Tezen Art Museum & Garden

 

The Tezen Museum of Art near Izumo Taisha Shrine is a hidden gem for those interested in traditional Japanese arts & crafts, mingei, with the added bonus of having a delightful Izumo-style garden.

Located between the entrance to Izumo Taisha and Inasa Beach, the museum is housed in a series of large Edo-Period rice and sake warehouses.

The Tezen family moved to the area of Taisha around the end of the 17th century.

They became wealthy through trade in rice, sake, lumber etc and became official merchants for the domain.

As such their residence was sometimes used as a honjin, guesthouse, by the daimyo when he visited the area.

Over the centuries the Tezen family amassed a huge collection of art that is now the basis of the museum.

The collection consists of swords, screens, paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquerware, etc.

The collection includes a lot of pieces connected to Matsudaira Fumai, the daimyo famous as a te master.

There is a permanent display of the collection , which also rotates so that more of the collection can be viewed. There are also temporary thematic exhibitions.

Most, but not all, the collection is of arts and crafts produced in the Izumo area.

The garden, called Mukaizawaen, is small, but delightful.

Not too far away in Izumo City is another hidden gem, the Izumo Folkcrafts Museum, also housed in the storehouses of a wealthy family.

The previous post in this series exploring the Izumo and Matsue area was on Kokokuji Temple including paintings and sculptures.

Itokoku History Museum

 

The Itokoku History Museum is somewhat larger than your average local history museum as it is in an area with many, many important, ancient archeological sites.

Being the closest part of the Japanese islands to mainland Asia, where people, culture, and technology were introduced from, northern Kyushu is in many ways the cradle of Japanese culture and history.

Not far from here in Karatsu is the site of the earliest evidence of rice-paddies in Japan, and the earliest records of Japan from China mention northern Kyushu. Close to this museum is the Hirabaru Burial Site, and ancient tomb from where many of the items in the museum has been exacavated.

Bronze mirrors are an important archeological marker in ancient Japan. Originally based in Daoist magic, in Japan they are  seen as important status-markers. The most famous bronze mirrors are a group of 100 given by the Chinese Emperor to the legendary Japanese Queen Himiko. She would then have given on many of these to important figures who supported her, and so on. Eventually these bronze mirrors were also produced in Japan.

In Japanese archeology, the presence of mirrors in grave goods is a marker of the importance of the person buried. The bigger the mirrors, and the quantity of mirrors, indicating the status. At the nearby Hirabaru site they discovered not only the largest number of mirrors at a single site, but also the biggest mirror ever found. In recent years a bigger mirror has been discovered near Nara, but it seems to be most unusual. What is clear is that the "king" who lived here was very, very powerful.

There is some English with the displays, and a lot of the museum is aimed at children, but if you are interested in ancient Japanese history, the museum is worth a visit.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kyushu Pilgrimage was on nearby Sazareishi Shrine.

Kobe Maritime Museum & Kawasaki Good Time World

 

The most interesting piece of architecture in Kobe, to my mind at least, is the Kobe Maritime Museum located on the waterfront in Meriken Park.

It was opened in 1987 to mark the 120th anniversary of the opening of the port to foreign trade.

The vast majority of the displays are models, though some of them are quite large in scale.

However, I am guessing that the museum never made much money, so in 2007 a large part of the structure was turned into the Kawasaki Good Times World.

Outside Japan Kawasaki is probably best known for motorbikes, but it is a major industrial concern with its fingers in many pies.

Trains, helicopters, industrial robotics, and ships are among the many other products.

The museum has lots of simulators and other hands-on exhibits for kids of all ages....

This was the one and only time I went in, though I photograph the building whenever I pass through Kobe. I was here on Day 3 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post was on Meriken Park.

Tsukushi Korokan

 

The Tsukushi Korokan was a government lodgings and reception site in ancient Japan for diplomatic visitors from China and Korea that was in operation during the Asuka, Nara, and Heian Periods.

Most official intercourse between Japan and mainland Asia came through northern Kyushu, the closest point between them. Dazaifu, a little further inland from what is now Fukuoka City, was the western "capital" for the central government.

The Korokan was meant to impress visitors and also acted as a kind of immigration control centre. Later when visitors were more for trade than diplomacy the merchants would stay in the Korokan for months. Also, Japanese monks and diplomats heading to Asia would also stay here. During the 11th century, it was abandoned and disappeared from history.

The site of the Korokan was discovered in 1987 during construction work on one of the stadiums in Maizuru Park, the former site of the huge Fukuoka Castle. A museum showing some of the excavations, items discovered, and a partial reconstruction of one of the buildings is open in the park with free entry.

I visited on a rest and recovery day on the 74th day of my walk around Kyushu. The previous post was on the Fukuoka Castle ruins.

First Rice Paddies in Japan

 

No-one can know for sure exactly when and where rice was introduced into Japan, as this was in prehistory.

However, the Nabatake Site in Karatsu, Saga, has been identified by archeologists as the oldest known wet-rice farming settlement  so far discovered.

A new local history museum, the Matsurokan, display materials from the site as well as a reconstruction of a pit house and a group of paddies.

It is named after Matsurokoku, a place mentioned in the earliest Chinese records of Japan as the site where they landed on theoir way to the legendary Yamatai, home of "Queen" Himiko. It is believed that Matsurokoku was this area.

Certainly rice was introduced into Japan, along with so much else, including the bulk of Japanese Dna, through Northern Kyushu, the closest point to the Asian mainland.

All the info is only in Japanese, and I was surprised that given the modern Japanese obsession with rice that this place is not more widely known, celebrated, or visited.

I was exploring Karatsu before heading up the coast on day 73 of my Kyushu walk. The previous post was on the former Takatori Mansion.

Karatsu Kunchi Hikiyama

 

Karatsu Kunchi is the main festival of the coastal castle town of Karatsu on the coast of Saga in northern Kyushu.

It takes place on November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th every year and features a parade of giant floats called hikiyama.

Many of the famous matsuris in Japan feature giant floats, and unique styles have been developed.

All the floats in Karatsu date back to the early to mid 19th century, and 14 of the original 15 are still used.

The floats are between 5 to 6 meters in height and weighing between 2 and 5 tons, with each one created by and representing the 15 different districts that make up the town.

The floats are started with a wooden framework which is then built up upon with sometimes clay, sometimes linen, and sometimes Japanese paper. This is then lacquered and finished with gold leaf..

All manner of creatures, mostly mythical, are represented, with lions being quite popular, but also dragons, phoenix, and turtle. Perhaps the most unusual design are the kabuto, or samurai helmets, with the kabutos of the great samurai Raiko  Minamoto, Kenshin Uesugi, Shingen Takeda, and Yoshitsune Monamoto.

If you can't visit the festival, the floats are displayed throughout the year in an exhibition hall. These photos were taken when I visited and the hall was located directly next to Karatsu Shrine, but a new hall has now been built close to the main JR station of the town.

The previous post was on Karatsu Shrine, the origin and home of the Karatsu Kunchi.