|
JAPANESE PRINTS A MILLION QUESTIONS TWO MILLION MYSTERIES |
Ukiyo-e Prints浮世絵版画 |
||
| Port Townsend, Washington |
|
INDEX/GLOSSARY Kakure-mino thru Kentō |
|
|
The painting of the hallucinogenic The negative image of the iris posted at commons.wikimedia.com by D. L. Lindwall were used in March and April. The wisteria blossoms were used in January and February. |
|
|
|
TERMS FOUND ON THIS PAGE:
Kakure-mino,
Kakurezatō,
Kakushibaba, Kamakurajidai,
Kami, Kamigata yakusha-e shūsei, Kamikakushi, Kamishimo, Kammuri, Kamuro, Kani, Kankan, Cancan, Kanteiryu, Kanzashi, Kanzemizu, Kaomise, Kappa, Kara-kasa, Karazuri, Karigane, Kariyasu, Karuta-e, Karyōbinga, Kasa, Kasa, Kashirabori, Kashiwa, Katabami, Kata-hazushi, Katsuo, Katsuobushi, Katsura, Katsureki-mono, Katsushika Hokusai, Kawakita, Kawatake Mokuami, Kawatake Shinshichi, Kaya,
Keisai Eisen, Kemari, Kensaki, Kensaku and riken, Kentō and Ken'yakurei
隠れ蓑, 隠れ座頭, (かくし)婆, 鎌倉時代,
神, 上方役者絵集成, 神隠し, 冠, 禿, 蟹, 看看, 勘亭流, 簪, 観世水, 顔見世, 河童, 唐傘, 空摺, 雁金, 刈安, 加留多絵, 迦陵頻伽, 傘, 笠, 頭彫, 柏, 酢奨草, 片外し, 鰹, 鰹節, 桂, 活歴物, 葛飾北斉, 河竹黙阿弥, 河竹新七, 蚊屋,
羂索 & 利剣 and 見当
かくれみの, かくれざとう, かくしばば, かまくらじだい,
かみしも, かんむり, かむろ, かに, かんかん, カンカン, かんてい.りゅう, かんざし, かんぜみず, かおみせ, かっぱ, からかさ, からずり, かりがね, かりやす, かるたえ, かりょうびんが, かさ, かさ, かしらぼり, かしわ, かたばみ, かただ.ほり.ちょう, かたがみ, かたはずし, かつお, かつおぶし, かつら, かつれきもの, かつしか.ほくさい, かわきた, かわたけ.もくあみ, かわたけ.しんしち, かや,
けいさい.えいせん, けまり, けんさき, けんさく & りけん, けんとう and けんやくれい
|
|
|
|
One more note about this page and all of the others on this site: If two or more sources are cited they may be completely contradictory. I have made no attempt to referee these differences, but have simply repeated them for your edification or use. Quote anything you find here at your own risk and with a whole lot of salt. |
|
|
TERM/NAME |
KANJI/KANA |
DESCRIPTION/ DEFINITION/ CATEGORY Click on the yellow numbers to go to linked pages. |
|
Kakure-mino |
隠れ蓑 かくれみの |
Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Who hasn't wanted to be that. Well, this goes one better: A cape of invisibility. Whereas this may sound like a modern anime concept I know that it goes back as far as 1821 if not earlier because it is represented in a surimono by Hokusai from that time. Note that now I know it goes back to much earlier times. See the new information and opinions posted below. |
|
In The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon (translated by Ivan Morris, Penguin Books, 1979, p. 131) the author was trying to sneak a peek at the visiting sister of the Empress. She was hidden away until it "The screen behind which I had been peeping was now pushed aside and I felt exactly like a demon who has been robbed of his straw coat." In footnote 281 Morris notes: "Demons had straw coats that made them invisible." I mention this because the issue of invisibility is universal and not unique to the Japanese. During the Bon Festival the spirits of the dead visit their relatives. Among the Jews a cup of wine is set out for the prophet Elijah at Passover. The door is opened to make his access easier, but he never reveals himself although it is believed that he does observe the ceremony. I could give an example for almost every cultural group, but here we will concentrate on the Japanese. ¶ C. W. Nicholl wrote about 'sacred groves' in which he talks about a Japanese hunter: "Someone asked: 'How do you know there are deities in this place? Can you see them?' I thought it a silly question, but the hunter replied with a smile: 'The deities are invisible, but I know they are here even though I can't see them.'"
Quoted from: Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami, by John Breen and Mark Teeuwen, University of Hawaii Press, 2000, p. 32.
"The precise origins of the raincoat of invisibility are not known, but it is likely that the cape was first associated with Chinese Taoism. Taoist adepts strove to develop the power of being invisible, believing that this would help them move between heaven and earth. In Japan, the raincoat of invisibility is one of the Myriad Treasures of the Seven Gods of Good Luck..."
Quoted from: Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design, by Merrily Baird, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 2001, p. 239.
In The Taoist Experience: An Anthology Livia Kohn says: "They can become visible and invisible at will and travel thousands of miles in an instant." (p. 280)
In The Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale section 156 (pp. 158-60) deals with "The Invisible Straw Cloak and Hat". Yanagita Kunio (柳田國男 or やなぎたくにお) lists 15 variatins. In most of these tales a human wins or trades a tengu for the cloak.
Above is a detail of two tengu by Toyokuni I. There is no invisibility cloak in this image - or is there? - but the image is just too good to pass up. |
||
|
|
||
|
Kakurezatō |
隠れ座頭 かくれざとう |
Goblin: Carmen Blacker in her "Supernatural Abductions in Japanese Folklore" (published by Nanzan University, Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1967, p. 115) says that these are among the noted figures which abduct young children and adults or women. So far I have found little to no information about this creature. When or if I do you will be among the first to be told. Not only that but Blacker's reference in a short footnote. |
|
Kakushibaba |
(かくし)婆 かくしばば |
Hags that abduct children, women or young adults. (See the kakurzatō entry above.) Again, there is almost nothing written in English about this term. In fact, there is almost nothing in Japanese either. |
|
Kamakurajidai |
鎌倉時代 かまくらじだい |
The Kamakura period 1185-1333 |
|
|
亀
かめ |
Tortoise or turtle: Donald Keene noted that "In certain Buddhist texts the rarity of meeting a Buddha is compared to the difficulty of a blind sea-turtle's chance of bumping into a log to float on. The turtle emerges to the surface only once a century and tries to clutch the log, but it has a hole and eludes his grasp; this was a simile for the difficulty of obtaining good fortune."
Below is a photo of a sculpture at Oyashirazu posted at commons.wikimedia by Kropsoq
|
|
Kami |
神 かみ |
Brian Bocking in A Popular Dictionary of Shinto begins his entry on kami with "A term best left untranslated. In Japanese it usually qualifies a name or object rather than standing alone, indicating that the object or entity has kami-quality. Kami may refer to the divine, sacred, spiritual and numinous quality or energy of places and things, deities of imperial and local mythology, spirits of nature and place, divinised heroes, ancestors, rulers and statesmen. Virtually any object, place or creature may embody or possess the quality or characteristic of kami, but it may be helpful to think of kami as first and foremost a quality of a physical place, usually a shrine..." (84) Later Bocking notes: "Although Shintō purists like to reserve the term kami for Shintō (rather than Buddhist) use, most ordinary Japanese make no clear conceptual distinction between kami and Buddhist divinities, though practices surrounding kami and Buddhas may vary according to custom. This accommodating attitude is a legacy of the thorough integration of the notion of kami into the Buddhist world-view which predominated in Japanese religion before the reforms of the Meiji period and has been to some extent revived since 1945, often through the new religions. This is despite the 'separation of kami and Buddhas' (shinbutsu bunri) of 1868, when deities enshrined both as Buddhist divinities and as kami of a certain location... had to be re-labelled as either Buddh/bosatsu or kami. In understanding Japanese religion, to think of kami as constituting a separate category of 'Shinto' divine beings leads only to confusion. The 'shin' of 'Shintō' is written with the same Chinese character as kami." (p. 85) |
|
W. Michael Kelsey in the introduction to his article "The Raging Deity in Japanese Mythology" published in Asian Folklore Studies (Vol. 40, No. 2, 1981, p. 213) gets right to the point: "The Japanese kami, an enigmatic creature if ever there was one, is not always a benevolent force living in harmony with human beings. Indeed, Japanese mythology is filled with accounts of deities who kill travelers through mountain passes; who rape, kill and eat women; or who bring epidemics on the people when dissatisfied with the upkeep of their shrines.2 Deities engaging in acts of violence were termed araburu kami 荒ぶ,る神 or raging deities, and their pacification posed a real problem for the ancient Japanese. As we shall see in the following pages, these deities often assumed the form of a reptile when engaged in their anti-social behavior, and although they cannot be called inherently evil, they were nonetheless a threat to human beings which needed to be dealt with."
Kelsey notes that there are many examples of the duel nature of kami: They can be both malevolent and beneficent at the same time. "In Mie Prefecture, for example, at the Shinto shrine Takihara no Miya, there are two buildings standing side by side. Both of these are dedicated to Amaterasu no Omikami, the Sun Goddess, but one is for her peaceful nature (nigimitama 和御魂) and the other for her violent nature (aramitama 荒御魂). These two aspects of her personality exist simultaneously, and both must be worshiped." (Ibid. p. 227) The author goes on to ask why kami would frequently take the shape of a reptile when doing evil. His response: The form doesn't really matter because "The answer very often seems to be that it has allowed its energy (and a kami is nothing if not energy) to run unchecked..." in whatever form it chooses to take. (p. 228)
More information is provided by Kelsey in his first footnote to this article: "The arguments concerning the origin and ultimate meaning of the word kami are complex and conflicting. In this paper I will translate it as 'deity,' with the following observations: a kami has no absolute power and it was not the only supernatural being recognized and worshiped by the ancient Japanese. A kami is "superior" to human beings but not necessarily "better" than them. There are male, female and bisexual kami, and I have settled on the unspecified pronoun 'it' except when the sex of the kami is made clear." (p. 233)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Kamigata yakusha-e shūsei |
上方役者絵集成
かみがたやくしゃえしゅうせい |
A five volume set of which I have only the first four. A great reference source for identifying actors, plays, dates, theaters and publishers of many Osaka actor prints. Mostly in Japanese, but with some information in English at the end of each volume. The first two were compiled by Susumu Matsudaira. The third volume was by Matsudaira and Hiroko Kitagawa. The last two are by the latter. |
|
Kamikakushi (or kamigakushi) |
神隠し かみかくし or かみがくし |
"In Japan a rather similar
belief in supernatural kidnapping survived in many districts until modern
times. A boy or young man who unaccountably disappeared from his home was
assumed to be not lost but stolen, to be the victim of kamigakushi or
abduction
Quoted from: "Supernatural Abductions in Japanese Folklore", by Carmen Blacker, published by Nanzan University, Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1967, p. 111.
The abductee frequently reappears suddenly - often in a difficult to reach place like the roof of a temple or the rafters of his home - dazed or unconscious, sleeps for days and then awakens as a halfwit and is generally unable to say exactly where he has been.*
*I, like so many others, am a big fan of Haruki Murakami, the author, and believe he should win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Some critics have said that he won't win because he is too Westernized. I think they are wrong. What they mistake for Westernization is simple modernization. At heart, he is Japanese through and through. The reason I mention this is because of one of his main characters in one of his major novels. This fellow shows remarkable similarities to the fantastical stories of the abductees. It is not a one to one comparison, but so what. Also, I won't tell you which character or which novel it is because I don't want to spoil it for you. You will just have to start reading Murakami for yourself and find out. That is, of course, if you don't already know. Otherwise have fun.
"If the child does not some
back within the required time in response to the spells and the noise on the
bells and drums, his
Not all abductors were kami. Some were simply hideous mountain creatures while others were tengu or.... you name it.
Women, too, would disappear
mysteriously. But even stranger were the occasional sightings of these women
and then their re-disappearance. [Is that a word? Probably not.] In the
mid-19th century one young woman went out to gather chestnuts on a
mountainside, but she failed to return. Her parents looked everywhere, but
eventually gave up and performed funeral rites. Several years later a hunter
ran into her and she told him "...she had been carried off by a terrifying
creature, and had been living |
|
Kamishimo |
裃
かみしも |
A costume worn traditionally by the samurai. In The Shogun Age Exhibition catalogue (entry #109, p. 129) there is a very striking image of an actual 19th century kamishimo. "The term is derived from the words kami (upper) and shimo (lower) and describes a garment of two such parts which have been designed to be worn together. In the Edo period members of the warrior class wore it as a ceremonial garment." For the daimyos and shoguns it was a 'simplified formal wear' and for those of lower social rank it was their Sunday finest.
|
|
"The kamishimo was
the standard formal dress of the samurai. Bakama are worn as
part of it, and kataginu, wide shoulder pieces which stand out
stiffly and squarely on the wearer. This style of costume, it will be
remembered, is also worn by theatre musicians..."
Quoted from: The Kabuki Theatre of Japan, by Adolphe Clarence Scott, published by Courier Dover, 1999, p. 141.
Note that in the illustration above on the right the stiffness of the kataginu is made even more evident by the movement of the kabuki actor. He has slipped his right shoulder free of this garment as he reaches toward his sword on his left. Another side note to this image is the presence of the pinkish inro shown hanging along his right hip. Inro rarely appear in ukiyo prints, but they do seem to show up more frequently in book illustrations like the one here.
"Kami-shimo are usually made of moro (linen), sometimes of silk and linen, occasionally all silk well stiffened with starch. The stuff is generally light-blue or brown, dyed in a small pattern on a white ground, with the family crest on the back and shoulders, either that of the wearer or his feudal lord."
Quoted from: Fu-so Mimi Bukuro: A Budget of Japanese Notes, by C. Pfoundes, published by the Japanese Mail Office, 1875, p. 145. (Note: As yet I am unable to confirm that moro is the word for linen.)
In The Kabuki Theatre by Earle Ernst (p. 122-3) the author notes that the musicians dressed in kamishimo often wear garments coordinated with the specific kabuki productions. In a famous act where the scenery is painted in pastel greens, etc., the kamishimo are green. In a winter scene the kamishimo may be white. "In Izayoi and Seishin the musicians are not conceived by the audience as a group of men who happen to be sitting along a river bank playing and singing; on the contrary, their relation to the play is the same as that of the Western opera orchestra to the action taking place on the stage. But they are visually related to the rest of the stage simply because the Kabuki is concerned with pleasing visual effect, and the repetition of the design and the colors of the setting on the musician's platform and on their kamishimo creates visual, not psychological, continuity. The platform on which the musicians invariably appear distinguishes them aesthetically form the area of the actor-dancer. Here, as elsewhere in the Kabuki, aesthetic differentiation is achieved through clearly defined spatial areas."
|
||
|
|
||
|
Kammuri |
冠
かんむり |
According to the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (vol. 3, entry by Ishiyama Akira, pp. 118-19) there are three types of traditional Japanese headgear. One of these is the kammuri which translates literally as 'crown'. "Kammuri include highly ornate crowns decorated with gold and strings of beads as well as simpler caps of lacquered or soft fabric. In 604 noblemen were ordered to wear kammuri as part of their ceremonial or court dress following the Sui (589-618) China." In time the eboshi replaced the more formal kammuri. Worn during greetings, indoors and even while sleeping even though these 'crowns' served no practical purpose.
The image to the left is a detail from a Shigenobu print.
Note that the English spelling and the hiragana pronunciation differ slightly. This is a common occurrence when it comes to certain 'n' and 'm' sounds. Some sources refer to 冠 as kanmuri.
See also our entry on eboshi at our De thru Gen index/glossary page.
|
|
Kamuro |
禿
かむろ
|
Assistant trainee to a courtesan. Often viewed in Ukiyo-e prints wearing finery which matches that of the courtesan.
"Contemporary commentators did not consider it particularly inhuman or immoral to introduce children to prostitution; on the contrary, they judged early training as beneficial in the production of better courtesans." Girls as young as seven or younger were sought out by scouts. Kyōto girls were thought to be more graceful, but any beautiful child was considered desirable. "The children of famine-stricken peasants or debt ridden townspeople were especially susceptible to the enticements offered by brokers." Sometimes selling their daughters was the only way to raise money. The good daughter was the one who would acquiesce to such arrangements. The parents could console themselves with the fact that the child would be better fed and clothed. "The only path by which a woman could escape her low social and economic lot was the pleasure quarter."
Source and quotes from: Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan, by Cecilia Segawa Seigle, University of Hawaii Press, 1993, p. 81-2. 1, 2
|
|
Kani |
蟹
かに |
Crab motif used occasionally as a family crest or mon. Popular as a military mon its choice may have been due the the look of the crab itself - armored and in some cases powerful and painful in its attack.
The example seen to the left is one of those marvels common to Japanese design and in particular to the variations possible in their family crests. Here the crab is actually a budding peony plant. At least that is what I think it is. Notice how the eyes are buds getting ready to open. |
|
Kankan |
看看 かんかん |
An exotic regional 'snake' dance which was imported into Edo from Nagasaki in 1822. |
|
Now, you may be asking yourself "Why has he put that entry in here?" Well, I'll tell you. First, it is from an article by Andrew L. Markus published by the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies and that accounts for its pedigree and second it struck me as an odd term which sounded too much like the Offenbach (オッフェンバハ)cancan. However, the fact that they are homonymous is strictly a coincidence. The coincidence is even more striking since they both refer to types of dances. Other than that they have no connection whatsoever.
Note: The Japanese character 看 means 'to watch'. Perhaps when doubled this has something to do with the exoticism of this style of performance - sort of like "You should see this!" However, I am just speculating here. Markus does add that this dance may be of Chinese origin. |
||
|
|
||
|
(Cancan) Read the entry above this one to see why we have put this here. |
カンカン |
A French dance made famous by the music of Jacques Offenbach (ジャック.オッフェンバハ) and the images of Toulouse Lautrec (トゥールーズ.ロートレック). |
|
Kanteiryu |
勘亭流
かんてい.りゅう |
The calligraphic style of thick, rounded, crowded strokes commonly used by kabuki theater. Okazakiya Kanroku (1746-1805: 岡崎屋勘六 or おかざきやかんろく)is credited with its creation in 1779. 1 |
|
Kanzashi |
簪
かんざし |
Ornamental hairpin (See also our entry on kōgai.) 1
Lafcadio Hearn in his "A Letter from Japan" dated August 1, 1904 written from Tokyo relates a very pro-Japanese/anti-Russian sentiment. The two countries were at war, but Hearn dwelt on its psycho-social impact on the population in general. He even discusses the contemporary fashion for kanzashi: "The new hairpins might be called commemorative: one of which the decoration represents a British and Japanese flag intercrossed, celebrates the Anglo-Japanese alliance; another represents an officer's cap and sword; and the best of all is surmounted by a tiny metal model of a battleship. The battleship pin is not merely fantastic: it is actually pretty!
Such elements showed up everywhere: towels, gift wrapping, toys, games, magic lanterns, clothes, undergarments and even the robes of little girls.
Source and quote from: The Writings of Lafcadio Hearn, edited by Elisabeth Bisland, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1922, pp. 343-50. |
|
Kanzemizu |
観世水
かんぜみず
|
A water pattern with eddies. The top example to the left is from a detail of a Kotondo print and the bottom one is a detail from a Shoun (1870-1965: 山本昇雲 or . やまもと.しょううん) Merrily Baird in her Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design (p. 42) notes that this design represents the waters of rivers and ponds.
A note: I own several Japanese English dictionaries and kanzemizu does not appear in any of them. For that reason I am unable to determine how long this word has been in use. By way of analogy, perhaps the names given to decorative patterns are similar to the names given to flowers or varieties thereof. They may be too specialized to be found in the standard sources. |
|
Kaomise |
顔見世 かおみせ |
Anyone who studies Edo culture in general and the kabuki aspects in particular will run across the term kaomise frequently. It literally means 'face-showing' which is the Japanese expression for the debut of the new theater season.
"'Face-showing performance,' an annual Edo period production at which a theatre announced its newly engaged company of actors and they performed together for the first time. It was considered the most important production of the season." It was the custom for these actors to stay together in one theater for a full year. "On the last day, a closing announcement was made along with a declaration of what the next production and cast list would be..." ¶ "At kaomise time, the front of the theatre was piled high with gifts of rice and sake form supporting organization (hiki), forming a decorative background (tsumimono)."
Source and quotes from: New Kabuki Encyclopedia: A Revised Adaptation of kabuki jiten, compiled by Samuel L. Leiter, 1997, p. 282. |
|
Kappa |
河童
かっぱ
|
Above is an image of a kappa by Kunisada. He is wearing a robe decorated with cucumbers, his favorite food. I added the green coloring. There is more about kappas and cucumbers on our Kappa Control page.
Nasty little supernatural creature which wreaks havoc with humans and other animals. Noted for the bowl shaped indentation in the top of their heads which holds water and is their source of strength. Oh, yeah, they are also fond of wrestling.
This image above to the left was provided by my friend M. The one below is anonymous from ca. 1868. 1 |
|
In their new book, Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, Matthew Alt and Hiroko Yoda, provide a ton of information which one would need if one were ever to encounter any of these unpleasant nasties. Gender: male. For some reason there don't seem to be any girl kappa. Height: 3' to 5'. Weight: 65 to 100 lbs. Among their stranger features is a removable skin and three anuses. Why? Haven't the slightest. Weapons include extendable arms and extreme flatulence. Weaknesses include a strong dislike of "...iron, deer antlers, and monkeys." Alt and Yoda tell us that kappa are "Easily the single most famous yokai in Japan. They smell like "...rotting compost." Parents warn their children to stay away from lakes and rivers. [A friend of mine even says that signs are posted near ponds warning of kappa sightings.] "According to one story, some nine thousand of the creatures swam en masse from China to Japan around the fifth century..." They are generally innocuous unless pissed off. However, there are exceptions to this too. They are apt to challenge passersby to "...mano a mano wrestling matches..." Drowning victims are often the not just drowning victims. They were dragged under by kappa who naturally are great swimmers. But it is their habit of reaching up through one's anus and removing one's intestines which is probably their most disturbing trait. [Some accounts say that they can suck the liver right out of a person through the anus. Ick!] "The kappa isn't after the entrails themselves, but rather the shirikodama, a mysterious organ said to be located in the colon." Notice that kappa have an indentation in the top of their heads which holds water. Get it to spill out and they are basically powerless. ¶ If challenged to a wrestling match don't fight it. Get them to bow in the hope they will spill the water on their head. Wrestle them in the sunlight. This will speed up evaporation. And, if all else fails, throw a cucumber at them. They are suckers for cucumbers - their favorite food. ¶ "Kappa must leave the water and remove their waterproof skin - called amagawa - in order to sleep. A kappa without its amagawa is totally defenseless: it can't enter the water without it! Because of this raincoats are also known as amagappa in Japan." ¶ One last thing: There is a Japanese saying: He no kappa which means "Like a kappa fart." Alt and Yoda say this is the equivalent to the American saying "Piece of cake."
One more, one last thing: For more about kappas and flatulence in general in Japanese society go to our page devoted to our Yoshitoshi print we call "Kappa control".
|
||
|
|
||
|
Kara kasa |
唐傘
からかさ |
The print to the left shows the actor Arashi Sangorō III pretending to be an umbrella monster. The accompanying poem reads: "My flower umbrella/ tattered and worn/ in the guise of a monster!" Julia Meech wrote: "A one-legged umbrella monster with a long tongue appeared on the scene with the surge of ghost plays in the early 19th century.... The knee of Sangorō's retracted left left is just visible under the rim of the umbrella.... This umbrella demon has a depression on his head, suggesting that he is doubling as a kappa, another nasty goblin from Japanese folklore..." (Source and quotes from: Rain and Snow: The Umbrella in Japanese Art, by Julia Meech, Japan Society, Inc., 1993, cat. entry #92, p. 118)
The image shown above is a detail from a book illustration also by Toyokuni I.
In their authoritative book on surviving Japanese monsters Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt have a whole section on the 'Haunted umbrella'. It is paired with the 'Haunted lantern' because they are often seen together. They are known for their "Freakishly large tongue... [and] Single gnarly leg..." Their "Offensive Weapons" are "Bronx cheers, eerie moans, [and] erratic movement." Their weakness: Being ignored. They hate that, but that is okay because they have very short attention spans. Also, there is no record of their ever having actually injuring or killing anyone.
"The most popular portrayal of the Kara-kasa, whose name simply means 'paper umbrella' or 'paper parasol,' is of a cyclopean umbrella with a lolling tongue and a gross-looking hairy male leg in place of a handle, but other versions - perhaps subspecies? - have been reported as well." Sometimes they have two eyes shown close together and sometimes just one. (Source and quotes: Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, Kodansha International, 2008, pp. 106-109)
Kara-kasa literally means 'paper umbrella'. |
|
Karazuri |
空摺 からずり |
Blind printing or embossing. |
|
Karigane |
雁金
かりがね
|
Wild geese crest or
mon: According to Merrily Baird the return of migrating geese was so
important that it gave its name to the 8th lunar month. This is not so odd
when one considers how the months and days got their names in the West.
Source: Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design, pp. 111-112.
John W. Dower (The Elements of Japanese Design pp. 94-5) that in some of the earliest depictions of flying geese in Japanese art a simple "v" was used. Later when geese were portrayed in crests the head was added. However, the form seen to the left is referred to as the "knotted goose". These two stylistic approaches were far more popular in the use of family mons than more realistic examples.
|
|
The other night - today is March 30, 2007 - I was reading Roger Keyes catalogue of the Osaka prints in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and ran across an entry about two death or memorial prints dedicated to the passing of a famous actor. One shows Utaemon IV accompanied by 'his farewell poem': "Returning geese, if you are going to the country of the west, please take me with you." Keyes notes that "Migrant geese often appear in memorial or farewell poems. The country of the west is Amida Buddha's Western Paradise."
Source and quote from: The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, by Roger S. Keyes and Keiko Mizushima, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1973, p. 188.
That led me to dig a little deeper. I remembered a reference to bird dances from the Kojiki, the most ancient Japanese text which portrays indigenous, non-Buddhist beliefs. "Bird bones have been found resting on the chests of ancient human skeltons, and the Kojiki alludes to a custom whereby mourners dress up as birds. The evidence suggests, then, that the ancient Japanese believed that the dead turned into birds, or perhaps birds carried them to another world."
Quote from: Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death, introduction and commentary by Yoel Hoffmann, Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1996, p. 34.
There is also a reference in the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (Vol. 3, p. 13 - entry by Saitō Shōji) which states that "In the reign of the legendary emperor Nintoku in the KOJIKI (712), there is an anecdote in which the laying of an egg by a goose was taken as an auspicious sign of the emperor's enduring rule. (Geese normally do not lay eggs during the season of their stay in Japan.)" Geese are also used as a poetical allusion to the coming of autumn.
The image to the left of flying geese is a detail from a print by Bunrei and was sent to us by our generous contributor E. Once again thanks E! |
||
|
|
||
|
Kariyasu |
刈安
かりやす
|
Kariyasu or Miscanthus tinctorius: This is one of the plants - a grass, in fact - used to create a yellow colorant in dyeing fabrics. Apparently it was also used in printing woodblock images although none of the contemporary books on technique seem to make references to it. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this was one of the colors which faded greatly and therefore would not be part of the palette of modern printers. However, it is mentioned in Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Catalogue of the Mary A. Ainsworth Collection by Roger Keyes as one of the early traditional organic colorants. (cf. "Identification of Traditional Organic Colorants Employed in Japanese Prints and Determination of their Rates of Fading" by Feller, Curran and Bailie - pp. 253-261.)
Miscanthus tinctorius is a tall grass which grows on the slopes of mountains. These images taken by Shu Suehiro were from his hike on Happō One Mountain in the Japanese Alps not far from Nagano. A popular ski area in the winter it is considered a great hiking region during warmer months.
According to the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston this yellow "...dye is primarily composed of
anthraxin and related flavonoids..." which are mainly luteolin
glycosides. They also note that when the mordant is alum this colorant
is not very lightfast. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult for us today
to identify this colorant in early prints.
When fresh, I believe, this dye can be a bright yellow. When mixed with other dyes everything from mustard yellow to a moss green can be produced.
In an article by Watanabe Hitoshi and Takahashi Yasuhiro published in the "Bulletin of Japan Association of Botanical Gardens" in 2006 they stated that "...the true M. tinctorius population is very small.... The length of beard at the tip of the spikelet and the density of down on the leaf blade are the most important features" The spikes are discarded and only the stem and leaves are used [in creating the dye.] The harvest should be dried quickly before soft, ground water with the least number of impurities is added. Camellia ash helps bring out the brightest color.
Shu Suehiro has very generously given us permission to use the three photos to the left. He operates a wonderful and expansive web site dedicated to Japanese plants. We would urge you to take a look. There is much of interest there.
http://www.botanic.jp/index.htm
Don't forget that
color descriptions are not exact. As there are many shades of green or blue
for example, there are many slight variations within each of the colors
shown here which may or may not conform precisely to your own perceptions of
what they should be.
|
|
Karuta-e |
加留多絵
かるたえ |
Playing card picture(s): The image to the left is by Shunsho (春章 or しゅんしょう) and Shigemasa (重政 or しげまさ) from the 1776 edition of the "Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami" (青楼美人合姿鏡 or せいろう.びじん.あわせ.すがた.かがみ).
This image was generously contributed to our site by E. Thanks E!
|
|
Karyōbinga |
迦陵頻伽 (?)
かりょうびんが |
A heavenly singer. Half-bird, half-human. Its voice is likened to that of the Buddha. In Royall Tyler's translation of "The Tale of Genji" (vol. 1, chap. 7, p. 135 Genji's voice is praised 'to the heavens': "His singing of the verse could have been the Lord Buddha's kalavinka voice in paradise." It brought the emperor to tears. Arthur Waley in his translation (p. 150) states: "...and in the song which follows, the first movement of the dance his voice was sweet as that of Kalavinka whose music is Buddha's law." Seidensticker (p. 140) said that Genji's audience "...could have believed they were listening to the Kalavinka bird of paradise." |
|
The karyōbinga is the Japanese name of the kalavinka, i.e., the bird which sings in paradise. Long before the introduction of Buddhism the Japanese had a traditional lore devoted to human/bird hybrids. They appear in the Kojiki which is the earliest written account of Japan's distant past.
As of now we don't have an example of a karyōbinga in an ukiyo print which we can display here, but we are almost positive we have seen one somewhere. If anyone can help us in this search please contact us.
We know such a thing exists because there is a hand-colored print by Torii Kiyomasu I in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts with a karyōbinga. Dated from the first decade of the 18th century it illustrates a scene from a kabuki play "The Treasure Boat of the Land of Brahma" (Bontenkoku takarabune - 梵天国宝船 or ぼんてんこく.たからぶね). Remember - many early kabuki plays had a strong religious element to them and that this figure is not to be confused with other bird-men (or -women, if you like.) |
||
|
|
||
|
Kasa |
傘 かさ |
An umbrella |
|
Kasa |
笠
かさ |
(Bamboo) hat: "The sedge hat had patrician rather than peasant association in traditional Japan, and thus it was not anomalous that the haughty upper classes developed this as a design."
Quoted from: The Elements of Japanese Design, by John W. Dower, p. 114.
Either kasa or amagasa (雨笠 or あまがさ) may be used to mean rain hat. Since kasa was a homophone for the word for syphilis, leprosy, a boil or skin eruption (瘡). For this reason rain hats became inextricably linked to certain afflictions like smallpox and also socially transmitted diseases. Straw hats became a symbol of divine protection. "Children were to begin wearing these hats before catching smallpox. Motoori Norinaga 本居宣長 (1730-1801), too, refers to this protective hat in his Kojiki den 古事記伝. He notes that someone who prays for a benign case of smallpox should go to the shrine of Sagi dymyōjin and borrow a bamboo hat, which is to be placed and honored in the house. Once recovered, the person is to make a second hat and to return it to the shrine with the first. Others will then borrow it in turn. That is why hats accumulate at the shrine."
Quoted from: "Demonic Affliction or Contagious Disease?: Changing Perceptions of Smallpox in the Late Edo Period", by Hartmut O. Rotermund, published in the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 2001, vol. 28/3–4, p. 378. |
|
Kashirabori |
頭彫 かしらぼり |
Head carver: "There were two categories of carvers, the kashirabori (literally carvers of the head) and the dōbori (carvers of the body). The kashirabori were the most highly skilled and had overall responsibility for the blocks and would hand out work to the dōbori in line with their abilities."
Source: Japanese Woodblock Printing, by Rebecca Salter, University of Hawai'i Press, 2001, p. 61.
For more information see also our entry on menbori. Like the term menbori there are very few references to kashirabori in English. |
|
Kashiwa |
柏
かしわ |
The oak leaf was once used as a surface for offerings to the gods. "By the late Heian period, the oak tree was regarded as the residence of the protective deities of forests and groves. This was one of the more popular crests among the warrior class, particularly among close devotees of Shinto."
Quoted from: The Elements of Japanese Design, by John W. Dower, p. 114.
Remember there are numerous other variations on this motif which were used as crests or mons. |
|
Katabami |
酢奨草
かたばみ
|
The oxalis or wood sorrel: "In the early days in Japan, the leaf of the wood sorrel was used to make a medicinal salve, and also to polish mirrors." Popular as a design during the Heian period it was often later used by member of the warrior class. Because the plant spread prodigiously warriors saw this as an auspicious sign of their own fertility. An added martial element to the katabami mon or crest was the insertion of blades radiating outward as in the example to the left.
Source and quote from: The Elements of Japanese Design, by John W. Dower, p. 84.
Remember there are numerous other variations on this motif which were used as crests or mons.
The image to the left on the bottom is shown courtesy of Paghat the Ratgirl who offers a wonderful and literate web site about plants - and so much more. Do yourself a favor and visit it often at: |
|
Katada Hori Chō (aka Katada Chojirō) |
斤田
かただ.ほり.ちょう |
Master carver of woodblocks working in the early 1860s to as late as 1878. We know that he worked for more than one publisher: Kakumoto-ya Kinjirō, Izutsu-ya, Ise-ya Zenazburō, Etsuka, Tsunoi and Arai Kisaburō. His seal appears on prints of Toyokuni III, Kunichika and Chikuyo. |
|
Katagami |
型紙
かたがみ
|
Literally 'paper pattern': Mulberry paper specially treated with astringent persimmon juice cut into intricate and delicate patterns to be used as stencils for fabric designs. Known since the 12th century these stencils were used to produce katazome. Ukiyo prints are rife with such dye-resist kimonos.
To the left are the cover (below) of Carved Paper: The Art of Japanese Stencil, the best book on the subject out there in English. (Edited by Susan Shin-Tsu Tai with contributions by Susanna Campbell Kuo, Richard L. Wilson and Thomas S. Michie, published by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Weatherhill, Inc., 1998)
The top image is a detail of the leaping fish on the cover. Notice the fine threads which help hold the delicate design together. Some katagami have such threads and some do not.
|
|
Kata-hazushi |
片外し
かたはずし |
A hairstyle of a palace servant.
At various times sumptuary laws were enacted by the ruling powers in an attempt to control social behavior. This extended to artists and their publishers and pretty much everyone else. Certain images were proscribed and it became a battle of wills as to who could outwit whom. In The Passionate Art of Kitagawa Utamaro (text volume, p. 247) Timothy Clark (ティモシー .クラーク) commented on this by addressing the subject of altered forms.
One Utamaro print clearly shows a woman wearing a kata-hazushi hairstyle. A different, but still original printing show another hairstyle.
"A second printing exists in which the head area of the block has been plugged and recarved with a normal Katsuyama-style hair-do... Perhaps this was done to avoid any possible censure from the authorities for showing a hair-style immediately associated with a samurai household."
The detail to the left is not one of those Utamaro examples, but is from a print by Toyokuni I. |
|
Kataoka Nizaemon VIII |
片岡仁左衛門 かたおか.にざえもん |
Nizaemon VIII (1810-63) was born in Echigo (越後 or えちご) and began his acting life as Ichikawa Shinnojō (市川新之丞 or いちかわ.しんのじょう), the adopted son of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII. He became the manager of a theater or zamoto (座元 or ざもと) in Osaka specializing in children's kabuki or kodomo shibai (子供芝居 or こども.しばい). After Shinnojō/Nizaemon had a falling out with his adoptive father he changed his name to Mimasu Iwagorō (三枡岩五郎 or みます.いわごろう). When he became a pupil of Arashi Rikan II Iwagorō took the new name of Arashi Kitsujirō (嵐橘次郎 or あらし.きつじろう). While studying with Rikan II Kitsujirō learned how to perform outside of shrines and temples. When Nizaemon VII adopted him Kitsujirō changed his name again in the 4th month of 1833 to Kataoka Gatō I (片岡我当 or かたおた.がとう). Nizaemon VII died in 1837. At that time in the 8th month Gatō took his adoptive father's haiku writing pen-name or haimyō (がごう). Now he was called Kataoka Gadō II (片岡我童 or かたおた.がどう). (Professor Leiter notes that "...a different sequence of ordinal numbers is used for bearers of the haimyō.") He came to be regarded as one of the great performers of leading male roles. In 1854 he joined the Nakamura-za in Edo and three years later in the first day of the 4th month of 1857 he changed his name to Nizaemon VIII. "Since his good looks resembled those of the immensely popular Danjūrō VIII, he was almost as popular in Edo as in Kamigata. After eight years away, he returned to Osaka in 1862, dying there a year later." (Leiter, p. 297) Although he played a full range of roles Leiter says he was most successful as a handsome young lover. Two of his own sons and one who he adopted all became successors to the name Nizaemon. ¶ We know that he was the subject of prints by Hirosada, Toyokuni III, Yoshitsuya, Hirokane, Yoshikuni and Kunisada II.
Click on the image above to see the full unaltered print. |
|
Katsuo |
鰹
かつお |
Bonito
The detail to the left is from a print by Hiroshige. |
|
Katsuobushi |
鰹節
かつおぶし |
Dried bonito. The image to the left (by Kunisada) shows these dried pieces of fish incorporated into a woven wreath. 1
The image above is by Toyokuni I.
Donald Keene quotes a senryū, normally a comic poetic form, with a poignant messge.: "Stuck in his sleeve/ When he goes begging for milk,/ A dried bonito". Keene interprets this as a father with a new born whose mother died in childbirth. In exchange for the milk he is ready to present them with a dried bonito.
Source and quote: World Within Walls, by Donald Keene, Holt, Rheinhart and Winston, 1976, p. 531. |
|
Katsura |
桂
かつら |
One of several woods like hōnoki and yamazakura used to print woodblocks. This type is often used in modern printmaking. 1 |
|
Katsureki-mono |
活歴物 かつれきもの |
Kabuki's 'living history plays' 1 |
|
Katsushika Hokusai |
葛飾北斉
かつしか.ほくさい |
Major 19th c. artist (1760-1849).
The image to the left was sent to us by our generous correspondent E. and is one of that collector's favorite images. Thanks E! 1 |
|
Kawakita |
かわきた |
A village where a special kind of ganpi was made. 1 |
|
Kawatake Mokuami |
河竹黙阿弥 かわたけ.もくあみ |
Kabuki playwright 1816-93 1 |
|
Kawatake Shinshichi |
河竹新七 かわたけ.しんしち |
(See above) A name used by Mokuami until 1880. 1 |
|
Kaya |
蚊屋 or 蚊帳
かや |
Mosquito net: There is a small but beautiful group of three prints by Utamaro each showing two women, one under or behind mosquito netting and the other nearby just outside of it, dating from ca. 1794-5. Inspired either by Utamaro or his publisher Tsutaya these prints are remarkable examples of the carver's and printer's art. Poetically entitled "Woven in Mist" or kasumi-ori (靄織 or かすみおり) the name captures it all. (Actually the full title is "Model Young Women Woven in the Mist", but I think you get my point.)
The detail from the print to the left is not by Utamaro but by Kunisada created several decades later. Nevertheless, this image makes it clear how refined the representation of the mundane could be even in woodblock form.
Source: The Passionate Art of Kitagawa Utamaro, published by the British Museum Press, London, 1995, Text volume, p. 149.
We have added a more extensive entry on kaya to our new blog site. It is dated May 15, 2009. If you would like to read more than please visit it at http://printsofjapan.wordpress.com/. |
|
|
風車
かざぐるま |
Pinwheel (of windmill): One type of clematis is given this name because of its resemblance to pinwheels. Also, one source says that there is a slang term, kazaguruma, referring to a policeman who only circles high crime areas.
Ōkuma Kotomichi (大隈言道 or おおくまことみち: 1798-1866) wrote poems about children. At least one included a kazaguruma.
Sleeping on the mother's back the pinwheel spins even in the baby's unconscious hand.
Quoted from: Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900, edited by Haruo Shirane, translated by Peter Flueckiger, pp. 958-9.
"In Japan, the wind-mill is a common toy, and is made of paper vanes fastened on slips of bamboo, which are arranged like the spokes of a wheel. The vanes are usually alternately red and white, or other colors. It is commonly called kazaguruma (wind-mill), and sometimes hanaguruma (flower-mill), the latter name being applied to a special kind." (Quoted from: Korean Games with Notes On the Corresponding Games of China and Japan by Stewart Culin, p. 22) |
|
Kazami |
汗衫
かざみ |
A formal type of Heian court clothing for women. The character 汗 or ase means sweat or perspiration.
The image to the left was sent to us by E. our wonderful contributor. It is a detail from a 1789 book illustration by Shunsho portraying a Heian poetess in kazami garb.
Thanks E! |
|
Kazashi |
翳 かざし |
While doing
research on Japanese fans I ran across a reference to the kazashi
which I thought was too good to pass up. U. A. Casal in his
"Lore of the Japanese Fan" (Monumenta Nipponica, vol.
16, no. 1/2, 1960, p. 94) wrote: We may note that long into historical
timer; the nobles of Japan used a so-called kazashi", a fan-shaped object
with a long handle, to
For more information in general on fans see our entries on ōgi and uchiwa. |
|
Kebori |
毛彫 けばり |
Hair ( or hair line) carving: Some sources state that it takes the most experienced carvers to create the fine hairs seen in some prints. It is far too difficult for beginners. Only a master can do this. The lines had to be cut in a precise, but not boring way.
This term is also applied to metal work carving techniques. In this case skill and uniformity count a great deal, but some experts say kebori is not the most important or difficult form of engraving.
Note: I have no idea why, but kebori, written with the same characters, can mean 'fishing lure or fly'. |
|
Keene, Donald |
ドナルド・キーン |
Contemporary expert on Japanese literature and culture. 1, 2 |
|
Keisai Eisen |
渓斎英泉 けいさい.えいせん |
|
|
"A popular and prolific painter, book illustrator, and designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints; a playwright, novelist, biographer, and amateur historian. Real name Ikeda Yoshinobu. Eisen was born in... Edo... the son of Ikeda Yoshiharu, a poet, calligrapher, and devotee of the tea ceremony. His earliest works are thought to be two illustrated novelettes published in 1808 and 1809 signed Keisai Shōsen; he adopted the name Eisen in 1816. He wrote plays as Chiyoda Saiichi, fiction as Ippitsuan Kakō, biography as Mumeiō, and historical essays as Kaedegawa Shiin. He designed erotica... as Insai and Insai Hakusai..." As a child he studied painting with Kanō Hakkeisai, ukiyo-e with Kikukawa Eiji and studied Chinese painting and the work of Hokusai. ¶ In 1833 he wrote his autobiography. "Close to that date he became proprietor of the Wakatakeya, a brothel in the Nezu district of Edo. The brothel burned and Eisen was accused of misappropriating another man's seal and absconding." This may explain a disruption in his print work. He stopped designing woodblocks in the late 1830s and devoted the rest of his life to literature.
Source and quotes from: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, entry by Roger Keyes, vol. 4, pp. 189-90.
"A new style emerges in Kunisada's beauty prints following his return to Edo. The 1823 triptych Morning After Snow is an example. The rounded, elegant quality that distinguished his earlier prints has given way to an angular, sharp-edged line, Suzuki Jūzō suggests that Keisai Eisen... a student of Eizan, was the artist who initiated this change."
Quoted from: Kunisada's World, by Sebastian Izzard, Japan Society, Inc., 1993, p. 26.
The first use of Prussian blue on oban prints of women may have been on those of Eisen in ca. 1830. See our aizuri-e entry on our first index/glossary page.
Ibid, p. 29.
"Eisen... began to design his typical standing courtesans in a bout 1821 and the curves of Eizan gave way to compositions made up of short straight lines showing the increasingly stooping, 'hunchbacked' women, who all seem to be in the grip of intense emotion. In 1823 for three or four years he started to produce some striking half-length portraits of geisha... In 1829 he started quite a vogue by designing prints coloured almost entirely in different shades of berorin, a new, blue pigment. These are known as aizuri-e. His pupil Teisei Sencho continued to produce prints of courtesans in the same style and Eisen became increasingly involved in landscape prints... and kacho-ga [i.e., bird and flower pictures]..."
Quote from: The Art of Japanese Prints, by Richard Illing, published by Gallery Books, 1983, p. 82.
"Eisen... is less well known as a designer of kacho-ga but his working this field shows a sensitive artistic talent and can well stand comparison with his more famous contemporaries."
Ibid., p. 106.
Eisen was one of the artist who illustrated the first four of eighteen volumes of the Iroha Bunko (いろは文庫) by Tamenaga Shunsui (1790-1843: 為永春水 or ためなが.しゅんすい), originally published in 1842. ¶ He also worked with Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848: 滝沢馬琴 or たきざわばきん) in 1823, 27 and 41 on his 'Biographies of the Eight Dog Heroes' or Nansō Satomi Hakkenden (南総里見八犬伝 or なんそうさとみはっけんでん) and on numerous other occasions. . ¶ Ryūtei Tanehiko (1783-1842: 柳亭種彦 or りゅうていたねひこ) was another one of the famous Japanese writers he worked with. And there were many more. |
||
|
|
||
|
Kemari |
蹴鞠
けまり |
An ancient ball game akin to hacky-sack in which a small group of noblemen attempt to keep a ball in the air for the longest time. It originated in China and was first mentioned in ca. 720 in the Nihon Shoki. The field was a small area bounded by trees and the ball was covered in deerskin. Soccer players practice similar moves among themselves as warm up exercises.
Lea Baten in her Playthings and Pastimes in Japanese Prints (p. 138) notes that there were two versions of this 'game'. In the other one "...a leather ball, stuffed with horsehair and shaped like two flattened ball halves sewn together, was kicked between goalposts of flowering trees."
The image to the left is a detail from a print by Chikanobu. It was sent to us by our generous contributor Eikei (英渓). Thanks Eikei! |
|
Kensaki |
剣先 けんさき |
Point of a sword and a term describing the shape of a squid. |
|
Kensaku and riken |
羂索 & 利剣
けんさく & りけん |
As I have noted before there seems to be a word for just about everything. And so it is with the two items held by Fudō Myōō, one of the five wise kings of Buddhism. He carries a sword referred to as riken with which he will destroys all of the enemies of Buddhist doctrine and the special cord called kensaku with which he lassoes souls worthy of salvation.
The image to the left is a doctored detail from a print by Toyokuni III. |
|
Kentō |
見当
けんとう
|
The kentō is the registration marks carved on the printing block which allows the accurate alignment of numerous colors using many blocks for a single image. It is made up of two parts: The "L" shaped section called a kagi (鍵 or かぎ); and the "straight-line guide or trait carved on the block at a short distance from..." the kagi called the hikitsuke (溝? or ひきつけ).
The image to the left was provided by David Bull the originator of the Baren Forum. Clearly it does not represent the carved block itself, but rather comes from the printing of the hanshita (see our entry on that term) from that block. A printed image done in this manner obviously reverses the lines of the block. That is, the kagi on the carved block is placed in the lower right hand corner.
After posting the original entry the other day with the print of the little boy in the boat by David Bull our generous contributor E. sent us a fanciful example by Kuniyoshi which distinctly shows the kagi in the lower right. Unfortunately the hikitsuke does not appear on this copy.
Thanks E!
|
|
Ken'yakurei |
儉約令 |
Sumptuary laws: [Think 'sumptuous'] - Laws meant to maintain traditional distinction between classes by regulating the consumption of articles or controlling luxuriant life styles. "They appear to increase in frequency and in minuteness from about the middle of the seventeenth century through the next two centuries of the regime."
Source and quote: 'Sumptuary Regulation and Status in Early Tokugawa Japan’ by Donald H. Shively, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 25, (1964 - 1965), p. 124.
|
|
It was galling to the upper classes, i.e., samurai and daimyo, to see commoners wearing expensive garments. "The government therefore prescribed that consumption should be correlated precisely with status." (p. 126) There had been an attempt to prohibit embroidery from women's clothes, among other things, but this effort had failed. So, the government decided that only elaborate embroidery should be banned. More warnings were posted. Word was spread that a woman had been jailed for this offense. (p. 127) [One can't help but think of modern attempts being made in Christian and Islamic nations to impose dress codes on their populations.] An account from 1681 states that the shogun noticed that the women from a merchants household were 'over-dressed'. For this effrontery the man's lands and property were confiscated and he was banished. (128)
Shively relates the story of the wives of two wealthy merchants trying to outdo each other. One, a visitor to Kyōto, dazzled the locals with her stunning kimono. Her competitor, a resident of that city, then showed up with a robe embroidered with a pattern of nandina or nanten (南天 or なんてん) leaves. (Also known as heavenly or sacred bamboo.) The visitor would have won this competition until someone noticed that the berries of the nandina were made with real coral. (Ibid.) Note: This story is about the same merchant and his wife who were later banished for thier extravagance.
As early as 1648 Edo townspeople were told that their servants were not to wear silk, at least, not refined silk. In Osaka servants were forbidden from wearing obis made of silk or velvet and the same was true for their loincloths or shita-obi (下帯 or したおび). "As a garment in which forbidden materials could be worn with the least danger of detection, fancy loincloths were in favor among both men and women throughout the Tokugawa period. In the same year there was another proclamation on this subject: 'The loincloths of sumō wrestlers should not be made of silk. Even when they were invited to the mansions (of samurai) they should wear cotton loincloths". Ibid.
In 1719 new edicts were handed down which banned townspeople from wearing wool capes, household articles with gold lacquer decoarations, 3 story structures, gold or silver leaf in the architectural details, having fancy gear for their horses, elaborate weddings or funerals (p. 130), wearing long swords or large short swords and... (on and on and on.) Actually the list does not go on and on, but it probably felt that way to the commoner residents of Edo. Besides there were other restrictions: No riding in palanquins; no elaborate altar's to the dead with artificial velvet flowers or gilding of any kind using silver or gold. Ibid.
At least townsmen could carry ordinary short swords or wakizashi (脇差 or わきざし), "but long swords were reserved for samurai." Footnote 15, p. 160.
No more than 2 soups or 5 dishes were to be served during festive occasions. (p. 130) At the time of low rice harvests in 1701 the drinking of sake was not even permitted. (Footnote 18, p. 160)
At one point dyers were told not to apply extra wax to heighten a sheen. Buddhist and Shintō priests were urged to dress simply and to tone down ceremonies and processions including the use of elaborate palanquins and umbrellas. (p. 130)
The popular late 17th century author Ihara Saikaku (1642-93: 井原西鶴 or いはらさいかく) noted that many of the sumptuary laws were often ignored. "Even the loincloth for bathing is a double layer of crimson silk dyed in safflower, while the tabi are made of white satin. These are things that in former times even a daimyo's lady did not have." (p. 131)
In the pleasure quarters money trumped class. It was considered unseemly for members of the samurai class to visit such places, but they did so anyway. However, because of the stigma it was important that they not draw attention to themselves and so they dressed down. As a result, imagine their growing resentment the samurai had toward the conspicuous consumption so lavishly exhibited - even flaunted - by wealthy merchants. ¶ Shively Considering the role prostitutes played in society it only makes sense that they would want to present themselves as sumptuously as possible. However, in 1617 prostitutes were proscribed from the use of gold and silver appliqué on their clothing. Osaka proprietors were told "You should not dress prostitutes in kimono with embroidery or appliqué of gold or silver leaf, dapple tie-dyeing, or [woven material with] gold thread in it." Actors were also subject to clothing restrictions: no embroidery, red or purple linings or even purple caps. Shively notes that the wearing of purple was an Imperial Court prerogative. (p. 132) In 1636 the manager of a puppet troupe was jailed for displaying a purple curtain. (p. 133)
Shively hypothesizes that enforcement of sumptuary laws through confiscation may have been based more in greed or relief of a daimyo's debt than in an effort to punish an offender. He also notes that many merchants who were listed as agents of a daimyo, but who lived lavishly went untouched by the authorities. He adds: "The frequency with which laws were reissued suggests that the government relied more on admonition, exhortation, and threat than on actual penalties." (p. 134) Their lack of effectiveness was mocked by the term mikka hatto (三日法度 or みっかはっと) or 'three-day laws'.
In 1668 the government banned the importation of gold thread, coral, exotic woods, Dutch goods and "...curiosities in general." Later red blankets and woolen materials were added. Food items could not be sold too early or too late: Fresh tree mushrooms in the first month, fern shoots in the third, bamboo shoots in the fourth, eggplants in the fifth, etc. As a host don't even think of serving wild geese or ducks, cranes, swans or water chestnuts. And believe it or not these laws in general became even more detailed in the early 18th century: cakes and books, combs and bodkins; tobacco pouches, purses, incense burners, sake stands. Dolls couldn't exceed 9" and Buddhas were to be kept below 3'. By the middle of the 19th century the rules had reached the absurd as if they were already absurd enough. (p. 135)
Shively points out the it wasn't just the Japanese who imposed such rules and regulations. The French, the English, the Swiss and others had their own and very similar laws. And don't even get me started on the Puritans in Massachusetts. When I was younger Missouri still enforced many of its 'Blue laws'. Almost nothing could be sold on Sunday except for groceries so everyone drove across the state line to Kansas to buy most of what they wanted. Kansas merchants prospered and Missouri merchants suffered piously. ¶ Even the ancient Greeks, Romans and Chinese tried to impose their wills. In fact, the earliest Japanese attempts to control the populace through a dress code were modeled on those of T'ang dynasty China. (p. 136)
"Living in a castle town, the chonin [townsman] was constantly reminded of his mean station. Not only the location and size of his residence were restricted, but in theory his furnishings, food, and clothing were all expected to be scaled accordingly. The whole manner of living was determined by status - such motor habits as the manner of walking, sitting, bowing, even to the way of talking and the vocabulary and verb forms." (p. 143)
Note that some townspeople who were in the direct service of the shogun or a daimyo were permitted to carry two swords as the samurai did. (Ibid.)
The sumptuary laws were not applied to the townspeople exclusively. Every group, from the lowest to the highest, had their restrictions. Often this was an effort to maintain social distinctions, but it was also meant to curb spending and encourage thrift. Even the daimyo and their wives were subjected to these rules. Only so much was to be spent on clothing, gifts, weddings, religious celebrations, etc. Even the size of a lord's retinue was governed by his rank - especially when traveling in processions to and from their home territories or on pilgrimages. "All of these instructions seem to have been rather ineffective." (p. 148) Everyone was ranked and within each rank their were further distinctions between the highest and the lowest. These too had their rules.
Marriages between different daimyo families were held by law in Edo in the 17th century. (p. 149)
Prior to the peaceful times of the Tokugawa era daimyos earned glory on the battlefield. However, as residents of Edo their only glory came from opulence and this pitted one against the other financially. (p. 150) The government was not as concerned with this kind of high level competition because it helped drain the purses of the daimyo and thus kept them weak.
Shively quotes a government statement from 1710: "In clothing and houses, provisions for banquets, and articles of gifts, some are extravagant and others are too frugal. Both of these are at variance with propriety. The superior and inferior should observe their proper station..." (p. 152)
*** "We are inclined to consider sumptuary laws (ken'yakurei) as being entirely negative, a device for repressing the lower orders. Although most of the Tokugawa sumptuary regulations carried the message of not exceeding one's level, it was of equal importance to live up to one's level." (p. 153)
Farmers could not wear silk even if they harvested it. They couldn't wear striped material or pattern dyed cloth. "Purple, crimson, and plum colored dyes were forbidden, but pale yellow, grey, dark blue and persimmon could be worn." If a farmer returned from living in a city he had to redye any inappropriate colors or patterns. "Ordinary farmers were not to wear cotton rain capes or use umbrellas." Etc! Farmers were encouraged to eat grains and not consume the rice they grew. They were not to drink sake or brew it. (p. 154) "Ordinary farmers were not to have floor mats (tatami), paper-covered sliding doors, or verandas." Merchants were generally barred from entering agricultural villages and the list of items which could not be sold to farmers was great. This included a ban on books because keeping a farmer uneducated kept him closer to the land. Farmers were even encouraged to divorce lazy wives. (p. 155) |
||
|
LINKS TO OUR OTHER INDEX/GLOSSARY PAGES Click on any of the pages listed below!
|
||
|
|
|
|
HOME