Let me introduce myself. My name is Sayaka Takahashi.
I was born in kawanoe city, Ehime Prefecture, Japan on November 20, 1984.
I am a first year student at kagawa Junior college.
My major is Infact Education.
My hobbies are listening to music, playing the piano.
My home page address is :
http://www.geocities.co.jp/CollegeLife-Labo/ 4001/2004/503030.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 generations of people from all over the country.
They have often spent more than 60 days walking along the whole circuit of the eighty-gight 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 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 knows as 0-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 offers 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 coasts.
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 begin forgotten in its homeland - language, festivals, arts and techniques. These 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 modern technology that the waves of development have finally brought here in the 1980's and 90's - the colossal bridges connrcting 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 people like the father of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, who is often credited as a father of 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 Japanese history. There must have been something inspiring on this island.
We hope this guidebook will help you enjoy Shikoku, and Japan herself seen through Shikoku, finding inspiration of your own by traveling around this small but great island. Bon voyage !
Matsuyama, the largest city in Shikoku, has dominated this area since 1595,when Lord Kato arrived here. The castle he began to build seven years later still looms over downtown Matsuyama as its definitive landmark.
A large stone monument at the left-hand corner of the JR Matsuyama station plaza reads as follows:
Come spring as of old
When such revenues of rice
Braced this castle town !
Shiki
This monument characterizes the nostalgic pride of haiku loving Matsuyama people, three out of ten of whom are said to be haiku poets.
Very few Japanese, haiku poets or not, can visit Matsuyama without remembering Shiki, a preeminent son of Matsuyama, who made this town what is called the hometown of Haiku.
Another nationwide attraction of Matsuyama is the fabled Dogo Onsen Hot Spring.The Dogo Onsen Honkan public bathhouse of distinctive architectuer can be fully experienced inside.
Ishite-ji Temple near Dogo Onsen is one of the most impressive of the 88 Sacred Places of Shikoku. It is also known for a gripping supernatural legend deeply imbued with the origin of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
It was 150,000 koku.
[ By Streetcar ]
Take the loop line in front of JR Matsuyama and get off at Okaido, and walk about 5 minutes to the Ropeway Station or past it to the Shinonome-jinjashrine stone steps.
[ By Bus ]
10 minutes' bus ride to Shinonome-jinja-mae or Ropeway-mae from JR Matsuyama (Oku-Dogo Onsen Kanko Bus bound for Oku-Dogo ).
To the hilltop: 15 minutes' walk up the hillside past Shinonome-jinja Shrine at the end of the wide stone steps or 3 minutes by ropeway or chair lift from Ropeway Station.
The three-storied main donjon and a subsidiary donjon fortifide with several turrets and gates form a typical fort castle of the 17th century. The original buildings are gone except for Inui-mon Gate, some walls and ramparts.
Recently the city has completed an extensive project to rebuild the entire castle. Great care was taken to employ the same techniques and materials as used in the original construction; not one nail was used to fit all the wooden parts together.
The main donjon houses a large collection of swords, spears, armor, documents, works of art and calligraphy, and mementoes mainly of the lords of the castle- the Katos, the Gamos and several generations of the Matsudairas.Open daily. Admission: 260 yen.
The local enthusiasm for composing haiku dates back to 1674 when Lord Matsudaira Sadanao came to govern this province. While in Edo (Tokyo), Sadanao had proved himself a distinguished haiku student of Kikaku, one of the foremost disciples of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), the poetic genius who virtually invented the classical Japanese haiku.
People in Matsuyama took interest in the literary art from their new lord brought to them and soon made haiku an outlet for artistic expression in their daily lives. In 1880 Japan's first haiku monthly was published in Matsuyama, with Masaoka Shiki's maternal grandfather among its editors.
In the 1890's, Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), who had been trying to bring Japanese literature more up-to-date in Tokyo as a student-turned-newspaperman,succeeded in originating a new style of haiku by freeing it from formalism, while fighting a losing battle against tuberculosis. Before his death at 35, he managed to establish new standards for waka (5-7-5-7-7 syllable verse) as well.
Soon Matsuyama produced many other poets who carried on Shiki's Shasei realism as Japan's premier haiku poets throughout the modern period that followed, including Takahama Kyoshi, Kawahigashi Hekigodo, Naito Meisetsu, Yanagihara Kyokudo and Ishida Hakyo. They in turn attracted such a large number of haiku poets to their hometown that Matsuyama was dubbed the hometown of haiku.
Shiki-do House on the ground of Shoshuzen-ji Temple behind Matsuyama -shi-eki Station is a replica of Shiki's home-a small house of a low-ranking samurai family. Shiki spent his first 16 years there until he set out for Tokyo to study.
The exhibition includes about a dozen paintings he did with the juice of herbs and flowers his sister picked from the garden of his house in Tokyo where he was bedridden for the last seven years of his short life. Open daily. Admission: 50yen.
5 minutes' walk from Matsuyama-shi-eki Station.
Another house associated with Shiki is the Gudabutsu-an behind Bansuiso Art Museum. At the age of 27 Shiki returned to Matsuyama, trying to recover from tuberculosis he had contracted five years before, and he shared a two-storied cottage with Natsume Soseki, a friend from college in Tokyo. It was the house Soseki rented and named Gudabutsu-an after one of his pen names, Gudabutsu or Foolish Buddha. Soseki's portrait is now ubiquitous on the 1000 yen bill.
6 minutes' walk from Okaido on the streetcar loop line.
There are haiku post boxes of various shapes and sizes standing in many public places including Matsuyama-jo Castle. The forms to write your haiku, name and address, are placed beside each post.
Here is an example of an English haiku that appeared in A Collection of the Best Haiku of the Year (the 20th volume) published by the City in June, 1989:
Dyes of blue and white
Glimmer in the looms so fast
Making summer cloth
Stephen L.John
This alludes to the Iyo-gasuri kimono cloth native to this prefecture.
Taneda Santoka (1882-1940), a haiku nonconformist who cast aside all the rules including the 5-7-5 syllable structure, is also associated with Matsuyama. Santoka, an ordained Zen priest, after spending most of his life wandering all over the country as a begging monk, chose to settle in Matsuyama only to die 10 months later.
The humble cottage where he dwelt-Isso-an (A Blade of Grass Hermitage) is preserved north of Ehime University. His books and documents are also preserved in Shiki Memorial museum.
A pop of hail even in my iron bowl !
Santoka
(Tetsu-bachi no naka nimo arare)
A bowl used by a mendicant priest.
30 minutes' walk from Sekijuji Byoin -mae on the loop line.
5 minutes' walk from Kinuyama Station on Iyo-tetsu Takahama Line.
The museum houses 2,300 items concerning this traditional art of Iyo-gasuri making- the indigo-dyeing and weaving peculiar to this former Iyo Province, designated as a National Folk Art by the government, and enjoying nationwide fame. It has a workshop to demonstrate the art and a shop to sell the products, as well. Admission free. Open daily except December 31 and January 1.
[From JR Matsuyama]
20 minutes by streetcar bound for Dogo Onsen.
[From the castle]
5 minutes by streetcar from the nearest station, Higashi Keisatsusho-mae, bound for Dogo Onsen.
[From Matsuyama Kanko-ko Port]
45 minutes by bus bound for Dogo Onsen .
Dogo Onsen, one of the oldest and best- known hot spring spas in Japan, was visited by several Emperors and Empresses, noblemen and noblewomen as early as the 5th century .
From the Dogo Onsen Streetcar Terminal, 5 minutes' walk along the shopping arcade will bring you to an ornate Japanese-style building, the Dogo Onsen Honkan, the main public bathhouse run by the city.
There are two baths -Kami-no-yu and Tamano-yu. The former is more popular than the latter. Many local people visit Kami-no-yu every day, to enjoy meeting people as well as taking a bath.
To the Japanese people in general, hot spring are not only for healing physical ailments but also for recreation. The alkaline water containing minerals is supposed to be good for rheumatism, skin diseases, wounds and so on.
The drum- beating from the small pavilion on top of the main building is meant as an invitation. The first beating at 6:30 a.m. signals the opening of the house, followed by a second beating at noon. The last at 6:00 p.m. is for evening bathers. Open daily:
1st floor - Kami-no-yu (250 yen)
6:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
2nd floor - Kami-no-yu (620 yen)
6:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Tama-no-yu (980 yen)
6:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
3rd floor - Tama-no-yu (1240 yen)
6:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
The carved white heron surmounting the pavilion roof is the symbol of Dogo Onsen.
Legend says that long, long ago a wounded white heron was seen to bathe here as if it knew the healing effect of the hot spring.
Bath Kami-no-yu and Tama-no-yu are divided into men's and women's baths, and by different ranks of service such as tea with cake, cotton kimono or private saloon.
The neighborhood of Dogo Onsen has many places of interest. Isaniwa-jinja Shrine, a gracious vermilion-lacquered building, built in 1667 by the then Matsudaira lord, is one of the three best examples of Hachiman-zukuri architecture in Japan.
This neighborhood was the political center of Iyo when the Iyo Suigun seamen led by the Kono Clan reigned supreme from the 13th to 16th centuries.Dogo Koen Park was the site of the Konos castle destroyed in 1585 when Hideyoshi subjugated the whole island of Shikoku. Its ancient moast and ramparts still remain.
Shiki Memorial Museum in the same park is a literary museum dedicated to Masaoka Shiki. The modern white building houses a large collection of writings, photographs, videos and documents concerning Shiki. Biographical sketches are also provided of poets and writers who helped him with his literary activities, carrying on his shasei realism after his early death.
[From Dogo Onsen] 15 minutes' walk southeast along the road beside the Shiki Memorial Museum.
[From JR Matsuyama] 15 minutes' bus ride to Ishitejimae Bus Stop (Iyotetsu Bus or Oku-Dogo Onsen Kanko Bus bound for Oku-Dogo).
Ishite-ji Temple (No.51) offers many things to see, including the main gate (a National Treasure), the main hall, the three-storied pagoda, the belfry, the Gomado hall (all Important Cultural Properties), and the treasure house.
But to appreciate the temple fully, one must hear the following story:
Long ago there lived in this neighborhood a man called Emon Saburo. He was very rich, but all he wanted was to be richer still.
One winter day a wandering monk came to his gate, prayed and held out his begging bowl to appeal for food. Saburo coldly refused him. The next day the same priest came again, but Saburo angrily drove him away. But the priest kept returning. On the 8th day Saburo went at him with a stick, struck him, dashing his bowl to the ground.
The priest came no more. But on the next day the eldest of Saburo's sons died, and next day another. Eight days passed, and every one of his eight children was gone, to his grief and horror.
Saburo then realized how wrong-headed and evil he had been. What he had to do, he determined, was to go and find that holy man and beg absolution. Soon he was following the monk's trail, asking for alms, begging for food himself every day.
He went around and around Shikoku Island for four years, but in vain. Having already made 20 rounds, he decided to make one more round in the reverse direction, instead of trying to catch up with the monk. His health was failing, but he had to keep searching. On his way to Shozan-ji (No.12) deep in the mountains, Saburo fell down, ready to die.
At that moment, Kobo Daishi, the priest he had been searching for, appeared before him. The saint, knowing everything, forgave Saburo saying his sincere repentance had washed away his sins.
Greatly relieved, the man was about to close his eyes. Then Daishi asked if he had a last wish. He answered that he would like to be rebord as the lord of Iyo, his home province, to have the power to do great good for his people. Daishi picked up a small stone, wrote something on it, and pressed the stone into the dying man's left hand.
Some time later the wife of the Lord of Iyo gave birth to a baby boy whose left hand would not open.They tried everything but they could not open it. At last they called in the head priest of their family temple Anyo-ji. He chanted powerful prayers and finally the baby's hand opened. Inside was a stone and on it was written Emon Sabro Reborn.
To memorialize this mysterious event, the name of the temple was changed to Ishite-ji or Stone-Hand Temple. Believers can see that stone in the tample's Treasure House.
Emon Sabro, who went around and around Shikoku searching for Daishi, is considered to be the first to have made the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
To Tobe / Tobe Zoo: About 45 minutes' bus ride from Matsuyama-shi-eki Station (Iyo-tetsu Bus bound for Tobe / Tobe Undo Koen)
Tobe is an ancient word meaning Whetstone-Producing Folk in the Yamato Period (390-645), indicating that this area has long been known for its whetstone production.
But it was not until 1777 that the stone was utilized in producing what is now as Tobe-yaki Pottery. Two years earlier the 9th Lord of Ozu Province, anxious to have some local industry to improve the financial condition of his province, had ordered Sugino Josuke, one of the local potters, to make porcelain out of the whetstone chips so abundant in the village of Tobe. Josuke tried hard but in vain until at last he took the advice of a potter from northern Kyushu and succeeded in making the first Tobe-yaki.
The world-famous ceramic artists who visited the town in 1953-Ryu Soetsu, Bernard Leach and Hamada Shoji-greatly contributed to raising the artistic quality of Tobe-yaki. 23 years later it was finally designated a National Folk Art by the government.
2 minutes' walk from Tobe Bus Stop will bring you to Tobe-yaki Dento Sangyo-kan, a museum that houses a large variety of Tobe-yaki, traditional and modern.
Open daily except Thursday. Admission: 200 yen.
The Tobe-yaki-tiled Path leads to several kilns and a hill that overlooks the town dotted with about 80 kilns. The local potters are proud that their pieces are all made by hand. The Tobe-yaki Monument on top of the hill is dedicated to Sugino Josuke as the father of Tobe-yaki.
Togei Sosaku-kan Workshop at the foot of the hill is a must for those who wish to try their hand at Tobe-yaki. Open daily except Monday, Thursday and the day after a holiday: 10:00-17:00.
- Tobe Zoo (1.7 km north of Tobe Bus Stop) is the best in Shikoku. Animals are loose in the garden.
- Open daily except Monday. 300 yen
To Jojusha: [Bus +Ropeway] an hour bus ride from JR Iyo Saijo to Nishinokawa Ropeway Mae (No service available from December through March) + 8 minutes by ropeway to Joju-eki Station).
To Tsuchigoya: a 3 hour bus ride from Matsuyama-shi-eki Station to Ishizuchi Tsuchigoya (No service available from December through March)
Mt. Ishizuchi (1982 m) is the highest peak in western Japan. Ishizuchi or Stone-Hammer comes from the rocky summit weathered into such a shape. To reach the narrow summit, one must properly outfit for a 2 or 3 hour climb, including 3 chains up sheer cliffs near the top.
Jojusha Shrine is a branch of Ishizuchi-jinja Main Shrine 0.7 km south of Ishizuchi-yama (Yosan Line). Its neighborhood with observatories and picnic grounds along the promenade is a favorite place for holiday-makers.
Traditionally Mt. Ishizuchi, like many other high mountain in Japan, has been considered a sacred place- an abode of the mountain gods. Ancient Japanese drew no hard line between such gods and their own ancestors who they thought became protective spirits watching over then from on high in the mountains.
When Esoteric Buddhism arrived in the 9th century, it reinforced the older beliefs with more complex lore. Thus high mountains attracted even more worshippres, providing both Shintoists and Esoteric Buddhists with sacred places for their mountaineering asceticism.
Even today during the Mountain Opening season (July 1-10), ascetics and worshippers, formally dressed in white, pay an annual visit to the top of the mountain. - Zao Gongen Bodhisattvas - are considered to be their guardians.
Where to stay:
- Jojuya near Jojusha: (08975) 9-0032.
- Tamaya Ryokan 31 minute's walk from Joju-eki
- Station: (08975) 9-0415.
1 hour and 20 minutes' bus ride from Matsuyama-shi-eki Station to Omogo.
Omogokei Ravine in the southern valley below Mt.Ishizuchi is know for its scenic beauty - multi-colored rocks, falls, deep streams, primeval forests and colorful leaves in autumn. A 2 hour hike between Kammon and Kumabuchi (3 km) is very popular.
- 40 minutes' train ride from JR Matsuyama.
- To Imabari Port: 25 minutes' walk from JR Imabari.
The Kono Art Museum (10 minutes' walk from JR Imabari on the way to the port) is recommended to those who are interested in Japanese art and literature traditional and modern.
The Ehime Bunka-kan Museum , next to the castle,is also worth visiting for those interested in ceramics, as it exhibits a small but excellent collection of ancient pottery from China, Korea and Japan.
Visiting Oyamazumi-jinja on Omishima Island and Kosanji Temple on neighboring Ikuchishima Island on the same day affords contrasting visions of a venerable Shinto shrine and an ornate Bddhist temple.
[From Matsuyama] 50 minutes by hydrofoli from Matsuyama Kanko-ko Port to Miyaura Port on Omishima Island.
20 minutes' walk along the village street to the shrine.
[From Setoda Port on Ikuchishima Island] 10 minutes by ferry to Inokuchi Port on Omishima Island when visiting Kosan-ji first.
10 monutes' bus ride to the shrine.
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