folk Kabuki and festivals.
Among friends who have been helpful, I am especially indebted to Amy Katoh and Judith H. Forrest for their consistent and warm support; to Jennie Hutchings and Peggy Stauffer for their help in preparing the manuscript; to Nasreen Askari for her editing assistance; and to Joanne Madden, Gloria Russel, Lois Meredith, Teresa Lam, Margaret LaRue, Judy Doherty, Mary Sharp, Sue O’Flynn, and Carol Thurston, all of whom gave of their time and energy, in rain or shine, to test the walking directions.
Special thanks also go to the city of Chichibu and its mayor, Zenichi Uchida, for underwriting part of the publication costs of this book; to Mamoru Arai and Susumu Konishi of Kokusai Bunken Insatsu Company for their assistance in producing the maps; and to the staff of the Charles E. Tuttle Company for their expert editing, design, and production work.
And, finally, I would like to express my indebtedness to the unheralded authors of the several Japanese books on Chichibu that I made use of in my research.
—Sumiko Enbutsu
INTRODUCING CHICHIBU
Note: Macrons are used in the text to indicate the long vowel in Japanese words, except in those words familiar to Westerners (Tokyo, etc.). Names of Japanese active before the Meiji Restoration (1868), and Kabuki performing names follow the traditional order, surname first; others follow the Western order.
TREASURE HOUSE OF JAPANESE TRADITION
If one stands on a high spot in Tokyo on a clear day and looks to the northwest, a mountain range is visible in the distance, between the cluster of skyscrapers in West Shinjuku and the soaring tower of Sunshine City. Often during winter sunsets, the undulating mountains are silhouetted against a bright glow in the western sky. In about the middle of that range is Chichibu. Before tall buildings and smog obscured the view, the mountains were much more easily visible from Tokyo, and the citizens of Edo, as Tokyo was then called, were attracted by the wonders of nature they found there. Among those who cherished the region was the athletic brother of the Emperor Showa, who in 1922 took the title of Prince Chichibu, for the first time using a place name of northern Japan in a royal title.
Chichibu is actually a basin encircled by mountains. Now part of Saitama Prefecture, it comprises the city (shi) of Chichibu, the five towns (machi) of Ogano, Yoshida, Minano, Nagatoro, and Yokoze, and the four villages (mura) of Arakawa, Ōtaki, Ryōkami, and Higashi Chichibu. The surrounding mountains are not very high, the tallest peaks at the western and southern borders of the basin rising from 1,000 to 2,500 meters above sea level. They are, however, quite steep, and the fast-running rivers have cut deep valleys into them. Most of the small mountain streams flow into the main channel of the Arakawa, a river that flows diagonally across the basin and gushes out through the spectacular gorge of Nagatoro in the northeast. The Sumida river, which bisects Tokyo’s old downtown district, is a tributary of the Arakawa.
The mountains have always protected Chichibu, from military invasion in feudal times and from large-scale industrialization over the past several decades. Its relative isolation has helped preserve a rich legacy of folklore and traditions. Although little known to the general public, Japanese or foreigners, Chichibu is recognized as a treasure house by folklorists and anthropologists. There one can still see, for example, an old woodcutter who, before cutting a tree, prays to the god of the mountain for permission to take something from the deity’s domain. Shrines and temples dedicated to deities of Buddhism, Shinto, and folk belief dot the landscape, and traditional festivals are numerous.
No one really knows how many large and small annual events take place in the basin. Although the great majority are simple affairs, they nonetheless impress onlookers with the obvious sincerity and zeal with which they are celebrated. Many ritual acts and performances are employed to gain the favor of, and show respect to, various deities, among them shishimai (lion dances), kagura (shinto dances), folk Kabuki, and old-fashioned puppet shows. These may be performed in wooded temple precincts, on stages at Shinto shrines, or on festival floats. Though urbanization is eroding local traditions to some extent, almost everyone in Chichibu is able to dance, sing, act, or play a drum or flute. Traditional Japanese celebrations are often difficult to find and observe, particularly for non-Japanese tourists; thus, some time spent in Chichibu, only ninety minutes from downtown Tokyo, is a convenient way to touch the heart of old Japan. For those wishing to observe or participate, Part Two, Festivals, describes one important festival or event for each month of the year, while the Schedule of Festivals lists over 125 others.
Chichibu is also the setting of an important religious pilgrimage. The course comprises thirty-four temples dedicated to Kannon, who, together with Jizō, is one of the most popular Buddhist deities in Japan. Worship of Kannon, regarded as infinitely merciful and concerned with the welfare of all sentient beings, was popular in eleventh-century Kyoto and became widespread throughout Japan by the eighteenth century. Three important courses of pilgrimage to Kannon temples survive, one centered around Kyoto, another around Kamakura, and the most manageable of the three, in the Chichibu basin. Owing much to the voluntary efforts of citizens to keep it alive, the Chichibu course continues to attract dedicated pilgrims, as well as avid hikers. For those wishing to follow all or part of the course, Part One, Pilgrimage, outlines six itineraries encompassing all thirty-four temples.
Topography has clearly influenced the pattern of life in the Chichibu basin. Archaeological remains at approximately 160 sites indicate that the natural protection provided by the basin encouraged settlements in the upstream areas as early as Japan’s neolithic Jōmon period (ca. 10,000 B.C. to ca. 300 B.C.). By contrast, the far fewer (approximately twenty) relic sites from the Yayoi period (ca. 300 B.C to ca. A.D. 300) indicate that the soil was not suitable for rice cultivation and could not support such a thriving population.
Indigenous inhabitants of Chichibu basin were presumably bound together by the worship of a prominent mountain, now called Mt. Bukō, which stands out at the southern border of the basin. The very first record of the name Chichibu appears in the Kujiki, a late eighth-century historical text. It describes the legendary appointment of 137 governors to provinces ruled by Emperor Sujin from Yamato, near present-day Nara, including a special commission given to the governor of Chichibu. The unique order, brusquely written in four characters, states: “Worship the Great God.” Though scholars debate the historicity of material in the Kujiki, the fact remains that only Chichibu is mentioned in this highly religious context, suggesting that more than a thousand years ago the area already had some mystical significance. The “Great God” is generally interpreted as the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu, mythological founder of the Japanese imperial line.
In 708, copper was discovered in the Chichibu basin and was presented as an offering to Emperor Genmei in Nara. The emperor commemorated this tribute by changing the name of the year to Wado, meaning “Japanese copper,” and having coins minted.
In the ninth and tenth centuries, Chichibu and its neighboring areas were close to the northern limit of political control exercised by the central government at Kyoto. Used as grazing land for horses of the imperial guard, they were administered by court officials. Concurrent with a gradual decline of the power of the aristocracy in Kyoto, the descendants of these administrative officials became powerfully armed and organized mounted warriors. In Chichibu, there were two major military clans, the Tans and the Chichibus. As were other clans in and outside Chichibu, they were actively engaged in the development of farmland, adding the newly developed estates to their private domains. Thus provided with both military and economic resources, they became independent from Kyoto.
While the Tans continued to live in the area, the Chichibus
