Fantastic Stories of Kanji (城 2　shiro/castle. Also pronounced as “jou”) 

How have you been recently?

Here in Japan, spring has come. You can see the cherry blossoms(Sakura), and when the cherry blossoms start to bloom is when all things start in Japan.

Gill has been singing Sakura as follows.

“SAKURA. SAKURA “ Now they are blooming all round.

Even though they know that they are  coming to the end.

 Say goodbye all my friends, and I  see you once again

I promise you that you will always be in my heart…”

Well, last time I wrote about the relation of the castle in Osaka and the Schloss Eggenberg castle, in Austria. And I explained about the existence at that time of a gold-built bridge near the ancient Osaka castle called the “Gokuraku-Bashi” it happens to be drawn in the Zubyoubu (Paravent exposed in the Schloss Eggenberg castle) and It was also mentioned by a missionary as well as a Buddhist priest.

A portuguese missionary Luis Frois wrote in a letter from Japan saying that Hideyoshi constructed Gokuraku-Bashi in 1596. According to a diary of the priest, the bridge was taken to Toyokunibyou (Toyokuni mausoleum). Gokuraku-Bashi was moved to Kyoto and became a big gate.

Further more, a diary of a priest of the mausoleum refers to a building called Gokurakumon.

It said that the dismantling of the gate had started in 1602, and donated to Chikubujima island(The Lake Biwa). This has led to speculate that Gokuraku-Bashi was turned into a gate and moved to Chikubujima.

(Karamon gate which is the entrance of Gokuraku bashi)

Two years after Hideyoshi’s death, his forces were defeated by the forces of Ieyasu Tokugawa at one of the greatest battles in Japan history.Tokugawa troops came down from Edo, attacked and destroyed Osaka castle and its surroundings.

Even though the old city has been collapsed, we can see the remains around Osaka castle in the Zubyoubu, In Schloss Eggenberg castle in Austria. Fantastic!

Let’s review Kanji in this topic.

城(shiro/jou) castle　   大阪城（Oosaka jou）

橋(hashi/bashi)bridge  ごくらく橋(Gokuraku bashi)

島(shima/jima)island   竹生島(chikubujima)

門(mon)gate          唐門(kara mon)

桜(sakura)cherry blossom

Fantastic stories of Kangi(城 1 shiro castle)

Fantastic Stories of Kanji (城 1　shiro/castle. Also pronounced as “jou”)

Fabulosas Historias de Kanji. Versión en Español abajo.

 

How have you been recently?  Here in Japan, the colorful leaves of autumn are soon going to fade away.

Today I would like to write about the relation of the castle in Osaka and Schloss Eggenberg castle, in Austria. Who would have imagined that the two castles had any kind of relation?

After Tokugawa Ieyasu destroyed the Osaka castle and its surroundings in the early 17^th century, there is very few historic data left about this time. Nevertheless, a masterpiece called Osaka-Zubyoubu around 1607~1614 as a witness of the past. It originally was an eight-panel standard folding screen sized 180cm X 480cm. It represents the magnificent ancient Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s castle before the destruction and the life of a flourishing town full of merchants, as you can see in the photo.

The Zubyoubu was long given up as lost, but in 2000 a restoration art work started in the Schloss Eggenberg castle. Somehow this 400 years old folding screen ended up disassembled into 8 separated panels and embedded in the wall at the “Japanese Cabinet” of the Schloss Eggenberg castle. The restoration work led into a research that took several years, and we know now that the Zubyoubu was transported by a dutch trader company to Austria between 1660 and 1680.

And there is more, in 1945, the Soviet army took over the Eggernberg castle and many precious art works were lost. However, the folding screen was by then part of a wall, probably because of the difficulty of handling it, luckily it survived.

The existence at that time of a gold-built bridge near the ancient Osaka castle called the “Gokuraku-Bashi” was mentioned by a missionary as well as a Buddhist priest, and it happens to be drawn in the Zubyoubu! But this is going to be the subject of the next blog, so, to be continued…

Osaka-zubyoubu                                              Pictures by Wiki Media　　

In Eggenberg Castle   Osaka castle (After a fire, It was rebuilt again in the Edo period)

Let’s study kanji of 土hen.

土　tsuchi/do   soil      土曜日（doyoubi/Saturday）

城　shiroo/jou  castle　　大阪城 (Osakajou/ Osaka castle)

場　ba/jou     place     場所   (basho/place)　

Hola !  Aquí en Japón, los colores del otoño comienza ya a palidecer. Hoy quiero contarles una fabulosa historia que une el castillo de Osaka y el castillo de Schloss Eggenberg de Austria.  Quién lo hubiera imaginado ?

Luego que Tokugawa Ieyasu hubo destruido el castillo de Osaka y la ciudad que lo rodeaba a principios del siglo 17, muy poca información histórica queda de la vida de aquella época. Sin embargo, una obra maestra llamada Osaka-Zubyoubu, fue creada entre los años 1607 y 1614. Esta magnífica obra de arte, fue originalmente un biomo tradicional de 8 paneles de 180X480cms. Como un testigo del pasado, él representa el antiguo gran castillo de Osaka de Toyotomi Hideyoshi (el actual castillo de Osaka es una reconstrucción) antes de su destrucción y la activa ciudad de comerciantes de la época. Vean la foto.

El Zubyoubu se creyó durante siglos perdido, pero en el año 2000 un trabajo de restauración comenzó en el castillo de Schloss Eggenberg. De alguna manera, éste biombo de cuatro siglos se encontró dividido en 8 paneles y adherido a la pared de una de las salas del castillo, el « Japanese Cabinet ». La restauración llevó a un exhaustivo trabajo de investigación del origen del biombo y ahora se sabe que fue llevado de Japón a Austria por una compañía comercial holandesa entre los años 1660 y 1680.

Aún hay más, en 1945, cuando el ejército soviético tomó el castillo de Schloss Eggenberg, muchas  obras de arte precioas desaparecieron, pero no el Zubyoubu, probablemente por la dificultad de transportarlo, y afortunadamente, sobrevivió.

Tanto entre las cartas de un misionario como en el diario de un antiguo monje budista, se menciona la existencia de un magnífico puente de oro ubicado cerca del antiguo castillo de Osaka, el « Gokuraku-Bashi » y resulta que este puente está representado dentro del  Zubyoubu ! pero éste va a ser el tema del próximo blog, continuará…

Osaka-Zubyoubu                                             Fotos de Wiki Media　　

Castillo de Eggenberg    Actual Castillo Osaka (fue recontruido durante el period de Edo)

Estudiemos el kanji de 土hen.

土　tsuchi/do    suelo     土曜日（doyoubi/Sábado）

城　shiro/jou   castillo　　大阪城 (Osakajou/ Castillo de Osaka)

場　ba/jou       lugar     場所   (basho/lugar)