Haramachi Cultural Properties 3

更新日:2021年04月21日

22. Hijiri Ishi (Holy Stones)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Haramachi, Omika, Tsurumaki

Owner: Awashima Shrine

Dimensions:

Diameter – 11cm   Length – 16cm

Diameter – 10cm   Length – 12cm

Holy stones

Within the bounds of Awashima Shrine, in a corner, is a small shrine dedicated to gongen (the manifestation of a Buddha in the form of a Shinto kami), containing holy stones called the Hijiri Ishi.

There are two stones, a larger yellow one and a smaller blue one, both with a spiral pattern carved into one end. The spiral used to be painted red, but almost all of the color has faded over time. It has been said from ancient times that the stones bring good luck for childbirth and growing up strong. Its history is listed in the Ososhi records.

Toward the end of the Warring States period, a military commander under Soma Akitane named Sato Ise Yoshinobu had governed the three villages of Omika, Shidoke, and Kaibama. Prayers for Sato’s protection were offered at Awashima Shrine, which used to be within the grounds of Himatsuri Shrine, but was moved to its current location in 1847. The festival days of Awashima Shrine were July 17th through 19th, with entrance allowed only on those festival days.

23. Kinpaku Oshi Moriage Honkozane Kon Ito Odoshi Nimai Dougusoku

(Strengthened Two-Piece Gold-Leaf Stamped Armor-Plate Full-Body Armor with Navy Blue Thread Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Gold-leaf stamped honkozane* is attached to a two-piece body armor, laced together with navy blue thread. It comes with an 18-plate riveted acorn-shaped hoshi kabuto (lit. “star helmet;” a type of Japanese helmet with a beveled surface first created in the Heian period), styled with a bundle of long, thin paper strips known as tabane noshi on the front.

Affixed to the front hood of the helmet called the mabisashi, is an ornamental rivet for the god Hachiman, the guardian of warriors, a rivet with the first kanji characters of the gods Hachiman, Amaterasu, and Kasuga (“八,” “天,” and “春” respectively), and a rivet with the first three kanji characters of the kuji-in, also known as the Nine Hand Seals (“臨,” “兵,” and “闘”), as a spell to drive away evil, portraying the religious part of the armor.

The armor, known as Kaga armor**, is said to have been made in the Kaga Domain during the Edo period. The Kaga technique can be seen in the metal fittings, the delicate craftsmanship, and the lacquer work on each part of the armor.

*Honkozane – a single plate of armor made up of small metal pieces (kozane) tied together 

**Kaga armor – General term for armor and helmets made during the Edo period, in the Kaga Domain (former province located in the south of present-day Ishikawa Prefecture). Stamped gold and silver leaf, gold and silver lacquer, lacquer work methods such as shibonu and tatakinuri, inlay work, candle wax drippings, and other handicraft techniques of the Kaga Domain were applied in abundance, to create vividly colored ornamentation.

24. Kon Ito Odoshi Nimai Dougusoku No Kabuto To Osode

(Helmet and Sleeves of Two-Piece Full-Body Armor with Navy Blue Thread Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

62-plate riveted acorn-shaped suji kabuto helmet. On the back of the helmet is an inscription of the names of the gods Hachiman, Amaterasu, and Kashima. The inscription also indicates that the helmet was made in the Genroku era, year 14 (1701) in Shimotsuma in the Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture) by the armorer Saotome Ietada. Until recently, the inscription on this helmet was mistakenly read as being made in the Eiroku era, year 12 (1569), but studies in recent years have confirmed that it was made in the middle of the Edo period, during the Genroku era.

The shoulder guards, known as osode*, are black lacquer honkozane laced with crimson and navy blue thread, and feature crown plate (the highest tier of armor plate) attached to black lacquer shark leather, and arabesque patterns etched on each golden decoration. It is thought that these pieces were made in the late Muromachi period (1333-1573).

*Osode – large, flat sleeves composed of six or seven metal plates, attached to the body of the armor by four cords. Used as a part of armor during the Edo period.

25. Moriage Honkozane Kon Ito Susogo Odoshi Doumaru

(Strengthened Honkozane Body-Wrap Armor with White-to-Navy-Blue Gradient Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Armor without a solid breastplate or sleeves, but with black lacquer honkozane, which gradiates from white to navy blue through a technique called susogo odoshi*. The helmet’s shikoro (neck guard attached to back and sides of the helmet), the waist of the armor, the tassets (which protect the upper thighs), and the shoulder guards are gradiated using the same technique. A crest can be seen on the fukikaeshi (the part of the shikoro that is flipped up), the gyouyou (iron plate on the shoulder wrapped in dyed leather).

A black lacquer 32-section kabuto helmet with stag beetle horns affixed to the front, five-piece kote (gauntlets), and five-piece otateage (shin bracers) were made using nerikawa (leather hardened with liquid glue).

The kote are a special kind of gauntlets called bishamon kote, with kosode (lesser shoulder guards) attached. With these, the armor was constructed in such a way that even without the osode attached it could still be used as sleeved armor.

This set of armor is thought to be part of a revival of body-wrap armor, made in the late Edo period.

*Susogo Odoshi – Gradation in the straps of a piece of armor achieved by making the top portion white, the next section a deeper color, the final row be the deepest color. Based on the color of the final row, this gradation is called kon ito susogo (navy blue thread), ko ito susogo (crimson thread), murasaki ito susogo (purple thread), moegi ito susogo (light green thread), etc.

26. Moriage Honkozane Hanada Ito Odoshi Nimai Dougusoku

(Two-Piece Strengthened Honkozane Full-Body Armor with Indigo Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Two-piece body armor laced to black lacquer honkozane with indigo thread. On the susoita (bottom plates of armor hooked together with ornamental stitch) of the visor and the tassets, we see the gold lacquer crest of Fujimitsudomoe. The same mark can also be found on the fukikaeshi and the rivets on each metal fitting. The helmet is a 32-plate riveted fukurin* hoshi kabuto, and on the crest is a gold-leaf stamped dragon flanked by hoe-shaped designs.

The haidate (thigh guards) have stamped gold leaf, and are specially made in the Iyo style. This South-East Asian style is unusual, with the inside of both the left and right are cut into semicircles, with frills going around the edges, placing this piece’s creation in the mid-Edo period.

*Fukurin – technique in which the edges of the armor, such as the seams and visor fitted with hagiita (metal fittings around the torso and sleeves), as well as the edges of the tassets, are covered in in gilt bronze or a similar material. While the items were designed for safety, they also have the function of ornamentation. Like this helmet, helmets with hagiita seams to which the fukurin technique has been applied are called suji fukurin, or “gilded seams.”

27. Kiritsuke Moriage Zane Iroiro Odoshi Nimai Dougusoku

(Strengthened Two-Piece Kiritsuke Full-Body Armor with Multi-Colored Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Two-piece body armor and black lacquer kiritsuke kozane*, strapped with crimson, purple, white, blue, and light-green cords. The shoulder guards, the thigh guards, and the neck guard are strapped with the same colors used on the torso.

The helmet is a 62-plate hoshi kabuto, and the front piece is a wood carving of a lion covered in gold leaf stamp and flanked by stag beetle horns. On the fukikaeshi of the helmet and the gyouyou on the shoulders, we can see a hollyhock crest.

The helmet has the carved inscription, “Made by Soshu Myouchin”, which indicates that the craftsman who made this helmet was a member of the Soshu Myouchin group who lived in the Sagami Province (current-day Kanagawa Prefecture) during the Edo period. This piece was likely made toward the end of that period.

*Kiritsuke kozane – armored plates that use a technique of slashing the plates horizontally along the surface to give the appearance of honkozane while taking much less time to produce.

28. Iroiro Odoshi Doumaru

(Body-Wrap Armor with Multi-Colored Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Black lacquer honkozane body-wrap armor with russet and light yellow-green thread used in an alternating iroiro* lacing. The shoulder guards and the neck guard have the same iroiro lacing as the torso. The tassets and the susoita have the crest of a Japanese quince flower with two lines on their metal fixings.

The helmet is a 20-plate riveted nihoujiro hoshi kabuto, with stag beetle horns surrounding a ring affixed to the suken** front piece. This set of armor is a good example of the type of doumaru*** that was widely used in the Middle Ages, a design that was revived in the Edo period, and faithfully reproduced the doumaru used in the Muromachi period (1333-1573 CE).

It is thought that this piece was made toward the end of the Edo period.

*Iroiro odoshi – a lacing technique that uses several different colors of thread.

**Suken – design of a ritual tool used in esoteric Buddhism. A symbol of getting rid of worldly desires.

***Doumaru – type of armor produced in the Middle Ages to be used by foot soldiers. It wraps around the torso once, and the ends are attached together on the right side. They are typically made of rows known as nagakawa and tateage that wrap around the abdomen, as well as eight-plate tassets. The Edo period copied the doumaru of the Middle Ages, and many were produced in a revival boom of the style.

29. Kon Ito Odoshi Marudou Oyobi Kabuto To Sode

(Body-Wrap Armor, Helmet, and Shoulder Guards with Navy Blue Lacing)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Minamisoma Museum – Haramachi, Gorai, Deguchi 194

Google Maps: Minamisoma Museum

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Black lacquer honkozane body-wrap armor with navy blue lacing.

The crown of the 28-plate riveted nihoujiro hoshi kabuto is circular and convex in a shape called daien zannari, with large star rivets that show us the trendy pattern of the ikaboshi kabuto from the Middle Ages. The front piece is a leather hollyhock with stag beetle horns. The crest of three coins with square holes is affixed to the fukikaeshi.

The chuusode* sleeves are in excellent condition, strapped to the honkozane with navy blue lacing.

This piece is thought to be from the latter half of the Edo period.

*Chuusode – shoulder pads with four cords to connect them to the torso, similar to osode. They are slightly smaller than osode, and slightly larger than kosode.

Marudou – a modern style of gosoku armor. It is wrapped around the torso and tied on the right side, similar to the doumaru of the Middle Ages, but with a larger number of nagakawa and tateage rows. In order to distinguish it from doumaru, it is called marudou.

30. Kinpaku Oshi Moriage Honkozane Hi Odoshi Kadzuno Kon Ito Mongara Odoshi Nimai Dougusoku

(Strengthened Two-Piece Gold-Leaf Stamped Honkozane Full-Body Armor with Crimson Lacing and Navy Blue Laced Antler Crest)

Type: City designated tangible folk cultural property

Date Designated: April 1, 1976

Location: Haramachi, Kita Niida

Owner: Individual

Suit of armor

Two-piece armor made up of gold-leaf stamped honkozane tied with crimson lacing, with a deer antler crest laced onto the front and back of the torso with navy blue thread.

The associated helmet is a rust-colored 24-plate sujifukurin hoshi kabuto engraved with the inscription “Made by Chinku.”

There are osode as well, but the armor also has bishamon kote, a special kind of gauntlet with kosode attached, meaning that the armor was constructed in such a way that even without the osode attached it could still be used as sleeved armor. The haidate, or thigh guards, are a mixture of Iyo and Ecchu* styles.

This piece is thought to have been created in the middle of the Edo period.

*Ecchu haidate – a simple and practical thigh guard favored by Hosokawa Tadaoki, the provincial governor of Ecchu Province (modern-day Toyama Prefecture). Made from chain latticework and ikadagane (iron plates also known as kote).

Mongara Odoshi (in the Japanese name for this set of armor) – a method of lacing a family crest or pattern onto the center of the torso or the shoulder guards. Depending on the color and shape of the mongara, the color of the kosode would also be changed as a form of expression.

31. Yasaka Jinja No Akagashi Jurin (Japanese Evergreen Oak Forest of Yasaka Shrine)

Type: City designated natural monument

Date Designated: April 1, 1993

Location: Haramachi-ku, Ishigami, Kitamyouchi

Google Maps: Yasaka Shrine

Owner: Yasaka Shrine

Evergreen oak tree

This forest forms an area of amazing natural vegetation out of a total of 33 Japanese evergreen oak trees and is centered around eight particularly enormous ones. Under the trees grow a variety of bushes and shrubs such as sakaki eurya japonica, Japanese andromeda, and camellia. Spearflower (ardisia japonica) grows wild on the forest floor, giving this naturally-made old-growth forest aspects typically found in the warm-temperate zone. There are also several young Japanese evergreen oak saplings sprouting in the forest and continuing the forest’s renewal. The grounds are in excellent condition due to the efforts of those who attend the Yasaka Shrine, and it is a scientifically valuable area as an old-growth forest toward the northern limit of such forests.

Dark brown monoecious flowers bloom from these tall, evergreen beech trees in May. The leaves have a long, elliptical shape. The trees are a similar size to Castanopsis beech trees, made of hard wood with traces of red.

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