working notes:
Oharame (大原女 or おはらめ) are women from the village of Ohara near Kyoto, Japan who travelled into the city & nearby towns & villages, to sell agricultural products.
bundles of firewood, flowers, herbs, vegetables, etc.
known for balancing/carrying their wares on their head; particularly bundles of firewood, sometimes with other items on top.
they were mobile/door-to-door/home delivery
convenience for the urban dwellers, money for the country villageres, & potentially, a better living than staying at home.
young girls, older women, greater independence
particular style of traditional costume; refers back to awanonaishi, attendant of/to Kenreimon-in; last surviving member of the taira/heike clan of the imperial family, after the genpei war. smart, stylish & distinctive, but also practical/useful wear.
(was the last HeikeImperial survivor from the modest vessel carrying the emperor in the great naval battle of Dan-no-ura.[2])
popular subject/genre in japanese art; bijin-ga, showing 'working class country girls' i.e.: beuatiful women in a non-noble & non-geisha/courtesan role & context
term originates from girls of ohara village specifically, but can be applied to persons acting the part intraditional costume (oharame-like), or loosely applied to the occupation (mobile female 'farmer's market' vendors in general (in japan; regardless of whether from ohara village, or not).
still exists, as both traditional/tourism vendor-activity & costumes/costumed-play for cultural activities, & also as more modern 'farmer's market-type vendors/delivery'
'oharame matsuri' (ohara women's festival) (in ohara village?) & kyoto's jidai matsuri
female vendors of agricultural products from the village of Ohara, near Kyoto, Japan. Traditionally they were "country-girls", who travelled into the city, to sell the products of their farms
from ohara, or like the girls from ohara
firewood bundles, flowers, herbs, vegetables, etc..
They were known for balancing their goods, most typically bundles of firewood, upon their heads; this is a distinctive, but non-exclusive, identifier specific to Oharame.
Oharame are a familliar genre-character depicted in traditional Japanese art
The term Oharame has become somewhat bifurcated in meaning; it can refer to modern-day females from Ohara, who market agricultural products using modern methods & wearing modern styles of clothing, as well as to the
Japanese traditional culture,
for what was originally a subsistence-level economic activity; providing essential income for the vendors, and a useful and convenient form of marketing for the city-dwellers.
Kenreimon-in is perhaps the most tragic figure of the Heike Monogatari. She was daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, the wife of Emperor Takakura, and mother of Emperor Antoku. She spent most of her life praying to Buddha for the repose of her son, and the Heike family, which had collapsed in Dannoura after losing to the Genji family in the Genpei War. In a space of five years she was widowed, watched her father die of sickness (which changed the Taira family's fortunes at a pivotal time) and saw the death of her son, thrown into the ocean in his grandmother's arms. But Kenreimon-in survived these turbulent times. Some say she was pulled from her death, dragged from the water by her hair. Whether or not the stories are true, by the time the long journey back to the capital was over, she had nothing else to lose.
Jakko-in is a small convent of the Tendai Sect, founded in 594 by Prince Shotoku for the repose of his father, Emperor Yomei. The young prince carved the Jizo bodhisattva statue that sat in the temple for a thousand years until someone decided to burn the precinct to the ground for fun in 2000. What remains of the statue is kept hidden away and the tiny main hall has been completely reconstructed. The Himekomatsu pine reaches above Shinji-ike Pond in the small garden before the temple. The tree is famous for being mentioned in the account of the Imperial visit to Ohara in the Tale of the Heike. In that episodeKenreimon-in, after picking flowers on Mt. Suitai (opposite the main hall), met her foster father, ex-Emperor Goshirakawa, in 1186. She comments on how fragile this world is, life snuffed out in a second. The blossoms in Spring hint at the impermenance of all life. And how apt that the tree's life was so quickly erased by the single actions of a foolish man. A thousand years of history torched in a single night. It makes me so angry. After a few years the harsh Winters will age the wood and it will be as if nothing was changed, minus the plum tree and overly gaudy inside. The Namban iron lantern, sitting before the main hall's verandah, and once hanging in the garden at Momyama Castle, was contributed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It alone survived unscathed.
The first head priestess of the temple was Tamateru-hime, Prince Shotoku's wet nurse and one of the first three nuns in Japanese history. She became a nun in 548 and called herself Priestess Keizen. Since her time, the temple has chosen nuns from noble families as head priestesses.
Awano-Naishi (Fujiwarano Shinzei's daughter) succeeded Keizen as second head priestess. She was an attendant at court and was favoured by Emperor Sutoku. She became a nun and entered the temple in 1165. She was called Priestess Shodo. At the imperial court, she served Kenreimon-in. She is said to be the model for the Oharame, female peddlars who once carried flowers on their heads to sell in the streets of Kyoto.
Kenreimon-in Tokuko followed the Priestess Shodo as the third head priestess. She entered the temple in September 1185 and was called Priestess Shinnyo-do. She spent the rest of her life praying to Buddha for the repose of her son, Emperor Antokuand the Heike family. Kenreimon-in's resting place lies adjacent to the temple, up a steep slope of cobbled steps, peaceful and beautiful.
Great story
