Ōedo Line: Ochiai-Minami-Nagasaki
Continuing with our 27th installment of exploring Edo-Tōkyō Continue reading Ōedo Line: Ochiai-Minami-Nagasaki
Tag: hojo
Setagaya and its Freaky Horse Fetish
There are a cluster of places names related to horses in Setagaya and I want to get to the bottom of it! Continue reading Setagaya and its Freaky Horse Fetish
What does Hamamatsu-cho mean?
浜松町 Hamamatsu-chō (seaside pine town, more at Hamamatsu town) . There’s not a lot to go on with this place name. A lot of it adds up, but a lot of it doesn’t. As such, we’ll probably have to do a little more filling in the gaps than I like to do. But anyways, let’s see where this takes us. . On the record, here’s what we’ve got. . At the beginning of the Edo Period, the 増上寺代官 Zōjō-ji daikan magistrate of Zōjō-ji[i] 奥住久右衛門 Ozumi Kyūemon[ii] lived here. Because of that, the area was called affectionately called 久右衛門町 Kyūemon-chō Kyūemon Town. However, … Continue reading What does Hamamatsu-cho mean?
What does Bakuro-Yokoyama-cho mean?
Bakuroyokoyamacho! Bakuroyokoyamacho! Bakuroyokoyamacho! Say it three times and the ghost of Tokugawa Ienari will appear. Continue reading What does Bakuro-Yokoyama-cho mean?
What does Ushigome mean?
牛込 Ushigome (Crowd of Cows) 。 。 牛 ushi cow 込 komi[i] swarming, huddling, amassed, crowded, “in bulk” 。 According to Japanese Wikipedia[ii], in 701, in accordance to the Taihō Code, a livestock ranch was established in this area. In fact, two were established which were sometimes referred to as 牛牧 gyūmaki a cow ranch and 馬牧 umamaki a horse ranch. These two locations came to be referred to as 牛込 Ushigome and 駒込 Komagome. The fact that there was a cattle/dairy ranch here in the Asuka Period is a known fact (it’s documented). The horse ranch is a different … Continue reading What does Ushigome mean?
