History-backed real power displayed in summer lantern festival by southwestern Japan town

Jujy 27, 2014

History-backed real power displayed in summer lantern festival by southwestern Japan town

Hita, a land-locked town in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, southwestern Japan, sees its population continuously decline, as is the case with many other local cities in Japan, but its residents are proud that the region used to be a domain directly controlled by the Tokugawa shogunate government for over 200 years from the 17th century.

Hita's real tradition-based strength is displayed in a summer festival in which gorgeously decorated tall floats lit by many lanterns slowly progress on the city’s main streets.

The 300-year-old Hita Gion Festival is performed as an evil-dispelling rite dedicated to three shrines in the central part of the city for three days in late July. As dusk falls over the area, four “Yamahoko” floats, decorated with dolls of legendary figures, gathered at a square in the Mameda district and went in procession before thousands of spectators. As many floats left the Kuma-Taketa district for a tour on a different course.

The floats, 6 to 8 meters high and 3 to 5 tons in weight, were pushed by dozens of young men from behind with a few steersmen in front.

The performance by the teams from the Mameda district culminated when their Yamahoko floats ran up a slope toward a bridge at the end of Uwamachi Street one by one. Music played by their bands on board went into full swing.

Mameda Yasaka Shrine is located on a corner of the Mameda district, the most attractive tourist spot in Hita City, which has a population of about 70,000 at present. An old shrine keeper received worshipers while holding a time-honored lion mask said to be a shrine treasure. “Please come on and have your head bit with the lion’s mouth, and you will be protected from evil,” he said. “This mask has to bite the visitor’s head twice. When a thousand people come, I have to do it two thousand times. That’s a really tough job for an old guy like me,” he said happily.

A shop was set up in front of a different shrine at Nakajo within the Mameda district to sell miniature charms to spectators. “This charm can keep evil spirits away for you,” said a shopkeeper, who was in his 70s. A girl and a few women were seen buying four or five “paipai” charms of small paper flowers. “You can place them not just at the entrance of your house but also put them to your car or at your kitchen,” he said.

The festival was designated as a national folk cultural asset in 1996. Most Yamahoko decorations are newly built every year, but "Miokuri" embroidered drop curtains for some floats are more than 100 to 150 years old. The number of centuries-old cultural assets is expected to boost Hita people's spirits and enrich the town's atmosphere further.

Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, gives glimpses of diverse, aboriginal spots to visitors

June 29, 2014

Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, gives glimpses of diverse, aboriginal spots to visitors

About 80 pct of the names of towns and villages in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, are said to be traceable to the language spoken by Ainu, an aboriginal tribe. Sapporo, the name of the most populous city in Hokkaido, means a “dry, big river” in the Ainu. Tourists to Hokkaido, particularly the eastern part of the landmass, can have glimpses of not only many scenic natural spots but also sites linked to the Ainu tribe.

People in Ainu-related areas are even more enthusiastic than before to attract tourists as the “irankarapte” hospitality campaign was launched jointly by various local organizations, public and private, in 2013. Irankarapte represents “hello” in the Ainu, but it is a slightly formal word of greeting toward visitors from distant places.

The 71,100-hectare Shiretoko natural park lies in the northeastern tip of Hokkaido. Shiretoko, which means “a remotest land” in the Ainu, is actually a peninsula jetting into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is one of the four UNESCO-registered World Natural Heritages in Japan, but it is the sole asset which reminds visitors of the importance of diverse, aboriginal values in Japan, the largely unitary country. Hokkaido is also proud of classic Ainu dancing, which was registered as a UNESCO intangible cultural asset in 2009, four years after Shiretoko became the World Heritage.
Tourists can see a show of Ainu dancing, including the “horippa” circle dance, at a theater built in an Ainu community by Lake Akan. The show is performed by those who are clad in ethnic costumes with Ainu patterns. Items and animals that give blessings of the nature or cannot be lacked for life have been respected by Ainu people as gods, among them bears, owls, salmon and fire. They call their gods as “kamuy.”

The “Kamuy Wakka (god water) Falls" are one of the most attractive spots on a tourist cruise from Utoro Port along the northern coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula. The falls are located beneath a steep cliff and flow directly down into the sea.

The cruising ship service starts from a different port during the winter season because Utoro is then closed with thick ices flowing from the north. The 491-gross-ton Aurora II brings passengers to waters off Cape Shiretoko on the tip of the peninsula on a once-a-day 3-hour-and-45-minute cruising from Utoro. "Sometimes, we can have a distant view of the landscape around the tip into the other side of the peninsula, but the area is usually filled with fogs," a sailor said.
The scenic, wild environment of Shiretoko, coupled with the traditional Ainu dancing, is expected to give further chances for visitors to think about the importance of preserving the precious ecological system and diverse cultural assets for the future generation.

Flower gardens at Kyushu brewery entertain visitors every spring and autumn

May 28, 2014

Flower gardens at Kyushu brewery entaintain visitors every spring and autumn

A beer brewery in Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, southwestern Japan, has a 70,000-square-meter farmland, which turns into flower gardens with quite different tastes every spring and autumn. The land, to be covered with 10 million red and pink poppies in May and white and light purple cosmos from October to November, attracts tens of thousands of people from neighboring regions every time.

The Kirin Brewery Co. plant was opened at the site formerly occupied by an airfield for the defunct Imperial Japanese Army before the last war, then said to be the largest one in Asia, in 1966. The plant was built there not just because vast land lots had been available but also because pure river and underground water can be obtained nearby.

The poppy and cosmos garden fairs, launched a few years after the opening of the brewery, were expanded year after year. The events have now become so famous that traffic jams usually occur on roads to the plant every weekend while they are under way. A free shuttle bus service is available to carry visitors from the nearest railway station to the brewery in about 10 minutes.

This year’s Poppy Festival started on May 10 for a three-week run. Visitors stroll in the poppy fields and enjoy shopping and eating with booths set up by local food and farm product vendors..

“They (the poppies) were in full bloom around the middle of this month, “ said a person at the information. “Some flowers then fell in rains, but they should be still attractive toward the month’s end　this year,” she said. Careful visitors may also find double-petaled poppies.

The flower gardens lie right in front of the main gate to the brewery compound. After enjoying the flowers, registered visitors can take part in guided tours of beer brewing lines at the plant and try various beer brands free of charge.

The flower garden events are part of Kirin’s value-sharing social activities as a corporate citizen. But they have also become a precious tourist asset for the agriculure-oriented local economy. The events are expected to be even more popular as Japan is becoming aware of the importance of environmentally friendly green tourism.

Mt. Yufu, a locally loved volcano, pleasing climbers, tourists from at home and abroad

April 28, 2014

Mt. Yufu, a locally loved volcano, pleasing climbers, tourists from at home and abroad

Mt. Fuji, the world famous volcano 3,776 meters high, is Japan’s symbol, but there are 100 or so “furusato (home town) Fuji mountains” long cherished by local people of each region across Japan. Mt. Yufu, located in the western part of Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, is one of these mountains.

Mt. Yufu is dubbed “Bungo Fuji.” Bungo is the old name of Oita. The beautifully shaped dead volcano is an isolated peak with its hems extended around. Mt. Yufu is “a nice mountain to climb and to view,“ a guidebook says.

On a journey with my newly married wife left at home. Over there is Mt. Yufu looking like a young girl’s plaited hair hanging about her shoulders.

Clouds! Please do not linger on around so I may have a distant view of our home.

(A personal translation)

This is a waka poem included in Japan’s oldest waka anthology Manyoshu, which was compiled in the eighth century. The poem, composed by an unknown author, plays on words. The name of Mt. Yufu, “Yufu-no-yama” or “Yuu-no-yama” in Japanese, resembles the word “Yuu” (to be pronounced “yuh-uh), the verb which can be used to mean, for example, tying one’s sash or dressing one’s hair. This makes the reader imagine a scene where the husband helps tie his wife’s sash or dress her hair.

Grassy land spreads around the foot of the mountain, but as the climber goes up toward the top, Mt. Yufu shows its hard landscape. The mountain has two peaks. The east peak is 1,580 meters and the west peak is 1,584 meters high. The east peak is easier to climb, but both peaks stand on ledges.

Beneath the two peaks is the Matae junction. Well experienced people climb up a rocky path with ropes hung in places toward the west peak, while other people try to reach the east peak.

Climbers have to go through hard paths from three different fronts, but they can have a relaxing look at small wild flowers here and there beside the trails.

There are few tall trees and deep woods on the way up the mountain. So, the mountain commands a good view of Yufuin, a popular hot spring resort. After climbing down the mountain, people can have a bath to get over their fatigue with daytime spa services available at hotels down there.

In recent years, Mt. Yufu attracts an increasingly number of foreigners, because Yufuin Spa is included in courses for tourists from other countries. The mountain is expected to be further loved by local people as their spiritual symbol, but its many faceted nature should become an attractive spot for foreigners, too.

 

Large collection of rare camellias, local legend boost rural town in southwestern Japan

March 27, 2014

Large collection of rare camellias, local legend boost rural town in southwestern Japan

Flowering cherry trees have begun to bloom in many parts of Japan, but residents of Kusano Town of Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, are busy receiving people coming to see and enjoy various rare camellias grown in the area.

Kusano used to be a castle town, but it is now a largely rural area. The town organizes week-long events at the start of the camellia season in mid-March every year, but the area was even more excited this year, because a new facility has been built in a 220-million-yen project to better illustrate the charm of camellias. Built at a 2,400-square-meter site, the facility features a tall glass house which displays more than 100 original camellias collected from around Japan and from tropical and subtropical regions, including Vietnam and southern China. An adjacent garden has 160 cultivar camellia of 50 species planned along a promenade.

The facility, called the World Camellia Hall, leads visitors to a much broader garden via a lane lined by young camellia trees. The garden has 2,000 camellias of 500 cultivars, including those grown and developed in Western countries.

The garden, with an area of 3 hectares, was originally a mother tree nursery opened in the Meiji era. The camellias planned in the garden include “Kurume Camellias,” the locally developed camellias. The most famous of them is the “Masayoshi” camellia, which has big, mottled red petals. Local people boast of the camellia because its saplings were carried to Europe by a German physician and naturalist in 1830 and the species became known there in the name of “Donckelaeri.”

Guided tours were also organized for visitors to show them camellia gardens preserved at local people's homes, including those which have 150 to 300-year-old Masayoshi camellia trees.

Kusano and other districts of Kurume City, lying on the northern slope of the Minoh Mountains, have been known as a major production center of garden plants, including not only camellias but also azaleas and rhododendrons, over the years. An episode which links Kurume to camellias goes back to a sea battle between the two warring samurai clans of the Genji and the Heishi in 1185.

As the Heishi clan was finally defeated in the battle, Emperor Antoku, hailing from the Heishi family, who was then 5 years old, is said to have drowned himself in his grandmother's arms. His tomb exists beside a shrine built for his soul near the venue of the battle. But the legend says that the Emperor was rescued and, accompanied with a lady's maid, Azechi-no-tsubone, taken to a place near Kurume. He was grown up there and fell in love with a beautiful girl, named Tamae. When he took a stroll with the girl one day, he found camellias and appreciated their beauty.

Azechi lived at a hermitage near Emperor Antoku's former residence and prayed for his soul. The hermitage was later transformed to a shrine and this is said to be the predecessor of Kurume's sea disaster-related Suitengu Shrine. So, the shrine crest is in the shape of a camellia, local people say.

Because old people believe in the legend, and the legend combines with local people's passion for growing flowering trees, particularly camellias, Kusano is expected to continue to entertain flower-loving people in its calm landscape.

Walking lovers gather to enjoy their time in early spring air

Feb. 26, 2014

Walking lovers gather to enjoy their time in early spring air

The spring leisure season is just around the corner in many parts of Japan. People who are impatient for the arrival of spring move to play out on the field, sometimes braving chilly winds and snowfalls. This was the case with people of ancient Japan.

Snow falls on my sleeves as I am on the spring field picking up young greens for you.

(A personal translation)

This is a waka poem made by Emperor Kohkoh, a ninth century monarch who loved literature and the arts. The poem was included in the Kokinshu waka anthology. His reign was short as he ascended the throne at 55, but he left fine, impressive waka poems.

A park at the former castle site in the heart of Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyushu, southwestern Japan, became the starting point of a 25-kilometer citizens’ walk rally in late February. The rally was joined by 850 people, far surpassing 700 persons as scheduled.

The oldest participant was 83 years old and the youngest was one year old. A blind person also took part in the event, organized by a local sports promotion group and supported by students and volunteers.

Participants covered the first leg of nine kilometers in groups, led by two staff members, for warming up. After finishing the first part through largely urban areas, they walked at their own pace in the rest of the course, which extends counterclockwise through a coastal area to an arm-like narrow peninsula encircling Hakata Bay right in front of Fukuoka, the prefectural capital city.
“A few participants have their caps blown away every year in windy areas. So, please be careful about it,” a supporter student said in a talk with participants before the start.

Participants were urged to finish the course by 5 p.m., in 7 hours and a half from the start. The fastest participants reached the goal at an elementary school on Shikanoshima Island on the tip of the peninsula in about five hours.

When the rally started, the temperature was 7 to 8 degrees centigrade (45 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature slightly climbed later, but cold winds blew to the faces of walkers. Participants had to pass three long bridges in wind-swept reclaimed land areas.

They received certificates from the staff at the goal after passing two check points. Special awards were also presented to participants aged 70 or older and those aged at eight or younger and handicapped children who walked the whole distance.

Citizens' walk rallies take place in various parts of Japan almost every week around this time of the year. A group of tough walking lovers were having a chat at the goal. "Which rally do you think will be convenient to us next week ?"

Wintersweet flowers entertain Japanese longing for arrival of spring

Jan. 25, 2014

Wintersweet flowers entertain Japanese longing for arrival of spring

The happy New Year’s holidays are over, and people in many parts of Japan will have to endure cold days until the arrival of spring. “Ume” Japanese apricot trees are just beginning to put out buds, but passers-by are sometimes surprised by a fragrance given off by casually planted wintersweet trees at roadsides, corners of fields and elsewhere.

Wintersweet, called “rohbai” in Japanese, is a deciduous flowering tree, which blooms from January to February. One of the few flowers which usher in spring in Japan, rohbai trees can be seen standing in the cold. Its small, light yellow flowers emit a spicy but sweet scent.

The flower language says rohbai is linked to “foresight,” “affection” and “gentle heart.“

Rohbai consists of “roh” and “bai”; the first part means wax and the second part means “ume.” Its thin, semitransparent petals look like wax papers. Because the shape of its flowers resembles that of ume flowers, rohbai is so named, but it is actually a completely different genus.

It is said that wintersweet trees were imported into Japan in the middle of the 19th century. Robai is in bloom before leafing.

Rohbai flowers are less impressive than ume flowers and cherry blossoms, but the tree can grow even in the shade. This may be a reason why rohbai flowers look adorable and a little encouraging to Japanese, as they try to be patient in their life for the rest of the winter. The day of "daikan," the coldest day of the year on the traditional seasonal period calendar, falls around Jan. 20, but the days are getting longer and the approach of spring is gradually felt in cold winds.