.jpg)
広重は町人の町、山下町から、大名屋敷の立ち並ぶ日比谷、外桜田方面を見ています。
Hiroshige is looking from a commoners' town, Yamashita-cho, toward Hibiya and Soto-Sakurada area, where there were a lot of feudal lords' residences.
お正月の門松が手前に大きく描かれています。左右からは羽子板がにょっきり。女の子が羽根つきをして遊んでいるのがわかります。ちゃんと空中に羽根も描かれていますよ。
空には凧も上がっています。手前の奴（やっこ）だこは町人の子供が揚げたもの。町人は武士の下僕であるやっこを武士の頭上高く揚げることで溜飲を下げていたのだとか。
遠くの凧は武士の子供たちが揚げたもの。相手の凧を絡めてとるけんか凧をしているようですね。
It's around the New Year. Behind the kadomatsu tree in the very front (pine decorations on the New Year's Day), two girls are playing hanetsuki (battledores). (But we can only see their paddles.) The shuttlecock is in the midair.
Many kites are in the air, too. The nearest one is Yakko-kite, which must belong to a commoner boy. Yakko is a footman for samurai, and it is said commoners liked to fly Yakko-kites over arrogant samurai's heads to get back at them.
The distant kites are rectangular ones, which belong to samurai children. Do you see one kite is caught by another one? Even when they fly kites, they like to fight, don't they?
信じがたいことですが、この辺りは400年前頃まで日比谷入り江という海でした。
17世紀初め徳川幕府がこの入り江を埋め立て、大名たちを住まわせ始めました。
広重の絵の赤い門の建物は佐賀鍋島藩の上屋敷です。
It's hard to believe, but until about 400 years ago, this area was under water. It was called Hibiya Inlet.
Then, in the 17th century, Tokugawa Shogunate began filling the inlet and ordered the feudal lords to build their residences there. The big red gate in Hiroshige's print is the residence of the Nabeshima clan of Saga.
明治維新後、この鍋島藩の上屋敷は、
But after the Meiji Restoration, it became a part of the...
.jpg)
日比谷公園となりました。
Hibiya Park.
日比谷公園は1903年完成。日本で初めての西洋式の公園です。テニスコート、音楽堂、広場、などがあってとっても広い！
Opened to public in 1903, this park was the first westernized urban-style park in Japan. It has tennis courts, music halls, flower gardens and so much more!
江戸時代の名残もないわけではありません。この石垣は日比谷御門跡。
But it hasn't completely forgotten the old times. This stone wall is the remains of the Hibiya Gate in the old Edo.
.jpg)
.jpg)
石垣に沿って心字池が作られています。昔ここにあった濠の名残ですね。
Shinji-ike Pond, to remember there once was a moat here
.jpg)
樹齢400年ともいわれる 有名な首賭けイチョウ。
道路拡張のためこの大イチョウが伐採されようとしていた時に、日比谷公園の生みの親本多静六博士が「首にかけても移植させる」と言って実行されたそうです。
後ろに見えるのは開園当初からあるレストラン松本楼です。
The 400 year old Risky Ginkgo (Kubi-kake Icho) and about 110 year old Matsumoto-ro restaurant
.jpg)
雲形池は紅葉が見事でした！
The autumn leaves around Shinkei Pond were just gorgeous!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
公園と向き合うように帝国ホテルが建っています。日本で初めての西洋式ホテルとして1890年開業しました。
The Imperial Hotel, the first modern western style hotel, opened in 1890, is right in front of the Hibiya Park.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Imperial Hotel
有名な鹿鳴館は帝国ホテルの隣にあったそうです。
もとは薩摩藩主島津家の屋敷跡です。
The famous Rokumeikan (Deer-Cry Hall), the symbol of Westernization in the Meiji period, used to stand next to the Imperial Hotel.
The site once was the residence of Shimazu clan of Satsuma.
.jpg)
今は26階建ての商業ビルです。
It is now a tall commercial building.
.jpg)
さて、広重に戻りましょう。
濠もすっかり埋め立てられて、あたりは随分変わりました。
帝国ホテルの脇から日比谷公園のほうを見てみると、
Well, back to Hiroshige.
There is no moat any more, and the area looks completely different.
I stood beside the Imperial Hotel and looked west, toward the Hibiya Park.
.jpg)
日比谷花壇の白い建物の横に日比谷公園の入口があります。あのあたりが鍋島家の門あたりでしょうか？
Beside the white building, which is a prestigious flower shop Hibiya Kadan, I could see the entrance of the Hibiya Park. Could it be where the red gate of Nabeshima used to be?
というわけで、こんな感じでどうでしょう？
Well, I've decided this is it.
.jpg)
昔の面影はありませんね。
でも紅葉を楽しめた気持ちのいい散歩でした。(^_^)v
Well, they look very different.
But that's OK. It was a lovely autumn walk. (^_^)v
15 comments:
こんばんは。鍋島藩の屋敷が日比谷公園ですか。紅葉がとても綺麗ですね。
日比谷公園の心字池にアオサギが一羽いつも居ましたが今頃はどうしているかと気になりました。私も鹿鳴館跡の碑を見た時は感慨に耽りました。 霞が関の版画と一対になるそうですね。また勉強させていただきました。
ありがとうございます。
Minoru さま
アオサギですか？気が付きませんでした。いたのかな？
紅葉は本当にきれいで感激しました。
鹿鳴館は残っていてほしかったですね。
That was a very interesting lesson about kites! I never realized there were so many different kites, all used by different people.
Hanetsuki - is that what you buy at Tori-no-ichi festivals? I've often threatened to attend this festival (it was held recently), but it's always so crowded that I chicken (rooster?) out.
Hibiya Park is one of my favourites; partly because it's a beautiful park, partly because it's always hosting interesting events. Mostly, though, because of that magnificent tree! :)
Rurousha,
What you buy at Tori-no-ichi is Kumade. They are finely decorated bamboo rakes, that "rake in good fortune."
Hanetsuki is the name of the game, and the paddle is called Hagoita. It's confusing, but they also have Hagoita-ichi at Asakusa Senso-ji. This year, it will be held 17-19 this month.
But I have never been to either of the event. Me too, afraid of big crowds.
I learned about that tree at the Hibiya Park from you. It's amazing they moved the tree 450 meters. How could they??
びくっ! (>_<) Kumade and hagoita are completely different! You see? This is why I need Japanese teachers like you and Minoru-sensei.
OK. I've decided. I'm going to walk over to Sensō-ji on the 17th or the 18th. I'll go early, before the crowds arrive. Then I'll take pictures and write a story for both of us. How's that?
PS: I'd better research my facts before I write! (‘-’*)
Rurousha,
I have to confess, I didn't know very much about Tori-no-ichi, or Hagoita-ichi. Every year, I see them on the news on TV, but didn't pay much attention to them. I wasn't that interested in Japanese traditional things. Now that I'm into Edo things, I 'm learning little by little about our history.
Oh, would you go to Hagoita-ichi? And take photos and write about it? ＼(^o^)／
Thanks! I will be waiting!
PS: Don't chicken (rooster) out, girl! After all, it's Hagoita-ichi, not Tori-no-ichi!
Don't chicken out?! Yes, but ... "hagoita" is translated as "battledore" in English. Apparently it refers to a badminton racket, but I see the word "battle" and I think of fighting through those crowds and then all I can think about is 敵前逃亡! (@_@)
However! I will be prove to the world that confused aunties with cameras and map books can be brave! :D
Rurousha,
That's our girl! I will be waiting for your report, blood sweat and tears.
I am amazed at the similarities between the original and your final photo. Good job!
Those yellow, red, orange and green autumn colors are stunning.
It is interesting how the front of the daimyo estate looks like a red-cinnabar-painted Black Gate of Ueno.
I found a posed hanetsuki photo from the Meiji Period to show Rurousha.
Having stayed at neither I prefer the appearance of the Frank-Lloyd-Wright-designed Imperial Hotel which preceded the present hotel structure (by clicking on the “newer” button, top rightish, you can see some of the remains that reside at Meiji Mura in Aichi Prefecture).
Tall Gary,
Thank you very much for adding so much interesting information. You really are an expert!
Yes, Nabeshima clan's gate is very similar to Black Gate of Ueno! I'm surprised!
Hanetsuki photo is beautiful. But how did they capture the shuttle and the ball in the midair, I wonder? I hope Rurousha sees this.
I've read many times how beautiful the old Imperial Hotel was. I kind of knew about Meiji Mura,too, but didn't pay much attention. Now you made me want to go and see the remains of the old Imperial Hotel.
Thank you so much!
糸か針金かな。
(所で mote->moat.
mote = ちり
moat = 堀)
発音が正確に同じけど...)
You can delete this comment when you read it rather than posting it.
Tall Gary,
I'm posting it rather than deleting it.(^_^)
A computer can't check this kind of spelling mistake, can they? Thank you for pointing it out. ＼(^o^)／
As you know, we have so many of those in Japanese, too. For example, when I type "ひ”on my computer, it gives me choices 日、火、非、比、碑、費、秘、陽、妃、悲、and much much more!
Tall Gary, I saw that photo twice this morning: first at Wikipedia when I was researching hanetsuki for my post (which I've just published) and secondly when I came back to these comments to check my conversation with Merry Witch (which originally made me want to visit the market).
Anyway. My post is up. It was fun to go. Thanks, Merry Witch! ^^
Ryrousha,
Thank you! I've enjoyed your post very much! (^_^)v
Post a Comment