October 3, 2008

• 10/4/2008 - Kokura

  Our "go somewhere" for Saturday was the nearby city of Kokura in Northern Kyushu.  It is near the city of Kitakyushu at the top of the map.  Kokura has a castle and was for a time the residence of a famous Japanese writer, Mori Ogai.

  

  

  This is the front of our train.

  

  We sat near the front of the first car.  This is an express train, so we just cruise through this station.

  

  On the way we pass Space World amusement park.  See the shuttle?  Dern pole got in the way.

  

  We arrive around lunch time and head for "Kokura Ramen Alley."

  

  We decide on Sampachi, a shop that specializes in Hokkaido style ramen.  Even in Tokyo I prefer noodles with a northern Japanese accent.

  

  Gonna make a commercial!  My ramen is butter corn.  I used to think that butter in ramen sounded yucky, but I tried it and I liked it!

  

  On the wall was a nostalgic poster from Kurosawa's movie, "The Seven Samurai."  They just don't make 'em like that anymore.  The last time I saw this movie I wondered why the brigands kept on attacking the village down to the last man when it was clear that they were loosing and that their efforts were futile.  They should have quit when it was obvious they couldn't win.  Was Kurosawa making a disguised comment that the Japanese should not have attempted to fight to the very last during WWII?  I noticed this when seeing the movie about the sinking of the battleship "Yamato." 

  The city of Kokura was actually the target of the second atomic bomb dropped in Japan, but was covered with clouds on that morning, so the plane continued on to a secondary target, Nagasaki.

  

  The first place we visited was one of the places where the writer Mori Ogai spent a few years.  There was a lecture taking place inside the residence, and all of the audience leaves their shoes outside.

  

  A bust of Mori Ogai, novelist and physician, 1862-1922

  

  The rear of the house

  

  Hub enjoyed sitting where Mori Ogai must have sat.

  

  The modern kitchen with a well inside, partially seen on the lower right.

  

  We proceed to the Kokura Castle area through an old shopping arcade.

  

  The castle comes into view as we exit the arcade.

  

  

  Kayakers are seen practicing in the river that we cross on our way to the castle.

  

  Hub suggests bypassing the castle which is to the left of this picture, an visiting Yasaka Shrine first.  We proceed through the gate and follow the path to the right.

  

  Here is a scene of one of the temple buildings with part of the castle wall and a swampy moat below.

  

  Yasaka Shrine's main building

  

  You pull on the rope to "get the god's attention" before offering your prayers/worship.

  

  Ding Dong

  

  Let's turn back and go to the castle seen in the center of the picture.

  

  

  Here's the castle!

  After having a look at Yasaka Shrine, the next place we visited was a reconstruction of the castle Lord's residence, seen from the top of the castle.  The following pictures were taken in the building in the upper left corner of this picture.

  

  The rooms are "carpeted" in tatami mats, and separated by heavy paper doors that allow the rooms to be used as one large room or several small ones.

  

  Let's zoom in a bit.  The room in the foreground is set up for a tea ceremony.

   

  Here we see the tea ceremony equipment.  I took six months of lessons about thirty years ago, so I recognize some of the equipment, but some of it seems unfamiliar.  I suppose it takes much longer than six months to really know your tea stuff.

  

  Three fellows manicuring a pine tree in the garden

  

  The building that we were just in as viewed from the garden

  

  We are now at the back side of the castle and about to go in.  The entrance is on your left.  Before we enter, notice the fancy roofing.  The original castle was apparently made with unadorned, straight roofing.  Which is better, an accurate historical reconstruction or something fancier?  I would vote for historical, myself.

  

  Got that?  Now we are ready to go inside.

  

  Let's go into the museum inside.  I am not sure how many pictures I am allowed to take in here, so I quietly snapped shots of what impressed me the most.

  

  First is a display of the town around the castle.  I cannot imagine the amount of work that it must have taken to produce all of the miniature figures.  Let's zoom in on some of the scenes.

  

  This is a mass for Hosokawa Galatia, a Christian woman who was caught up in a bad historical situation.  I heard the story on TV once, but don't remember the details.  I should google her.

  

  

  Some dancers and their musical band

  

  Some fellows taking a break from the festivities to enjoy some noodles.

  

  This is probably how the original castle appeared, with simpler straight roofs.  What's that going on in the courtyard?

  

  A game of kemari - the courtiers stand in a circle and kick a ball to each other without letting it touch the ground.  See the ball up above the kicker?

  

  This was a procession complete with dogs.  I don't know why.

  

  Uh-oh!  Ninjas!

  

  Better call the guards, more ninjas are on the way and scaling the castle walls!

       

  These pictures of tigers were on display inside the castle.

  

  Now I found this interesting....  This is a model of a toilet that would be used by the lord of the castle.  He would remove the cover and straddle the hole, keeping his balance by hanging on to the wooden handle.

  

  The servants would come and clean up after the business was finished and would also check on the health of the lord.  The drawer was filled with leaves to make the job less unpleasant.

  

  From a historical diorama - they are plotting to go persecute Christians.

  

  Hub tries out a palanquin.

  

  This is a palanquin - the carriers are referred to as "kumosuke" or "cloud dudes."  I don't know why.  Maybe it was because they carried people over the mountains in the clouds.  Japanese taxi drivers are also slangishly called "kumosuke" but maybe not to their faces.  I wouldn't try it, anyway.

  There is a palanquin at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. that has recently been declared as having belonged to Atsuhime, a lady from Kagoshima who went up to Edo (Tokyo) to marry the Shugun Iesada.  He died a couple of years after the marriage, upon which Atsuhime assumed the name Tenshoin.  If you are interested in the story, google "Atsuhime palanquin."

  

  Now this was interesting.  We got to try holding some swords, and were surprised at how heavy they were.  You really need both hands to hold them!

  

  Taken from the top floor of the castle - A flea market was going on down under, but I didn't see anything I needed.

  

  Also taken from the top floor of the castle - You can see the entrance gate to Yasaka Shrine to the left.

  

  This was a lighthouse that was reconstructed inland.

  

  Some last glimpses of Kokura Castle - reflected in the water, and

  

  from afar with a crescent moon.

  

  Kokura Train Station - You can see the taxis below and the Monorail above.  Time to go home!

  • 20:56
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