Looking at the City Around Us: Place Names Part I

Last week, everyone researched a place name that interested them. We discovered many different stories, some of them historical, some of them mythical.

We also learned a few things about place names in Tokyo specifically:

1) Many of them have histories stretching back to the Edo Period (1600-1868)

2) Many of them mix place names, and kanji (Chinese characters) can shift according to preferences for writing and meaning.

For the old sources and influences for Japanese place names:

Mayu wrote about the history of Kurikara Pass, between Toyama and Ishikawa. The name derives from Sanskrit (倶利伽羅), which came to Japan at least as far back as 718. Its history includes the 1183 strategy of Kiso Yoshinaka, who defeated the Heike troops by surprising them with bulls that had had torches attached to their heads. The strange sight caused panic and a massacre of the Heike, and so a valley new Kurikara Pass is called 'Hell Valley' (地獄谷).

Kabuto-cho, which Atsuya wrote about, also has a history stretching back to the Medieval period, named for the helmet (kabuto) of Taira no Masakado (903-940).

Some places named for more recent historical events include Seiseki Sakuragaoka (聖跡桜が丘). Yuuri found that 'seiseki' (sacrament) referred to the Emperor, who hunted there in the prewar period. The name changed from Sekido, a Kamakura-era name, in 1937.

Kana wrote about a street caleld Banchobunjin-dori (番町文人通り) near Yotsuya Station. Bancho was the old name for the west side of Chiyoda-ku, and 'bunjin' refers to the 'people of letters' - the authors who lived around the street: Shimazaki Toson, Izumi Kyoka, Arishima Takeo, Yosano Tekkan and Yosano Atsuko.

Mizuko, after researching the place names Koenji, Jinbocho, and Funabori discovered all of them had roots in the Edo Period, and that many places in Tokyo still have names that originated at that time.

Many places have seen changes of meaning and marking through the use of various kanji.

Maako wrote about how the name of Fussa came from the character for 'protect' (塞ぐ) in the Muromachi Period (1336-1573). But the characters chosen to represent the place were 'lucky life' or 'luck lives' (福生), to appeal to the gods of good fortune.

Yuki S. wrote about his home town, Edacho (Eda Town). It was named for the rice fields there. But there is a difference between the kanji used for the town (荏田町) and the kanji used for the train station (江田町). It seems that when the train station was built, the character 荏 was not a common one, so they used 江 instead.

Through learning place names, we also can learn more about the names of topographical features. Aika researched the name of a place called Kaminoge (上野毛). She thought that 'noge' (field hair) was a funny word. It turns out that it means 'ledge.'

Some of the stories behind place names are not actual histories, but fantastical
stories. Masaki wrote about Odoriba (踊場). It means 'dancing place,' and apparently refers to a story about cats stealing towels from a soy sauce shop and gathering to dance when them in the night!

Yuki wrote about Madrid, which also has a kind of mythical name origin: apparently it comes from 'Run mother' (Madre huid), which some children screamed when a bear interrupted a picnic they had with their mother.

Looking at the City Around Us, Part I: Statues (2)

1) Maako sent four photographs of statues she found in Tachikawa.

This is for the 40th anniversary of the Rotary Club in Tachikawa:

 This statue's title is "Woman with Crossed Legs." It stands in front of the Isetan Department Store.

This statue is about "family."

And this statue is for the Lion's Club. Its title is "Bonds."

















2) Aika took a photograph of this statue of a popular character. I'm sure you are familiar with him! It's in Soshigayaokura:

 

3) Yuki O. took photographs of these two statues of the Akiyama brothers, who were famous for their acts during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905):

 

   

4)  Kana found this statue near Omorikaigan Station:

 

Looking at the City Around Us: Part I: Statues!

Last week we all brought in photographs of statues we had seen in the city.

Here are some from the class.

1)

Yuuri brought in this photograph, from Shimajirô Hiroba in Tama City.

Yuuri wrote: "That stature is combination of two famous characters. A left side is Hello-Kitty, who is one of the most famous Japanese character.

A right side is Shimajiro, who appears in correspondence education program offer by Benesse corporation. 

But You may have a question why these two characters standing side by side. The reason is simple. Please look at attached map.

This place is a midpoint of two facilities. One is Sanrio-Puroland in the east side of statue. This is an amusement park which is managed by Hello-Kitty’s mother company.

Another is office of Benesse corporation, in the southwest side of statue. "

I think that it is also interesting that the yellow dots of the tactile sidewalk to guide blind people leads to the statues and makes a square around the statues.

This makes me wonder about an important question: How would a blind person experience these statues? How would a blind person experience Tokyo?

2) Yuki S. sent me this photo of a statue:

I hope that he can tell us more about it in class!

3)

Mizuki sent me photographs of these three statues from the Waseda University campus (he told me very carefully that he does not like Waseda, though!). Although the names of the "sensei" are clearly marked on the above two statues, I can't find the name for the one below. It looks like there is baseball gear depicted there, however. What do you think?

Welcome!

Class description:

We live and study in one of the largest ones in the world. But what do we really know about the past and current dynamics in Tokyo or other cities? In this class, we will think about urban spaces and how people relate to them.

We will consider three cities in particular: Tokyo, New York City, and Bilbao. In the spring, we will focus on efforts to preserve urban histories as cities rapidly change. We will have a chance to engage with local historians, discuss key issues facing Tokyo, and discuss theories about urban renewal and gentrification. In the fall, we will think more about the future of these three cities, which will include Tokyo’s efforts to welcome the 2020 Olympics.

This class will change the way you see the city around you and its past, and also help you ask the most pressing questions about how inhabitants can and should relate to their cities as they face 21^st century challenges, including overcrowding, environmental issues, and tourism.

Most simply... let's get curious about the spaces we move through each day!