Okayama, City of the Crow-Castle

This year I received a work invitation to Okayama in Japan. I did not know anything about Okayama before going there. It was a wonderful surprise to discover this bustling city with its beautiful riverside castle, gardens and museums. The image below is from the wonderful Korakuen gardens of Okayama.

This post is about my explorations of Okayama. All the places mentioned in this post are at a walkable distance from the railway station.

Okayama and the fable of Momotaro

Okayama is one of the bigger cities in the south-west part of Japan. It is the city of the fable of Momotaro, the Peach-boy.

According to the fable, an old woman found a peach fruit. When she opened the peach, inside she found a baby boy, who told her that God had sent him to be their son. He was given the name of Momotaro (Momo = peach +Taro = elder son). When Momotaro grew up, together with his animal friends, a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, he went to fight Oni-demons. He killed the demons and came home with their treasures and lived happily ever after with his old parents.

The statue of Momotaro greets persons arriving at Okayama railway station. The main road in front of the railway station is called Momotaro Dori road which takes you to Okayama castle.

Ekimae Market

Right across from the east exit of Okayama station is the Ekimae covered market. Full of shops and restaurents, along with an occasional hotel, I had great fun walking up and down this market. Most Japanese shops have boards and food-menu only in Japanese, so I loved trying to understand what different shops were selling.

Nishigawa canal and street

I think that the area around the Nishigawa canal was part of old Okayama before the city was destroyed during the second World War. Rest of Okayama is a newly built city.

With the calm canal waters, gardens, trees, fountains and sculptures on both sides of this quaint canal, I loved this part of Okayama. The image below has a sculpture built along the Nishigawa canal.

Okayama Symphony Hall

This round-shaped modern building was built in 1991. It is close to Shiroshita round-about on Momotaro Dori road. Designed by the well-known Japanese architect Yoshinobu Ashihara, the Okayama symphony hall is famous for its acoustics.

While you admire the symphony hall, I suggest that you should also go down the underground crossing at Shiroshita round-about. A colourful tower-like construction jutts out of this round-about.

It has a lovely sculpture of a woman and a crane. The crane is a common motif in Okayama city. Its statues are there in the city and live cranes can be seen at the aviary in Korakuen park.

Parks around Asahi river

Crossing the Shiroshita round-about will bring you to the core cultural zone of Okayama. This area is marked by a number of parks along the two sides of Asahi river, along with a number of sculptures.

Along the river, a large number of persons walk, cycle and jog or do exercises. On one side, you can see the Okayama castle while a bridge will take you to the famous Korakuen gardens.

Crow-castle of Okayama

The black-coloured castle was built in the sixteenth century. It was also called U-Jo or the Crow castle. The old castle had the roof gilded in gold and was thus called the Gold-crow castle.

During the Meijo reformation period (1868-1912), the medieval castles were seen as problematic and thus even the Okayama castle was partly abandoned, its moat was filled and its walls disappeared. The remaining castle building was razed to ground during the second World War.

The present castle was built in 1966 as a concrete building. A few parts of the castle were gilded in 1996 when its 400th anniversary was celebrated. Outside, some remains of the old castle have been identified including the old walls and a pond. Parts of the old moat have also been recreated.

Korakauen Gardens

The three hundred years old Korakuen Gardens are counted among the most beautiful Japanese gardens. The aesthetic principles defining the beauty of the zen gardens in Japan include - Kanso (simplicity), Fukinsei (asymmetry), Shizen (naturalness), Yugen (subtletly), Datsuzoku (unusual), Seijaku (stillness) and Shibui (austerity). Trees with branches tending towards the ground are especially appreciated. These ideals are expressed in the Korakuen gardens in different ways.

These gardens were created for Ikeda Mitsumasa in the early 17th century as a place for private relaxation. Cherry, maple and pine trees were planted. The artificial hill called Yuishinzan (in the image above) was constructed by his son Ikeda Tsugumasa. At the same time, the water canal was also built.  The name Korakuen garden was given in 1871 and in 1884, these were opened to public.

The garden has a central pond called Sawa no Ike with different miniature islands such as Nakanoshima and Minoshima. I personally liked a smaller pond near the main gate called Kayo no Ike with a bamboo groove, some shrines and the Eisho bridge. This part also includes the archaeological remains of some stairs from the old dock used by Daimyo. While I visited Korakuen, it was full of young school children who were adding colours to its beauty.

Museums of Okayama

Okayama Prefactural Museum is located near the main gate of Korakuen Gardens. A short walk from here will take you to a museum dedicated to an Okayama artist called Takehisa Yumeji. If you do not have the time to visit the Yumeji museum, you can admire some of his paintings which adorn the bridge leading to his house (in the image below).

Two more museums, Okayama Prefactural Museum of Art and the Oriental Museum are located on the main street near the Shiroshita round-about.

Conclusions

Even if my stay in Okayama was short, I really liked this city. I stayed at Toyoko-inn near the Ekimae market and it was a perfect place to visit the city.

Among the different restaurents of Okayayama where I ate, I want to nominate Hajime at the Shiroshita round-about, where the people were really nice, the food and the ambiance (bookshelves full of Manga comics) were great.

I want to conclude this post with another sculpture from Okayama - this one is placed near the Western exit of JR Station. I want to apologise for not mentioning the artists of the different sculptures presented in this post. Their names were written exclusively in Japanese and I was unable to read them. However, if you can tell me the names of these artists in the comments below, I will be honoured to add them to this post.

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Shrines & Temples of Ushimado

The tiny seaside town of Ushimado in south-west Japan is famous for its beautiful sea and verdant islands. It is also a heritage town with glimpses of the old Japan of wooden houses and traditional shrines and temples.

In Ushimado you can see three small islands close to each other. At low tide you can walk from one island to the next and this passage is called the Kuroshima Venus road. You can admire those 3 islands in the image above.

Ushimado and the legend of Ushi-oni

There is a legend of a monster called Ushi-oni, who looked like a cow. Empress Jingu came here disguised as a man after her husband died. She met the monster and killed it. Different parts of Ushi-oni fell in the sea around Ushimado forming the different islands. The original name of Ushimado was Ushimaro - Ushi (cow) + Maro (killed). This legend is celebrated in the Ushimado shrine in the city.

During the Edo Period (1603-1868), Ushimado was a ship-building town and was used as a resting point by Korean Royals on their way to Edo.

Reaching Ushimado

Ushimado comes under Setouchi in the Okayama prefacture. It is about 30 km from Okayama. You can take an Ako line train from Okayama, get down at Saidaiji or Osafune and then take a Ryobi bus to Ushimado.

At Ushimado, I stayed at hotel Limani. Looking out at the beautiful islands and the sea was an incredible wake-up experience, as you can see from the image below.

Ushimado Lighthouse

The lighthouse of Ushimado, is a traditional wood tower with a pyramidal roof and it is mounted on a square stone pedestal (image below). In the image below, you can see as it appears from the sea.

HonRenJi Buddhist Temple

One early morning I explored the main street of Ushimado called Shiomachi Karakoto. The Kaiyu museum was closed but just behind it, I found an ancient temple - Honrenji. It was built for welcoming the Korean visitors and is considered a cultural heritage site.

A Koromon (gate) marked the entrance of the temple. The main entrance led to a big wooden building, probably the Butsu-do, the Buddha hall.

Majority of temple structures were in wood. The buildings had huge curved roofs, almost as big as the rooms below. To the right, stairs led to a terrace overlooking the sea with some more temples.

There was a 3-storied Daito (large pagoda) on the terrace close to the edge overlooking the sea. Each part was made in rectangular form with wooden fenced balustrades. There was a mokoshi (skirt-shaped) roof on the lower two levels and a pyramidal roof on the top floor.

Next to the Daito, there was a massive bell tower with a stone and a rectangular wooden base, on which which a big copper bell was mounted, covered by a beautiful curved roof.

Behind and above the temple there was a cemetery area. Being early morning it was very quiet and peaceful. The different temple buildings were closed, still I really enjoyed this visit.

Tenjin Shrine and Tenjinyama Tumulus

This is a Shinto shrine at the top of the hill above HonRenJi temple. It is dedicated to Tenjin, the god of scholarship.

Tenjin was a 9th century poet called Sugawara no Michizane, an important official in the imperial court of Emperor Uda. After the death of the emperor, he was exiled and died as a lonely man. Seventy years after his death, Michizane was deified and became Tenjin. His shrines were built in different parts of Japan. The legend says that he had visited Ushimado during exile and cried on the top of this hillock.

Long stairs along with a Koromon gate led to the shrine. The main temple was closed. On the left, there were Inari shrines marked by vermilion coloured Torii gates. One Inari shrine was full of Kitsune (white foxes), the messengers to the god Inari. Inari gods are linked with rice-crop and fertility. Kitsune were shown with their right front paw raised up to protect an urn, and each had a golden round tablet in the mouth.

At the bottom of the hill, there was a tall brick tower covered with creepers in an ancient looking courtyard. I could not find out the significance of this tower. Nearby there was a more recent iron tower with a weather-wane.

Kompira-Gu Kou Shrine

This was another Shinto shrine at the top of a hillock. Kompira-gu is a god of the sailors. Kompira shrines were originally made by Shugendo sect in Kotohira mountains of the Kagawa prefacture and are also called Kotohira-gu. Outside its closed latticed doors there were banners of rope and straw.

The views of the sea, islands and surrounding Ushimado were beautiful from this shrine.

Sai Ichi Inari

This Inari shrine was on the main street of Ushimado, behind a house, where a row of vermilion Torii led to small shrine. Praying to this Inari was supposed to grant you a long and happy life. A holy person from Fushimi Inari in Kyoto had established this shrine in Ushimado.

A Buddhist shrine and the cemetery

One evening while walking to the back of the hill of the Tenjin shrine, I came across another Buddhist shrine linked to a cemetery. This shrine had seven carved stones, all wrapped in red wool-covers. The central stone had a bigger statue of Buddha. Behind the Buddha stones, there were seven round stones.

This shrine was close to a Buddhist cemetery with tombs scattered along the hill at different levels.

Conclusions

Today most cities of Japan look very European. However, Ushimodo has still many places where you can see the old Japan and its traditions. For example, the image below shows an old well of Ushimado and a couple of shrines close to it.

I want to conclude with another image from Limani hotel where I stayed. This image shows the hotel swimming pool with the sea just beyond it.

I was in Ushimado for a meeting on conservation of history of leprosy, invited by the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation.

I could not visit many tourist places in Ushimado such as the Kaiyu cultural museum, Maejima island (Green island) and the Olive Gardens. However, this visit gave me an opportunity to see and appreciate the traditional Japanese houses and some of their traditional temples and shrines. At the same time, it was a beautiful place with incredible sunsets.

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Ako and the Legend of 47 Ronin

The tiny town of Ako in south-west Japan is known for the story of 47 Ronin. The city has a beautiful Shinto temple with the statues of those 47 warriors who had chosen to become outlaws to avenge the death of their lord.

I had watched the film "47 Ronin" starring Keanu Reaves, which was based on this story. Recently I was in Okayama, which is not very far from Ako. Thus, it was an opportunity to go and visit this city and to become familiar with its famous legend.

Samurai and Ronin

The Samurai (Bushi) warriors became an important group in Japan in the 12th century when they worked for feudal lords. Those lords along with their samurai were the real rulers of Japan.

The samurai followed a code of conduct called Bushido. According to the Bushido, when a Samurai became master-less, for example by the death of his master, he was expected lay down his arms and to commit suicide by Seppaku (by plunging a knife in the stomach). Any samurai who did not kill himself was known as ronin, a warrior without honour.

The ronin were looked down upon by their fellow samurai and by the society. They were ridiculed and faced public humiliation.

In 1868, with the Meiji reforms, the military control of country was replaced by a centralised bureaucratic governance. This ended the role of samurai.

The Ronin of Ako

"Ako vendetta", was a historical event in which a group of ronin avenged the death of their master Lord Naganori Asano.

In 1701, Lord Asano, the Daimyo of Ako, was forced to commit ritual suicide by Kira Yoshinaka, a scheming official of the imperial court.

However Asano's samurai did not commit seppaku as foreseen by the Bushido and instead became ronin. Their initial attempts to avenge the death of Lord Asano were unsuccessful. However, finally 47 ronin managed to kill Kira at Sangakuji in Edo (now known as Tokyo).

Even though by taking up the arms they had violated the samurai code of conduct, their honorable action in avenging Lord Asano was recognized. Thus the 47 ronin were allowed an honourable death by committing seppuku.

During the Meijo era (1868-1912), the story of 47 ronin became very popular all over Japan through songs and traditional plays such as kabuki. It was a tale of persistence, honour and sacrifice. The Hollywood film "47 Ronin" (2013) was inspired from this story.

The City of Ako

Ako is located in the Hyogo prefacture in south-west Japan, between Osaka and Okayama. Its railway station is called Banshu-Ako. It is a small coastal town facing the inland sea. It has a population of around 50,000.

Ako is located on the banks of Chikusa river and has a good network of canals. On 14 December each year, Ako celebrates the Gishisai festival to remember the 47 ronin, with a parade of the warriors dressed in old costumes and illuminations with lanterns.

Reaching Ako

To reach Banshu-Ako I took the Ako line local train from Okayama. The journey took around an hour. Passing through small towns and villages (including Bizen and Osafune, two famous small towns) along with verdant mountains, it was a beautiful journey.

The local train network also connects Ako to Himeji and Kobe.

When I told my Japanese friends that I wanted to visit Ako, they were a little surprised. The city's name was not so familiar to them. Even at the tourist office in Okayama, they were surprised that I wanted to go to Ako. They were not sure if there was much to see in Ako. However, as you can see, it is a beautiful city and is worth visiting.

Places to visit in Ako

The city centre is small. The places to visit include the ruins of the castle of Ako and some shrines and temples. Among the shrines, the most important is the Shinto shrine linked with the 47 ronin located near the castle. Among the temples, the most important is Kagaku temple. All these places are less than one km from the railway station.

The city including the railway station, is full of banners, posters and tiles with images of the different ronin warriors.

Oisho Shrine of the 47 Ronin

Near the ruins of the Ako castle is the Shinto shrine dedicated to the 47 ronin. It is called Oisho shrine to remember Oisho, the leader of those ronin. To reach it, just take the central road in front of the railway station and go straight. Outside the station, there is a map where you can see the location of the different shrines and the castle.

I went through the gate in the outer wall of Ako castle. There was no ticket to enter it.

A winding path passing near the Ako Museum of History and the gardens of Ako castle took me to the shrine, marked by a double row of statues of the 47 ronin.

Each statue of the ronin was different - showing men of different age groups, each with his favourite weapon, some of them standing while others were sitting. Against the background of the castle ruins, the two rows of statues lining the path leading to the shrine made a powerful visual impact.

Inside the shrine gate (Torii), on the two sides were two giant wooden statues of pot-bellied old men. The one on the left had Daikoku Sama symbolising luck and matrimonial happiness. The one on the right had Ebisu Sama symbolising success in business and trade.

There were different memorials for persons to express their admiration for the warriors - for example, through the streamers of paper-cranes usually placed in cemeteries. The courtyard also has a statue of Oishi Kuranosuke, the leader of the ronin.

One of the buildings was Homotsu-Kan or the treasure hall, entry to which has a ticket. Inside you can see the Oishi "Glass of Rules" for the Ako samurai. The rules included the following - do not fight, do not spill drink from your mouth and do not force a non-drinker to drink.

Garden of the Ako Castle

A path from the Shinto shrine led to a beautiful garden just outside the castle ruins. When I visited it in April 2017, it was not yet completely done and some parts were closed. Still it seemed to be landscaped beautifully with a canal, some gently bubbling fountains and a quaint bridge.

I think that this part of the castle and the gardens are being renovated to become future tourist attractions.

Ruins of Ako Castle

Imposing walls surrounded the castle ruins. This castle was destroyed by the bombings during the second World War, The walls have been recently rebuilt to recreate the old ambiance.

Inside the walls, most of the ruins are just empty spaces marked on the floor explaining the different building of the old castle. The castle was built by Naganao Asano Ako, the third lord of Ako domain and the grandfather of Naganori Asano. It took them 13 years to built this castle. I was told that the rooms of the Lord and his wife were marked on the floor, but since it was only in Japanese, I could not identify them.

On one side inside the castle, there is a tower (Tenshudai), where you can go up and have a panoramic view of the area.

The ruins also include two ponds, both beautifully designed to evoke feelings of peace and harmony.

Kagakuji Temple

The Kagakuji or Sengakuji was the family temple of the Asano family. When I visited it, a group of art students was there sketching it.

It is a beautiful Buddhist temple with a giant bell and with different shrines.

I was told that Kagaku temple has the tombs of the 47 ronin, each marked by the number "7" to denote death by seppuku. However, I had also read that the tombs of the 47 ronin are in the cemetery of the Sengakuji temple in Tokyo, so I am not sure if the tombs in the Kagaku temple of Ako were real or not. I did not see them.

Conclusions

I could visit Ako only for a few hours. It was a rainy day. I knew that there would not be enough time to visit the historical museum or to go to the seaside. On the other hand, I had thought that I will be able to visit Chikusa river and a couple of other shrines near the railway station. However, the visit to the castle and the Oishi took most of my time and I could not do more.

I think that Ako merits a visit. If you are visiting south-west Japan, it would be worthwhile keeping a morning to visit it.

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Note: I would like to acknowledge an article by Takako Shimatani for discovering information about Ako. It was not easy to find other information in English.

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