History and travel records

Nikko is traversed by three major highways (the Nikko Highway, the Reiheishi Highway, and the Aizu-Nishi Highway), and Imaichi is at the junction of them. All of these highways were lined with cedar trees planted in the 17th century, and even today, 20-30% of them remain, demonstrating the importance the Edo shogunate placed on these highways. The Reiheishi Highway was the route used by envoys sent annually from the imperial court to the annual festival of the Toshogu Shrine,

I've had many opportunities to visit Aizu on business trips in recent years. With limited time, I've only managed to admire the beautiful stone walls of Tsuruga Castle, so this time I decided to take a tour of the Aizu Basin. I didn't go to Tsuruga Castle itself, but I did view the castle from the site on Iimoriyama where the Byakkotai committed suicide. Among Niigata Prefecture's major rivers, the Agano River (known as the Aga River in Fukushima Prefecture) flows from the

The Toyokawa River, which flows vertically through eastern Mikawa, merges with the Uregawa River before turning west and flowing into Mikawa Bay. Nagashino Castle was built at the confluence of these two rivers, and 500 soldiers defended against the fierce attack of a 15,000-strong Takeda army. The combined forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga, numbering 38,000, received the news and rushed to their aid, and Takeda Katsuyori chose to fight a decisive battle at Shitaraga

The Kanto Plain is vast, but as you reach northern Ibaraki Prefecture, the mountains of the Abukuma Mountains come into view. The Satake clan, though of Minamoto lineage, were reluctant to submit to Yoritomo during the Genpei War, and resisted to the end, holed up on Mount Nishikanasa. Although their castle eventually fell due to betrayal by their allies, they later distinguished themselves in the Oshu War and were incorporated into the Kamakura Shogunate system. Currently, t

On May 8, 1333 (Genkō 3), Nitta Yoshisada raised an army at Ikushina Shrine (Ōta City, Gunma Prefecture), and on May 22, he annihilated the Hōjō clan at Tōshōji Temple, thus overthrowing the Kamakura Shogunate. He fought four battles in just two weeks, covering approximately 130 km during that time. When Nitta's army was first raised, it numbered only about 150 cavalrymen, but it grew even larger when Minamoto retainers from Echigo, Kai, and Shinano joined the army, and whe

This time, I decided to stroll along the west side of the Katsura River and made a reservation for Saihoji Temple (Moss Temple), a place I've wanted to visit for many years. A large weather front was approaching, so I looked for a place with a good view while the weather was still clear, and it seemed that Yoshiminedera Temple was the best. In Higashiyama, the view from Shogunzuka Kofun was the best, but from here, you can see the Kyoto Basin in the opposite direction, with t

Located on the outskirts of Akita City, the Omoriyama Observatory sits atop a low mountain only 124 meters above sea level, yet offers panoramic views of Akita City stretching from the Oga Peninsula to the north. To the south, you can see the snow-capped Mount Chokai in the distance, creating a magnificent panorama—a testament to the vastness of the alluvial plain formed by the Omono River. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Satake Yoshinobu was ordered to relocate to Akita, and

Last year, around the same time, when I visited Tokushima for a relative's wedding, I thought it was about time to start the 88 Sacred Sites pilgrimage. It's such a famous pilgrimage site that I felt it would be a challenging journey (even if you travel by car), so I returned with some mental preparation. From the Yomomi Observatory, you can see the Great Naruto Bridge connecting Shikoku and Awaji Island, and looking back, you can see the city of Tokushima in the distance fro

It seems that Tanba Kameyama was changed to Kameoka during the Meiji era because there were many places with the name Kameyama throughout Japan, which was confusing. It may not seem like a big change, just changing from mountain to hill, but for fans of the Sengoku period, the sound of Tanba Kameyama Castle generally might evoke associations with the Honnoji Incident, so it might feel a bit strange. Tanba Province is a long rectangle that straddles Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures

Fifteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, ten years since the Kumamoto Earthquake, and two years since the Noto Earthquake. In addition to these, the Chuetsu Earthquake and the Iburi Eastern Earthquake, which caused a power outage throughout Hokkaido, have also registered a seismic intensity of 7 in this century, meaning that Japan experiences a major earthquake approximately once every five years. The cost of disaster recovery in Japan, including wind

The Engishiki, compiled in the 10th century, classifies the 60-odd provinces established under the Ritsuryo system into four ranks: Dai, Jo, Chu, and Ge, based on their national power. Shima is one of the nine designated Ge-koku provinces, a small peninsula with only two counties and little flat land, making it an area with low agricultural productivity. However, since ancient times, it has been valued as a "Miketsukuni" (food province) that supplied the Imperial Court with s

Ever since I saw NHK TV drama "Golden Days" as a junior high school student, my wish to visit Sakai has finally come true. Daisen Park stretches between the tombs of Emperor Nintoku and Emperor Richu, and is home to many of the tombs of the Mozu Kofun Group. Even when viewing the tombs from a flat area, the large ones in particular resemble a dense forest, making it difficult to grasp the full picture. However, I heard there was a service offering a hot air balloon ride that

When it comes to the three biggest 〇〇 in Japan, there are often four or even five in total, and Inari Shrine is no exception. Fushimi Inari and Toyokawa Inari are the undisputed first and second, but the third place varies by region, and in the Kanto region, Kasama Inari is generally considered the third place. In the first place, the main deity of Inari Shrine is Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto, the god of grain, and this is probably evidence that the area has been a grain-producing r

I usually plan my winter history tours to avoid snow as much as possible, and even when driving along the Pacific coast, I always check the weather forecast of Tokai area, where snow flows in from Mt. Ibuki, and Hakone tend to freeze easily. This year, I'm thinking of embarking on the pilgrimage to the 33 temples of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage and the 88 temples of Shikoku, and I'm planning to start by heading to Seiganto-ji Temple in Nachikatsuura next month. I've driven t

As the new year began, my first historical tour of the year was in Okayama. While I lived in Hiroshima, I had business trips to Mizushima and Tamashima, but never had time to leisurely explore the area. This area, prominently located on the Sanyo Road and open since ancient times, has long intrigued me, so I was excited to explore the area. First, I decided to climb to a high point, standing atop the ancient fortress known as Ki-no-jo. After their defeat in the Battle of Baek

The Satomi clan was famous as a Sengoku daimyo based in Awa, and after the Battle of Sekigahara, was incorporated into the Edo shogunate and feudal domain system as a daimyo with 122,000 koku of rice and its main castle in Tateyama. Just before the Winter Siege of Osaka, the Satomi clan was implicated in the removal of Okubo Tadachika's fief and was ordered to be transferred to Kurayoshi, Hoki, with 30,000 koku of rice, but the actual territory there was only 4,000 koku, so i

The Ota clan, descendants of Minamoto no Yorimasa (Settsu Genji), who rose up against the Taira clan alongside Prince Mochihito, were based in Tanba (present-day Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture) and took the name Ota. They later moved to Sagami, where, under the reign of his father, Ota Sukekiyo (Doshin), he demonstrated his skills as the head retainer of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan. The Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan was a branch of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan, which had produced the Kanto

I started this year's historical walk with a visit to Takasaki's ancient tombs, but before I knew it, the end of the year was upon us, and I had been planning to explore the ancient tombs on the opposite bank of the Tone River. Gunma Prefecture is lined from west to east with the famous mountains of Myogi, Haruna, and Akagi. The Tone River, which flows between Haruna and Akagi, splits vertically and gradually flows eastward as it enters Maebashi city. Akagi Shrine, esteemed a

Yabakei is the general name for the gorge that unfolds in the upper and middle reaches of the Yamakuni River, and is a scenic spot with many different faces, created by the erosion of the large amount of pyroclastic flow deposits (welded tuff) from a major eruption that occurred one million years ago. This time, we visited the famous Hitome Hakkei, where countless stone pillars standing like grave markers and gaps in the cliffs are covered with trees of various colors. Rai Sa

I have only ever been to Ryogoku to watch sumo, but I decided to take a walk around the quiet Ryogoku area on a weekday when there was no sumo tournament. As November approaches, NHK's taiga drama series is reaching its final stretch. The protagonist of "Berabou," Tsutaya Juzaburo, is in his twilight years, and the story will depict Edo after the fall of Matsudaira Sadanobu. The script and cast are excellent, but what's particularly noteworthy right now is the comedian Kukki