Fuji No Taki Shrine and Trails, Goshogawara, Aomori, Japan (May 21, 2018)

So I was relaxing at home and looked out of the window and noticed the day was too beautiful to just play Xbox all day and watch tv series and movies. So I hit up my google maps saved places, scrolled to the “want to go places” and sent out on my adventure. The following photos are from a real remote area in the Japan northern country side. There were beautiful sites and a couple of random shrines out in the forest in the valley out in the country.

*Tachineputa No Yakata Museum, Goshogawara, Aomori, Japan (May 20, 2018)

“Goshogawara Tachineputa” is one of the biggest summer festivals in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The characters displayed on the floats are huge lanterns. 

Back in the early 1900s, Neputa was a symbol for power and wealth for people like farmers, land owners and merchants. It mostly meant “rich merchants”, especially in Goshogawara. The Nunokas were known as the richest merchants in this area. A carpenter, Suekichi Akimoto, who worked for the Nunokas, designed a huge Neputa for them. Approximately 100 people shouldered the 20 meters tall Neputa and paraded the streets. They said that people could even see it from the neighboring town Kanagi because of the hugeness.

However, electricity spread in the Takisha era and electric wires were set up all around town. Neputa needed to be made shorter, but wider, after that. There were two conflagrations in Goshogawara in those days( in 1944 and 1946). People thought that all of the blueprints of old Neputa or any way to produce it had been lost in the fires. Fortunately some photos and blueprints of Neputa were found in 1993.

Now, after an interval of almost 80 years, the restoration and revival of Neputa in Goshogawara had begun. Many volunteers work hard for the production of Neputa every year. This new Neputa in Goshogawara was named Tachineputa. 

Back in the early 1900s, Neputa was a symbol for power and wealth for people like farmers, land owners and merchants. It mostly meant “rich merchants”, especially in Goshogawara. The Nunokas were known as the richest merchants in this area. A carpenter, Suekichi Akimoto, who worked for the Nunokas, designed a huge Neputa for them. Approximately 100 people shouldered the 20 meters tall Neputa and paraded the streets. They said that people could even see it from the neighboring town Kanagi because of the hugeness.

“Goshogawara Tachineputa” is one of the biggest summer festivals in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The characters displayed on the floats are huge lanterns.

However, electricity spread in the Takisha era and electric wires were set up all around town. Neputa needed to be made shorter, but wider, after that. There were two conflagrations in Goshogawara in those days( in 1944 and 1946). People thought that all of the blueprints of old Neputa or any way to produce it had been lost in the fires. Fortunately some photos and blueprints of Neputa were found in 1993.

Now, after an interval of almost 80 years, the restoration and revival of Neputa in Goshogawara had begun. Many volunteers work hard for the production of Neputa every year. This new Neputa in Goshogawara was named Tachineputa.

Kamegaoka Site, Tsugaru, Aomori, Japan (May 7, 2018)

One of the most famous objects found was a large clay figure (Dogū), discovered in 1887. Known as a Shakōki-dogū, or “goggle-eyed type” figurine, it appears to be wearing some form of snow goggles, and has exaggerated, feminine buttocks, chest and thighs. It is now kept at the Tokyo National Museum, and is an Important Cultural Property.[1] It is recognized internationally as a relic representative of Japan’s Jomon culture. Other artifacts include pottery painted in red and black and lacquerware in a distinctive style, based on which archaeologists have named this site a type site for the “Kamegaoka culture”. ..https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamegaoka_Stone_Age_Site

The site is located on a tongue-shaped plateau at an elevation of seven to eighteen meters above surrounding lowland swamps along the left bank of the Iwaki River on the Tsugaru Peninsula in western Aomori Prefecture. The site contained pit dwellings, a graveyard with mounds and pit graves containing numerous grave goods, including many finished and unfinished Jōmon pottery pieces, clay figurines, plant objects and jade beads. The artifacts have been dates to the Final Jomon period (approx. 1,000 – 300 BC). …https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamegaoka_Stone_Age_Site

Zuirakuen Scenic Site, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan (May 7, 2018)

The Zuirakuen is a Japanese rock garden (karesansui) made using the Oishi Bugaku Ryu style of gardening. It is part of the original Tsushima family estate, a wealthy family of farmers who lived in the Miyadate area.
The garden underwent two long rounds of landscaping efforts before achieving completion. Teizan Takahashi, the leading landscaper of the Bugaku Ryu School, initiated the project in the spring of 1890 and continued working on the garden until the fall of 1905. His two pupil, Teigetsu Ikeda and Teiyo Tonosaki, restarted work on the garden in 1928, adding to and modifying it until 1936, when it was finally considered complete.

“>
-full” src=”http://voyagertree.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/20180507_153610443503351.jpg” alt=”” width=”3000″ height=”2250″ /> The garden has several distinct features. Directly in front of the shoin-style main house building, two large stepping stones are arranged with a gap so large in between them that it is almost impossible to cross without hopping. Once across the stepping stones, there is a “dry pond” (water features imitated when stones are carefully arranged) with a stone bridge across the pond. At the far back of the garden is a low, minartutre hill on the right side (when viewed from the house enterance) and a taller hill on the left side. Large rocks and stone lanterns are also spontaneously arranged throughout the garden. Together, all of these various features embody the quintessence of the Oishi Bugaku Ryu styl.[/caption]

*Iwakiyama Shrine, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan (May 7, 2018)

Iwakiyama Shrine (岩木山神社 Iwakiyama jinja) is a Shintō shrine in the city of Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Tsugaru Domain. All of Mount Iwaki is considered to be a portion of the shrine. The main festival of the shrine, the Oyama-sankei, features a parade from the shrine to the top of the mountain, and is held annually at the time of the autumn equinox. The pilgrims carry colorful banners and are accompanied by traditional drums and flutes. …https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwakiyama_Jinja
The foundation of the Iwakiyama Shrine predates the historical period, and Mount Iwaki was a holy mountain for the local Emishi tribes. Per shrine tradition, the shrine was established on the summit of Mount Iwaki in the year 780. It was rebuilt by the folk-hero Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in the year 800 and dedicated to his father Sakanoue no Karitamaro. Several subsidiary shrines were built around the base of the mountain in an area called the Tokoshinai (十腰内) by the local inhabitants. One of these subsidiary shrines to the southeast of the mountain developed into the Shingon sect Buddhist temple of Hyakutaku-ji (百沢寺) in 1091, and became the predecessor of the present shrine. The three main peaks on Mount Iwaki were identified with the Buddhist deities of Amida Nyorai, Yakushi Nyorai and Kannon Bosatsu. During the Meiji period’s government-ordered separation of Buddhism from Shinto, the temple became a Shinto shrine. In 1871, it was officially designated one of the Kokuhei Shōsha (国幣小社), or 3rd ranked national shrine under the State Shinto system until 1946. ..https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwakiyama_Jinja

“>
-full” src=”http://voyagertree.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/20180507_124008672894134.jpg” alt=”” width=”3000″ height=”2250″ /> Many of the structures of Iwakiyama Shrine date from the early Edo period, and were built in 1694 under the sponsorship of the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki Domain. The two-story main gate (Ryōmon) was built in 1628. The Honden, Heiden, Oku-no-mon and Ryōmon are built in the yosegi-zukuri style with decorative wood carvings, which have given the shrine its nickname of “Oku-Nikko” after the more famous structures of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū. All of these buildings are registered as National Important Cultural Properties. ..https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwakiyama_Jinja[/caption]

*Hirosaki Castle-Cherry Blossom Festival, Hirosaki Park, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan (May 6, 2018)

Hirosaki Castle (弘前城 Hirosaki-jō) is a hirayama-style Japanese castle constructed in 1611. It was the seat of the Tsugaru clan, a 47,000 koku tozama daimyō clan who ruled over Hirosaki Domain, Mutsu Province, in what is now central Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It was also referred to as Takaoka Castle (鷹岡城 or 高岡城 Takaoka-jō).

(Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirosaki_Castle)

Hirosaki Castle measures 612 meters east-west and 947 meters north-south. Its grounds are divided into six concentric baileys, which were formerly walled and separated by moats. It is unusual in that its Edo period donjon and most of its outline remains intact. Noted historian and author Shiba Ryōtarō praised it as one of the “Seven Famous Castles of Japan” in his travel essay series Kaidō wo Yuku

(Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirosaki_Castle)

During the late Sengoku period, former Nambu retainer Ōura Tamenobu was awarded revenues of 45,000 koku by Toyotomi Hideyoshi for his role in the Battle of Odawara in 1590. He took the family name of Tsugaru at that time. At the Battle of Sekigahara, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu and was subsequently confirmed as lord of Hirosaki Domain with revenues increased to 47,000 koku.

In 1603, he began work on a castle in Hirosaki; however, work was suspended with his death in Kyoto in 1604. Work was resumed by his successor, Tsugaru Nobuhira in 1609, who stripped Horikoshi Castle and Ōura Castle of buildings and materials in order to speed its completion.

The current castle was completed in 1611. However, in 1627, the 5-story tenshu, was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire. It was not rebuilt until 1810, when the present 3-story structure was erected, but at the southeast corner, rather than the original southwest location.[1] It was built by the 9th daimyō, Tsugaru Yasuchika.

(Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirosaki_Castle)

With the Meiji Restoration and subsequent abolition of the han system, the Tsugaru clan surrendered the castle to the new Meiji government. In 1871, the castle was garrisoned by a detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army, and in 1873 the palace structures, martial arts school and most of the castle walls were pulled down. In 1894, the castle properties were donated by the Tsugaru clan to the government for use as a park, which opened to the general public the following year. In 1898, an armory was established in the former Third Bailey by the IJA 8th Division. In 1906, two of the remaining yagura burned down. In 1909, a four-meter tall bronze statue of Tsugaru Tamenobu was erected on the site of the donjon. In 1937, eight structures of the castle received protection from the government as “national treasures”. However, in 1944, during the height of World War II, all of the bronze in the castle, including roof tiles and decorations, were stripped away for use in the war effort.

In 1950, under the new cultural properties protection system, all surviving structures in the castle (with the exception of the East Gate of the 3rd Bailey) were named National Important Cultural Properties. In 1952, the grounds received further protection with their nomination as a National Historic Site.[2] In 1953, after reconstruction, the East Gate of the 3rd Bailey also gained ICP status, giving a total of nine structures within the castle with such protection.

Extensive archaeological excavations from 1999-2000 revealed the foundations of the former palace structures and a Shinto shrine. In 2006, Hirosaki Castle was listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation.

(Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirosaki_Castle)

The current donjon of the castle was completed in 1811. It is a three-story building with three roofs, and a height of 14.4 meters. The design is smaller than early Edo-period varieties of donjons, and it was built on a corner of the inner bailey on the site of a yagura, rather than the stone base of the original donjon. The small size was partly due to the restricted finances of the domain towards the end of the Edo period, but its location and design were also intended to alleviate concerns which might be raised by the Tokugawa shogunate should a larger structure be built. At present, it is a separate standing structure; however, prior to 1896 it had an attached gatehouse.

The donjon is surrounded by three surviving yagura from the Edo period (the Ninomaru Tatsumi Yagura, Ninomaru Hitsujisaru Yagura, Ninomaru Ushitora Yagura), on its second bailey, and five surviving gates (Sannomaru Ōtemon Gate, Sannomaru East Gate, Ninomaru South Gate, Ninomaru East Gate, Kitanokuruwa North Gate) in the walls of its second and third baileys. All of these structures, including the donjon itself, are National Important Cultural Properties.

The surrounding Hirosaki Park around the castle grounds is one of Japan’s most famous cherry blossom spots. Over a million people enjoy the park’s 2600 trees (which were originally planted around in grounds in 1903) during the sakura matsuri (cherry blossom festival) when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, usually during the Japanese Golden Week holidays in the end of April and beginning of May.

(Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirosaki_Castle)

Hachinohe Portal Museum, Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan (May 2, 2018)

Hachinohe Portal Museum hacchi opened in 2011 as a new center of exchange and creation to revitalize Hachinohe City as a whole, including it’s downtown areas, by generating urban attractions while cherishing traditional local resources.

This marionette clock was designed free a simultaneous jaw-snapping dance performed by dancers wearing lion masks in Horyo Kagura Shintō dance, a folk art performance to pray for health and happiness. The marionettes are set in motion every hour to tell time.

“>
1137 size-full” src=”http://voyagertree.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/20180502_1017272137753606.jpg” alt=”” width=”3000″ height=”2250″ /> Held in downtown Hachinohe each year for five days from July 31st to August 4th to pray for a rich harvest, the Hachinohe Sansha Taisai Festival is a festival with time-honored tradition of approximately 290 years. The portable shrine parade of the Sansha shrine is followed by 27 gorgeously decorated floats, which overwhelm the spectators. The festival is designated as important intangible folk cultural property.[/caption]