Geta Sandals

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- - - zori straw sandals, see below
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Geta, Wooden Sandals, Clogs, 下駄
setta 雪駄 leather-soled sandals
Straw sandals, see below.


source : www.gendaiya.co.jp/minigeta.htm

These nice little Mini-Geta have a Daruma as Decoration !
They are made from Kamakura-Bori, a kind of Laquer Art.

Look at them from the side here:
. Daruma Photo Album .

Read my full story about Kamakura Laquer Ware (kamakurabori)
. . . Kamakurabori 鎌倉彫　. . .




source :　facebook

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Geta from Matsunaga Town,
Fukuyama City





©松永下駄工房 Matsunaga Geta Kobo
〒729-0104
広島県福山市松永町5-16-11



. Hita geta　日田下駄 geta wooden sandals from Hita .
Hita 日田市, Oita Kyushu

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Now let us take a look at the wooden clogs of Japan, the GETA.

だるま下駄パリの第４区にそのお店はあります。


There is a store in Paris in the 4th arrondissement, called DARUMA and selling geta!
http://www.maruara.com/mall/yume005.html

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Geta with only one "tooth" to balance on
一本歯の下駄


http://www.rakuten.co.jp/asakusa1393/485015/485061/#475757

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The mountain goblins, TENGU, also use huge geta to run around in the mountains. At some temples and shrines, you find offerings of huge geta from people with aching legs in quest for help.



These are from Hakone, Myoojin-ga-take 明神ヶ岳 道了尊和合下駄
http://hitosh.hp.infoseek.co.jp/yamakan/hakone/myouzingatake.html

On this link you can see the same geta in heavy snow and much more about this shrine.
http://www22.tok2.com/home2/shida/05rep/05227-162.jpg
http://www22.tok2.com/home2/shida/05rep/05227-myou.html

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. Daiyūzan 大雄山 Daiyuzan 最乗寺 Saijo-Ji .

　大雄山最乗寺 の天狗の下駄 Saijo-Ji
And the Tengu 道了大権現 Doryo Daigongen.
... Followers have donated metal geta sandals in his honor (as tengu usually wear geta). Some of them are gigantic, and it is said that if a pregnant woman walks under the largest pair, she will have an easy delivery.



I used to visit there often and step on these large geta.


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During many Tengu festivals, these one-tooth geta are still used today.



Look at more pictures of a Tengu Festival in Shimokita.
http://wandering-wind.jp/archives/2005/0130123204.php

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Here is a museum about footwear in Japan.
日本はきもの博物館
They feature the biggest geta of Japan.



実はこれ「ゲタリンピック」という地元のお祭りで使われるんです。（縄を付けてこれをみんなで引っ張るんです）

Look at Japnese straw sandals and tabi too.
http://www.kimono-taizen.com/watch/epsd_12.htm

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Recently tengu geta have become more popular for previously unknown effects. They are now used for training in martial arts, for rehabilitation training, for training in mountain climbing, and are used often for teaching in school.
TENGU
This is a goblin from Japanese legend. It has a red face and a long nose. With his supernatural power he can fly freely high up in the sky. He lives high in mountain recesses. His hand has a feather fan that can make a strong gale wind, and his feet have “Ipponba-geta (one-tooth-geta)".
- source : www.karankoron.com -

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An orchester of cats in front of the Huge Geta of Daikannon-Temple at Sakakibara Onsen.



猫のオーケストラ！それも巨大下駄の前で楽器を弾いているのだ。
「大観音寺」
http://toshi686-web.hp.infoseek.co.jp/tyousa/daikannon/


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Look at great pictures of a fire festival in honour of Kurama Tengu.
Thanks to Wada san!
鞍馬の火祭り Kurama no Hi-Matsuri
http://wadaphoto.jp/japan/kurama2.htm


Here is my story about Tengu and Daruma
http://darumasan.blogspot.com/2004/11/tengu-and-daruma.html


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. tsurushibina, tsurushi bina つるし雛 / 吊るし雛 small hanging hina dolls .


CLICK for more photos!

Made with the wish that the child will soon learn to walk and have healthy legs all its life.

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. getaya 下駄屋 craftsman making Geta in Edo .
geta haireya, ha-ireya　下駄歯入れ屋 Geta repairman
with Senryu
getaya no kanban 下駄屋の看板 shop sign of a Geta store
geta shinmichi 下駄新道 Geta New Road in Kanda
Legends about Geta

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. yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters – ABC-List .

bakezoori 化け草履 Bakezori, Yokai sandals, Sandal Yokai


from Hyakki Yagyō Emaki

The Bakezōri is described as a wandering sandal with two arms and two legs, but only one eye.
A kind of tsukumogami 付喪神.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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. . . . . . . . HAIKU

Day of the Geta, July 7.
This would be a lovely KIGO for Summer.

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humanity kigo for mid-summer



tageta, ta-geta 田下駄 (たげた) geta for the fields
..... ooashi 大足（おおあし）"big feet"
shirofumigeta 代踏み下駄（しろふみげた）
geta to step into the rice paddies
mizugeta 水下駄（みずげた） "water geta"
to step into the wet rice fields

They were made of wood, with a larger bottom part to walk easier in the slippery mud fields. They were used when planting rice by hand in the wet paddies.

. Rice planting and related KIGO


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雪の朝二の字二の字の下駄の跡
yuki no asa ni no ji ni no ji no geta no ato

snowy morning -
footprints of wooden sandals
two lines, two lines again

Den Sutejo (1633-1698)
(Tr. Gabi Greve)



The first part of the kanji compound, 　二の字, the 二　 looks like two lines in the snow.


source : ameblo.jp/ykearth


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cold winter day -
the back and front of
human nature

GETA by Gabi Greve




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Oku no Hosomichi - - - Station 7 - Kurobane 黒羽 - - -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


夏山に足駄を拝む首途かな
natsuyama ni ashida o ogamau kadode kana

in the summer mountains
praying before the clogs:
setting off
Tr. Barnhill

An earlier version:

natsuyama ya kadode ni ogamu taka-ashida

summer mountains--
at departure praying
to the high clogs
Tr. Barnhill

Ad G. Blankestjin notes:
After Basho's timely visit to Unganji, the rains kept falling for several days. From the 6th to the 8th, he was not able to leave Choboji's house. On the 9th, however, he decided to go out in the rain and was taken to Komyoji, a shugendo temple in the fields on the east side of the town. This temple was famous for its Gyoja Hall, a hall dedicated to En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of the ascetic mountain Buddhism.

The 'ashida' mentioned in the poem (here translated as clogs) are a special kind of high geta, worn by those monks when practicing austerities. To make walking difficult, these geta had only one support instead of the normal two. The temple probably housed a statue of En no Gyoja wearing such high clogs.

Basho prays in front of them, wishing for strong feet and legs himself at the start of his long journey. Unfortunately, Komyoji was destroyed at the beginning of the Meiji period. The haiku stone stands forlorn in the high grass.
(Basho haiku stone)
(C) Ad G. Blankestjin

off the beaten path--
a prayer to the high clogs
standing in tall grass

Larry Bole, USA, April 2008




夏の夜や木魂に明る下駄の音
natsu no yo ya kodama ni akuru geta no oto





ashinaka　足半 "half foot" straw sandals

草履の尻折りて帰らん山桜　
zoori no shiri orite kaeran yama-zakura

I fold the straw sandals
into half and walk home -
mountain cherry blossoms
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 延宝7年, Basho age 36.

Walking in the rain of spring, Basho considers to fold (oru) his straw sandals, because otherwise they would splash the mud of the road on his robes.
To fold the sandals or use smaller ones anyway (ashinaka　足半) was quite common in these days.
And maybe break (oru) a branch of the mountain cherries , since they will soon be damaged by the rain anyway.
A typical poem of the Danrin haikai school. It shows Basho in high spirits even when walking in the spring rain.



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下駄の痕残る渚や誓子の忌
geta no ato nokoru nagisa ya Seishi no ki

the imprints of geta
are still visible on the beach -
memorial day of Seishi

Kobayashi Seiha 小林青波

Yamaguchi Seishi 山口誓子



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Straw sandals, zoori, zôri 草履
one of the many necessities for a traveler in the Edo period.
waraji　草鞋　わらじ straw sandals (for travellers)
warazoori 藁草履 straw sandals
take no kawa zoori 竹の皮草履 sandals from bamboo skin
gonzoo ごんぞう / 権蔵 gonzo straw sandals
zunbe ずんべ straw sandals

zoori were used for the everyday work in a farming home. They had only a part to slip between the big toe and second toe for keeping in place.
waraji were used for work in the forest and by travellers.
They had a special back part to hold on to the foot when walking a lot or walking on forest slopes. The heel part had a rope to bind around the ankle.




zoori were made by all farmers, and many were made in the winter months, to be used in busy times. There were also peddlers for zoori in Edo (zooriya　草履屋), who sold their ware to travellers.

zooriya is also the name for a shop that sells sandals. Nowadays they are made of various materials.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Edo no shokunin 江戸の職人 Edo craftsmen .

source : edoichiba zouri
zoori shokunin 草履職人 craftsmen making sandals


. Recycling and Reuse in Edo - リサイクル .


. waraji no omamori　わらじお守り　straw sandal amulets .
for strong legs


how to wear WARAJI
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uwazoori 上草履 indoor sandals




初雪や今おろしたる上草り
hatsu yuki ya ima oroshitaru uwazoori

first snow --
I just put on new
indoor sandals

This hokku is from the tenth lunar month (November) of 1819, the year evoked in Issa's Year of My Life. Indoor sandals in farm villages were generally woven from rushes, straw, old cloth, the outer sheathing of bamboos, and similar materials and were used for walking in areas inside a house that had board floors rather than straw floor matting, in much the way slippers are worn in contemporary Japan. In the previous hokku in Issa's diary he writes of an indoor sandal (or sandals) that has fallen off the low porch under the eaves of his house while the first snow falls.
In the present hokku, Issa, perhaps standing on the same low wooden porch running under the eaves of his house, seems to be struck by a feeling of simultaneity, since he has put on a fresh new pair of indoor sandals -- because his old ones were wet? -- just as the first snow of the winter is falling outside. Does he sense the freshness of the new snow with his feet?

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

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大草履ひたりひたり村時雨
oo zoori hitari-hitari mura shigure

big straw sandals
pitter-patter...
hard winter rain

This haiku has an irregular middle phrase of six, not the usual seven, syllables: hitari-hitari. In the previous year (1823), Issa writes a similar haiku:

dooshin boo ya zoori hita-hita mura shigure

Priest Doshin's straw sandals pitter-patter...
hard winter rain

In both haiku the expression, mura shigure, signifies winter rain that passes through strongly and incessantly; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 110; 1603.

Kobayashi Issa
Tr. Lanoue



門々の下駄の泥より春立ちぬ
かどかどのげたのどろよりはるたちぬ
kado kado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

geta at the gate

. geta at the gate ...


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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


夏川を越す嬉しさよ手に草履
natsukawa o kosu ureshisa yo te ni zôri

so happy
to cross this summer river -
sandals in my hand

Tr. Gabi Greve / Joy and Haiku



花を踏みし草履も見えて朝寝哉
hana o fumishi zoori mo miete asane kana

after treading on cherry petals
I can even see her straw sandals
sleeping late in the morning . . .

Maybe after an encounter with a lady ?

- - - - - or

after treading on cherry petals
I can even see my straw sandals
sleeping late in the morning . . .

Maybe he spent the night somewhere in Kyoto and is now waking up not in his own bed . . .

. asane 朝寝 (あさね) sleeping late in the morning .
kigo for all spring


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New Year comes!
Daruma's worn sandals
replaced

Chibi


Look at the BIG SANDALS here !

Daruma carrying one sandal


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kamizoori, kami zoori 紙草履 / 紙ぞうり Kamizori
sandals made from paper

They were made from strong, waterproof Washi paper.
Once they are torn, they could be used in the garden as fertilizer.




とぶ蝶に追抜れけり紙草履
tobu choo ni oi-nukare keri kami zôri

a flitting butterfly
outstrips me...
paper sandals
Tr. David Lanoue

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .
Cultural keywords and kigo used by Issa


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setta 雪駄 leather-soled sandals for men
some come with a tatami cushion


CLICK for more photos !


- quote -
'setta' is one of the Japanese traditional sandals.
Japanese people were sandals called ''zori'' or ''setta'' until western-style shoes spread after the Meiji era. Of course, samurai, too. These Japanese sandal has created a beautiful Japanese-style posture and walking form by sandwiching the string called ''hanao'（鼻緒） between toes. Those posture and how to walk bring the influence that is good for the budo and martial arts including fencing (kenjitsu) and jujustu of Japan.
''Setta'' is said that Sen no Rikyū who is famous for tea ceremony devised it. The upper part is made of a rattan and bamboo, and leather is used for the bottom and it is characterized by thinner than ''zori''.
- source with photos : Osami Kitazono / facebook


setta naoshi 雪駄直し　repairing setta sandals



Since setta were rather expensive in Edo, they would be repaired many times and never just thrown away. There were many repairmen in Edo, Kyoto, Osaka and other big cities.
Some walked around from house to house, others sat by a busy roadside and waited for customers.
In Edo they called dei dei　でいでい, deei deei でえい、でえい, (local dialect for teire, te-ire 手入れ to repair)
in Kyoto and Osaka it was naoshi naoshi　はおしなおし.
Therefore the setta sandals were also called deidei in Edo.

. - - - Welcome to Edo　江戸 ! .


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Snow-Clogged Geta
Suzuki Harunobu 鈴木春信 (1725-1770)

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pokkuri ポックリ wooden sandals for ladies
especially for young geisha in Kyoto


source and more photos :　Klara Field



CLICK for more photos !

- and as an amulet for beautiful legs from
香取神社 Katori Jinja

健康美脚のお守り
okobo おこぼ okobo pokkuri for maiko


source :　pooch.exblog.jp



CLICK for more photos !

koppori こっぽり amulets to prevent evil for Maiko girls


- - - - - Not to mix with
. pokkuri 　ぽっくり　amulets for a sudden death, "drop dead" .


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. 幸福地蔵 Jizo for Good Luck .
He is the only Jizo wearing straw sandals in Japan.


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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

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Washi, Japanese Paper

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
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- - Washi 和紙 Japanese Paper - - 　


http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/p/yoto_daruma.htm

This store has a great collection of links to Washi Paper and the various products made from it.
http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/p/washiseihin.htm

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. For example
はがき Hagaki, postcards
便箋・封筒 fuuto, envelopes
ランプシェード Lampshades
名刺 Meishi, Business Cards
色紙 shikishi, colored paper
人形・壁掛など Dolls and decorations for the wall
.. .. .. http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/image/echizen/echizen_ningyo.gif
.. .. .. http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/image/echizen/echizen_kabekake.jpg
座ぶとん（黒谷和紙） Zabuton, Seat cushions

Nr. 9 of these dolls is a Hime Daruma, Princess Daruma:
http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/image/ecchu/ecchu_kataezome.gif

Dolls for "Kaze no Bon" Festival
http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/image/ecchu/ecchu_kazenobon.jpg

This goes on and on...

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quoted from
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. Japan's Encounter With Paper
The Japanese people's sentiment that transcended the original use of paper


The oldest printed matter existing in the world are the "One Million Dharani Charms" of Japan. In the year 764, the Empress Shotoku, praying for peace throughout the nation, sanctioned the printing of a million paper prayers, each prayer to be enshrined in its own individual three-storied wooden pagoda with a height of 13.5 centimeters and a diameter of 10.5 centimeters at the base. Printed Buddhist prayers called Dharani were placed in a hole in the center and 100,000 each of these pagodas were allotted to ten great temples, including the Horyuji Temple of Nara, Yamato Province.

At a time when paper making techniques made a rapid advance, the Japanese people were not satisfied with simply paper on which words could be written and which could be preserved well. They demanded a special harmony and beauty, depending on the use and the taste of the user. Just for "irogami" (colored paper) and "tanzaku" (strip of fancy paper for the writing of poems) alone, many different kinds were made, ranging from the ornate to the simple, to match the poem's content and calligraphic style. The complex demands were fully met by the paper making artisans.

Washi was often used as a gift among the upper classes of society in ancient times and the Middle Ages. For instance, when members of the nobility visited each other, it was customary to take along white paper of high quality. This was presented with the thought that the person visited was a man of culture-so please use this for composing poems or copying a sutra." This refined custom continued until recent times.

Even on the battlefield, it was considered good taste for a warlord to carry thich Washi called "hikiawase" with him. The original meaning of "hikiawase" was the place for tightening body armor. It was usually located on the body armor's right side. Warriors found it convenient to put paper and writing equipment here and it was from this that the name of the paper originated. Besides for official communications, the paper was used for writing poems, miscellaneous notes and records.

Choths made from Washi


Eventually the uses of Washi spread beyond writing, painting and printing. Washi was the first paper in the world to be employed widely for daily necessities. Washi imparted many benefits and had a splendid practicability in the life of the Japanese people as a whole.

When well used Washi is torn into a ribbon-like form and twisted with the hands, this becomes what is known as "koyori." It is generally used as a string to bind sheets of paper. In addition, a large number of "koyori" can be combined in different shapes and lacquered for "koyori handiwork."

The many kinds of "koyori handiwork" such as bowl, plate, cigarette case, lunch box and "kori" (hamper with cover for containing clothing-made with consideration for ventilation) are lightweight and splendid craft work. It is a traditional industrial art born out of the attachment felt by people who did not want to waste even a fragment of Washi.


This is an amazing article on three pages,
please look at the big pictures and read the original here:
http://www.jgc.co.jp/waza/b4_washi/washi01.htm

About the making of Washi
http://www.jgc.co.jp/waza/b4_washi/washi03.htm


Safekeep copy is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DarumaArchives-002/message/55

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--- Material used for Washi

choshi 楮紙 mulberry tree paper

hishi 　岩菲紙　/ 雁皮紙 (がんぴし)　　
Ganpi plant, Wikstroemia Sikokiana

mashi 麻紙 hemp paper

mitsumata 三椏紙 Edgeworthia chrysantha (J. mitsumata)

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Another informative page about Washi Paper.

Washi is the Japanese word for the traditional papers made from the long inner fibres of three plants, wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper. As Japan rushes with the rest of the world into the 21st Century, and more modern technologies take over, machines produce similar-looking papers which have qualities very different from authentic washi. As of the fall of 1994, there remain roughly 350 families still engaged in the production of paper by hand.

History
Raw Materials
Methods of Production
Features of Washi
Uses for Washi
http://www.japanesepaperplace.com/abt-japanese-paper/about-washi.htm

Something for everyone...
Who uses these papers? The sky's the limit! But here are some whose work can greatly benefit:
Artists
Bookbinders
Conservators
Craftspersons
Graphic Designers
Interior Designers
Manufacturers
Painters & Drawers
Printmakers

As time goes on, modern technology replaces much of the traditional process. Still there are those papermakers left who will not compromise.
According to the Japanese, "Things of excellence shall not die."

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The Great Washi Paper Sculptor,
Uchiumi Kiyoharu 内海清美

Uchiumi made a show of washi puppets relating to the life of Kuukai, Kooboo Daishi (Kukai, Kobo Daishi).

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

■内海清美の物語空間 　　和紙人形による空海の世界
The world of Kukai, made of Washi Paper


One example, Chapter 10
第十章　即身成仏
嵯峨天皇は南都六宗と北嶺（比叡山）の高僧、および空海の八人を宮中の清涼殿に召集、それぞれの宗旨の真髄を聴聞します。これは八宗論として伝えられています。 　その場での各宗の高僧は、すべて成仏の経路は三劫成仏［さんごうじょうぶつ］といって、長い年月の修行を果たした後にはじめて成仏できるという未来成仏を説きます。 　これに対し空海は一人「自心の源底を知るものは仏の心を知る。仏の心を知るものは衆生の心を知る。仏の生命を覚り、これと一体化して生きる肉体そのままで速やかに仏になることができる。それは仏の三密と人間の三業とが不二になる境地である」と真言宗の即身成仏を説き、一座の天皇と高僧たちの前で、手に印契を結び、口に真言を唱え、心を仏の三昧に住するという三密行を示し、自身金剛身（大日如来）となり即身成仏の境地に入ってみせ、体から黄金の光を放ちます。 　他宗の高僧たちはこの光景にすっかり畏敬し、天皇の空海への信頼は一層高まります。
quoted from mikkyo21



There is a Museum with the Sculptures of Uchiumi san.
Genji Paper Sculpture Museum

This museum exhibits Japanese paper carvings and sculptures of Mr. Kiyoharu Uchiumi. He has reproduced some scenes from the Tales of Genji, which is the masterpiece written by Murasaki Shikibu in the Heian period.Mr. Uchiumi's aim is that visitors appreciate his works with all their five senses. Lighting and music complement and allow full expression of his works The entire exhibition hall is a big stage, and the spectators walk by and appreciate individual scenes on the stage.
http://www.archphoto.it/IMAGES/asia/hayakusa/mats.htm

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. Asakusagami, Asakusa-gami　浅草紙　 .
Paper made in Edo
kamisukishi、kamisuki shi 紙漉き師 making paper, paper making artisan
kamiya, kami-ya　紙屋 paper maker
- Kamisukichoo　紙漉町　Kamisuki-Cho district
sukikaeshi, suki-kasehi 漉き返し業者 re-making of paper

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Echizen Washi 越前和紙 paper from Echizen

Otaki Jinjya 大瀧神社
Okata Jinja 岡太神社
福井県今立郡今立町粟田部 Fukui

Shrine for the deity of washi paper

Taketsunomi 建角身（たけつのみ）命
Kunisatsuchi 国狭槌（くにさつち）尊
Oonamuchi 大己貴（おおなむち）命


source :　www.echizenwashi.jp


quote
History of Echizen Washi
A paper goddess teaching people how to make paper

Legend has it that about 1,500 years ago a woman taught people in this area how to make paper with the natural materials from special plants for washi called Kozo, because she had sympathy on them since they did not have any rice fields to make a living. She mysteriously disappeared to the upper river, so she was named "Kawa-kami Gozen", meaning "upriver princess" in Japanese.
Since then, the princess has been enshrined as a paper goddess with two local gods in Okamoto Otaki Shrine.



川上御前 Kawakami Gozen, deity of washi paper 紙祖神

They say she might have been from Korea or China.
Around that period, there had been many people from China passing through Korea to bring their techniques to Japan, which later became the present Japanese handcrafts. The Fukui accent is very similar to the Korean one, due to the fact that Fukui was one of the main locations Koreans could first land on naturally with the strong tide of the sea. When they landed, they only found a vast swamp, which made it difficult for them to settle in. As a result, they went to the surrounding mountain valleys to live. These locations are the origins of where pottery, lacquerware, knives and Washi (Japanese traditional paper) are made, according to some studies.

Since then Washi has been a main industry in the Echizen area. There are now about 70 factories that use either handmade, industrial, or processing methods, with about 500 people working in Washi related jobs in the Imadate area "Goka".

五箇地区
"Goka" is called by five villages of the town, Oizu, Iwamoto, Shinzaike, Sadatomo and Otaki, in all together. This area have been producing Japanese paper since 6th century and constitute "Echizen Washi no Sato".

There used to be lots of paper villages every where in Japan, but it is veryunusual to see an area like Echizen only making paper through all the year, whereas the others used to make paper only in winter when they didn't producerice. As a result, Echizen is one of the largest handmade paper industries in Japan along with Tosa in Kochi and Mino in Gifu Prefectures.
The Royal family sometimes uses Echizen Washi to announce their baby’s birth with their names on it.

Here, there are many old people interested in Echizen Washi history and keep studying with the old documents by themselves. The above-stated are from my own studies taught by some of them. Now I am studying about the exported paper from Echizen during the edo period, when the central government closed most of the ports but Nagasaki only open to China and Holland.
source : www.echizenwashi.jp/english


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Paper from San-In 山陰 - Tottori and Shimane
Izumo and Inaba

Inshuu washi 因州和紙　Inshu Washi



quote
Inshu, also called Inaba, is the feudal name for an area that today lies in the eastern part of Tottori Prefecture. Today the production scale of Inshu washi (Japanese hand-molded paper) at two towns of Aoya Town and Saji Village in east Tottori Prefecture is second in Japan only to that of Echizen washi in Fukui Prefecture. In a region blessed by top-quality water that comes from crystal-clear streams deep in the mountains, the successful history of Inshu washi stretches back more than 1,000 years.
..... The high-quality calligraphy paper has long been prized for the way in which it subtly enhances the shading in the flow of the ink, and Inshu washi remains one of the country's most sought-after papers for calligraphy. ...
source : web-japan.org


. Folk Craft and Art from Tottori .


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Izumo Washi　出雲和紙　Washi paper from Izumo



quote
Izumo Folkcraft Paper
The Izumo region, in the West part of Japan, has been documented as a paper production area since ancient times.
Former Living National Treasure Eishirou Abe built upon this local tradition, and with the counsel of the founder of the Folkcraft Movement Soetsu Yanagi, established Izumo Folkcraft Paper.
Currently, the spirit and skill of Eishirou Abe has been passed to his grandsons, Shinichirou and Norimasa Abe.
..... In 1983, Mr. Abe established "Abe Eishirou Memorial Hall", where a wide and varied collection of literature and materials related to Washi, and many items made of Washi are exhibited. Next to the Hall is the Washi Denshusho Hall where individuals can personally experience the Japanese handmade papermaking process.
Raw Materials for Japanese Papermaking
In Japanese papermaking, a wide variety of fibers are used, but originally, fibers such as hemp, kozo, and gampi were prevalent. During the Edo period (1600-1868), mitsumata began to be used, and currently, kozo, mitsumata and gampi have become the typical fibers used for Japanese papermaking. Other suitable fibers for papermaking include straw, kuwa, bamboo, and wood pulp. Also, in recent years, the use of imported Thai kozo, Philippine gampi, and Manila Hemp (Abaca) is increasing.
Gampi (Diplomorpha Sikokiana Honda)
Kozo (Broussonetia Kazinoki Sieb)
Mitsumata (Edgeworthia Chrysantha Lindle)
source : www.mable.ne.jp/~mingeishi


quote
The decrease in papermaking households has also happened here in Yakumo-cho; this area which used to have approximately 30 mills has now shrunken to just our house, Izumo Washi.
... The true enjoyment of papermaking comes when the papermaker and the user are able to become one. It should also be said that papermaking isn’t a one-person job. At the moment, myself, my wife, my younger brother, my eighty-year old mother, an intern and two women from the neighborhood make a total of seven of us doing the work needed. I am especially thankful to my family’s cooperation at the mill. This is the secret to making great paper. ...
Shinichiro Abe
source : www.hiromipaper.com


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出雲から紙来て障子あらたまる　
Izumo kara kami kite shooji aratamaru

from Izumo
paper came and we renew
the sliding doors

Ameyama Minoru

The strong washi paper from Izumo was especially liked for shoji.

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. shichoo 紙帳 ( しちょう) mosquito net made of washi paper
shichoo uri 紙帳売（しちょううり） vendor of the above　
kigo for all summer



. Paper robes and paper making as KIGO 　


. Chiyogami 千代紙 colored printed paper


. kami 紙 paper art and craft 　.


. Regional Folk Art and Crafts from Japan .



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Soroban, Abacus

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soroban 算盤 / 十呂盤 / そろばん Abacus, Abakus



This is the cover of a box for an abacus, Soroban.
The Kanji read : Hakodate Daruma Fuumi.
函館　だるま　風味
Maybe it is a special production for a food store of Hakodate in Hokkaido.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/gabigreve2000/archives/16789345.html


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Checking a bit more about the abacus, I came about a great German/English page featuring all kinds of abacus (Abakus), some even made by a Daruma Company of Japan.
http://www.hh.schule.de/metalltechnik-didaktik/museum/abakus/japan/jap.htm

The following is quoted from this page of © J. Lütjens,
Mai 2004

Nr. 11
Neuer Soroban, gefertigt aus einem schwarz gefärbtenn Holzrahmen und mit 13 Reihen heller Holzperlen.Er gibt ein sehr schön kontrastreiches Bild. Das System 5+2 entspricht dem ursprünglichen chinesichen System und ist daher für einen japanischen Soroban eher ungewöhnlich. Aber es ist nun einmal so, denn dieser Soroban wurde hergestellt von der japanischen Fa. Daruma.
New soroban with 13 rows, system (5+2); all made of wood. Width: 305 mm; heigth: 125 mm.

Nr. 12


New colorful soroban with 13 rows, system (5+2); all made of wood. The back side is closed with a wooden plate.Width: 290 mm; heigth: 125 mm.


Nr. 17


Twin-soroban with sybolic meaning
This extraordinary item (two sorobans in one frame) is made of wood. It seems to be not suitable for calculating but mainly as a wall decoration. The meaning of the two opposite sorobans is probably "everything in life must be balanced". The translation of the four Chinese characters:

"good luck"
"long life"
"respect of daughters and sons"
"good luck"

Manufacturer: Daruma, Japan. Measures: width: 175 mm; height: 290 mm
Many thanks to my Korean colleague Prof. Dr. Kim Yuhn Su; he proposed the explanations above.

source : www.hh.schule.de


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WHAT IS A SOROBAN　(ABACUS)?
The Soroban - the traditional Japanese "natural calculating divice" - has unique advantages in the digital age. Soroban is the name given to the traditional Japanese abacus, or calculating frame, which is increasingly being seen as a valuable mathematical tool for a technological age. It is now certain that Soroban -teaching helps children to develop an active approach to learning, and greatly increased their powers of mental calculation. Development of logical thought processes and powers of concentration flow from the pleasurable disciplines involved in Soroban study.

Soroban is a world wide word and now you are able to look up this word in your webster dictionery.

When you study how to use soroban, you will receive lots of merits. Many educators and school teachers point out these merits of the soroban displaying the numbers the same way as in the decimal system as follows.

Easy to understand basic number systems such as base-ten and place values. Although the abacus is a concrete tool,the number as shown on the abacus is abstract, based upon the decimal system. This linkage with both the concrete and abstract help children to understand the concept of place value and base ten.

To understand concepts of carrying and borrowing in arithmatic.
Easy to understand the combinations of five and ten and the complement of numbers.
Children can determine themselves the calculation process step by step.
Easay to visualize the close relation between numbers and numerals.

Using a calculating Device motivates the children to have an active attitude toward study.The children really enjoy using Soroban, like to move the beads, they learn place value really effectively and they pick up the structure very fast. They learn and understand the number concepts better than just using paper and pencils.

Practicing soroban developes the children's ability of mental calculations.

How to use SOROBAN (ABACUS)
The soroban is calculating instrument with a number of counting beads that slide back and for th along rods.

Each one-bead has the value of "one".
Each five-bead has the value of "five".

The columns toward the left always have higher values than those toward the right.

FINGERING
Always use the thumb and the forefinger to slide the beads back and forth.Hold other three fingers lightly.
Always use the thumb to add the one value beads.
Always use the forefinger to add the five value beads and to take away beads.
http://www.soroban.com/index_eng.html

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The Soroban in different Cultures
Abacus is probably the first of calculating devices. Encyclopædia Britannica traces the word abacus to the Phoenician abak (sand). American Heritage Dictionary points to the Greek word abax, which might have originated from Hebrew avak (dust). There is little doubt that Ancients used a flat surface with sand strewn evenly over it as a disposable tool for writing and counting. It's said that the great Archimedes was slain by a Roman soldier while concentrating on figures drawn in sand.

Later day abaci had grooves for small pebbles and later yet wires or rods on which counters could freely move back and forth. Each wire corresponded to a digit in a positional number system, commonly in base 10. A very curious state of affairs was mentioned by M. Gardner with a reference to K.Menninger. For more than 15 centuries the Greek and Romans and then Europeans in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance calculated on devices with authentic place-value system in which zero was represented by an empty line, wire or groove. Yet the written notations did not have a symbol for zero until it was borrowed by Arabs from Hindus and eventually introduced into Europe in 1202 by Leonardo Fibonacci of Piza in his Liber Abaci (The Book of Abacus). According to D. Knuth, counting with abaci was so convenient and easy that, at the time when only few knew how to write, it might have seemed preposterous to scribble some symbols on expensive papyrus when an excellent calculating device was readily available.

Chinese suan pan is different from the European abacus in that the board is split into two parts.

The lower part contains only five counters on each wire, the upper contains two. Digits from 0 through 4 are represented solely by counters in the lower part. The other five digits need an upper counter. E.g., 8 is represented by 3 lower counters and 1 upper counter.

I was reminded by Scott Brodie that Japanese soroban differs from its chinese relative in that it enforces carrying by containing only 4 counters "below the bar" and only 1 counter "above the bar" on each "wire". This eliminates dual representations of "fives" and "tens".
The Japanese call the low portion "earth" and the upper portion "heaven".


The applet represents an abacus close to the Russian variant where, for the ease of use, middle counters differ in color from all the rest. Given the advantage of home computers, the applet allows you to select a number system with bases from 2 through 16. Carrying of 1 to the next digit on the left is automatic. The entire interface with the applet is by clicking the mouse button. You can move a group of counters with a single click. Just point at the last counter you wish to move.
2005 Alexander Bogomolny
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Abacus.shtml

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- quote -
Banshuu soroban 播州そろばん Abacus from Banshu (Hyogo)

Coming first from China,
the abacus was brought to Otsu from Nagasaki toward the end of the Muromachi period (1392-1573). It was during the following Momoyama period (1573-1600), when Toyotomi Hideyoshi sieged Miki castle, that the people of this small castle town fled to nearby Otsu, where some learned how to make the abacus. When they finally returned to their homeland, they began making what became the Banshu Soroban.
The peak of production here was in 1960, when 3.6 million abacuses were made. Demand has gradually fallen since then due to the appearance of the electronic calculator. The abacus, however, still has value as it provides a much more graphic way of visualizing calculations, and as such still has a place in the curriculum of many schools, where in the past principals of education were ""reading, writing and abacus"". Some also believe that using an abacus can stimulate the brain and prevent senile dementia.
Dense hardwoods such as ebony are used for the frame and boxwood and birch are used for the beads. The smooth operation of these abacuses is one of their special features but, the fineness and delicacy of the work, makes them works of art in wood.
- source : kougeihin.jp.e... -


. Hyogo Folk Art and Craft - 兵庫県　 .


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external link
The Abacus: The Art of Calculating with Beans.
Everything you wanted to know about Abacus.


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Checking for Soroban and Daruma, I found this story.
Here is a pot for keeping tea powder, Chaire 茶入．
算盤の珠の様な形状の茶入。達磨の坐像に見立てた事に所以する名称。



The form looks like the beads of a Soroban. It is supposed to look like a Daruma sitting in Zen meditation, so the pot is called "Daruma Tea Container".
- source - himeno/museum

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- look at more detailed photos :
- reference source : kaburaki.net.. -
九谷焼鏑木商舗 Kutani ware - Kaburaki

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

Fukushima 福島県 - Nishi Aizu, 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata

rokusan yoke ロクサン除け "preventing Rokusan"
Rokusan yoke no majinai ろくさんよけのまじない
People who know a lot of spells (咒 / 呪 ju, majinai) do not go hunting very often.
Once a man had a stomach ache and asked an old man for a ritual to prevent Rokusan. He was healed quite fast.
Sometimes it helps to rub an abacus on the painful spot and say a spell, sometimes it helps to plaster an amulet with some pine resin (松脂 matsuyani) over the painful spot.

. Rokusan　六三 - Deity of Illness .

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Kagawa 香川県 長尾町 Nagao

oomino 大箕 the great winnow
On the first birthday of a baby there is a special ritual. The baby is presented with a kind of rucksack containing (誕生餅) special birthday mochi and a winnow with a book, an abacus, a pen, scisors, a ruler, a hammer or other things with the wish for a bright future as a craftsman.


. mi み【箕】 winnow for grain .

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soroban boozu 十呂盤坊主 "the Abacus Priest"
In some parts of Miyagi people hear the sound of a soroban being used in the shade unter a tree by the roadside.



He is also known as the ghost of a junior monk who committed suicide for his math mistakes.
He appears under a tree during the night and makes noise of using a soroban calculator.
- source : shotakotake.com -

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wasan 和算（わさん）
the Japanese way of calculating

This is an original way of calculating, popular in Japan before the introduction of Western calculations.


Japanese mathematics
Kambei Mori 毛利勘兵衛 (Mori Kanbei) is the first Japanese mathematician noted in history
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


One of its famous teachers (wasanka 和算家) was



Seki Takakazu (Seki Kowa) 関孝和
寛永19年（1642年）3月? - 宝永5年10月24日（1708年12月5日））

He has been described as Japan's "Newton."
He created a new algebraic notation system, and also, motivated by astronomical computations, did work on infinitesimal calculus and Diophantine equations.
Another of Seki's contributions was the rectification of the circle, i.e. the calculation of pi; he obtained a value for π that was correct to the 10th decimal place . . .
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

He studied the calculation book 塵劫記 jinkooki (Jinkoki) by Yoshida Mitsuyoshi 吉田光由 (1598 - 1673), solved all the calculations given and added a few more of his own.





Sangaku or San Gaku (算額; lit. mathematical tablet)
are Japanese geometrical puzzles in Euclidean geometry on wooden tablets which had dedicated to Shinto shrine during the Edo period (1603–1867) by members of all social classes.
Fujita Kagen (1765–1821),
Shimpeki Sampo (Mathematical problems Suspended from the Temple)
Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !





算木 wooden sticks for counting.


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In a Saijiki for Memorable Days,
the 8th of August is the Day of the Soroban.
8/08 歳時記：そろばんの日

kigo for early autumn

http://homepage1.nifty.com/rivernos/saiji.html

The sound of the balls clicking is heared as
pachi pachi パチパチ, a diversion of sound from hachi hachi,
the eighth day of the eighth month.




算盤に肘をもたせて昼ねかな
soroban ni hiji o motasete hirune kana

with my ellbow
on the abacus
I take a nap

Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶


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the thumb doesn't move
if it ain't broke, don't fix it ..
on Soroban's day

Heike Gewi
Kigo Hotline, November 2010


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- source : www.ebay.com


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. Doing Business in Edo　- 江戸の商売 .



soroban naoshi　算盤直し / そろばん直し
repairing abacus calculators

In the Edo period the soroban was widely used, even by the common people. Special teachers for children and later even for grown-ups in a kind of night-school made good business.

Repairmen walked along the streets and repaired the broken abacus そろばんなおし when the beads would not move any more or had come off. Sometimes the frame was broken and needed replacement.
The repairmen also carried a variety of new soroban in their backpack and sold them if needed.


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