Hello. I am a staff member who used to work at the call center at the kimono rental company VASARA. Whenever I give directions in Kyoto, I always wonder how to read the names of places. This is a column introducing Kyoto's place names, looking for difficult and interesting place names in Kyoto, so that people can become more familiar with Kyoto and use them when they travel. The place I would like to introduce this time is "Katabira no Tsuji".

 

●Why does Kyoto have so many difficult-to-read place names?

Kyoto has many difficult-to-read place names. It is said that many of these names have arisen over the course of its long history of more than 1,200 years, with ancient pronunciations being adapted to modern pronunciations, or being named after events or people related to the place.

 

●I couldn't read it. Katabiranotsuji

I got a call from someone who wanted to go to Arashiyama, and when I looked into it, I noticed that there were a lot of unique station names on the Keifuku Electric Railroad (commonly known as Arashiyama Line), so I looked into it, and the first one that caught my eye was "Katabiranotsuji." At first, I called it "Chigonotsuji," but I remember being surprised to find that it was pronounced completely differently. The name of this place is pronounced "Katabiranotsuji," so I wonder if there is some connection to Katabira in this place.

 

The origin of Katabiranotsuji

"Kibara" is a single layer of kimono worn in the summer, made of fabric woven from silk or linen thread. Why did this place have such a unique name? Its origins can be traced back to an ancient time, dating back to the beginning of the Heian period.

Empress Danrin, who was the wife of Emperor Saga, was a compassionate woman with deep devotion to Buddhism. She was also a very beautiful woman. Because of this, many men longed for her despite her status as empress, and even young monks in training longed for her. The empress lamented this situation and thought she would show people the truth of the impermanence of all things that Buddhism preaches, and bring back the practice of butchering. She then left a will that when she died, her body should not be buried, but should be thrown away at a crossroads somewhere.

When the Empress died, her body was dumped at a crossroads, as per her will. As the days passed, it rotted and was eaten by wild animals and crows, leaving a pitiful sight, and eventually she was reduced to a skeleton. It is said that seeing her like that, people realized the impermanence of the world. So the place where her body was dumped came to be called "Kaburagi-no-Tsuji" (Wavelet-Tsuji) after the Empress's shroud. There is also a theory that this is because the shroud covering the coffin was blown away by the wind and fell to this place during the Empress's funeral.

It had a very sad origin.

 

This area was famous for sericulture.

Near Katabiranotsuji there is another difficult to read place name, Uzumasa (or Uzumasa), and the Sanyo Shrine there enshrines the god of silkworms. Uzumasa was developed by the Hata clan, who brought various technologies from the continent. Sericulture was one of these, and it is said that silk threads harvested at Katabiranotsuji were taken to make yukata bibira. In other words, this area can be said to be an industrial complex for the silk industry in Heian-kyo. The Sanyo Shrine was built in honor of this, and has long been worshiped by sericulture machinery entrepreneurs and silk reelers. The name also has a meaning of kabira (robe), so perhaps this was the origin of the place name.

 

Summary

What did you think? This time we introduced Katabiranotsuji, a place that is difficult to read and has a sad anecdote. I didn't expect to find a story related to kimonos, so it's good to be curious about the details and look into them. The previously mentioned Yosan Shrine is also famous as a power spot, so if you go to Arashiyama, why not try wearing a kimono and stretch your legs? There are many other interesting place names in Kyoto, as well as scary names that sound scary when you know their origins. Be sure to visit them when you're sightseeing. If you use the kimono rental service VASARA, you can easily experience sightseeing in a kimono. We look forward to seeing you.

 

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