Educational

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Educational Material with Daruma　

だるまで子供の教育


Indiana University, USA, has a good program to teach Kids of various grades about Japan, using Daruma san as a companion.

Here are instructions for kids to make your own Daruma doll.
Students will:
(1) know the legend of Daruma and how Japanese use a Daruma doll in the society.
(2) create a Daruma doll and use it by filling in one eye and setting up a goal.


Social Studies
Daruma is a good luck symbol for success. Compare and contrast the notion of success between Japanese and American cultures. Japanese "success" often emphasizes "efforts" and "patience," while the American "talents" and "luck." Discuss how such a difference would make people’s attitudes toward living.

Here is one more Daruma doll for the kids to study:

The Legend of Daruma (for Kids)

Daruma is a short name for Budhidharma, a Buddhist priest from India who lives in the sixth century. Daruma sat absolutely still and mediated for nine years. He did not move at all, and after nine years he had lost the use of his arms and legs. In fact, they had withered away. So, Daruma is made with no arms and legs. They have weighted bottoms so that no matter how you roll them, they will always return right side up. It is said that it symbolizes the spirit of patience necessary for success.
source .indiana.edu/~easc/

Lower Elementary level

Procedure:
Use an egg to make a Daruma.

Introduce the idea of wishing. Elicit from the students ways that we use to help us achieve our wishes. Examples are wishing on a star, wishing wells, wishbones, or candles on a birthday cake.

Introduce Daruma-san. Daruma was an Indian philosopher and disciple of Buddha whose full name was Bodhidharma. San is a title of respect. Legend has it that he meditated for so long that he lost the use of his arms and legs. As a result he could not walk, but he epitomized the popular Japanese proverb, "One may fall seven times but will rise up on the eighth."

Daruma became the symbol of determination and perseverance. Daruma dolls are often made with weighted bottoms so when they are tipped over they right themselves. Also, they are usually made without pupils in their eyes. When a wish is made, one pupil is colored in. This wish should be goal-oriented and should involve the wisher in attaining it. When the goal is met, the other eye is colored in.

The students should set an attainable goal, color the doll and one eye only. The traditional color for a daruma is red.

Display the daruma. When individual goals are met, the second eye can be colored in and the daruma taken home.

Elementary Level

Daruma-san, Daruma-san . . . Mr. Daruma, Mr. Daruma
Nira miko shimasho . . . Let us stare at each other
Warattara dame yo . . . You had better not laugh
Ichi ni san shi go . . . One, two, three, four, five


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Daruma Pebbles
This is an entertainment I do with our kids here. We collect pebbles at the local river or at seaside, in the shape of Daruma, but flat. On one side we write a Chinese character of an idea, which we can take as motto for a day, for example: STUDY, LOVE, KINDNESS, HELP and so on.

Every day kids can then choose one pebble from the box or pick one up from the roadside before leaving the home, put it in the pocket and check if they not forget their motto for the day every time they reach into the pocket.


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Kyoiku 教育　＜＞　Education with Daruma

MORE
.... Teaching Material about Japan


Daruma Museum


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worldkigo

KyunKyara K-On Figures

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KyunKyara きゅんキャラ K-On Figures
K-On Characters ... K-Yun Kyarakuta






You can open the little Daruma figure and place it over the body of the gyaru .. girl.


© PHOTO :　きゅんキャラ だるま





K-ON Nendoroids
K-On! Tsumugi Kotobuki figma figure

With K-On being so popular, I felt it'd be necessary to bring these figures to your attention. What we have here are the first official K-On figures, coming from Takara Tomy. They're set to retail for 400 yen a piece, and Danny Choo has the first pics of it. Knowing Danny, I'm sure he'll be revealing a K-On figma or something along those lines soon.

The Takara Tomy boxes will contain one of five figures: Mio, Yui, Rio, Tsumugi, and a mystery figure -- most likely the club's teacher. There's also a set of figures from Aoshima coming out in the fall featuring the girls from K-On. They're not quite figmas, but they're still poseable. No word on what they look like, just the announcement poster in the gallery below.
source :　www.japanator.com






Reference : "K-ON figures"

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. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .


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Wakasa laquer agate

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Wakasa Daruma - Daruma of Wakasa Laquer
and Agate Stone 　
若狭のだるま- 漆と瑪瑙
Obama town 小浜市, Fukui　福井


source :　www.athome.tsuruga.fukui.jp
by Tsukamoto san 柄本(つかもと)忠彦

「ツカモト民芸センター」 Tsukamoto Mingei Center
　小浜市福谷8‐29‐8

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Wakasa Province (若狭国, Wakasa no kuni)
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today southern Fukui Prefecture.
It is also known as Jakushū (若州) or Reinan (嶺南).

The province's ancient capital was at Obama, which continued to be the main castle town through the Edo period.

Before the ritsuryō period (7th-8th centuries), Wakasa Province was a part of the Yamato dynasty. Many shrines and temples were established during this period. Wakasa Province also provided fish and other maritime products to the Yamato State, and was called "the land of foods".

From the ritsuryō period until the Edo Period, fish from Wakasa, particularly mackerel, was transported to Nara or Kyoto. In the Edo Period, the city of Tsuruga was a base of the Kitamaebune ships which connected Osaka to Hokuriku and Ezo in the north.

Many temples in the Wakasa area were important sites in the Nara Period, such as Wakasahime Shrine (Obama) and Kehi Shrine (Tsuruga).
Because of the preponderance of temples, Obama is sometimes called "Nara by the sea".
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



Shrine Wakasahiko Jinja (若狭彦神社)
Shrine Wakasahime Jinja (若狭姫神社)
and Emperor Jinmu (神武天皇)
. Wakasa wedding of Deities . 　　

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Wakasa Bay 若狭湾
is an inlet in the Sea of Japan, on the northern coast of central Honshu. It has good fishing grounds because of the many natural inlets and a lot of fine natural beaches. It is also known as an area where agate stone is processed. When I passed there in 1995, there was a huge tourist rest area along the road of Obama Town （小浜） with a big shop selling all kinds of stones and the local laquer ware, well equipped like a museum to wander around.
The agate stone is sometimes split in two and on the straight cut face a Daruma is painted with laquer colors.

The laquer Daruma are made of a special process blending all kinds of colored laquer mixed with needles from pine or cedar to make the surface rough and then after covering it with colored laquer it is polished until shining. Sometimes even crushed shells or eggshells are used to produce special effects.

若狭塗の特長は、後半の塗りの工程で松葉や桧の葉などを、漆がまだ乾かない内に、塗り面 に貼る事で、表面に凹凸を付けた上に、箔や色漆などで模様付し、研ぎだす変り塗を特徴とします。貝や卵殻なども入れることがあり、堅牢な塗物です。その堅牢さから、塗箸に活かされ現在では、塗箸の一大産地となったのではないかと思います。

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The Wakasa area is blessed with a very beautiful landscape indeed.
For example the SOTOMO cliffs 蘇洞門. 　
. . . CLICK here for Photos ! 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　


There is a pilgrimage around 33 Kannon-Temples in the Wakasa area. You can click on any of the numbers to get a view of the Main Temple.
若狭の三十三観音の紹介：
3 Dragon Temples
第０３番　金照山　　龍渓院　　福井県三方郡美浜町丹生 47-1
第１１番　大龍山　　永源寺　　福井県小浜市田烏 37-3
第１７番　龍雲山　　神通寺　　福井県小浜市遠敷 56-2
http://www.kimura-product.co.jp/kannon7/wakasa33/wakasa.htm

. The Dragon Art Gallery - Temples.

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Folk art of the Wakasa area 若狭　民芸品
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Food specialities of Wakasa and Echizen area
若狭地方や越前地方の名物
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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source :　fumiekikaku.blog


Let us go back to the Laquer Ware of Wakasa.


Wakasa Laquer Ware
first made by Matsuura Sanjuuroo 松浦三十郎 Matsuura Janjuro, by order from the local Daimyoo Sakai, who also gave it is present name. 　


. . . CLICK here for Photos of Chopsticks from Wakasa !


Laquer Chopstiks are one of the specialities of Wakasa, especially in the town of Obama. The Chopstick Festival is on a day pronounced HA -SHI in Japanese, it the eights month and the fourth day of it. 　

大福だるま：
Daruma for BIG luck
夫婦だるま：
Daruma for a happy couple 　
努力だるま：
Daruma to increase your diligence 　
福姫だるま：
Princess Daruma for good luck

August 4：箸のふるさと館 Chopstick Festival 箸まつり
小浜は日本一の塗箸生産地。８月４日（はしの日）にちなんで開かれるまつり。





. Chopsticks (hashi, ohashi, o-hashi　お箸） .
with DARUMA !


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Now let us talk about Wakasa Agate Stone art,
which is said to have been introduced with a special technique process by Tamaya Kihei. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　


若狭めのう細工

quote
Wakasa now stands in present-day Fukui Prefecture. One of the old villages of Wakasa was called Onyu and it was this area that was served by the main shrine of the province. Back in the Nara period (710-794), a sea-faring people known as the Wanizoku, who made jade the object of their faith, came to the area and built what was called the Wani-kaido, a road in front of the shrine. Here they started making jade objects and Wakasa agate work is said to have begun at this time. In the middle of the Edo period (1600-1868), a technique to enhance the color of agate by heating it was perfected and by the 19th century, a range of cutting and shaping techniques were added.

Agate is a semi-transparent type of quartz with markings similar to annual rings. The same people who noticed that it turned a wonderful color when heated to between 200-300°C, perfected the firing techniques that are now so special to Wakasa agate work. Being an extremely hard stone, a great deal of time is taken over cutting and polishing the stone in order to create lovely animals, Buddhist statues, censers, sake cups and all kinds of personal ornaments
source : kougeihin.jp


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When we were in the area, we also travelled to a most scenic peninsula close by, to the five colorful lakes of Mikata （三方）. They have salt water and seawater in differrent mixtures and are all of different colours. In the middle of the area on a mountain is a visitors center with a beautiful view and of course the local Daruma for sale. Another speciality of the area are dried salty plums (umeboshi 梅干).

Mikata no gokoo 三方の五湖 Five Lakes
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Wakasa Daruma from my collection





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Gookaku Daruma from Wakasa Laquer
合格ダルマ　生産ピーク～福井・小浜市
2012



source : www.mbs.jp/news - VIDEO

They help students pass an examination and are quite pouplar in 2012.


. gookaku 合格（ごうかく）Daruma to pass an examination .


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Urushi 漆　ウルシ　Lacquer Ware and Daruma
General Information


. Menoo 瑪瑙だるま　Agate Daruma 　



. WASHOKU
Local dishes from Fukui and Wakasa 　

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Ohaga Michi no Eki

大垪和　道の駅　山里の駅

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Shamoji Ladle

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shamoji しゃもじ ladle
杓文字, 杓、シャモジ

しゃもじ　杓子　=しゃくじ shakuji, shakushi


- source :　kyoudogangu.xii.jp...


They are used to scoop rice out of the cooking pot.
Also called "Rice Paddles", rice spoons, wood spatula, rice scoop.
They were made from wood or bamboo, but nowadays of course they are made of plastic.



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shakuji 杓子 are also used to scoop liquid.

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Some temples are famous for the shamoji that people bring as offerings.
! PHOTOS !




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Tiny folk craft of a miniature rice paddle (shamoji) and Daruma in a kiri (paulownia) wood box.
The rice paddle measures 1-7/8". Attached to the rice paddle are two grains of rice. There are some Japanese characters or words written on each rice grain. Daruma is painted on a 3/16" roundish piece of wood. The box measures approximately 1-3/4" x 2-1/4" x 11/16" and has words, a red stamp and a mountain painted on the top.




source : 　kyototraditions.com


MORE
Daruma Dolls from Kyoto Traditions Com


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Uzuma no namazu うずまの鯰 catfish amulet from Uzuma
from the river Uzumagawa 巴波川
in the form of a shamoji ladle

. Namazu なまず/ 鯰 catfish in legends and toys .


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Miyajima shamoji 宮島　しゃもじ rice paddles

It has been invented as a souvenir to help people make some extra money.

The island of Miyajima near Hiroshima is famous for inventing the rice ladle. There is even the largest rice paddle of the world on display.



The large one (ooshakuji　大杓）is 2.7 meters tall, 7.7 meters long and 2.5 tons heavy.
It is made from an old zelkova (kiri) tree.
It scoops not only rice, but tourists to the island.

On the island, many shops sell souvenir shamoji for good luck, in all sizes and forms. One shop owner still makes them by hand and offers more than 60 different types.



Many Japanese buy such a paddle , write a wish on it, and then send it to a friend, or leave it at a temple.

It is so famous on the island, that the local people call a rice paddle
"Miyajima" at the kitchen table.

It is also a pun with the sound of
meshi o toru 飯を取る　to get some rice
meshitoru　召し取る to get a woman for marriage

and thus an extra bonus for good luck.





Personal shamoji with photos


宮島手づくり工房　
source :　miyajima-tk



source :　www.shakushi.jp



for the year of the Dog





Shamoji Bento lunch box しゃもじ 弁当





shopsign with a shamoji

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In 2012, the famous yearlong drama of NHK features
2012年大河ドラマ「平清盛」

. Taira no Kiyomori 平 清盛 .



who built the famous shrine on the island.
Some eager souvenir shops have already started to paint the head of the actor on a shamoji.

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shamoji at Enoshima　江ノ島



shamoji 杓文字 Shaped Like Benten's Biwa

The Shamoji 杓文字, or rice scooper,
was reportedly first devised by a monk from the Benzaiten island sanctuary at Itsukushima Shrine (Hiroshima). This biwa-shaped wooden spoon is used to serve cooked rice everywhere in Japan. It supposedly symbolizes both Benzaiten's musical instrument (the biwa or lute) and Benzaiten's linkage to agriculture and the rice crop. Small and large versions of the shamoji are sold as popular souvenirs at many Benzaiten shrines in modern Japan.


source : Mark Schumacher


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... on this day at the temple Zenkoo-Ji 善光寺 in Nagano, the statue of Binzuru is dressed with a straw rope around his head. While the believers touch him with bamboo ladles (shamoji 杓), he is carried around the outer shrine and then back to his original place.
People pray for health and good luck for the coming year.

Read more HERE
Ceremony for Binzuru (Binzuru mawashi)


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H A I K U

- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

御仏も杓子も虫に鳴かれけり
mi-botoke mo shakushi mo mushi ni nakare keri / mihotoke

Buddha and spoons
the whole wide world!
insects singing

by Issa, 1808
Shinji Ogawa notes that Issa is playing with the expression, neko mo shakushi mo ("cats and wooden spoons"), in other words, "everybody." Instead of "cats and spoons" Issa writes "Buddha and spoons."
(Tr. and Text: David Lanoue)


even Buddhas,
even ladles have to listen
to these loud insect cries

. Comment by Chris Drake .



涼しさは蚊を追ふ妹が杓子哉
suzushisa wa ka o ou imo ga shakushi kana

the coolness
of my darling's spatula
driving away mosquitoes
Tr. Chris Drake


This hokku was published posthumously, so it's not known when it was written. The word imo in the second line had four possible meanings in ancient Japanese:
1) a man's sister, older or younger,
2) "darling," a man's lover or wife,
3) a young woman of marriageable age, and
4) the younger sister of a woman, or "you" when used by a woman to a woman friend.

In Issa's time this was a classical word, but many writers in this period liked to use ancient words because of the romantic aura the words had. The same aura clung to imogako, "darling girl," which Issa occasionally uses in the sense of "young lady," clearly referring to young girls. Issa uses the classical imo from time to time, mainly, it seems, when he wants to be polite and raise a normal happening to a more romantic level. There is no consensus in Japan about Issa's use of imo, but my impression is that about half seem to refer to Issa's wife or, when he was younger, a possible lover or lovers, and about half seem to refer to lively young women who are doing something interesting. The present hokku, since it seems to refer to a private supper, probably refers to Issa's wife. When Issa wants to refer to his first and most beloved wife in an ordinary way, he uses her name and writes "my Kiku" (waga Kiku), but in the present hokku he seems emotionally appreciative of her and what she's doing, and perhaps he wants to evoke her actions in a more romantic and offhandedly elegant way.

The flat wooden implement Issa's darling holds is a cross between a paddle and a scoop, with a handle and an oval or semicircular flat area that acts as the scoop. Probably Issa's wife has been scooping out portions of rice into bowls, or perhaps cleaning up after supper, and when the sun goes down and the air grows cooler the mosquitoes arrive in force. In the light of an oil lamp she waves the spatula or scoop at mosquitoes to keep them away, but the way she does it is so unexpectedly graceful that Issa feels even cooler. I don't think the hokku is about using the scoop as a fan. It's the way Issa's darling holds the scoop in her hand and moves it that seems to make him feel even cooler. In another version of the hokku the first line is, "in the coolness," suggesting that the woman doesn't create the coolness with her spatula but makes the coolness feel more palpable or apparent or perhaps more pleasant. Does she make the room seem airier? Larger and more spacious? Do her movements with the spatula make Issa feel as if she's scooping air? Issa has numerous hokku about coolness, and many of them deal with shapes or sights that synesthetically make people feel cooler.

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 Issa in Edo .


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- #shakuji #shamoji #ricepaddle #ladle #scoop -
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Temple Io-Ji

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Temple Io-Ji ... 医王寺
This temple is located in Kyoto, Ayabe town.
京都府綾部市

The temple was founded around １４６０～６５ by 安国寺九世妙澤和尚.
Originally in contained a statue of Yakushi Nyorai (hence its name, temple of the Medicine King. But this was stolen and later replaced by an Amida statue.
This temple is more famous for a statue of Amida Nyorai.


This statue of Daruma is about 35 cm high.
Its origin is unknown.
達磨大師像

© PHOTO :ayabe bunkazai



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Daruma Temples, an Overview

Alphabetical Index of the Daruma Museum

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worldkigo

Eraser

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Eraser (keshigomu) 消しゴム
Radierer, Radiergummi,

This is an old one, maybe 30 years old. Used for studentd during the examination period as encouragement.


Photo from my friend Ishino.

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© PHOTO :　~doishun

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source :　www.popgallery.jp

Snowman Daruma as Eraser





CLICK for more photos .


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Enpitsu 鉛筆 Pencil with Daruma


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Daruko clappers

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Daruko Daruma clappers だる子

Daruko, also Naruko だる子又は鳴子
They are used when dancing during festivals in Takasaki.
Also called rattles. The name is a contraction from
Naruko and Daruma.





and the LOGO DARUMA from this site:



©　takasaki-live


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Here is another "Naruma" なるま




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These NARUKO 鳴子 with different design are also used for other regional dances in Japan.
The "Yosakoi Naruko Odori" dance parade of Kochi in Shikoku every August is especially famous for these clappers. They are old instruments of farmers to scare away birds from the fields. They are black and have yellow sticks to beat the plate.
There is also a famous "Yosakoi Naruko Dancing" song from Takemasa Eisaku.


Farmers in other regions of Japan also used naruko to scare away animals from the harvest.


CLICK for more photos.

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Kokeshi from Naruko Hot Spring なるこ温泉のこけし
鳴子温泉　Naruko Onsen
Kokeshi, Wooden Dolls こけし


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Do not mix this clapper with the toy called "Denden Daiko",
a little drum and toy for babies and small children.


Denden Daiko でんでんだいこ, でんでん太鼓
Denden-Drum , twist drum


CLICK for more photos !


. mamedaiko, mame taiko 豆太鼓 Denden drum with beans . - Tochigi

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The drum (daiko) is an auspicious instrument. This toy is added with the wish that happiness may grow and grow.

. tsurushibina つるし雛 / 吊るし雛 small hanging hina dolls .


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. denden daiko デンデン太鼓 toy drum .
In red and black from Miyazaki





denden daiko omamori でんでん太鼓
. Akama Shrine 赤間神宮 Akama Jingu .
Shimonoseki



. denden inu hariko でんでん犬張子
papermachee dogs with a little denden drum .
Tokyo


. Damaru drum, damru .
India


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ponpachi ポンパチ Ponpachi paper drum
. Kagoshima Jingu 鹿児島神宮 Kagoshima Shrine .


Gangu　玩具　＜＞ Toys with Daruma

Kokeshi, Wooden Dolls こけし and Daruma


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Namaketaroo

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Namaketaroo Daruma Ponpon
なまけたろう　だるまポンポン

the Lazy Taroo






© PHOTO :　e-towelya



Namaketaroo
is a manga figure and toy you can take to bed. He is always sleepy and lazy.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !



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Alphabetical Index of the Daruma Museum

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worldkigo

Shamisen

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Shamisen 三味線




Here is a full set of things from my friend Ishino.








The shamisen or samisen (literally "three flavor strings"),
also called sangen (literally "three strings") is a three-stringed musical instrument played with a plectrum called bachi.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Tsugarujamisen 津軽三味線 Tsugaru Shamisen

Okinawa no sanshin 三線 / 沖縄の三味線 three strings of Okinawa
Also called jabisen 蛇皮線, lit. "snake-skin strings" or
jamisen 蛇三線, "snake three strings" due to its snakeskin cover.

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. akamono 赤もの red dolls .
from Fushimi, Kyoto 赤もの　伏見土人形


赤もの　三味線弾き akamono - Shamisen player
about 7 cm high

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Listen to Chikuzan Jongara bushi
source : www.youtube.com..


quote
Finding inner silence in the shamisen
When Catriona Sturton first arrived in Japan in August 2000, she knew very little about Japan or its culture. Little did the 24-year-old assistant language teacher know that she would become a skilled shamisen player. But that is exactly what happened -- her musical performances were recently broadcast on television in Hiroshima Prefecture and featured in an Asahi Shimbun article.


Water is an important element of the music played by (from left)
Chikuzen Tanaka, Catriona Sturton and Soken Danjo.

"It all started with Yoshio Watanabe, the English teacher at my high school here in Fukuyama, [Hiroshima Pref.]" Sturton says. "He invited me to get involved in a local old-houses restoration project. It was through this group that I met Danjo-san and Tanaka-san."

Buddhist priest Soken Danjo and local shamisen master Chikuzen Tanaka were producing a nonprofit CD recording of traditional Japanese healing music, for distribution to hospice programs around Japan. When he heard that Sturton had been a member of a popular indie rock band in her college days, Danjo invited her to join the chorus featured on the CD recording.

"That was the first time I visited a Buddhist temple," says Sturton. "It was a cold winter night, and the room was dark and mysterious. People involved in the recording were huddled around stoves, and when I heard Tanaka-san playing the shamisen for the first time, the experience left a profound impression on me."

It took another eight months for Sturton to pick up the three-stringed Japanese instrument for the first time.

"At the time I was busy playing bass guitar with a punk rock band in Fukuyama," says Sturton. "I was also jamming regularly with local country music, reggae and blues groups. Because I couldn't speak Japanese, I thought it would be too difficult to learn the shamisen. But when I heard a young performer at a local festival the following summer, I knew I wanted to give it a try. As a bass player, what I found really powerful was the lower tone of the shamisen."

Danjo, a skilled guitarist, sometimes invited Sturton to join blues sessions at his home. He suggested Sturton talk with Tanaka, who offered her a good deal on a used shamisen and began to give her lessons in the Tsugaru-jamisen tradition.

"A Japanese friend had warned me about studying shamisen," Sturton says. "They said most teachers were strict and expected their students to be serious. I was worried about that, but my teacher later told me that the relationship between teacher and student is like that of a mafia boss and his underlings. He suggested I watch yakuza movies to understand this. When we were not practicing, his wife and he were very lighthearted. They have a good sense of humor."
- snip -
How has the shamisen influenced Sturton?
"It's pretty difficult to describe how I feel when I play. In Japanese there is a word, mushin, that means 'nothing heart.' It's a kind of inner calm that I experience when I play the shamisen. As for studying with my teacher, anytime you meet somebody who is doing what they love for a living, I think that it is a great positive influence. It reminds you that there are so many paths to choose in life. After finishing the JET program, I'd like to study with him full time for at least six months and then create the opportunity for us to go on concert tour around Canada."
source : www.japantimes.co.jp



cold winter night -
remembering friends
with a warm heart

Gabi Greve, January 2012


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cold winter night -
remembering a friend
with a sad heart

January 9, 2013
I had a call from Danjo san today.

Chikuzen has passed away a few days ago, after a battle with cancer.

Just this morning, before the phone call,
I had introduced the Shamisen to my haiku friends in Facebook and spent a few minutes with all the fond memories . . . and then . . .

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Two geisha and a maid carrying a samisen box walking
Kitao Shigemasa


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- quote
Tokyo Shamisen

■ Traditional Technologies and Techniques
1- A Tokyo Shamisen is comprised of three major components. These are joined together by tenon and mortise joints. 継手（つぎて）
2- Ayasugibori 綾杉彫り (the carving of wavy resonance patterns) occurs after the instrument's stop has been cut. The backside of the wood used to make the body of the instrument is chiseled away. A namazori 生反 (spear-shaped chisel) is then used to further shave down the back side of these pieces. Using yet another chisel carefully creates the distinctive ayasugi patterns. During this process, extreme care is taken in order to prevent even a single error occurring.
3- After the four pieces that will make the body of the instrument have undergone ayasugibori, they are joined together using nikawa glue 膠（にかわ）. Being created from hardwood and fashioned in ellipse shapes, these pieces are affixed together using only glue with no metal fittings. Thus, the glued contact surfaces of the pieces must be precise.
4- The skin stretched to cover the instrument's sound hole is especially prepared. To moisten the skin, it is wrapped in a damp cloth that has been thoroughly wrung out in advance to remove excess water. Special clips called kisen 木栓（きせん） are then used to mount the skin on a stretching device called a haridai. Chords are then slowly tightened to stretch the skin over the sound hole.

■ Traditionally Used Raw Materials
Redwood, red sandalwood, oak, rosewood (karin), mulberry, skin (cat, dog), raw silk.
紅木（紫檀）、紫檀、樫、花櫚（かりん）、桑、皮（猫、犬）、生糸



■ History and Characteristics
The ancestor of the Japanese shamisen is the Chinese three-stringed shamisen. The three-stringed shamisen was created in China, it coming to be known as the snake-skin shamisen when passing to the Kingdom of the Ryukyus (modern Okinawa Prefecture) at the end of the 14th century as snake skin was subsequently used in its manufacture.

It is believed that the first shamisen examples appearing in mainland Japan were landed at the Port of Sakaino after being traded from the Ryukyus. This event occurred during the Eiroku Era (1558-1570) as the Muromachi Period (1337-1573) drew to a close.

At around that time, when players of the biwa (the Japanese lute) played snake-skin shamisen in accompaniment to kouta (ballads) and dances, they encountered the problem of snake skins tearing. After trying a number of different skins as possible replacements for snake skin, these musicians decided to use cat skin.

Thus came about the development of a unique Japanese shamisen that was strummed using the pick of the biwa.

During the Edo Period (1603-1868) at around the time of the Kanei Era (1624-1643), master shamisen craftsmen such as Kanda Harumitsu and Ishimura Omi began to appear on the scene. The appearance of such craftsmen contributed to the development of musical styles such as nagauta (epic Kabuki songs), gidayu (puppet theater recitations), icchubushi (dramatic recitations accompanied by shamisen), tokiwatsu (a kabuki narrative), kiyomotobushi and shinnaibushi (narrative pieces). These styles represent the basis of the modern shamisen musical repertoire. The manufacturing of shamisen also flourished at this time.
歌舞伎の長唄や、義太夫、一中、常盤津、清元、新内の邦楽

When a shamisen string is plucked, it leaves behind a distinctive sound (resonance) called a sawari サワリ. The musical effect of the sawari has linkages to the ethnic identity of the Japanese.

In that Japanese people tend to prefer intermediate colors rather than primary ones, it also seems that they prefer complex sounds that contain overtones rather than simple ones. Traditional materials used in the neck of shamisen include (Indian) redwood, oak, rosewood and mulberry, while cat and dog skin is also used to cover the sound hole of the instrument.

Tokyo Japanese Musical Instruments Association
- source : www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.jp


. List of Edo craftsmen　江戸の職人 .
shamisenshi 三味線師 Shamisen maker


Cats playing the Shamisen
Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川 国芳



CLICK for more Shamisen Ukiyo-E

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kigo for all spring



. shamisengusa 三味線草（しゃみせんぐさ）
"Shamisen plant"
Sheperd's purse, nazuna 薺
It reminds us of the plectrum of the shamisen player.






三味線の音のこぼれきて薄暑かな
shamisen no ne no kobore-kite bakusho kana

the faint sound
of a shamisen -
early summer weather
Tr. Gabi Greve

quote
http://weekly-haiku.blogspot.com/2007/07/40.html



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source :　zenmaitarow

And a Daruma sticking out his tongue!!

. snowed in -
Daruma having fun
on the shamisen .


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- - - - - Matsuo Basho - - - - -


琵琶行の夜や三味線の音あられ
biwakoo no yo ya samisen no oto arare

quote
Song of a lute
in the night - sounds as though
hailstones are falling

This haiku was influenced by Po Chu I’s poem, ‘Song of the Lute’, which he wrote while in exile at Chiu-chiang. He had been moved by someone playing the p’i—p’a, a lute. Upon enquiry it proved to be a former singing girl, who had fallen upon hard times. The poem contained two lines

The big strings plang—planged
like swift—falling rain
The little strings went buzz—buzz
like secret conversations
Tr. and comment : Bill Wyatt



Written in 1684 貞亨元年.
Basho had spent the night in Ogaki at the home of
Kondoo Jokoo 近藤如行 Kondo Joko.
As one attraction of the haikai meeting, Nyoko had asked a blind shamisen player 座頭 to perform for them.
It reminded Basho of the chinese poem Hakurakuten 白楽天, Haku Kyo'i 白 居易 (772 - 846) and his poem Biwakoo 琵琶行.

There is also another version of this poem

雑水に琵琶聴く軒の霰かな
. zoosui ni biwa kiku noki no arare kana .
(summer) hail. falling on the eaves. sounds like a biwa lute. rice porridge



Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


Kondoo Jokoo 近藤如行 Kondo Joko.
(? - ? 1708)
He was the first disciple of Basho in Ogaki 大垣. Also called 源大夫. As the last station of his trip to "Oku no Hosomichi" Basho wanted to reach the home of Nyoko, where he had stayed before. The home of Nyoko burned down in a fire in 1692 元禄5年9月4日.
Nyoko had left his position as a samurai and became a monk very early in life. He travelled a lot, just like his master, Basho.

Another hokku by Basho during his stay with Joko:

胡蝶にもならで秋経る菜虫哉
. kochoo ni mo narade aki furu namushi kana .

- - - - - Some poems by Joko:

霜寒き旅寝に蚊屋を着せ申　

歯固に梅の花かむにほひかな　　

夜るの日や不破の小家の煤はらひ　　

宵の月西になづなのきこゆ也　　

涼しさやともに米かむ椎が本　

鬼の子に餅を居るもひゐな哉　

名月や西にかゝれば蚊屋のつき　

何のあれかのあれけふは大師講　　

source :　itoyo/basho



MORE - Biwa lute poems by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

小乞食の唄三絃や夏の月
ko kojiki no uta sangen ya natsu no tsuki

a beggar child
sings to the shamisen -
summer moon
Tr. Gabi Greve



三絃に鳴つく許り千鳥哉
shamisen ni nakitsuku bakari chidori kana

plovers cry out
precisely to the rhythm
of shamisens
Tr. Chris Drake

This winter hokku is from the 10th month (November) of 1819, the year evoked in Year of My Life. Issa, in a somber mood after the death of his young daughter Sato, seems to be remembering his earlier life in Edo, since several hokku placed just before this one deal with Edo. The hokku preceding this one evokes the withered, frost-covered fields behind the Yoshiwara entertainment quarter where sex work was also legal, so this hokku, too, may deal with this area. Many of the oiran and other highly trained women entertainers in the Yoshiwara quarter were experts at the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument played with a wood or ivory plectrum that Portuguese traders compared to the lute but that is closer to the banjo in terms of the amplification created by its sound box and the twanging sound of its strings.

The Yoshiwara quarter stood alone in the fields on the northern edge of Edo, isolated from the downtown area by the shogunate because it, along with the theater district, was regarded as a "bad place." The strong, reverberating sounds of samisens that come from the quarter present a stark contrast with the rather quiet world of empty, frost-covered fields outside. There are, however, some bird cries. Not far away is a canal that leads to the big Sumida River, and plovers fly here and there along the embankment. Plovers are convivial birds that like to chat and move in small groups, and to Issa's ear, their cries seem to closely follow the sounds of the shamisens nearby.

The verb nakitsuku, to tearfully implore, is written with the character to weep (泣付く), but Issa uses a different character, one used for animal cries (鳴つく). He seems to be doing this to suggest that the plovers are not so much imploring as crying out in close response, as if they liked the shamisen sounds and wanted to reply or synchronize their own cries with them. The normal plover rhythms have disappeared, and a kind of choral relationship has taken their place. Since the plovers live near the Yoshiwara quarter, they seem to have become accustomed or even attached to the shamisen sounds. The same kind of symbiotic sound environment was also no doubt created in many other parts of Edo, since the shamisen was the most popular instrument in Issa's time and was played in all sorts of situations, including theaters and festivals, by men as well as women. Issa's hokku could work in any of these situations.

In the Yoshiwara the leading women were called either tayuu or oiran, so the shamisen shouldn't be associated exclusively with geisha. The word geisha meant "performing artist" and referred, for example, to renga and haikai masters as well as the top actors in a No or Kabuki troupe. Some less famous male geisha entertainers worked as male jesters and musicians in the Yoshiwara quarter and at private parties, and by Issa's time many women were also working discreetly as party performers, though the shogunate frowned on women appearing in public. Some female geisha even became ballad singers of long, original works. Since women were a minority, however, these women were usually called "women geisha." Many became independent, performing here and there in Edo, and some took on male patrons on the side, but they should not be confused with full-time sex workers. It was only after westernization began in 1868 that the word geisha became synonymous in the minds of many non-Japanese with female sex workers.

In Issa's time the shamisen was also called samisen and sangen, and the instrument in the hokku can be read in these three ways. The editors of Issa's Collected Works have added phonetic glosses here and there that give samisen for the characters Issa uses, but I have chosen shamisen instead. It is the only pronunciation included in the Japanese-Portuguese dictionary of 1603, and it remained the most common of the three pronunciations.

Below is a link to a woman shamisen teacher demonstrating how to play a short Edo shamisen piece that is usually performed during a Kabuki play to suggest plovers near a river. In Issa's time only men were permitted to be Kabuki actors or musicians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwGVChEHXHo

This link shows a kind of emotional county shamisen style that was originally developed by wandering blind women goze musicians who in Issa's time performed in northern areas along the Japan Sea, some near Issa's hometown, so Issa may have heard shamisen playing in his hometown that was a bit similar to this. Today this style remains popular mainly in northern Aomori Prefecture, though it has recently been (re)gaining popularity around Japan due to the power of the media:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5rs7pfZuPs

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

. Plover (chidori) .


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