Sakai Osaka

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Sakai town 堺市

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Sakai (堺市 Sakai-shi) is a city located in Osaka 大阪Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.



- - - - - History
In the Muromachi Period, Sakai was one of richest cities in Japan. Sakai is located on the edge of Osaka Bay and at the mouth of the Yamato River, which connected the Yamato Province (now Nara Prefecture) to the sea. Sakai thus helped to connect foreign trade with inland trade.

Sakai was an autonomous city run by merchant citizens. In those days, it was said that the richest cities were Umi no Sakai, Riku no Imai (tr. "along the sea, Sakai; inlands, Imai"; the latter is now a part of Kashihara, Nara).
The famous Zen Buddhist priest Ikkyū chose to live in Sakai because of its free atmosphere. In the Sengoku Period, some Christian priests, including St. Francis Xavier in 1550, visited Sakai and documented its prosperity.

After the coming of Europeans, Sakai became a manufacturing base of firearms and a daimyo, Oda Nobunaga, was one of their important customers. During his ambitious attempt to unify Japan, Nobunaga attempted to take the autonomy privilege from Sakai. Sakai's citizens denied his order and pitched a desperate battle against his army. Most citizens fled and Sakai was burned and seized by Nobunaga. After the death of Nobunaga, one of his men, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, seized power. Sakai became a prosperous city again under his reign.

Sen no Rikyū, known as the greatest master of the tea ceremony, was originally a merchant of Sakai. Because of the close relationship between the tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism and because of the prosperity of its citizens, Sakai was one of the main centers of the tea ceremony in Japan.

Sakai was still an important trade center during the Edo Period but was involved only in inland trade due to the Sakoku policy of the Tokugawa government. At the end of this era, Westerners again landed in Sakai but it resulted in a tragic incident because the Japanese citizenry and the foreigners were ignorant of each other's ways. French sailors from the Dupleix and Sakai citizens clashed; some French were killed, and subsequently the Japanese responsible for these deaths were sentenced to death by seppuku. This incident is called the Sakai incident (堺事件 Sakai-jiken).

In modern times, Sakai is an industrial city with a large port. As such, its western area suffered widespread damage from bombing raids during the Second World War. It is now known for its knives and is the home of Shimano bicycle parts. With a population of over 800,000, it is the largest suburb of Osaka City and the fourteenth-largest city in Japan.
source : wikipedia

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. tsuchi ningyoo 土人形 clay dolls .
- Introduction -

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Sakai no tsuchi ningyoo 堺の土人形 clay dolls from Sakai
also called
minatoyaki tsuchi ningyoo 湊焼土人形 clay dolls from the harbour town

They have been made revived recently by the Tsushio family 津塩家, starting with 津塩政太郎 in the Taisho period.
But when he and his fellow workers died, the tradition stopped.



source :　www.asahi-net.or.jp

住吉大社の諸玩具 Clay Dolls and Toys from shrine Sumiyoshi Taisha

Most were well-treasured amulets sold at the New Year market.

住吉大社の干支 - the Zodiac Animals from Sumiyoshi Taisha





おもと人形　　侍者（おもと）社 Omoto ningyo from Omoto Shrine


左神馬 - horses from Sumiyoshi Shrine


住吉大社の神馬 Divine Horse


埴輪馬 haniwa horse



恵比寿様 Ebisu sama

五大力 Godairiki stones to lift

御幣猿 / 喜々猿 all kinds of monkeys

鯛車 taiguruma - sea bream on wheels

俵鼠 mouse on a tawara straw bag

天神様 / 船待ち白天神 Tenjin sama



nanban ningyoo 南蛮人形 Namban dolls of foreigners
Since the Sengoku Period, Sakai, the "Venice of the Orient" has attracted foreign merchants and missionaries.
The clay dolls show these people in their traditional robes. Usually three were a group, a missionary in a black Manto coat, a merchant with a long pipe and a Portugese with a rifle. These dolls have not been made any more since about 1975.



and their hina doll versions 南蛮雛

- Look at more here :
- source : kyoudogangu.xii.jp/sakaisumiyosh

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Sumiyoshi jinja 住吉神社の諸玩 goods from Sumiyoshi shrine
..... Sumiyoshi odori 住吉踊り dancer dolls
..... Sumiyoshi ningyoo 住吉人形 dolls



..... hadaka bina, hadaka-bina 裸びな, 裸雛 naked hina dolls
They are an amulet for a good couple. They come as a pair. The male doll wears a black official hat-crown and a long szepter. The female doll wears a golden crown and a fan from hinoki wood.
They are a great gift for a wedding.


. . . CLICK here for Photos !


There is also a small clay doll of a couple of dogs in the act of ... well 睦犬 / 睦み犬 (mutsumi inu).



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..... kumi saru, kumisaru 組み猿 monkey combinations




..... kiki saru 喜々猿 happy monkey couple

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hatsu tatsu neko, hatsutatsu neko 初辰猫
cat on the first day of the dragon



from four shrines in the compound of shrine Sumiyoshi jinja 住吉神社:
Tanekashi sha　種貸社, Nankun sha 楠珺社, Asazawa sha 浅沢社
and Ootoshi sha 大歳社

hatsutatsu is a pun with hattatsu　発達 to grow and develop a good business, which is so important for the merchants of Osaka.
So it is most helpful when bought on the first day of the dragon on each month.
The people call it "Hattatsu san　はったつさん". 商売発達.

right hand up for good business,
left hand up for protection of the family
On a month with an even number you buy one with the right hand up,
on a day with an odd number you buy one with the left hand up.
Within four years, you get 48 cats - shishuu hattatsu 四十八辰.
shishuu hattatsu 始終発達 - another pun:
good development from beginning to end

This collecting is called :
quote
“Hatsutatsu mairi” 初辰参り Hattatsu pilgrimage
Many people make their visits for the success of business or for the safety of family life. A small figure of a beckoning cat is popular among the visitors. It is said to invite fortune. After collecting 48 cats they will give you a bigger beckoning cat figure in turn.
source : www.osaka-info.jp

Each of these four shrines mentioned above has also other special amulets :

種貸社 / 苗見神社 - 資金調達・子宝 money and children
楠珺社 - 商売発達・家内安全 business and family
浅沢社 / 浅澤神社 - 芸能美容・女性守護 arts and female problems
大歳社 - 集金満足・心願成就 more money and fulfilling a wish


. Tatsu 辰 Dragon Amulets .


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tanekashi san 種貸しさん "seed lender doll"
woman who lends her baby

The figure is only 4 cm large and wears a red robe and hakama, carrying a baby in her arms.
The miko shrine maidens at Sumiyoshi shrine were not allowed to have children.
Now she is an amulet for getting pregnant and having a safe childbirth.
Women who got pregnant after bying this amulet bring it back to the shrine in gratitude.
She is also painted on ema votive tablets of a small shrine in the compound, 種貸社.
This shrine is also famous for the visit on the first day of the dragon (hatsutatsu 初辰).


tanekashi ningyoo 種貸人形

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Kotsuma ika, Kotsuma-ika, 勝間（こつま）いか, 勝間凧 Kotsuma kite
(Katsumadako, Katsuma tako)
from 勝間村 Kotsuma village, about 1 km north of Sumiyoshi shrine (now 住吉区玉出).

They have been made in the Osaka / Sakai area since the Edo period, till beginning of Meiji, as a special souvenir of Sumiyoshi shrine.
They come in many shapes and made from various materials.


source :　www.asahi-net.or.jp

The one on the right represents a "red radish" kite かぶら凧.
The one on the left is a 豆狸 "small tanuki" carrying a flask for sake and a book to enter his debts for drinking.



source :　www.mus-his.city.osaka.jp

金鵄（きんし）Kinshi - Golden Kite
This kite is embroidered with gold thread and this kind of kite has been admired a lot outside of Japan too.

shi - tobi 鵄 / 鳶 black kite, Tombi, Milvus migrans

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source :　kyoudogangu.xii.jp/oumi

Sumiyoshi pinpin tai 住吉ピンピン鯛 sea bream "alive and kicking".
These kinds of sea bream toys have been made in other parts of Western Japan too.
They were given to children with the wish to prevent them from getting smallpox or other diseases, and stay as healthy as these fish.




source :　www.asahi-net.or.jp


. Sumiyoshi Shrines 住吉神社 .
住吉大社, Sumiyoshi-taisha, Osaka

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鈴の宮蜂田神社 Hachida Shrine "for clay bells"
大阪府堺市中区 八田寺町524 - 524 Handaijichō, Naka-ku, Sakai-shi, Ōsaka

鈴の宮の占鈴 clay bells for divination from the "Shrine for clay bells".


source :　www.asahi-net.or.jp

suzu no miya no uranai suzu 鈴の宮の占鈴. 占い鈴 bells to divine the fortune

They are only sold two or three pieces every year, on the day of Setsubun 節分の日, the "seasonal divide" on February 3, through a lottery.

There was a special shrine ritual for that day, 鈴占神事. This ritual is more than 1000 years old.
A person called Hachida Ren 峰田連 had made 12 clay bells and offered them to the shrine in Spring. When the priest rang the bells, they would foretell the outcome of this years harvest and good fortune from the sound of it.
This ritual had almost died out, but been revived in the Meiji period.
The used bells were buried in a sacred mound in the shrine compound, but this has been stopped in 1929 and the bells have been sold to visitors on the day of Setsubun.


The stamp of the shrine also features the old clay bells.


CLICK for more photos !


Hachida Jinja no korei 蜂田神社の古鈴 old bells from Hachida shrine




- source and more photos : www.sakai-danjiri.com

- reference - 蜂田神社 -

. uranai　占い fortune telling, divination .
- Introduction -

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Sakai Knives
The city of Sakai is situated by the Osaka bay at the Japanese main island. It is said that the foundations for knife making were laid down as early as the fifth century AD , when the great mounds, the kofun, were built. This required excellent tools, which were manufactured by local craftsmen.

During the 14th century Sakai became the capital of the samurai sword making. The city kept its position during the centuries to come, and in the late 16th century they started making knives according to the same methods as the famous sakana swords. The making of knives was a result of the Portuguese introduction of tobacco in Japan. The demand for quality knives to cut the tobacco exploded. The first tobacco knives were made in Sakai, and they were soon renowned all over the country for their unique sharpness.

The so called Meiji Restoration took place in the late 1860’s. The shogunate lost its powers, the empire was reintroduced and efforts were made to modernize Japan. The samurai class lost some of its privileges and was no longer allowed to carry swords. Even though the army still needed swords, the demand sank and many of the manufacturers started making knives instead.

Traditional Japanese knife making
includes several steps which all require great skills. The smith forging (hizukuri), when the metal is heated an hammered to its shape, the sharpening and honing (hazuke or togi), when the blade gets it sharp edge and finally the hafting (ezuke), when the blade is attached to a haft, or a handle, of magnolia wood.
Today’s processes
uses the same technique as the masters of old did. Sakai cutlery consists of layers of soft ferrite and hard steel, heated to 1300 ° C and hammered together. The most difficult aspect of the process is maintaining the heart at the exact temperature; too hot and the blade will chip easily, too cool and the steel and the ferrite will fail to bond properly.

The blade
is heated, hammered and cooled in different steps and at different temperatures. Asymmetries are not accepted and the blade is meticulously treated with hammers of different size to make it no less than perfect. It takes long practice and great skill to make an excellent blade.
The blade
is then sharpened and any remaining asymmetries removed by using increasingly finer whetstones, giving the edge its right angle and sharpness. The last step is to carefully hammer the blade into a haft of rot-resistant magnolia wood, marked with the manufacturers seal. A high quality piece of Japanese culture and skills is ready for shipping.

- source and more photos : sakaijapaneseknives.com/en/sakai-japanese-knives


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. Sakai Cho, Sakai Machi in Edo 堺町 .
Edo Sanza 江戸三座 - the three famous Kabuki theaters of Edo

堺町 / 葺屋町 Sakai Machi
木挽町 Kobiki choo
猿若町 Saruwaka choo. later renamed Nakamura-za

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. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples .


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hake brush

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hake 刷毛 craftsmen's brush, brushes

. fude 筆 writing brush .

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- - - - - Different types of brushes

when manufacturing paper hanger brushes (kyooji hake 経師刷毛)
woodblock printing brushes (mokuhan hake 木版刷毛)
. mayuhaki まゆはき eyebrow brush .
doll brushes (ningyoo hake 人形刷毛)
cosmetic brushes (applying white) (oshiroi hake, o-shiroi hake 白粉刷毛)
dye brushes (senshoku hake 染色刷毛 )
paint brushes (tosoo hake 塗装刷毛)



hake 刷毛（はけ） 刷子 - burashi ブラシ brush

塗装用具 - brushes for painting and coating
清掃用具 - brushes for cleaning the house
調理器具 - brushes for cooking

釉はがし刷毛 for potters
糊刷毛
nade hake 撫で刷毛

ニス刷毛
目地刷毛
ダメ込み
スミ切り
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. oshiroi, o-shiroi (hakufun) おしろい / 白粉 white face powder .

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- - - - - ABC - List of brushes from the Prefectures

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. . . . . . . . . . Tokyo / Edo


Edo Hake 江戸刷毛 Edo Brushes

■ Traditional Technologies and Techniques
1- For lacquer brushes (Urushi Hake うるし刷毛), the hair comprising the brush head is stiffened using a starch paste. The brush head is then mounted and affixed to the brush block.
2- The following techniques are employed when manufacturing paper hanger brushes (Kyoji Hake 経師刷毛), dye brushes (Senshoku Hake 染色刷毛 ), doll brushes (Ningyo Hake 人形刷毛), woodblock printing brushes (Mokuhan Hake 木版刷毛), paint brushes (Toso Hake 塗装刷毛) and the cosmetic brushes (Oshiroi Hake 白粉刷毛) used to apply white face powder:

① For brushes whose brush head is comprised of hair from different sources, the different hair types 混毛 are mixed equally using a steel comb.
② Rice husk ash 籾穀灰is used, and animal hair is ironed and softened in order to eliminate grease from the hair.
③ Suretori スレトリ is the process of spreading out and sorting the hair; broken and irregular strands are removed using a small knife.
④ Binding とじ involves hair being placed in a device called a Shimegi 締木(comprised of wooden boards), or the use of something similar. Silk thread or wire 絹糸又は針金 is used for binding bundles of hair.



■ Traditionally Used Raw Materials
As brush materials, human hair, animal hair, as well as plant fibers such as Tsugu and hemp palm are all used. Cypress wood, bamboo and similar materials are used to make brush handles.
人毛、獣毛、ツグ又はシュロを用いる。柄に使用する素材は、ヒノキ、タケ

■ History and Characteristics
As painting tools, brushes have been made in Japan since long ago. Within literary sources, the oldest reference made to the use of brushes comes from the Heian Period (approx. 794 - 1185). It discusses using millet feathers as rudimentary brushes to apply lacquer. The use of hemp palm hair in a similar role is also cited.

In a book called "Bankin-sugiwai-bukuro" 万金産業袋 (which might be described as a "guide to contemporary products") that was published during the mid-Edo Period in the 17th year of the Kyoho Era (1732), there is a map featuring a number of brush varieties then in use. Among these, the "Edo Hake" is listed.

In modern times, there are seven brush types designated as "Edo Hake" (Edo Brushes). These are paper hanger brushes (Kyoji Hake), dye brushes (Senshoku Hake), doll brushes (Ningyo Hake), woodblock printing brushes (Mokuhan Hake), paint brushes (Toso Hake) and cosmetic brushes (Oshiroi Hake).

The tip of a brush represents its most important feature. Because materials that "don't allow for uneven coating in brush strokes" and those "with stiffness" are the best, in addition to deciding on which materials to use when manufacturing brushes, the rigorous attention to duty of the brush craftsman is also important.

Modern brushes use human hair and animal hair such as horse, deer and goat, etc. They also use plant fibers such as hemp palm. With respect to hair strands that are curly or contain grease, such factors can impact craftsmen and their ability to carry out detailed work when brush making. Thus, an important part of the manufacturing process is dedicated to both organizing the tips of the hair, and correcting curliness and eliminating grease from among the hair strands.

Accordingly, the majority of time spent making brushes is expended on such activities.

Furthermore, when the Golden Hall of Chuson-ji Temple (built in 1124) in Hiraizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture was dismantled for repair in 1955, a very ancient and rare lacquer brush measuring 20.5 cm long with a thickness of 1.05 cm was discovered.

Tokyo Brush Manufacturing Association
- source : www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.jp


. Traditional Crafts of Edo / Tokyo .

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- quote
Japanese sumi brushes (see Figure 7).
Thse come in many styles and sizes.


7. Japanese brushes (left to right):
yoju hake, bamboo hake, gyokuran sumi brush, sansui koraku sumi brush

The flat hake brushes are used dry (without any water or paint in them) to gently stroke and coax the distribution of paint or water in wash areas after the wash solution has been applied with another (wash) brush. Some are designed as individual tufts set in a row of bamboo stalks (pictured at right); others are made as a single row of hairs set in a thin, flat wooden handle. They are quite limp when wet, and shed hairs as relentlessly as a sick dog, which makes them nearly worthless as direct painting tools. When the hairs are wet they also straggle across a wash, leaving unsightly marks. I dislike these brushes and only use them to sweep lint and erasure crumbs from a paper surface. Sized in inches.
- source : www.handprint.com


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桜井ブラシ店 Sakurai Brush Shop - Ginza

The essay below was written in 1984, but the store does not exist any more today (around 2014).

- quote
THE PATIENT ART OF MAKING BRUSHES
Right smack in the middle of the Ginza, ...
there is an undecorated show window - by its very incongruity with its surroundings - attracts the pedestrian to a sparse arrangement of brushes on shelves. Peering beyond them into the recesses of the sparely furnished modern showroom, he sees scrub brushes, body brushes, nailbrushes, hairbrushes, shoe brushes, laundry brushes, shaving brushes, hand brushes. But the most intriguing are the flat Japanese brushes (hake, pronounced HAH-kay) of unfinished wood set with black, brown or white hair, straight handled and bent, in all sizes.

Sakurai Brushes has been manufacturing and selling on this very spot since 1868. Although traditional Japanese brushes are its main product, their history at Sakurai is tied up with the great influx of Western technology that followed Commodore Perry's breach of Tokyo Bay 15 years earlier. The shop's business developed with the growth of the railroads in Japan. For over a century, Sakurai has made brushes for painting railway carriages - coarse brushes for the undercarriage as well as others in varying degrees of fineness for the sleek enameled interiors and exteriors of the cars. Sakurai manufactures other types of hake as well: brushes with an elbow angle in the handle for Nihonga (a traditional style of painting with water-based pigments), wide industrial brushes used in making sandpaper (for spreading the glue), steel brushes for removing rust. But even today, the railroads, both national and private, are still its biggest customers. So, while Japan stands at the leading edge of technology, paradoxically it continues to employ skilled craftsmen with hand- made tools for jobs that, in the West, have long been done by machines.

Goto Hiroshi, owner of Sakurai, says that only the hake are made on the premises. A Japanese-speaking visitor expresses interest in seeing how they are made. Mr. Goto then leads her and a companion up a dark staircase past two floors of stock and materials until they finally emerge into sunlight on the roof of the building. A small shack, a little like a lean-to, sits in the middle of the roof. A lone man makes hake at a workbench on the tatami-floored work area inside. Here, with one other highly skilled artisan, he practices his craft of 50 years. Measuring out the hair for a single brush, he combs it so that the strands lie straight and parallel, then forms them into a tight bundle and fits them into the divided handle (these come ready-made from a small factory). The second man, who has come in while they are talking, binds the whole thing with copper wire and bands of glossy red cherry bark. These particular bent- handled brushes sell for about $10. On his own, one man would be able to produce about 10 brushes in one day.

The price of hake is determined primarily by the type and quality of the hair used. Black hake, suitable for oil-base paint, are made from horsehair. The cheapest are filled with hair taken from the mane and cut into appropriate lengths.

Finer quality brushes used for traditional painting are made from horsetail hairs with the natural hair ends intact, a characteristic of better hake in general. Even the horse's belly is not spared, furnishing the hair for soft brown brushes with the look and feel of sable (but less springy), suitable for very thin paint and varnish ($2.80). White goat hair brushes for lacquer and varnish range from about $6 for one used to spread gold dust (often the background of Nihonga screens) to about $52 for an eight- inch-broad giant.

Sakurai has been manufacturing Western- style brushes only since the end of the war, employing artisans in other parts of Tokyo as the company still does today. In handmade brushes, each tuft is individually tied and inserted hole by hole into the magnolia wood back. The finer brushes are made of black horsehair and white or brown sisal-like vegetable fibers. Higher prices generally indicate hand workmanship: heart-shaped bath brushes are about $10; varnished shoe brushes with black or brown hair bristles (so one can keep separate brushes for shoes of different colors), $10; a small, square body or bath brush for travel, $6, and a hand laundry brush, about $1. Although they are not made by Sakurai, the tanuki badger shaving brushes set in water buffalo horn handles imported from China are a great bargain at $12. Handsome mahogany- and ebony-backed natural bristle hairbrushes are Japanese- made, but not by Sakurai.

Mr. Goto, who belongs to the third generation of Sakurai proprietors, is justly proud of his business, but his son has no interest in continuing it. He feels that manufacturing brushes by hand in a small building is a business that has no place in contemporary downtown Tokyo. Not only is the Ginza property worth a fortune, but skilled artisans willing to put a lifetime into their modest craft will soon be a fondly remembered part of the city's past. Visit the shop while you can.
- source : AMANDA MAYER STINCHECUM, 1984

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. Edo craftsmen　江戸の職人 .


source : edoichiba.jp. hakezaiku ...x

hakezaiku shokunin 刷毛細工職 craftsman making brushes


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白梅に吊して五倍子の刷毛を干す
hakubai ni tsurushite gobaishi no hake o hosu

from the white plum tree
I hang the laquer brush
to dry

Ameyama Minoru 飴山實
(1926 - 2000) haiku poet and natural scientist

gobaishi, fushi 五倍子 ふし
Rhus chinensis, Chinese sumac or nutgall tree

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Sadowara dolls

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Sadowara mingei 佐土原民芸　folk art and crafts from Sadowara

. Miyazaki Folk Art 宮崎県 Kyushu .

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Sadowara no bunguruma 佐土原のぶんぐるま spinning top making a sound



Made by Hyoodo Masakazu 兵頭正一 Hyodo Masakazu.

bunguruma is a spinning top that makes a sound (bun), a kind of unarigoma うなりごま.
During the spring fair of Sadowara many farmhouses sold them to the visitors, so they were also called

harugoma 春ごま spinning tops of Spring
or
jindaikoma 神代こま spinning top ”for the age of the Gods".

The father of Masakazu began to sell them regularly and gave them this name.

In Kyushu there are many kinds of unarigoma うなりごま spinning tops that make a sound, made of bamboo covered with paper, then smoked with pine branches to make them strong. From the oil of the bamboo and the pines they become all black and when the paper is taken off, some patterns appear. The top and bottom are then laquered in red and make a nice contrast with the black body.

The shop of Hyodo Masakazu
宮崎郡佐土原町上田島7969.


jindaigoma, jindai no koma 神代独楽 spinning top making a sound
They were made by the lowly samurai to earn a living. They are hollow bamboo pieces and have an opening at the side to make a sound. As a pattern they feature the clan kamon　家紋 family crest of the Satsuma.



The kamon is put on the green bamboo and then all is blackened over a smoky fire. Thus the kamon later shines green and the top is polished black.
Since it is something "to enjoy alone 独楽", it is given to a boys at the festival on May 5.


. unari-goma うなりごま / 唸り独楽 from Takeda town 竹田 - Oita .


. Spinning Top 独楽（コマ） koma .


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Sadowara hagoita 佐土原羽子板 battledore (to play with)
Sadowara kazari hagoita 佐土原飾り羽子板  battledore  as decoration



The battledore for play is about 20 cm long and rather wide.
Girls used them during the New Year celebrations until the beginning of the Showa period.

The battledore for decoration is about 70 cm ling and 15 cm wide.
The motive here is Tokiwa Gozen with her torn hat, embracing the baby Minamoto no Yoshitsune.


. Tokiwa Gozen 常磐御前 Lady Tokiwa .
wife of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. (1123 - ?1180)
Mother of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

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kujiranobori, kujira nobori 鯨のぼり　streamers in the form of a whale




. Carp Streamers (koinobori　鯉のぼり) .
for the Boy's Festival on March 5.

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Sadowara ningyoo 佐土原人形 dolls from Sadowara


The history of Sadowara dolls goes back at least 400 years. Color is applied using mud and earth pigments, and the simple folk-style of these dolls continues to warm the heart.
- source : www.m-tokusan.or.jp


Since Kabuki was popular in this region, there are many Kabuki actor dolls. Often two or three make a group (組み物人形).




- source : www007.upp.so-net.ne.jp

Kanki 甘輝
about 44 cm high.
The head and arms are added extra (sashikubi さし首, sashite さし手) but both arms are now lost.
A piece from the mid-Meiji period.

A figure from the play
Kokusenya Kassen 国性爺合戦 The Battles of Coxinga
of Chikamatsu Monzaemon 近松門左衛門.


- quote
The Battles of Coxinga 国姓爺合戦 Kokusen'ya Kassen
is a puppet play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. It was his most popular play: first staged on November 26, 1715, in Osaka, it ran for the next seventeen months, far longer than the usual few weeks or months. Its enduring popularity can largely be attributed to its effectiveness as entertainment: its many scenes over a period of more than seven years follow the adventures of Coxinga (based on the adventures of the real historical figure Koxinga; as the play is loosely based on real history, it is a jidaimono play, not a domestic play) in restoring the rightful dynasty of China and features effects uniquely suited for the puppet theater, such as the villain Ri Tōten gouging out an eye (ostensibly to prove his loyalty); in addition, Donald Keene suggests that the adventures in exotic China played well in isolationist Tokugawa Japan.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Watonai 和藤内, the Tiger Hero .
He was a warrior from South China, named Coxinga (Koxinga).
Zheng Chenggong, Cheng Ch'eng-kung
In Japan the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon celebrated him on the stage . . .
and more folk toys with Watonai

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宮崎市佐土原歴史資料館 Sadowara Historical Museum





- source : galerienne.com/blog



CLICK for more photos !

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source :　blogs.yahoo.co.jp/nobo498

stamps from the year 2005, representing the
Akita Dog 秋田犬 as Sadowara doll

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. - Reference - .

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- quote
Miyazaki History
Modern day Miyazaki Prefecture was divided among a number of clans (domains) during the Edo Period (1603-1867) including the powerful Shimazu clan 島津氏 based in Kagoshima to the south, the Nobeoka clan to the north around the modern town of that name and the Sadowara and Obi clans.
In 1577, Shimazu Iehisa entered Sadowara Castle, and the possession of his land was assured in 1588. In 1603, Shimazu Yukihisa entered the Sadowara Castle. 30,000 koku 三万石. The domain continued to the termination of the han system. Sadowara town was composed of areas samurais lived and townspeople lived. It was the castle town of the Sadowara domain of the Shimazu clan.
Sadowara clay dolls were produced.
- source : www.japanvisitor.com


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bekkoo tortoiseshell

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bekkoo 鼈甲 / べっこう / べっ甲 tortoiseshell


This is a Daruma from Celuloid, looking like bekko

夜長堂　だるまセルロイド手作り栞(べっ甲)
- source : www.keibunsha-books.com



CLICK for more photos !

bekkoo zaiku 鼈甲細工 art and craft from tortoise shell

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- ABC - List of tortoiseshell art from the Prefectures

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. . . . . . . . . . Nagasaki



- source : marutomi.jpn.com

Japanese bekko (tortoiseshell) artisans have been renowned as the world's premier craftsmen since 1700, when they established themselves in Nagasaki.

- quote
The Tortoiseshell Trade
The beautiful Tortoiseshell of the hawksbill turtle has been prized since ancient times. Over 2,000 years ago Julius Caesar considered the warehouses of Alexandria brimming with tortoiseshell to be the chief spoil of his Egyptian triumph. Surrounded by legend, tortoiseshell has been described as "one of the romantic articles of commerce, not only because of where it comes from, but because of the creatures from which it is obtained and the people engaged in the trade" (Parsons, 1972). Until the second half of the 20th Century, the tortoiseshell trade flourished.



Japanese tortoiseshell imports of more than 1.3 million large hawksbills from around the world between 1950 and 1992 have had enormous long-lasting effects on hawksbill populations. Percentage of trade to Japan by region: Caribbean and Latin America -44.2%; Asia - 20.8%; North America - 15.1%; Indian Ocean and East Africa - 8.7%; Oceania - 5.8%; Europe and West Africa - 5.4%.

Exploitation and tortoiseshell trade statistics are key to understanding the enormous and enduring effect that trade has had on the world's hawksbill populations and predicting current population trends. While all species of sea turtles have been imperiled by the loss of nesting and foraging habitat, accidental capture in fisheries and marine pollution, hawksbills have been further threatened by the intensive shell trade. Well into the 20th Century, tortoiseshell was a luxury item used to make elegant combs and brushes, jewelry boxes, and ornaments. In particular, Japanese bekko (tortoiseshell) artisans have been renowned as the world's premier craftsmen since 1700, when they established themselves in Nagasaki.
During the 20th Century, Japan was the world's largest market for tortoiseshell; government records for 1950-1992 document imports of more than 1.3 million large hawksbills and 575,000 stuffed juveniles. At the same time, tourist trade in stuffed hawksbills and tortoiseshell flourished locally in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific and the Americas. Millions of hawksbills were killed for tortoiseshell in the last 100 years.

In 1977, the tortoiseshell trade was finally prohibited by the newly created conservation treaty known as CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

MORE
- source : www.conserveturtles.org

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. . . . . . . . . . Tokyo / Edo


quote
Edo Bekko 江戸鼈甲 Tortoiseshell Products

■ Traditional Technologies and Techniques
1- The surface of tortoiseshell used to make Edo Bekko products is prepared by hand. Smoothing is conducted utilizing tools such as rasps, knives and files.
がんぎ、小刀、やすり等
2- Tortoiseshell pieces are joined together using joint plates, metal plates, pincers and presses, etc. They fuse together with the application of heat.
3- Product shaping is done using wire saws, knives, files and scouring rushes, etc.
糸ノコ、小刀、やすり、トクサ等

■ Traditionally Used Raw Materials
The shell of the Hawksbill Turtle. タイマイの甲羅



■ History and Characteristics
The history of working with tortoiseshell is extremely long. Among the treasures of Todai-ji Temple's Shoso-in treasure house (built around the year 756), artifacts such as staffs and Biwa (Japanese lutes) have been identified as having tortoiseshell decorations. Edo Bekko started to be produced at around the time the Shogunate was established in the city of Edo (modern Tokyo). Shell working techniques were at that time very simple to the extent that tortoiseshell tended to be used as is. During the Genroku Era in Edo (1688-1704), techniques for fusing tortoiseshell pieces together arrived in the city, and this made it possible for more complex products to be produced.

For Edo Bekko, of the many different species of turtle, Hawksbill shell has been traditionally used; it being an appropriate species for producing both fashion accessories and ornaments due to the quality of the shell. At 50 to 60 years of age, Hawksbill specimens living near the equator grow to some 180 cm long and weigh around 200 kg. Talking about the shell (the carapace) of the Hawksbill, it always offers an area comprised of 13 black sections (scutes). The transparent area of the carapace other than these scutes only amounts to approximately 10% of the total. Thus, such material is very much prized.

The Hawksbill Turtle is now a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (The Washington Convention). Thus, there are fears regarding being able to obtain good quality, natural Hawksbill shell. However, these days there are hopes with regard to the production of Hawksbill Turtle shell from turtles grown in captivity in equatorial countries such as Indonesia and Cuba.

With respect to the manufacture of Edo Bekko products, the process commences with decisions concerning the taking of base material from a carapace, the shape of a product and its position within a scute. Two or three similar pieces are cut and fused together through a combination of water and heat. It is years of experience and a craftsman's mastery in controlling the moistening, temperature and pressure on materials which decide whether or not the fusing of pieces together is successful. After this process is completed, tortoiseshell is smoothed down using files and scouring rushes.

Accessories made from natural tortoiseshell such as necklaces, broaches and eye-glass frames, are loved by many people due to their deep sense of gloss and nice texture.

Tokyo Bekko (Tortoiseshell) Cooperative Association
source : www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.jp

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. Edo no shokunin 江戸の職人 Edo craftsmen .


source : edoichiba.jp.bekkou...

bekkoo shokunin 鼈甲職人 craftsman making tortoiseshell items


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. Reference .

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tsuzura wicker box

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tsuzura 葛籠 / つづら　wicker box, wicker clothes hamper

. kago 籠 / 篭 / かご　basket, baskets of all kinds .
- Introduction -

Originally a kind of box or basket with a lid, is woven out of tsuzurafuji (Sinomenium acutum, otuzurafuji) vines.
Other tsuzura are made of bamboo.


CLICK for more photos !

Many of these boxes are made to order, often at the wedding, and come with a family crest (kamon 家紋).

. koori 行李 wicker trunk, box to carry luggage　 . -
yanagigoori 柳行李 wicker trunk (made from willow branches)
fuji goori 籐行李 from wisteria vines
take goori 竹行李 from bamboo
koori, katani 行李片荷 carrying boxes for travellers
It is also used to store things in the home.


. tsuzura つづら、tsuzurakazura 葛籠葛（つづらかずら）acebia vine .
tsuzurafuji 葛藤 (つづらふじ) Sabia vine
kigo for late summer
- see below -


tsuzura is also written as '九十九' (tsukumo) - winding and twisting - is the origin of the vine of Tsuzurafuji that twists and turns.

tsuzura-ori つづらおり / 葛折り a winding zig-zag mountain road

tsuzura shokunin 葛篭職人 craftsmen making wicker boxes


source : edoichiba.jp..tuzura...

. Edo craftsmen　江戸の職人 .


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tsuzura uma 葛籠馬 Tsuzura-horse
a packhorse of the Edo period, with a luggage wicker box hanging on each side and a person sitting on its back.


source :　www.tobunken-archives.jp

from Sakata, Yamagata, shrine Hie Jinja, a tsuzura-uma at the festival
酒田　日枝神社　祭礼当日の葛籠馬

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. hina tsuzura 雛葛籠（ひなつづら） box for the hina dolls .
..... hina no hitsu 雛の櫃（ひなのひつ） / hina bako 雛箱（ひなばこ）
kigo for mid-spring
- see below -

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In Teijo-zakki 貞丈雑記 (Teijo's memorandums) written by Sadatake Ise 伊勢貞丈 from 1763 to 1784, there is a description of a tsuzura and its material that had changed to bamboo.

In the case of a take tsuzura bamboo tsuzura, very thin bamboo stripes of the same width are woven in a matrix pattern and made into a square box shape.

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source :　blog.livedoor.jp/luanasakamoto

. kamon 家紋 family crest, Familienwappen .


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CLICK for more photos !

- quote
Iwai Tsuzura Store - Tokyo
Tsuzura is a craftwork that was first made by craftsmen in Kanda, Tokyo, early in the Genroku era. Although there were more than 250 tsuzura stores all over Japan at the beginning of the Showa era, there are only two stores left in Tokyo today. One of them is "Iwai Tsuzura ten" in Chuo-ku. The popularity of tsuzura has been growing again recently, not just as a container for kimono or accessories but as a home decoration and a gift for overseas.



... we introduce maestro Ryoichi Iwai of "Iwai Tsuzura-ten," located on Amazake Yokocho Street, Nihonbashi, the only store that crafts and sells Tsuzura products in Chuo-ku today. The store was established at the end of the Edo era, and has been handing down the traditional technique of crafting "Tsuzura" for the past 200 years, since the 17th Century.

At our store, we put "washi” - Japanese rice paper made in Ogawa city in Saitama, over the bamboo basket weaved by a bamboo craftsman in Sado, Tateyama or Kyoto, to strengthen the basket. Then, we paint with a mixture of persimmon and tannin over the paper for base coating, which holds the lacquer. I inherited this special technique from my father but it took me seven to eight years to learn it. Although I strongly hope to hand down these traditional technique to the next generation, I strongly doubt my children will inherit it because in the division of labor, other craftsmen such as basket makers and lacquerware brush makers are also decreasing. The brushes sold at home centers are not thick enough for our work. Thinking from various angles, it is difficult to pass down all these techniques to next generations,...
- source : www.tokyochuo.net/issue


Its height was from the Meiji period to the Taisho period and there were many tsuzura craftsman in Nihonbashi (Chuo Ward, Tokyo), a famous town for kimono, and there was also a tsuzura traders' union.
- quote - wikipedia -


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kyoo tsuzura 京葛籠 wicker box from Kyoto


by Watanabe shop 渡邉商店

made from moosoochiku 孟宗竹 Mosochiku bamboo grown in Kyoto, which is used to the differences of temperature in summer and winter.
The corners are softened with handmade washi Japanese paper paper from 宇和島 Uwajima, Ehime.
Their boxes are well liked by Kabuki actors and Sumo wrestlers.

渡邉商店は日本で唯一、葛籠製作の全工程を行う店舗です。本来葛籠づくりは、多くの伝統工芸の製作工程と同様に、竹を編む生地師、和紙を張る張り師、塗りを行う塗り師などそれぞれの職人による分業が一般的。しかし渡邉商店では、「こだわった物づくりをして、お客さんの希望に応えていきたい」と、竹選びからお客様の手元に届けるまでの全てを手掛ける、一貫製作にこだわっています。使用するのは、寒暖の差が激しい気候の中で育った、京都・洛西の孟宗竹。この竹から剥ぎ取った、厚さ1ミリの竹の薄皮を用い、強度に優れる四つ目編みで美しく編み込みます。角になる部分は緩やかな曲線に仕上げ、その上に張るのは宇和島産の手漉き和紙。この和紙も購入後、2～3年間乾燥させてから使うというこだわり方です。これら全ての工程において、一切の妥協をしないからこそ、着物を日常的に扱う歌舞伎界や相撲界からも一目置かれる名品が生まれるのです。
- source : www.shinise.ne.jp/receive - Watanabe

- different kinds of tsuzura made by Watanabe san


ageko 明荷（あけに）- for Sumo wrestlers

文楽・歌舞伎 - for Bunraku and Kabuki
道具入れ - for the tea ceremony
呉服入れ - for robes
文箱 - for letters and writing utensils

Look at photos of the production procsss and more :
- source : www.wanogakkou.com - tudura

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- ABC - List of wicker boxes from the Prefectures

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. . . . . . . . . . Nara

Tsuzura woven out of Tsuzurafuji in the possession of the Shoso-in Treasure Repository.
ツヅラフジで作られた葛籠は正倉院



onsho no hako 御書箱 （おんしょのはこ）box for writing utensils

- and
sekishitsu nuri no yanagibako 赤漆塗柳箱 （せきしつぬりのやなぎばこ）
box woven from the thin branches of a willow tree
painted with red laquer

These boxes were important to keep robes and washi paper dry and protect them from insects in times when chests, cabinets and closets were not widely used yet.
- source : www.wanogakkou.com - tudura -


. Shoosoo-In, Shōsōin 正倉院曝 Shoso-In Treasure House .

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Reference .

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. Omoi tsuzura and yokubari obasan / The heavy basket and the greedy old woman .

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. tsuzura つづら、tsuzurakazura 葛籠葛（つづらかずら）acebia vine .
tsuzurafuji 葛藤 (つづらふじ) Sabia vine
kigo for late summer

裏千家羅馬道場雛葛籠
urasenke rooma doojoo hina tsuzura

Urasenke
Roma training center
box for hina dolls

- source : www.mmjp.or.jp/aoi - 藍生　主宰句


. Urasenke 裏千家 and the Tea Ceremony .

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Hina Tsuzura - Haiku Collection 雛葛籠: 句集
by 千代 代々木 / 代々木千代 Yoyogi Chiyo


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小衾やつづらの中に寝る僧都
kobusuma ya tsuzura no naka ni neru soozu

this little quilt -
the high priest sleeps
in a wicker box
Tr. Gabi Greve


芋運ぶ僧都の猿やむら時雨
imo hakobu soozu no saru ya mura shigure

the abbot's monkey
hauls potatoes ...
steady winter rain
Tr. David Lanoue


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


soozu - sôzu is one rank of a Buddhist priest, often translated as "high priest", taking care of the nuns in a temple:

大僧都 / daisoojoo 大僧正
大僧都 daisoozu
権大僧都 gon no daisoozu
少僧都 shoosoozu
権少僧都 gon no shoosoozu

大律師 dairisshi

soogoo 僧綱（そうごう）rank of Buddhist priests
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA and weblio!


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椎の花つづらの中の指人形
shii no hana tsuzura no naka no yubi ningyoo

flowers of the Shii-oak
there are finger dolls
in the wicker box

Futamura Noriko 二村典子

. shii no hana 椎の花 (しいのはな) flowers of the Shii-oak .
kigo for mid-summer


. yubi ningyo 指人形　finger dolls .

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鬼の出る葛籠負うて摩耶詣
星野石雀

夏の月いらぬ葛籠は梁へあげ
養浩　－ 芭蕉庵小文庫

蝦蟇・一つ目覗く葛籠(つづら)より
高澤良一　

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- a poet with the name of Tsuzura

すててこや銭湯のある町に住み
suteteko ya sento no aru machi ni sumi

my loose underpants -
I live in a town
with a public bath

Tsuzura Kensuke 葛籠堅助

. suteteko すててこ loose underpants for men .
kigo for summer

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. Join the MINGEI group on facebook ! .  



. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples .


. Tohoku after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
- #tsuzura #wickerbox -
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