The Art of a Bamboo Craftsman

A worker uses his chisel to cut in one of a pair of thick bamboos in a lumber yard in Tokyo. The bamboos are used as part of the stage settings in Kabuki plays, said Takashi Hoshino, a skilled worker for a lumber/bamboo company in the capital’s eastern city of Koto. In the world’s great city of Tokyo, it is a very rare scene that you can observe a craftsman in the works in the open air.

Located just east of the capital, the waterfront area, called Fukagawa, lumber/bamboo business was one of the most lucrative industries during the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868).

Today, bamboos are crafted into a bamboo fence, a bamboo screen, a fishing rod, and ceremonial use such as utensils for the tea ceremony and New Year’s ornaments.
The bamboo yard in the photo is located near the Basho Memorial Museum in Koto City.

(by Kozo)

Basho Memorial Museum:
Please visit the website for information and other details.

Cherry blossom viewing aboard Japanese boat

Amid the cherry blossoms being reflected in the water, a boat carrying holiday-goers moves through a canal in Tokyo's eastern city recently.

For Japanese people, it is a great time to be out as cherry trees burst into bloom at this time of the year. Even in northern Japan, it will be not be long before such a harbinger of the spring comes around. 

The canal in Koto City shown in the photo is called Oyoko River, one of several canals built during the Edo Period (1603-1868) as major navigable waterways for shipping wood, rice, salt, vegetables and other goods to the Shogun's capital from around the country. In that respect, part of the present Koto City used to be the center of lumber business. 


Today, the canals are mainly used by those enjoying canoeing. Even if you are visitors from abroad, it would be fun to take a time-out and feel refreshment to be a canoeist. If you are beginners, I recommend that you get a 30-minute lesson for a reasonable price: 600 yen per adult, including a kayak, paddle and life vest. The younger is half that price.

Please go to the website for information and other details: http://www.tatekawa-park.com/eng/guide/canoe

(by Kozo)

YASUKUNI SHRINE HONO-SUMO (Sumo Ceremonial Tournament)

YASUKUNI SHRINE HONO-SUMO (Sumo Ceremonial Tournament) 

held in the shrine’s precincts, Monday April 17th 2017 .

If you are interested in, or do want to know more about, “Japanese traditional SUMO ceremony”, this is an ideal event you cannot miss!

Once a year, 3rd Monday in April, here in Yasukuni Shrine, the significant dedication Sumo is held and open to public.

Sumo is one of national sports in Japan, and has a history of 1400 years.     

Referring to the official brochure prepared by Japan Sumo Association, it is said that “the first Sumo matches were a form of ritual dedicated to the gods, with prayers for a bountiful harvest and were performed together with sacred dancing and dramas within the precincts of the shrine. Since then Sumo has been maintaining its religions protocol and formalities.  And Sumo has managed to survive with its formalized ritual and traditional etiquette intact making it unique among sports.”

If you happen to be in Tokyo Monday April 17th, and if you have time, WHY not visiting Yasukuni Shrine, and experiencing Hono Zumo!

The word “Hono” means, dedication to the gods, and Zumo is dullness of Sumo.

The first Hono Zumo was held at 1869, comforting the Spirit of Yasukuni Shrine, at the enshrined festival.  Since then, this event has been held every year, without interruption.

In this event, you can have very rare opportunity to appreciate Sumo traditions, such as, comic Sumo performances, Sumo Jinku (Sumo Lively Song), Original dividing drums.  

You can see the tournaments given by 200 wrestlers, representing by Grand Champions (highest rank in sumo), Champions (second highest rank in sumo), and all rank will be lined up at this event.

The Details;  

The dedication  :  Japan Sumo Association

Date and Time  :  Monday, April 17th  2017  from 9am to 3pm

Place           :  Sumo amphitheater , Yasukuni Shrine

Admission      :  Free

Program

1. Dohyo (sumo ring) festival     9:00am  
2. Tournament starts            10:40am

Comic Sumo Performances,  Sumo Jinku,  Drumming,

3. Worship                      1:30pm
4. Intermission and Tournament (Yokozuna and higher rank of wrestlers)

2:00pm

5. End of tournament            3:00pm

Capacity

     6000 people, First come, First Served based

Useful information   

1 The main gate of Yasukuni Shrine is open at 6am.

2. The Sumo ground Amphitheater entrance is open at 8:30am or little earlier, from Central entrance, or South Entrance.   

3. All explanation and announcements are in Japanese only.  

4. Due to “First come, First Served base” , early entry is strongly recommended. These couple of years, all seats are fully occupied by 12:00pm. Once 6000 seats are fully occupied, nobody is allowed to enter the Sumo amphitheater. .

5.  Once the intermission (2pm) , you are not allowed to leave the seat till the end of the event (3pm).

6.  The nearest station to Yasukuni Shrine is either Kudanshita (Tokyo Metro Y14,  Toei Subway (T07, S04) , or Ichigaya (JR, Tokyo Metro (N09, Y14) Toei Subway (S04).  

This event is not held within Koto ward, where KEV is located, however, considering the value and richness of this Hono Zumo, KEV introduces this event.

We hope you could have a chance to see this wonderful event, and enjoy Sumo wrestling..

Using this opportunity, we express our appreciation to Public Relations Section, Yasukuni Shrine for their approval and support with regard to Hono Zumo introduction.

Please note that during most of April,  all Sumo wrestlers are on the tour around Japan. For the details, please access their home pages. http://www.sumo.or.jp/En

Enjoy Bicycle Ride in Koto City!

Koto city is offering bicycle rentals called “Community cycle (Bicycle sharing)”.

Community cycle is the system that has many docking ports where bikes are pooled.

You can rent a bike at a docking port and return it at any other port you like.

For example, you can rent a bike at some subway station’s docking port then go to sightseeing or shopping, finally you can return it at any other station’s port.

In addition, these bikes are electric bikes. It is easy to go up and down roads in Koto city.

For renting a bike, please prepare your smart phone and credit card.

The steps are as follows;

1. Resister your information and your payment information

2. When you rent a bike, login the membership website, choose where is your bike docking port, then you will receive the passcode by email.

The fare is;

One trip: First 30 min. 150yen, then 100yen/30 min.

One day: 1,500yen/day; over 7hrs ride is cheaper than one trip.

More detailed information is described in the website below.

http://docomo-cycle.jp/koto/en/

Caution!!

The driving lane in Japan is “Left Side”. You sometimes see the guide sign printed on the road (see Photos).

Please enjoy and spend your tour more effectively by renting a bike! 

by TO

Cherry blossom viewing on a Japanese traditional boat

 Why don't you experience the cherry blossom viewing on a Japanese traditional boat? 

People in Edo era would enjoy it!

It is said that emperor in the 9th century began cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto. Since then it has spread first among nobles, then warriors all over Japan. At last in the middle of the 18th century in Edo era, a lot of ordinary people started to enjoy the cherry blossom viewing. They dressed up and enjoyed drinking and eating under cherry trees with full bloom. Some of them were dancing. They seem to enjoy this season as we do. There still remain many Ukiyoe which described how it was like.

 Because of the lower temperature, it was a little bit early for the full bloom on Mar.25^th in Tokyo. But cherry blossom season is just around the corner. Everyone is hardly able to wait for the full bloom, so various festivities are being performed here and there. Now we can experience cherry blossom viewing on a Japanese traditional boat in “Oo Yoko Gawa River” in Koto ward. The cherry blossoms were planted on the both banks of the river and the branches of the cherry trees have grown toward the river. While in full bloom, on the boat, you will feel like going through the tunnel of the cherry blossom flower. Because the boat man rows on only by his own power, but not by the engine, Japanese traditional boat goes very very slowly and quietly. Actually I felt this leisurely row calm and peaceful. The breeze on the river’s surface was comfortable. People in Edo era would enjoy this relaxed mood seeing the cherry blossom. The Japan Weather Association says next weekend (Apr.1st) cherry blossom will come into full bloom. Come and enjoy this event. You should be there to enjoy the cherry blossom tunnel.

 *Boarding is available on every Saturday and Sunday 3/25-4/9 and 4/5. Reception counter (lowest photo) is around “Kuro fune Bashi Bridge” opens 9:30-14:30(depends on the congestion)  It takes 20 minutes operation and costs 500 Japanese Yen. Children under 3 years old are not permitted.

 For further details, please consult the below.

www.mon-naka.com/sakura/shousaimap.html

                                                                              By N.Y.

Seasonal Festivals with Rice-cake Sweets in Season

Winter is still here, but spring has come just around the corner. Japan has distinctive four seasons and each season has its own festivals. In spring, on the 3^rd of March, we have Doll Festival called Hina Matsuri, or Girls’ Day.

This is a special day for girls. Families especially having girls display special hina dolls, which wear beautiful ancient court costumes. The female doll’s costume is called “juuni-hitoe (twelve-layered ceremonial robe)”. Even today at the imperial family’s wedding ceremony, princess wears this “juuni-hitoe”. This day at families they celebrate the growth of girls, and wish for their health and happiness. The origin of this festival is from China, where people used to make dolls from paper and throw them into the river, wishing driving away evil spirits or bad luck from their bodies, they say.

There are some special foods for the festival. Traditional Japanese rice-cake sweets in season are one of them. They are “sakura-mochi” and “kusa-mochi”. Both of them are rice-cake with sweet beans paste inside.

“Sakura-mochi” is wrapped with a pickled cherry blossom leaf. There are two types mainly, such as Tokyo-style (above left) and Kansai-style (above right). Flour to make rice-cake is different. For Kansai-style, doumyouji flour is used. So Kansai-style “sakura-mochi” is usually called “doumyouji”. We eat “sakura-mochi” after taking off its wrapped leaf, but   sometimes we eat Tokyo-style “sakura-mochi” with its wrapped leaf. The leaf is a little bit salty, which tastes a good combination with sweet beans inside.  

The other seasonal rice-cake sweet, “Kusa-mochi” (below centre) includes a kind of edible grass in spring called “yomogi”, together with sweet beans paste inside. The colour of green represents health, driving away evil spirits.

At hina-dolls platform, we often see a diamond-shaped, three-coloured rice-cake called “hishimochi” displayed. Originally it used to have two-layered, white and green. White is the colour of rice and green is the colour of “yomogi”. People in those days used to pray for their children’s good future, offering things to drive away evil spirits.

If you come around here Koto district, one of the best choices to visit is Fukagawa Edo Museum (https://www.kcf.or.jp/fukagawa/), where you can experience ordinary people’s everyday life, backing to Edo period, about 350 years ago. Of course, you can enjoy each seasonal festival display including Hina Matsuri.

After visiting the museum, why don’t you try “sakura-mochi” and “kusa-mochi”, if it is spring. I think they must be good with black coffee or tea, as well as Japanese green tea. Japanese sweets are good with a little bit bitter drinks.

by MS

Kiyosumi Garden, the Brief History and some trivia

Kiyosumi Garden is a beautiful stroll-garden where you can enjoy seasonal flowers and beautiful scenery---trees and rocks arranged in traditional Japanese style, a pond with tortoises and birds, traditional hut for tea ceremony, et al. The garden is conveniently located in the heart of Tokyo, just a few minutes’ walk from the subway station Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. It’s a nice place to spend an afternoon during your stay in Tokyo. How about an afternoon excursion of the garden, followed by the visit of Japanese local taverns in Monzennakacho, approximately fifteen minutes from the garden on foot!

Here, you can find some basic information on Kiyosumi Garden in English.
http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/kiyosumi/view.html

The following is a brief history and some background information on the garden, which I hope would be of your interest. 

The History of Kiyosumi Garden
Around the 18th Century, a legendary hyper-rich merchant Kinokuniya Bunzaemon1 built his mansion in then newly-reclaimed land of Fukagawa. This is the origin of Kiyosumi Garden, a famous Japanese stroll-garden located in the heart of Koto-city.

As is the case with many newly emerged entrepreneurs, Kinokuniya Bunzaemon was a man of "boom-and-bust," and after the failure in his business, the property was succeeded, in the early 18th Century, by a feudal lord in today's Chiba prefecture. It is said that the feudal lord used the property as his residence in Edo, called Edo-yashiki2. 

In the late 19th Century, after the fall of Tokugawa Shogunate, the Edo residence in Fukagawa was no longer in use, and was left to deteriorate. Iwasaki Yataro, the head of the Mitsubishi conglomerate, acquired this land and built a garden to greet the guests of the Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi is one of Japan's largest business combine. It has banks, real estate company, automobile, heavy industry, shipping, you name it. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated much of the garden. In 1924, Mitsubishi donated the half of the Garden to the Tokyo City, and the City restored the Garden and opened it to public.

Iwasaki was a collector of precious rocks, and some of his collections are scattered around the Garden, of which you can see in the garden. 

A legendary hyper-rich built his mansion in Edo's new frontier, and a feudal lord succeeded the place. After the era of shoguns and lords are over, another modern-day capitalist bought the place, and created a beautiful garden at the site. And now, the place is open to the public, back to the hands of the people.

The entry fee of the garden is 150 yen. In Japan, approximately the same price with a bottle of mineral water. Really a good bargain! If you are lucky enough to be 65 or older, price goes down to 70 yen. In present-day Tokyo, 70 yen won't take you to the next station. Quite a steal, isn't it? 

Here you can see what the rich guys saw, enjoy the landscape which nobles enjoyed, with such a reasonable price.

Kinokuniya Bunzaemon Legend
Kinokuniya Bunzaemon was a hyper-rich merchant who founded this place. He became something of a popular legend in the Edo Period Japan.

He was born in Kii-no-kuni, present-day Wakayama Prefecture, just south of Osaka, as a son of a local merchant. He first made fortune with mandarin orange trade. Mandarin orange is a specialty of Wakayama. One year, Wakayama experienced tremendous harvest of mandarin. The harvest was too good, that there were piles of orange with nowhere to go. Bunzaemon prepared his family's old ship, and loaded orange in abundance, almost free of charge, and sailed the ship to the east, to the capital city of Edo, present-day Tokyo. The orange sold so well, and he made a pile of money out of this trade.

The other year, there was a huge flood in Osaka, and bad plague spread the area. Bunzaemon heard about that, and gathered as much salted salmon as possible in Edo and the surrounding area. Then, Bunzaemon sent his men to Osaka, and let them spread the rumor, saying, "Hey, salted salmon is effective against the plague!" Now, everything was ready and Bunzaemon sent all the salmon he collected to Osaka, and they sold like wildfire. Now, he had another pile of money in his hand.

In 1657, there was a big fire in Edo, which burnt away much of the city. Bunzaemon invested all his money and bought out all the lumber in mountainous Kiso region in central Japan, just north of Nagoya. Edo was in the midst of construction boom after the fire, and Bunzaemon's lumber was his another smash hit---he made the third pile of money!

In the early 18th Century, however, his luck ran out. Bunzaemon got a deal from Tokugawa government to cast coin for them. The coin he produced was so poor in quality that it was in circulation only for a year. Bunzaemon lost his fortune in this failure, and subsequently lost his interest in business.

Bunzaemon is sometimes referred to as Kibun, a shortened form of his name. A food company Kibun, which specializes in oden ingredients, has nothing to do with this legendary merchant. Kinokuniya is also the name for a famous bookstore chain, and a classy supermarket chain, and neither of them is related to Bunzaemon or his family. The name Kinokuniya means "Merchant of the Kii region," the place where Bunzaemon was born.

Edo Yashiki
In the Edo Period, feudal lords are expected to stay in Edo every other year---a year in his local province, and the next year in Edo. So, every feudal lord had to maintain his residence in Edo, called Edo-yashiki. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell and Meiji Government gained the power, such Edo residences were no longer necessary. Today, the sites of former Edo residences are utilized mainly as public facilities. Tokyo station, the University of Tokyo, American Embassy, Tsukiji Fish Market, the Imperial Hotel in Yurakucho, the Supreme Court---they are all built in the sites of former Edo residences. Kiyosumi Garden is one of such examples.  by K.N.