Ako Castle Home of the 47 Ronin

 

Chishingura is one of the most famous stories of the samurai, known more commobly in English as The 47 Ronin.

Ako, on the Inland Sea near the border between what is now Hyogo and Okayama Prefectures was the home domain of samurai in the story, and therefore draws a lot of visitors.

Actually the events of the story mostly took place in Edo.

It is technically a flatland castle, though when built the seashore was closer than now and the castle was protected by the tidal flats but it was possible to access it by small boat.

A small fortification was here in the 15th century, but the castle was built after the area was awarded to the Ikeda Clan after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

They built it as a secondary fortification to protect their border. Their main castle was Himeji.

In 1645 the domain was awarded to a branch of the Asano Clan, and Asano Naganao then spent 13 years greatly expanding the castle to its current configuration.

With 12 gates and 10 towers the castle was much grander than other castles of such small domains, although a keep, or tenshu, was never built even though a base was.

Ss the plan view in photo 2 suggests, elements of western castle design seem to have been incorporated.

Following the Ako Incident in 1701, the incident that led to the death of the Asano Lord and then later the revenge by his 47 samurai, the castle passed to the Mori Clan who hed it until domains were dissolved in the late 19th century.

Most of the buildings were dismantled, some walls too, and some moats filled in.

In 1921 a high school and its sports field was constructed in the hinmaru, inner bailey, of the former castle.

However, beginning in the 1930's some reconstructions began including the moats, and in 1955 the maingate was reconstructed.

In 1981 the high school was relocated and this has further expanded the reconstructions.

Two gardens have recently been fully restored to their former grandeur, and on these I will post next.

The castle is now quite large and open with lots of moats and walls.

To the north of the castle was the residences of the highest ranking retainers, including Oishi Kuranosuke, the leader of the 47 Ronin.

Now it is Oishi Shrine dedicated to the 47 and with statues of them lining the approach.

Nearby is the city History Museum with displays on the 47 as well as the local industry, salt. Very little info in English.

The previous castle I posted on was Fukuyama Castle.

Historic Streets of Tomonoura

 

Tomonoura is a historic port town that still exudes an atmosphere of a time gone by without looking like a fake, Disneyfied version of history.

Tomonoura flourished as a port on the busy Inland Sea, in many ways the most important transportation route in Japan.

When I first visited more than 20 years ago I was very impressed with the town, and that was before I learnt about the Historic Preservation District status. I have since sought out as many of these districts bas I can, but Tomonoura remains one of my favourites.

Hayao Miyazaki, the famed Ghibli animator, spent a few months here back in 2005 and many believe that Ponyo, his 2008 hit movie, was inspired by Tomonoura.

More recently the 2013 Marvel movie, Wolverine, was also partially filmed here.

As well as these movies, history buffs visit to explore the links Ryoma Sakamoto had with the town.

There are a scattering of small museums and properties open to the public, as well as sake breweries and numerous cafes and eateries...

Worth mentioning is Homeishu, a local medicinal liquor made with 16 different medicinal herbs. It is surprisingly tasty and well worth a try. Created by a local doctor in the mid 17th century, for a time it was the major economic product of the town.

On this visit, I was more interested in the town's temples, so I did not visit many of the sites.

I was on my way to my last stop in the town, a temple right in the middle of the town....

So I just snapped these shots walking through the stone-paved shopping streets and narrow alleys between warehouses...

Tomonoura has been accorded Japan Heritage status.

In total there are more than 280 buildings dating back to the Edo Period.

Tomonoura and Fukuyama are well worth a visit and is not, right now at least, suffering from the issues of overtourism that Hiroshima City is...

Needing to catch a local bus to get to is probably part of the reason.....

The previous post in this series was on the second part of my walk through Tomonoura Termachi.

These huge stones at the local shrine are chikaraishi, weighing between 120 to 230 kilograms, they were used in weightlifting demonstrations by "longshoremen".

Koryuji Bangai Temple 10 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Nishiyama Koryuji Temple, number 10 of the "extra" temples known as Bangai or Bekkaku, is located a short detour from the main pilgrimage route between temple 59, Kokubunji, and temple 60, Yokomineji.

After climbing a gentle slope there are great views looking down and over Saijo City.

The road then enters the forest and starts to climb more steeply and you then cross the Miyuryu Bridge.

Arriving at the Niomon gate with its fine pair of guardians.

Whereas many temples claim Kobo Daishi as their founder, many more claim to have been founded by Gyoki, around a century before Kobo Daishi's time.

Koryuji claims to predate Gyoki, which I'm sure makes it one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

It is said to have been founded in 642 and was later visited by both Gyoki and Kobo Daishi.

The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon

The Daishi-do is a much more modern, concrete structure.

The current main hall was built at the end of the 14th century. It is an Important Cultural Property.

Jibo Kannon-do

A trail leads up to a small shrine enshrining Ishizuchi Gongen, Ishizuchi being the highest mountain on Shikoku and home to a large and important Shugendo centre.

I visited late in winter, but the temple is famous as an Autumn Viewing spot as it has 300 maple trees in the grounds.

The three-storey Pagoda dates to 1836.

The previous temple was number 59, the Iyo Kokubunji Temple.