Neko thru Nusa

JAPANESE PRINTS

A MILLION QUESTIONS

TWO MILLION MYSTERIES

Ukiyo-e Prints

浮世絵版画

Port Townsend, Washington

A CLICKABLE

INDEX/GLOSSARY

(Hopefully this will be an ever changing and growing list.)

Neko thru Nusa

TERMS FOUND ON THIS PAGE:

Neko, New Kabuki Encyclopedia: A Revised Adaptation of kabuki jiten,

Nichiren, Nigao-e, Nihachi, Nihon zutsumi, Ninja, Niō,

Nise Murasaki inaka Genji, Nishiki-e, Noh, Nokori-enogu,

Norimono, Nunobiki, Nurude and Nusa

猫, 根生, 日蓮, 似顔絵, 二八, 日本堤, 忍者, 仁王, 偐紫田舎源氏,

錦絵, 能, 残り-絵の具, 乗り物, 糠袋, 布引, 布目摺, 白膠木 and 幤

ねこ, ねおい, にちれん, にがおえ, にはち, にほんづつみ, にんじゃ,

にんぎょ, におう, にせむらさきいなかげんじ, にしきえ, のう,

のこりえのぐ, のりもの, ぬかぶくろ, ぬのびき, ぬのめずり,

ヌルデ and ぬさ

Neko

猫

ねこ

Cat(s): Also an affectionate term for a geisha. (See our entry on shamisen.)"

The character used for cat in China is the same as the one used by the Japanese - 猫. However, in China it is referred to as a mao "...given to it in imitation of its mewing, but the composition of this name is intended to express an animal which catches rats in grain.

[The italics are those of the author C.A.S. Williams.]

Chinese characters are often created from the combination of certain basic elements, but I am not one who is accomplished at parsing these. The left hand element (i.e., the radical) which means 'dog' or 'animal' works well with the right hand element which means 'seedling' when standing alone.

I want to thank our great contributor Eikei for helping me with a clear understanding of this kanji character.

Neoi

根生

ねおい

"'Root-born,' an actor who is a true-born son of a vicinity where the generation of his ancestors lived and where he has acquired patrons... For example, it is common to refer to one of the Ichikawa Danjūrō line as an Edo neoi [江戸根生 or えどねおい] actor."

Quote from: New Kabuki Encyclopedia: A Revised Adaptation of kabuki jiten, by Samuel L. Leiter, 1997, p. 466.

I am speculating here, but it would seem to me that judging from other observations of crowd behavior show an almost irrational attachment to hometown heroes. This would have probably been even more pronounced with kabuki because there were major differences in performing styles between actors from Edo - rough and tumble - and that of Osaka - more delicate, more feminine.

Fan loyalty in this case carries a geographic element to it to boot.

New Kabuki Encyclopedia: A Revised Adaptation of kabuki jiten

A major source book compiled by Samuel Leiter, but a bit confusing in its descriptions. 1

Nichiren

日蓮

にちれん

Buddhist priest (1222-82) who was an evangelist of the Hokke or Lotus sect.

"...though based upon the canonical scriptures [the Lotus sect] was of truly Japanese origin. It was founded by a Japanese teacher and it was hostile to all other forms of Buddhism. It was militant and intolerant, and therefore exceptional in a country where the common religious tradition was tolerant to the point of indifference." Nichiren "...held that the truth was to be found only in the Lotus Sutra, and called upon believers to strengthen their faith by repeated utterance of the formula 'Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō,' meaning Homage to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Sutra."

Nichiren preached an apocalyptic doctrine and he claimed that his coming as a bodhisattva was foretold. He was also fervently patriotic. "...though he preached and wrote energetically about peace, he was a most quarrelsome and intractable saint...who used violent language to condemn the leaders of other sects..." calling them liars, fiends and devils. However, his invectives were not limited just to his religious rivals. He also attacked the governing classes. Tried for treason he was due for execution when he was spared at the last moment. Nichiren described this as a miracle. Over the ages many other miracles have been attributed to him. Convinced of his messianic role he never relented that all of Japan should follow him. Nevertheless, by 1282 when he died everyone had not come on board.

"Nichiren is the most remarkable figure in his country's religious history, and he is certainly among the first dozen of her great men."

Source and quotes: A History of Japan to 1334, by George Sansom, Stanford University Press, 1993, pp. 426-8.

Sansom also believes the roots of Japanese nationalism begin with Nichiren and not centuries later.

The image to the left is a detail from a print by Kuniyoshi showing Nichiren performing a miracle during a storm at sea. This was sent to us by our generous contributor E. Thanks E! 1

Nigao-e

似顔絵

にがおえ

A true likeness in portraiture: Prior to the late 18th century most print portraits had a generic look to them. Only an identifying crest or accompanying text enabled the viewer to discern which actor he was looking at. Donald Jenkins noted that in print form prior to that "...the faces of actors were indistinguishable from one another and all but interchangeable." Then Bunchō and Shunshō began to draw the face with individualized characteristics such as a hooked nose, narrow chin or high cheekbones. Suddenly it was clear to anyone who knew the theater well which actor was portrayed.

Quote from: The Actor's Image: Print Makers of the Katsukawa School, Timothy Clark, Osamu Ueda and Donald Jenkins, Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 16.

Jack Hillier in his The Art of the Japanese Book (vol. 1, pp. 330-35) stresses that the publication of the Ehon Butai Ōgi (絵本舞台扇 or えほん.ぶたい.おうぎ) 'The Picture-book of Stage Fans' in 1770 was one of the greatest collaborations ever between two artists "...when...Shunshō and Bunchō brought [an] amalgam of dramatic portraiture and Harunobu-esque colour and grace to a peak..." Bunchō, Hillier notes, suppressed his individualistic artistic instincts to work cohesively with Shunshō. Each actor image was displayed within a fan or ogi motif. Only the two different artists' seals make the attributions iron clad. Shunshō (bottom left) used his Hayashi seal and Bunchō (top left) used a seal featuring his family name, Mori.

We want to thank our correspondent E. for providing these images and helping us graphically to make our point. Images are almost always better than words - or, at least, better with words. Thanks E!

Nihachi

二八

にはち

Soba udon mixture 1

Nihon zutsumi

日本堤

にほんづつみ

The Nihon zutsumi was a dike or embankment which led to the New Yoshiwara from the direction of Asakusa (浅草 or あさくさ).

According to J. E. De Becker in his Yoshiwara: The Nightless City (pp. 15-16) it may have been constructed as early as 1621 and originally was made up of two roadways. In time one of them disappeared to public work projects. The remaining dike/road ran 5004' long and 60' wide with a horse path taking up half of that. "At the time of the construction of the Nihon-dsutsumi, a large number of lacquer-trees (urushi-no-ki) were planted on both sides of the road, forming a veritable avenue,* and it was a common joke to warn an habitué of the Yoshiwara by saying significantly - 'When you pass along the Sanya road, mind you don't get poisoned by lacquer!'"

De Becker added the asterisk: "Trees planted in this manner by the authorities were called 'goyō-boku,' or 'government trees.' Lacquer trees are poisonous, and the sap produces a severe rash on the skin if handled."

But that wasn't the only hazard of traveling atop this dike. According to Cecilia Segawa Seigle in her Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan (pp. 57 and 114-5) individuals and groups were made more vulnerable to assaults and robberies. This was especially true of men who were leaving the Yoshiwara after a night of debauchery. She also relates one early account which she says some scholars consider vulgar. I am not a scholar, but I would tend to agree with that assessment so I am not going to repeat it here. However, if you would like to read it for yourself you can find it on pp. 44-45 of Seigle's book.

The image shown above is a detail from a print by Hiroshige ca. 1858. Noticeable is the lack of lacquer trees lining both sides of the route. Curious, hmmm? Maybe they were removed for safety reasons. Who knows?

Ninja

忍者

にんじゃ

Timothy Clark translates this phrase as "shadow warrior".

Quote from: The Actor's Image: Print Makers of the Katsukawa School, Timothy Clark, Osamu Ueda and Donald Jenkins, Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 112.

Practitioners of the ancient art of subterfuge. "...a supposedly magical art for making oneself 'invisible' by artifice or strategem in order to evade detection, used especially by those engaged in espionage. Also known as shinobi [忍び or しのび]." The author of the entry in the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan refers to ninja as "secret agents".

There are numerous theories about the origin of the ninja, but as Tomiki Kenji says they "...are nothing more than legend." One school believes that Susanoo no Mikoto, the brother of the sun goddess, started it off by turning his new bride into a comb which he stuck in his hair. In another version a different god or kami ordered a pheasant to spy for him. By the time of the Sengoku period (1467-1568) the practices of the ninja were in full swing. These spies were similar to what we now know in the West as the CIA and M5 where often agents work surreptitiously behind enemy lines. But like the modern espionage institutions much of what we think we know about them is clouded in nearly complete secrecy and almost totally unreliable.

Source material from: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan entry by Tomiki Kenji Suzuki (vol. 6, pp. 6 & 7)

Ningyo

人魚

にんぎょ

Mermaid (or merman): There is almost nothing I can find about Japanese mermaids in English in my reasonably large, reference library. This is quite odd. In fact, there are almost no mermaids portrayed in Japanese prints. I know of only a couple of example. However, there is an ehon illustrated by Toyokuni I with numerous images. But what the exact story is I don't know. (The image to the left is a detail of one of Toyokuni's early 19th century illustrations. The coloring is mine. Sacrilege. Note also the gold coins which the fellow is dropping at her tail.)

There is the tale of Yaohime (八百姫 or やおひめ) or the 800 year old virgin: In one version it is the 5th century. Several men are invited to a feast by a very strange man. However, none of them will eat any of the equally strange looking food. As the guests are leaving one of them grabs a piece of meat, takes it home, wraps it in paper and puts it on a shelf at home. His young daughter finds it and tastes it. As a result she becomes strikingly beautiful and never grows older than fifteen. After 800 years she dies and a shrine is erected to honor her. ¶ "There are many ancient records of ningyo or mermaids appearing in the sea around Japan." Most sketched 'from life' are said to be strikingly beautiful. Sometimes they are shown with arms and breasts and sometimes their whole body is that of the fish with only the head that of a human as in the example to the left.

Source and quotes: Mock Joya's Things Japanese, p. 233.

The description of mermaids given above allow for only two types: Those with breasts and those without because everything below the neck is supposedly fish. However, there appears to be a third category: The breasts are actually fins. Now there is the rub. Whenever you read something about Japanese culture or more specifically about Japanese prints and the author sounds definitive and absolute, don't believe it. If there is anything about Japanese prints which could be considered doctrinaire then let me know what it is. The image shown below is one such case in point. Look at her chest. Look at it carefully. (To be fair, it may just be the invention of this artists, but considering the fact that mermaids are not facts then it would seem the variations are almost endless and any artist can say 'She looked like this. Really. Exactly like this.' And, who is to prove otherwise.)

Niō

仁王

におう

The two benevolent guardian kings found at the entry to Buddhist temples.

"Niō...the two Deva kings; a pair of guardian divinities of a temple. Statues of them stand at the sides of a temple gate or a Buddhist image. Their task is to guard the temple or the Buddhist image from evil spirits with their fierce countenances. They are also referred to as Kongō-Rikishi [金剛力士 or こんごうりきし]: one is Kongō with his mouth open as if saying 'a' (あ) which implies 'beginning,' and the other, Rikishi, has his mouth closed as if saying 'n' (ん) which implies 'end,' these implications having to do with Buddhist doctrines."

Quote from: Dictionary of Japanese Culture by Setsuko Kojima and Gene A. Crane, p. 243.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary a Deva is "A god, a divinity, one of the good spirits of Hindu mythology."

The images to the left both emphasize the 'human' nature of these figures. Although they would have been carved of wood they were meant to instill a sense of unearthly power in believers. The one on the top is a detail from a print by Kuniyoshi where he honors the remarkable sculptor Hidari Jingorō (左甚五郎 or ひだりじんごろう - fl. late 16th to early 17th c.) who like Pygmalion was so adept at his craft that one could easily believe that his creations could come to life. In this case Kuniyoshi has used a kabuki actor's visage for his model. The one below is a detail from a vertical diptych by Kuniyoshi's pupil Yoshitoshi. That image was sent to us by our dear friend Mike. Thanks Mike!

Nise Murasaki inaka Genji

偐紫田舎源氏

にせむらさきいなかげんじ

"An imposter Murasaki and rustic Genji" was a serial novel written by Ryūtei Tanehiko (1783-1842: 柳亭種彦 or りゅうていたねひこ) and published by Tsuruya Kiemon (鶴屋喜右衛門 or つるや.きえもん) between 1829 and 1842. It was probably the most popular novel written in the 19th century and made even more so by the wonderful illustrations of Kunisada. In fact, Kyokutei Bakin (1767-1848: きょくてい.ばきん), a rival author and rather snippy competitor, "...ever acerbic, declared the illustrations the single best feature of the entire work." Bakin questioned in particular Tanehiko's lack of scholarship and it is known that after the latter died and an inventory was made of his rather extensive library there were no copies of "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu. But in the end this does not mean very much.

(The illustrations to the left and below are both by Kunisada. The top one is a detail sent to us by one of our valued correspondents. For this we thank him heartily. Remember these are only two examples of an enormous corpus of such prints which form their own genre.)

This new, nineteenth century variation on the theme of Genji had numerous intervening precedents going back several centuries. Even the great author of puppet plays, Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724: 近松門左衛門 or ちかまつ.もんざえもん) composed works which have been described as "freewheeling adaptations of Genji..."

The early chapters of the Rustic Genji hardly show a knowledge of the original 11th century masterpiece. Prince Genji was renamed Matsuuji (光氏 or みつうじ) who was made the son of a shogun rather than that of an emporor. Even the styles were divergent. Compared to the elegant (ga: 雅) "Tale of Genji" this new version was considered vulgar (zoku: 俗). There was more of kabuki in the early part of this series than anything else. Tanehiko knew his market well and catered to its needs: dramatic struggles, the search for stolen treasures, twists which made sudden turns, love trysts in the pleasure quarters. All of this occured in a condensed fashion.

Bakin insisted that this novel was geared more to women and children than to educated men. There may be a grain of truth in this considering that most of Tanehiko's contemporaries were ignorant of Lady Murasaki's work. Her writing was too plodding and archaic for most of the population. Tanehiko spiced it up and the public loved it.

Originally Genji was set in the Heian period (794-1185: 平安or へいあん). However, Mitsuuji's is a Muromachi (ca. 1336-1573: 室町 or むろまち) blade. But this is a Muromachi period unlike any other. Tanehiko modernized it with a slew of oddities. "He notes, even underlines in chapter prefaces, the deliberate anachronisms he has introduced: clocks, telescopes, tobacco, a sort of Greek fire borrowed from 'Southern barbarians,' and the shamisen, 'newly introduced from the Ryūkyūs."

In later chapters - Tanehiko died before finishing the novel - he moved much closer to the original "Tale of Genji". "...the author is at pains to provide some equivalent for even slow moving portions of the relatively static 'Suma' and 'Akashi' chapters." However, by the end of his efforts Tanehiko "...adhere[s] most conspicuously to the episode sequence of the original, even to the point of mechanical parallel transposition of consecutive Genji chapters into consecutive Inaka Genji half-chapters." Sometimes the Heian work is quoted "...verbatim or with minor modifications. While the tense theatrical style of the earliest chapters does surface sporadically, these final, most imitative segments represent the final victory of the 'elegant' component, and capitulation of the 'vulgar'."

Source and quotes from: The Willow in Autumn: Ryūtei Tanehiko, 1783-1842, by Andrew Lawrence Markus, Harvard University Press, 1992, pp. 119-158.

THE POINT: There are a load of Genji pictures out there - many if not most of them by Kunisada, aka, Toyokuni III - and they remain extremely popular among today's collecting public. Often these prints have those nearly ubiquitous Genji-mon or little crests which ostensibly represent identifiable chapters. But beware! They don't always line up with the texts - at least as best I can tell. And, goodness knows, they often have no clear connection with anything written from the brush of Lady Murasaki.

MORAL: Don't try to figure out the iconography of the Genji prints you own or see unless you are used to pulling your hair out. If and when there is a good/great English translation the Rustic Genji then we can revisit this problem.

******

"The love affairs that sprinkle the pages are described with conventional skill and heightened by the charm of Kunisada's illustrations, but there is something unpleasantly cold and deliberate about Mitsuuji's systematic use of the women he sleeps with to further his investigation. Judged in terms of the samurai morality, Mitsuuji is superior to Genji in that his love affairs are occasioned not by fleshly lust but by a higher purpose, recovery of the treasures. But it is hard for us to feel affection for this love machine or, for that matter, for the women of different social stations who vie to become his slaves."

Quoted from: World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-modern Era, 1600-1867, by Donald Keene, Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1976, p. 433.

Donald Keene makes it clear that Tanehiko was well aware of his model. "Tanehiko also had difficulties determining how faithful he should be to the plot of The Tale of Genji. His manuscripts are full of crossings out and additions, indicating his uncertainties, especially at the beginning of the work. It was with great reluctance that he finally dropped an opening paragraph directly modeled on Lady Murasaki's famous lines, but as a mark of tribute to the original author he pretended that a woman, a court lady named Ofuji, had written his work."

Ibid., p. 432.

Nishiki-e

錦絵

にしきえ

Literally 'brocade print'.

This is the term for style of colored woodblock prints which form the overwhelming majority of ukiyo production where each color requires the use of a separate block. It stands in contradistinction to that of earlier hand-colored prints. While many sources state that Harunobu originated this technique in 1765 there are at least two other examples by Shunshō from the previous year. This is according to Timothy Clark of the British Museum. "Some authorities maintain, however, that Shunshō's earliest nishiki-e actor prints date from 1768; see, for example, Rober Keyes's comments in Ukiyo-e Shūka, vol. 13 (1981), no. 126."

Quote from: The Actor's Image: Print Makers of the Katsukawa School, Timothy Clark, Osamu Ueda and Donald Jenkins, Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 94, note 2.

Noh

能

のう

A classical form of Japanese theater. Andrew L. Markus in his article "The Carnival of Edo: Misemono - Spectacles From Contemporary Accounts" published by the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies says "Though refined into an elite private art form during the late medieval period, the stately nō drama traces its origins to the popular public sarugaku 猿楽 'monkey diversion' show - and in some opinions ultimately to the sangaku

散楽 'miscellaneous entertainment' acrobatics of the Nara period." The illustration to the left comes from a "...hand-coloured tanryoku-bon 1660 book Kyogen-ki by an unknown artist."

This image was generously contributed to our site by E. Thanks E! 1

Nokori-enogu

残り-絵の具

のこりえのぐ

Cherry-wood blocks are desirable for their quality of nokori-enogu or as Hiroshi Yoshida notes "...it has power to retain a part of the pigment after printing. By the time about ten sheets have been printed, the block absorbs and retains some of the pigment which cannot be wiped off or printed away and which gives a desirable tone to the print." ( Japanese Woodblock Printing, 1939, pp. 16-17)

Norimono

乗り物

のりもの

Literally it means 'vehicle', but in this case it is the elegant, lacquered, enclosed palanquin used by a daimyo or other high official when traveling.

In The Shogun Age Exhibition (cat. entry #239, p. 232) it states "...one rode facing forward with legs tucked underneath. Although the interior seems small and cramped, there was sufficient room for reading and writing and performing small tasks." Slats on the front and the sides could be adjusted from the inside for better views of the scenery. 1

Engelbert Kaempfer in his 18th century book on Japan discussed the differences (and similarities) between the common kago and the elegant norimono. [cf. kago on our J thru Kakuregasa index/glossary page] The "handsome and hollow" pole of the norimono "consists of four thin boards skillfully joined to resemble a narrow, solid pole with a rising curve in the center, and it is therefore much lighter than it appears from the outside. The height and length of these poles are regulated by law according to one's station, and the eminence and lofty station of rulers and high-ranking lords are mainly indicated by the height of these carrying-poles. Those who consider themselves to be greater than they actually are occasionally use poles with a curve higher than that permitted, but they often fare badly and with much humiliation are forced to remove it. This government regulation does not apply to women, and they are not prohibited from going beyond their station. The compartment itself is an oblong cubicle, and the largest are so big that a person can sit and rest comfortably. The walls are carefully woven from finely split bamboo, sometimes lacquered, delicate, and precious. On each side is a sliding door, and in it or next to it - sometimes also in the front or at the rear - is a small window. On occasion they also have a small flap at foot level so that people can sleep with their legs stretched out."

Quoted from: Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed, edited and translated by Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey, University of Hawaii Press, 1999, p. 246.

Nuka bukuro

糠袋

ぬかぶくろ

"Before the introduction of soap and other modern cosmetics, Japanese women had their own way of beautifying themselves. First, in washing their faces they used nukabukuro or little cotton bags containing rice bran. The bag was moistened and applied to the face and hands, or all over the body when taking a bath.

The moistened bran gives off a whitish juice which is believed to be good for the skin."

Quote from: Mock Joya's Things Japanese, p. 7.

Nunobiki

布引

ぬのびき

A term which means stretched cloth or the proper name of a waterfall. 1

Nunomezuri

布目摺

ぬのめずり

"Textile printing": "...technique of producing textile weave (using no pigment) in finished print..."

Quote from: Japanese Print-Making: A Handbook of Traditional & Modern Techniques, by Toshi Yoshida & Rei Yuki, Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1966, p. 168.

In the Yoshitoshi detailed example to the left one can clearly see the textile pattern below the printed text. The image below that shows the full print. The area with the nunomezuri is in the upper left. Such details are very easy to miss. That is why an extremely close reexamination of the prints you already own is well worth the effort. 1

Nurude

白膠木

ヌルデ

Japanese sumac rhus javanica. The crushed gall of this plant is used in making of tooth blackening powder applied by married women in the premodern era. (See our entry on ohaguro for a more extensive discussion of tooth blackening.)

These two images, one showing the sumac tree in flower and the other picturing the galls, are being shown courtesy of Shu Suehiro at http://www.botanic.jp/index.htm. You should make sure to visit Shu's wonderful site.

Nusa

幤

ぬさ

A wand composed of a branch of the sakaki tree adorned with a zig-zag cut paper used as a Shinto offering.

(See also the entries for tamagushi, sakaki, shide and shimenawa.)

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