Takahashi Old Town

 

Takahashi, the castle town on the Takahashi River in the mountains of Okayama was often referred to as Bitchu Takahashi to distinguish it from the other towns of the same name in other parts of Japan.

Honmachi, the oldest part of the town, is located in the northern part of what is now the modern town, close to the mountain which is home to Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, known as the highest castle in Japan.

Along the higher part of the old town are numerous temples and shrines, notably Raikyuji Temple with its magnificent garden.

Closest to the castle was the samurai district that now has some of the former samurai residences open to the public like the neighboring Orii Residence and Haibara Residence.

Lower down the slope is the former merchant district, closer to the river which made Takahashi and important transportation hub in historical times.

One of the richest merchant families were the Ikegami, and yesterday I posted on their property which is open to the public.

There was a disastrous fire in the town in 1843, so while there is little very old architecture, there is plenty of late 19th century architecture to make a wander interesting.

However, not enough for the honmachi area to be awarded the status of a Preservation District , or Dentoteki Kenzobutsu-gun as it is known in Japanese.

Fukiya, a small mining town to the north, now within the limits of Takahashi City does have a Preservation District though, and I will cover it in a later post.

Takahashi is known as a "Little Kyoto". I thought that this was just a nickname given to various places around Japan that have retained traditions, but I recently learned that you have to pay to join an organization of Little Kyotos.

Not such a well known tourist site, but with the castle, temple garden, and historic districts, well worth a visit to avoid crowds.

There are a couple of local museums housed in Meiji Period buildings that are interesting, with the local history museum certainly worth a visit.

The previous post in this series on day 6 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Ikegami Merchant Museum.

Uzukamikoto Shrine

 

Uzukamikoto Shrine is located near the northern tip of Ama, one of the main islands in the Oki Islands.

The main kami, Uzukamikoto, sometimes known as Uzuka no Mikoto is unique to those shrine and is obviously a local deity.

The shrine was listed as one of the 4 major shrines of the Oki islands in the 9th century. Its treasures include many volumes  of a Buddhist sutra from the 14th to 16h centuries.

Throughout its history it received major support in terms of donations of land from whoever was the political power of the islands at the time.

According to the myths, the kami was in dispute with a kami on the neighbouring Nishinoshima Island over a certain Princess Hinamachihime of Nishinoshima. The dispute was won by Uzaka no Mikoto and following their marriage she gave birth to a daughter, Yanaihime or Nagirahime, the kami of nearby Nagarihime Shrine.

Nagarihime was born at Byobu Rock at the nearby Akiya Coast, the subject of the previous post in this series.

The honden of the shrine is quite magnificent and large, befitting its earlier importance. Now with a copper roof, it was thatched until about 70 years ago.

Ikegami Merchant Mansion

 

Down below the former samurai district of the castle town of Takahashi in the mountains of Okayama is the merchant district of the old town.

The wealthiest merchant family was the Ikegami, and their property is open to the public as a kind of rest spot-information centre-musuem.

The family has been on this site since the early 18th century, initially with a store selling small goods.

Later the family expanded in the river trade with some kawabune boats and also money-lending, a lucrative business for many Japanese  merchants in the Edo Period.

Their greatest success came with the manufacture of soy sauce which reached its peak in  the Meiji period.

The current buildings date back no later than the mid 19th century as much of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1843.

It is quite a large property with many buildings including the residential part and with a long garden in between.

The storerooms to the rear contain a lot of exhibits pertaining to the manufacture of soy sauce.

Entry is free and there are sometimes staff on hand to offer information.

As far as I can tell this is the only traditional building in the merchant quarter that is open to the public.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the samurai mansion up the hill.

A Morning at Iwami Ginzan

 

The World Heritage Site of Iwami Ginzan is only 30 kilometers from my home, and as I had friend who had a business there I used to visit often, even before it became a World Heritage site in 2007. All these photos are from one such trip. The first needs no explanation.

This is a window in a small seated shelter along the footpath that runs along the stream from the main parking area up the valley towards the mine...

The next photo is  of the Fudo Myo statue at the entrance to Seisuiji Temple.

The photo below needs no explanation...

The photo below is a lightshade at my friends shop that seems to be based on the Japanese umbrella

The next couple of shots are of some flower displays along the main street of Omori;

I recently posted another set of such shots taken on a May 5th visit.

Below is a gate into the garden of a wealthy merchant's property.

No explanation need for the photo below....

A different photo of the some scene shown below is in a post I did on the facades of Omori.

Some other earlier posts on Iwami Ginzan include these posts on the Fall colours....

Hunting the Fall Colors in Omori

Autumn in Omori

Autumn Splendor at Kigami Shrine

Other posts on Iwami Ginzan include...

Omori Historic Preservation District

Kanzeonji Temple

500 Rakan at Iwami Ginzan

For a shot of this entrance to the wealthy merchants home, but with a different painting and different flower display see the Omori in 2D post.

Imbara to Kawahira along the Gonokawa

 

Early morning, October 15th, 2021, and I begin the 3rd leg of my walk along the south bank of the Gonokawa River to its source. I head along the top of the embankment out of the settlement of Imbara, where the Nigori River enters the Gonokawa.

When the embankment ends I have to cross the disused tracks of the former JR Sanko Line. I have been following the tracks since leaving the mouth of the river in Gotsu.

Imbara has the busiest crossing of the river since leaving the mouth at Gotsu. Route 261 has been following the river on the opposite bank to me but at Imbara it does a 90 degree turn and crosses the river and then follows the Nigoro River up into the mountains and then on to Hiroshima.

As with the whole journey so far, the opposite bank continues to be the most populated and with the busier road.

Another distinction between the two sides is that it was the border, until the Meiji Period, between the Hamada Domain... the side I'm on,.. and the Iwami Ginzan Territory, controlled directly by the Tokugawa Government.

I did read once that whereas most borders that followed rivers, the border would be considered the middle of the river, in this case the Tokugawa actually controlled both banks of the river.

Before reaching the outskirts of Kawamoto, there were few properties on this side of the river. Though Imbara was not so big in terms of population, its transportation junction is home to the biggest retail businesses since leaving Gotsu.... some national chain drugstores and home garden stores as well as the only pachinko parlor in the area and a Michi no Eki.

Kawamoto is the biggest town on the river  since leaving Gotsu and is unusual in that it has chosen not to be merged into a larger "city". In historical times it was home to a small domain with several small castles.

The previous post was on the section from Shikaga to Imbara