Folk Art of Maze Town

 

The next temple on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was in the middle of an old part of Tonosho known as Meiro no Machi, which translates as Maze Town

The name comes from the narrow lanes of the area which have so many turns it quickly gets confusing when walking around. It is said the layout was created in the 14th century when fighting between the rival Northern and Southern Courts occurred on the island. Other sources say it was to protect the town from pirates.

When I was there the alleys had curious figures made from fishing net floats. I have seen such things numerous times. Often painted to look like a cat.

Here there was a standard pattern of the float placed in a plant pot or small bucket, and each one was wearing a conical cap I think representing the sugegasa, the hat worn by pilgrims.

Most just have standard faces, but some are painted to represent characters.... Daruma being common, and even Hello Kitty as above...

Since I visited the area has opened several Yokai museums and there seems to be Yokai decoration around so maybe these figures are not so common.

The previous post was on the nearby Narrowest Strait in the World.

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Tezen Art Museum & Garden

 

The Tezen Museum of Art near Izumo Taisha Shrine is a hidden gem for those interested in traditional Japanese arts & crafts, mingei, with the added bonus of having a delightful Izumo-style garden.

Located between the entrance to Izumo Taisha and Inasa Beach, the museum is housed in a series of large Edo-Period rice and sake warehouses.

The Tezen family moved to the area of Taisha around the end of the 17th century.

They became wealthy through trade in rice, sake, lumber etc and became official merchants for the domain.

As such their residence was sometimes used as a honjin, guesthouse, by the daimyo when he visited the area.

Over the centuries the Tezen family amassed a huge collection of art that is now the basis of the museum.

The collection consists of swords, screens, paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquerware, etc.

The collection includes a lot of pieces connected to Matsudaira Fumai, the daimyo famous as a te master.

There is a permanent display of the collection , which also rotates so that more of the collection can be viewed. There are also temporary thematic exhibitions.

Most, but not all, the collection is of arts and crafts produced in the Izumo area.

The garden, called Mukaizawaen, is small, but delightful.

Not too far away in Izumo City is another hidden gem, the Izumo Folkcrafts Museum, also housed in the storehouses of a wealthy family.

The previous post in this series exploring the Izumo and Matsue area was on Kokokuji Temple including paintings and sculptures.

Mugiwara Zaiku Traditional Straw Crafts

 

Mugiwara Zaiku is a traditional type of craft that nowadays is practiced in just one location in Japan, Kinosaki Onsen in northern Hyogo.

It uses dyed wheat straw that is cut into intricate patterns kind of like marquetry and other types of inlay.

It is most commonly used to decorate boxes, though it is also used for other objects like fans or dolls.

The straw is prepared, dyed, then cut and flattened.

Nowadays modern chemical dyes allow a wide range of sometimes bright colours, but traditionally the colours would have been more natural earth tones.

As well as being cut, like veneers in traditional marquetry, the strips of straw are sometimes woven into patterns before being used.

In the early 18th century a visitor to the hot springs from Tottori, a certain Hanhichi, made small objects out of the local straw to help fund his travels.

Local people imitated his work and now Kinosaki is the only place in the country where it is still practiced.

The European physician Siebold took examples of mugiwara zaiku back with him in the 19th centuryand are on display at several museums in Europe.

The collections are of such good quality that craftsmen from Kinosaki traveled to Europe in 2001 to study them. As well as shops selling the crafts now in Kinosaki there is also a small museum dedicated to the craft housed in a former storehouse. Here visitors can take classes and produce their own articles.

The previous post in those series on Toyooka was on Gokurakuji Temple

Izumo Folkcrafts Museum

 

The Izumo Folkcrafts Museum is located not far from Nishi Izumo Station and is located in the grounds of what was a wealthy farming families estate. I have to admit that I lived here 18 years before I finally got around to visiting, but was pleasantly surprised.

The main display is in a former granary that has had a small second floor added. Mostly from Izuo but also from further afield, there is a lot of ceramics but also textiles, lacquerware, woodwork, and other crafts.

A second building, a former timber warehouse, displays contemporary mingei, again with a heavy emphasis on ceramics. Outside this building is a display of farming implements and straw raincoats, hats etc.

In the gatehouse is a small shop selling a selection of crafts made in the region. Worth a visit if yu are into mingei.

Izumo Folkcrafts Museum (exterior)

 

For years I had driven past signs pointing to the Izumo Mingeikan, but it wasnt't until recently that I visited it, and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised.

It is housed on the property of the Yamamoto family, one of the wealthiest familes in the Izumo region in historical times.

The main house is still a residence and neither it nor the garden can be visited.

The museum is housed in twolarge warehouses-storehouses, one dedicated to historical pieces and the other to contemporary pieces. They also have a small shop with a good selection of books, crafts, etc.

Photos and info on the works on display will come later........

Unique Shimekazari of Hitoyoshi

 

Shimekazari are traditional New Year decorations usually found attached to the front door of homes and businesses. At the heart of a shimekazari is a small, stylized shimenawa, the "rope" used to demarcate sacred space, typically at shrines.

The shimekazari has the function to protect against bad spirits,but also to attract good fortune, and therefore usually include various symbols of good fortune like daidai, a kind of bitter orange, and or pine twigs.

While exploring Hitoyoshi in Kumaoto I came across these examples of shimekazari that are both very large, and also incredibky ornate, but also made out of  rice straw.

They go much further with the range of symbols of good fortune and include dragons, cranes, horses, etc. While normal shimekazari are destroyed after the new year period, these unique versions are obviously treasured as folk art.