"24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai" excerpts and ukiyo-e

[Giovanna Clairval]

Than you, Lady of the Autumn, Hokusai has inspired countless artists, and I particularly like Shotei's print.
I wonder whether there are, besides Zelazny's work, any novels, and ancient legends, on Fuji. Do you know any of them?

[Talysia]

Hmm, I'm not sure, although surely there must be. I've been a fan of Japanese myth/Japanese fiction for a while now, and the only books based on legends I can remember are folk tales, compiled in a collection under the title Japanese Fairy Tales, by Grace James (although a lot of these are just that: fairy tales). I'll have to go and dig the book out to see if there are any that focus on Fuji in particular. That said, it might not be what you mean.

There must be more, though. I'll have to do a little research.

[Giovanna Clairval]

Than you, Talysia! I'm looking forward at reading some.

In the meantime, I have found this:

THE GODDESS OF MT. FUJI

There once was a boy named Yosoji. His mother was ill with smallpox.Yosoji went to a magician's house an asked him what to do. The magician advised Yosoji to go to a stream at the foot of Mt. Fuji by the shrine of the God of Long Breath. The water in the stream was magical and it would surely cure his mother. Yosoji thanked the magician and headed off to Mt. Fuji.

After walking for a short while, Yosoji realized he was getting near the shrine. But there were three paths. Yosoji wondered which one to take. As he was debating over the matter,a beautiful maiden appeared in front of him and led him to the stream. Yosoji drank some of the gleaming water himself, then scooped some up in a gourd to take to his mother. Before he left, the maiden said to him," Come back in three days time. You will need more of this water."

After five more visits to the stream,Yosoji found that not only his mother, but the other villagers that had been lucky enough to get some of the water had been cured. They thanked Yosoji time after time but he knew that it was really due to the beautiful maiden that had been his guide that they were all well again. He wanted to thank her so he followed the path that led to the stream.When he got there, he discovered that the stream had dried up and was no longer there.

Yosoji knelt down and wept bitterly, for he had loved this maiden dearly. Then he turned around and there she stood, smiling sweetly. Yosoji asked to know her name, but she did not reply.He asked again, but the maiden just kept smiling. Then, a cloud came down, enclosed her inside, and she floated to the very top of Mt. Fuji.

Yosoji knew then that he had been helped by none other than the goddess of Mt.Fuji. He had been in love with the goddess of Mt. Fuji. Then, as the cloud was raised higher and higher into the sky, the goddess dropped down a branch of small pink blossoms, perhaps a token of her love for Yosoji. Yosoji knew he would always keep the branch and remember that his mother had been cured by the goddess of Mt. Fuji.

from http:www.dragonstrike.com

THE Yoshida Fire Festival or “Yoshida no Himatsuri” is held every year on August 26th to appease the goddess of Mt. Fuji and to keep the volcano from erupting for another year. Yoshida no Himatsuri also serves as the closing ceremony of the Fujisan summer climbing season. For this lively two day festival, named one of Japan’s three most unique festivals and celebrated for over 500 years, the entire community comes out to watch the burning of large “taimatsu” torches and the parade of two large Omikoshi (portableshrines) through the streets. The Fire Festival is one of Fujiyoshida’s most prized cultural possessions, and this year’s festival promises to live up to its reputation.

And the drawing is from:

Yoshida's Fire Festival

[Giovanna Clairval]

"Snow, on the roofs of houses, on evergreens, on Fuji - just beginning to melt in places, it seems . . . I cannot help but think of the hot-spring geisha Komako in Snow Country - Yasunari Kawabata's novel of loneliness and wasted, fading beauty - which I have always felt to be the great anti-love story of Japan. The print brings the entire tale to mind for me . . ."

-- from 24 Views

A poem by Mokichi Saito (1882-1953)


The faintly glowing
colour of the maples,
when it fades away
before the falling of snow,
serenity in mountains.

Awakened
from winter sleep a frog
climbs up onto
the top of leftover snow
and stretches himself out flat.

Those wild geese
do not pass over any more
within the sky
without limitation
the scattered snow is falling.

The clouds of springtime
come together at one side
around midday
by the far-off water reeds
the wild geese have settled down.

The hush-hush
inside the falling of snow—-
standing motionless,
a horse, his eyes.
Now he has blinked !

Into spring mountains
I have come and am staying
one person alone
trying to hear the sound o
leaves fallen, dried, bent over.

#13. Mt Fuji from Koishikawa in Edo

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[Giovanna Clairval]

This is not part of the 24 views that inspired Zelazny. It is in the larger collection (36 views).

But I love it, and couldn't resist posting it (and the town is the same as the one from my previous post).


A sketch of the Mitsui shop in Suruga street in Edo:

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[Giovanna Clairval]

The kites on the previous print had me looking for Japanese kite skins.

The covering shows the golden boy Kintaro and a carp. Kintaro was abandoned in the wood by his poor parents and was brought up by bears. He grew up to be very strong, healthy and a friend of the Emperor.

The carp represents strength and fortitude as it swims upstream against all odds.

This was painted by TEIZO HASHIMOTO, the last master Edo kite maker in Tokyo.

It's a very popular painting for kites skins.

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[Giovanna Clairval]

Kites, more kites

[Giovanna Clairval]

And this one....


floating Medusa

[Sephiroth]

I love the poem.......


This is a Tsugaru kite from Aomori prefecture:



"It is said that Tsugaru kites, a folkcraft of Aomori Prefecture, were first made in the 17th century by poor low-ranking members of the samurai class. Japanese kites generally have a bamboo frame, but as bamboo is difficult to grow in the Tsugaru district because of the severe cold, lightweight and supple cypress cut into thin strips is used instead. Tsugaru kites feature strong, thick lines in Japanese ink and a picture of a warrior painted in brilliant colors, predominantly red. Some kites are painted with gallant warrior images based on Sangokushi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) and Suikoden (Water Margin) stories from Chinese classical literature." [Japenese National Tourist Organisation]

Apparently they are often flown with a hummer, which vibrates the kite surface and can be heard for miles...






Regarding Fuji, I came across something interesting on a kids' site about volcanos:


"The creation of Mt. Fuji is itself a matter of legend in Japan - the tale goes that the mountain was born in a single day. The story relates the experiences of a woodsman named Visu. He was awoken one night by a loud noise, seemingly coming from under the Earth. The woodsman believing it to be an earthquake, grabbed his family and ran from their home. When he emerged from the doorway, he saw that the land near his home, which had been flat and dead, had become a mountain! Visu was so in awe of this occurrence, and the majesty of the mountain, that he named it "Fuji-yama", the Never-Dying Mountain. While geologically, Mt. Fuji dates back to around 8500 BC, this myth places the legendary creation of Mt. Fuji in 86 BC. This later date roughly coincides with the geologic record of an explosive eruption that occurred around this time frame. While it is not known what the true source of this myth is, it is not outside the realm of conjecture to suggest that the myth could have been influenced by the aforementioned eruption."

[Giovanna Clairval]

Hi, Seph!

Very interesting....

More kites..... (non-traditional)

[Giovanna Clairval]

"Again, the print is not the reality for me. It shows peasants amid a
rustic village, terraced hillsides, a lone tree jutting from the slope of
the hill to the right, a snowcapped Fuji partly eclipsed by the base of the rise."
---from 24 Views

Ame ni mo Mazeku

not losing to the rain
not losing to the wind
not losing to the snow or to the heat of the summer
with a strong body

unfettered by desire
never losing temper
cultivating a quiet joy
every day four bowls of brown rice
miso and some vegetables to eat
with everything

never letting emotion get in the way
watching and listening, and understanding
and never forgetting
in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields
being in a little thatched hut

if there is a sick child to the east
going and nursing over them
if there is a tired mother to the west
going and shouldering her sheaf of rice
if there is someone near death to the south
going and saying there's no need to be afraid
if there is a quarrel or a suit to the north

telling them to leave off with such waste
when there's drought, shedding tears of sympathy
when the summer's cold, walk in concern and empathy
called a blockhead by everyone
without being praised
without being blamed

such a person
I want to become

---Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) this poem was found in a trunk after Miyazawa's death

# 14. Mt Fuji from ShimoMeguro (in Edo)

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