Let me introduce myself.My name is Yoko Iwazawa.I was born in higasikagawa City,Kgawa Prefecture,Japan on June 4,1984.
I am a first year student at Kagawa Junior College.My major is Infant Education.
My hobbies are syopping, listening to music,and writing a letter.
My home page address is: http://www.geocities.co.jp/CollegeLife-Labo/ 4001/2004/503010.html
Visitiing or living in Shikoku is somithing special, for this is land has always been the spiritual sanctuary of the Japanese people. No other place in Japan has been visited by so many generations of people from all over the country.
They have of ten spent more than 60 days walking along the whole circuit of the eighty-eight temples that compose the longest, oldest and most popular pilgrimage in Japan.
Even those who have arrived here in weariness of life, in unhappiness or weak health, have usually left the island with a lighter heart, more enlightened, and in many cases in improved heaith.
Though today the island is quite accessible and traveling around it can be very easy, some of the eighty-eight temples still remain very hard to reach.
This pilgrimage cirling the island is nationally known as O-Shikoku-san, showing that "Dear old Shikoku Pilgrimage" is synonymous with this island and provides sanctuary to the soul of Japan. The scenes along the Shikoku Plilgrimage correspond well to what Shikoku offers - the Seto Iland Sea, the Uwa-kai Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the green mountains that crown a large part of the island, cosy little towns and middle-sized cities thweat fringe the coasts.
Its climate is mild; the seas are bountiful; the land is feritile. Naturally local people have been content with their blessed island, even if it has remaind underdevelopd since the 8th century, Untile then the northern coast of Shikoku was among the first areas to enjyoy civilization in Japan, as proved by so many archaeological findings.
Remote as it was for many centuries, however, Shikoku did not stand aloof but observed movements on the Iland Sea as an artery of Japan's cultural, political and econimic development. On the other hand, Shikoku's unique attractions such as the Shikoku Pligrimage, Kompira woprship and the Dogo Onsen Hot Spring spa have always drawn a large number of people from the capitals and other parts of the main siland of Honshu and neighboring Kyushu.
Natulally those visitors brought something new with themeach time, just as refugees and exiles from the capitals added color to the island's histoty. They were welcomed and sometimes the culture they brought here was carefully preserved or deveroped even long after being, forgotten in its homeland - language, festivals, arts and techniques. Those cultural assets now peculiar to Shikoku have added another dimension rewarding travelers to this island.
A new type of attraction in Shikoku is the fruit of modrn technology that the waves of development have finally brought here in the 1980's and 90's - the colossal bridges connecting Shikoku with the main island, pleasure resorts, theme parks, museums, skyline drives and relatively inexpensive golf courses. So the charm of Shikoku can rightly be called an exquisite coexistence of tradition and modernity, nature and art.
Last but not least is a spiritual climate of Shikoku that has produced peopre like the father of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, who is often credited as a father or Japanese culture, the man who aired the idea, of the Seto Ohashi Bridge, and two young men who turned out to be most instrumental in carrying out the modernization of Japan, opening Japan's door to the world as an independent nation. They were all rare cosmopolitans in Japan hisatory.
Takamathu is tha capitaol of Kagawa Prefecture,which has taditionally been called tha gateway to Shikoku,whth the whole land of tha prefecture jutting out into thae Seto Inland Sea like a porci.
JR Takamatsu Station next to Takamatsu Harbor is the terminal of the kotoku Line for Tokushima Pref., the Yosan Line for Ehime pref. and the Dosan Line for Kochi Pref., while serving as the bus terminal to Tokushima, Matsuyama and Kochi City. Takamatsu Chikko just opposite JR Station is the terminal of Kotodenn trams to and from Kotohira, the seat of 'Kompira-san.'
The New Takamatsu Airport handles non-stop flights to and from Seoul, Korea.
Another place in Takamatsu appropriate as a gateway 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 Shokoku.
Takamatsu became the capital in 1587 with the advent of Lord Ikoma I as governor of Sanuki Province. The castle he built on the harbor was succeeded by 11 generations of Matsudaira lords, governing Takamatsu Province with a fief of 120,000 koku.
One ninth of the former castle ground is preserved as Tamano 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: 100 yen
Traditionally the popular sightseeing spots in Takamathu 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 st Takamatsu Chikko just opposite JR Station.
The busy street in front of JR Takamatsu is the main street of downtoun Takamatsu, and leads to the main gate to Ritsurin Koen Park, a National Special Scenic Spot. This spacious garden laid out with shapely mounds, cool ponds and about 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 alocal warlord, and then to Lord Ikoma. When it was transferred 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 houses a variety of mostly local handicrafts. There is a zoo, too, inside the gate.
Open daily. Admission to the park: About 300 yen.
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, apine-wooded tableland to the northeast of downtown Takamatsu, is one of the world's rare lava mesas, about 290 m high, 3 km wide, jutting 5 km out into the sea.
The hilltop, overlooking the archipelasgo of the Inland Sea, features Yashima-ji 1,an aquarium 2,and observatories all linked by forest promenades.
One of the 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 Kyoto became the capital of Japan and enjyoyed 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 acqnire 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 years that followed saw the Tairas rise to increasingly control the Imperial Family, inviting animosity from the reigningEmperors, the EX- Emperors, powerful priests, warriors and lords, to say nothing of the Minamotos in exile.
In 1181 the patriarch 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 Emeperor Antoku and his mother, who was Kiyomori' s daughhter. They wandered far in search 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 was ternmost corner of the Inland Sea, where the proud Taira finally fell, the noblewomen casting themselves into the sea with the child Emperror Antoku.
Thus the age of ancient nobility yielded to the age of Shoguns (1185-1167).
Yashima-ji Temple treasures in museum a folding screen depicting the Gempei no Kassen Battles. (See p.42) The bell in the belfry, cast in Kyoto in 1223, was dedicatedhere for the repose of the defeated Tairas. But no one can strike the bell, as their 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 be-tween Emperor Goshirakawa (1127-92) and Ex-Emeperor Sutoku (1119-64). Sutoku was defeated and danished 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. (See p.50)
Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-89) : By bringing about vectory 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 Yoshitsune had to spend the rest of his life escaping Yoritomo, until four years later he killed himself. His tragic life and beath was so appealing to Japanese sentiment that he has taken on heroic proportion in Kabuki, Noh and Joruri plays, based on what is called Yoshitsune Literature.
Very few Japanese visitit Yashima without being reminded of an episode shown in the picture above:
It was on the afternoon of Feburuary 19, 1185, that Minamoto to no Yashitsune mounted another surprise attack against the Taira at the then Yashima Island. Frigh tened by the imagined immensity of ememy forces, the Tairasjumped into their boats and sailed off. A fierce battle lasted for hours.
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 Yoshitsune.
Soon a young man called Nasu no Yoichi appeared on horseback wuth 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 Minamotos on the shore were watching Yoichi. What would he do? Would he succeed?
Yoichi rode into the water as far as 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. Heshot. The arrow piercd 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 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 finally 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. About 20 old rural buildings from various parts of Shikoku have been reassembled here, including a Farmers' Kabuki Theater, peasants' houses, a fisherman' s house , a sugar mill, a shed for steaming mulberry bark to make paper, and workshops for making soy sauce and so on, too.
Open daily: 8:30 - 16:30. Admission: 500 yen
oOn May 5, people including children from shodoshima Island, from which the Kabuki Theater 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 dool 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 itsown corner as a special exhibition.
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 nomber of revealing episodes, was and still is an inexhaustible source of Japanese literature and art. Some of the most fanous scenes took place at the foot of Yashima Plateau at the northeastern tip of Takamathu.
One hi-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 Taira Family even before it was written down in the first half of the 13th century. Its opening passage is especially famous for its Buddhist 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: 1200yen(High school students: 800yen Children: 600yen)
Yoshida Shigeru (1878-1967) , Prime Minister trom 1946 to1954, is credited with giving Japan direct-ion through her most difficult times after the war.
The kojima-Sakaide Route, popularly known as the Seto Ohashi Bridge, was completed 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 expessway of four lanes, and the lower contains Japan Railway's syatem for a dual track superexpress line in the future.
The first person to air the idea of the Seto Ohashi Bridge was Okubo Jinnoji , a Kagawa native,who at that time was conctructing 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 momber 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 at ter 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, Jinnojo had also foretold men's traveling to the moon in his favorite drink-ing song of his own making, whidh went as follows:
I'll tell you, dear, don't laugh at me, a hundred years from now, I'll be seeing you flying to and from the moon in a space ship. Its port, let me tell you, dear, will be that mountaintop over there!
One of the best points to view the Bridge is Yoshima Island , a central pier of the Bridge. It also serves as a sightseeing outpost for the Shikoku and Inlamd Sea Districts, providing 2 parking areas for those who like to enjoy bridge- viewing, seafood and shopping.
To Yoshima: 25 minutes from JR Sakaide by bus.
Another is a rotaing tower 132 m tall at the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park Hall providesa all kinds of information on the Bridge and its construction, while the park itself applies modern art to stone and water.
To 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 Lounge, restauramts, stores and a World Toilet Museum.
Open daily. Admission to the tower: 800 yen / 1000 yen.
To Gold Tower: 8 minutes ' walk from JR Utazu.
Bridge-viewing cruises are available from Keihan Fisherman' s Wharf on Yoshima, Memorial Port.
The three-storied donjon on top of a green hill crowns 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 rimaining inJapan.