Friday, January 17, 2025

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.


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