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".

Mitarai Historic Preservation District

Mitarai is a well-preserved historic district on an island in the middle of the Inland Sea, its location being one of the main reasons it escaped redevelopment and modernization

Mitarai rose to prominence in the Edo Period as a safe harbour for the ships of this busy marine travel route. Mr Miyamoto, who unfortunately is no longer in business, was a boatbuilder who then turned to making realistic scale models of the kinds of vessels that plied these waters.

Mr Miyamotos premises were formerly one of the many waterfront teahouses that the port was famous for.

Of course "teahouse" really had very little to do with tea but is a codeword for brothel.

While ships would wait in the harbour for favorable tides and winds, the sailors and passengers would be entertained by young ladies.

A ranking system for "nighttime entertainment" districts was regularly published, like sumo rankings after which it was modelled, and Mitari was considered one of the top such districts in all of Japan.

Even after the introduction of steam-powered vessels, when the need for the harbour ceased to be, ships would still stop here.

Wakaebisuya was one of the top "teahouses" in Mitarai and catered to the high-end of the clientele, and it is said more than 100 girls worked here. There were many other teahouses and so the total number of prostitues was in the thousands. The 5 photos below are of Wakaebisuya, which is now open to the public.

It is said that in Wakaebisuya the daimyo of Kumamoto once spent 1,000 gold pieces in a single night.

sailors who had to stay on board their boats were served by girls who were ferried out to the ships in a kind of boat called Ochirofune.

The town continued to be known for its entertainment right up until the 1956 anti-prostitution law which put vpaid to many such districts across Japan.

Mitarai remained forgotten until 1999 when a series of bridges connected this group of islands to each other and the mainland.

MItarai was recognized as a Historical Preservation District not long afterwards and started to attract some more visitors, but still there were very limited options for eating or accommodation.

However, the 2021 Oscar-winning movie "Drive My Car" was partially filmed here and now there are several more lodging and dining choices.

As well as Wakaebisuya, there are several traditional buildings open to visitors.

Though only built in 1937, the Otome-za is a traditional Japanese theatre that was converted briefly into a cinema but has been restored to its former glory.

There is almost no public transport to easily reach Mitarai. There are some small ferries that connect to Omishima on the famed Shimanami Kaido route, and you can drive across the bridges from near Kure in Hiroshima.

Many people visit by bike as the Tobiishima Kaido is a cycle route along the islands, and of course its possible to connect with a short ferry ride to Omishima.

There is not much else to see on the island, but at the other end of the Tobiishima kaido the Shotoen is  well worth a visit.

The previous post in this series was on the walk along the islands to get here.

Tamashima Historic Preservation District

 

Tamashima is an area in the western part of Kurashiki City in Okayama that gets virtually no tourists, but yet is intriguing and with some sights well worth a visit. One of the delights of walking a pilgrimage is encountering surprises, the unexpected. Of course I realize that kind of goes against the grain nowadays when everything is organized and planned with the help of smartphones to avoid the unknown...... but Tamashima was completely unexpected and I only discovered it by walking through on my way to Entsuji Temple.

Three sections of the town are registered as a Preservation District by the prefecture, but not as the Groups of Traditional Buildings like the nearby Bikan District.

In the late 17th century Tamashima became a major port for the Bitchu Matsuyama domain and connected to the castle town via the Takahashi River.

Originally some small islands, the local lord built embankments and gradually reclaimed land until they became part of the mainland.

However, the boom times didn't last forever, and after a few generations the ports fortunes began to decline due to several factors.

Some trade continued, and the area still has some largish merchant properties and warehouses as well as sake breweries etc.

Unlike the nearby Bikan District, you will not find cafes, gift shops, or other tourist infrastructure, rather a more authentic glimpse of a former prosperity. However, the Yunoki Residence is open to the public and with free entry and is well worth a visit.

The area has been included in the Japan Heritage site connected to the kitamaebune and other Inland Sea maritime trade routes.

The previous post was on Entsuji Temple, a delightful, thatched Zen temple with a garden on a hillside overlooking Tamashima. Other sites of interest in the area are the Former Yunoki Residence, a wealthy merchant property with gardens, and Haguro Shrine, with remarkable decorations.