki 松阪猿はじき repelled monkey from Matsuzaka town

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Tsu city

Tsuu ningyoo 津人形 dolls from Tsu

tawara ushi, Tsu no Tawaraushi 津の俵牛 cow with straw bundles


Made by 奥村宗吉 Okumura Muneyoshi.

- also as a wafer 津の俵牛
Sold at a store in front of 津観音 Tsu Kannon temple.


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. ushi oni, ushioni, gyuuki 牛鬼 "bull-demon" .

The Legend of Kigobei in Miyamura Village
宮川村 の喜五兵衛
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The legend of Gokasho-Ura 五ヶ所浦
at Kirima no tani 切間の谷 Kirima valley


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Yokkaichi town 四日市


oonyuudoo 四日市の大入道
huge monster with a tonsured head
O-nyudo
This monster, a priest of large features and a bald head, is known in various regions of Japan.

The O-Nyudo of Yokkaichi
It is paraded through the town on the shrine festival of Suwa Jinja 諏訪神社 on a special float.
This figure was made in a suburb called OKE 桶, as a pun to oobake 大化, big monster.
In the soy sauce storehouse of a merchant in Oke village lived an old badger (tanuki), who changed into this Big Nyudo monster and played tricks on people.
People drove the badger out of the storehouse and made a big figure on the Nyudo instead. When pulling a string the figure would extend its neck to great length. The badger could not imitate such a feat and finally run away in shame.

The festival float is about 2.2 meters high, the figure of the Big Nyudo is about 3.9 meters when the neck is fully stretched. It can show its tongue and roll its eyes to frighten people.
There are also small paper dolls now in Yokkaichi as souvenirs.
On the People's Festival in August a special mascot of this figure parades through the city.
more: :　wikipedia 大入道

. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

shita dashi tanuki 舌出し狸 tanuki showing his tongue
. Tanuki　狸 Badger amulets .


. O-Nyudo Monsters of Japan - 大入道 .


shrine Miyamado Jinja 海山道神社
. Goshiki suzu, goshiki rei 五色鈴 five-colored clay bells .

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Bankoyaki　萬古焼 だるま Banko Pottery



Banko pottery began its own style ever since master potters stamped on their works a wish to have their pieces passed down to future generations, forever. These teapots are very famous.

. Bankoyaki　萬古焼 Banko Pottery - Introduction .

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Mikimoto pearls ミキモト
みきもと幸吉 / 御木本幸吉 Mikimoto Kokichi (1858 - 1954)
三重県鳥羽（とば）市 Mie, Toba town


A pagoda made from pearls
- source : www.mikimotoamerica.com

- quote -
A symbol of Toba, the first place in the world to successfully cultivate pearls.
Since ancient times, Japan has been famous as a pearl production region.
The Toba area was the first place in Japan to successfully culture pearls. The lush Mikimoto Pearl Island is one of the remote islands that dot Toba Bay, and is covered with 200-year old pines and chinquapin trees. Kokichi Mikimoto, founder of Japan's leading pearl brand Mikimoto, commenced the cultivation of pearls in this region in 1893. Now it has become a popular spot for tourists from all over the world.
- reference source : ana-cooljapan..mikimotopearlisland.. -


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. Reference and Photos . Gangu Guide .
. Reference and Photos . Yama no Ie . Folk Toys .

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Legends from Mie prefecture - Furusato no minwa　民話
source : www.bunka.pref.mie.

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. WASHOKU .　Regional Dishes from Mie

MORE
. Mie Folk Toys - this BLOG .


. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011


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