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Mar 23, 2022 24 tweets 26 min read Read on X
🏹THE 'ROBIN HOOD' OF JAPAN🥷

On 8th October 1594 the 'bandit' Ishikawa Goemon (石川五右衛門) and his young son were thrown into a boiling vat of oil beside the Kamo River.
As a warning to others the giant cauldron remained in place until a flood swept it away.
#Kyoto #folklore
The story goes that Goemon, in revenge for the murder of his wife Otaki and son Gobei, crept into Fushimi Castle (伏見城) to assassinate the despot ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉). As he drew close to the sleeping Toyotomi he knocked over a small bell and was caught.
#Japan
Like England's 'Robin Hood', so many legends surround Goemon and his band of outlaws that it's difficult to unpick fact from fiction.
It seems that a man was executed by being boiled alive in oil by the banks of the Kamo-gawa, but beyond that we know very little.
#Japan #folklore
👶ORIGINS🤔
Three main tales are told about Goemon's earlier life, before he formed a band of thieves to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

1) Born to a poor family in Kawachi Province, Gorokizu (五郎吉), as he was then known, moved to the capital & began a life of crime.
2) Born into a ninja family, Goemon was tasked with poisoning Oda Nobunaga (織田信長 1534-82), who was then attempting to unite & control the country. After the assassination failed, Oda set about breaking the power of the ninja network & Goemon was forced into brigandry.
#Japan
3) Sanada Kuranoshin (真田蔵之進) was born in 1558 to a samurai family in the service of Iga Province's Miyoshi clan.
When he was 15 his father (and mother?) were killed by Ashikaga shōgunate forces, and he began training as a ninja so that he might take revenge.
#Japan #folklore
Kuranoshin was instructed by the ninja leader Sandayū Momochi (百地三太夫), but at some point during his training he began an affair with his teacher's mistress.
The affair was discovered and Kuranoshin fled for his life (after stealing Sandayū's precious sword!).
#石川五右衛門
Three places in Kyōto have a deep and lasting connection to Goemon (石川五右衛門 1558-94): Nanzen-ji's great gate (南禅寺山門-where he pondered his fate), Kamagafuchi (釜ヶ淵-where the cauldron he was executed in came to rest), & Daiun-in (大雲院-where he was eventually buried).
🪦DAIUN-IN💀
If it's true that Goemon once tried to poison Oda Nobunaga, then it is with some irony that he is buried at Daiun-in (大雲院).
The temple was founded by the monk Teian (貞安) in memory of Nobunaga in 1587, and originally stood in the city centre.
#folklore #Kyoto
It is said that Teian (貞安 1539-1615) performed last rites for Goemon, and after the execution he was allowed to bury the body. Erection of a memorial, however, was forbidden by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
33 years later the abbot of Daiun-in was finally able to construct a tombstone.
Kyōto Deputy and right hand man of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Maeda Gen’i (京都奉行/前田玄以 1539-1602), is also buried at the temple.
Maeda is important in this story as it was he who caught Goemon and oversaw his execution.

Daiun-in (大雲院) was moved to Higashiyama in 1973.
#Japan
🌊'THE CAULDRON POOL'🍲
Once considered the deepest part of the Kamo-gawa, the stretch of river before Jūjō-dōri (十条通) is known as Kamagafuchi (釜ヶ淵), the 'Cauldron Pool'.
It is said the huge cauldron used to execute Goemon came to rest on the bed here after a flood.
#Kyoto
After being caught with a number of his 'gang', Goemon was brought to the execution grounds on the dry riverbed at Sanjō or Rokujō, where he was boiled alive in oil.
It is said that 20 of his comrades, his mother, and his 7 year old son were also killed (likely in boiling water).
In some stories the son, Goroichi, is tossed with him into the cauldron?
Goemon catches the boy & holds him above the oil. Stunned by this heroism, the authorities drag Goroichi to safety.

Another version of the tale is sadder...Goemon hurries his son's death to spare him pain.
Following the execution the cauldron remained in place, a grisly warning and reminder of Toyotomi's power. A year later a flood carried it downriver, where it sank into the deepest pool.
Interestingly the name 'Kamagafuchi' (釜ヶ淵) only came into common use in Meiji times.
#京都
Goemon's fate is memorialized by a type bath!🛁🔥
A 'Goemonburo' (五右衛門風呂) is a cauldron-shaped bath heated directly from beneath. Bathers sit on a floating wooden lid, causing it to sink and protect the bather from the bath's scalding bottom.
#Japan #folklore #五右衛門風呂
The cauldron's fate?

It seems that the cauldron was retrieved from the river and stored in the Kyōto Office of Judicial Affairs for most of the Edo period.
For some reason it was later moved to Nagoya Prison (名古屋刑務所), but was lost in the chaos of the post-war period.
#京都
😊🌸NANZEN-JI😒🪙
On the run, Goemon hid in the upper story of Nanzen-ji's gate. Here he uttered the famous (fabricated) words...
"The spring view is worth a thousand gold pieces, or so they say, but 'this too little, too little. These eyes of Goemon rate it worth ten thousand!".
There is one problem.
During Goemon's lifetime, Nanzen-ji had no gate. Destroyed during the Ōnin War in 1467, the gate we know today was constructed in 1628.

Nevertheless the famed Kabuki play 'Kinmon Gosan-no-Kiri' (金門五山桐), set in 1594, uses the gate in its final act.
'The Temple Gate and the Paulownia Crest' was written by Namiki Gohei (並木五瓶) in 1778.
In the last act Goemon is smoking a pipe, admiring the view from the gate, when he discovers his father has been killed by Mashiba Hisayoshi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi). He leaves to take revenge.
The character of Goemon was used as a way to subtly ridicule the authorities. Although Toyotomi was the 'villain', he merely represented the current rulers, the Tokugawa.

Nanzen-ji's current gate was funded by Tōdō Takatora (藤堂高虎 1556 -1630), a general of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Goemon first appears in a biography of Toyotomi written in 1642, where he is described simply as 'thief'.

We will never know if Goemon existed, but his farewell poem (directed at the ruling class) remains as relevant as ever...

*'No matter what, there will always be thieves'*
For those of you wondering...yes, that is my boss (the director of Camellia Tea Ceremony) Atsuko-san, de-stressing with a little bit of sword action😯😒😨😓😱

#CamelliaTeaCeremony #Kyoto #京都 #kimono #着物 #Japan #Iaido

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More from @camelliakyoto

May 28
🔔🪨😭THE GREAT BUDDHA'S WONDERS🐂💢👂

Kyōto was once home to the greatest statue of Buddha in all Japan.
4m taller than Tōdai-ji's Daibutsu, the statue stood in an immense hall in precincts now taken up by Toyokuni-jinja and Hōkō-ji (remnant of the original Buddha's home).


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The great hall and last (vastly smaller) incarnation of Kyōto's Daibutsu are sadly lost, but within the neighbourhood (where once the temple precincts sprawled) are a series of wonders.
They include a great bell that brought down a ruling clan, an exploding cow, & a tomb of ears.


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1) THE CHIMES OF DOOM🔔

Having seized control of the country after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu calmly waited for an excuse to destroy the rival Toyotomi clan.
His chance came with the forging of a new bell and an inscription that could be read as a threat.


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Read 24 tweets
Aug 21, 2023
🙊THE MONKEY'S SLIDE🛝
At first glance the teahouse garden appears to be made up of mostly moss, pine & camellia...but if you look more closely the borders are packed thick with dozens of varieties of plants.
One of the most beautiful at this time of year is the "Monkey's Slide".


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More commonly known as crape myrtle (百日紅), older generations in Japan fondly call the tree 'saru suberi' (サルスベリ the "monkey's slide").
The bark of the tree is so smooth that even monkeys struggle to get a foothold!

#Kyoto #京都 #Japan #百日紅 #サルスベリ #IwataMonkeyPark


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Crape (also crepe) myrtle gets its name from the appearance of its flowers, which look very much like crepe paper.
Blooming from mid-summer through to autumn, the flowers (commonly bright pink) are also known in Japan as 'hyakujitsukō' (百日紅 'red for 100 days').

#Japan #百日紅


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Read 6 tweets
Jun 19, 2023
🎨A MODERN TOUCH🖌️

One of the Shōren-in's (青蓮院) most striking features greets you as you enter the drawing room...a series of bold coloured lotuses, blooming across 60 panels.
Begun in 2005, the work was created by the artist 'Ki-yan' (キーヤン/Kimura Hideki 木村英輝).
#Japan ImageImageImageImage
When visiting Shōren-in, Kimura was suddenly inspired to fill the drawing room's plain fusuma with colour.

It took him two years to complete the 3 sets of lotus paintings (蓮三部作)...
🪷"Blue Illusion" (青の幻想)
🪷"Amitabha's Pure Land" (極楽浄土)
🪷"Hymn of Life" (生命賛歌) ImageImageImageImage
Why all the blue lotuses?🤔

Shōren-in was originally constructed atop Mt Hiei as a lodging facility for monks serving at Enryaku-ji.

Shōren-bō was named after a nearby pond in which blue lotus flowers bloomed ('shōrenge'). Many famous monks, such as Saichō & Ennin, lived here. twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Read 8 tweets
May 11, 2023
🚪😱HAUNTED GATES & DANCING CATS😼👻

It's been a while since I've done a #folklorethursday, so here's some local, rather less well-known tales.

Demizu was once home to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lavish palace 'Jurakudai' (聚樂第), and the area has many strange wonders.
#Kyoto #京都 ImageImageImageImage
Kannon-ji's 'Gate of 100 Lashings' (観音寺 百叩きの門) belonged originally to the prison at Fushimi Castle (伏見城). When the castle was dismantled the doorway was gifted to the temple🏯🚪🩸😰👋

The gate is just 1 of the '7 Wonders of Demizu' (出水の七不思議).
#Kyoto #京都 #出水 ImageImageImageImage
Before prisoners were set free they underwent a final punishment at the prison gate...a warning to stay on the straight & narrow.
They were lashed 100 times with a piece of split bamboo across the back. It was agonizing, & sometimes deadly!

Image thanks🙇‍♂️-bakumatsuya.com ImageImageImageImage
Read 23 tweets
May 10, 2023
'May Sickness' (五月病 'gogatsu-byō') is a term for a seasonal disorder that strikes just as Golden Week comes to an end.
After the flurry of changes that take place each April, it may seem like May should be smooth sailing, but returning to work/school after the break is tough. ImageImageImageImage
It may seem like a small thing, but sweets absolutely help lift a gloomy mood...

🌫️🌩️☁️😶‍🌫️🌥️🌤️🌞

Kameya Yoshinaga (亀屋良長) has done the impossible and perfectly captured the blue skies & cotton puff clouds of May in sweet form☺️

The wonderful 'hikōki-gumo' (ひこうき雲)✨ ImageImageImageImage
While 'May Blues' doesn't sound particularly serious, in some cases it can lead to depression, anxiety & insomnia.
In April the new school/work year begins, and there's a feeling that Golden Week only helps exacerbate feelings of disorientation, mental exhaustion, & apprehension. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Read 4 tweets
Apr 20, 2023
Astonishingly the temperature will soar close to 30 degrees today...the hottest day of the year so far😓

As this heat is a little unexpected we swooped on Ishidatami (石畳) for their famous matcha soft serve (抹茶ソフトクリーム). Fresh matcha is kneaded into the ice-cream🍵🍨🙌 ImageImageImageImage
Fresh matcha as an ingredient in cooking and baking tends to lose its flavour quickly, and so Ishidatami doesn't serve ice-cream older than 3 hours, preferring instead to make new batches throughout the day😮

#Kyoto #京都 #matcha #抹茶 #icecream #Ninenzaka #二年坂 ImageImageImageImage
Another favourite (though much pricier) way to cool down is with Oimatsu's (老松) cheerful 'natsukan-tō' (夏柑糖 'sugared Chinese citron')🍊🥰

#Kyoto #京都 #夏柑糖 #老松 #oimatsu #Japan #citron #chinesecitron #orange
Read 4 tweets

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