Shotoen Garden & Houses on Shimo Kamagari Island

 

Shotoen is an absolute delight. Four traditional buildings of different types connected by a raked sand and pine garden overlooking the sea.

Not only that, but each building houses a different museum.

Shotoen is located in Sannose, a small port on Shimokamagari Island in the Inland Sea not far from Kure, Hiroshima.

It is connected to the mainland by a bridge, and a further series of bridges connect to other islands in the chain and is a somewhat popular cycling route, but off the radar for most tourists.

During the Edo Period Sannose was a kaieki, the maritime equivalent of a post station, and home to honjin, guest houses for elite travellers.

Daimyos and their retinues heading up to Edo would stop here, as did the Dutch traders from Nagasaki, and the gifts left by the Dutch seem to have become the impetus for several of the museums.

One shows many examples of Imari Ware, Japan's first domestically produced porcelain. Produced in Arita but named after the port where it was shipped from, readers with an interest in Imari Ware can check my post on Arita which has a bunch of relevant links.

 

The most interesting museum, to my mind at least, was on the Korean diplomatic missions.

Emissaries, often with a large entourage, from Korea visited Japan many times during the Edo Period.

On 11 different occasions they stayed here on Sannose, and it was the obligation of the local Daimyo to entertain them.

The cost was so exorbitant that it is said that if any more Korean delegations had visited it would have bankrupted the domain.

The displays include a replica of the feasts offered and a scale model of the kind of ship used.

I am guessing the several Korean-style Buddhist  statues are also a reference to the Korean connection.

There is also an obligatory display of farming utensils, straw hats etc.

There is a joint entry ticket that also gives entry to several other museums and other tourist sites in Sannose.

I believe there are a few buses to and from  the mainland, but you need to walk, cycle, or drive...... which is why there are so few tourists....

Fukuju Kaikan Garden

 

The Fukuju Kaikan Garden is located within the grounds of Fukuyama Castle and is a stroll-type garden with views of the castle itself.

Though free to enter there are surprisingly few visitors.

Formerly an area of castle warehouses, the property was developed in the early 20th century by a local businessman.

There is a teahouse in the garden and a further one attached to the Japanese-style building.

The teahouses were designed by Fuefuki Kaichiro and has Roji gardens.

The Japanese style building is open unless it is being rented for an event.

There is also a western-style building which has a small cafe within it.

There are three paths around the garden and a pond.

The vegetation is fairly thick but at several points the castle keep is clearly seen.

Recent photos suggest it has been trimmed back somewhat since I visited.

The previous post in this series on day 9 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on Fukuyama Castle.

Japan Sea Coast Kute to Hane

 

After leaving Kute, a line of small hills separates the road from the sea and inland a largish area of rice paddies.....

This was a brackish lake that has been drained by cutting an opening through the hillside allowing the land to be reclaimed and planted in rice. This was done quite a long time ago in the Kamakura Period.

I am not at all sure where the lake originally drained, but where it now reaches the sea is a spire of rock called Kakedo Matsushima.

It once had a pine tree standing on top of it, and maybe I am misremembering, but I seem to remember it was still there when I first passed by on a train more than twenty years ago.

It is very much a miniature version of Candle Rock, the iconic sight in the Oki Islands.

There is a small harbour then a beach and tucked up against the sheer cliffs the main harbour of Hane.

Hane was at some point a small beach resort and there are still a couple of ryokan operating.

The train line got here in 1912 so it may have started then, although it has the feel of the 1960s about it.

The cliffs are quite impressive and there is a lighthouse on top.

From here there is no access to the coast fo the next 5 kilometers until the mouth of the Tagi River, the old boundary between Iwami and Izumo, so I took thebtrain home from here and will start from Tagi on the next leg.

The previous post was on the previous section of coast from Torii to Kute.