Ukiyo-e Prints浮世絵版画Port Townsend, Washington |
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INDEX/GLOSSARY
Tengu thru Tombo |
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The white lilies are being used
to mark addition
The painting of the hallucinogenic |
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TERMS FOUND ON THIS PAGE:
Tengu,
The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyoharu Kunichika 1835-1900,
天狗,
てんぐ,
とうきょう and とんぼ |
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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. |
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TERM/NAME |
KANJI/KANA |
DESCRIPTION/ DEFINITION/ CATEGORY Click on the light green numbers to go to linked pages. |
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Tengu |
天狗
てんぐ
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A long nosed fantastic goblin-like creature.
The image to the left was sent to us by E. our generous contributor. It is a detail from the left hand page of a Hokusai book called the Ehon Wakan homare (絵本和漢誉 or えほんわかんほまれ). Thanks E!
In the section on tengu in Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy (p, 287) it is noted that in the Taiheiki the yamabushi Unkei visits a gathering of tengu on Mt. Atago (愛宕山 or あたごやま) where they are "...deliberating the fate of the world." The "...tengu... were thought to be able to tell the future and influence the course of the world."
Another quote from the same source: "With a most original point of view, Tsuda Sōkichi holds that demons, and particularly the tengu, were supposed to have power only over monks who were negligent in Buddhist discipline or services."
U. A. Casal in his "Lore of the Japanese Fan" notes that among other traits the tengu are "...outspokenly phallic." The image of the carving shown to the left makes this abundantly obvious.. (Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 16, no. 1/2, 1960, p. 58)
Below is a rare, rare, rare image of the birth of a baby tengu. Unfortunately it doesn't do anything to resolve that age old question - "Which came first the tengu or the egg?"
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"In medieval literature they appear prominently as one of the most sinister enemies of Buddhism. They sow seeds of pride in the hearts of those treading the path towards Buddhist illumination. They cause mysterious conflagrations in Buddhist temples. They carry off priests engaged in pious exercises and tie them to the tops of trees."
Quoted from: "Supernatural Abductions in Japanese Folklore", by Carmen Blacker, published by Nanzan University, Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1967, p. 116.
"The favorite disguise of the goblin [i.e., tengu] was the distinctive garb of the sect of mountain ascetics known as yamabushi [山伏 or やまぶし]." Remember: yamabushi is generally translated as mountain priest or Buddhist monk. (Ibid.)
Dr. M. W. de Visser in his article "The Tengu" (published in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 1908, p. 25) at the very first mentions the number of famous authors and scholars who took the existence of tengu as a given fact - or apparently so. "Even the famous Shintō reformer Hirata Atsutane [1776-1843: 平田篤胤 or ひらたあつたね] and the learned novelist Kyokutei Bakin [1767-1848: 曲亭馬琴 or きょくていばきん] made a deep study of this subject." But there were others: Hayashi Razan [1583-1657: 林羅山 or はやしらざん] , the Buddhist priest Teinin [ていねん], Ogyū Sorai [1666- 1728: 荻生徂徠 or おぎゅうそらい] and Hiraga Gennai [1728?-1779: 平賀源内 or ひらかげんない]. "By far the clearest and most profound of all the older writers on this subject is Bakin himself." In fact, he was disdainful of the writings of the others. [However, that seems to have been one of his personality traits. He was contemptuous of the scholarship of several of his literary peers.]
Carmen Blacker relates many stories of abductions where the child eventually returns only to be found on a rooftop or in nearly inaccessible rafters. After their return most of these children have diminished mental capacities. De Visser recounts an almost identical story of a ten year old Chinese boy living during the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) who is swept away by a fish-eagle from a celebration at a Buddhist temple. When he reappears he is lying atop a tall pagoda and tells of visiting strange places and eating unusual foods. (de Visser, pp. 30-31) During the 17th century 10 other Chinese boys said they met a man with tangled hair, wings on his back, a beak and a tongue so long that hung down over his stomach. (de Visser, p. 31) There is also a 4th century description of "...a kind of demon in bird shape, who, just as the Japanese Tengu, can change himself into a man..." and set aflame the houses of men who try to harm him. (de Visser, p. 32) ¶ De Visser makes clear that the tengu are closely related to the folktales of the Celestial Dog of China. It streaks through the skies, booms thunderously and brings on conflicts between men. He also notes that comets and meteors are often thought to be demons bringing calamities to many different cultures as reported by Frazer in his Golden Bough. ¶ The oldest account of this phenomenon is mentioned in the Nihongi of 720. It was said to have occurred in 637. A Buddhist priest declared that a shooting star was actually the Celestial Dog howling like thunder. (de Visser,, p. 34) The point de Visser is making is that it took a Buddhist priest from China to inform the Japanese who did not know the reason of such things prior to that time. (p. 35) "But there is still more we can learn from the simple words of the Nihongi. At the side of the characters 天狗, 'Celestial Dog,' we find kana, reading 'Ama tsu kutsune' or 'Celestial Fox.' Now the latter is also known as a Chinese demon." (Ibid.) [I know, I know, it's a fox and not a tengu, but we should be able to clear this up eventually.] ¶ In 1446 an encyclopedic work was published which said that Celestial Dog and Foxes are often confused in the literature. "Hirata... points out the great resemblance between the Chinese legends about the Celestial Fox and what the Japanese call about their Tengu." (p. 36) Asikawa Zenan (1781-1849: 朝川善庵 or あさかわ ぜんあん) said that he knew of three images of a small tengu riding atop a fox. Japanese tengu and Chinese foxes both can take the shape of a Buddha, burn houses, know intimately what is happening both near and far at the same time and take over possession of human bodies. And like certain Chinese werefoxes which possess a special pearl "...whoever becomes a Great Tengu gets a pearl, red as agate. If one holds this pearl before his eyes or ears, he can see or hear all that happens in the three thousand worlds." (p. 37) By the 12th century the Japanese were completely mixing up the lore of the Celestial Fox or Dog with that of the tengu.
The first actual mention of a 'real' tengu came in the 10th century in the Utsubo Monogatari (宇津保物語 or うつほものがたり) or 'The Tale of the Hollow Tree'. "This story shows clearly that in those early days the Tengu was considered as a mountain demon, who deluded people and decoyed them into the depths of the wood." (p. 38) In this case the tengu was disguised as a beautiful young woman playing expertly on a koto. The next mention came in the Konjaku Monogatari (今昔物語 or こんじゃくものがたり) of 1077. There are quite a few stories of tengu in the Konjaku. In the first one a tengu hears the singing of a Buddhist text coming from the ocean and is determined to put a stop to it. He follows it to its source which is a stream flowing down Mt. Hiezan in Japan. It is guarded by the Four Kings of Heaven and acts as a privy for a sect of Tendai monks. The tengu is so impressed that he decides to take human form and become a priest. In time he rises in the ranks as a devout follower of Buddha. [We will be adding much more information soon!] The second story tells of a Chinese tengu traveling to Japan to see if the Buddhist priests are as easy to fool there as they are at home. The tengu finds a much tougher crowd - is this a nationalistic comment? - is thwartted by a powerful bishop, beaten by boys and sent a packing in humiliation. The third story tells of the miraculous appearance of a Buddha in kaki tree near Kyōto. Crowds of visitors came to witness the Buddha who gave off a brilliant light and rained flowers constantly from the sky. However, one shrewd court minister thought it might be a trick being played by tengu. The minister knew that no tengu could keep up his powers of black magic for more than a week so he went to visit the site on the last day and had the crowds removed. The minister stared at the visitation until finally it fell exhausted to the ground as a large bird with broken wings whereupon a little boy then kicked it to death. In the sixth story - even de Visser doesn't give a synopsis of them all - a tengu tries to tempt a Buddhist priest by taking possession of a beautiful woman. She, i.e., the tengu, is relentless. Finally in desperation the priest implores Fudō Myōō to help him. After Fudō wrangled the possessed woman with his rope she began spinning like a top, bumping into temple pillars. The injured tengu cried out for mercy through the woman's mouth. Compassionately Fudō releases his captive and the grateful tengu leaves the body of the woman who runs away never to bother the priest again. In another case a tengu in the guise of an Amida Butsu appears before a devout elderly priest and his junior monks. The tengu who has surrounded himself with all of the accoutrements of celestial buddhahood - the lotus throne, the five glorious colors, Bodhisattvas, angels, blinding light - sweeps down and carries off the elderly priest supposedly with the intent of taking him to the Western Paradise. Several days later and some distance from the abduction a priest was walking through the woods and heard moaning and groaning. He looked up and saw the naked form of the elderly priest tied near the top of tree. He climbed up and rescued the old man only to be scolded by him. The devout priest had been told by the tengu/Amida to wait there as part of his journey to paradise. "The bewitched priest was raving mad and died after a few days. He had been deceived by Tengu because he had no knowledge and did not understand the difference between the work of demons and the world of... [Buddhist principles]." The point: Tengu are nettlesome creatures which are often at war with Buddhists. They disguise themselves as bonzes, nuns, bishops and even Buddhas to trick the most gullible - especially among the clergy. Defense: A knowledge of the true ways of the Buddha will be your best protection.
By the 12th and 13th centuries the tengu had branched out mischievously to torment members of the Imperial Court and the Court was fighting back, but not always successfully. (de Visser, pp. 44-5) "As in the Chinese story of the Konjaku monogatari, this Tengu is an angry ghost of a priest, who probably had suffered some wrong from the Throne and had died in anger." (p. 45) But the struggle between the tengu and the Buddhist clergy didn't let up. Occasionally wayward priests came back as one of those foul smelling tengu after he died. "In these legends we read for the first time about the Tengu-road, as one of the punishments of hell for vain and hypocritical priests." (p. 46) In many cases humans only seem to be possessed by tengu to act as vehicles for dead priests.
In the story of Yoshitsune, the hero of the Battle of Dannoura in 1185 when the Minamoto beat the Taira, he is said to have been taught in martial skills by the tengu. How else could he have performed so remarkably? Do you have a better explanation?
Numerous stories about the travails of the 77th Japanese emperor, Go-Shirakawa (1156-58: 後白河 or ごしらかわ) refer to vengeful relatives who torment him as ghosts/tengu. (pp. 49-50) But Shirakawa was not immune to the same issues: "The Gukwanshō [1220-25: 愚管抄 or ぐくわんしょう] contains the following story: - In the year 1196 the ghost of the Emperor Go Shirakawa , who died four years before, possessed two women and a priest, through whose mouth he spoke and ordered the people to worship him." The 82nd ruling emperor Go Toba [1183-98: 後鳥羽 or ごとば] exiled the first two, but when the order was repeated again he began to think that it just might be the late emperor's ghost speaking. Just as he was about to follow the dictate he received a letter from a bishop who told him that it was more likely the work of a fox or tengu. As everyone knows those creatures love being worshipped. The bishop noted that many people in the capital had already started worshipping the dead emperor in anticipation that the living one would do the same. The bishop pointed out that if Go Toba went ahead with his plans he would join "...all kinds of low people... [like] such fools as miko, kannagi [巫 or かんなぎ] (female sorcerers) and dancers of the saru-gaku (monkey-dance). If such things happen, the world will come to an end." Whew! Fortunately Go Toba took the bishop's advice - and the world didn't end. (de Visser, p. 50) When Shirakawa's in 1184 the tengu were blamed. (p. 51) In another case Shirakawa is told that about 90% of contemporary priests fail to follow the way of the Buddha properly and therefore are apt to take the tengu-road. (p. 52) That is a lot of errant priests and hence proto-tengu. "Proud Nuns become Nun-Tengu, the priests Priest-Tengu. Although their faces are those of Tengu, their heads are those of nuns or priests, and although they have wings at the arms, yet they wear something like a dress and around their shoulders hang scarves (kesa). When ordinary men, who are proud, become Tengu, they have Tengu faces, but on their heads wear the eboshi (a cap formerly worn by nobles..." etc. When women became tengu among other habits they continued was tooth blackening. [See our entry on ohaguro.]
By this period tengu has taken on new skills in the telling; Incendiarism and the full capacity to know both the history going back 100 years and a clear view of the future for the same length of time. Another new phase was the abduction of children with no purpose other than to distress the parents. Generally the children are returned much the worse for their adventure. Ill and near death the tengu had fed the children what they convinced them were treats but in fact were nothing more than dung. (p. 57) [In Paris once I ordered andouille. The waiter tried to dissuade me, but I persisted. Ate a little bit and now know how the abducted children must have felt. And to think there were no tengu dining with me. Only Angela.] ¶ Now, I think I already mentioned the fact that Buddhist priest could come back as tengu. However, what I haven't mentioned is that there are 'good' demons and bad ones. Priests who were proud and ambitious and didn't really follow the way of Buddha would come back as the bad ones. The ones who erred in the same way, but still believed in the Buddhist scriptures came back as good one, i.e., good tengu priests, who would continue to study the way and act as protectors of Buddha. (pp. 59-60)
In the Genpei Seisuki (源平盛衰記 or げんぺいせいすき) the god of Sumiyoshi appears before the retired emperor Go Shirakawa that he difficulties with the Hieizan priests is actually the fault of heavenly devils or temma (天魔 or てんま). When asked about the nature of these devils the god gives quite a listing. Among these are priests with great learning who become great tengu and of those of lesser knowledge small tengu. Those with no knowledge or understanding go on the animal-road or chikushōdō (畜生道 or ちくしやうだう) after death. [Chikushōdō can also mean incest.] They come back as horses or cows and are beaten every day. The god continued: "In the middle ages there lived in Japan a bishop whose name was Kakimoto no Ki, a pupil of Kōbō Daishi. He was also an intimate friend and nearly his equal. But he grew proud of being the possessor of the Great Law and became the first Great Tengu of Japan, Tarōbō of Atago-san. As there are many proud men in the world, a great number became Tengu, and on all the mountain peaks of the country, twenty, thirty, fifty, a hundred or two hundred of them are assembled." [Kakimoto = 桓本 or かきもと: Kōbō Daishi = 弘法大師 or こうぼうだいし:Tarōbō = 太郎坊 or たろうぼう: Atago-san = 愛宕山 or あたご] The image shown above is a detail from a print by Kunisada showing Tarōbō as both priest and tengu as displayed on a hanging scroll. (de Visser, pp. 51-3) Notice the kongōsho or double vajra he is holding in his left hand.
In the early 14th century Yoshino shūi (吉野拾遺 or よしのしゅうい) the long nosed tengu makes its first appearance. "Formerly they were always described as having kite's beaks. No doubt the long nose is only a hunanized bird's bill. As is very often the case with animal-shaped gods and demons, there is a general tendency toward taking the human body. First of all the Tengu were kites, then they became men with the head of a kite, thereupon they had only a kite's beak, till at last the latter changed into a long nose." (p. 61)
3 mountains known for their concentration of tengu are Atago, Ōtake and Kimpusen. (p. 64) One of the repetitive themes of tengu life was that of a gathering where they would drink balls of red hot iron, writhe in agony, burn up into a pile of ashes and then after a short period be reconstituted only to continue their original activities. Hollywood could do no better than that. Also, many of the stories of strife and warfare are explained as being provoked and promoted by tengu who by this time are the vengeful spirits, i.e., of famous men. There is less emphasis on anti-Buddhist activities although monastery or temple fires are almost always blamed on tengu - they couldn't possibly be an accident or arson caused by a mortal. Losses on the battlefield were clearly caused by tengu armies in disguise.
De Visser tells us that in the Ainoshō (埃嚢鈔 or あいのうしょう) of 1446 it states that "...all distinguished officials and priests become Tengu on account of their proud hearts." (p. 67) On a totally different matter: One theme seems to pop up again and again and that is the rivalry between the Buddhist monks of Hieizan and Miidera. For example, when two boys disappeared (p. 68) from Miidera the monks at Hieizan were blamed when in fact it was the - you guessed it - tengu. But that is only one theme. There are plenty more where that one came from. Too numerous to list.
In the 17th century a story about Tarōbō of Mt. Atago appears in the Honchō Jinjakō (本朝神社考 or ほんちょうじんじゃこう): "Hosokawa no Katsumoto [細川勝元 or ほそかわかつもと] (1430-1473), who had no children, prayed on Atago-yama to the Great Tengu Tarōbō for a son. His prayer was heard, and Masamoto [政元 or まさもと] (1466-1507) was born. This son, who was a Tengu, became kwanryo (first minister of the Shōgun) in 1494, and having been murdered in 1507, caused a curse after his death. In order to smooth down the Tengu ghost a temple was built in his honor." (p. 70) As I am sure you must realize by now this story is based on the lives of real people. Sibling rivalries between Masamoto's three adopted sons was the cause of his death - unless, of course, you are inclined to think it was tengu doings.
As noted above de Visser mentioned three mountains populated by tengu. That was on p. 64, but on p. 70 me adds to the list these mountains: Taisen, Hiko, Kurama, Hira, Hieizan. Chances are where there are mountains there are tengu. (A cautionary note: Whenever a mountain is named it might not be the one you are familiar with. Turns out there are often several mountains in several provinces with the same name. I suppose that would be like trying to find Springfield, U.S.A. Supposedly there are a ton of them. 35? 38? I mention this becuase sometimes it is difficult sorting out the true local of a place shown in a print or mentioned in the literature.)
Razan, a Confucian scholar, who was mentioned above, believed "...that the Tengu evidently are ghosts of the dead who have become demons (悪鬼). He enumerates the principal ones, and puts in the first place the 'Bishop of Kurama' (who instructed Yoshitsune), Tarō of Atago, and Jirō, of Hira-yama. As to their shape he says: 'Sometimes they become foxes or boys, sometimes they fly in the shape of doves, or come among men as Buddhist priests or yamabushi; sometimes they change themselves into demons or Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. They change luck into calamity, and order into confusion. Now they cause fire, now war." (p. 71)
In the 18th century the first stories appeared of people dropped from the sky by tengu. |
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天神 てんじん |
Literally the term tenjin means 'Heavenly Deity'. Now it is identified with the deified spirit of Sugawara Michizane (管家 or すがわらみちざね: 845-903). Within Japan his spirit plays somewhat the same role among Shintō believers as that played by the patron saint in the Catholic Church, but here he is the patron of scholarship and calligraphy.
He was also given the posthumous title of Karai tenjin (火雷天神 or からいてんじん) or god of fire and thunder and is often portrayed surrounded by or directing bolts of lightening. |
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The Kitano Shrine (北野天満宮 or
きたのてんまんぐう) in Kyōto was established in 947 in honor of Sugawara Michizane's
spirit. On the 5th day of the 8th month of 987 they celebrated the Kitano
matsuri for the first time
Above is a photo of that shrine posted by Masahiko Nagao at panoramio.com.
W. G. Aston in his Shinto: The Way of the Gods refers to Tenjin as Temmangu (天満宮) which is also the name of the shrine itself. In 1905 Aston reported that Tenjin was one of the most revered gods in Japan. In 1825 there were approximately 25 shrines devoted to this god alone in the Edo area.
"The ox is the mount of several holy men and sages... [including Lao-tzu].... In exile Michizane frequently rode an ox and he was very fond of the blossom of the plumtree. He is often depicted riding through the air on his ox and accompanied by a blossoming plumtree, also defying the laws of gravity." (Quoted from: The Animal in Far Eastern Art... by T. Volker, p. 129) There is a story that right after Michizane died that "As his remains were beng taken to the burial ground, we are told that the ox pulling the cart stopped just outside the northeast corner of Dazaifu. Since it could not be made to budge farther, Michizane was interred there, at what became the site of the Dazaifu Temman Shrine. The story about the ox is probably a later fabrication, but Michizane may well have been buried at what is now the shrine...." (Quoted from: Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court by Robert Borgen, p. 304) Below is a statue of an recumbent ox at the shrine where Michizane was said to have been buried. It was taken by Fg2 and posted at commons.wikimedia.
Above is a detail from a print by Sadahide showing Michzane riding an ox. Behind is an old pine. Is the old man holding the tether Oimatsu? That's our guess. This image was sent to us by Eikei (英渓), our great contributor.
When the east wind blows, Let it send your fragrance, Oh plum blossoms. Although your master is gone Do not forget the spring.
Below is a photo of a clearly highly regarded blossoming plum tree at Dazaifu posted at commons.wikimedia by David Chart.
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Tenshukaku |
天守閣
てんしゅかく |
The main castle tower or donjon. The image at the left comes from a 1928 print by Hiroshi Yoshida (吉田博 or よしだ.ひろし) of Himeji Castle (姫路城 or ひめじ.しろ). |
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Tessen |
鉄線
てっせん
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The passion flower or clematis was used as a family crest for several families "...on the basis of its beauty alone..." "The inner disc of the blossom resembles a chrysanthemum, a likeness which Japanese draftsmen high-lighted in many of their versions of this motif."
Quotes from: The Elements of Japanese Design, by John W. Dower, pp. 66.
We have added two photos of the tessen provided generously by Shu Suehiro at http://www.botanic.jp/index.htm.
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The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints: A Collection of 18th & 19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints in the Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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This is an excellent volume published in 1973. It was catalogued by Roger Keyes and Keiko Mizushima. While there isn't much color there is an extensive listing of artists, signature and actors and an informative text and should be on the shelf of any serious collector, student or scholar. 1, 2 |
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Time Present and Time Past: Images of a Forgotten Master: Toyoharu Kunichika 1835-1900 |
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Not only is this the best book I know of on this late nineteenth century artist, but it also has three excellent appendices at the back. The first one is devoted to Kunichika signatures and seals, but the second and third are of more general interest to collectors and scholars of that period because the author gives large, clearly illustrated images of 19 publishers' seals and those of numerous carvers. Author: Amy Reigle Newland. Publisher: Hotei. Date: 1999. |
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東海道 とうかいどう |
Eastern Sea Road: "The Tōkaidō ran from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjō bridge in Kyoto. Traveling time between these two locations was reduced from 91 days in the period of Taika refomr (645) to 12-15 days by 1223, a speed that was maintained throughout the Edo period, with the exception of the much faster courier system. In 1604 the width was set to 5 ken. The Tōkaidō included fifty-five post-stations, and two more until its expansion to Osaka. Some of its stations were parts of castle-towns (jōkamachi), such as Odawara, Yoshida and Kuwana; temple-cities (monzen-machi) such as Mishima and Atsuta; and port-cities (minato-machi), such as Kawasaki, Shimada and Kanaya." (Quoted from: The Tōkaidō Road: Travelling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan by Jill Traganou, pp. 16-17) |
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Toko |
独鈷 とこ |
Another term for the kongosho, i.e., the vajra, a symbol of esoteric Buddhism associated with the aspect of karma. |
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At the beginning of chapter 5 of "The Tale of Genji" the young prince has been ailing with a persistent fever. He is told of "...a remarkable ascetic at a Temple in the Northern Hills..." who cured numerous people the previous year when everything else failed. Genji sent for him but the ascetic said he was too old to leave his cave. So, Genji went to him. After a short visit, as they are about to part, His Reverence "...gave Genji a single-pointed vajra, to protect him." (Source and quotes from: The Tale of Genji, translated by Royall Tyler, vol. 1, p. 92)
Tyler notes in footnote 34 that the vajra is also "...a symbol of supreme insight." |
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Tokugawa Tsunayoshi |
徳川綱吉
とくがわつなよし |
The 5th Tokugawa shogun, called the 'Dog Shogun' (Inu kubō is 犬公方 or いぬくぼう) - 1649-1709 - who ruled from 1680 to 1709. He was born in the Year of the Dog which helped perpetuate beliefs about him and his rule.
According to Beatrice Bodart-Bailey in her book The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi differed from his predecessors in one particular way. They too had relied on the advice of Buddhist clergy, "But none of them had permitted Buddhist principles of nonviolence to infringe upon the samurai's traditional right to kill." (p. 130) The shogun's encouragement for love, peace and tolerance must have irked the samurai/warrior class beyond reason.
The image of Tsunayoshi to the left was posted at commons.wikimedia.org by Takanuka. The original painting is by Tosa Mitsuoki (土佐光起 or とさみつおき: 1617-91) and hangs in the Tokugawa Museum. |
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Tokyō |
東京 とうきょう |
Prior to 1868 Tokyo was known as Edo. It had been the site chosen in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu to be the center of the shogunate while the Imperial capital remained in Kyōto. 1868 was also the year that the Meiji emperor moved to Tokyo creating a unified power base. 東 means 'eastern' and 京 means 'capital'. |
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Tombo |
蜻蛉
とんぼ
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Dragonfly motif: During the feudal period this crest or a variation on it was very popular with warriors. Often it could be found on arrow quivers because the dragonfly was known as the 'victory insect'.
Source: The Elements of Japanese Design, by John W. Dower, p. 94.
Ito-tombo photographed by Kumon "A design of dragonflies adorned the undergarments of fighting men, in the belief that the wearer would be victorious and lucky." It often adorned the garments and things used by little boys and came to be seen as a symbol of manliness.
Source and quotes: Mock Joya's Things Japanese (p. 123)
In the Kojiki is a story of the Emperor Yuryaku (雄略天皇 or ゆうりゃく.てんのう). Right after being bitten by a horsefly the Emperor saw a dragonfly kill his attacker. "...the Emperor was much pleased, and said, 'The insect thinks of me, and I will name the country Akitsu.' Akitsu (あきつ) is an ancient term for dragonfly. (Ibid., p. 651).
All of the photos posted above and below are shown at http://commons.wikimedia.org/ and are displayed courtesy of their photographers. Make sure that you note that these are not definitely, absolutely and convincingly Japanese dragonflies, but they get close - otherwise I wouldn't have posted them. |
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"The dragonfly, an emblem of the country, was also known as katsumushi [勝虫 or かつむし] (the invincible insect), a favorite symbol of strength among Japanese warriors. During the seventeenth-century Tokugawa shogunate period, dragonflies were used as a motif for decorations on warriors helmets."
Quoted from: A Dazzle of Dragonflies, by Forrest Lee Mitchell and James Laswell, Texas A & M University Press, 2005, p. 30.
Meadowhawk photographed by Regular Daddy "The ancient names akitsu and akitsu-mushi both mean 'autumn insect' and are still used to refer to all dragonflies of Japan. Although dragonflies fly throughout the summer months in Japan, they appear in great numbers in autumn, especially the red-colored Sympetrum species (meadowhawks), the ones most commonly written about in Japanese poetry. The colloquial name aka-tombo [赤蜻蛉 or あかとんぼ]... is actually used for many different species of red dragonflies found in Japan, including Sympetrum species." (Ibid., p. 31)
In 1788 Tsutaya Jūzaburō (1750-97: 蔦屋重三郎 or つたや.じゅうざぶろう) published the Ehon mushi erabi (画本虫撰 or えほんむしえらび or 'Picture Book of Selected Insects' illustrated by Utamaro. The detail of the red dragonfly shown above is accompanied by a poem by Akera Kankō (1736-98: 朱楽菅江 or あけらかんこう). [Various dates are given for Kankō. Another possibility is 1740-1800. These come from what seem to be credible sources. Actually the British Museum web site says that Akera was still active until ca. 1813.] One web site states that the poem deals with unrequited love which makes sense because of the quiet nature of the dragonfly itself. Also, there is another type of dragonfly illustrated in this book.
Mitchell and Laswell cite Lafcadio Hearn's delineates various categories of dragonflies in A Japanese Miscellany: There is the Mugiwara-tombo (麦藁蜻蛉 or むぎわらとんぼ) or Wheat-straw dragonfly "...is a colloquial name used for the immature male and female Orthetrum albistylum speciosum"; the Shiokara-tombo (塩辛蜻蛉 or しおからとんぼ) or Salt-fish dragonfly - the adult male's tail looks like it was dipped in salt. (Ibid.) The Shōrai-tombo (しょうらいとんぼ) or Dragonfly of the Dead, scientifically identified as the Pantala flavescens. It is also called the Bon-tombo because these dragonflies appear in the great numbers around the time of the Festival of the Dead, i.e. August 15th today. These dragonflies were believed to be the vehicles ridden by the spirits of the dead which return to their former homes. It is also referred to as the Wandering Glider.
Dragonfly of the Dead (Pantala flavescens) photographed by Dr. John C. Abbott "...there is a tradition that the Emperor Jimmu, some twenty-six hundred years ago, ascended a mountain to gaze over the province of Yamato, and observed to those who accompanied him that the configuration of the land was like a dragon-fly licking its tail. Because of this august observation the province of Yamato came to be known as the land of the Dragon-Fly... And the Dragon-Fly, remains an emblem of the Empire even to this day."
Quoted from: The Writings of Lafcadio Hearn, by Lafcadio Hearn and Elizabeth Bisland, published by Houghton Mifflin, 1922, p. 241
Hearn lists 32 kinds of dragonflies. One of the more interesting - from my point of view - is number 15, the "Ki-yamma [基山 or きやま] (goblin dragon-fly). Also called 'Ki-Emma' - 'Emma' or 'Yemma,' being the name of the King of Death and Judge of the Souls." #17 is the ghost dragonfly or Yurei-tombo (幽霊蜻蛉 or ゆうれいとんぼ). Hearn's #18 is "Kané-tsuké-tombō, O-haguro-tombō. Either name refers to the preparation formerly used to blacken the teeth of married women, and might be freely rendered as 'tooth-blackening dragon-fly.' " [As I live and learn, another reference to tooth blackening. For more go to our entry on ohaguro.] Hearn continued: "Kané wo tsukéru signified to apply, or, more literally, to wear the stuff: thus the appellation kané-tsuké-tombō might be interpreted as 'the kané-stained dragon-fly.' The wings of the insect are half-black, and look as if they had been partly dipped in ink." #20 is the Yanagi-jorō (やなぎじょうろう?) or spirit - or lady - of the weeping willow dragonfly. (p. 245) During the Festival of the Dead children are forbidden from disturbing dragonflies since they are the steeds of deceased souls. (p. 247)
There are long established conventions, according to Hearn, for painting and poetry. "...for example, the nightingale should be mentioned, or portrayed, with the plum-tree; the sparrow, with the bamboo; the cuckoo, with the moon; frogs, with rain; the butterfly, with flowers; the bat, with the willow-tree. Every Japanese child knows something about these regulations. Now, it so happens that no such relations have been clearly fixed for the dragon-fly in tanka-poetry..." (pp. 251-2) Hearn notes that the dragonfly is limited to certain types of poetry and is almost never mention in love poems because it is such a silent creature. This noiselessness also sets it apart in tanka from insects such as crickets. Haiku is another story altogether and Hearn gives numerous examples. Hearn also notes references to angel-like wings or its ability to reverse directions in a flash which gives us the modern Japanese word for somersault: Tonbogaeri (蜻蛉返り or とんぼがえり) which the author calls dragon-fly-turning. (p. 259)
Now I get it: Below is a detail from a Kiyochika print series entitle '100 Victories 100 Laughs' (百撰百笑) in which the artist pours forth with the most scathing ridicule of the Chinese during the Sino-Japanese War. Here the dapper and superior Japanese character is portrayed by a dragonfly pointing a pistol at a distraught, sobbing Chinese pig (?) which is also beset by three Western bees. Remember the dragonfly was considered a symbol of Japan.
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