Awa Puppet Museum

 

After visiting Myoo-in Temple on the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage I went into Tokushima to check in to my room. With some of the afternoon remaining, I headed to the riverside Awagin Hall

It is primarily an auditorium and concert venue, but on the second floor is a wonderful free museum on Bunraku puppet theatre.

Puppet theatre was very widespread in some parts of Japan, whereas in other areas  Kabuki dominated.

Bunraku originated in Osaka, but Awaji Island also developed its own major tradition.

Tokushima, formerly Awa, was close enough to Awaji Island that its tradition spread to here.

On the outskirts of Tokushima City is a Bunraku theatre that still puts on performances, but it is a little out of the way so not so well visited.

The exhibition in Awagin Hall consists of several parts. Above, and in the 4th photo,  you can see a  recreation of the backstage area of a rural puppet theatre.

Other exhibits focus on the puppets, which tended to be larger than the puppets of the Osaka tradition.

There are many examples of the puppet heads, some said to have been made by Umanose Komazura, the originator of the Awa puppet tradition.

The greatest author of puppet plays is without a doubt Chikamatsu Monzaemon, odten described as Japans' Shakespeare.

One of the greatest Japanese movies of all time, in my opinion, Chikamatsu Monogatari by Kenji Mizoguchi, was based on one of his stories, and Chushingura, the story of the 47 Ronin, was also based on his original.

The previous post in this series was on Myoo-in Temple.

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A Glorious Sunrise Under a Sea of Clouds

 

Unkai is a Japanese word describing a late Autumn, early Winter weather phenomenon whereby valleys fill with clouds. From high points it looks like a sea of clouds.

Of course, in the valleys it looks like mist. And so it was as I began day 22 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

As the dawn approaches, the mist burns away in places....

And then I was treated to fifteen minutes of a glorious sunrise,.... the kind that makes getting up in the dark worthwhile.

So that is all there is to this post,... a sunrise experienced in the remote valleys and mountains of central Yamaguchi.

The previous post was on the previous evenings walk....

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.

Senshukaku Pond Garden

 

Senshukaku is a name given to the Daimyo gardens of the former palace in the ruins of Tokushima Castle.

While not a particularly large garden, it does consist of two quite distinct parts, a karesansui section and a pond section.

I covered the karesansui section in the previous post in this series.

Both gardens featured a lot of stone, specifically a type of stone called Awa Bluestone.

The castle was built in 1586, and the garden design is attributed to Ueda Soko, a famed warrior and tea master.

The pond is fed by the tidal river.

The name Senshukaku is a modern one, and it was the name of the lodgings built on the site for the Taishō Emperor when he visited as crown prince.

The named features within the pond garden are fairly typical..... a dry waterfall, a boat stone, etc

Some sections of the garden are reminiscent of the stone garden at Kokawadera Temple in Wakayama, also designed by Ueda Soko.

It is believed that Ueda Soko was a big influence on Mirei Shigemori

With several more good gardens in the vicinity, Tokushima is worth a visit for garden enthusiasts...

The previous post in this series was on the karesansui half of the garden.

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.