Kanden-an. Samurai Villa with Teahouse, Bathhouse, & Garden designed by a Warlord

 

Kanden-an was the country retreat for the Arisawa family, the chief  retainers of the Matsudaira who controlled Matsue Domain from the nearby castle.

Open to the public on weekends for part of the year, it is not on most tourists' radar, but is a National Historic Site, a National Scenic Site, and an Important Cultural Property.

Located a couple of kilometers from the castle, the way to the villa is along a footpath through the woods until you reach the original gate that would have been used by guests.

It is no longer in use and so visitors now follow the scenic main path up to the villa.

The land was given to the Arisawa by Matsudaira Naomasa, the first Matsudaira Lord of the Matsue Domain.

The 5th head of the Arisawa taught tea ceremony to Matsudaira Fumai when he was a child. Fumai became a great Tea Master and is why Matsue is one of the three main tea ceremony centres in Japan.

The 6th head of the Arisawa, Kazuyoshi, was taught tea ceremony by Fumai and was a great favourite of Fumai.

Meimei-an, another teahouse in Matsue worth visiting was built by Fumai for Kazuyoshi in the Arisawa main residence near the castle.

The teahouse, bathhouse, and garden here at Kanden-an are said to have been designed by Fumai.

Visitors now arrive first at the main villa, built in 1792. If you choose to have tea on your visit, this is where you will have it, looking out over the simple garden and down towards the castle.

The stonework of the paths are very striking, although the garden itself is simply rows of pruned bushes.

Many of the gardens in the Matsue and Izumo area were designed by Fumai's head garden designer, Sawa Gentan, and he is responsible for the Izumo Style Garden. However, it seems he was not involved here, and the garden was designed by Fumai.

Adjacent to the main house is the thatched teahouse, also built in 1792. Unfortunately, it cannot be entered.

From the teahouse, a path leads up to the bathhouse.

Originally, this is where the path for guests would arrive, and the bathhouse was a waiting area for guests before going to the teahouse.

Wating areas for guests to a tea ceremony are quite common, but I don't remember seeing a bathhouse before.

This is not the kind of bathhouse with a tub; rather, it is often called a sauna.

I went to one of these on a visit to Beppu, with a low entrance, dark inside, and a few centimeters of hot water. I was told that such types of bathhouse used to be fairly common.

From the bathhouse visitors head back down to the teahouse and then through a gate to the main villa, in much the same way as visitors would originally.

Though only a few kilometers from the castle, it is said that Fumai used to enjoy his time here.

Kanden-an is still owned by the Arisawa Family.

Other teahouses with gardens near Matsue Castle include the aforementioned Meimei-an, and also the Kangetsu-an

The previous post in this series on Matsue was on the exciting modern architecture of the Kunibiki Messe Conference Centre.

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Tonomachi Street Tsuwano Samurai Quarter

 

Koi swimming in small canals along the street are an icon of Tsuwano, a small castle town in the mountains of Shimane.

In the previous post we looked at Tonomachi Street, the main street of the town that is part of an Historic Preservation District.

That post looked at the merchant section of the street, but in this post we will look at the samurai section of the street, closer to the castle.

Fewer of the buildings remain in this section, but plenty of walls and gates remain.

One of the remaining building is the Yorokan, the domaoin school for samurai. Running alonside it is the main canal filled with koi.

It was founded in 1786 by the 8th Lord, and closed in 1872.

Mori Ogai, the famous author born in Tsuwano, studied here.

It used to hold a huge collection of artifacts relating to local history and folklore, as seen above, but has been renovated back to its original condition, as seen below.

While some space was for book learning and lectures, most of the spaces were used for various weapons training.

There are a lot of large storehouses in the immediate vicinity.

One of the first group of buildings inside the samurai quarter, opposite the Catholic church, has been converted into a restaurant, coffe shop and tearooms, and souvenir shop called Saronoki, well worth visiting for its garden.

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the other section of the old street, the merchant quarter.

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Yabusame in Tsuwano

 

Yabusame, a Japanese form of horseback archery, is, like some other "sports" in Japan considered an entertainment for the gods and is therfore found associated with shrines.

Yabusame can be seen at various places around Japan, but only in Tsuwano is it performed in a traditional yabusame grounds.

Part of Washibara Hachimangu Shrine at the base of the mountain where Tsuwano castle was built, the grounds were constructed about 500 years ago and was modelled on the yabusame grounds that existed then in Kamakura.

The shrine is older and dates back to the 13th century, but it was rebuilt in the mid 16th century by the daimyo Yoshimi Masayori.

The yabusame festival takes place on the first Sunday in April and so is usually during peak Cherry Blossom season.

Photographers arrive early to get the nmosr advantageous spots, but due to the remotemess of Tsuwano the event never gets as crowded as yabusame at other places.

On the Saturday before there are full rehearsals and these are open to the public.

The course is 250 meters long with a stone-lined embankment running down the center so that the riders can return up the opposite side.

The riders are all students of the Ogasawara  School of Yabusame and include females and non-Japanese.

The second school of yabusame is the Takeda School.

Apparently all the horses come from Miyazaki and are not associated with one particular rider or owner.

As well as the riders, there is a massive cast of other participants ranging from young boys and maidens up to quite old men.

Some of the participants are connected to the shrine rituals and other are dressed in samurai costime.

Rituals take place in and in front of the shrine itself and then other rituals take place at the grounds.

Three of the mounted riders are dressed in traditional hunting outfits that include deerskin chaps.

They carry sharp hunting arrows. As I understand it these riders do not take part in the actual galloping and shooting.

Twelve riders wear the yabusame outfit which is much lighter.

Their arrows, used in the ritual, are not sharp but rather have a heavy, rounded, turnip-shaped head.

The target is a small wooden rectangle called a mato. If struck by an arrow they make a distinctive sound easily heard by the spectators who will then cheer.

Because the head of the arrow is quite heavy the target usually breaks.

There are three targets down the length  of the course.

Originally the horses in Japan were much smaller than today, so in ancient times it would take about 30 seconds to complete the course.

Nowadays the time is almost half that.

The archery takes place in the morning and again in the afternoon.

I would reccomend arriving early to experience the full range of rituals and preparations.

Entry is free but you can buy a reservation for a ground cushion seat