EXCITING YAMANASHI AND MORE

Tomorrow night on 9/21 is “Chushu no Meigetsu” (night of the Harvest Moon). August 15th of the lunar calendar is called “chushu” (mid-autumn) and a beautiful moon is called “meigetsu.” This year the full moon of September also carries the title of the Harvest Moon for the first time in eight years. Tonight it was relatively clear, so I took photos of the moon. Tomorrow night you might not see the moon around here.

Night views with the moon, Nirasaki, Yamanashi, 9/20/2021

Insects are calling at night. What insects can you hear?

Amehata ink-stones are famous for its ink-stick rubbing feature, its water retaining capacity, its ink smoothness, and its lifelong durability (http://amehata.suzurinosato.com/index.html; http://fm-hayakawa.com/422). The source rock for the Amehata ink-stones are collected in the Mount Inamata area in the Amehara River valley, located near the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line along the Hayakawa River valley, in the town of Hayakawa in Yamanashi Prefecture. From the study of the source rock and the shale collected from the two regions, Fukuchi. T. et al. concluded that the source rock should be called slate (Bulletin of the Faculty of Education, University of Yamanashi, vol. 29, 39-46, 2018).

Amehata ink-stones are a designated Traditional Arts and Crafts of Yamanashi (1994). In the flourishing days of the Meiji period, it is said that more than 1000 craftsmen resided in the Amehata area. However, during and after the Pacific War, the number drastically dropped. And now there is only one craftsman remained. Finding a successor is so hard. Furthermore, the area is very difficult to reach and seems hard to live.

It is hard to believe that there is an inn which is certified as the world’s most historical inn in the Guinness Book of World Records in a faraway land from anywhere so remote. Keiunkan is the oldest inn (hotel) in the world founded in 705AD. (https://keiunkan.co.jp/en/; https://www.keiunkan.co.jp/overview/)

The town of Hayakawa in Yamanashi Prefecture has the smallest population of any township (cho or machi) in Japan. (https://hayakawakankou.jp/english/)

Once bustled with the Ko pilgrims for Nichiren Sect from all over Japan from the Edo period through the early Showa period, the Akasawa area of the town located in the middle of the pilgrimage route from Mount Minobu to Mount Shichimen, providing hostels has been forgotten and left quietly. Although the area is a designated Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, the winding narrow road and geological location have been avoiding visitors and the area is dying out. (https://www.town.hayakawa.yamanashi.jp/tour/spot/cultural/kenzoubutu.html)

Cicadas are almost gone and dragonflies are here now. At night, crickets chirp. Rice is at the heading stage in the paddy fields. Autumn is just around the corner.

This area is known for its scarecrow festival in the summer in a normal year, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was canceled for the last two years. (https://www.nirasaki-kankou.jp/event_schedule/event/autumn/3952.html)

In Yamanashi, the Mukawa rice produced in the Mukawa and Nirasaki areas is well-known for its quality and taste. Originally it derived from the cultivar Norin 48, which is very rare nowadays, and the cultivar Koshihikari is usually produced. This region gets the longest daylight hours in Japan and the large temperature difference in the day. These growth conditions and clear mountain water are suitable for rice production and also fruit and vegetable production.

After Typhoon No. 9 is gone and because of its weather front, it was windy yet clear in the early evening. The mountains have been getting green including Mount Fuji.

Hot sunny day! Swallows are taking a break on the eave.

Takeuchi Seiho drew animals based on his minute observations. His dedicated brushwork breathes life into his deer, rabbits, sparrows, swallows, bears, tigers, hawks, frogs, fish, and other animals. His depictions were so authentic that you would feel as if they were about to come alive. Celebrating the 80-year anniversary of his death, VOA Museum of Art presents his masterpieces that capture the vibrant life of nature. VOA Museum is located on a hillside overlooking Sagami Bay, near the Atami hot spring area. Early this month, a devastating landslide hit the district in the mountainside and a lot of people and buildings were affected.

(http://www.moaart.or.jp/en/?event=tennrannkai2) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeuchi_Seih%C5%8D)

Ganshoin is a temple belonging to the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism. It is located in the town of Obuse in Nagano Prefecture. It is a small temple in a small town. Katsushika Hokusai visited this temple in 1847 and painted the Phoenix (Happo Nirami Ho-oh Zu: An Auspicious Bird Staring in Each Direction) on the ceiling of the temple. The painting is quite large with a height of 230 inches and a width of 250 inches. He created the painting separately on 12 wooden panels of cypress placing them in a 3 x 4 layout. The work is suspended by Japanese traditional wooden framework, without using nails (The Leaflet of The Ganshoin Temple). The painting was completed in 1848, 173 years ago, but the colors are still bright and fresh even now. The pigments he used were mainly imported from China and they were apparently in high quality. Most likely they were provided by his patron, Takai Kozan. The environment surrounding the temple has also helped: it is cold in the winter and relatively cool in the summer; it is in the countryside as well.

Although I am not very sure about Hokusai’s real age, but it is said that he was 90 years old, in the following year he completed the Phoenix, when he died at the Henshoin Temple, Asakusa, Edo in 1849. He traveled 4 times in 10 years between Edo and Obuse about 240 km over 80 years old on foot. It took him for 8 days one way (The Ganshoin Temple).

Kobayashi Issa, a famous Haiku poet, composed a Haiku when he visited here: “Yase Gaeru Makeruna Issa Kokoni Ari” (A Thin Toad, Don’t Be Defeated, I’m Watching Over You).

I hiked the Ojiragawa (White Tail River) Trail again, this time, to Fudotaki (No Move Falls). The amount of the water is impressive and very strong. I got splashed even several meters away.