Morisuna

• Other Names: 立砂 (tatesuna)
• Japanese: 盛砂 (morisuna)

Morisuna, also known as tatesuna, were small conical piles of sand placed in the Edo period to either side of the entrance of a lodgings, such as a honjin, when welcoming an elite guest. Along with a decorative broom and bucket (kazari hôki and kazari teoke) also placed near the entrance, these were meant as a sign of purity and cleanliness, and as a sign that preparations had been undertaken, and completed, to properly receive the elite visitor.

Those preparations included sprinkling sand (a practice called makisuna) onto the road surface as a final step after repairs, especially after it had rained. The remaining sand might have ended up in piles on the side of the road, an accidental practice which then developed into the symbolic ritual of placing piles of morisuna, as an indication that such preparations of repairs and cleanliness had been performed.

This ritual practice of placing morisuna emerged in the Muromachi period (or perhaps earlier) as a sign to passersby and residents of the town that an elite person was being welcomed or was in temporary residence; they also served for that elite visitor as a marker for the entryway of their lodgings. The practice of arranging morisuna fell out of practice at the most elite residences – such as the Jurakudai and Nijô castle – in the late 16th century, but it was taken up around that same time by commoners, becoming a standard practice at honjin in post-stations and port towns, and elsewhere.

References

• Kurushima Hiroshi, “Morisuna, makisuna, kazari teoke, hôki, kinsei ni okeru chisô no hitotsu toshite” 盛砂・蒔砂・飾り手桶・箒 : 近世における「馳走」の一つとして, Shigaku zasshi 95:8 (1986), 1347, 1355.