Koto English-speaking Volunteer Guide Association: 2019-02

February 28, 2019

Plum blossoms' scent fills shrine honoring "god of learning"

Passing under the vermilion gate in eastern Tokyo, there is a sacred place with the scent of hundreds of plum blossoms. It is time now to visit the Kameido Tenjin, a shrine dedicated to the memory of Sugawara Michizane (845-903), revered as the "god of learning."

Tenjin, meaning "heavenly god," has come to refer to the spirit of Michizane, a late high-ranking Imperial Court noble who had never harbored any hatred to others and continued studies despite being forced into exile in the early tenth century.

Kameido Tenjin in Tokyo's Koto City is one of the 12,000 shrines throughout the country, commonly called "Tenjin-sama" named for Michizane, but it is the sole Tenjin shrine built with an identical design modeled after the head shrine in Dazaifu on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu.

A pair of racks full of votive wooden tablets with people's wishes or thanks written on them look heavy in front of the Kameido Tenjin's main hall.

The Main Hall of Kameido Tenjin

Michizane, a son of an educator, began showing his talent still in his younger age, composing a slew of Waka, or traditional Japanese poems comprised of Hiragana and Kanji characters, and Chinese version with Kanji characters only.

Historical records show that while working for the Imperial Court in Kyoto, he was at one time sent to Shikoku area, where he put a financially troubled state back on track, winning the local people's applause. He excelled as a scholar and an archer.

But the storm of the political conspiracies and jealousy by the rival Fujiwara family hit and led to his exile to Dazaifu.
Before leaving his residence in Kyoto, Michizane created a famous Waka:

When the east wind blows

Send me its fragrance

Oh plum blossoms

Even if the master is away

Do not forget the coming of spring

A statue inscribed with this poem in Japanese stands along with other numerous stone statues in the shrine compound. Michizane, however, died at the age of fifty-eight in 903, without seeing his beloved plum trees at his Kyoto residence again.

There are some 300 plum trees planted in the precincts of the Kameido Tenjin, which was built in 1662 under the strong support of the fifth Tokugawa shogunate, Ietsuna.

During the Edo Period (1603-1868), the portraits of Michizane were hung on the wall at almost all Terakoyas, private schools for children from common people. The knowledgeable elders and retied samurai were among teachers, teaching them how to read, write and calculate. The number of Terakoyas was said to be about 15,000 nationwide by the end of the Edo era.

The plum blossom festival at Kameido Tenjin is held from Feb. 9 through March 10. The shrine is also popular for wisteria from late April to early May.

Kameido Tenjin: 3-6-1, Kameido, Koto City, Tokyo 136-0071

Access: 15-minute walk from either Kinshicho subway station, or Kameido or Kinshicho stations on the Sobu Line. Or take a bus from Kameido-eki mae and get off at Kamedio Tenjin-mae.

By Kozo

February 8, 2019

"Setsubun", a bean throwing ceremony

On February 3, we cerebrate "setsubun" in

Japan

. It means the changes of the seasons. Although there are four of them in Japan, the word "setsubun" is especially used for the day before the first day of spring. According to the lunar calendar which was used in Japan until late 19th century, "setsubun" was the last day of a year and a new year started next day.

On the evening of "setsubun", we used to open all doors of our house and scatter parched beans inside and outside of our house, shouting "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi", meaning "Out with the devil! In with the good fortune!" to drive out evil spirits of the old year and welcome good fortune of the new year. We threw parched beans, wishing that the evil spirits would never come back in the new year.

After the ceremony was over we picked up the scattered beans in the rooms. Each of us ate the same number of beans as our age.

To my regret, I heard many families don't hold bean-throwing ceremony nowadays.

But most of the temples and shrines in Japan do it.

On that day I visited three shrines to see the bean-throwing ceremonies in my city, Koto-Ward, Tokyo.

First one is Fukagawa Shinmei-gu Shrine. After the ceremonial ritual, the chief priest threw beans at "Aka Oni", a red ogre and "Ao Oni", a blue ogre, yelling "Fuku wa uchi, Oni wa soto". Then notables of the town, parishioners and politicians went up to a stage and began throwing, not beans, but candies, small bags of candies or mandarin oranges to a crowd of people who were frantically trying to catch them.

Second one is Tomioka Hachiman-gu Shrine which had two long stages. As this is a big shrine, many guests were invited to throw beans from the stages. So guests were divided into 5 groups.

First group was sumo wrestlers from Otake Beya which is located in the neighborhood of the shrine. Audience sent big applause and were excited to get beans thrown by the sumo wrestlers. Then second and third group came onto the stages. One group consisted of about forty guests. When guests began to throw soybeans, they were like hail from the sky. People were more excited than before to get the grains of soybeans. It was hard to get the grains by one's hands, so many people had large paper bags with them and caught the beans with the bag's mouths wide open. After the fourth and fifth group repeated throwing, the ceremony was over.

I was anxious to know what would become of a lot of beans thrown but uncaught and fell on the ground. I saw large vinyl sheets were already spread under our feet. I heard later that the shrine would collect the beans left on the sheets and send them to a farm as feed for livestock.

Third one is Kameido Tenjin Shrine where the bean-throwing ceremony began at 6 PM.

Before bean throwing began, "Aka Oni" and "Ao Oni" entered from the darkness, and acted as if "causing harm" to the audience. Both "Oni"s shout something at the chief priest of the shrine, then the priest seemed to preach "Oni"s to repent their wrongdoings. They gave in and exited.

Bean throwing began as usual. At this shrine the soybeans were thrown in a small package. Some people caught the bean package direct from the thrower. Unfortunately I could catch none of them.

After "setsubun" it will get warmer day by day and "ume", a Japanese apricot, will bloom. And long-waited cherry blossom season will come. I can hardly wait for the beautiful spring!

by Hiroshi

The bean throwing ceremony of "setsubun" is one of the most amusing and interesting ritual events in Japan. Next year, if you want to see these event, please contact KEV! We will happily guide you.

Enjoy Kabukiza Theater from outside

Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese drama. Its unique conventions such as striking makeup, exaggerated gestures, gorgeous costumes and fantastic stories have been developed to fascinate the audience since the early 17th century. Kabuki is sophisticated and at the same time still lively entertainment today. Kabukiza Theater in Higashi-Ginza is the only theater in Japan, where Kabuki performances are held almost everyday (the same program for 25 days a month).

Complete View of Kabukiza Theater

When passing in front of the façade, we feel like the theater itself radiates a festive atmosphere. Actually, the theater has a lot of devices to attract people. Let's take a look at the details of the building and devices.

Today's theater building is the fifth one rebuilt in 2013, succeeding to the style of the third one (designed by Shinichiro Okada, rebuilt in 1924, and burnt down by the air raid in 1945) and the fourth one (similar to the third one).

Azuchi-Momoyama-style Gable and its Crest

The most distinctive part of the facade is the huge undulating gable, which evokes the magnificent style of Japanese castle in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1603). The big ridge-end tile expressing water is placed on the gable, praying for protection from fire. The entrance of the theater is under the gorgeous gable, which draws people's attention to the inside.
The pattern with a phoenix in a circle is the theater's crest, which came from the ancient pattern used on a treasure of Horyu-ji Temple. We can find the crest here and there such as on tiles, paper lanterns, and curtains. Did you notice the phoenix on the gold metalwork has a bell on the neck? It is said that a bell ("Suzu" in Japanese) is referred to the Japanese word "Suzu-nari" meaning "overflowing with spectators."

Signboard with Pictures

The colorful pictures in a showcase depict scenes from the currently running play. They are painted by the 9th painter of the Torii school, which dates back to the end of the 17th century, and the painting style has been handed down from generation to generation for 300 years.

Left Banner and Right Banner

The banner on the right shows the name of the performance such as the February performance, and the one on the left shows the name of the theater, "Kabukiza." The letters are written with the Kantei style of calligraphy, characterized by thick strokes and a round shape. Thick strokes make a letter with a little space, praying for a full house (no empty space in the theater), and the round shape means people are coming inside of the theater.

Sake Barrels

The piled Sake barrels are given from a patron, which way of display has been a custom from the Edo period, giving a prosperous atmosphere. The Kanji letters in the center means "a full house."

Inari Shrine

There is a small Inari shrine on the right, where actors and people involved pray the safety and success on the first and the last day of the performance.

Like these, full of auspicious things in Kabukiza Theater create a flamboyant atmosphere and attract people. Now you might be in the mood for watching Kabuki. Then, how about trying "single act ticket", which is a ticket valid only for the day of issue and for one act?

Explanation of Single Act Ticket

Entrance for Single Act

If you want to enjoy the feeling of a Kabuki actor, it would be nice to drop in the bustling "Kobiki-cho square" in the basement; A small section imitating a dressing room of a Kabuki actor has been newly appeared from January.

Shops in the Square

Dressing Room

by Nobuko