Shakuhachi Flute

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
. Komuso begging monks 虚無僧 .
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Shakuhachi, the Bamboo Flute

bamboo flute -
the blind monk plays
with the autumn winds


and Komusoo 虚無僧 Komuso Monks
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Some links about the shakuhachi

The shakuhachi is certainly Japan's most well-known woodwind instrument. A ertically-held bamboo flute, it is made from the very bottom of a bamboo tree. Bamboo is hollow except for this nodes which are spaced at Intervals along the pipe. These nodes are knocked out to form the complete hollow length of the pipe. Four fingerholes are put on the front of the instrument and a thumbhole on the back. The mouthpiece is the open top of the pipe itself with the front side cut at a slight and angle to facilitate blowing the instrument.

Although the placement of holes and tuning of the instrument is a very delicate process, the instrument itself is of a basically simple construction. It is this very fact, however, which allows for very complex techniques in playing the instrument such as the use of the breath with changes in the blowing angle for great or minute changes in sound quality, or partial-holding of fingerholes to make delicate pitch changes.

The instrument takes its name from its standard length of one foot (shaku) and eight (hachi) parts of a foot (called sun), approximately 54cm. There are other lengths of the instrument as well, all with the general name of shakuhachi.
http://www.j-music.com/aki/bamboo.html

http://www.shakuhachi.com/


The International Shakuhachi Society is a world forum for people interested in the Japanese bamboo flute. It enables various players, schools, composers, ethnomusicologists and hobbyists to share information with a wide
and sympathetic audience.
http://www.komuso.com/


Pictures of the blind and seeing monks called
<> Komusoo <> 虚無僧


http://www.komuso.com/images/komuso.gif

http://www.komuso.com/images/komuso4.gif


The Photo-Gallery of famous players
http://www.komuso.com/people/photos.html

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Shakuhachi, on the following link:

Rooan. The first komusoo
In honor of his shakuhachi (or hitoyogiri), he called himself
Fuuketsu doosha , the Person of the Way of the Wind and Holes.
He also was the founder of the komusoo temple in Kyoto, Myooan-ji or　Meian-ji, and the same person also known as Kyoochiku Zenji.

- reference -

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Isoda Koryūsai　磯田湖竜斎　 (1735–1790)
Komuso and Beauties


- quote -
The komusō (虚無僧 komusō, hiragana: こむそう; also romanized komusou or komuso)
were a group of Japanese mendicant monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism who flourished during the Edo period of 1600-1868. Komusō were characterized by a straw bascinet (a sedge or reed hood named a tengai or tengui) worn on the head, manifesting the absence of specific ego.[
They were also known for playing solo pieces on the shakuhachi (a type of Japanese bamboo flute). These pieces, called honkyoku ("original pieces"), were played during a meditative practice called suizen, for alms, as a method of attaining enlightenment, and as a healing modality. The Japanese government introduced reforms after the Edo period, abolishing the Fuke sect. Records of the musical repertoire survived, and are being revived in the 21st century
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. donkorogoma どんころ独楽
Donkoro spinning top for gambling .

It has the images of symbols of good luck to make a bet on.
一富士 Fuji、ニ鷹 Hawk、三なすび/茄子 eggplant、
四だるま Daruma san 五虚無僧 Komuso monk、六西行 poet Saigyo.
Gamblers bet on one side to come up as top and if it does, they get their money back about sixfold.


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The end-blown bamboo flute, the shakuhachi, is another noteworthy solo instrument. It first developed under the influence of Zen priests, with new schools of performance growing up from the 16th to 19th centuries.

http://web-japan.org/museum/music/music.html
http://web-japan.org/museum/music/music01/music01.html

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Studied Shakuhachi with Izu Hiroshi, master of Tozan school
source : ウベ・ワルタ Uwe Walter
He lives in a little village in the backwoods of Kyoto.

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quote
History of the Japanese Shakuhachi Flute
The Shakuhachi flute has been traced back as far as ancient Egypt and is thought to have migrated through India and China before being brought back to Japan by monks who were studying abroad in China during the 6th century.
... snip
The Fuke Sect of monks was dissolved around 1871 when the Tokugawa government fell and the Meiji Restoration began. Because of the special arrangement the Fuke Sect had with the Shoguns the Meiji would not honor the Fuke sect in order to weed out and eliminate spies and the Shoguns holdouts. The playing of the shakuhachi became forbidden and its use went underground.
When the Meiji government did permit the use of the shakuhachi again it was played as an accompanying instrument to the shamisen and koto. Many of the honkyoku and important documents were lost during the hiding. It wasn't until 1883 in Kyoto, Japan that the shakuhachi was revived by the Myoan Society at the old Fuke Temple, Myoan-ji. This society is responsible for much of the traditional shakuhachi music we have today.
source : www.zenbambooflutes.com




Elegant Shakuhachi Version of
Ushiwakamaru Serenading Jôruri-hime
奥村政信　Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764)

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Also see my musings about BAMBOO in general,
there are some shakuhachi photos in the Bamboo album

Bamboo Art
Bamboo as a Kigo
My Bamboo Haiku





尺八や　秋の空に響きおり

shakuhachi ya
the sound of autumn
in my valley

GokuRakuAn November 2007
Shakuhachi Concert with Gerhardt Staufenbiel


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From Zen Master Ikkyu (15th century)

The Dreamy Sound
of Bokushitsu's Shakuhachi
Awakened Me from Deep Sleep
One Moonlit Night

A wonderful autumn night, fresh and bright;
Over the echo of music and drums from a
distant village
The single clear tone of a shakuhachi brings a
flood of tears--
Startling me from a deep, melancholy dream.

[from Ikkyu, Zen Master. Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu.
Translated and edited by John Stevens. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.]
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Von Zen Meister Ikkyu (15 Jahrhundert)

Der Verträumte Klang
Von Bokushitsu’s Shakuhachi
Erweckte mich aus tiefem Schlaf
Eine mondhelle Nacht

Eine wunderbare Herbst-Nacht, frisch und hell,
Über dem Echo der Musik und Trommeln aus einem entfernten Dorf

Der einzelne klare Tone der Shakuhachi bringt eine Flut von
Tränen -
Aufgeschreckt bin ich aus einem tiefen, melancholischen Traum.

[von Ikkyu, Zen-Meister. Wilde Wege: Zen-Gedichte von Ikkyu. Übersetzte
und bearbeitete von John Stevens. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.]
…deutsche Übersetzung Mario Trinkhaus

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まづ知るや宜竹が竹に花の雪
mazu shiru ya Gichiku ga take ni hana no yuki

first you must know this !
Gichiku and his bamboo (flute)
bring "snow" to the cherry blossoms

or

first you must know this !
Gichiku and his bamboo (flute)
bring the cherry blossoms to fall like snow

Matsuo Basho
Written in 延宝5年. Basho age 34.

「吉野の山を雪かと見れば、雪ではあらで、や、これの、花の吹雪よの」
The cherry blossoms of Yoshino are famous for "haha no fubuki" cherry blossoms scattering like snow.

Too Saburo 藤三郎 Gichiku 宜竹 (ぎちく)
was a famous Shakuhachi flute player.
Kaijo Shuurin 景徐周麟 (1440 - 1518)

A monk of the Rinzai Sect Musoo 夢窓.
Also called Hanin 半隠, Taishoo 対松.
The shakuhachi at his time was a famous Hitoyogiri 一節切.

One of his famous tunes was "Yoshinoyama".
It was quite a hit in the Edo period and made Basho think of Yoshino.

. Mount Yoshino and more haiku about Gichiku .


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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©　Two Haiga by Emile Molhuysen, Delft, 2007








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不動尊竹で吹きたり手向けかな
fudouson take de fukitari tamuke kana
in Fudo Myo-O's sanctum,
blowing bamboo as an offering

(bamboo, as in shakuhachi flute)

natsu no hi take to kaeru no duetto kana
summer's day- a duet of frog and shakuhachi!

kunpuu ni ukabu shakuhachi no oto kana
floating on the summer wind, the sound of shakuhachi

Glenn Swann (chikukai)
(my own haiku and translation)
http://www.myspace.com/glennswannshakuhachi
http://shakuhachiflute.blogspot.com/

Translating Haiku Forum, August 2009

Glenn lives near asama yama, close to a fudo-son waterfall in karuizawa called sengataki.


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***** . komusoobana 虚無僧花 "komuso monk flower" .
Lamium album. white nettle


. Fue 笛 Flute playing Daruma 　

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. komusoo 虚無僧　説 Komuso legends about begging monks .


source and more komuso monsters : togetter.com/li

お猪口が變化した小さな虚無僧のような姿をした妖怪
little monster wearing a 猪口 Sake cup as Komuso hat.


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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO　　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
- #komuso #shakuhachi -
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Japanese Ghosts

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
. yuurei 幽霊 Yurei ghost, Geist .
. kaijuu 怪獣 Kaiju - mythological beasts .
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Japanese Ghosts and Ghost Stories
kaidan 怪談

O-Bake, お化け, anything that is fearful or super-large or otherwise out of the normal range is called O-Bake. We grow huge pumpkins in the garden, O-bake kabocha.

There is, of course also
O-Bake Daruma お化け達磨 !!



From the side


http://ebikani.org/youkai/hariko/obakedaruma.htm

Here are a few more papermachee monsters to click and have fun:
http://ebikani.org/youkai/hariko/mokuzi.htm

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Here is another Monster Daruma, from a computer game.
出たー！お化け達磨



Look at some more photos here:
http://syarekou.hp.infoseek.co.jp/games/kiga5/kiga5.html
Copyright (ｃ) 2001 Syarekoube

Now let us look at some of the more traditional Japanese Ghosts.

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Lafcadio Hearn has introduced the Japanese Ghost Stories in his great book
KWAIDAN.

Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn - Project Gutenberg - to download

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. Yotsuya Kaidan 四谷怪談 The Ghost Story of Yotsuya .

Hanga by Hokusai about the lantern ghost of O-Iwa, the jealous wife.

お岩さん　　天保２、３（1831-32）年頃
葛飾北斎美術館
http://joho.ehime-iinet.or.jp/rekihaku/kakonotokubetutenji/

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CLICK for more samples .

One Hundred Ghosts walking at Night
"Gazu Hyakki Yagyoo" "画図百鬼夜行”
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/asin/4309726089

There is a story about Fujiwara Tsuneyuki 藤原常行 (863 - 875).
He ventured out at night to meet his sweetheart in Eastern Kyoto, although his parents had asked him not to frequent this region. In the dark he happened to see the march of the 100 demons - oh dear !
He runs away in fear toward the Northern Gate of the Shinzen 神泉 cemetary, but the demons come after him. Still they can not harm him, because his mother had swen a magical mantra, 尊勝陀羅尼 (sonshoo darani), into his robes to protect him.
source :　ja.wikipedia


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Record of One Hundred Goblins,
by Kyôsai, Kyoosai Kawanabe
hyakki gadan 百鬼画談


http://www.city.koga.ibaraki.jp/rekihaku/hyakki.htm


In this woodblock-printed book by the gifted Meiji artist Kawanabe Kyôsai (1831-1889), the tradition of telling ghost stories is shown. On certain nights, especially in the summer, people gather together to tell ghost stories by the light of one hundred string wicks burning in an oil lamp.
As each story is told, one of the wicks is extinguished, thus making the room darker and darker. At the conclusion of the hundredth story, the room is thrown into darkness--and a spirit is said to appear.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images/8728s.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images.html


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Thirty-six ghosts by Taiso Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
新形三十六怪撰

prints were published from 1889 until 1892.
Yoshitoshi's Strange Tales
by John Stevenson
source : Jan van Reek


. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡芳年 .

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Hokusai made a great collection of 100 monster prints
One Hundred Ghost Stories
(Hyaku monogatari 百物語)
kigo for late summer

One of my favorite is the Dish Mansion (Sara yashiki　皿屋敷)


© Tokyo National Museum
http://www.tnm.go.jp/en/servlet/Con?pageId=B01&processId=01&event_id=2040

More about the One Hundred Ghost Stories
http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hyakumonogatari.htm


. お菊と焼継屋 O-Kiku and the Yakitsugiya .
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige - and the surprised pottery repairman
... a Japanese ghost story (kaidan) of broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate ...

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Scroll of Monsters Yookai Emaki 妖怪絵巻


Look at them all here:
http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/kikaku/index59/

And the collection of monster painting of the kids
http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/kikaku/index59/emaki/index.html


. Buson Yokai Emaki 蕪村妖怪絵巻 Buson Monster Scroll .
. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 (1715 - 1783) Painter and Poet .


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Old Household Tools, Tsukumogami 付喪神

According to "Yin-Yang Book", more than 100-year-old tools get souls and disconcert the public. Those tools are called Tsukumogami. At every beginning of a new year, the event called Sweeping soot is held in which old tools are thrown away on an alley.


http://ddb.libnet.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/exhibit-e/otogi/tsukumo/tsukumo.html

After reading the explanation about the spirits of the old tools I finally understood why second-hand is such a hard business in Japan. Nobody wants to get the vengeful spirit, that might come with an old cupboard or shoe. Most old belongings of a dead person are ritually burned.

When we moved into the old farmhouse, we had a long purifying ceremony to make sure that Grandpa, who lived there all his life, would not stay with us for ever... Now, I guess, he is happily looking down at the Paradise Hermitage, GokuRakuAn.

Here is another link to it:
... many people were frightened at the possibility that their objects might come alive and present new problems for them, so they would often throw them away when they reached 99 years. Because of this, when the items did come alive, they would sometimes be angry that they had been thrown out after being used so long. They would band together and oftentimes go back and scare the people who had thrown them out, for being so wasteful.
http://www.youkaimura.org/tsuku.htm


. WKD - Ningyoo kuyoo 人形供養
Memorial Ceremony for old dolls 　 .


- quote -
Understood by many Western scholars as a type of Japanese yōkai, the Tsukumogami (付喪神, "Kami of tools") was a concept popular in Japanese folklore as far back as the tenth century, used in the spread of Shingon Buddhism. Today, the term is generally understood to be applied to virtually any object, “that has reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and self-aware,” though this definition is not without its controversy.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. tsukumogami haiku by Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .

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The Ground Spider, The Earth Spider
Tsuchigumo zooshi 土蜘蛛草紙 scroll 　



The story is from the Heian Period. Look at all the photos of this old scroll here.
.. longuemare.hp.infoseek.co.jp/tutigumo_...



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It became a great success as a Kabuki Play later on.

It was only in Meiji period, late 19th century when TSUCHIGUMO was arranged as KABUKI play. The beautifully costumed evil character Earth Spider and its performances of throwing paper threads like spider webs, won public popularity.



http://ueno.cool.ne.jp/mirukashihime/kabuki.htm



Tsukioka Kōgyo 月岡耕漁 Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927)


Mask of tsuchigumo 土蜘蛛, the Ground Spider
for the famous Mibu Kyoogen 壬生狂言 performance
. Mibudera 壬生寺 Mibu-Dera - Kyoto .

Katsushika Hokusai - Raiko and the Earth Spider

- kumo 蜘蛛と伝説 Legends about spiders / Spinnen -


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Book about some - - - - - 怪奇鳥獣図巻 strange animals



Look at some more here:
http://www.kousakusha.co.jp/DTL/kaiki.html

... ... ...

The Old Chinese Sutra about Mountain and Sea Creatures
古代中国で編纂された地理と博物学の本『山海経』


http://www.chinjuh.mydns.jp/sengai/bovtigro/pa20.htm

Click on any of the clickable words.
http://www.chinjuh.mydns.jp/sengai/p01.htm


. kaijuu 怪獣 Kaiju - mythological beasts .
genjuu 幻獣 Genju, mysterious creature, cryptid


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The Complete Database about Ghosts
In Japanese
このデータベースには、日本民俗学の文献から集められた怪異・妖怪伝承についての20,719件の書誌情報が入っています。
source : www.nichibun.ac.jp/youkaidb .


Animals, ghosts and Yōkai depicted in Ukiyo-e
source : through-the-sapphire-sky .



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Quote from About Japan. Read more on these link pages. http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa102800.htm Obake, Bakemono Literally means, "transforming thing." "O" is an honorific prefix and "bake" is a noun form for the verb "bakeru (to change, to transform)." It can also be used more generally to refer to anything that is weird or grotesque. Yuurei According to Shinto beliefs, all people have a soul called "reikon." When a person dies, the reikon leaves the body and joins the souls of its ancestors. However, when a person dies suddenly by murder, is slain in battle, commits suicide, or when he or she hasn't been given an appropriate funeral, the reikon may become a yuurei to seek revenge. Many yuurei are female ghosts who suffered badly in life from love, jealousy, sorrow, or regret. Male yuurei are less common. Yuurei usually appear in a white kimono (katabira), which people were buried in the old days, and have no legs. They also wear a white triangular piece of paper or cloth (hitaikakushi) on their forehead. They usually appear between 2 and 3 a.m. http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa102800.htm I will tell you about "youkai," and look at the characters for them. Youkai literally means, "bewitching apparition." They include monsters, goblins, and ghouls. They usually appear at dawn or dusk. Unlike yuurei, which are the souls of the dead and downright scary, youkai are comical, bizarre and mischievous in some way. Here are some youkai. Oni Oni, demons or ogres, are one of the most famous youkai. They are huge and have horns. The color of their body is red, blue, or black. They usually carry a big iron club (kanabou). They are best known for guarding the gate of Buddhist hell. They also often appear in folktales. (Momotaro, Issun-boshi etc.) They are dumb, cruel, and malicious. On Setsubun (Feb. 3rd), there is a custom to drive away evil sprits. People scatter soybeans outside of doorways, shouting "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi! (Demon out, Good luck in!)." Kappa Kappa are supernatural creatures which live both on land and in water. They are as tall as a four or five year old child. They have a beak-like snout, and fins on their hands and feet. They also have a shell on their back, and a water-filled dish on their head. As long as the dish is full of water, kappa keep their supernatural powers. Kappa are known for dragging people into the water and pulling out their livers through their anuses. Although kappa harm people sometimes, there are also many tales where they have helped people. They are very curious. They often appear in cartoons because of their lovable images. Kappa love sumo wrestling and cucumbers. That is why cucumber sushi rolls are called "kappa maki". "Okappa" are bobbed hairstyles because they look like the kappa's hairstyles. Kappa are excellent swimmers. There is a saying "Kappa no kawa nagare (a drowning kappa)" which means, even an expert can make mistakes sometimes. Rokurokubi Female monsters with long, flexible necks. They look just like ordinary humans during the day, but at night, they extend their necks to frighten or spy on people. They sometimes turn their human faces into those of demons. Yuki-Onna A snow woman, appears in a white kimono on a stormy night. She causes travelers to become lost and freeze to death. Click here to read the story of "Yuki-Onna" by Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo). Hitotsume-Kozou A one-eyed goblin, literally has a large eye in the center of its face. It looks like the shaved head of a priest. It does not play tricks, but just scares people. Tengu Tengu is also a youkai. Click here to read about "tengu." http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa110400.htm

- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Water Goblin -
My Kappapedia

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Read Mark Schumacher about
Amano Jyaku Amanjaku、Amanojaku 天邪鬼
Fox (Oinari)　お稲荷さま
Kappa 河童
Tengu　天狗
ONI (DEMONS) in Japanese Buddhist and Shinto Traditions

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Some more links about the ghosts and monsters of Japan

Japanese Ghosts
By Tim Screech

The Japanese world of the supernatural comprises a dizzying array of characters, from the humorously bizarre to the downright terrifying. In the 18th century, Toriyama Sekien attempted to categorize the many different types of ghostly beings that inhabit the Japanese landscape, its heavens and its hells; the results of his efforts filled four huge volumes. Here, Tim Screech takes us on a slightly more abbreviated tour.
http://www.mangajin.com/mangajin/samplemj/ghosts/ghosts.htm



No-Masks List
Ghosts & Spirits
Hannya
Demons
http://www.pasar5.com/NOH_MASK/mlist.html



Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in Japanese Lore
Norman A. Rubin


The Realm of the Hell-Dwellers
A Buddhist Perspective
The eight hot hells and eight cold hells lie thousands of miles beneath the surface of the southern continent Jambudvipa. The major hells are stacked one on top of the other with the worst hell on the bottom.



The Wheel of Becoming
Bhavachakra artwork copyright by Ryuei. 2000.
http://nichirenscoffeehouse.net/ShuteiMandala/vedic.html



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The vengeful spirits, goryoo, onryoo 御霊、怨霊

. Vengeful spirits, onryo




akuryoo 悪霊 evil spirit

悪霊がきてざわめきぬ黒葡萄
akuryo ga kite zawamekinu kurobudo

an evil spirit has come -
the black grapes are in uproar

Katsumi Ozawa 小澤克己


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- - - - -  Read my articles about

Bakeneko, the Monster Cat ... 化け猫

Oni, Japanese Demons ... 鬼　と美術

TENGU and DARUMA

Tsuchinoko, tsuchi no ko ツチノコ or 槌の子 Hammerspawn legendary reptile, almost a snake

Ghosts (yookai, bakemono) .. and haiku



Halloween, Hallowe’en , and kigo for haiku

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Suggested further Reading

Japanese art is laden with images and allusions. Contemporary viewers may encounter difficulty recognizing the literary and historical allusions and other cultural codes embedded in early modern Japanese works. However, a more careful viewing leads to the exciting recognition that Japanese art covers themes familiar to Westerners and Easterners alike. The individual versus society; humanity and the forces of nature; this world vis á vis the Ultimate--are among the themes handled in Japanese art as they are in other cultures' artistic expressions.

Read a great exploration with many woodblock prints here:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images.html


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天野行雄さんによる妖怪民芸品４選
Exhibition of the Monster Folk Art by Amano Yukio



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Pandemonium and Parade
Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai

Michael Dylan Foster
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10977.php

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. Oni 鬼　Demon Amulets .


. WASHOKU
Yookai 妖怪 Monsters and Japanese Food


. yuurei 幽霊 Yurei ghost, Geist .

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- #tsuchigumo #spider -
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Engimono for good luck

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Engimono, little things for good luck 縁起物



Things red, round and small are pretty good for your auspicious future, especially during the New Year season. Daruma is one of them, but there are others.

Why is the Tumbler Doll Daruma always of RED color?
Red was the color of the robe of a high-ranking priest and since Daruma Daishi was the founder of the Zen Sect, he must have worn a red robe. The patterns painted in gold on the doll represent the Buddhist stole that a priest wore.

During the Edo Period, Daruma came to be seen by the townspeople as the healer of smallpox. Nowadays we have medicine to cure this illness, but in former times children suffered a lot from this and other diseases. It was believed that RED would ward off diseases, so the Red Daruma Doll with a threatening face became the preventor and healer of sickness. Modern medicine has found out that the color red really helps prevent smallpox!
Who is Daruma ?


hoosoo-e 疱瘡絵 prints to protect children from smallpox

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CLICK for more books about the toys of Edo.

江戸の縁起物 - 浅草仲見世 助六物語
Engimono - The Good Luck Charms of Edo


. Tokyo and Edo Folk Art .

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Now let us look at some others.

Why is the monkey a symbol of good luck? In Japanese, you can say
ma ga saru, 魔が去る, the bad luck is going to leave.
SARU means also monkey, so the monkey might help to make your bad luck go away.


Migawari-zaru of Naramachi, a Monkey Charm to take on your bad luck

In the old part of Nara, ther is a special custom to hang out a small red monkey to ward off evil. A special Kooshin-do Hall (庚申堂) is dedicated to the blue-faced heavenly guardian called Kooshin-san. Good-luck charms modeled after a monkey, which acts as a messenger from Kooshin-san, are hanging at the eaves of houses in Nara-machi so that evil spirits can be driven away. The charm is called "Migawari-zaru," or a monkey of substitution, because the monkey is supposed to get disasters in place of people. One doll for each person of the home is hanged on the eves of the house.

The Kooshin Deity (庚申 Koojin, Koshin, Kojin, Koshin) is also venerated in Chinese Daoism and this believe was taken over by the townspeople during the Edo period. There was this belief:

During one year according to the old lunar calendar, there are six Kooshin-days of the monkey. Three worms which inhabit the human body (san-shi no mushi) get out on these days and report the sins of the people to the gods. Kooshin was a popular deity that protected those who should be punished by the gods, and his messenger, the monkey, was therefore punished instead of the human sinner. Hence the name “migawari” “instead of my body”.

Migawari Monkey

http://www.naramachi.org/what/migawari.html

Why would a monkey take on the punishment of human sins?
The explanation brings us to Dunhunag, the oasis in the Gobi desert with the 1000 Buddhist caves, where there is a picture of a monkey bound by hand and feet, with a band around his belly. A monkey was believed to protect humans from evil and in the charming story of the Chinese pilgrim walking all the way to India to obtain Buddhist sutras, one of his magic protectors was the famous Monkey Son-Gokuu 孫悟空。
This extremely famous story has been translated into English by Arthur Waley, MONKEY.


http://homepage1.nifty.com/tadahiko/NANI/014-KOJIN.HTML

Another name of the charm is "Negai-zaru," or a monkey for wishes. If you write your wishes on the monkey's back and hang it, your wishes are said to come true.

http://urano.org/kankou/naramati/mati10.html#kousin


「ならまち民話地図」
in many languages, PDF-files

source : nara-edu.ac.jp


. san-shi no mushi, sanshi no mushi 三尸の虫 The Three Worms .

. medicine for kan no mushi 疳の虫 .

. Kooshin shinkoo　庚申信仰　Koshin Shinko belief .

. Folk Toys from Nara .

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Kooshin Hall in NishinoShinya-cho,Nara-City

The Koshin-do Hall is dedicated to a blue-faced heavenly guardian called Koshin-san. Good-luck charms modeled after a monkey, which acts as a messenger from Koshin-san, are hanging at the eaves of houses in Nara-machi so that evil spirits can be driven away. The charm is called "Migawari-zaru," or a monkey of substitution, because the monkey is supposed to get disasters in place of people.

Another name of the charm is "Negai-zaru," or a monkey for wishes. If you write your wishes on the monkey's back and hang it, your wishes are said to come true.
http://www1.sphere.ne.jp/naracity/e/kan_spot_data/e_si159.html


庚申堂（こうしんどう）

「奈良オリエント館」の北隣が写真の様に古い町家続きの町並みに解け合って佇む西新町の「庚申堂」、堂内の中央に木造彩色の青面金剛立像が安置されて、毎年３月の第２日曜日と、１１月２３日（祝）「勤労感謝の日」に講の人達によって「庚申祭」が行われ、参拝者の方に大根とこんにゃくの田楽がふるまわれています。なお、軒下の提灯の後ろにぶら下がっている三日月形ぬいぐるみは庚申信仰の「身代わり猿」で、日頃人の体の中にいる悪玉の「三戸ノ虫」が、庚申ノ日に抜け出して、天を支配する玉皇大帝（北極星）に告げ口をしますが、悪事がばれても「身代わり猿」が人に代わって玉皇大帝の怒りを全部受けて呉れます。
http://urano.org/kankou/naramati/mati10.html#kousin

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Aka-beko, akabeko, a red cow protecting from smallpox (like Daruma)

This little folk toy comes from the Tohoku region of Northern Japan.

Japanese reference
http://www.city.aizuwakamatsu.fukushima.jp/e/kanko/kokusai-kanko/area/art.htm
http://www.aizu-liaison.co.jp/liaison/sanbutu/sanbutu9.html
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This whimsical lacquered red papier-mache figure of an ox is known as an “aka-beko” which, literally translated, means red calf. Mid-20th Century. Her head, which is attached by a string, nods up and down and from side to side. This little folk toy comes from Fukushima Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan. Some 350 years ago, the townspeople constructed a large temple there dedicated to Buddha.

Heavy loads of lumber had to be transported long distances, and one of the oxen used was a large reddish cow. When the building was completed, she refused to leave the site. Shortly thereafter a member of the ruling clan fashioned a small effigy of the devout cow as a child’s toy. Made of lacquered papier-mache, the free swinging head bobs easily with any movement and delights children of all ages. When a great plague of smallpox swept the country, people appealed to Buddha for deliverance.

It was noticed that children who had this toy were not afflicted with the dread disease, and the superstitious local populace began to make similar toys as amulets against illness. (See “Mingei” by Amaury Saint-Gilles) Aka-beko are looked upon as omens of good luck and prosperity and are given as gifts at New Year’s and other auspicious occasions.
Dimensions: 11” long, 5 ¼” high.
Curtesy of B & C Antiques

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Continue here


Daruma Doll Museum : Cats and Daruma 猫と達磨

Read a detailed essay by Mark Schumacher about the Monkeys in Japanese art and lore. !!!

Information about
Hoosoo 疱瘡　＜＞　Smallpox, Red and Daruma (by Bernard Faure) An Essay

Edo Toys and beni lipstick

... ... ...


http://www.naramachi.org/what/migawari.html

The Three Worms in Taoism and Chinese Mecicine
www.ancientway.com/pages/ThreeWorms.html

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! More Engimono !
- click on the images for more -

DARUMA

Founder of Zen Buddhism in China. Fill in one eye and make a wish. Fill in the other eye when the wish has come true.

Tumbler Dolls (okiagari-koboshi)

That is another version of our Daruma san. For the New Year, you get just one more than members of the family and pray for health and good luck. This is a doll and custom of Aizu Wakamatsu, Northern Japan.


Golden Crucian Carp (金鮒)

This wonderous fish called FUNA from Ibaragi prefecture helps cure smallpox too. Especially when you eat it.


Kirin 麒麟 Kirin, not the giraffe

Legendary animal from China.Body like a deer, tail like an ox, hoofs like a horse, forehead like a wolf, with wings to take off to the clouds. Appears when a king was crowned in ancient China. Today a good beer!

. Kirinjishi 麒麟獅子 Kirin Lion Head .


Hare in the Moon (tsuki no usagi)

He pounds the herb of immortality to make the elixir of long life.
Pounding rice in the moon


Mallet for Good Luck (fuku-tsuchi)

Usually held by the Daikoku, one of the Seven Gods of Good Luck. You hammer your straw, make sandals of it, sell them and voila, you are a rich man.


Manekineko, maneki neko 招き猫 the beckoning cat
At the entrance of a shop or restaurant, she helps pulling customers in the store.The left hand up beckons for financial luck,The right hand up for a thousand customers- or vice versa, who knows?!


Mount Fuji (Fuji-san)

If your first dream of the New Year shows you this mountain, you are lucky for the rest of the year.
First Dream ... a kigo


New Year Ricecakes (kagami-mochi 鏡餅)

Decorated and later eaten in a good soup.This is maybe the most common New Year decoration.


Raijin 　雷神　 God of Thunder
A deity taken over from ancient Indian religion. Protector of the harvest.Usually with his buddy, the God of the Winds (fuujin raijin).
Gods of the Elements


Shichifuku-jin 七福神　＜＞　Seven Gods of Good Luck
Usually shown in a “Boat of Treasures” (takara-bune)


Tanuki 狸 ... A Badger posing as Daruma
Usually made of Shigaraki Pottery. He brings luck with many parts of his own body and things he is carrying.



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全国区の縁起物　だるま（No.1076）
Good Luck Daruma from all parts of Japan



Tokyo Shinbun　東京新聞
source : www.tokyo-np.co.jp


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Go-en ga arimasu yoo ni!
ご縁がありますように！

May we be bound by good fortune and good karma!

a pun with go en　五円 five yen coin !



Shared by Kunio Wakabayashi
Joys of Japan


. tashoo no en　他生の縁 karma relations and haiku .


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. Engi food for the New Year .

. Engi Food - the Octopus .


. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .


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- #engimono #goodluck #newyear -
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Newsweek Daruma

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Daruma as Newsweek Cover Photo



http://www.nwj.ne.jp/

日本が変わる
若い「397世代」が積極的に政治に参加しはじめた。この変化は衆院選と日本社会に何をもたらすのか。

衆院選　397世代が日本を変える
　2000年代に30代＋90年代に大学生＋70年代前後生まれ――「無関心層」の変身が馴れ合い政治を打ち砕く

争点　「ミュージカル選挙」の楽屋裏
　「刺客」を送り込んだ小泉に批判的な勢力はある重要な点を見落としている

国際比較　日本とドイツの崖っぷち選挙
　アジアと欧州、2地域のリーダーが復権するカギは改革派の勝利にあり

外国メディア　ここが変だよ日本の選挙
　世界各国の記者が衆院選と日本の未来を斬る
　
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The Elections of September 2005 in Japan


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Daruma and the USB memory



本物・高崎だるまのUSBメモリで開運祈願!?　
だるまさんの記憶

USBグッズを取り扱うサイト「ゑびす屋」で販売する。

http://ww25.darumouse.com/usbm-kaiundaruma.php

source : www.itmedia.co.jp/news


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Yakimono logo

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Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
Daruma Discussion Forum

Alphabetical Index of the Daruma Museum

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