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todayintokyo · 1 year ago

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Hi there! Hope you’re well and not melting away in the humidity. I am super excited to be planning a trip to Japan again after almost four years away. Considering I lived 1) in Kansai-ish territory and 2) near Nagoya, I never got much chance to explore Tokyo outside of the usual tourist places. I already have Jinbocho on my list (along with one of the Aoyama flower market tea houses and Nakano Broadway)— do you have any suggestions for what’s fun in Tokyo for someone who is a little more experienced with the area?

Welcome back!

Now here's a challenge! I don’t know whether you're looking for new & trendy, or old & traditional, and a lot depends on the season, but…

1) Stroll from Ueno Park or Nezu to Yanaka and Sendagi. See if you can find Snake Street and follow its curves. Yanaka is as Kyoto as Tokyo gets. Yanaka and Kagurazaka.

2) Shibamata for more old Edo vibes. Cross the river on the ferry. Only ferry in Tokyo.

3) Sunamachi Ginza Shopping District in Koto-ku: another old area that's being transformed by gentrification.

4) Get lost in Shibuya Station, just for fun, but take tranquilizers with you. Walk from Shibuya via Shoto to Yoyogi Park. Shoto is one of the wealthiest areas in Tokyo, but it's not as famous as, say, Azabu-Juban or Denenchofu. Stop at Levain for bread and Fuglen for coffee.

5) Explore the swanky, hipsterish areas of Kichijōji, Shimokitazawa, Daikanyama. Take the Setagaya Tram Line from Sangenjaya to Gotokuji and visit the temple birthplace of the famous maneki-neko. Lots of tiny shops and quaint shopping streets in a relatively upmarket area along the way.

6) Okutama. Walk along the Mitake Valley Riverside Trail, from Ikusabata to Sawai, stop for sake at the Sawanoi Sake Brewery, visit the Gyokudo Museum. You can continue past Mitake to the Okutama Fishing Centre. If you are here in autumn, you'll see breathtaking autumn colours.

7) Yokohama! Not exactly Tokyo, but a nice day trip. Minato-Mirai, Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery (no, seriously, Google it), Sankeien Gardens.

I'm not a food expert, but there are really nice restaurants in all these areas. Add Yakitori Alley in Yurakucho to your list: great atmosphere. (There's a maze under the tracks between Yurakucho and Shimbashi. Well worth a visit, but it gets a bit dystopian.) Museums? Fukagawa Edo Museum in Kiyosumi, all the art museums in Ueno Park. Plants 'n stuff? Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome. Shinjuku Gyoen remains my favourite Tokyo park/garden.

It's very touristy, but so iconic that it's really worth it: New York Bar and Grill in the Park Hyatt Tokyo. Expensive though. Cocktail Works is a craft gin bar in Kanda (close to Jimbocho), and a very good alternative (but without the glorious view) (which is the whole point) (actually).

Oh, by the way, Piss Alley in Shinjuku? So yesterday. Try Sankaku Chitai in Sangenjaya or Nogecho in Yokohama instead. Shh, don't tell anyone.

Best free and still relatively uncrowded view of skyline: Bunkyo Civic Center observation lounge. Shh again.

Would this suffice? If you send more details about your timing and what you're interested in, I'll happily add more.

Enjoy the planning as much as the trip! 😊

#replies #this was fun #but I probably missed all the best bits

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myjapan-me · 1 year ago

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Nezu Museum, Tokyo

#Nezu Museum #Tokyo #japan

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yamayuandadu · 1 year ago

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thank you for the reply and the information! I was curious how the other fox would fit in with PCB Extra's metatextual mention of Three Lands, but I hadn't even considered it might be three worlds and not three countries. this is neat

(Original post for context)

I forgot I left the response to this in my drafts, sorry. Luckily, this means I could update it with recently acquired knowledge when I found it again. Truth to be told, my point is less that the other fox is a better match, and more that Ran being Tamamo no Mae is one of these things which make sense at first glance, but the deeper you look into it, the less coherent it becomes.

This got much longer than I planned, so for organizational purposes let's refer to this post as Revenge of the "graveyard god", or why I don't think Ran is Tamamo no Mae. More under the cut.

The early Tamamo no Mae

The main point of connection between Tamamo no Mae and Ran are the nine tails, but that’s not even really a consistent part of the former's background. The oldest version of the story - which is really fun, the seduction section is pages upon pages of Tamamo and emperor Toba discussing esoteric Buddhism - states that she was “an 800-year-old two-tailed fox from the Nasuno Plain in Shimotsuke Province”. Early depictions of her true form follow this pretty closely:

Nezu Museum of Art, via Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds. A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales

Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Library

Suntory Museum of Art

As far as I am aware, the two tails are actually unique to her. Other foxes of note have either one tail or nine. While it does seem the belief in the number of tails growing with age is genuine rather than a modern misconception, it’s hardly central to fox folklore (I’ve seen the portmoneu “foxlore” at least once btw, it’s very funny). And, as I will outline later, it doesn’t even seem to be behind the idea of nine-tailed foxes in the first place. Anyway, the oldest version does provide Tamamo with more backstory, but it’s closer to presenting Shuten Dōji as a manifestation of Mara than to a straightforward “Tamamo is x under a pseudonym” popular today. As we learn, the two-tailed fox is in fact a reincarnation of a “graveyard god” (塚の神, Tsuka no Kami) from India, described in the apocryphal Humane Kings Sutra (it gets namedropped directly), likely originally composed in China.

How come? It all started when Kalmashapada, a prince of Devala in India, wanted to offer 1000 skulls of virtuous rulers to this deity because a suspicious “heretical” preacher convinced him it’s a good idea. After defeating and imprisoning 999 such kings, he encountered Shrutasoma, one of the previous incarnations of the historical Buddha, who managed to show him the error of his ways. All of the kings were released, and Kalmashapada was redeemed. The “graveyard god” was less than thrilled, and swore to keep reincarnating as a fox in kingdoms where Buddhism flourished to destroy it. We are told that happened many times, but only one past identity, that of Bao Si (Hōji), comes up. Obviously, eighth century BCE China was not exactly an area famous for Buddhist devotion, but that’s irrelevant here. We are told the endgame is not just to overthrow a righteous ruler, but also to become his replacement. Alas, Tamamo no Mae obviously fails at both of these goals. Still, points for trying.

The story does not provide the deity with a specific identity. However, Nobumi Iyanaga notes that in the referenced sutra he’s Mahakala (the original Makakaraten version, not the joyful Daikokuten). In East Asian Buddhism he is described as dwelling in the graveyards due to acting as both the chief of dakinis and their subduer. At the same time, Iyanaga argues in the context of the Tamamo no Mae story it can be argued he is either implicitly replaced by the dakini par excellence, Dakiniten (closely associated with foxes), or that the deity has no identity other than the fox one.

Later Tamamo developments

Two elements which are mainstays of modern retellings are missing from the oldest version, as you might have noticed. It doesn’t feature the Sesshōseki, which was only added later, seemingly as a way to promote Zen Buddhism, since this extension of the story casts a member of this school as the new protagonist. In the early variants Tamamo’s corpse was brought to the imperial treasury, the same one which shows up in a similar context in the tale of Shuten Dōji, and there is no indication she came back as a vengeful ghost, let alone that she repented and accepted Buddhism, as she does in some of the Sesshōseki variants.

The other difference is, as I already pointed out, the tails. The oldest depiction of a nine-tailed Tamamo no Mae I am aware of is Sekien’s. Based on a few papers I read it would appear textual variants of the story giving her nine tails might have been in circulation earlier, but that’s not reflected in any of the illustrated scrolls shown above.

Sekien's nine-tailed Tamamo (wikimedia commons)

Sekien claims that Tamamo no Mae is one and the same as Daji (I’ll get back to her later), and specifies the latter was a nine-tailed fox. He cites Zhang Dingsi’s Langye Dai Zui Bian (浪挪代醉編, “Langye’s Substitute for Drunkenness: A Compilation”) as his source for this tidbit, but does not explain where does the conflation of the two foxes come from. In contrast with the elaborate reincarnation scheme from the older version, he states Daji simply flew across the sea to reach Japan, without reincarnating.

What is now essentially treated as the “definitive” version of the Tamamo no Mae story, and what cemented her image as a nine-tailed fox, only dates back to 1805. That’s when Ehon Sangoku Yōfuden (絵本三国妖婦伝; “Tales of Enchantresses in the Three Kingdoms”) finished publication. The author, Ranzan Takai (高井蘭山), was an enthusiast of neo-confucian thought, and he wanted to write a story highlighting the time honored confucian belief that dynasties are brought down by suspicious concubines. The real goal was somewhat broader, though -the story of Tamamo no Mae was essentially repurposed as a critique of the concept of women playing an important role in public life.

It needs to be noted here that it is not impossible that the original was already part of a political polemic. Arguments have been made that Tamamo is a fictional representation of Bifukomon-in, for instance. They are certainly linked to the same emperor, Toba.

Bifukomon-in (wikimedia commons)

However, while I would not rule this out altogether, it’s hard to deny the typical medieval penchant for reinterpreting Buddhist material feels more central to the story. It is ultimately a very elaborate twist on the Humane Kings Sutra first and foremost. It belongs to the same world as other fabulous tales about figures from distant Buddhist lands arriving in Japan, alongside the likes of the legend of emperor Suwa of Hadai or the medieval Amaterasu narrative involving Mara (stay tuned for my post about that one).

Ideological motivations aside, in Ranzan’s version an anonymous nine-tailed fox appears as Daji in China, Kayō in India (seemingly a leftover of the original “graveyard god” story; here the prince is convinced to carry out his evil plans by his concubine instead though), and finally Tamamo no Mae in Japan. He also gives a unique account of Tamamo’s arrival in Japan, as far as I am aware: in his novel, she was brought there by Kibi no Makibi, a famous historical envoy to China. This was not his first time as a literary character, a much earlier picture scroll about his adventures is pretty funny (I have Touhou ocs based on it), but I’ll save this discussion for another time.

Not quite Tamamo: the influence of Daji

Daji, as depicted by Hokusai (wikimedia commons)

Daji requires some further discussion. She was initially regarded simply as a non-supernatural wicked concubine, but came to be treated as a fox posing as a human by the Song period. According to Xiaofei Kang the oldest evidence for that comes from 1101, from a Japanese text presumably reflecting an already extant Chinese belief. By the Yuan period it became a commonly accepted view, with Quanxiang Pinghua (全相平話) specifically stating Daji had nine tails. Her fox-like image was finally cemented fully by popular novels in the Ming and Qing periods.

Since there was a preexisting tradition in which Daji was a human woman, a remedy was developed: the “real” Daji was possessed by a fox, who took her name and identity. Curiously, the fox component of her story is otherwise not very important, and some modern authors basically characterize it as “tacked on”: she is the quintessential evil concubine bringing kingdoms to ruin out of a sense of cruelty who just happens to be a fox, and her story doesn’t really depend on preexisting fox-related motifs.

There are multiple accounts of Daji’s deeds, but the most famous one, and at the same time the most likely influence on Razan’s portrayal of her (and thus Tamamo), is Investiture of the Gods. However, he skips the origin attributed to her here: in the Chinese original, Daji is an agent of the goddess Nuwa, though she eventually overdoes it and is rebuked by her former boss for excessive cruelty. This doesn’t really fit well with Tamamo’s backstory, obviously; making her and Daji interchangeable was detrimental to both characters, I feel. A Chinese story dealing with Daji reincarnating does exist, but it’s not exactly similar. In the Ming novel Zhaoyang Qushi (昭陽趣事) she reincarnated as Zhao Hede, a concubine of emperor Cheng of Han. What happens next has been described as “pornographic entertainment enlivened by supernatural and historical costumes”. For more details, check out Rania Huntington’s book from the bibliography below.

Curiously, it is possible Daji was simultaneously an object of active cult, since there is a Song imperial edict outlawing the shrines dedicated to her, Wutong (a southern Chinese spirit who was believed to bring wealth and bewitch people, compared with foxes in the north) and “General Shi” (no clue who that might be, I’d hazard a guess one of the popular pacified vengeful spirit cults but don’t quote me on that). However, another contemporary source instead mentions the outlawing of temples of “fox kings”, so it might also mean that the name of Daji was applied by officials to an unrelated popular fox cult (“fox king” is a reasonably common appellation for supernatural foxes). Both regular and nine-tailed foxes are attested in such a context across history.

Early nine-tailed foxes

An early Chinese depiction of a nine-tailed fox (wikimedia commons)

The early portrayals of nine-tailed foxes are something I started looking into recently because of Ran’s freshly revealed connection to Yuuma: I figured it makes sense that she’d be in origin someone who belongs to the same world as the taotie.

Looking at the earliest Chinese sources, multiple nine-tailed foxes appear in legends about virtuous rulers like Tang, Wen or Yu the Great, essentially as generic good omens, without much fanfare. According to confucian commentaries from the Later Han period, the nine tails were understood as a sign a given emperor will have many descendants. The exception from this generally positive tendency is the Classic of Mountains and Seas, where the nine-tailed fox is described as “man-eating” (something very uncommon in Chinese fox literature). However, it also doesn’t exactly get more spotlight than the other creatures. It’s also treated as a separate animal from regular foxes, not as a particularly old fox. You could say it is to the fox what a bai ze is to an ox, I think. Visual arts add further specimens: the source of this discussion, the nine-tailed fox attendant of Xi Wangmu, later seemingly “decanonized”, and another belonging to the entourage of Zhong Kui. Both of these are hardly eminent and seem to fit the mold of auspicious omens. In Zhong Kui’s case the fox is in one case listed alongside the bai ze which only strengthens this impression. However, it also makes sense that its inclusion would reflect Zhong Kui’s role as a demon queller: he is often portrayed with conquered demons as servants, after all.

Conclusions

To sum up: ultimately it just doesn’t seem nine-tailed foxes are quite as big of a deal as popculture makes them seem, and nine tails are neither exclusive nor innate to Tamamo no Mae. Since that’s the only real point of connection between her and Ran save for a throwaway PCB line which leads to no further references, I maintain there’s no strong case for identifying them with each other, especially since there is no shortage of other candidates.

There’s also the fact that, Daji aside, most other nine-tailed foxes are largely blank slates you can do anything with, while Tamamo has many fairly unique characteristics which would be wasted by randomly slapping her name on Ran, in my opinion. To be fair, ZUN does occasionally make similar mistakes - Yoshika is the main example (remember, the actual legend about Yoshika’s immortality claims he decided to pursue eternal life after having a thrilling affair and has him call himself “strongest madman under heaven”).

I would personally argue ZUN himself probably did not feel strongly about who Ran is supposed to actually be when he originally came up with her, though. None of her spellcards reference Tamamo no Mae. Or any other fox identified with her, for that matter. They do have a more or less consistent theme, but that theme is, broadly speaking, “magic arts”, from onmyodo (Shikigami "Banquet of the Twelve General Gods"), through shugendo (Illusion God "Descent of Izuna-Gongen", Shikigami "The Protection of Zenki and Goki", Superhuman "Soaring En no Ozunu") and esoteric Buddhism (Shikigami "Channeling Dakiniten", Esoteric Sign "Odaishi-sama's Secret Key"), to contemporary stage magic (Shiki Brilliance "Princess Tenko -Illusion-"). In other words, I do not think canon actually strongly supports any specific option.

I will admit I’m biased but personally I think picking a different fox makes it much easier to accommodate Yuuma and their shared animal realm past, the most thrilling Ran development in ages. As for Tamamo, I do think she would be fun to see in Touhou, but preferably as her own character - with two tails, if possible.

Bibliography

Bernard Faure, The Power of Denial. Buddhism, Purity, and Gender

Rania Huntington, Alien Kind. Foxes and Late Imperial Chinese Narrative

Nobumi Iyanaga, Under the Shadow of the Great Śiva: Tantric Buddhism and its Influence on Japanese Mediaeval Culture

Idem, Dākinī in: Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism (vol. 2)

Xiaofei Kang, The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China

Laura K. Nüffer, Lady Tamamo in: Keller Kimbrough and Haruo Shirane (eds.), Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds. A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales

Sumiko Sekiguchi, Gender in the Meiji Renovation: Confucian 'Lessons for Women' and the Making of Modern Japan

Chun-Yi Joyce Tsai, Imagining the Supernatural Grotesque: Paintings of Zhong Kui and Demons in the Late Southern Song (1127-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties

#touhou #ran yakumo #tamamo no mae

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twentiestara · 2 months ago

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Roasted ginko/ visvim in meguro / nezu museum garden

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humangirlonearthh · 2 months ago

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Nezu museum

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legitimatesatanspawn · 2 years ago

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Random Research O'Clock for a one-off snippet about Sir Nighteye, who according to the Ultra Analysis book was born in Tokyo... among other characters including the rat, led me to a funny possibility as to Nedzu's name origin.

As a quick reminder this is how Nedzu's name is written: 根 (ね) 津 (づ) which as we know is a play on ねずみ (nezumi, or rat).

From the Wikipedia page for the thing I stumbled across while doing research on what school Sasaki could've attended in Tokyo assuming he didn't go to UA:

The Nezu Museum (根津美術館, Nezu bijutsukan), formerly known as the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, is an art museum in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan. The museum houses the private collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art of Nezu Kaichirō (1860–1940). The museum foundation was established on the death of the founder Nezu in 1940 and exhibitions were first opened to the public in 1941.

An art museum whose origins sounds not unlike the Barnes Foundation.

I'm gonna have fun with this idea.

#random thoughts #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #nedzu #nezu #principal nezu #principal nedzu #bnha nezu #bnha nedzu #mirai sasaki #sir nighteye

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deusvervewrites · 2 years ago

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MSRA: I love the “Break out the museum piece” trope. So Nezu bless that Gran Torino ask. Also had the idea that mechs took a while to actually come about, so now I’m thinking that 4th OfA went into woods, and came out to watch some big ass robots fight and really considered going back.

Gran Torino is the museum piece

4th completely missing a generation of technology to bridge the gap between weaponry and mechs is hilarious

#asks #my super robot academia au

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adventure-alex · 9 months ago

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The Art of Japanese Tea Ceremonies in Tokyo Kyoto and Osaka

🍵✨ Calling all tea enthusiasts! Ready to journey through the world of Japanese tea ceremonies? Let's sip our way through Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka! From the bustling streets of Tokyo to the serene temples of Kyoto, get ready for a tea-rrific adventure!

🌸 Ever tried to decipher the secrets of a Japanese Tea Ceremony? It's like a graceful dance, where every move and sip tells a story! Get ready to immerse yourself in Chanoyu, Matcha Madness, and even some Geisha tea magic!

🍵 Curious about what really happens during a Japanese Tea Ceremony? Picture this: serene gardens, delicate teacups, and the soothing sound of bamboo whisks. It's a brew-tiful symphony for the senses!

🏙️ Tokyo: Where Tradition Gets a Modern Twist Get your tea fix in Tokyo, where ancient customs meet futuristic flair! We've got hidden gems like Chazen and Nezu Museum waiting to whisk you away on a tea-scapade!

🌸 Kyoto: Where Tradition Blooms Like a Cherry Blossom Step into Kyoto, the heart of traditional Japan, and prepare to be enchanted by Geisha tea ceremonies! Don't miss spots like Camellia Tea Ceremony and Maikoya Kyoto for a taste of tea-time elegance!

🏯 Osaka: Where Tea Takes Center Stage In Osaka, tea culture is a blend of tradition and innovation! Swing by Maikoya Osaka and Tea Ceremony Osaka - The Osaka for a sip of tea and some belly laughs!

☕ English Tea Ceremonies: Lost in Translation? Not Here! Can't speak Japanese? No problem! Many tea ceremony spots offer English sessions, so you can "chai" your hand at this ancient art!

Ready to steep yourself in Japanese tea culture? Join us on this tea-riffic adventure! Check out the complete blog post for a brew-tiful guide. ☕🌸✨

#japanese tea #tea ceremony #tokyo #kyoto

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char1ottee · 10 months ago

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Tokyo culture🗼

Tokyo has many museums. In Ueno Park, there is the Tokyo National Museum, the country's largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art and Ueno Zoo. Other museums include the Artizon Museum in Chūō; the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Sumida, across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; the Nezu Museum in Aoyama; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art, which are near the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo has many theaters for performing arts. These include national and private theaters for traditional forms of Japanese drama. Noteworthy are the National Noh Theatre for noh and the Kabuki-za for Kabuki. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform modern and traditional music. The New National Theater Tokyo in Shibuya is the national center for the performing arts, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance and drama. Tokyo also hosts modern Japanese and international pop, and rock music at venues ranging in size from intimate clubs to internationally known areas such as the Nippon Budokan

The Sanja Festival in Asakusa

Many different festivals occur throughout Tokyo. Major events include the Sannō at Hie Shrine, the Sanja at Asakusa Shrine, and the biennial Kanda Festivals. The last features a parade with elaborately decorated floats and thousands of people. Annually on the last Saturday of July, an enormous fireworks display over the Sumida River attracts over a million viewers. Once cherry blossoms bloom in spring, many residents gather in Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for picnics under the blossoms.

Harajuku, a neighborhood in Shibuya, is known internationally for its youth style, fashion and cosplay.

In November 2007, Michelin released their first guide for fine dining in Tokyo, awarding 191 stars in total, or about twice as many as Tokyo's nearest competitor, Paris. As of 2017, 227 restaurants in Tokyo have been awarded (92 in Paris). Twelve establishments were awarded the maximum of three stars (Paris has 10), 54 received two stars, and 161 earned one star.

In popular culture

As the largest population center in Japan and the site of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series' (anime), web comics, light novels, video games, and comic books (manga). In the kaiju (monster movie) genre, landmarks of Tokyo are usually destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla and Gamera.

Tokyo is also a popular foreign setting for non-Japanese media. Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a backdrop for movies set in Japan. Postwar examples include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, Tokyo Story and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; recent examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Lost in Translation, Babel, Inception, The Wolverine and Avengers: Endgame.

Japanese author Haruki Murakami has based some of his novels in Tokyo (including Norwegian Wood), and David Mitchell's first two novels (number9dream and Ghostwritten) featured the city. Contemporary British painter Carl Randall spent 10 years living in Tokyo as an artist, creating a body of work depicting the city's crowded streets and public spaces.

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