EXCITING YAMANASHI AND MORE

The main event of the Shingen-Ko Festival is the Koshu Battalion Deployment (Takeda Warrior Procession). Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), also called Shingen-Ko, is known as the strongest warlord in the Warring States era and the only one to have defeated Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, in battle. The Fu (Wind)-Rin (Forest)-Ka (Blaze)-Zan (Mountain) banner represents the military philosophy of the Takeda Battalion, meaning being as fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as the blaze, and as immovable as the mountain.

Taiko Drum Performances:

Takeda 24 Samurais Parade: https://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/shingen/schedule.html

FYI: From YouTube

It is coming, but it was a little early for autumn colors in Shosen Gorge in the city of Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture. Yet, it was a fine autumn day.

Shosenkyo: https://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/en/; (In Japanese) https://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/; (In French) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dsenky%C5%8D

Yesterday, I learned that Queen Elizabeth II was roused by the sound of bagpipes played beneath her window for 15 minutes each morning. The 17th Pipe Major Paul Burns played a final lament, the Gaelic lullaby “Cadail, Mo Ghaoil” (Sleep, dearie, sleep), at the Queen’s funeral, Westminster Abbey, London, 19 September 2022.

Marumasa Incorporated: https://www.ekibennomarumasa.com

A baroque music concert by Duo Lutin was held at the B&B Gekkasosha in the town of Kobuchisawa, the city of Hokuto, in Yamanashi Prefecture on 10/23/2022. Duo Lutin: Mikira Asakura (Transverse Flute) and Fumi Kimura (Virginal).

There were a lot of water birds in Lake Yamanaka. The lake is located in the village of Yamanaka in Yamanashi Prefecture. It seemed that there were several migratory birds like coots (Fulica atra), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula), eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), and great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus). It is said that there are about 20 mute swans (Cygnus olor) in the lake. The mute swan is not a wild species in Japan. It was introduced to Japan from Europe in 1952 to decorate parks and estates. Some of the captive swans escaped and established a feral population here and there.

Mute Swans, Mallards and Coots, Lake Yamanaka, Yamanaka-village, Yamanashi, 10/19/2022

In the middle of the Jomon period 5,500~4,500 years ago, the Nagano and Yamanashi areas are said to be the most flourished and there were a lot of villages. Located almost in the middle of the Honshu island, the southwestern regions at the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountain Range, were called the Central Highlands. The areas were also located close to the major obsidian mining sites; obsidian was used to make arrowheads, knife blades, and other sharp tools. There were more than 3,000 Jomon ruins in the areas. (https://jomon.co/en/story/)

The Jomon-Ten, the Exhibition of the Jomon potteries and clay figures, has been held at the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art in the city of Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture during September 10 to November 6, 2022. The artifacts collected in the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Archaeology, the Shakado Museum of Jomon Culture and the following regional Boards of Education, South Alps-city, Hokuto-city, Nirasaki-city, Koshu-city, and Fuefuki-city have been displayed.

(https://www.art-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp/) (https://www.art-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp/exhibition/2022/650.html) (https://www.art-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp/exhibition/jomon_DM.pdf) (https://www.art-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp/exhibition/r4.9.10.l1.pdf)

Unfolded pictures of the patterns of the Jomon potteries taken by Tadahiro Ogawa are displayed in the last section.

FYI: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm

An exhibition titled “Mishiranu Mori (unknown woods)” by Takahiro Yoshino has been held at The Yatsugatake Kogen (highland) Lodge in the village of Minamimaki in Nagano Prefecture from September 17 to 30, 2022.

(In Japanese) Takahiro Yoshino: https://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~pekori/work.html; Yatsugatake Kogen Lodge: https://www.yatsugatake.co.jp/

It is misty and chilly here in the Uminokuchi area in the village of Minamimaki in Nagano Prefecture. There are The Yatsugatake Kogen (highland) Lodge and The Yatsugatake Kogen Ongakudo (the Hall of Chamber Music) nearby.

Yatsugatake Kogen Lodge: https://www.yatsugatake.co.jp/ongakudo; https://www.yatsugatake.co.jp/