Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Chokoku-ji Temple

 

     In the Shibuya Field in Shimo-Shibuya Village, an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue was enshrined in a small temple.  The statue was said to have been carved out of the same tree with the statue which was enshrined in Hase-dera Temple in Yamato Province.  When Yamaguchi Shigemasa (1564-1635) moved to Edo, following Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), he built his second residence in the Shibuya Field and changed the small temple to a real temple, Chokoku-ji, as his family temple.

     In 1716, when the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized, the temple built a 7 meter tall Avalokitesvara statue and put the original statue in it.  The temple was modern enough to update itself constantly.

Address: 2 Chome-21-34 Nishiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0031

Phone: 03-3400-5232

Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Tofuku-ji Temple

 

     When Minamoto Tsunemoto (?-961) made a campaign to hunt down Taira Masakado (?-940), he built a fort in the Yamori Manor. When Minamoto Yoshiie (1039- 1106) carried out a campaign to hunt down Kiyohara Tskehira (?-1087), he stayed in the manor. Chichibu Taketsuna, who ruled the Chichibu Stock Farm, and his son, Shigetsuna, joined Yoshiie's army at the manor. After the triumph against Kiyohira in Mutsu Province, Yoshiie gave the manor to the Chichibu Family. The family founded Hachiman-gu Shrine and its shrine temple, Shin'o-in, literally Prince Temple, since Yoshiie's ancestor Mototsune was a former prince. Shigetuna's son, Shigekuni, came to live in the Yamori Manor and changed the temple's name to Ensho-ji. Later, he came to call his family Shibuya. The temple enshrines a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue which is said to have been given from Yoshiie to Taketsuna.

     The Bhaisajyaguru statue Tofuku-ji Temple enshrines is said to have come from Dragon King's Palace. Lady Tokiwa (1138-1180) gave it to her son, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199). He then granted it to Tosanobo Shoshun (1141-1185). In 1185, Yoritomo made up his mind to kill his brother, Yoshitsune (1159-1189), and dispatched Shoshun to Kyoto. Shoshun left Kamakura on October 9th. He attacked the residence of Yoshitsune on 17th unsuccessfully, and took refuge in Kurama-dera Temple. Before he was captured by Yoshitsune and his head was cut off and exposed to the public in the Rokujo Riverbank, he left the statue enshrined in the temple. In 1200, Shibuya Takashige (?-1213), the son of Shigekuni, was dispatched to Omi Province by the Kamakura Shogunate to kill Kashiwabara Tamenaga (?-1201). Takashige brought the statue back to the Kanto Region, and enshrined it in Ensho-ji Temple.

     The temple keeps an iron clasp with a gourd inlay which is said to have been owned by Mototsune, and a sword which is said to have been owned by Taketsuna.

     It is unknown when Ensho-ji became Tofuku-ji, and why the organizer of the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage regarded it as modern.

Address: 3 Chome-5-8 Shibuya, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0002

Phone: 03-3409-7913

Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Saisho-ji Temple

 

     Momiji-yama Hill was where it is even before the construction of Edo Castle.  Some say it was an ancient burial mound.  Some say Kyogaku-in Temple was founded on the hill, and was moved when Ota Sukenaga (1432-1486) built Edo Castle.  Some others say that the temple was founded by Priest Gen'o in 1604 after Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved into the castle.  Anyway, it moved to Sanpun-zaka Hill, Akasaka, and then to Aoyama-Minami-cho.  In 1882, after the Meiji Restoration, Kangyo-ji Temple, which had been founded in 1165 by Priest Gishu, supported by Minamoto Yorimasa (1104-1180), was abolished, and its Blue-Eyed Acalanatha statue was moved to Kyogaku-in Temple. Kyogaku-in Temple was moved again to its present place in 1908.  As Buddhism teaches, nothing is permanent.  In this sense, everything is modern.

     According to tradition, Priest Tenkai (1536-1643), a religious advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), placed five protective Acalanatha statues at strategic points on the outskirts of Edo in the early 17th century to religiously protect the new capital of the Tokugawa Shogunate, based on the Chinese Wuxing (or Five Phases) philosophy. The Five Phases are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.  Each of them corresponds to the colors of Blue, Red, Yellow, White, and Black respectively.  Accordingly, they had Blue-eyed, Red-eyed, Yellow-eyed, White-eyed, and Black-eyed Acalanatha statues.  They were so popular that White-eyed (Mejiro In Japanese) and Black-eyed (Meguro in Japanese) even became place names.  It's an urban legend, and 2 temples insist they enshrine Yellow-eyed Acalanatha.

Kyogaku-in Temple enshrines the Blue-eyed Acalanatha statue in its Acalanatha Hall, and its Main Hall enshrines the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  The temple's full name is Chikuen-san Kyogaku-in Saisho-ji, and some call it Saisho-ji.

Address: 4 Chome-15-1 Taishido, Setagaya City, Tokyo 154-0004

Phone: 03-3419-0108

Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Shorin-ji Temple

 

     The main deity of Shorin-ji Temple is the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, and which was said to have been carved by Gyoki (668-749) in 725.  It was enshrined in Sendagaya.  Priest Yuko (?-1657) changed the precincts to a temple and named it Shorin-ji.  Although the precincts were quite old, it was modern as a temple.

     The third Priest, Zoyo (?-1707), compiled a chronicle of the words and actions of samurai of the Tokugawa Clan and other lords of domains from the latter half of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century, and named it Meiryo Kohan, literally Clear Good Broad Models.  The chronicle had more than 720 entries.

Address: 1 Chome-13-11 Sendagaya, Shibuya City, Tokyo 151-0051

Phone: 03-3408-5586

Trees In the Town

Water Eggplant and a Kitchen Knife (9)

 

     When Nagisa came home, the living space was lit.  Kotaro might be there again today.

     Nagisa, however, didn’t make an appearance at the living space, and went to the workshop.  She turned on the light, and prepared her grindstone right away.

     One by one, She sharpened the knives Mr. Sebumi had trusted her.

     It’s not that difficult.  The clip on the knife which Mr. Sebumi made when he cut frozen food was mended instantly.  Mrs. Sebumi seemed to have carefully used her knives which she had brought in her marriage.  They didn’t take time.

     The sounds of sharpening the knives alone spread on the quietness of the evening.

     “What trouble did you have?”

     Kotaro’s voice came from the entrance.  Nagisa said, “Nothing really,” with her back toward him.

     “Then, why do you look like you’re going to cry?”

     “Never look into my face as you like, Kotaro.”

     Nagisa turned away, but Kotaro didn’t show any sign of reluctance.

     Nagisa didn’t like to show her miserable look to Kotaro.

     “What’s the problem?  Did anything happen to you?”

     Kotaro cared about Nagisa as he had done when they had met in their early childhood, but she had had enough of his tone of voice.

     Once Nagisa sought consolation in Kotaro, but nothing changed for the better.

     If she didn't treat her sorrow for herself, she would surely be hurt twice.

     On the day when her father packed his belongings and left home, Nagisa tried to sharpen a knife which had been quickly cooled with water after forging like a sword, but she just broke it.  She thought if she was successful in sharpening it and being recognized as an heir, she would be able to keep her grandfather and father together.  With such an idea, Nagisa tried to sharpen it, but failed after all.  She felt badly depressed.  She believed Kotaro to always be kind, and sought consolation in him.  She was asked in return by him against her expectations.

     What is the point of sharpening knives?

     “You don't want to talk about it.”

     Kotaro patted Nagisa’s hair, but she didn’t let him do as he liked like before.  Don’t touch me.  She brushed his hand off.

     “Do you remember you asked me what the point of sharpening knives was?”

     “Yes, I asked you on the day when Sadayuki left your home.”

     Sadayuki was Nagisa’s father.  He left home 11 years ago, and never came back.  He married her mother, was taken into the Takaochi Family, and was an original true heir.

     “I still don’t know what the point of  sharpening knives is, to tell the truth.”

     Nagisa, however, felt that the encounter with Mrs. and Mr. Sebumi gave her an answer.

     A knife is a tool.

     Unlike animals, human beings without talons or fangs had to create a tool.

     To sustain life for tomorrow, we use a knife every day.

     Mrs. Sebumi gave her husband a knife so that he can sustain his life until the day when his lifetime expires.

     Nagisa had never thought that way, but those who present knives to their daughter on her marriage or to their son on his independence might have the implication in their mind.

     To use a knife to live.

     So, Nagisa will sharpen knives for those hopeful of living on.

     “That might not be the answer you demanded…..but, for me, that’s it in my way.  Kotaro, you’ve come here to invite me to dinner, haven’t you?  I’m hungry.”

     Nagisa wiped dry sharpened knives, and wrapped them up in newspaper.

     “What is today’s dinner?”

     “Today, we have…..”

     Kotaro looked down on Nagisa, and smiled a little sorrowfully.

Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Shinrin-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Shinrin-ji Temple was founded in Yotsuya, and it is also unknown when it was abolished.  The main deity of the temple was the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  It is unknowable where the statue has gone.  The only known Shinrin-ji Temple in Japan used to be that in Sado Island.  The temple was founded to pray for the comfort of Emperor Juntoku (11971242) in the other world.

     After the death of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, the Jokyu War broke out in 1221 between the Imperial Court in Kyoto and the Kamakura Shogunate in the Kanto Region.  After the loss in the war, the emperor was exiled to Sado Island and died there.  After the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order was issued by the Meiji Restoration Government in 1868, the temple was converted to a shrine as it enshrined the ex-emperor.  If the Shinrin-ji Temple in Yotsuya had had anything to do with another Shinrin-ji Temple in Sado, it could have been abolished after 1868.

     Before Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved to Edo, Yotsuya was covered with Japanese silver grass and had a farming village, Tsunohazu.  When Naito Kiyonari (1555-1608) researched the area, Sekino Gorobe, the head of the village, guided Kiyonari.  In 1634, with the digging of the outer moat around Edo Castle, many temples and shrines were moved to Yotsuya.  Shinrin-ji Temple might have moved to Yotsuya then.  Its original place?  Why did the organizer of the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage recognize the temple as modern?  Who knows!

Address: Yotsuya, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0004

Trees In the Town

 

Water Eggplant and a Kitchen Knife (8)

     Mrs. Sebumi came to Sakai after she married Mr. Sebumi.  Whenever she knew something new about the town, she talked about it with him with relish.  As Mr. Sebumi grew up in Sakai, he often wondered what she was curious about.  Anyway, he loved her smiles with overflowing happiness.

     “I didn’t do much.”

     “I got such a nice gift thanks to you.  I really appreciate it.”

     Mr. Sebumi gave her a bow.

     “We had prepared for our parting for a long time.  When the time came, it was just strange.”

     Mr. Sebumi laughed, wondering whether he was sad or not.

     When her disease was detected, Mrs. Sebumi used the phrase “solo transfer” so as not to make her husband sad.

     “When that happens, you will have to do ‘solo transfer’ in this world alone.  You should prepare yourself to do everything by yourself without me.”

     She tried to teach any and every household chore to her husband.  However, she was running out of time.

     “You said you would help do domestic chores after marriage, but you didn’t at all.  You have to pay for your laziness.”

     Mrs. Sebumi smiled but still kept teaching patiently.

     “Just remember.  In addition, will you sharpen these knives too?  My wife has used them since we married.  They are important for us, and I want to keep them neat and usable.”

     Nagisa got a set of knives.  There weren’t so many knives, but Nagisa found them very heavy.  The knives seemed to have become heavy, absorbing immeasurable sadness.

     “Well then, I have to cook supper.”

     “What will you have for supper?”

     She didn’t know why, but she carelessly asked him.

     “What do you think is good?  Don’t suggest something too difficult for me to cook.  Have a heart, please.”

     He answered her question with his question.  Nagisa was troubled.  She didn’t know whether it was easy to cook the food Haruko and Kotaro had made for her.

     “Those questions trouble you, don’t they?  I didn’t know how troublesome it was to plan everyday’s menu.”

     Mr. Sebumi grinned.

     “You recommended her a knife.  Thanks to you, I have to cook, and have to live on.”

     “Next time, I will show you how to sharpen your knives.”

     “Oh, you teach me something more troublesome.  Again, it’s thanks to you that I have to take care of them.”

     Mr. Sebumi looked ahead brightly, and disappeared into the dusk.  Watching after him, Nagisa remembered what Kotaro had said to her.  What he said when he served water eggplants.  As they easily discolore, please have them as soon as you can.

     —--There are some that can exist just for instance.  Sen Rikyu once said you can meet one once in your lifetime.  Exactly.  Once-in-a-lifetime event was in a trivial time, and you could easily let it go by.

     Nagisa tried to believe ordinary days would come back again.

     Her grandfather would come back without any trouble, and would continue to sharpen knives healthily.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Kotoku-in Temple

 

     Kotoku-in Temple was founded by Priest Ryochin (?-1641) in Nibancho.  The Hatamoto samurai who were the Shogunate Guards were called Oban-gumi.  The area they lived in was called Ban-cho.  So, the temple was founded in the Second Block of Ban-cho.  The foundation of the temple itself was quite modern for Edo Townspeople.

     It was moved to Ichigaya-Tamachi in 1606, when the construction of Edo Castle's keep was finished.  Earthquakes hit Edo one after another in 1628, 1630, and 1635.  In 1635, the temple was revived by Priest Shuyu (?-1642) and was moved to Ichigaya-Yanagimachi.  On August 5th, 1910, the seasonal rain front became active, and it started raining hard.  On the 11th, a typhoon hit the Boso Peninsula.  On the 14th, another typhoon struck the Izu Peninsula and went through Yamanashi and Gunma Prefectures.  In the Kanto Region alone, the heavy rains killed 769 people, destroyed 2121 houses, and washed away 2796 houses.  The temple was moved again to its present place in the year.

     The temple’s main deity is a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue which was carved by Sugawara Michizane (845-903) when he was shunted to Dazaifu, Kyushu.  After Michizane's death, the statue was enshrined in Senju-bo Temple in Chikuzen Province.  Matsudaira Tadamasa (1598-1645), the lord of the Fukui Domain in Echizen Province, adopted the statue, and gave it to his son, Masakatsu (1636-1693), as his personal guardian Buddhist image.  Later, Priest Shuyu looked after the statue, and brought it to Kotoku-in Temple when he was moved to the temple.

Address: 5 Chome-18-3 Kamitakada, Nakano City, Tokyo 164-0002

Phone: 03-3386-5143

Trees In the Town

 

Water Eggplant and a Kitchen Knife (7)

 

     A few days after Nagisa visited her grandfather at the hospital, she bought ice cream at Koyoshi’s sweets shop as usual.  Though the days grew rather longer, the sun was sinking and evening stars were in the sky.  The fragrance of incense drifted in the breeze.  Koyoshi could be burning incense sticks at a Buddhist altar in the back of the shop.  Someone was chanting a prayer to the Buddha somewhere in the distance.

     To treat herself, Nagisa bought a bottle of Mitsuya Lemonade from a vending machine, and poured the soda on her ice cream.  The soda fizzed up on the ice cream.

     Nagisa was sitting on the bench as usual, sucking a wooden spatula, and looking over at the street vacantly, when a man walked along the street toward her.

     “Can I sit down here next to you?”

     The man spoke to her, and she moved a little.

     “Go ahead.”

     Even in the dim light, he apparently looked worn out.  Nagisa was afraid he suffered heat stroke for a moment, but he seemed not.  He took out something wrapped in newspaper from a paper bag.

     “My wife said that she bought them, following the advice of a girl who was having ice cream in front of the cheap sweets shop.”

     Nagisa saw a cut-out stainless knife through a crack of newspaper.  Besides, it was a kitchen knife as she recommended.

     You can use different types of knives for different purposes: to cut meat, to cut fish, to cut vegetables, and so on.   A kitchen knife is a kind of multi-purposed.  They are quite popular among ordinary households.

     As is often the case with a present, the name “Sebumi” was inscribed on the knife.

     So, this man is also Sebumi.  Nagisa was surprised as she hadn’t expected the man who would start living alone to be Sebumi’s husband.  She just thought it was her son that would become independent.   On second thought, she realized it was summer and it wasn’t the season to enter college or to start working.  She wondered if the man should work away from home.  She used her poor imagination.

     “I had my new knife chipped so soon.  Will you mend it?”

     Taking a closer look, she found a small chip on the edge of the knife.

     “Did you cut frozen food or something?”

     “How did you know that?”

     “Some people do that.”

     It’s often the case.  Some people try to cut frozen food as it’s frozen.  However strong a knife can be, frozen things are harder than them.  They say you can hammer a nail even with a frozen banana.  Exactly.

     “I can sharpen it, but why don’t you have it sharpened at the knife store where she bought it?  She can tell you where she bought it.”

     When he heard her words, Sebumi’s husband became at a loss for words.

     “What happened to your wife?”

     After a long silence, he gave out words.

     “She has passed away…..”

     Then it was Nagisa’s turn to be at a loss of words.  Why didn’t I speak to her in the hospital?  Her regrets and remorse slowly welled up in her from the bottom of her mind.

     “Really…..?”

     “I wanted to say thank you for helping her at the time.”

     He said that Mrs. Sebumi went to the knife store to buy a kitchen knife barely a day after she met Nagisa.  She also looked around its factory.  When Mrs. and Mr. Sebumi had supper, she told him with relish that she was happy to know what she hadn’t known.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Gyogan-ji Temple

 

     Gyogan-ji Temple was believed to have been founded by Saicho (766-822) and Ennin (794-864) in Ushigome Village when they visited the Kanto Region from 817.  Ushigome literally meant Cow Farm, and, due to the Taiho Code enacted in 703, a cow stockfarm was built in Musashi Province.  Do you know Magome in Tokyo?  Magome literally meant Horse Farm.

     Saicho (766-822) planned to build 6 towers to enshrine the Lotus Sutra.  In 814, he presented the Lotus Sutra to Usa-Hachima-gu Shrine.  In 817, he started visiting Eastern provinces.  Ennin (794-864) followed him.  It is unknown when they visited Ushigome Village and founded Gyogan-ji Temple.

     The Sahasrabhuja statue was believed to have been carved by Priest Genshin (942-1017).

     When Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) was defeated in the Battle of Ishibashi-yama in 1180, he fled to Awa Province. On his way, he stayed at the temple and prayed to the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue for victory.  On the night, he dreamt the dream to bring the whole country under his control. As the Tokugawa Clan belonged to the Minamoto Clan in a broad sense, the temple was important for the Tokugawa Clan too.

     When Ota Dokan built the Edo Castle, Priest Sonkei (?-1632) conducted a religious ceremony to purify the ground, and founded the temple. The temple was important for Edo Castle, which was the main stronghold of the Tokugawa Clan.

     It is unknown where Edo townspeople recognized the modernity of the temple.

     Through the Tokugawa Period, one of the royal princes entered the Buddhist priesthood under the title Rinnoji-no-miya. He served as abbot of Rin'o-ji Temple in Nikko and Kan'ei-ji Temple in Edo. The Tokugawa Shogunate counted them as hostages and planned to set one of them up as their own emperor in case the Imperial Court became hostile against the Tokugawa Shogunate.

     During the Tokugawa Period, Rinnoji-no-miya visited Gangyo-ji Temple on February 2 every year.

     Prince Yoshihisa (1847-1895) became Rinnoji-no-miya in May, 1867. In January, 1868, the Battle of Toba-Fushimi broke out as the first fight of the Boshin War. On February 21st, he left Edo to Shizuoka to have peace negotiations with Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (1835-1895). On May 25th, he boarded Warship Chogei-maru and fled north.  During the unrest of the Boshin War (1868-1869) to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, Yoshihisa stayed north with the survivors of those who supported the Tokugawa Shogunate, and became Emperor Tobu, whose planned era name was believed to have been either Taisei or Enju.

     Following the Meiji Restoration in 1873, Emperor Meiji recalled all Imperial princes currently serving as Buddhist priests back to secular status. That same year, Prince Yoshihisa became the second head of the new princely house of Kitashirakawa-no-miya.  If Yoshihisa hadn't visited Gyogan-ji Temple in February, 1868, just before he left Edo, he might have never visited the temple.

     The 18th Priest Keiryu was a good calligrapher, and he drew a masthead for the Yomiuri Newspaper in the reisho style, a simplified form of ancient Chinese seal characters.

     Gyogan-ji Temple is also the #15 member temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 4 Chome-9-10 Gotanda, Shinagawa City, Tokyo 141-0031

Trees In the Town

Water Eggplant and a Kitchen Knife (6)

 

     Nagisa’s grandfather, Gen’ichi, went into hospital at the end of May, more than half and a month had passed, there was no sign that he would leave the hospital.

     It must have been a lie to relieve Nagisa that he had gone into hospital to have an examination.  She idly imagined so and rode a bicycle to the station.  Koyoshi’s words at the sweets shop the other day worried her.  The shopkeeper wondered how many years she could keep the shop.  Those words drove Nagisa, who had ignored the reality by avoiding visiting the hospital.

     After changing trains a couple of times, Nagisa arrived at the hospital early in the afternoon.

     When she arrived at the hospital, it was a little too air-conditioned.  Her sweat was chilled, and she cringed in the cold.

     She had taken notes of the sickroom number of her grandpa.  With the note in her hand, she walked toward the elevators.  Unexpectedly, over the lobby, she found Sebumi, who she met in front of Koyoshi’s sweets shop the other day.  Nagisa wondered if she should talk to Sebumi, but she didn’t, after having second thoughts about it.  They talked to each other just for several minutes.  Nobody would feel comfortable if someone else spoke to them in a hospital.  Nagisa thought she wasn’t close enough, but also imagined Kotaro or her mother, Haruko, would have spoken to her.

     Her grandfather, Gen’ichi, was on the 8th floor and in a private room.

     Nagisa knocked lightly on the sliding door, and opened it.  Gen’ichi slept in such a small private room that it was occupied with his single bed.

     His shoulders and arms became so thin that Nagisa vaguely wondered if he would be able to sharpen knives once he left the hospital.  From her early childhood, Nagisa had seen grandfather’s crooked back, but his body had piled years of hard work in it like an old tree that had survived years of wind and snow.

     His body reminded Nagisa of Koyoshi’s words.  How many years?

     Nagisa was afraid that he was dead.  No sooner than she had approached him…..

     “I tell you, he is just taking a nap.”

     “!”

     Nagisa was spoken to so abruptly that she gave out a silent cry.

     “Long time no see, Nagisa.”

     “Mom, don’t surprise me.”

     “You were surprised as you pleased.”

     Haruko gave an abrupt reply to Nagisa’s words.  Haruko was as usual as if more than a month hadn’t passed.

     “Anyway, are you doing neatly?”

     “I’m doing so-so in my own way.”

     She has sharpened what knives she could sharpen, and as many knives as she could.  She could clothe herself and eat somehow with Kotaro’s help.

     She’d gotten an idea to talk about Kotaro but didn’t.  For some reason, she thought she shouldn’t.

     Haruko would be angry.

     Gen’ichi would be displeased if he were awake.  Even when she was still little, he wasn’t happy to see Nagisa and Kotaro, who was the heir to Tsukitsugu, a long-established knife store, playing together.  He felt uncomfortable when she talked about Kotaro.  As Gen’ichi was strict and rigid, if he was to hear that Nagisa was looked after by Kotaro, she would be apparently asking for trouble.

     Nagisa looked for a subject to talk with Haruko, but realized she had nothing.  She was doing so-so everyday.  That’s it.  She had an idea to ask about Gen’ichi’s condition.  But if it was serious?  The thought prevented her from asking.

     Understanding what Nagisa was wondering, Haruko banged Nagisa’s back.

     “Grandpa takes a long time to recover but it’s nothing serious.  Don’t worry about it.”

     So said Haruko.  Nagisa worried if anything happened.  The worry threw a dark shadow over her mind.

     Will Grandpa close the Takaochi Knife Factory?  Won’t he have the factory succeeded by me because I’m a poor sharpener?  Won’t he have the factory succeeded by me, to begin with, because I’m a woman?  She felt like demanding him.

     She, on the other hand, found it too harsh to ask a patient such questions.

     Nagisa was afraid she would pour out harsh questions on him once she talked with her grandfather, and  she left the room without saying anything to him.

Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple

 

     In Komai-cho, Sekiguchi, there used to be a Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple, which enshrined an Acalanatha statue. 

     Edo Meisho Zue, or the Guide to Famous Edo Sites, was an illustrated guidebook for famous places in Edo, and was published in 1834.  The guidebook depicted Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple as follows, "At the foot of Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple, there is a weir, from which the stream gurgles and babbles night and day.  The temple commands the view of the stream, hamlets in Waseda, and woods in Takada.  It's impressively  scenic.  The precincts have restaurants which face the stream."

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) chose it as one of 5-colored Acalanatha statues: Black-eyed, Yellow-eyed, Red-eyed, Blue-eyed, and White-eyed Acalanatha statues.  The one in Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple was White-eyed, or Mejiro in Japanese.  The place name, Mejiro, was after the statue's name.  Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple burned down in May, 1945, and was merged with Konjo-in Temple after World War II.  The White-Eyed Acalanatha statue is enshrined in Konjo-in Temple today. 

     According to tradition, Priest Tenkai (1536-1643), a religious advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), placed five protective Acalanatha statues at strategic points on the outskirts of Edo in the early 17th century to religiously protect the new capital of the Tokugawa Shogunate, based on the Chinese Wuxing (or Five Phases) philosophy. The Five Phases are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.  Each of them corresponds to the colors of Blue, Red, Yellow, White, and Black respectively.  Accordingly, they had Blue-eyed, Red-eyed, Yellow-eyed, White-eyed, and Black-eyed Acalanatha statues.  They were so popular that White-eyed (Mejiro In Japanese) and Black-eyed (Meguro in Japanese) even became place names.  Their history is an urban legend, and 2 temples insist they enshrine Yellow-eyed Acalanatha.

     Blue-eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Saisho-ji Temple in Taishido; Red-eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Nankoku-ji Temple; Yellow-eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Eikyu-ji Temple and/or in Saisho-ji Temple in Hirai; White-eyed Acalanatha used to be enshrined in Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple and is now enshrined in Konjo-in Temple; and Black eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Ryusen-ji Temple.

Konjo-in Temple

Address: 2 Chome-12-39 Takada, Toshima City, Tokyo 171-0033

Phone: 03-3971-1654

Trees In the Town

Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Kannon-ji Temple

 

     Mizuno Nobumoto (?-1576) ruled over the eastern part of Chita County, Owari Province, and the western part of Hekikai County, Mikawa Province.  In short, the Mizuno Family found their niche along the border between the 2 provinces.  Takagi Kiyohide (1526-1610) was from Ogawa along the border and was subject to Nobumoto.  Under Nobumoto, Kiyohide fought for Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).  Kiyohide fought remarkably and outstandingly in the Battle of Anegawa on July 30th, 1570, the First Siege of Nagashima in 1571, the Third Siege of Nagashima in 1574, in which his first son, Mitsuhide, was killed.  He kept on fighting in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.  When Nobumoto was assassinated by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), Kiyohide became subject to Sakuma Nobumori (1528-1582).  After Nobumori was banished by Nobunaga, Kiyohide became a direct vassal of Nobunaga.

     When Nobunaga decided to invade the territory of Takeda Katsuyori (1546-1582) on February 3rd, 1582, he appointed Takigawa Kazumasu (1525-1586) as its commander.  Kiyohide served in the invasion.  As he had fought so remarkably and outstandingly that Kazumasa gave the first half of his name Kazu- to him, and he gave it to Kiyohide’s second son, Kazuyoshi too.  Kazumasu cornered Katsuyori into suicide on March 11th.  Out of the blue, however, Nobunaga was killed by his vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582), on June 2nd.  Kazumasu flew back to Kyoto with some samurai left in the ex-territory of the Takeda Clan.  Kiyohide got lost in Kai Province for months.  The Takeda Clan was destroyed, but there was no winner in the territory after the death of Nobunaga.  The territory was in a state of anarchy.  Kazuyoshi was killed in the caos.

     It was on October 24th that Kiyohide and other samurai had an audience with Tokugawa Ieyasu in Kai Province.  Kiyohide became subject to Ieyasu, and continued to fight in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584 and the Third Siege of Odawara in 1590, in which the Later Hojo Clan was destroyed.  After the siege, Ieyasu was moved to the Kanto Region and Kiyohide and his family moved to Edo too.  Kiyohide never asked Ieyasu to give part of his name, but named his third son Masatsugu, namely Right Successor, and his fourth son Moritsugu, literally Guard Successor.  Both Masatsugu (1563-1631) and Moritsugu became subject to Ieyasu, and Masatsugu even became the lord of the Tannan Domain in Kawachi Province in 1623 and made Raiko-ji Temple (the #11 temple of the Old Kawachi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the #10 member temple of the Kawachi Province 33 Kannon Pilgrimage; Address: 3 Chome-1-22 Tannan, Matsubara, Osaka 580-0013) their family temple.  Masatsugu was succeeded by Masanari (1587-1635).  Moritsugu was succeeded by Morifushi (?-1768), and they kept living in Edo as a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Morifushi died at the age of 30 and was succeeded by Moritomi (1763-1834).

     A Nakamura followed the Takagi Family from the border between Owari and Mikawa Provinces and settled in the estate of the Takagi Family in Edo.  He built a hermitage there and became Monk Kanko, whose offspring died out in the first half of the 17th century.  The Takagi Family changed the hermitage into a real temple and named it Kannon-ji. The foundation of the temple was quite modern for the Edo townspeople.

Address: 3 Chome-37-26 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 169-0075

Phone: 03-5389-7625

Water Eggplant and a Kitchen Knife (5)

 

     After Gen’ichi went into hospital and Haruko stayed away from home to care for him, Kotaro visited the Takaochi’s home whenever he had business in Sakai, and cooked for Nagisa for some reason.  He visited her home and workshop a few times a week without getting her permission.  Today again, Kotaro prepared a supper for her, and she took it for granted.

     Today’s menu had fried gaccho fish, cooled butterburs simmered slowly in soy broth, stir-fried green peppers and tomatoes with miso, and clear Japanese soup with Japanese honewort.

     They are yummy as usual.  Nagisa oohed and aahed, and kept eating.

     “Oh, well.  Kotaro, what knife do you recommend for a man who starts living alone?”

     “It’s a rare question you ask, Nagisa.”

     “Never mind, and tell me what you recommend, Kotaro.”

     “Well, I have to say it depends, but I will choose the one he can handle easily.”

     It was a noncommittal answer.

     “If you started selling Tsukitsugu’s recommendations’ knives online, that business would be excessively lucrative.”

     “That’s generally a good idea, but online shopping might be unsuitable for Tsukitsugu.”

     In Tsukitsugu, they put emphasis on speaking with clients personally and recommending a knife suitable for them.

     Not so many clients know what they really need, so they speak with their clients to know for what purpose they use a knife, what their hand is like, and what handle suits their hand.  After finding out those details carefully, they sell a knife suitable for their clients.

     Meanwhile, for professional cooks in Kyoto, they visit all their customers one by one, and ask them what troubles and problems they have with their knives.

     Based on those interviews, Tsukitsugu orders each knife carefully from artisans: how the knife should be forged and sharpened.

     Tsukitsugu isn’t just selling knives.  Paying attention and consideration to small details makes Tsukitsugu Tsukitsugu.

     Of course, some people just want a knife, whatever it is.  Some ex-Tsukitsugu clerks who have become independent sell knives online.

     “Nagisa, I’m happy you’ve become interested in recommending and selling knives.  Oh, I should serve something as a reward for you.”

     Kotaro stood up and brought pickles from the fridge.

     Purple blue eggplants are served in a grass bowel, submerged in clean salty soup stock.

     “They are pickles of water eggplants!”

     Water eggplants are special products grown in the southern part of Osaka, the Senshu area.  Usual eggplants have strong bitterness and aren’t suitable to eat raw or uncooked.  On the other hand, water eggplants are juicy and their skin and flesh are soft.  Those features make eggplants suitable to be eaten as lightly-pickled vegetables or as salad.

     By the way, water eggplants were said to taste metallic easily and should be split with your hands.  Japanese knives used to be made of steel, had no film to cover, and easily rusted.  A rusted knife transmitted metallic taste to water eggplants and caused their cross sections to discolor.  To avoid it, they used to say, “Water eggplants dislike metal.”  As a stainless knife has its film and hardly rusts, we don’t have to worry about water eggplants’ discoloring.

     “Here’re your water eggplants.  Have as many as you like.”

     The contrast between their purple blue skins and white pulp fascinated Nagisa.

     “Since they easily discolor, please have them quickly.”

     The sad fact is that water eggplants discolor brown gradually after they are split.  If you want to eat them while they are beautiful, you should have them all on the spot.

     Nagisa catched water eggplants swimming in the clean salty soup stock, and tossed them into her mouth one by one.