I visited to Takehara city with my son on March 14, and which is the famous old town of
Japanese Sake Production. There are still several Sake Brewers.
And Takahara City has been preserving historical residences, shrines, Sake-breweries and
ruins of salt making as the historical heritage.
Therefore, a certain areas are especially called "Little Kyoto"!
Guide plate of historical town area
Preservation residencial area from a half of Edo era
The house where the 1st brewer of whiskey in Japan was born.
And this town comes into the limelight now as the town where the founder of the
Nikka whiskey co. ltd. as the first whiskey brewery in Japan was born.
His name is MASATAKA TAKETSURU.
His father was also one of the brewers of Japanese Sake, "Taketsuru Shuzo".
NHK is now presenting the drama of being subjected MASATAKA TAKETSURU.
The drama is going to close at the end of this week.
And also, Japanese traditional doll for a girl, "Hina Ningyo", are displayed at some
of the historical residences. There are many types of Hina Ningyo as shown in the
below pictures.
Generally, the dolls display on the several-tiered platform, five or seven or eight, in
the below pictures. However, it is very toroublesome to take the dolls in and out.
Therefore, today, some of the dolls display on fewer tiered platform to do it easily,
and also depending on a size of a room.
It is not clear yet the root of the name "TAKEHARA". One is said "Plane of Banboo",
and the other is coming from the owner's name "TAKAHARA" who was the adminis-
tartor of the estate of the KYOTO SHIMOGAMO SHRINE during Heian era (AC 8~12).
However, there are shops of banboo products. You can see various kinds of banboo
arts such as toys, bags, dolls and musical instruments etc.
Some of Hina Nyngyo are made by a banboo. It's so cute !
Traditional japanese toys. Water pistol, Banboo-
copter, Whistle etc.
Banboo tower, Tokyo Sky Tree
Banboo musical instrument of
Vietnamese "Klong put".
Banboo musical instrument, "Marimba” &
"Mini Klong put".
The toy which a man has is named "Sasara Kuruma (wheel)".
It constitutes a banboo-stic with notcheｓ like a saw blade which
has a fin at the end of a stic and banboo-stic.
You rub the right side of notches by the stic with 15 degrees in
an angle and then the fin rotates in clockwise. And when you rub
the left side of notches, the fin rotates in counterclockwise.
"Ukiyoe (Bijinnga)" made by wires.
Takehara has been prospering
by salt industry from the middle of Edo period.
I will visit Takehara with wife and a daughter sometime in future to get more detail
information. Takehara is an atractive small town, exactly.
Good-bye
