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People from the Edo period walk around Nanba?
Readers may not be familiar with the word "Namba". Last year, at the request of the Chuo-ku Tourism Association, I had the experience of interpreting for foreigners who came to "Bon Odori" on Tsukuda Island during the old Bon Festival in August. I wrote that experience on my blog, and there is a theory that "Tsukuda no Odori" originated in Nanba dance. Nanba walking is the way people who lived in old Japan walk.
If you were nervous when you were in elementary school, have you ever waved your hands well and couldn't walk with your right hand and right foot, left hand and left foot together? Walking in Nanba is such a way of walking.
Let's first examine the actual situation of walking in Nanba with paintings such as ukiyo-e from the Edo period.
There is a "Nanban folding screen (important cultural property)" written by Kanouchi Zen brush as a picture of the Nanban people during the Momoyama period. The samurai also seem to be walking in Nanba. It is unknown whether this painting depicts the truth, but since some of these figures were seen, I guess he did this kind of depiction.
Is the "Otani Kiji" drawn by Sharaku walking around Nanba?
Let's take a look at one of the representative ukiyo-e paintings, "Edobei of Oniji Otani (2nd generation)" (Sharaku Toshusai, 1794). The feet are not depicted, but if you guess from the direction around the torso, the left foot will be a composition that appears forward, so there is no doubt that you are walking in Nanba (the left shoulder is facing forward and leaning forward) )
Do you have a chance to wear a yukata? There should be some people who are in trouble because they are on the go. Why did people wear kimonos that would collapse during the Edo period? In our everyday way of walking today, kimonos are immediately kicked in order to twist and walk around the waist. It would be tragic if the samurai were walking like a modern man. The sword inserted from the side will fall. Until the Edo period, it is probable that people walked around the waist so that they did not twist when walking. Specifically, I walk with a small stride, without shaking my arm. When you run, you can run your hand at the chest or at the base of your legs while fixing your skin kicking kimono, or run while holding your sword. Such a way of walking and running is common to Nanba in that it does not twist the circumference.
The samurai and townspeople of historical drama movies are walking the same way as we are now, but they cannot be said to represent them correctly in the Edo period. I didn't have any doubts about the movie scene.
How to wear clogs
Footwear has changed significantly since the Meiji era, just like kimonos. Clogs and sandals are represented as footwear until the Edo period, but there are no shoes equivalent to the heels (heels) that we are wearing today. Modern people walk from the heel to the floor, but until the Edo period, people used to be forefoot ground instead of heel grounding. (I remember that I was learning Japanese bow when I was a student, and I was walking on the archery ground with a foot. At that time, I didn't even know the word "Walking in Nanba" and no one told me.)
The reason why Japanese people walk on foot until the Edo period is that in Japan there is no need to ground heels because they walk at a small stride width due to the restrictions of kimonos, and by walking with a little heel, the whole legs play a spring role and are suitable for walking bad roads and slope ground. This is also a walk in Nanba. Despite being Japanese, I am not good at climbing slopes because I can't land forefoot, so I'm tired.
The "Nanba Run" is the "Running".
It is said that the distance that modern people can walk in a day is 30 to 40 km, but it is said that if you walk (run) by Nanba, you can run more than 100 km a day. Because it runs forward, the stride width is 20-30% wider and it is less tired than the way of walking by modern people who alternately shake hands, so it seems that you can earn this distance in this way. The flying legs naturally run "early" and "long distance" with Nanba running and deliver luggage. There is a record of about 490 km long highway connecting Edo Nihonbashi to Kyoto Sanjo Ohashi, the fastest 3 days, 72 hours! Of course, the relay method (in Ekiden) seems to have gone without a sleep.
The name of "Nanba" became widely known by the work of ancient martial arts researcher Yoshinori Kono, and became even more famous because it was adopted by Shingo Suetsuji on land.
Since the lifestyle of the Japanese people has changed compared to the Edo period, "Walking Nanba" has generally fallen. Since the body shape of the Japanese is changing, it is not possible to determine whether Nanba walking is suitable or modern way of walking is good, but for short legs and flat Japanese originally, it is good to review Nanba walking I think.
I also try to "Walking Nanba" aiming for when there are no people around when walking, but I'm not used to it.