Namazu-e: The Art Genre That Challenged the Tokugawa Shogunate

A Namazu-e print titled "Shin Yoshiwara ōnamazu yurai". In this print, Namazu has devastated the "pleasure district" of Shin Yoshiwara in Edo. The ladies of the night (and others) attempt to take their revenge, but Namazu gets a thrill from having them come into contact with him and threatens to thrash around and cause some aftershocks. (Wikimedia Commons) 

In 1855, a massive earthquake struck Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and killed over 10,000 people. At the time, the earthquake was widely blamed on Namazu, the monster catfish and water deity that, according to legend, lives in the waters underneath Japan. Out of the rubble of Edo arose a short-lived art genre that ridiculed the Tokugawa government and the upper strata of Japanese society and challenged the Tokugawa government's censorship laws. This art genre was known as Namazu-e.

"What/who is Namazu," you ask?  Namazu is one of the many monsters (or 'yōkai') of ancient Japanese legends. According to the legend, Namazu is restrained by the Shinto god Kashima, who keeps a stone on top of him. However, when Kashima is not looking, Namazu will roll around or wiggle his tail, causing the nation's violent earthquakes. The legend of Namazu is believed to have its origins in the ancient Chinese and Japanese belief that earthquakes were caused by dragons or dragon-snakes living underground. Dragons were also worshipped as a water deity by the Chinese and Japanese people and they associated it with flooding and heavy rains.

Namazu-e prints were a genre of woodcut prints, or ukiyo-e (浮世絵) that were popular for two months in 1855-56 after the earthquake. The first prints went into publication a mere two days after the earthquake. During the period of November 1855-January 1856, over 400 namazu-e prints were published and distributed around Edo. Namazu-e prints satirized the people who profited from the Ansei Edo Earthquake, and offered a little bit of entertainment and humor to the quake-stricken city. They also depicted traditional Shinto beliefs about the disaster, promised protection from future earthquakes, and even have a connection with a major event in both Japanese and American histories. Nearly all of these paintings were painted anonymously and could be found throughout Edo during this disaster.

First and foremost, many Namazu-e prints showed all the citizens of Edo coming together to defeat Namazu and chase him out of their city. Usually these prints showed Kashima subduing Namazu or in pursuit of the giant catfish. These prints were meant to inspire the people to keep moving and rebuild the great city of Edo.

Namazu-e also satirized the profiteers who made a fortune from the disaster, such as the construction workers, lumber merchants, blacksmiths, newspaper editors, celebrities, and so on. These people are shown standing around watching and cheering Namazu on while the ordinary people suffer and die. Many people blamed the quake on the greed of the profiteers of Edo, and the Tokugawa bureaucracy in particular.  They believed it was punishment for their excessive greed. Even before the quake, corruption had been rampant. Prices of everyday items were getting higher and merchants were deliberately hoarding items from store shelves to induce an artificial shortage of goods. When the quake struck Edo, they saw the perfect opportunity to make a fortune knocking. After the quake, a great number of these people quickly rebuilt their homes and re-opened their businesses with their inexhaustible supply of money.

Apart from Namazu himself, another deity who was blamed for the quake was Ebisu, the Shinto god of fishing and commerce. According to legend, Namazu is restrained by the Shinto god Kashima, who keeps a stone on top of him. However, when Kashima is not looking, Namazu will roll around or wiggle his tail, causing the nation's violent earthquakes. Ebisu was said to have temporarily taken over the job of guarding Namazu while Kashima was away and fell asleep on the job. While he was asleep, Namazu got away and caused massive destruction. The theme of a sleeping Ebisu recurs throughout many of these prints.

Another underlying theme in Namazu-e was the arrivial of U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet of black steamships two years earlier to negotiate a trade treaty on behalf of President Millard Fillmore. These trade negotiations began the opening up of Japan. The fleet of black steamships terrified the people of Japan greatly, both literally and emotionally. Most Japanese had never seen a steamship before and a whole fleet of them in Japan's harbors was terrifying to see. The threat of war shook up the Tokugawa shogunate and the samurai, whose weaponry and tactics were outdated at this point in time and were no match against the advanced weapons of Perry's fleet. Also, pressure and the threat of possible military action caused uncertainty in Japan and gave the merchants an excuse to keep upping their prices.

Many prints and illustrations of Perry's ships from this time depicted the ships as bearing a strong resemblance to Namazu, and when the Edo earthquake struck in 1855, Commodore Perry was still fresh on the minds of the people of Edo. In many namazu-e prints, Namazu bears a resemblance to Perry's steamships. The underlying message was very clear: Perry and his fleet were Namazus who were "rectifying" Japan and ushering in an era of change.

Daikoku, the Japanese God of Fortune, showers coins down on the quake-stricken people of Edo while a grinning Namazu rides on. Kashima stands on Namazu with his sword drawn, indicating that he has Namazu under control. A poem praises the water god Suijin for sparing the lives of the artist's family. (Wikimedia Commons)

Despite all the destruction he caused, Namazu was also viewed as a savior. He was regarded by many people as the agent of world rectification sent from the gods above and, in the eyes of many people living at the time, would change Japanese society for the better. Many Namazu-e prints offered inspiration to the citizens of Edo by depicting Namazu, in his role as a yonaoshi daimyojin, spewing coins (often with Daikoku, the god of wealth, looking on) to people all over the city, promising a new era of prosperity through rebuilding Edo. Others even depicted Namazu (or numerous Namazus) apologizing and helping to rescue people, claiming that it was the profiteers who wanted Namazu to go on his rampage! Many of these prints were said to have special powers that gave the owner protection from Namazu and his wrath, thus boosting the popularity of the Namazu-e genre of woodcut.

Naturally, it wasn't long before the Tokugawa shogunate caught wind of this genre and decided that they couldn't have the people mocking the government and breaking its strict censorship laws. In January 1856, the Tokugawa shogunate officially banned Namazu-e prints from production. Since a lot of Namazu-e prints were one-of-a-kind prints made by relatively unknown local artists, many of them vanished forever.

One legacy of Namazu-e is that it was a "protest art". It emerged at a time when social discontent was very high in Japan and protests had been becoming more and more common over the decades. The Ansi-Edo earthquake in general brought all this discontent and anger out to the surface, and Namazu-e was the perfect way to express it.

Namazu-e was a very small genre of Japanese art that existed for only a very short period of time in the Edo area. It depicted and satirized the huge divide between rich and poor that existed in Edo society, the changes that were brewing in Japan underneath the surface of Edo society, and the changes that were soon to come. Furtthermore, Namazu-e prints gave the people of Edo a sense of safety and security and gave them a reason to smile and laugh. In this sense, Namazu-e was a two-sided art genre.

For more info about Namazu-e, check out:
-http://pinktentacle.com/2011/04/namazu-e-earthquake-catfish-prints/ (Blog post from Pink Tentacle about Namazu-e. Includes a gallery of Namazu-e prints and background info on these prints.)
-http://shinku.nichibun.ac.jp/namazu/ichiran.php (A very comprehensive gallery of Namazu-e. Japanese language only.)
-http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/g/j/gjs4/Shaking_Up_Japan.pdf (Paper about Namazu-e by Gregory Smits.)

Konosuke Matsushita and the "Bullet Lamp"

A Japanese motorcycle policeman with a "bullet lamp" circa 1925. (Wikimedia Commons)

Konosuke Matsushita was a man of many talents who truly changed the world around him with his ideas. He was a man who started a little company out of nothing that became a major international corporation. He made a number of inventions that were highly innovative during the early 20th century, such as two-way socket light bulbs, light sockets that could charge any electrical appliance, and electrical plugs and sockets that were more efficient than any others available at the time.

However, Matsushita's one invention that propelled Matsushita Industrial Electric, Co. (now better known to the world as Panasonic) into the national - and eventually the international spotlight (no pun intended) - was the battery-powered bicycle lamp, or the "bullet lamp" as it was nicknamed.

In 1923, bicycle lamps were a necessity in Japan. Many people used bikes as their primary mode of transportation everyday and needed a guiding light when riding at night or during bad weather. Bicycle lamps were very much a necessity. However, the bicycle lamps of the time were very inefficient. Battery-operated bicycle lamps were available during this time, but could only provide about several hour's worth of light before the batteries ran down. Candle or oil lamps would flop around a lot and were not very useful at all during a wind or rain storm!

Matsushita, who was himself an avid bike rider, also saw a need for a better light and invented a far more superior bicycle lamp for the market. Matsushita's lamp was a battery-powered lamp that was oval, or bullet-shaped, and was powered by dry-cell batteries and lighbulbs. The light casings were proudly manufactured by his company. Most importantly of all, the bullet lamp could provide light for 40 hours compared to a paltry 3 hours for other bicycle lamps!

At first, the bullet lamp was a hard sell. Retailers weren't convinced that the technology behind a battery-powered bicycle lamp would appeal to the average Japanese consumer. After being rejected by the mainstream market, Matsushita took his invention to a place he knew well and a place which would happily try to sell it: the local bicycle shops. He provided display models to the bicycle shops to use to demonstrate the lamp and, of course, the lamps themselves to sell to the public. Over time, the public saw how these lamps worked and they gradually became hot-sellers across Japan.

Statue of Konosuke Matsushita in Japan.

Matsushita capitalized on the success of the bullet lamp. This little lamp not only turned the fortunes of his company around (which had been faltering prior to this point in time), but expanded it! As the bullet lamp's popularity grew, he rebranded his company National, lowered the price of the lamps, started an advertising campaign in the national newspapers, and watched the success of the bullet lamp grow beyond his wildest dreams.

Over the course of the 20th century, National would manufacture new and improved bicycle/home lamps known as National Lamps as well as other light products such as flashlights. They continue to manufacture these products today.

The bullet lamp found another important use among the Japanese public besides its primary purpose. Many Japanese found the bullet lamp useful inside the home! Since these were battery-powered and had a long life,  many people replaced the traditional kerosene lamps with bullet lamps. This, in turn, led to the creation of the National Lamp, which could be used on a bicycle or in a home. Also, bullet lamps were no doubt a safer alternative to kerosene and oil lamps, which can be a fire hazard.

Another group of people who found good use for the bullet lamp were police officers, such as the one in the above picture. At the time the bullet lamp was invented, Japanese police officers patrolling on bicycle were - and are still today - common sights on city streets. The motorcycle police force, or Aka-bai Taiin (赤バイ隊員, or 'red bike personnel'. They were renamed shirobai, or 'white bike force' during the 1930s.) was becoming a mainstay of the Japanese police force. The bullet lamp was no doubt useful for these police officers navigating the streets of Japan's cities at night or through stormy weather. Also, as the country experienced a number of natural disasters during the 1920s and 30s such as the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 (which devastated cities such as Tokyo and Yokohama) and Typhoon Muroto of 1934, these lamps were no doubt essential to police and rescue personnel as they rescued victims trapped by the disasters or navigated their way through debris.

Matsushita's bullet lamp was a highly innovative invention that turned Panasonic into the multi-national corporation we all know today. However, it was also an invention that made life a lot easier for a lot of people and most likely saved lives as well.  

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konosuke_Matsushita (Konosuke Matsushita at Wikipedia.)
http://panasonic.net/history/founder/chapter2/story2-02.html (Panasonic's webpage about the bullet lamp.)
http://www.quoteswise.com/konosuke-matsushita-quotes-2.html (Quotes from Konosuke Matsushita about his bullet lamp.)


Image Copyright:
*Statue of Konosuke Matsushita: Rsa via Japanese Wikimedia.

*This blog entry references information from the following:
-布卢姆斯伯里出版公司, Business: 英文. Beijing: Citic Publishing House, 200?, pg. 1114.
-Kamioka, Kazuyoshi, Japanese Business Pioneers. Tokyo: Heian Press, 1988, pg. 65
-Alexander, Jeffrey W. Japan's Motorcycle Wars. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009, pg. 46


*This blog post is not endorsed by, affiliated with, nor advertising products manufactured by the Panasonic Corporation.

James C. Mars and Thomas Scott Baldwin: Early Aviation Pioneers in Asia

During the early years of flight, a number of young men learned how to fly the new "flying machines" and became daredevil aviators. These aviators are the men and women who not only set the first world records for flight, but also paved the way for air travel as we know it.

Thomas Scott Baldwin's plane, the Red Devil. (Mark Pellegrini/Wikimedia Commons)

Two of these men were the Americans James C. "Bud" Mars (1876-1944) and US Army Capt. Thomas Scott Baldwin (1854-1923). Just a few years after Wilbur and Orville Wright made their historic first flight in Kitty Hawk, NC in 1903, Bud Mars was one of the first daredevil pilots. He became America's eleventh licensed pilot and the first aviator to fly over a number of American states, including Arkansas and Hawaii. Thanks to these historic firsts and his death-defying flying exploits (which included a crash into the Atlantic Ocean where he nearly drowned, as well as a near-crash into the Rocky Mountains), he became a celebrity in the US during the late 1900s. Cpt. Baldwin was one of America's first balloonists who made history in 1885 when he jumped out of a balloon in mid-air with a parachute. He also made a number of circus performances involving a hot-air balloon and a trapeze. After the Wright Brothers made their flight, Baldwin mastered the biplane as well.

Sometime at the end of 1910, Capt. Baldwin organized an exhibition for the Asia-Pacific region to demonstrate the airplane. He managed to get Mars and fellow "aeronaut" Tod Shriver on board. Throughout 1911, the three put on performances in countries which included Hawaii, Japan, Russia, Indonesia, India, Thailand, China, the Philippines, and Korea. Mars performed breath-taking stunts for the amazed (or terrified) crowds with his plane while Baldwin performed stunts with his own plane, the Red Devil.

During their exhibition, they reportedly had 750,000 people show up in Osaka to watch their flights. At the time, this was the largest crowd ever to show up for an air show. In Manila, a crowd almost as large showed up to watch the two fly at the 1911 Manila Carnival. During the Manila performance, Bud Mars became the first person to fly in the skies over the Philippines when he orbited the Manila Carnival Tower.

Throughout their Asian journey , the exhibition experienced a number of "interesting incidents." While performing in Japan, Mars claimed to have almost been killed by a mob of villagers in one Japanese village who were fearful of the new contraption. He also claimed to have had constant protection from the Japanese authorities during their stay in Korea due to the possibility of having more "unfriendly" run-ins from fearful villagers. Also, Baldwin and Mars unintentionally caused panic in many of the areas of Asia they visited among people who were unfamiliar with airplanes and saw these alien contraptions flying in the skies over their cities.

Also in this exhibition, the trio made aviation history. Bud Mars made aviation history yet again when he made the first flights over the Philippines and, quite possibly, Korea as well. While not being the first aviators to fly over the skies of most of the countries they visited, he and Baldwin were the first to fly over a number of regions in these countries. Also while in Siam (Thailand), HRH King Rama VI became one of the first - if not the first - Thai king to fly in an airplane when he went for a short 12 mile (19 km)  flight in Mars's airplane.

Two countries Mars and Baldwin left very profound impacts on during their visits were Japan and the Philippines. In Japan, they aroused much interest in the "flying machines" and donated an airplane, helping spark Japan's own breed of aviators and airplane industry. In the Philippines (which was also the first stop of their Asian exhibition), they sold planes to one of the country's first flight schools. These planes - and Mars's first flight over Manila - helped set the stage for air travel in the Philippines.

All in all, Capt. Baldwin and Bud Mars's exhibition helped change history in Asia. They introduced the airplane to parts of the world which were still largely unaware of its existence and helped pave the way for these countries to enter the world of aviation themselves.

For more information about James C. Mars and the 1911 exhibition, here are some webpages for you:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F40610F73F5517738DDDAC0994DF405B818DF1D3 (New York Times articles from 1911 about James C. Mars.)
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_print.asp?menu=A11100&no=351687&rel_no=1&isPrint=print (Article about Mars and Baldwin's visit to Korea, James C. Mars's account of the visit, and the continuing dispute over whether or not they were the first pilots to fly over Korea.)
http://roynagl.50megs.com/manila.htm (Pictures and info about Baldwin and Mars's Manila visit and their performances there.)

Gaya: The "Iron Kingdom" of the Korean Peninsula

A suit of armor from the Gaya kingdom in Korea. (Good friend 100/Wikimedia Commons)

Have you seen the Korean drama series from 2010 titled Kim Su-Ro: The Iron King? If you have, you are probably familiar with the ancient Korean kingdom of Gaya (가야). While not as well-known as the larger Korean kingdoms of Gorguyeo, Baekje, and Silla, Gaya was a very small but important kingdom in not just ancient Korea, but in northeast Asia as a whole.

Gaya was a confederacy of city-states that existed from around AD 42-532. It was situated in extreme south-central Korea on an abundant natural supply of soil and minerals, including iron. These natural resources helped it develop an earthenware trade and, most importantly of all, an iron trade. This abundance of iron - and Gaya's advanced smelting and iron-making techniques - helped Gaya gain its reuptation as the "Iron Kingdom." Over time it developed extensive trading networks with the neighboring kingdoms of Baekje and Silla...as well as China and Wa, or Kofun-period Japan!

Iron-manufacturing technology most likely spread into Korea from Yan state in China, which was located around the modern-day Beijing area. Yan existed from the 9th century BC-222 BC, when it was conquered and absorbed by Qin state.

A map of different locations in Korea where Gaya helmets have been found. (Azukiajuma/Wikimedia Commons)

Gaya made and exported a wide variety of iron objects, including farming implements such as sickles and axes, weaponry such as iron arrowheads, swords, and knives, and armor. Gaya's reputation for high-quality iron products was well-known throughout the region. In the map above, we can see that iron helmets from Gaya (blue) have been found at a number of Baekje (red) and Silla (yellow and green) sites. These helmets were no doubt worn by soldiers who fought their nations' inter-kingdom wars. And of course, the soldiers of the Gaya kingdom made use of this armor as well. Gaya's city-states had armies that kept the tiny kingdom alive for nearly 500 years.

A Gaya warrior.

Gaya had extensive trading networks inside the Korean peninsula. In Korea, it traded with its neighboring kingdoms of Silla and Baekje. Gaya weapons and armor helped Baekje become a major military power on the Korean peninsula. Its main trading partners outside the Korean peninsula were the Chinese commandery of Lelang (Located in present-day North Korea; conquered and annexed by the neighboring Korean state of Goguryeo in AD 313.) and the Japanese states in Kyushu, but Gaya armor has been found elsewhere in China as well. At the time, Japan had no iron-making skills of its own and made much use of Gaya's iron products.

Over time, Gaya taught the techniques and technology for smelting earthenware and iron. Also, people from Gaya began to emigrate to Kyushu and set up earthenware kilns. By the end of the 5th century AD, Japan began producing its own iron and earthenware products (including Sue ware) thanks to the contributions of these immigrants and the Gaya kingdom. These developments would change Japan forever and have an impact on Japanese civilization and culture long after Gaya ceased to exist.

Armor, helmets, jewelry, trinkets, tools, and more that can be traced back to Gaya have been found at a number of Kofun-period burial sites in Japan.

In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, much of Gaya gradually disintegrated due to pressure from the much more powerful Goguryeo kingdom. In the 6th century, Silla declared war on Gaya as a punishment for aiding Baekje during a war between the two kingdoms. Gaya - or what remained of it - lost this war and was absorbed into Silla.

The ancient kingdom of Gaya may be a relatively obscure kingdom and it may have disappeared into history, but it played a crucial role in the histories of Korea and Japan (and would continue to play an instrumental role in Silla after it annexed Gaya) through its iron-making technology. It also left behind remains of a civilization that have fascinated arachaeologists and historians for decades.

For more information about Gaya, check out the following:
http://www.hongik.ac.kr/~kayakim/openlec/Gaya_foreign/Gaya%20in%20English.htm (Very in-depth article about the kingdom of Gaya.)
http://kyb0417.blogspot.com/ (Post from Mugap's Korean Armour about Gaya armor. Includes other lesser-known armor from the region (Korean peninsula/China/Manchuria/Siberian Russia) as well.
http://kimhaekims.net/cultural_foundations_of_gaya.htm (Article about Gaya and its iron trade.)
http://gimhae.museum.go.kr/html/en/exh/exh_01.html (Website about Gaya from the Gimhae National Museum in Gimhae, South Korea. Includes pictures of Gaya artifacts.)

*This blog post has referenced information from the following book:
Barnes, Gina L. China, Korea, and Japan: The Rise of Civilization in East Asia. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd, 1993: pgs. 208, 232, 244.

(Gaya warrior image copyright: Dentarg. Used via Wikimedia Commons.)

Samurai Ghosts and Warrior Spirits in Japan

Print by Utagawa Yoshitaki (1841-1899) of a boy showing his mother a samurai ghost. (Visipix.com)

Since today is Halloween, I thought I'd make today's post a spooky one (or at least as spooky as possible!) for you guys!

Japan is a country haunted by many ghosts. Ghosts of warriors and shogunates past. Ghosts of soldiers who died far too young in the nation's wars. Ghosts of young lovers whose romances ended tragically. Many of these ghosts have become the subjects of legends and kabuki theatre over the centuries. Many still roam the Japanese countryside today, making their presence known to whole new generations, seeking release from their purgatorial state, or safeguarding the country as they have for centuries.

Some of the most famous ghosts in Japan are the ghosts of samurai warriors. Many of these ghosts are the spirits of some of Japan's most famous warriors who have sworn to protect the nation in life and in death. Others are vengeful spirits out to seek revenge on those who defeated them and/or their clan.

"The Ghost of Taira no Tomomori" by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). (Library of Congress)

One real-life warrior who became a ghost of legend was Taira no Tomomori (1152-1185). Tomomori was one of the Taira clan's commanders at the end of the Genpei War, which was a war waged between the Taira and Minamoto clans during Japan's Heian period (794-1185).

Tomomori fought in a number of battles with the Minamoto clan, including the famous naval battle of Mizushima where Taira forces defeated a Minamoto invasion force by tying their ships together and creating a huge fighting platform which enabled them to fight a land battle in the middle of the ocean!

In 1185, the Taira clan was finally defeated at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, which was the battle that determined which family would rule Japan. Rather than face the humiliation of defeat, Taira no Tomomori and his warriors committed hara-kiri by jumping overboard into the ocean. According to many legends, Tomomori tied a gigantic anchor around himself before hurling himself into the water. To this day many Japanese believe the spirits of the Taira warriors inhabit the Heike crabs that live on the ocean floor in the Shimonoseki Strait (which was the location of the battle) between the islands of Kyushu and Honshu.

In the case of Taira no Tomomori's spirit, his has become the subject of many legends. Some say his ghost rose from the depths of the ocean and wanders the earth, waiting for the chance to take his revenge on the Minamoto clan. Over the centuries, his ghost has been depicted in paintings, manga, and ukiyo-e prints such as the one above by Yoshitoshi. It was a character in various Noh plays such as Ikarikazuchi and  Funa benkei (1885), which was about Tomomori's ghost unleashing his vengeance on the famous warrior monk Benkei, who served the Minamoto clan.

In modern times, Taira no Tomomori has made the occasional appearance (in both ghostly and human form) in anime, in movies such as the 1964 film Kwaidan, and in games such as the 2000 video game Harukanaru Toki No Naka De (Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time). Also, his ghost has been a popular tattoo for members of the Japanese underworld.

Taira no Masakado. (Wikimedia Commons)

One warrior who has become a real-life "warrior spirit" is Tomomori's relative Taira no Masakado (?-940). Masakado's ghost has not only become the subject of legend, but a real-life deity residing in a shrine in the middle of downtown Tokyo's business district!

Masakado was a member of the Taira clan who was a powerful landowner in the Kanto area (the area surrounding modern-day Tokyo). In the the mid-930s, he was involved in a number of disputes with the Minamoto clan, as well as members of his own family. This culminated in a rebellion against the Imperial court in Kyoto. He set up his own kingdom in all eight provinces of eastern Japan and proclaimed himself Emperor. The rebellion lasted throughout 939-940 until Imperial forces retook the region, captured Masakado, and beheaded him.

However, Masakado was not going to disappear from the land of the living so easily. Most legends state that his head, which was on display in Kyoto, flew through the air and landed in the tiny fishing village of Shibasaki, which was located near where the shrine is located in Tokyo's banking district of Otemachi. His head was buried at the site and over time, Masakado became the protector of Tokyo.

A shrine was built to Masakado at the site in 940, but was later moved to another site nearby during the 17th century. Over the centuries, Masakado's spirit has stayed relatively quiet....unless his shrine falls into disrepair or attempts are made to raze it. Plague fell on that part of Edo (Tokyo) when his shrine was neglected in the early 14th century and a Buddhist temple was built next door. After the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, his shrine was nearly forgotten in the midst of the chaos. As a result, some of Tokyo's most well-known corporate presidents mysteriously committed suicide. After World War II, an attempt was made by American occupation forces to raze the shrine and turn it into a motorpool. The bulldozer used for its demolition mysteriously overturned and the driver was killed. There have also been a few other calamities that have fallen on that particular area when Masakado's shrine fell into disrepair. Those calamaties have been enough to convince the public to leave his tomb where it has been for over a thousand years.

However, Masakado has been regarded as a protector of Tokyo. Many people pray and leave offerings at his tomb. The Imperial Palace - and the Tokugawa castle before it - were located near his shrine, no doubt taking advantage of his protection.

If you want to see Masakado's tomb up close, check out this video from YouTube of one Japanese family's visit to the site!

Ghosts and spirits have been a part of Japan throughout its existence, and no doubt will be for the rest of time.

Have a happy Halloween folks and stay safe tonight!   

For more about Taira no Tomomori, Taira no Masakado, and other "bewitching" places in Japan, here are some links for you:
http://www.mackinnon.org/masakado-home.html (Excellent site about Masakado.)
http://www.northernearth.co.uk/inttairo.htm (A very good article about Masakado's shrine and tomb.)
http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/ghosthunting/JAPAN.php (Webpage from Haunted Tours America about haunted places in Japan.)

Telescopes in Edo-Period Japan

"Young Woman Looking Through a Telescope" by Edo artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). (Visipix.com)

During the Edo period in Japan (1603-1868), a device came from Europe to Japan that revolutionized science and astronomy, helped change the calendar, and became a hot novelty item among the public. That device was the telescope.

The first refracting telescope (which was the type of telescope most widely used by the public before the reflecting telescope started becoming more popular over the past century) was brought to Japan in 1614 during a mission to open trade between England and Japan. That telescope was presented as a gift to the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu from the English captain John Saris and one of his sailors,William Adams.

A few years later, the first homemade telescope was made by Tohichi Ikushima. Unfortunately, this milestone also led to telescope manufacturing being initially banned in Japan by the Tokugawa shogunate due to its dual purpose as a military application.

In 1659, telescopes received their first major military usage when they were used at three different observation towers set up along Japan's coast for observing foreign ships arriving in Japanese waters.

According to Peter Abrahams's in-depth history of the Japanese telescope, it was used throughout the course of the 17th and early 18th centuries mainly for terrestrial purposes, such as measuring angles and military observation. Over the course of the 18th century, more and more of the general Japanese public, including astronomers, would use the telescope for observing the nighttime skies. The telescope was used by Edo astronomer and government official Harumi Shibukawa when, in the early 18th century, he discovered a series of new stars and added them to the traditional Chinese celestial map, which had been used for centuries. This new celestial map, named the "Tenmon Seisho-zu", became the foundation of modern Japanese astronomy.

After the creation of the new map, new advances were made in Japanese astronomy, such as a new set of celestial globes by Shibukawa and the creation of a new "lunisolar" calendar. Astronomy became a popular subject of study for the country's intelligentsia. All of these advances were helped in 1720 by the Tokugawa lifting their ban on scientific research from the West that had no religious implications. However, the Tokugawa shogunate made the priority of the nation's new science not of mapping the galaxies, but for making new calendars to justify its own power and prestige.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Japanese learned about the art of the telescope from the Dutch, who also imported their own telescopes and telescope parts such as lenses. Also during the 1700s, a number of Japanese astronomers and artisans started making their own telescopes. By the end of the century, homemade telescopes and lenses were very commonplace.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the telescopes made in Japan started catching up to the Western models that were imported to Japan. The famed telescope-maker Zenbei Iwahashi's (1756-1811) refracting telescope from the late 1700s was equal - and possibly superior to - the Western telescopes which were the standard of the time! Also during the early 19th century, the Asada school, founded by astronomer Asada Goryu (1734-1799), created modern astronomy instruments and used Iwahashi's telescopes for their observations. These and other developments set the basis for the optical industry in Japan - a tradition that continues today with Japan's leading camera and optical equipment manufacturers.

Kunitomo Ikkansai's telescope, c. 1832. (Wikimedia Commons)

In 1833, after spending a little time in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) learning about telescopes from the Dutch, the ex-gunsmith Kunitomo Ikkansai created Japan's first Gregorian reflecting lens telescope. This telescope allowed him to make some very detailed observations of sun spots and the surface of the moon.

After the Tokugawa shogunate became a little less paranoid about the usage of telescopes, they became a popular novelty item among the public. Telescopes made their way into Japanese fiction such as kibyōshi (黄表紙). They were used by ordinary people for observing nature, nearby cities, and so on. Many ukiyo-e prints from the time depict ordinary people watching birds or observing ships at sea with telescopes. During the 19th century, crowds gathered at observation points to look out over mountains or the ocean.

Telescopes also became popular during the Edo period for gossip and voyeuristic purposes! As a matter of fact, some of the "pleasure districts" in Japanese cities offered telescopes for this very purpose.

In 1854, the Tokugawa shogunate opened Japan's borders to foreign trade. In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate's rule came to an end and the Meiji Restoration began. During the Meiji period, Japan opened its doors to the outside world. The Meiji government formally adopted the solar calendar used by the West and Japanese astronomers were finally able to study the science of astronomy in full.

The telescope is an instrument that has become a part of our everyday lives, but in Edo-period Japan, it was instrumental in changing science and society.

For more about Japanese astronomy in the Edo period, here's another site you might want to visit:
http://teapot.lib.ocha.ac.jp/ocha/bitstream/10083/3391/1/P242-244.pdf

The Saga of Poland's "Siberian Children"

One of the few heartwarming stories to come out of the turmoil of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution is that of the Polish children rescued by the Japanese government and returned to their homeland in 1922. This story is one that is little-known outside of Poland, where the children are called the "Siberian Children".

In 1919, over 100,000 Poles were stranded in far-eastern Siberia due to the civil war raging in the West between the Bolsheviks and the Whites. These people had no way to make a livelihood and were ravaged by famine and illness. They were dying a slow, agonizing death in a foreign land.

The adults decided that if they were going to die in Siberia, fine. However, they did not want their children (many of whom were orphans) to suffer the same fate. So they formed a relief group and launched appeals to various European countries as well as the US to help transport some of these children out of Russia and back to Poland. All of these countries ignored their plea for help.

However, there was one country that listened and offered to help. That country was Japan. After one of the relief group's leaders arrived in Japan and asked the Japanese government for assistance, they agreed to help. The Japanese Red Cross would dispatch ships to Russia to evacuate the children. They would also provide medical assistance to the children, who had been ravaged with malnutrition and typhoid fever, until they were well-enough to start the journey to Poland.

In July, 1920, a Japanese Red Cross ship arrived in Vladivostok for the children. From July 1920-July 1922, 765 Polish children were saved. People from all over Japan provided assistance for the children including clothing and food donations. Some Japanese even made woolen sweaters for the children to take home to Poland, fearing that Poland would be a very cold place! The children stayed in Japan until they were healthy enough to travel.

In late August-September 1922, the Polish children left Japan to begin the long journey back to Poland. They were given a warm send-off by the Japanese, to whom the Polish children shouted "Arigatou! Sayonara!" ("Thank you! Goodbye") and sang the Japanese national anthem as the ship departed.

Over time, the Siberian Children stayed in close touch, but 17 years later, another devastating war would come to Poland and their story would be nearly forgotten in the aftermath of World War II and four and a half decades of communist rule, during which their story was censored by the authorities so as to not harm Polish-Soviet relations.

After communist rule ended in 1989, the public regained an interest in the saga of the Siberian Children and the Japanese embassy in Warsaw began hosting meetings with some of the surviving Siberian Children in 1993. However, at this point in time, the surviving children were well in their eighties and their numbers were dropping. In July 2002, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Poland and met with three of the surviving Siberian Children.

These children experience hardships that most children will never know, but thanks to the generosity of the Japanese people, the Siberian Children were able to go home. When disaster struck Japan in March 2011, the Polish people were able to return the favor.

Links:
-http://www.biorytm.wroclaw.pl/japonia.htm (Polish language site about the Siberian children. Includes pictures.)
-http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?198533-Siberian-Children-Japanese-Red-Cross-saved-thousand-of-Polish-children (Internet forum which includes an article written by former Japanese ambassador to Poland Prof. Nagao Hyodo.)

The Nakoso Barrier: A Place of Fear and Intrigue in Ancient Japan

"Minamoto Yoshiie at the Nakoso Barrier" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861).(Visipix.com)

In Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, there stands an ancient marker at the Nakoso Barrier Literature and History Museum that says "Enemies of the Emperor, do not come here!". At first glance this marker is an innocuous-looking sign from centuries ago, but at one time this marker used to mark the spot where civilization ended and the unknown began.

The Nakoso (meaning “勿来”, or "Do not come here!") Barrier and the Kikuta barrier gate (depicted in the print above) which stood at the site of the marker were built in the 5th century AD during the Yamato period to protect "civilized Japan" from the "barbarian" Emishi tribes of the north. The message on the marker was directed at the Emishi, or Michinoku ("people of the north" in Japanese) as they are also called.

The lands north of the Nakoso Barrier were a place that most ancient Japanese feared. However, it was also a place of curiosity and even romance. This made the Nakoso Barrier an 'uta-makura', or a place that inspired a number of poets and writers. Many poems were written about lovers who were separated by the barrier, or of the climate being different between north and south.

One person who is most associated with the Nakoso Barrier is Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039-1106), who was a samurai of the Minamoto clan and commander-in-chief of the defense of the North. Yoshiie was skilled in the arts of war, as well as a poet. His most famous poem is one he composed while passing through the barrier, which goes:

"How I wish to forbid the blowing wind,
At the Barrier of Nakoso, the 'forbidding' gate.
But the mountain cherry blossoms are falling,
Filling the rord, to narrow down the pass."
(taken from The Founding of the Nation, page one)

He was so touched by the falling cherry blossom petals that it made the trek through the fearsome Kikuta Gate much more pleasant! This poem also forms the basis for Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e print above.

Yoshiie subsequently fought two bloody campaigns north of the Nakoso Barrier against the Abe clan during the Zenkunen War, or Early Nine Years' War, as well as the Kiyowara clan during the Gosannen, or Later Three Years' War. His poetic renga, or "linked poem" exchange with Abe warrior Abe Sadato in 1049 about plum blossoms is particularly famous in Japanese history and literature.

Nowadays the Nakoso Barrier is no more, but its place in Japanese history and literature will no doubt live on forever!

For more about the Nakoso Barrier, see the links below:
-http://www.iwakicity-park.or.jp/bungakurekishikan/ Homepage of the Iwaki City Nakoso Barrier Literature and History Museum (in Japanese)
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwaki,_Fukushima (Wikipedia history of Iwaki city)
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamoto_Yoshiie (Wikipedia entry on Minamoto no Yoshiie)
-http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record;id=104462;type=101 (Another ukiyo-e print by Edo-era artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi depicting the exchange between Yoshiie and Abe Sadato at the Nakoso barrier.)

Onogawa Kisaburō: The Edo-Period Sumo Wrestling Champion

19th century ukiyo-e print by Katsukawa Shunei of Onogawa Kisaburō (left).

During the late 17th century, or Edo period in Japan, the city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) broke out in a frenzy of sumo wrestling-mania. Everyone became crazy about sumo wrestling. This frenzy can largely be attributed to one sumo fighter from Osaka: Onogawa Kisaburō.

In February 1782, Onogawa came to Edo and fought one of the nation's top sumo wrestlers, the ozeki (champion) Tanikaze Kajinosuke. Tanikaze was an enormous man of 1.89 meters (6'2) and weighed a hefty 169 kg (370 lbs). He had been in 63 sumo fights prior to his fight with Onogawa and won all of them. Onogawa was much shorter than Tanikaze, coming in at 1.76 meters (5'9) and weighing 116 kg (260 lbs). Onogawa had only won seven tournament titles compared to Tanikaze's 21.

Nevertheless, Onogawa won the fight, and became an instant celebrity. He was featured as a principal character in a popular kabuki play of the time. His likeness adorned a number of ukiyo-e prints, including a famous one by ukiyo-e artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi depicting him blowing smoke in the face of a monster. And a year after his famous fight, he married a geisha from the Yoshiwara entertainment district named Yae.

In November 1789, Tanikaze and Onogawa were both given the rank of 4th and 5th Yokozuna (sumo wrestling's top division) by the House of Yoshida Tsukasa. They were the first living and confirmed wrestlers to achieve this rank. This awards certification was noteworthy in two more ways. For one, it was during this certification that Onogawa and Tanikaze became the first sumo wrestlers to perform the dohyō-iri, or the sumo ring-entering ceremony that is still performed in sumo matches today. Also in this match, they were the first sumo wrestlers to wear the Yokozuna's famous gohei - or wooden wand - garment, which is the garment that many people still associate with sumo wrestling champions.

Onogawa retired in 1798 and died eight years later. Onogawa the man might've died, but his legend and the impact he left on Japanese sumo wrestling still live on to this very day.

For more info about Onogawa Kisaburō, be sure to check out the sites below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onogawa_Kisaburo (Wikipedia entry on Onogawa Kisaburō.)
http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico649873-5275.html (Another famous ukiyo-e print of Onogawa Kisaburō by the artist Katsukawa Shunsho, whose prints of sumo wrestlers were very popular during the Edo period.)