Let me introduce myself . My name is Yan Xue . I was born in chi feng Prefecture, china , on october 2 , 1978 .
I am a second year student at kagawa Junior College . My major is Management and Information. wellcome to my Home Page.
Takamastu is the caoital of Kagawa Prefecture , which has taditionsally been called the gateway to Shikoku , with the whole land of the prefecture jutting out into the Seto Inland Sea like a porch.
JR Takamastu Station next to Takamatsu Harbar is the terminal of the Kotoku Line of Tokushima pref. the Yosan Line for Ehime Pref. and the bus terminal to Tokushima, Matsuyama and Koshi City . Takamatsu Chikko just opposite JR Station is the terminsal of' Kompira-san'.
The New Takamatsu Airport handlds non-stop flights to and from Seoul, Korea.
Another place in Takmatsu appropriate as a gateway to Shikoku is the Takamatsu Heike Monogatari Historical Museum 高松平家物語歴史館 that features Heike Monogatari but also about 50 great historical fihures closely associated with Shikoku or native to Shikoku.
Takamatsu became the capital in 1587 with the advent of Lord Ikoma I as governor of Sanuki Province. The castle he built on the harbor was succeeded by 4 generations of his descendants, and then by 11 generations of Matsudaira Lords, governing Takamatsu Province with a fief of 120,000 koku.
One ninth of the former catle ground is preserved as Tamamo Koen Park 玉藻公園 across the street from JR 15 turrets and Mizute Gomom Gate from the 17th century (Important Cultural Properties )survived the air raid in 1945 . Admission: \100.
Traditionally the popular sightseeing spots in Takamatsu are Ritsurin Koen Park near downtown and Yashima Plateau overlooking the city and the Inland Sea. They are accessible by bus or tram, with terminals at Takamatsu Chikko 高松築港 just opposite JR Station.
◎ 30 minutes' walk from JR Takamatsu Station.
The busy street in from JR Takamatsu is the mainstreet of downtown Takamatsu , and leads to the main gate to Ritsurin Koen Park, a National Special Scenic Spot. This spacious garden laid out with shapely mounds, cool ponds and about 160 varieties of trees and flowers provides a classic example of a Japanese garden or even a Chinese Taoist paradise fit for meditation.
Originally it belonged to a Local warlord, and then to Lord Ikoma. When it was transferred to the Matsudairas, they spent five generation developing it into a larger stroll-type garden for their villa. Seasonal cherry blossoms in April, wisteria and azaleas in August, and Japanese bush clover in September, and brilliant maple leaves in November add to the pleasure of strolling.
Kikugetsu-tei 掬月亭, one of the pond-side teshouses, was originally one of the Matsudairas'formal buildings. The museum just insids the main gate 讃岐民芸館 houses a variety of mostly local handicrsfts. There is a zoo, too, inside the gate.
Open kaily. Admission to the park: About \300
Bus:30 minutes' ride from Chikko to the terminal (Kotoden Bus for Yashima-sanjo or Yashima Hilltop 屋島山上
Tram + Cable:30 minutes' tram ride from Chikko to Yashima (Shido-sen Line 志度線) + 5 minutes' cable-car ride.
Yashima, a pine-wooded tableland to the northeast of downtown Takamatsu, is one of the world's rare lava mesas, about 290 m high, 3 km wide, jutting 5 km out into the sea
The hilltop , overlooking the archipelago of the Inland Sea features Yashima-ji (No.84)屋島寺 ①, an aquarium ② and observatories all linked by forest promenades.
One of the observatories, Dankori 談古嶺 ③, commands a view of the inlet fringed with memorials to the Gempei Yashima Battle (the second last battle in Gempei War fought between the two rival clans, the Mimamotos and the tairas).
Omce a British poet, Edmund Blunden, visited Yashima and wrote a poem that was engraved on a stone here at Dankorei observatory:
Like a long roof, men say, and will they say,
This hill of warrior ghosts surmounts the plain...
In 794 Kyoto became the capital of Japan and it enjoyed peace for about 350 years (811 - 1155)-the longest peace Japan has ever attained in her history.
The last 30 years of this period , however ,were far from peaceful. In 1156 the first battle* took place in the capital , thus opening up a new era dominated by martial emotions. Two martial clans - the Minamoto and Taira clans - began tto acquire greater and greater influence in politics through fighting against esch other in the name of"the Emperors" or "the Ex-Emperor".
In 1159, the tairas succeeded temporarily in sraving off the Minamotos. The 20 years that followed saw the Tairas rise to increasingly control the Imperial Family, inviting animosity from the reihning Emperors, the Ex-Emperors, powerful pridsts, warriors and lords, to say nothing of the Minamotos in exile.
In 1183 the patriarch of the clan Taira no Kiyomori died just when the tairas faced more battles against the Minamotos,who were gradually consolidating their power.
In 1183 the Tairas were driven from the Capital along with the 6-year-old Emperor Antoku and his mother ,who was Kiyomori's daughter. They wandered far in search of supporters, while fighting losing battles.
Now in 1185, Minamoto no Yoshitsune * attacked the remaining Tairas here at Yashima , then at Dan-no-ura in the westernmost corner of the Inland sea ,where the proud Taira finally fell , the noblewomen casting themselves into the sea with the child Emperor Antoku.
Thus the age of ancient nobility yielded to the age of Shoguns (1185-1867).
Yashima-ji Temple 屋島寺 treasures in its museum a folding screen depicting the Gempei no Kassen Battles. The bell in the belfry , sast in Kyoto in 1223, was dedicated here for the repose of the defeated Tairas. But no one can strike the bell , as there is no hammer. They say, "Strike the bell, and invoke the ghosts of the Tairas,"
On the last weekend in March the Gempei Yashima festival is held, whose highlight is the warriors'Pageant.
*1It was an insurrection causend by the discord between Emperor Goshirakawa (1127-92) and Ex-Emperor Sutoku (1119-64). Sutoku was defeated and banished to Sutoku (kagawa Pref.) to die a miserable death 8 years later. His ashes were buried at Temple 81. In 1184 the court elevated him to Shinto deity to placate his ghost. (See p.50)
*2Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-89): By bringing about Victory in the civil war, Yoshitsune had greatly helped Minamoto no Yoritomo, his elder brother, who in 1192 was to no establish the first Shogunate at Kamakura. but Yoshitsune had to spend the test of his life escaping Yoritomo , until four years later he killed himself. His tragic life and death was so appealing to Japanese sentiment that he has taken on heroic proportion in Kabuki, Noh and Joruri plays , based on what is called Yoshitsune Literature.
Very few Japanese visit Yashima without being reminded of an episode shown in the picture abve:
It was on the afternoon of february 19, 1185 , that Minamoto no Yoshitsune mounted another surprise attack against the Tairas at the then Yashima Island. Frightened by the imagined immensity of enemy forces, the Tairas jumped into their boats and sailde off . A fierce battle lasted for hours.
Now the sun was setting . Both sides began to tetreat, when a fair vessel parted from the Taira legion and stopped about 80 m from the beach. Then a beautiful lady appeared from the cabin, produced a pole with a bright red fan on its top and beckoned to the puzzled warriors on the shore.
"What does she mean?"said Yoshitsune.
"Perhaps she is inviting one of us shoot the fan. Or she may be inviting you to came out onto the front line for her archers," said his attendant.
" Then let it be shot down by someone ," said Yoshitsune.
Soon a young man called Nasu no Yoichi appeared on horseback with bow and arrow in his hands. The north wind was strong . The boat was tossing up and down. The fan painted with the golden sun at its center was fluttering on the pole.
All the Tairas in the boats and all the Minamotos on the shore were watchiong Yoichi. What would he do?Would he succeed?
Yoichi rode into the water as far as he could . But it was still about 70 m to the target. He closed his eyes and prayed . Then the wind fell for a moment. He shot. The arrow pierced through a little above the rivet. The fan, flying up a moment or two, came floating down, glittering in the setting sun. There was great applause from both sides.
Then a man in armor appeared in the same boat. He began to dance an elegant dance perhaps in genuine apprebiation of Yoichi"s archery. Then Yoichi got another order an shot down the dancing man, too. some said ," Good shot !" But others said ,"Not fair."
The Tairas were silent this time. Was it a precursor of their demise? Two months later, the Tairas finally fell.
◎3 minutes' walk after leaving the bus at Tashohu-mas 東照宮 (KotodenYashima-sanjo--toshogu-mae--Chikko)
◎3 minutes' walk from the cable-car station.
This is an open-air museum laid out at the foot of Yashima Plateau. About 20 old rural buildings from various part of Shikoku have been reassimbled here, including a Farmers'Kabuki Theater, peasants' houses, a fisherman's house, a sugar mill , a shed for steaming mulberry bark to make paper , and workshops for making soy sauce and so on . There is a teprica of Kazura-bashi from Nishi Iyayama-son, too.
open daily:8:30 - 16:30 . Admission: \500
On May 5, people including children from Shodoshima Island , from which the Kamuki Theater came here, staga an annual performance of their traditional farmers' kabuki.
Takamatsu Heike Monogatari Historical Museum
高松平家物語歴史館
◎3 minutes' walk from Nihon Tabako-mae 日本タバコ前 Bus Stop after 10 minutes' ride from JR Takamatsu.
(Kotoden Bus: Asahimachi 朝日町 Line)
◎30 minutes' walk from JR Takamatsu Station.
Japan's largest wax doll museum. The first floor is dedicated to the 41 dolls of historical figures or modern men and women of celebrity who have been closely associated with Shikoku.
The one of Kobo Daishi has its own corner as a special exhibition.
The other dolls include:
Sakamoto Ryoma 坂本龍馬
Nakahaka Shintaro中岡慎太郎
Nakahama Manjiro中浜万次郎
Winceslau de Moraeｓ
Inokuma Genichiro 猪熊弦一郎
Takahama Kyoshi 高浜虚子
Ninomiya Chuhachi 二宮忠八
Sitouchi Jakucho瀬戸寂聴 (Literature: 1922- )
Makino Tomitaro 牧野富太郎
Yasuoka Shotaro 安岡章太郎(literature:1920- )
Kagawa Toyohiko 賀川豊彦 (religion, social work, literature:1888-1960)
Yokoyama Ryuichi横山隆一 (cartoons: 1909- )
Terada Torahiko 寺田寅彦 (science, essay: 1878-1935)
Abe Yoshishige 阿部能成 (philosophy, education: 1883-1966)
Nambara Shigeru 南原繁 (philosophy. education:1888-1974)
Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規
Kotoku Shusui 幸徳秋水
Nakae Chomin 中江兆民
Kikuchi Kan 菊池寛 (literature:1888-1948)
M anabe Hiroshi 真鍋博 (illustration:1932- )
Yoshida Shigeru 吉田茂
Itagaki Taisuke 板垣退
The second floor exhibits about 300 dolls portraying the 17 scenes from the Heiki Monogatari or The Tale of the Tairas. The Saga, composed of a large number of revealing episodes, was and still is an inexhaustible source of Japanese literature and art. Some of Yashima Plateau at the northeastern tip of Takamatsu.
One hi-tech doll seen at the end of the exhibition is what was called biwa hoshi or a blind biwa - playing bard who traveled around chanting The Tale of the Taira Family even before it was written down in the first half of the 13th century. Its opening passage is especially famous for its Buddhist idea of impermanence that goes as follows:
The doll begins to talk and sing the first line of the opening passage when it senses visitors approaching.
0pen daily. Admisson: \1200 (High school student:\800 Children:\600)
*Yoshida Shigeru (1878-1967), Prime Minister from 1946 to 1954, is credited with giving Japan direction through her most difficult times after the war.
The Seto Ohashi Bridge
The Kojima-Sakaide Route, popularly known as the Seto Ohashi Bridge 瀬戸大橋, was completed in 1988. It is the world's Longest two-tiered bridge system, stretching 13. 1 km from Kojima to Sakaida, connecting the 5 islands in between.
The 11 bridges in the system include 3 suspension bridges, 2 twin cable- stayed, 1 truss and 5 viaducts. The upper level accommodates a motor expressway of four lanes , and the lower contains Japan Railway's system for a dual track ordinary line at preseng and for a dual track superexpress line in the future.
The fitst person to air the idea of the Seto Ohashi Bridge was Okubo Jinnojo 大久保諶之丞(1849-1891),a kagawa native, who at that time was constructing the the island. IN 1889 Jinnojo disclosed his dream in a congratulatory speech he made as a member of the prefectural Parliament at the opening ceremony of the first railroad in Shikoku between Marugame and Kotohira
Exactly a century later, the Bridge came into being after decades of planning and ten years of construction, 13 milloion warkers involved (with the loss of 17 lives ), and costing 1,190,000 million yen.
Surprisingly, Jinnojo had also foretold man's traveling to the moon in his favorite drinking song of his own making, which went as follows:I'll tell you, dear, don't laugh at me, a hundred years from now, I'll be seeing you flying to and from the moon in a space ship. Its port, Let me tell you, dear, will be that mountaintop over there!
One of the best points to view the Bridge is Yoshima Island 与島 ①,a central pier of the Bridge. It also serves as a sightseeing outpost for the Shikoku and Inland Sea Districts, providing 2 parking areas for those who like to enjoy bridge-viewing, seafood and shopping.
◎To Yoshima:20 minutes from JR Sakaide by Seto Ohashi Express Bus瀬戸大橋高速バス.
Another is a rotating tower 132 m tall at the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park ② 瀬戸大橋記念公園 at the foot of the Bridge in Sakaide. The Memorial Hall provides all kinds of information on the Bridge and its construction, while the park itself applies modern art to stone and water.
Admission to the tower :\800
Admission to the Hall:\510
◎To the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park : 10 minutes from JR Sakaide by shuttle bus (free of charge).
The Gold Tower ③ ゴールドタワー near JR Utazu Station offers a marvelous view, too. The 144 m tower made of half-mirror glass is the tallest of its kind in Japan, housing the Sky Lounge,restaurants, stores and a World Toilet Museum.
Open daily. Admission to the tower:\800/ \1000 (Toilet Museum included).
◎ To Gold Tawer:8 minutes' walk from JR Utazu.
*Bridge-viewing cruises are available from Keihan Fisherman's Wharf 京阪 フッシャーマンズワーフ on Yoshima ①, Mimorial Park ② ａｎｄ Ｓａｋａｉｄｅ Ｐｏｒｔ ④ (\1,000-1,500)
Marugame City 丸亀市
◎25 minutes' train ride from JR takamatsu
*To the Castle: 15 minutes' walk from JR Marugame.
The three-storied donjon on top of a green hill crowns the city of Matugame . When a Marugame Province of 53000 koku was formed in 1641, an old castle was reconstructed and the castle seen today dates back to 1660, one of few genuine Edo Period castles remaining in Japan.
The present- day Marugame is famous for uchiwa or round paper fan manufactur 90% of these fans in Japan.
The Castle Park,15 minutes' walk from JR Marugame,is surrounded by moats, featuring the donjon, a couple of main gates (all Important Cultural Proterties ) and walls from the 17 th century . The 4-level 60m ramparts, the tallest and among the most besutiful in Japan, also contribute to the beauty of the castle.
*0-shiro Matsuri Castle Festival is held on the 3rd weekend in May.
*The Inokuma Genichiro Modern Art Museum 猪熊弦一郎現代美術館 adjacent to JR Marugame Station is dedicated to Inokuma Genichiro(1902-93)
Banshoen Garden 万象園 built in 1688 as a villa for the Lord of the Province is 10 minutes' drive from downtown Marugame. One of the galleries there houses Chinese ceramic ware and a colletion of Iranian earthenware and glassware dating back to 2500 B,C, through the 1200's A,D, Open daily.
Admission to the Garden &Galleries:\1000 students:\600,Children:\400)
◎ 10 minutes' walk from Nakazu-bashi Bus Stop after 10 minutes' ride from Marugame Taricho near the castle. (Kotosan Bus for Zentsuji 善通寺 via Tadotsu 多度津)
Zintsu- ji Temple 善通寺
ーthe Birthplace of Kobo Daishi-
[From JR Kotohira ] 5 minutes to JR Zentsuji by ordinary train .
[From JR Takamatu] 40 minutes to JR Zentsuji by exptess train (Dosan Line).
*25 minutes' walk from JR Zentsuji along the street in front of the station.
Zintsu-ji Temple , is known as the birthplace of Kobo Daishi KUkai. KUkai is one of the greatest geniuses Japan has ever produced . He made a great contribution in remolding Japanese religion, while making unparalleled achievements as a scholar, poet, artist, calligrapher, sculptor, architect, edubcator, social worker, inventor, discoverer and civil engineer.
The giant camphor trees near the five-storied pagoda in the East Precinct are said to have already been several hundred years old when Kukai was born in 774. The Mieido Hall in the West Precinct at the foot of the green hill is the Birthplace.
Visitors may traverse the basement of the hall along a pitch-dark path. This introspective journey is called Kaidan-meguri 戒壇 めぐり. The entrance is at the right-hand corner of the Hall. The entrance fee includes the admission to the Museum (\300)
The utter blackness along the path symbolizes the darkness of the human mind or human ignorance of the Truth. The notice says: " Go along with the palm of your left hand pressed against the left-hand wall. The wall, painted with mandalas, angels and lotus flowers, is the Buddha's way. You will be safely guided as long as you on His Way."
After the Kaidan-meguri, arrows guide you to the Museum. The temple treasures exhibited there include a small clay pagoda KUkai molede at 7, a bowl used by KUkai sa a mendicant priest , a robe and a ritual stick (a National Treasure) of Indian make, both presented to Kukai by his Chinese master Abbot Hui-Kuo, and a sutra scroll (a National Treasure ) with each of the Chinese characters accompanied by a little Bodhisattva on a lotus pedestal; Kukai did the calligraphy, his mother the painting.
Shorinji Kimpo 少林寺拳法
―an art of self-defence-
Shorinji Kimpo is not merely a sport or martial art, but a religious exercise to approach the Buddha's spirit in the principles of "self- realization"and " help each other."
It was started by So Doshin I 宗道臣(1911-1980)in 1947. Two years before he had been repatriated from Manchuria, the northeastern part of China that "Imperialist Japan" held for 13 years till the end of World War Ⅱ. Doshin had seen how people could be dehumanized in the dire extremities of war and its aftermath. "Developing good humanity is the only way to save Japan and the world at large," he kept saying to himself. Doshin, who had learned various martial arts in China, pondered over the Zin philosophy of Bodhidharma, trying to testore the martial art that Bodhibharma himself was said to have practised about 1500 years ago when he brought Zen from India to Chian. Finally, Doshin succeeded in restoring and reorganizing has more than 100 branches in 23 countries in the world.
◎ The Shorinji Kimpo Headquarters 総本山少林寺 tell (0877) 33-1010 on the southern slope Toryo Koen Park Hill 15 minutes' walk from JR Tadotsu Staion.
* The Bodhidharma Festival 達磨祭 is held on the 1st Sunday in October.
Kotohira- gu Shrine 金刀比羅宮
― the mecca of Kompira worshippers―
[ From JR Iakamatsu to JR Kotohira 琴平] 60 minutes by shuttle train (Dosan Line).
[From takamatsu Chikko] 70 minutes' tram ride to Kotohira 琴平 (Kotoden).
[From JR Okayama]
67 minutes' train ride by special express.
2 hours to Kotohden Kotohira Station by Seto ohashi Kosoku Bus 瀬戸大橋高速バス
*Especially Noted Product: Ittobori woodcarving.
Kotohira-gu 金刀金羅宮, a great shrine complex, often affectionately called Komoira-san, has been a celebrated destination for pilgrims and tourists for hundreds of years.
According to legend, Kompira-san came into being when Kumghira - a guardian god of Buddhism, orignally a Hindu crocodile god of the Ganges, was beckoned by a Buddhist priest of Matsuo-ji, a thousand -year-old temple in this neighborhood.
Kumbhira from the holy waters of the Ganges was naturally believed to be a mighty patron deity for seamen, fishermen and rice-growing farmers, and in later years came to be considered a Great Incarnation of the Buddha himself.
But the temple remained a Shinto shrine in part, with Omononushi-no-mikoto, the native god of fertility, medicine and commerce also summoned from the mythological land of Izumo . Omononushi- in-mikoto, along with Daikoku-ten representing Chinese folk religion, were then identified with the Indian god Kumbhhira (Kompira), a case of religious internationlisn in classical Japan.
In 1868 Buddhisn and Shintoism were separated by law, and Omononushi became the chief god along with the deified Emperor Sutoko who had been enshrined here in the 15th century. Yet " Kompira Worship" continued to flourish, for the Hindu deity had already enshrined himself deep in the hearts of the Japanese people.
There are 785 stone steps to climb before one reaches the Main Shrine. Fortunately its toute consists first of a colorful street of souvenir shops and then of a quiet promenade lined with gardens, shrines and museums. The numberless granite lanterns, fences and tablets bordering the approach were all dedicated by Kompira worshippers nationwide, as were the stone steps themselves.
Many of the shrine treasures in the Homotsukan Musenm , the Gakugeikan Museum , Omote-shoin and omote-shoin and Oku-shoin Art Museum were offered by famous artists, poets, Lords of Provinces and characters of historical renown, In the 17th century the Tokugawa Shogun, too, dedicated a stipend of 330 koku to the shrine, augmenting its prosperity.
Asahi-no-yashiro Shrine 旭社 in the Buddhist style is the former Main Hall. The present Main Hall is a few more flights of stone steps above.
Emado Hall near the Main Shrine is a gallery for votive tablets and offerings mainly from seamen, In March 1889 there was offered a photograph of the Bridge in New York - the Eighth Wonder of the World at that time - dedicated by a Japanese actobatic troupe that had completed a tour around the USA . so it is thought that Okubo Jinnojo, seeing the photograph here, was inspired to envision the Seto Ohashi Bridge that he proposed in May that same year
About an hour's walk to Okusha or the Inner Sanctuary further along the path through primeval forest is enjoyable to nature-lovers, though one has to climb 583 more stone steps.
*On the night of October 10, a grand procession starts at the Main Hall at 9 pm , slowly marching down the 785 stone steps into the downtown streets as far as O-tabisho, the Sacred Festival of this time - honored shrine.
*Izumo: An ancient city in Shimane Pref. on the Japan Sea: one of the political and religious centers during the mythological age.