Let me introduce myself. My name is Lisa Sakaguchi. I was born in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan on December 21, 1984.
I am a first year student at Kagawa Junior College. My major is Infant Education.
My hobbies are listening to music, readiing books, and watching movies.
www.geocities.co.jp/CollegeLife-Labo/ 4001/2004/503023.html
Visiting or living in Shikoku is something special, for this island has always been the spiritual sanctuary of the Japanese people. No other place in Japan has been visited by so many genrations of people frpm all over the country.
They have often 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 enligtened, and in many cases in improved health.
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 circling 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 Pilgrimage correspond well to what Shikoku offers- the Seto Inland 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 that fringe the coaste.
Its climate is mild; the seas are bountiful; the land is fertile. Naturally local people have been content with their blessed island, even if it has remained underdeveloped since the 8th century. Until then the northern coast of Shikoku was among the first areas to enjoy 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 Inland Sea as an artery of Japan's cultural, political and economic development. On the other hand, Shikoku's unique attractions such as the Shikoku Pilgrimage, Kompira worship and the Dogo Onsen Hot Spring spa have always drawn a large number of people from the capitals and other parts of the main island of Honshu and neighboring Kyushu.
Naturally those visitors brought something new with them each time, just as refugees and exiles from the capitals added color to the island's history. They were welcomed and sometimes the culture they brought here was carefully preserved or developed even long after being forgotten in its homeland- language, festivals, arts and techniques. These cultural assetes now peculiar to Shikoku have added another dimension rewarding travelers to this island.
A new type of attraction in Shikoku is the fruit of modern technology that the waves of devekopment 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, and art.
Last but not least is a spiritual climate of Shikoku that has produced people like the father of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, who is often credited as a father of Japaneese culture, the man who aired the idea of the Seto Ohashi Bridge, and tow 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 Japanese history.
Especially Noted Products: raw and dried bonito, coral crafts, long-tailed cocks, Tosa nattive dogs and Tosa fighting dogs.
Especially Noted Cuisine: Sawachi-ryori and Katsuono Tataki (bonito seared only onthe surface)
Kochi, the largest city on the Pacific coast, is the capital of Kochi Prefecture, espcially known for its marine products, forestry and greenhouse culture of vegetables. The fishing ports dotted along the Pacific coast are usually busy with small boats that bring in bonito and mackerel from the warm current offshore, and sometimes with big boats that have made six- or seven-month voyages after tuna into the Indian Ocean, the Tasman Sea, even the Atlantic.
Men in this prefecture have long been known for a trait called igosso. When a man is called igosso, in means he is gallantly generous, obstinately independent, carefree and passionate in his usually unpredictable actions. Women of the same type are called hachikin.
Kochi was also a castle town. The approach to the castle gate is liveliest on Sunday as the 3-century- old Sunday Market is held there, the 1.2km avenue lined with hundreds of stalls stocked with every kind of local product imaginable -vegetables, fruits, flowers, trees, raw, deied or cooked fish, coral crafts, toys, knives, antiques, old clothes, china, earthenware, kittens, puppies, geanny's pickles, cookies, candies, rice cakes, pancakes and sundry items.
5 minutes' walk from JR Kochi Station to the en-trance of Sunday Market.
Kochi-jo Castle
Kochi-jo Castle came into being in 1588 when Chosokabe Motochika, who once subjuga the ehole of Shikoku, built his castle here on top of the hill. In 1600 Yamanouchi Kazutoyo took over the castle, rebuilt it, and 16 generations of Lords Yamanouchi reigned until 1869 when the Province was officially returned to the Emperor Meiji.
The Otemon Main Gate built in 1603 still stands. The statue seen on entering the gate is that of Itagaki taisuke, Ieader of Japan's populer right movement. The other buildings -the highest donjon, turrets and gates -also retain their original style, though they were rebuilt around the middle of the 18th century.
The donjion houses a museum exhibiting a large collection of mementoes of the Yamanouchi Family and historical assets of the province, with one wing dedicated to local people who in the 1860's became a driving force in overthrowing the Shogunate and restoring imperial rule.
Tosa was at the vanguard when was at this critical turning point in her history. The 15th lord of Tosa Province, Yamanouchi Yodo for his part presend the Shogun a petition for the peaceful restoration of imperial rule. As the Shogun accepted it in 1867 a bloodless transference of the reins of government was tentatively achieved though its aftermath, the Boshin Civil War, was far from bloodless.
At the entrance hall of the museum, there are some exhibitions concerning two of the favorite sons of Tosa Province -Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro.
One of the captions is quoted from the postscript to Vo.1 of Ryoma ga yuku, a biographical novel of Sakamoto Ryoma, written by a leading novelist of contemporary Japan, Shiba Ryotaro:
Sakamoto Ryoma can rightly be called a miracle in the history of the Meiji Restoration.All the heroes who appeared in those days can be classified into categories. Only Ryoma cannot. He stood alone even among thousands of revolutionaries in that period. It was a miracle in itself,too,that Japan happened to have this young man at that turning point in history.if the Unseen Hand had not been so timely,Japan might have had a different history.
Indeed,only a few Japanese have been admired so much as Ryoma. He was the arche-typical igosso,who was born in 1835 in downtown Kochi as a son of a wealthy samurai(gochi).
At 19 he went up to Edo (Tokyo) to sharpen his swordsmanchip. But in July of that year (1853),Edo and its vicinity were thrown into chaos: Commodore Perry of the United States arrived at Tokyo Bay, demanding the Tokugawa Shogun sign a treaty. Japan had maintained a national isolation policy for over two hundred years. The confusion that followed was unprecedented in the history of this country. Ryoma was simply a bewildered observer at that time.
In 1858 he returned to Kochi as an acknowledged swordsman. Then he met Kawada Shoryo, an artist-scholar, who was already well-informed about foreign affairs through acquaintance with John Manjiro. Shoryo inspired Ryoma with a vision of modern Japan as a nation fortified against Western colonialism.
In 1862 he returned to Edo after disenfranchising himself of goshi status in his home province. Soon he came to know Katsu Kaishu, the Shogun's Commissioner knowledgeable of internal and external affairsat that time. Two years earlier he had been to America as the captain of the first Japanese boat to cross the Pacific, when the Shogun sent a delegation to Washington to conclude of friendship and commerce with the U.S.A. He was a man of foresight, too, curiously unselfish and detached from the Shounate he served.
Ryoma offered himself as Katsu's assistant and learned under him Western navigation and studies including political science, philosophy and law.
Ktsu also introduced Ryoma to his colleagues and friends. Some of them were progressive scholars or thinkers; others were politically influential. The latter turned out to be instrumetal when Ryoma began to carry out his revolutioary plans.
First he started a trading corporation with some of the former students of the Navy Training Institute, established by Katsu in 1864 but closed the next year when it was suspected of being "a den of radicals" and Katsu was dismissed.
Now Ryoma knew ships were his passion and that the future of Japan was on the sea -in trading. To begin with, Ryoma approached the Satsuma Clan for a schooner, setting up a corporation in Nagasaki with the Satsuma Clan as a major shareholder. This was Japan's first joint stock company.
His second plan was to include the Choshu Clan as another shareholder. Satsuma and Choshu had been hostile to each other, but if united, they could be a formidable power to overthrow the Shogunate, which was now turning to a European colonialist to subjugate Choshu first and then other revolutionary clans.
Ryoma, with his trading company uniting them, made Satsuma and Chochu into allies. From a merchant marine, the company thus developed into the first de facto modern navy in Japan.
His next idea was to have someone bring forward a motion to the Shogun for the Restoration of Imperial Rule. Ryoma brought his Eight-Point Plan to Goto Shojiro, Chier Secretary of Lord Yamanouchi Yodo in Tosa, his home province. Goto felt it could be acceptable not only to the Emperor but also to the Tokugawa Family if not the Shogunate itself.
In fact, his Plan, slightly revised by Goto, did prove to be acceptable to all sides including Lord Yamanouchi who agreed to present the motion in his own name. On october 15, 1866, the Shogun Yoshinobu adopted it to avoid a great deal of further bloodshed.
That very night Ryoma planned how to organize a provisional government for the new era to come. The next day produced a list of cabinet personnel. Both were agreed upon by all concerned.
At first they were surprised not to see the name of Ryoma himself on the list. Wasn't he the leader of this revolution? When asked why, Ryoma simply answered, "I am not interested in working in anoffice. I think I'll go back to sea-the seas of the world."
Yet he stayed busy guiding the Meiji Restoration and planning the new government. But a month later, on November 15, on his 33rd birthday, Ryoma was assassinated in Kyoto.
Before his untimeiy death, however, Ryoma seemed to have done everything he thought he had to. The administrative policy he had prepared was willingly adopted by the new government.
The Five-Point Imperial Oath delivered by Emperor Meiji in 1868, in effect the first constitution of modern Japan, was derived from the Eight-Point Plan Ryoma had made two years before.
Here comes another igosso, Itagaki Taisuke(1837-1919). During the Boshin Civil War, Itagaki led his Tosa le-gion to subjugate the pro-Shogunate clan of Aizu(Fukushima Pref.).
During the battle he he keenly felt the necessity for the equality of people, when he saw only the privileged class of warriors upholding the Aizu cause in that test of loyalty. The other classes, who had long been left in the cold, simply fled. Itagaki said to himself, "It's only natural;only where there are rights is there duty."
A few years later when Itagaki retired from the cabinet in Tokyo, he started working to implement the First Article of the Imperial Charter Oath delivered by Emperor Meiji-"deliberative assemblies shall be established on an extensive scale, and all measures of government shall be decided by public opinion, "
In 1873, he and other members of the Aikoku Koto Party-the first political association of the Meiji era-presented a resolution to the government, requesting the establishment of a parliamentary government, but without success. He returned to Kochi and established the Risshi-sha society to propagate democratic principles, a pioneer among political societies emerging at that time.
By 1881 the national movement for democratic rigths had reached its zenith and finally obtained the government's pledge to inaugurate a National Assembly in 1890.
But when the first Deliberative Council was finally assembled and the Liberative Party was reorganized, it had already lost its original spirit. To the frustration of Itagaki, it was difficult for liberalism, especially in politics, to take root in Japan.
Yet Kochi is regarded as the birthplace of Japan's Movement for Democratic Rights. It was also in this prefecture, in the town of Kamimachi in 1880, that women first acquired suffrage, 65 years earlier than women in the rest of the country, who attained it in 1945 only after World WarII.
There is the Memorial Museum of this Movement for Democratic Right, Jiyuminken Kinenkan, on the Sambashi-dori near the ferry port. Open dailt except Monday and days after national holi-days.
Admission:300 yen (Students:100 yen)
Halfway up the castle hill by the stone steps are statues of woman and a big horse. She is the wife Yamanouchi Kazutoyo, widely known as "a model of an exemplary wife."
In one well-known episode, when her husband was still an unknown young samurai in Owari (Aichi Pref.), shi heard he was anxious to have a fleet but could not afford it, and promptly produced a sufficient cache of money she had carefully saved.
By virtue of that wonderful horse, Kazutoyo's readiness to help his master was first recognized by Oda Nobunaga, ultimate victor of the long Civil War from 1477 to 1573. Kazutoyo continued his successful career until he was appointed Lord Tosa Province by the Tokugawa Shogunate with a fief of 240,000 koku, the largest in Shikoku.
Naturally many wives in Japan still like to cite "Yamaniuchi Kazutoyo's wife" to justify their secret savings.
Chosokabe Motochika(1539-99), like many other warlords in the Civil War Period that lasted about a century from the close of the 15th Century, fought for his autonomy and for the increase of his fief until he finally subjugated the whole island of Shikoku(1584).
But soon he had to fight against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the successor to Oda Nobunaga as the strongest civil-war baron steadily unifying the country. When Motochika was defeated, he had to give up all the Lands he had invaded-Awa, Sanuki and Iyo. And it was only helping Hideyoshi subjugate Kyushu that Motochika was formally appointed Lord of Tosa.
soon after his death, however, his heir Mrichika fought a losing battle against the Tokugawas at Sekigahara, only to be deprived of his fief. In 1615 he was killed during the Tokugawas' siege against Osaka Castle. This spelled the end of the Chosokabe eminence.
When Yamanouchi Kazutoyo became lord of Tosa, he brought his own samurai from his former fiefdom (60,000 koku) of Kakegawa samurai called goshi or country samurai all through the Edo Period. No wonder those goshi from Tosa were among the main forces to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate.
25 minutes' but ride from Seibu Terminal (Tosa Dentetsu Bus bound for Chikurinji).
Chikurin-ji Temple,situated on top of Godaisan Hill, is one of the biggest of the 88 temples. The main image, Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom and intellect, and 19 other Buddhist images in the treasure house are all Important Cultural Properties.
Just next to the temple is Makino Botanical Garden, a 30,000 m garden with 1,200 species, built in memory of the world-famous botanst Makino Tomitaro (1862-1957). He was an igosso, too. The self-taught man spent his life traveling to every corner of this country, making a collection of no less than 400,000 specimens, discovering and naming about 1,000 new species, and writing a number of books containing his own precise illustrations.Makino Bunko Library in the Garden houses 42,000 volumes from his library, pert of which is open to the public. Open daily except December 28-January 3. Adumission:350 yen.
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