@
@
@
@
Let me introduce myself. My name is Chisato Mitani. I was born in Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture,Japan on February 27, 1985.
I am a first year student at Kagawa Junior College. My major is Nutrition.
My hobbies are watchiing the cars, driving, and play the piano.
Takamatsu is the capital of Kagawa Prefecture, which has traditionally been calld the gateway to Shikoku, with the whole land of the prefecture jutting out into the Seto Inland Sea like a porch.
JR Takamatsu Station next to Takamatsu Harbor is the terminal of the kotoku Line for Tokusima Pref., theYosan Line for Ehime Pref. and the Dosan Line forKochi Pref., while serving as the bus terminal toTokushima, Matsuyama and Kochi City. Takamatsu Chikkojust opposite JR Station isb the terminal of kotodentrams to and from Kotohira, the seat of 'Konpira-san'.
The New Takamatsu Airport handles non-stop flights to and from Seoul,Korea.
Anoter place in Takamatsu appropriate as a geteway to Shikoku is the takamatsu Heike Monogatari Historical Museum that features not only the famous historical literature called Heike Monogatari but also about 50 great historical figures closely associated with shikoku or native to Shikoku.
Takamatsu became the capitalin 1587 with the advent of lord Ikoma I as governor of Sanuki Province. The castle he built on the harbor eas succeeded by 4 generations of his descendantsu, and then by 11 generations of Matsudaira lords, governing Takamatsu Province with a fief of 120,000koku.
One ninth of the former castle ground is preserved as Tamamo Koen Park across the street from JR Takamatsu Station. The donjon is gone, but two of the 15 turrets and Mizute Gomon Gate from the 17th century(Important Cultural Properties) survived the air raid in 1945. Admission:100yen.
Traditionally the popular sightseeing spots in Takamatsu are Ritsurin Koen Park near downtown and Yashima Plateau overlooking the city and the Inland sea. they are accessible by bus or tram, with terminals at Takamatsu Chikko just opposite JR Station.
30 minites walk from JR Takamatsu Station.
The busy street in front of JR Takamatsu is the main street of downtown Takamatsu, and leads to the main gate to Ritsurin koen park, a National Special Scenic Spot. This spaciuos garden laid out 160 varieties of trees and flowers provides a classic example of a Japanese garden or even a Chinese Taoist paradise fit for meditation.
Originally it belonged to a local warlord, and then to Lord Ikoma. When it was tranceferred to the Matsudairas, they spent five generations developing it into a larger stroll-type garden for their villa. Seasonal charms of flowers and blossoms such as ume(Japanese plum blossoms) in February, camellias in March,cherry blossoms in April, wisteria and azaleas in May, Irises and water lilies in June,giant lotuses in August, and Japanese bush clover in September, and brilliant maple leaves in November add to the pleasure of strolling.
Kikugetsu-tei, one of the pond-side teahouses, was originally one of the Matsudairas' formal buildings. The museum just inside the main gate house a variety of mostly local handicrafts. There is zoo, too, inside the gate.Open daily. Admission to the park: about 300yen.
Bus: 30 minutes' ride from Chikko to the terminal (Kotoden Bus for Yashima-sanjo or Yashima Hilltop).
Tram+Cable:30 minutes' tram ride from Chikko to Yashima (Shido-sen Line)+5 minutes' cable-car ride.
Yashima, a pine-wooded tableland to the northeast of downtown Takamatsu, is one of the world's rare lavamesas, about 290 m high, 3 km wide, jutting 5 km out into the sea.
The hilltop, overlooking the archipelago of the Inland Sea, features yashima-ji(No.84), an aquarium and observatories all linked by forest promenades.
One of the observatories, Dankorei, commands a view of the inlet fringed with memorials to the Gempei Yashima Battle (the second last battle in Genpei War fought between the two rival clans, the Minamotos and Tairas).
Once a british poet, Edmund Blunden, visited Yashima and wrote a poem that was engraved on a stone here at Dankorei observatory:
Like a long roof, men say, and will they say, This hill of warrior ghosts surmounts the plain...
In 794 Ktoto became the capital of Japan and it enjoyed peace for about 350 Years(811-1155) the longest peace Japan has ever attained in her history.
The last 30 years of this period, however, were far from peaceful. In 1156 the first battle took place in the capital, thus opening up a new era dominated by martial emotions. Two martial clans the Minamoto and Taira clans began to acquire greater and greater influence in politics through fighting against each other in the name of "the Emperor" or "the Ex-Emperor".
In 1159, the Tairas succeeded temporarily in staving off the Minamotos. The 20 year that followed saw the Tairas rise to increasingly control the Imperial Family, inviting animosity from the reigning Emperors, the Ex-Emperors, powerful priets, warrious and lords, to say nothing of the Minamotos in exile.
In 1181 the patriach of the clan Taira no Kiyomori died just when the Tairas faced more battles against the Minamotos, who were gradually consolidating their power.
In 1183 the Tairas were driven from the Capital along with the 6-year-old Emperor Antoku and his mother, who was Kiyomori 's daughter. they wandered far in seach of supporters, while fighting losing battles.
Now in 1185, Minamoto no Yoshitsune attacked the remaining Tairas here at Yashima, then at Dan-no-ura in the westernmost corner of the Inland Sea, where the proud Taira finally fell, the noblewomen casting themselves into the sea with the child Emperor Antoku.
Thus the age of ancient nobility yielded to the age of Shoguns(1185-1867).
Yashima-ji Temple treasures in its museum a folding screen depicting the gempei no Kassen Battles. The bell in the belfry, cast in Kyoto in 1123, was dedicated here for the repose of the defeated Tairas. But no one can strike the bell, as there is no hammer. They say, "Strike the bell, and invoke the ghosts of the Tairas."
On the last weekend in March the Gempei Yashima Festival is held, whose highlight is the Warriors' Pageant. It was an insurrection caused by the discord between Emperor Goshirakawa(1127-92) and Ex-Emperor Sutoku(1119-64). Sutoku was defeated and banished to Sanuki(Kagawa Pref.) to die a miserable death 8 years later. His ashes were buried at temple 81. In 1184 the court elevated him to Shinto deity to placate his ghost.
Minamoto no Yoshitune (1159-89): By bringing about victry in the civil war, Yoshitsune had greatly helped Minamoto no Yoritomo, his elder brother, who in 1192 was to establish the first Shogunate at Kamakura. But Yoshittsune had soend the rest of his life escaping Yoritomo, until four years later he killed himself. His tragic life and death was so appealing to Japanese sentiment that he has taken on heroic proportion in kabuki, Noh and Joruri plays, based on what is called Yoshitsuneliterature.
Very few Japanese visit Yashima without being reminded of an episode shown in the picture above:
It was on the afternoon of February 19, 1185, that Minamoto no Yoshitsune mounted another surprise attack against the Tairas at the then Yashima Island.Frightend by the imagined immensity of enemy forces, the Tairas jumped into their boats and sailed off. A fierce battle lasted for house.
Now the sun was setting. Both sides began to retreat, when a fair vessel parted from the Taira legions and stopped about 80 m from the beach. Then a beautiful lady appeared from the cabin , produced a pole with a bright red fan on its top and beckoned to the puzzled warriors on the shore.
"What does she mean?" said Yoshitsune.
"Perhaps she is inviting one of us to shoot the fan.Or she may be inviting you to come out onto the front line for her archers," said his attendant.
"Then let it be shot down by someone," said Yoshitsune.
Soon a young man called Nasu no Yoichi appeared on horseback with bow and arrow in his hands. The north wind was strong. The boat was tossing up and down. The fan painted with the golden sun at its center was fluttering on the pole.
all the Tairas in the boats and all the Minanotos on the shore were watching Yoichi. What would he do? Would he succeed?
Yoichi rode into the water as far he could. But it was still about 70 m to the target. He closed his eyes and prayed. Then the wind fell for a moment. He shot. The arrow pierced through a little above the rivet. The fan, flying up a moment or two, came floating down, glittering in the setting sun. There was great applause from both sides.
Then a man in armor appeared in the same boat. He began to dance an elegant dance perhaps in genuine appreciation of Yoichi's archery. Then Yoichi got another order and shot down the dancing man, too. Some said, "Good shot!" But others said, "Not fair."
The Tairas were silent this time. Was it a precursor of their demise? Two months later, the Tairas finaly fell.
3 minutes' walk after leaving the bus at Toshogu-mae.(Kotoden Bus: Yashima-sanjo Toshogu-mae Chikko)
3 minutes' walk from the cable-car station.
This is an open-air museum laid out at the foot of Yashima Plateau. About20 old rural buildings from various parts of Shikoku have been reassembled here, including a Farmers' Kabuki Theater, peasants' houses, a fishermans' house, a suger mill, a shed for steaming mulberry bark to make paper, and workshops for making soy sauce and so on. There is a reprica of Kazura-bashi from Nishi Iyayama-son, too.
Open daily: 8:30-16:30. Admission: 500 yen
On May 5, people including children from Shodoshima Island, from which the kabuki Teacher came here, stage an annual performance of their traditional farmers' kabuki.
3 minutes' walk from Nihon Tabako-mae Bus Stop after 10 minutes' ride from JR Takamatsu.(Kotoden Bus: Asahimachi Line)
30 minutes' walk from JR Takamatsu Station.
Japan's largest wax doll museum. The first floor is dedicated to the 41 dolls of historical figures or modern men and women of celebrity who have been closely associated with Shikoku.
The one of Kobo Daishi in his nyujo has its own corner as a special exhibition.
The other dolls include:
The second floor exhibits about 300 dolls portraying the 17 scenes from the Heike Monogatari or The tale of the tairas. The saga, composed of a large number of reveling episodes, was and still is an inexhaus tible source of Japanese literature and art. Some of the most famous scenes took place at the foot of Yashima Plateau at the northeastern tip of Takamatsu.
One hi- tech doll seen at the end of the exhibition is what was called biwa hoshi or a blind biwa- playing bard who traveled around chanting The Tale of the first half of the 13th century. Its opening passage is especially famous for uts Buddist idea of impermanence that goes as follows:
The doll begins to talk and sing the first line of the opening passage when it senses visitors approaching. Open daily. Admission: 1200 yen (High school students: 800 yen Children: 600 yen)
Yoshida Shigeru (1878-1967), Prime Minister from 1946 to 1954, is credited with giving Japan direction through her nost difficult times after the war.
The Kojima- Sakaide Route, popularly known as the Seto Ohashi Bridge, was completed in 1988. It is the world's longest two- tiered bridge system, stretching 13.1 km from kojima to Sakaide, connecting the 5 islands in between.
The 11 bridges in the system include 3 suspension bridges, 2 twin cable- stayed, 1 truss and 5 viaducts. The upper level accommodates a motor expressway of four lanes, and the lower contains Japan Railway's system for a dual track ordinary line at present and for a dual track superexpress line in the future.
The first person to air the idea of the Seto Ohashi Bridge was Okubo Jinnojo (1849- 1891), a Kagawa native, who at that time was constructing the first Shikoku Roads to link all the prefectures on the island. In 1889 Jinnojo disclosed his dream in a congratulatory speech he made as a member of the prefectural Parliament at the opening ceremony of the first railroad in Shikoku between Marugame and Kotohira.
Exactly a century later, the Bridge came into being afyer decades of planning and ten years of construction, 13 million workers involved (with the loss of 17 lives), and costing 1,190,000 million yen.
Surprisingly, Jinnnojo had also foretold man's traveling to the moon in his favorite drinking song of his own making, which went as follows:
One of the best points to view the Bridge is Yoshima Island, central pier of the Bridge. It also servers as a sightseeing outpost for the Shikoku and Inland Sea Districts, providing 2 parking areas for those who like to enjoy bridge- viewing, sseafood and shopping.
To Yoshima: 20 minutes from JR Sakaide by Seto Ohashi Express.
Another is a rotating tower 132 m tall at the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park at the foot of the Bridge in Sakaide. The Memorial Hall provides all kinds of information on the Bridge and its construction, while the park itself applies modern art to stone and water.
To the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park: 10 minutes from JR Sakaide by shuttle bus (free of charge).
The Gold Tower near JR Utazu Station offers a marvelous view, too. The 144 m tower made of half-mirror glass is the tallest of its kind in Japan, housing the Sky Loungr, restaurants, stores and a world Tilet Museum.
@
The three- storied donjon on top a green hill crows the city of Marugame. When a Marugame Province of 53,000 koku was formed in 1641, an old castle was reconstructed and the castle seen today dates back to 1660, one of the few genuine Edo Period castles remaining in Japan.
The present- day Marugame is famous for uchiwa or round paper fan manufacturing, producing about 90% of these fans in Japan.
The Castle Park, 15 minutes' walk from JR Marugame, in surrounded by moats, featuring the donjon, a couple of main gates (all Import Cultual Properties) and walls from the 17th century. The 4- level 60 m ramparts, the tallest and among the most beautiful in Japan, also contribute to the beauty of the castle.
Banshoen Garden built in 1688 as a villa for the Lord of the Province is 10 minutes' drive from downtown Marugame. One of the galleries there houses Chinese ceramic were and a collection of Iranian' earthenware and glassware dating back to 2500 B.C. though the 1200's A.D. Open daily.
Zentu- ji Temple (No. 75), is known as the birthplace of Kobo Daishi Kukai. Kukai is one of the greatest geniuses Japan has ever produced. He made a great contribution in remolding Japanese religion, while making unparalleled achievements as a schilar, poet, artist, callographer, sculptor, architect, educator, social worker, inventor, discoverer and civil engineer.
The giant camphor trees near the five- storied pagoda in the East Precinct are said to have already been several hundred years old when Kukai was born in 774. The Mieido Hall in the West Precinct at the foot of the green hill is the Birthplace.
Visitors may traverse the basement of the hall along a pitch- dark path. This introspective journey is called Kaidan- Meguri. The entrance is at the right- hand coner of the Hall. The entrance fee includes the admission to the Museum. (300 yen)
The utter blackness along the path symbolizes the darkness of the human mind or human ignorance of the Truth. The notice says: "Go along with the palm of your left hand pressed against the left- hand wall. The wall, painted with mandalas, angels and lotus flowers, is the Buddha's Way. You will be safely guided as long as you are on His Way."
Shorinji Kempo is not merely a sport or martial art, but a religious exercise to approach the Buddha's spirit in the principles of "self- realization" and "help each other."
It was started by So Doshin I (1911-1980) in 1947. Two years before he had been repatriated from Manchuria, the northeastern part of China that "Imperialist Japan" held for 13 years till the end of World War II. Doshin had seen how people could be dehumanized in the dire extremities of war and its aftermath. "Developing good humanity is the only way to save Japan and the world at large, " fe kept saying to himself. Doshin, who had learned various martial arts in China, pondered over the Zen Philosophy of Bodhidharma, trying to restore the martial art that Bodhidharma himself was said to have practised about 1,500 years ago when he brought Zen from Imdia to China. Finary, Doshin succeeded in restiring and reorganizing the whole body of that art, which he named Shorinji Kempo. Now its Headquarters has more than 100 branches in 23 countries in the world.
Kotohira-gu, a great shrine complex, of ten affectionately called Konpira-San, has been a celebrated destination for pilgrims and tourists for hundreds of years.
According to legend, Kompira-san came into being when Kumbhira --- a guardian god of Buddhism, originally a Hindu crocodile god of the Ganges, was beckoned by a Buddhist priest of Matsuo- ji, a thousand- year- old temple in this neighborhood.
Kumbhira from the holy waters of the Ganges was naturally believed to be a mighty patron deity for seamen, fishermen and rice growing farmers, and in later years came to be considered a Great Incarnation of the Buddha himself.
But the temple remained a Shinto shrine in part, with Omononushi- no- mikoto, the native god of fertility, medicine and commerce also summoned from the mythological land of Izumo. Omononushi- no- mikoto, along with Daikoku- ten representing Chinese folk religion, were then identified with the Indian god Kumbhira (Kompira), a case of religious internationalism in classical Japan.
In 1868 Buddhism and Shintoism were separated by law, and Omonomushi became the chilf god along with the deified Emperor Sutoku who had been enshrined here in the 15th century. Yet "Kompira Worship" continued to flourish, for the Hindu deity had already enshrined himself deep in the hearts of the Japanese people.
There are 785 stone steps to climb before one reaches the Main Shrine. Fortunately its route consists first of a colorful street of souvenir shops and then of a quiet promenade lined with gardens, shrines and museuns. The numberless granite lanterns, fences and tablets bordering the approach were all dedicated by Kompira worshippers nationwide, as were the stone steps themselves.
Asahi- no- yashiro Shrine in the Buddhist style is the former Main Hall. The present Main Hall is a few more Flights of stone steps above.
Emado Hall near the Main Shrine is a gallery for votive tablets and offerings mainly from seamen. In March 1889 there was offered a photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York --- the Eighth Wonder of the World at that time --- dedicated by a Japanese acrobatic troupe that had completed a tour around the U.S.A. So it is thought that Okubo Jinnojo, seeing the photograph here, was inspired to envision the Seto Ohashi Bridge that he proposed in May that same year.
About an hour's walk to Okusha or the Inner Sanctuary further along the path through primeval forest is enjoyable to nature- lovers, though one has to climb 583 more stone steps.
* Izumo: An ancient city in Shimane Pref. on the Japan Sea; one of the political and religious centers during the mythological age.
At the foot of the mountain there stands Kompira Oshibai Kabuki Teater, the oldest Kabuki theater remaining in Japan. A guide shows visitors around the building including the primitive but ingenious device to operate the rotating stage.
In Kabuki Season in mid- April or May, first- class Kabuki actors are invited from Tokyo or Osaka to perform under almost the same conditions as their ancestors did in the 17th through 19th centuries.
For further information about the dates and tickets call the office of JR Shikoku in Takamatsu: (0878) 23- 0973
Reoma world, opened in 1991, is a pleasure resort, the largest of its kind in western Japan. It offers different types of pleasures for people of different ages ----- thrilling experiences by hi- tech gadgetry, a kindergarden of fantastic amusements, ancient temples and monuments of Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, a Mosque bazaar, Chinese restaurants, an enormous aviary, an art museum and occasional shows, attractions and entertainments. A lakeside hotel and cottages are available, too.
35
@
@
Return to the Kagawa Junior College Internet English Classes Home Page