Shorenji Temple Takahashi

 

When I first came to Japan I was quite intrigued by temples and even large houses that had walls that reminded me of Japanese castles. I later learned that surrounding some castles some buildings would have been incorporated into a defensive system, and that some temples were actually armed institutions, but mostly it was due to steep slopes requiring retaining walls.

However, Shorenji Temple in Takahashi was built as a defensive structure but masqueraded as a temple because of the laws at the time.

During the Edo Period the Tokugawa Shogunate decreed that each domain could only have one castle and that all samurai must reside in the castle town built around the castle.

Also the decrees governing repairs to castle were very strict and in most cases severely limited the daimyo in what they could do.

Shorenji Temple was re-constructed on this sitein 1657 as a defensive structure to protect the southern approach to Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, but as it was a temple they seem to have gotten away with it. It was originally founded in 815 and was located in a different area. The Kannon Hall has a ceiling and door that came from a boat used by the Lord of Okayama Castle in the invasion of Korea in 1592.

The previous post in this series was on Tairyuji Yakushi Temple next door.

Tairyuji Yakushi-in Temple

 

As far as I can make out, Tairyuji Temple and Yakushi-in Temple share the same grounds and are somehow connected yet considered separate.

The Nio gate, which is partway up the steps to the complex, dates back to the 17th century and contains a fine pair of Nio.

I am not sure if the priest is visiting the temple or returning home to the temple

The Yakushi-in hall is the smaller of the two buildings in the photo below.

Yakushi-in was established in the 10th century down near where Bitchu Takahashi station is today.

It was moved to its current location in the very early 17th century. It is a Shingon temple and its "secret" honzon is only revealed once every 50 years.

The Yakushi-in main hall is quite small, 3 bays wide and 3 bays deep, but is considered a fine example of Momoyama Period architecture and is registered as an Important Cultural Property of Okayama.

The Binzaru statue pictured below, was quite nice and is usually dark red in colour but may just be faded...

For many older Japanese the temple is well known as being the location for one of the "Tora-san" movies.

The previous post was on the Nariwa Art Museum.

Nariwa Art Museum by Ando Tadao

 

Sometimes known as Takahashi City Nariwa Art Museum as the town of Nariwa was incorporated into Takahashi in 2004

Nariwa lie to the east of the old part of Takahashi, along the Nariwa River before it enters the takahashi River.

The Nariwa Art Museum was established in 1953, but the current building was opened in 1994.

It was designed by the renowned Japanese architect Ando Tadao.

One of the intriguing aspects of Japan, for me, is finding huge, modern, public buildings like museums or auditoriums in small rural towns.

many of these were funded by a program born in the pre-bubble era when, in many senses,  Japan had more mone than it knew what to do with.

What it did was give every single municipality a massive chunk of money which mostly got spent on such projects as this.

By now many of these establishments have gone bust, but this one is still going.

The main focus of the museum is a local-born artist, Kojima Torajiro (1881-1929) generally considered to be primarily an Impressionist.

Also exhibited are a collection of Egyptian artifacts collected by Kojima, and fossils from the Nariwa area.

The museum also stages temporary exhibitions throughout the year. It has a shop and a cafe.

For those without a particular interest in the exhibitions will find the architecture interesting enough by itself.

It is classic Ando, with huge expanses of plain, vertical; concrete. When freshly constructed and almost white it is quite powerful, but I wonder how Ando's buildings will look in another twenty years of built-up grime?

There is also plentiful use of water to bring in the natural environment by reflection.

There is also an inner pool faced by the cafe.

As with many of Ando's structures they are quite labyrinthic leading the visitor in and out of spaces.

The previous post in this series on Takahashi was on the old town architecture.

Other buildings by Ando I have posted on include the Inamori Auditorium in Kagoshima, Komyoji Temple on Shikoku, and the Decorative Tumulus Museum in Kumamoto.

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.