Hizen Hamashuku Former Samurai Residence

 

Hidden among the maze of small alleys around Sakagura Street in Hizen Hamasuku, Kashima, is a well-preserved example of a former samurai home that is open to the public.

It is quite a substantial 2-storeyed structure with a thatched roof and is believed to have been built in the early 19th century.

It differs from most of the other samurai residences I have posted on, like the one in Matsue, or the one in Izushi, in that it is not within a samurai quarter of a castle town, but rather is set among residences of farmers.

Evidence from the interior arrangements suggests that this samurai family was engaged in silkworm production and farming, activities officially "beneath" those of the samurai class.

There was a certain amount of "class" turmoil by the 19th century as many impoverished samurai gave up their statues to become farmers or even merchants, and many rich merchants and farmers being given trappings of samurai statues like family names and permission to wear swords.

The thatched roof of this property is U-shaped, a local style known as Kudo-Zukuri. Like with many such sites in Japan off the main tourist track, entry is free.

The previous post was on the nearby Hizen Hamashuku Sakagura Street Preservation District.

Hizen Hamashuku Sakagura Street Preservation District

 

Along the banks of the Hama River in the southern part of what is now Kashima City in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu, Hizen Hamashuku was a town that grew up along the Tara Kaido, a branch of the Nagasaki Kaido.

The area around a 600-meter-long section of the old road is named Sakagura Street and is now a registered preservation district of traditional architecture.

Among the traditional stores and homes are three surviving sake breweries from among the thirteen that originally dominated the area.

Touring the traditional sake breweries and sampling the many varieties still produced here is now the many attraction that draws tourists from far and wide.

In combination with 3 other sake breweries in Kashima, including one near the famous Yutoku Inari Shrine, major sake festivals are held in the Spring and Autumn.

I am not a big fan of sake, so for me the area was of more interest because of the traditional architecture.

Other than the sake breweries there are souvenir shops, cafes, and eateries,

Sakagura Street is just a few minutes walk from Hizenham JR Station.

Just off the main street is an old, thatched, former samurai residence that I will cover next post.

The previous post in this series chronicling day 59 of my Kyushu walk was the nearby Yutoku Inari Shrine.

Fumyo-ji Temple Kashima

 

I have to admit that I thought that Fumyoji was an abandoned temple when I passed by the entrance.

It was mid-winter so all the trees and plants were bare, but the paths were overgrown with weeds and there was no sign of any recent maintenance or human activity of any kind.

Fumyoji was established in 1677 as the family temple for the local rulers, the Nabeshima Family. In the woods behind the min hall are the graves of successive lords of the domain, though I did not venture to them.

Kashima Domain was quite a small domain, actually a sub-domain of Saga. They were not big enough to be allowed a castle. Fumyoji was an Obaku sect temple. Obaku being the most recent form of Zen Buddhism introduced into Japan via Nagasaki earlier in the 17th century.

Fumyoji is said to be modeled on Manpuku-ji in Kyoto, the head temple of the sect.

The previous post in this series exploring day 59 of my walk around Kyushu was Tanjo-in Temple.

Tanjo-in Temple 62 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Tanjo means "birth" in Japanese, and Tanjo-in Temple in Kashima, Saga is built on the spot where Kakuban, known posthumously as Kogyo Daishi, was born in 1095.

The temple was founded in 1405 at the request of the Shogun Yoshimitsu. Nearby is Rengon-in, a temple connected to where Kakuban first studied the Dharma as a child.

At the end of the 16th century, the temple was destroyed during the Warring States Period. At the end of the 17th century, the local Daimyo of the Nabeshima clan tried unsuccessfully to revive the temple.

In 1913 a descendant of the Nabeshima and influential local people succeeded in getting the temple rebuilt. The grounds are quite large and planted with a wide variety of flowering shrubs and trees including Cherry, Wisteria, Azalea, etc.

The honzon is a Fudo Myoo and it has a statue of Kakuban in front. The Fudo came from Negoro-ji Temple in Wakayama which is where Kakuban died and has his tomb.

He is credited with being a reformer of Shingon and his disciple officially set up a "new" branch called Shingi. For a while he controlled Koyasan. He also was a cause of conflict which is why he left Koyasan for Negoro-ji.

The Kondo, built in 1929, enshrines a statue of Kakuban. Tanjo-ji has a reputation as a place to pray for safe childbirth.

It is number 62 on the 108 temple Shingon Kyushu Pilgrimage, and I visited on the 59th day of my walk. A few minutes earlier I had visited Rengon-in, number 63.

Otsubo Quarry

 

Quarries are a common site along the country roads of Japan where I do all my walking.

Not long after leaving Yumeginga I passed by the rather large Otsubo Quarry.

There are many kinds of quarry now in Japan. On Shodoshima I passed by a historical quarry where stones for constructing Osaka Castle were quarried. Not far from my home, up on Lake Shinji, is Kimachi, where sandstone is quarried for the production of stone lanterns, statues etc.

There are some massive limestone quarries that produce some of Japan's favorite natural resources... cement..... and I suspect the most common type of quarry are the ones producing gravel and aggregate to be added to cement to make concrete. Down river from us is one such quarry.

The Otsubo quarry, named after the man who founded it in the 1950's, seems to be producing another form of crushed stone that is used in road beds, stabilizing slopes, and other forms of civil engineering.

The previous post on day 58 of my walk around Kyushu was the Saga Prefecture Space & Science Museum.

Ichimura Memorial Gymnasium

Ichimura Memorial Gymnasium

At the northern end of what was the grounds of Saga Castle is yet another Modernist public building, the Ichimura Memorial Gymnasium.

It was built in 1963 and designed by Junzo Sakakura (1901-1969).

After graduating he joined the studio of Le Corbusier in Paris where he eventually came to head the studio. He assisted Le Corbusier in his only Japanese project, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.

Not visible from the ground is the rather elegant roof of the gymnasium, a saddle shape formed by two parabolic curves.

What is clearly visible is the aging concrete surface, something that so many concrete structures in Japan suffer from and that will only get worse as time marches on.

Saga Prefectural Museum

Saga Prefectural Museum

Located within the moats of the former Saga Castle, and adjacent to the reconstructed Castle Palace, is the Saga Prefectural Museum.

It opened in 1970 and in 1983 the Prefectural Art Museum was opened next door and is connected by a passageway.

It was designed by architects Teichi Takahashi and Shoya Uchida, two architects that I not heard of before. At the time I'm sure it was classed as a "Modernist" design, though now it is more likely called Brutalist.

The displays cover archeology & History, Geology and the Natural Sciences, and folklore. Many items dug up from the Yoshinogari site are on display. Entry is free except for special exhibitions.

Outside the museum is the Tadao Koga Sculpture Forest.