6/01/2014

sixth lunar month

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The Sixth Lunar Month 六月 rokugatsu - 水無月 minazuki -
lit. "month without water"

In the old lunar calendar of the Edo period

spring lasted from the first month to the third,
summer from the fourth month through the sixth,
autumn from the seventh month through the ninth,
winter from the tenth month through the twelfth.

. WKD : The Asian Lunar Calendar and the Saijiki .


. Edo Saijiki 江戸歳時記 .


source : art.jcc-okinawa.net/okinawa/edonosiki


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. doyoo 土用 doyo, dog days .



The first day of doyoo in midsummer (and midwinter) is called ushi no hi, the day of the ox, as in the 12 signs of the Japanese zodiac. It is customary to eat broiled eel (kabayaki, see the photo above) on the day of the ox in summer (doyoo no ushi no hi, now sometime in late July). This is because eel (unagi) is nutritious and rich in vitamin A, and provides strength and vitality to fight against the extremely hot and humid summer of Japan.
The man who invented this well-loved custom is the famous scientist of the late Edo period, Hiraga Gennai 平賀源内.

土用丑見ただけにしたウナギかな
doyoo ushi mita dake ni shita unagi kana

dog day
and this year I make do with looking at
broiled eel . . .


Eiji kun えいじくん 


土用丑 ウナギも自民も 上がり過ぎ

本年は どぜうで一杯 約交わす

源内も セシウム牛に 二の丑(足)を

source : www.sencle.net

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goyoogeikoo 御用稽古 "official training" of the samurai of Edo castle
swimming was especially taught to the elite of the group
okachigumi 御徒組 / 御徒方 shogun's foot guards 
. Okachimachi 御徒町 Okachimachi district .


suiei jooran 水泳上覧 day when the Shogun inspected the swimmers from his boat

Ota Nanpo (Nampo) - Shokusanjin 大田南畝 - 蜀山人 (1749-1823)
was famous for his swimming skills.



He took part in the swimming performance before 10th Shogun Ieharu 家治上覧 (1737 - 1786).
He is also known for promoting eating eal on the hottest Summer day (doyoo no hi).
- source : www.art-inn.jp/artinncolumn

He was also a great poet for satirical kyooka 狂歌 Kyoka, under the pen-name
neboke sensei 寝ぼけ先生 "Half-awake Teacher"  or Yomo no Akara 四方赤良



- quote
Ōta Nampo - Ōta Nanpo 大田 南畝
was the most oft-used penname of Ōta Tan, a late Edo period Japanese poet and fiction writer. He wrote primarily in the comedic forms of kyōshi, derived from comic Chinese verse, and kyōka, derived from waka poetry.
His pennames also include Yomo no Akara, Yomo Sanjin, Kyōkaen, and Shokusanjin (蜀山人).
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Ota Nampo - Painting of Daruma san .

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Mori Tetsuzan (1775-1841) and Ota Nampo (1749-1823)



A collaborative work by Mori Tetsuzan (1775-1841), a Shijo painter from Osaka and Ota Nampo (1749-1823). Nampo was an honest, diligent and loyal servant of bureaucracy in premodern Japan. This was the most obvious way of life for the off-springs of low-ranking warrior families as Nampo. But this was only his day job and one side of Ota Nampo's character. His true vocation was poetry. And it seems as the result of his rather serious day job that he chose humorous poetry as his domain. He produced hundreds of poems which add playful notes to everyday life.

Foreigners
have travelled so far
to see in the heavenly realms
the most exquisit
Mount Fuji.


- source : us6.forward-to-friend2.com



. Samurai, bushi, warrior 兵、武士、兵士 .

. Edo Castle 江戸城 .


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hooroku o-kyuu ほうろく灸 Horoku moxabustion



. hooroku plates for moxibustion .   



hoozuki ichi
- source : 江戸の歳時記 -

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. koorimizu uri 氷水売り vendors of "ice water" .
mizu-uri 水売 (みずうり) vendor of water
hiyamizu uri 冷水売(ひやみずうり) vendor of cold water

Ice was kept in special store rooms (himuro 氷室) built in Edo town.
This was not pure and many got ill. The proverb

toshiyori no hiyamizu 年寄りの冷や水  to do something imprudent for an old person
derived from this habit.


そこが江戸一荷の水も波で売り
sore ga Edo ikka no mizu mo nami de uri

that's Edo !
one load of water sold
with the waves . . .




4 mon coins had a pattern of waves on the backside. A load of water contained two barrels on the shoulder pole of a street vendor.

CLICK for more illustrations

. himuro 氷室 icehouse, ice cellar .

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. kyuuri fuuji きゅうり封じ / 胡瓜封じ cucumber service .   

The cucumber resembles a standing human being, therefore it is used in this ritual.


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natsu harai, natsu harae 夏祓 Summer purification
on the last day of the sixth lunar month

chi no wa, chinowa 茅の輪 -, 芽輪 - ちのわ sacred ring, purification hoop

. Purification Ritual (Ceremony) , harae 祓 .

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Sano Matsuri, Sanno Matsuri
- source : 江戸の歳時記 -

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. tokoroten 心太, 心天 jelly strips .   



tororoten uri ところてん売り vendors had a wooden box with lattice, to provoke a cool feeling.


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. yamabiraki 山開 "opening the mountain" .  
Climbing Mount Fuji was very popular in the Edo period. 
(sometimes listed in the 5th month)

From the first day of the sixth lunar month till the last day of the eighths months.
When they reached the mountain they threw in "saisen" money offerings into the crater. Coins are still found there.
During the Edo period this money was collected and used at the Asama shrines.


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. Edo Saijiki 江戸歳時記 .


. - Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .


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