A New Year`s Card Game- Hyakunin Isshu Karuta (百人一首かるた) is a Gateway to the Sublime World of Classical Japanese Poetry
A 17th century set of Hyakunin Isshu Karuta
The special dishes and decorations, the visits to shrines or temples, the family gatherings, the greetings, even the pre-holiday cleanings, make O-Shogatsu ( the Japanese New Year Celebration) fascinating for me. They reveal how the Japanese make a clean break with the past and then make a fresh, new start- with the strong desire for the health, prosperity and happiness of the family, the community and the nation, manifesting itself in the amassing of ENGI-MONO (縁起物)- objects, words, colors, etc, which are believed to have a POSITIVE impact on the world. In addition, there are also objects, words, colors etc, which are compiled to keep all forms of misfortune away. What is fascinating, is what it is that determines the making of GOOD ENGI- symbolism and connection expressed through shape, name,color, etc. I have given numerous examples of this in my past few Tsukublog articles.Here are some things which are symbolically auspicious:
Oranges (DAIDAI), because their Japanese name DAIDAI also means GENERATION BY GENERATION- thus representing the wish for the continuation of the family line.
Shrimp- because their bent backs resemble the bodies of extremely old people- expressing the hope to live a long life.
Buckwheat noodles (soba): are eaten on New Year`s Eve because ( among other reasons) they break easilly, representing a clean break with the past year.
As my articles show, the list of these ENGI MONO goes on and on.
The presence of this type of symbolism extends even, or should I say extends naturally, to traditional New Year`s games. For example, there is HANE TSUKI , a game in which decorative paddles ( HAGOITA, which are ENGI MONO in themselves) are used to battle a shuttle cock back and forth. This batting away of the birdy symbolizes batting away mosquitos, and illness.
Very clever.Like all the other ideas for ENGI MONO which have been popularized over the years.
There is another very popular traditional New Year`s game, however, which rather than having a significantly auspicious symbolism ( though I would suggest that it might), is a surprising celebration of Japan`s classical culture- specifically, its poetry- in which the players must familiarize themselves ( and in many cases memorize) one hundred poems of varying degrees of complexity and difficulty.
The name of the game is Hyakunin Isshu Karuta ( The One hundred Poets, One Hundred Poems Card Game), and I first encountered it years ago while spending an O-Shogatsu with a Japanese Family. After a long leasurely afternoon of eating and drinking, the everyone in the house, young and old suddenly got down on the TATAMI floor to play a card game. One hundred cards were spread on the floor. Each, I was told contained the last segment ( SHIMO KU) of a poem. What we were to do was to try to grab up these cards as their first portions (KAMI KU) were chanted.
Playing hyakunin Isshu Karuta with a wooden tablets insted of cards (Tsukuba 2011)
As you might have guessed, since I was a complete beginner in Japanese at that time ( and was unfamiliar with these poems), I ended up with not a single card when the game was over.
Still, I never forgot that game. Being the stubborn obssesive personiltiy that I am, in the subsequent years I studied and studied, until what was once an exotic hum to me ( as the peoms are recited), are now clearly understandable pieces, which evoke all their possible interpretations in my mind when I hear them.
Yes, it was that one game of Hyakunin Isshu Karuta, which started me off on my ongoing relationship with Japanese poetry.
The cards ( in this case wooden tablets) are usually arranged in alphabetical (A, I,U,E) order to make finding them easier
Let me tell you a little bit more about what the Hyakunin Isshu is- and maybe you too will catch the addiction.
The Hyakunin Isshu is a collection of WAKA (和歌)- Japanese poems of the TANKA variety.. Unlike English poetry which often invovles RHYME, these poems are created by fitting ideas into a set number of sylables- specifically 31 (MISOHITOMOJI, 三十一文字), broken up into phrases of 5-7-5-7-7 ( longer than the mere 5-7-5 pattern which was popularized later with HAIKU poems).
The reason that this unusual syllabic rhythm was set upon as the standard form for WAKA poetry was that it was in this particular pattern (5-7-5-7-7) that the God SUSANOO NO MIKOTO anounced his marriage. This form was thus deemed to be the WAY THE GODS SPEAK. Thus waka were used to express thoughts and feelings which could not be expressed in normal everyday speech.
As its title , ONE HUNDRED POETS. ONE HUNDRED POETS suggests, the Hyakunin Isshu is a selection of 1oo WAKA by 100 different poets - 79 men ( including 8 Emperors, and 13 Buddhist monks) and 21 women ( including 1 Emperess. The first poem of the collection is attributed to the Emperor Tenji (626-671), and the last to retired Emperor Juntokuin (1197-1242), and thus the anthology spans the works from a period of 500 years.
Among these works are some (one each of course) by Japan`s greatest NAMES in classical poetry and literature: Otomo no Yakamochi, Ono no Komachi, Ki no Tsurayuki, Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon.
All the poems in the Hyakunin Isshu strongly reflect the tastes and sensibilites of its compiler, FUJIWARA NO TEIKA (1162-1241), a highly respected poet in his own right and an advocate of aesthetic principles which he developed emphasizing the expression of the SPIRIT OF THINGS ( mono no kokoro) over realism ( Teika`s ideas would have a MAJOR impact on the Japanese culture of the Muromachi Period- especially on The Noh Theater, and The Tea Ceremony).
The subject matter dominating the collection also reflects Teika`s own particular preferences, with LOVE poems (43 out of 100)making up a large portion, followed by SEASONAL POEMS ( 32 out of 100), with works on what serely must have been Teika`s favorite season- autumn, predominating these.
With only 100 poems, the Hyakunin Isshu is the slimmest volume among Japan` great anthologies of classical poetry. But that`s what makes it so great ( for me, at least). Japan`s poetic traditional boiled down to its essence. It a most convenient medium through which to work your way into the world of traditional Japanese aesthetics.
And not only this. Working to understand these poems will lead you on the road to exploring many other aspect of Japanese culture nature and history.
It is interesting how this influential collection came into being ( whether the story is true or not, no one is sure). It is said that Teika was asked to select one hundred poems, which would be written on sheets of paper to decorate the sliding doors of a mountain villa in a place called Ogura ( this is why, though there have been many subsequent alternative Hyakunin Isshu, i.e. one hundred warrior poets, one hundred women poets, etc.) Teika`s collection, the standard, is referred to as the OGURA HYAKUNIN ISSHU).
This ( and more) is all detailed in Teika`s extant diary- the MEIGETSU KI (明月記).
An old set of hyakunin Isshu karuta
The fact that the poems Teika selected were originally written on sheets of paper ( at the even number of one hundred), made it conducive for them to be made into a card game- with distinctive illustrations of the poets and in an even more distinctive script( supposedly based on Teika`s idiosyncratic calligraphy).
The idea of this card game, by the way, most probably would not have arisen without the arrival in Japan of the Portuguese, who introduced playing card ( among other things) to this country. This is reflected in the use of the Portuguese based word KARUTA (carta) for the game.
For those who are not ready to tackle the poems Teika selected in their original language, there are MANY translations. In fact, some say that the first work in Japanese ever rendered into English was the Hyakunin Isshu.
You can find numerous translations online, including this 1909 version by William Porter:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/hvj/index.htm
Tsukuba`s very own Shaney Crawford (founding member, editor and frequent contributor to TsukuBlog), has also been working on a translation of the anthology, and she has already completed English renditions of the first 30 poems:
http://www.shaneycrawford.com/2002/03/hyakunin-isshu-my-interpretations/
These should help you get started off on your own road into the world of Hyakunin Isshu - which naturally should at some point get you into reading into the poems for yourself . It is only by close examination of each poem in its original that REAL appreciation can be achieved.
The reason for this is not only the fact that the poems are written a specialized form of classical Japanese ( if that were the case, looking up each word in the dictionary would be enough to achieve understanding), but these works abound in puns and allusions which are completely lost in translation. There is even a poem ( number 22), whose beauty lies in its play on the construction of the Chinese character for the word storm( 嵐), which is made of a mountain (山）on top of wind (wind)!- this makes for a mighty difficult challenge for tranlators.
Let me give you one more example. Since this is Tsukublog, I will present the case of poem number 13 of the collection, which just happens to be set in Tsukuba.
The second half ( shimo ku) of poem number 13- which is set in Tsukuba- it reads: KOI ZO TSUMORITE FUCHI TO NARI NURU
The poem is attributed to the Retired Emperor Yozei-In(868-949) and goes like this:
筑波嶺の峰より落つるみなの川
恋ぞつもりて淵となりぬる
Tsukuba ne no mine yori otsuru minano-gawa
Koi zo tsumorite fuchi to nari nuru
Which I will DIRECTLY translate, or rather explain the general meaning as:
From the peaks of Mt. Tsukuba flows the Minanogawa River which forms deep pools ( at the foot of the mountain) . In the same way my love for you has grown (strong and) deep.
What has to be dealt with by the translator in the case of this poem is conveying the significance of Mt. Tsukuba for the aristocrats at that time, as well as the meaning of the characters used to write the name of the river MINANOGAWA.
For the educated Japanese of Yozei-In`s time, Mt Tsukuba represented COUPLES, ROMANCE, and SEX.
This is because the oldest collection of Japanese poems the Manyoshu, as well as the Chronicles of the land of Hitachi ( Hitachi no Kuni no Fu-doki , refer to Mt Tsukuba as having been the most famous location for special COUPLING festivals, at which men and women, most of whom had never met before, would GET TOGETHER. These ceremonies which were held twice a year in spring and autumn were called KAGAI. The reason that Mt Tsukuba would have become an important place for such rites was because of its TWIN PEAKS, which for the Japanese naturally represented the male and the female.
According to poems in the Manyoshu, the men and women who wanted to participate in the KAGAI would gather on Mt Tsukuba at a river called the MINANOGAWA. The name of this river is spelled with the Kanji characters 男女川, which directly translated mean the MAN-WOMAN RIVER.
Thus we can see that the place at which the poem is set Mt Tsukuba, as well the MINANOGAWA river, were terms pregnant with meaning for educated Japanese, and this makes understanding the poem extremely difficult without delving deeper.
(It is obvious that Yozei-In did not ever actually visit Mt. Tsukuba ( there are no deep pools which form at its base), but rather selected the setting of his love poem for its symbolic significance).
(It is interesting that Tsukuba`s most most famous Sake Brewery, located at the foot of Mt Tsukuba calls its brand- Minanogawa (男女川).One reason its products are so delicious is that it uses the water that flows from the peaks of Mt. Tsukuba.)
Anyway, I`d better stop now. VOLUMES could be written about the complexities these poems and their backgrounds ( and many volumes HAVE in fact been written about them!).
I hope that you too take the leap into this special poetic world- maybe by O-Shogatsu ( New Year`s) next year you will be ready to take on your Japanese friends in a game of Hyakunin-Isshu Karuta!
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A Perfect Day for OPENING THE HARBOUR ( ハーバー開き) at Tsuchiura`s Marina
Clear skies and plenty of boats ready to be taken out (Jan. 9th, 2011)
Traditionally, the Japanese have always made a fresh start in EVERYTHING after New Year`s. In fact, this went so far, that on the the first day of the first month of the year everyone was considered to have aged together by one year ( even a baby which had been born a week earlier!).
And though now there are INDIVIDUAL BIRTHDAYS ( though interestingly 20 year-olds still celebrate their coming-of age together in January). as well as additional new beginnings such as the SCHOOL YEAR and FISCAL YEAR ( which start in April in Japan), all sorts of NEW BEGINNINGS are still commonly recognized and celebrated.
The is the first sunrise of the year ( HATSU HINODE, 初日の出), on the morning of January first, the first CALLIGRAPHY of the year (KAKI ZOME, 書初め) on January second, and the first tea ceremony of the year- HATSU GAMA.
There are special expressions for FIRSTS OF THE YEAR of almost every kind. There is even a special term for omes the first sexual act of the year- HIME-HAJIME!
For the occassion rice was pounded into MOCHI- rice cakes!
One FIRST-OF-THE-YEAR EVENT which has become a tourist attraction throughout Japan is the DEZOME SHIKI (出初式)- the first coming- out- of- the- year of Japan`s firemen- which can often be as spectacular as a circus, with traditional acrobatics performed atop bamboo poles, exhibitions of firefighting techniques ( including fire-hose spray shows), and displays of new fire-trucks and equipment. Just about every city in Japan has a DEZOME, and as you can imagine they are especially attractive to families with small kids.
Well this year, I wanted to go check out the fire-fighters festival in Tsuchiura, which I heard usually culminated in a spectacular fire-hose show down by the Yacht Harbour on Lake Kasumigaura ( just in front of Tsuchiura Stations East Entrance). I had looked at a web-site that I usually use to get information about traditional events in and around Tsukuba, and found that the DEZOME in Tsuchiura would be held on the morning of January ninth.
We hurried down to Tsuchiura with great anticipation.
When we got to where I thought the event would be held, however, instead of shiny fire engines and excited crowds we found only a few people lazilly fishing off the pier.
Naturally we were disappointed, and I kicked myself in the pants for not having CONFIRMED the time and place by phone with Tsuchiura`s City office. It turns out we had arrived a day too late.
But sometimes stupid mistakes can end in great discoveries.
So while we had missed out on one FIRST-OF-THE-YEAR CEREMONY, we accidentally found ourselves at another one!
Each table at the marina was layed out with a fine spread
Driving a few hundred meters further down the waterside, we came to a fenced off area within which all sorts of small and medium watercraft were PARKED on land. At the gate there was a sign which read something like: LACUS MARINA ハーバー開き 寒風大会 誰でも楽しもう- meaning The Lacus Marina`s Harbour Opening- the Cold Wind Festival- Anyone Can Come and Enjoy!
Since fate seemed to have brought us to this place and also because the weather happened to be just perfect, we decided to take up the invitation offered on the sign and headed on into the marina.
For a thousand yen per person ( 500 for children) we were offered freshly pounded rice cakes ( omochi), and lots of other food and drink which was laid out on tables outside, free rides on all sorts of water craft ( motorboats, canoes, kayaks, and sailboats), and most importantly for me a taste of what it was like in the old days when WATER TRANSPORT had been such a vital part of like in this and other parts of Japan.
In this country,before the rise to dominance of railroads, and then later roads for automobiles, most goods were transported ( whenever possible) via waterways! In the Edo Period ( 1600-1868) , goods produced in the Tsuchiura area, most prominantly soy sauce, firewood, rice, and straw sacks, would be taken to Edo by wind driven boats called TAKASE BUNE (高瀬船). On the return trip these same ships would bring back salt, sake, textiles, etc. This trip would take take anywhere from 3 days to a couple of weeks ( depending on wind and other conditions), and took the craft from Lake Kasumigaura to the Tone River, and then to the Edo River, before reaching its final destination. A different route would take the boats to the important seaport of Choshi (銚子), now in Chiba Perefecture, from where fresh salt-water fish and salt were brought to Tsuchiura.
(It might be surprising to you, but even goods from Mito ( even today about an hour by highway from Tsuchiura) were transported to Edo by water craft. They would travel down a series of canals (built during the Edo Period) until they can to Lake Kasumigaura. They would then take the usual rout to Edo until they could drop their goods off at the Mito Clans store-houses which were in Asakusa.)
Besides the ships used for transport there were all the various types of fishing craft ( from the days before the lake was closed off from the sea and fish and shellfish still abounded) , and the house boats in which people lived on all year round.
Also, after the fall of the Shogunate and the liberalization of travel, and before the completion of the Joban Railway Line, usual Tsuchiurans would travel to and from Tokyo by ship. Naturally, travel between the villages located around the lake was also done almost exclusively by boat. Almost all the boats on the lake remained those either powered by wind or oars until the Taisho Period (1912-1926) even though a few steam-powered ships were introduced as far back as 1891. The Choshi Maru steam liner could shuttle passengers between Choshi and Tsuchiura in 8 hours.
This vanished world, so centered around the lake and so full of boats, is evoked tenderly in Dr Junichi Saga`s book Memories and Silk and Straw ( a book which I strongly recommend to anyone living in the Tsukuba area), and images from the stories told in his book floated across my mind`s eye that morning as I sailed off out into the lake and watched the modern city of Tsuchiura fade away in the distance.
From the boat I could see the newly renovated YOKAREN (予科練) Museum, which is a moving memorial to the young ( some, VERY young) men, who went off to die in SPECIAL ATTACK MISSIONS as so-called KAMIKAZE pilots. The reason that this museum is located on the shores of Lake Kasumigaura is that it was on this lake that the many of the young pilots trained ( as did those who participated in the attack on Pearl harbour) because there was once a huge Navy Base in Ami Town, as well as a big naval presence in Tsuchiura. Though there still is ( a greatly reduced) SDF base near the lake in Ami, this strong military presence has also become a thing of the past.( See my Tsukublog article on the YOKAREN MUSEUM here:
All the watercraft teeming with people and goods, the lake itself teemiing with fish and shellfish, the streets packed shoppers and sailors, the hustle and bustle. All that lives on only in Saga Sensei`s books. Drifting peacefully on the lakes still waters with only a handful of other boats in sight, all recreational, really drove home the sense of MUJOー （ 無常）, the fleeting nature of all things.
The city of Tsuchiura, as seen from far out on the lake. Mt. Tsukuba looms in the background
The marina staff was extremely kind and they patiently helped out anyone who wanted to try out the canoes, kayaks or sailboats.
They will hold similar events 3 more times this year:
On Children`s Day- may 5th
Sea Day ( Umi no Hi)- July 17th
and Sports Day ( Tai iku no Hi)- Oct. 9th
If you would like to get a feel of what its like to get on the lake- these days will provide the perfect chance.
The marina itself is also interesting in itself, as it is used by various groups to store their boats- the Kasumigaura High School Yachting Club, for example, which has developed many of Japan`s Olympic sailors, trains there.
One very strange thing for me at the marina, was the rarity having a pleasant Lake Kasumigaura experience. It was nice to see so much bird-life freely enjoying the lake- since I have spent many hours freeing these same species from the nets which make the shores of Kasumigaura, at the villages of Okijuku and Tamura a veritable execution grounds for birds.
Oh- lets not forget about the DEZOME ( fire-fighter`s events)! Apparently there will be one held in Yatabe, Tsukuba, on January 15th.
Here are some photos of past DEZOME in Tsukuba:
http://www.city.tsuchiura.lg.jp/index.php?code=2546
The Lacus Marina`s Website is here:
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An Introduction to Amazon.co.jp
By Daniel Morales
Amazon Japan is amazing. Domestic shipping here is rapid and cheap. Orders over 1500 yen all get free standard shipping. There's no express shipping outside of the greater-Tokyo area, but standard shipping delivers to most places within two days. I regularly order things on Sunday and have them show up in Nishiaizu on Tuesday, sometimes Wednesday.
There are also various payment options. Credit card is accepted, of course, and is the fastest way to get your order shipped. You can also pay via different convenient stores. After you've punched in your order, they will email you when your order is ready to ship. There will be a link in the email. The link will let you choose different convenience stores and then will take you to a bill which you can print out and have the konbini folk scan in for you. (Alternatively, you can just copy down the number on that form, tell the konbini people you have an internet order, and they can punch it in the register for you.) After you've paid, you should receive a payment confirmation email within an hour or so. The final payment method is cash-on-delivery. The shipping service will collect the cash directly from you in exchange for your order. (I believe there is a small fee to do this.)
When you load up the Amazon front page, the tabs along the top are in the following order left to right: Welcome, My Store, Books, Western Books, Electronics, Home and Kitchen, Music, DVD, Software, Games, Toys and Hobby, Sports and Outdoor, Health and Beauty, Watches/Clocks, Baby and Maternity. The searching for most everything is in Japanese, but titles for Western books are in English.
Once you have your order ready, all of the payment menus and account menus can be changed to English, including your "Cart." Hooray.
If your order is more than one book or one CD, you will have to be at home to receive the package. If they try to deliver and you aren't home, the company (usually Pelican Shipping) will leave a slip in your door/mailbox. The slip has the driver's cellphone number. You can call the dude and try and converse with him. My suggestion is to leave a note taped to your front door saying what time you will be home. You can try to write something like: "Gogo 4-ji-han kara 8-ji made imasu no de, sono aida ni kite itadakereba tasukarimasu. Oneigaishimasu." Ideally that would be in at least hiragana. (On a side note, one of the shipping dudes thanked me profusely for leaving the note.)
The greatest part about Amazon Japan is that they sell almost everything. If you are in the middle of nowhere and need appliances, Amazon. The prices are compartive to most electronics stores, and Amazon has its own point system now. You'll have to wade through some Japanese to ensure that you're getting what you want, but you'll have it right at your door by the end of the week.
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HARDCORE Discovery ! Giant Stone Phallus is Possible Evidence of Hyakudayu Worship in Yatabe, Tsukuba!
A large stone phallus ( sandwiched by two smaller ones) in Yatabe, Tsukuba (2010)
I have spent years slowly getting to know Tsukuba`s old shrines, temples and sacred stones. I thought that I had seen, or at least read or heard about, everything of interest. Little did I know that while spending a few spare minutes wandering the side-streets of the city`s Yatabe District, I would stumble upon one of the most surprising discoveries I have ever made, of something that I still have not found mentioned in any of the literature on local history, religion, or folklore.
Passing by what looked like a small meeting hall (of modern design, yet quite old), I spied what looked like a HOKORA, a typical wooden structure with a roof of heavy tiles, used to shelter devotional objects such as sacred stones or statues. From the road I had only a side view of it in the yard behind the meeting hall. I went to have a look. I quickly realized that this was not merely one HOKORA , but three in a row, which meant several sacred objects could be found there. Peering into the first section I approached, I found two Daishi-Sama figures, images of the great priest Kukai ( known as Kobo Daishi), the founder of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism, which has long been popular within what is now Tsukuba City. These are a typical feature of this area, and I cooly took note of them.
In the middle section I found a devotional stone dedicated to the God of the Atago Shrine, which is usually associated with the prevention of fires (also quite common in these parts), behind a fragment of what seemed to be a very old and interesting Buddhist monument, which I guessed had been brought to that spot from somewhere else for shelter.
It was when I looked into the last compartment ( the one on the far left) that I encountered something I never would have expected- an impressively tall, finely carved stone phallus, sandwiched between two, much small objects of similar design.
Excited by what I had stumbled upon, I spent a few minutes looking for details and taking photos, Then I scoured the immediate vicinity for anyone that might be able to tell me about what these stones were. The only people I encountered, however, told me that they didnt know anything about them- besides the fact that they were shaped like a man`s private parts ( duh!).
Later at the library, I tried to find anything I could about these stone phalluses in books and journals on Yatabe`s history and culture. I found nothing. Not even in a very detailed book which supposedly documented ALL of Yatabe`s sacred stones. This seemed a bit odd to me and made me even more curious about that spot.
Dont misunderstand. Phallic stones- DANKON (男根, literally MAN-ROOT) in Japanese, are far from rare in Japan. It is not difficult to understand how that shape would come to represent the LIFE FORCE, FERTILITY and IMPREGNATION, and in fact they can often be found at shrines associated with prayers for good harvests, household safety, and pregnancy. They can also frequently be found at mountain shrines connected with YAMABUSHI ( mountain ascetics) such as Mt Kaba-San near Tsukuba ( since the mountains sacred to the YAMABUSHI were believed to be inhabited by a FEMALE deity, women were not allowed onto the mountains and wooden phalluses were set up for the Goddess).
What aroused my special interest in the phallic stones that I found in Yatabe, was that they were in the middle of a town. During the Edo Period (1600-1868) that spot was in fact, right near the JINYA (official rest house), in an area which in those days would not have been considered rural. I had a suspicion that these DANKON had some other significance than being used to pray for abundant crops or . the conception of a child.
The inscription reads: 万人講中 - Man-nin koh-chuh
A few days later, still having found no written information regarding the stones, or anyone who could tell me anything about them, by incredible coincidence, I stumbled upon two paragraphs in a book which I think probably can clear up the question of what these Yatabe Phallic stones are.
I was reading a work called Songs to Make the Dust Dance: the Ryojin Hisho of 12th century Japan, by Yung-Hee Kim, which is a fascinating and highly readable examination of a collection of Heian Period poems which shed some new light on the lifestyles and beliefs of the people, both high class and low, of that period. It is a well worth (repeated) reading for anyone interested in traditional Japanese culture, but here I would like to quote one paragraph, which I believe might explain the significance of the phalluses that I found. This is from the section of the text which discusses ASOBI- apparently a caste of women once involved in certain court rituals. When this function was eventually lost to them they had to resort to prostitution, a trade which they apparently plied on boats ( which could be the origin of the term MIZU SHOBAI- the water trade, which can be used to refer to bars,hostess clubs and other such establishments traditionally catering to men).
page 9
"In addition, asobi sought a further safeguard for their business prosperity in the worship of a deity called Hyakudayu. Hyakudayu was apparently a phallic cult, its object of veneration being representations of the male sexual organ made of wood, paper or stone. The cultic practice stems from the fetishistic belief that praying to and honoring Hyakudayu, the courtesans could ensure continued success in attracting male customers. The powerful appeal of the hyakudayu worship to asobi is evidenced in Yujoki , which notes that asobi kept hundreds and even thousand of these objects". (Yung-Hee Kim)
The author then goes on to quote two IMAYO poems which mention Hyakudayu. I will include one here, the original, as well as Kim`s translation:
Asobi no konomu mono
zogei tsuzumi kohashibune
ogasakazashi tonotorime
otoko no ai inoru Hyakudayu
A courtesans favorite things
Her many arts, the drum, the little boats,
the woman who hold the large parasol
and the woman who rows her skiff
and Hyakudayu, the one she prays to for a man`s love
RH 380
After finding these passages however, I was unable to dig up any other textual evidence for a connection between phallic shaped devotional objects and Hyakudayu ( which seems to have been most common in western Japan, near Osaka etc.). Not only for the specific case of the Yatabe phallus, but for DANKON in general.
Still , I had a gut feeling that I was onto something. But maybe it was the thrilling coincidence of finding the passage in Kim`s book just at that particular time.
Anyway, after a couple of weeks had passed and I had found ( besides the poems in the Ryojin Hisho) written evidence only of a relation between phalluses and FERTILITY in Japan, I decided to go back to Yatabe and try to find someone who lived nearby who could tell me some more.
When I got there, I found an old man coming out of a house nearby. He was a little surprised to see me, but quickly relaxed. When I asked him about the phalluses he told me he didnt know anything. Disappointed, I went to the stones to have another look.
Suddenly, the man came up to me. He told me that when he was young, women used to come and pray at this place.
Excited, I asked him what they prayed for- pregnancy?
"No", he said." They were women of the WATER TRADE"
When I asked if these women would make any particular offerings, he answered that they did not. He said that they would just come to pray.
I could hardly contain a grin of satisfaction! It seemed as though my hunch was correct! These were not the usual DANKON phallic images found in Japan. The types used to pray for fertility. These had long been used by geishas, courtesans,prostitutes and later hostesses) who were either praying for success in their trade, or possibly safety from disease or other dangers of the trade.
I will keep you informed of what I find out as I dig deeper. With perseverence I just might get to the ROOT of the matter!
Good night
And if you are interested in the book Songs To Make the Dust Dance- which you well should be, you can order it from amazon, or read it in its entirety ONLINE!
Just google it.
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Inter-Library Loans in Tsukuba
Tsukuba Public Library has a decent collection of foreign books. However, if you can't find the book you are looking for, you may be able to obtain it from another public library in the prefecture by inter-library loan (ILL). You can make a request at the circulation counter and, if a copy of the book can be found in the system, the staff will call you when it arrives. (It may take up to one month to fill your request.) You can usually keep ILL books for up to two weeks. Please note that as of July 2007, you must return all overdue books to the library before you will be allowed to take out any new books, make reservations for books, or request books for purchase or ILL.
By the way, did you know that Tsukuba Public Library lent out more books than any other public library in the prefecture in 2006?
1st Tsukuba (1,224,193 books lent)
2nd Hitachi (1,186,905 books lent, 3 branches)
3rd Mito (1,118,564 books lent, 4 branches)
If you are looking for research-related books, have a look at this list of libraries in Tsukuba.
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