Anou - Anou

Japanese: 穴生 - あのう

Ishiku (stonemasons) who lived in Anao (also written as Anao; currently located in Otsu City) in Shiga County, Omi Province. They were also called the Anao-shu. They excelled in the techniques of building stone walls for castles, and were active in the construction of stone walls for Azuchi Castle, Nagoya Castle, Sunpu Castle, Edo Castle, and other castles. The earliest record of Anao serving Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hidetsugu is in the Komai Diary (1560). The Tonami family, a branch of Anao, began serving the Hosokawa family in Kumamoto as gidayu (masterless samurai) in 1624 (Kan'ei 1), and went on to serve the domains of Kaga, Tsuyama, and Fukuoka, so it can be assumed that Anao's techniques spread throughout the country.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

近江国滋賀郡穴太(穴生とも書く。現，大津市内)に住んだ石工（いしく）。穴生衆ともいう。城の石垣を築く技術に優れ，安土城，名古屋城，駿府城，江戸城などの石垣造営に活躍した。《駒井日記》(1560)に豊臣秀吉･秀次に仕える穴生について記されているのが早い記録である。穴生の一族である戸波家は，1624年(寛永1)に熊本の細川家に儀大夫が仕えたのをはじめ，加賀，津山，福岡の諸藩に仕えており，穴生の技術が諸国に広まったことが推測されよう。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Ano [town] - Ano

>>: Anoa - Anoa (English spelling)