Riverside crafts - Kawarazaiku

...During the Edo period, craftsmen who made weapons, horse equipment, fine furnishings, and tools were generally called saiku, and the Edo Shogunate also had saikujo (craftsmen's workshops) belonging to the young councilors, and appointed officials such as saiku-cho (head of the craftsmen's workshops), saiku-kata-kan-yaku (inspector of the craftsmen's workshops), and saikujo-gumi-cho (head of the craftsmen's workshops) to make these things. On the other hand, during the Nanboku-cho period, kawara-saiku (craftsmen who worked on riverside sandals) appeared, who worked on sandals for the Gion Shrine and sometimes processed the heads of executed people (Yasaka Shrine Records). These people, sometimes called shijo-kawara-saiku-maru (craftsmen who worked on riverside sandals) or simply saiku-maru (craftsmen who worked on riverside sandals), overlapped with the kawara-mono (craftsmen who worked on riverside sandals). ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "kawara crafts" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…江戸時代にかけて，武具や馬具，細かい調度，道具を作る職人がふつう細工とよばれ，江戸幕府も若年寄に属する細工所をもち，細工頭，細工方改役，細工所組頭などの役職を置き，こうしたものを細工に製作させた。　一方，南北朝期に入ると，〈裏無〉(草履)を所役(所)として祇園社に属し，ときに処刑された人の首を処理する〈河原細工〉が現れる(《八坂神社記録》)。〈四条河原細工丸〉あるいは単に〈細工丸〉といわれることのあったこれらの人々は，河原者とも重なっていた。…

※「河原細工」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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