https://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.com/2019/03/okeya-bucket-maker.html okeya bucket maker
[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ] . Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction . :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
okeya 桶屋 bucket maker oke 桶 bucket, taru 樽 barrel (made from wood) They are used for many purposes.
In Edo, many worked in the Kyobashi 京橋 district and also in Okemachi.
酒樽屋 実は桶屋 - Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎
Buckets of all sizes were used for many activities in the lives of the Edo people. Most buckets were made from wood, with a more or less deep bottom.
They were used for washing robes or rice, keeping Tsukemono pickles, and
keeping cooked rice (
komebitsu 米櫃 rice stocker).
source : japan-design.imazy.net/jp/crafts/azmaya... - quote - ... traveling artisans ... to use wooden buckets and barrels to hold liquids. The boards of buckets and barrels are held together with cylindrical hoops, and when the hoops got old and broke or bent, a specialist artisan would repair them by binding them with new pieces of bamboo. These too could be efficiently repaired on the spot if one called a traveling artisan who carried materials and tools with him.
Furutaru-kai (Used-barrel Buyers) In the past, barrels were the most common containers for liquids, so the barrels would be owned by drinking establishments, or in the case of "uchitaru" (literally "home barrels"), they were owned by the person who bought them. However, there were some barrels where it wasn't clear who the owner was, and in that case, when the barrels were empty, they were no longer needed, and their ownership was in question.
here were special merchants who bought those old barrels, and there were specialty barrel wholesaler stores. There were even empty barrel wholesalers on the main streets in Nihonbashi, showing that it must have been a big business.
- reference source : edo-period-recycling - 
source : mirukikukaku/e 風が吹けば桶屋が儲かる
If the wind blows, the Okeya makes good money . . .
The humorous reason is a bit difficult to understand:
- quote - ①大風で土ぼこりが立つ If strong wind blows, there will be a lot of dust.
②土ぼこりが目に入って、盲人が増える If dust comes into the eyes, people will get blind,.
③盲人は三味線を買う（当時の盲人が就ける職に由来）Blind people buy Shamisen string instruments to make a living.
④三味線に使う猫皮が必要になり、ネコが殺される To make Shamisen, the skin of cats is used.
⑤ネコが減ればネズミが増える If there are fewer cats, there are more mice.
⑥ネズミは桶を囓る Mice will gnaw at the OKE barrels.
⑦桶の需要が増え桶屋が儲か Therefore the Okeya will have more work to do.
- reference : mirukikukaku/e- Well, he also made
kanoke 棺桶
coffins.
And if the wind blows, there will be a fire somewhere and then . . .
So he also made suitable buckets to carry water from the waterway.
Others specialized in buckets and barrels for bathing or keeping Sake.
According to its use, the thickness and type of the wood varied considerable. And buckets for liquids had to be especially tight. The wood was fastened with stripes of bamboo.
- quote Nakagawa Shuji: Oke Maker Shuji Nakagawa is a Japanese traditional craftsman of woodworks and a contemporary artist. He creates his works using a various woodwork techniques especially Japanese traditional wooden pail technique.
- source : handmade/shuji-nakagawa - source : www.kyotojournal.org . My entries with OKE . . shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan .
- - - - - Different types of OKE 
- source : kotobank.jp/word... - ..............................................................................................................................................
taru 樽 barrel
taru kai 樽買い / taruya 樽屋 buying barrels, making barrels
furudaru kai 古樽買い buying old barrels Barrels were used to keep all kinds of liquids. The most important was Sake 酒 rice wine.
Some homes had their own barrel for sake, 家樽. Some of these had no special owner or lost him, and were collected by a specialist, who brought them to the wholesaler of empty barrels, 空き樽専門問屋. Many of these wholesalers had their home at 日本橋の大通り Nihonbashi, so it seems it was a lucrative business.
This is one of the recycle businesses of Edo.
. My entries with taru 樽 . - quote - ... people usually used wooden tubs and barrels to store liquids. Wooden tubs and barrels were made of wooden slats fastened by bamboo hoops. When the hoops aged and broke or warped, the craftsmen fixed the tubs and barrels with new bamboo fasteners.
... the barrels used to store products of fermentation such as sake, soy sauce and miso were invariably made from cross-grained slats to prevent leaks, while tubs, such as those used for sushi (vinegared rice), were normally made of straight-grained slats to help absorb excess water. Both barrels and tubs are made in the same way, with a round base being slotted into a cylindrical arrangement of slats which is then held together tightly by hoops to prevent leakage of the contents.
The hoops used traditionally in Japan were made of woven bamboo strips, and so tended to stretch and loosen in time due to the constant strain and moisture to which they were exposed. These days, barrels with loose hoops would just be thrown out, but in the past there were specialized artisans (effectively a subset of coopers) who made a living from replacing old barrel hoops with new ones.
In the Edo period, there were merchants who specialized in the buying and selling of the masses of barrels circulating. In fact this was a major business at that time, and since the merchants would have bought barrels in various conditions of disrepair, I imagine that they would have employed fulltime coopers to carry out all the necessary refurbishing.
According to a historian' s survey, the sake barrels being shipped from the Osaka and Kyoto area were all of a certain size that was much larger than the size used in Edo, and so it seems likely that Edo barrel merchants also used coopers to dismantle such large barrels and turn them into the smaller size used in Edo.
- source : Eisuke Ishikawa : Sustainability in EDO - . Doing Business in Edo - 江戸の商売 . . okechoo, okemachi、桶町 Okecho, "Bucket district" in Edo . Many bucket makers lived in this area.
hibachi 火鉢 brazier
quote A cooper is a person trained to make wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs and other staved containers from timber that was usually heated or steamed to make it pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made wooden implements, such as rakes and wooden-bladed shovels.
In addition to wood, other materials, such as iron, were used in the manufacturing process.
source : wikipedia :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
- ABC - List of oke from the Prefectures ................................................................................ Akita 秋田県 
- quote - Akitasugi oke taru 秋田杉桶樽 Akita Cedar Cooperage Elements of tubs dating from the 15th and 16th centuries have been discovered at the former site of Akita castle. Records dating from the beginning of the 17th century kept by one of the old families of the Akita clan, make it clear that tubs were being used at a sake maker within the present-day district of Ogatsu-cho.
There are also 19th century examples of different types of barrels and tubs preserved by the Aoyagi family of another district, Kakunodate-cho. They have a coating of lacquer and both copper and bamboo bands were used, and the shapes are the ones which are followed today.
The wood from natural stands of local cedar has a fine straight grain and besides having a wonderful scent, it is not prone to distortion as the wood moves so little. The superb quality of the wood contributes to the warmth of this craft and brings both charm and a sense of quality to the lives of those that use these tubs and barrels. The scent of the wood is especially contributive to the value of such items as Japanese bath tubs, tubs for sushi, beer tankards, sake flasks, and rice tubs. Flower vases, too, benefit from the wood in a different way, as do candy tubs and umbrella stands.
- source : kougeihin.jp.e... - :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction . ................................................................................. Iwate 岩手県 岩手郡 Iwate district
yamanba 山婆
昔、山で竹を伐っていた桶屋が焚き火をしていると山姥があたりにきた。この山姥は桶屋の考えていることを逐一言い当てたが、何の気無しにあぶっていた竹がはじけて、山姥の方に火を飛ばした。山姥は人間は油断できないと言って、めったに近寄らなくなった。
................................................................................. Kyoto 京都府 京都市 Kyoto city
Hachibei 八兵衛，tanuki 狸 Tanuki named Hachibei at temple Kennin-Ji
建仁寺の八兵衛狸はよく人の下駄を片方だけ取った。蕎麦屋に沢山の注文を出して一晩溝の中をうろつかせたり、床屋の亭主が美しい娘と出会ってそれを狸だと見破り家に連れて帰ると竹箒に変わっていたりした。明治30年頃桶屋の主人が捕らえて加茂川に捨てたらしい。
................................................................................. Nagasaki 長崎県 赤毛の牡牛，狸
桶屋が夜遅く歩いていると、目の前から大きな物が向かってきた。提灯が消えたと思うと、目の前に赤毛の牡牛がいた。避けようとするが避けられず、桶屋があぐらをかいて座り「生あるものなら家に来い」というと、牛は消え、急に寒気が襲った。このあたりでは狸がいろいろな姿に化けて出るという。
................................................................................. Nara 奈良県 月ヶ瀬村
koyasu Jizoo 子安地蔵
桶屋の一行が地蔵の前を頭を下げて通ったところ、嫁が妊娠した。その後、乞食が地蔵のお堂で寝ていると、お坊さんが馬から下りてきて、田山で生まれたという子供の話をしていた。乞食が確かめに言ってみると、それは桶屋の家で、それからその地蔵は子安地蔵と呼ばれるようになった。
................................................................................. Niigata 新潟県 飯食わぬ女房
昔、桶屋が飯を食わない嫁がほしいと言っていると、その通りの女が嫁にしてくれとやってきた。桶屋はその女を女房にしたが、実は一表飯が頭の後ろにあいた口からぺろりと平らげる化け物であった。桶屋は女房を追い出し、持たせた大桶のなかに瓢箪と飯粒の中に針を通したものを仕掛けておいた。女の蛇で、もって帰ってきたものを子蛇に食わせ、自分も食べたが、針が仕掛けてあったので子蛇も親蛇もそれを食べて死んだ。
................................................................................. Okayama 岡山県 komebitsu 米櫃 - boorei 亡霊
南部の辺地を通行していると、海辺に米櫃や金銭が流されて来ているが誰も拾っていなかった。地元の人に聞けばそれは難破船から流出したものだから拾えば祟りがあるといった。
................................................................................. Saitama 埼玉県 所沢市 Tokorozawa city
fukunekozuka 福猫塚
昔、桶屋職人が猫を飼っていた。ある夜、その猫が猫踊りをしていたのを見て追い出した。猫はその後、和泉屋という料理屋に拾われた。そして街道を通る旅人に手招きをするようになった。これが評判になり、店も繁盛した。この猫は福猫と呼ばれ、死んでから塚に祀られた。
................................................................................. Shizuoka 静岡県 庵原郡 両河内村
komebitsu 米櫃 - and
. kudagitsune クダ狐 / 管狐 "Pipe-Fox" helper . ................................................................................. Tokushima 徳島県 yamachichi 山チチ
雪の朝、桶屋が仕事をしていると、一つ目一本足の山チチが現れた。山チチは桶屋の心を次々と言い当てていった。桶屋は恐怖のあまり、竹をはじき出すと、竹は不意に山チチの顔を打った。山チチは驚いて「思わぬことをするものじゃ」と言いつつ逃げ去ったという。
.......................................................................
美馬郡
山ちちは山から山へ飛んでくるくらい大きい。昔々、桶屋が仕事をしていると山ちちがやってきた。桶屋が竹を曲げるごとに竹の端が山ちちに当たる。それで山ちちは逃げてしまった。それから山ちちは桶屋を見るとどこまでも逃げたという。
................................................................................. Tottori 鳥取県 西伯郡 Saihaku district南部町
Goezo uma 五右衛蔵馬，Oonyuudoo 大入道
本山に仕事に来ていた馬場の桶屋が、長田神社の宵待ちだからと、脇差を借りて夜道を帰ると、大木屋と笹畑の間で白い馬に遭った。上から「五右衛蔵馬取れ、取れ」と声がする。見上げると大入道が岩に腰掛けていた。馬は脇差が怖くて襲えないというと、大入道は鍔先三寸に傷があるから大丈夫だという。桶屋が覚悟すると、馬場の長田神社に使わされた侍が二人来て助けられた。
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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース - :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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