Tomo's nostalgic modern buildings

Yuko-ken, a cafe selling hand-made candles

These are also part of Tomo. Besides these two, there stand several nostalgia-evoking buildings for Japanese in Tomo. Fortunately they blend well with the older houses.

Gallery on the hillside

Nunakuma Shrine in Tomo

This pillar was dedicated by a trading house Osaka-ya
according to the inscription. 

More than 1800 years ago, Empress Jingu called on Tomo on her way to western Japan. She came back on her way back. Knowing the divinity was not enshrined, she prepared a sanctuary and summoned Owatatsumi-no-mikoto from the sea. Watasu Shrine was legendarily founded somewhere in Tomo that way.


The present Nunakuma shrine was originally called Gion Shrine, the mother shrine of Kyoto's Gion Shrine (now called Yasaka Shrine and famous for its summer festival). But the Meiji government, promoting the separation of Buddhism and Shinto, demanded the name be changed into something which did not carry Buddhist significance. The old historical name, Nunakuma, was chosen and since then the shrine has been called Nunakuma Jinja and Owatatsumi was invited here as the central divinity in addition to the original host Susano-o in 1876.


Here, take a good look at the structures made of rocks, such as Torii gates, stone stairs and pillars, and smooth oval rocks which were used for strength contests. 


A Noh stage which can be disassembled and made portable sits there. It's an old stage from the beginning of the 17th century. The stage is still used by locals and seeing the Noh performance outdoors must be a lot of fun. But it might just look insignificant to the eyes of travelers when nothing is happening.


The shrine visit will add a spice to your temple hopping exploration.

Macho port workers competed on their strength.

Temples in Tomo-no-ura

There are 19 temples in Tomo. Considering the fact that the town is 600 meters wide from east to west and less than 1 kilometer from north to south, this number is quite large. It is believed that there were nearly 30 temples in the Edo period when the town was prosperous with transit trading.

The oldest is said to be Jokan-ji built around 810 followed by Io-ji on the hill allegedly founded in 826 by Kukai, a great Buddhist monk and cultural hero who, according to local legends, dug wells and built temples instantly. Tomo is likely to have had at least three temples in the ninth century including these two and the other which does not exist anymore.

Ankoku-ji Shaka-do (Sakyamuni Hall)

Ankoku-ji, originally built in the 13th century under a different name, was renamed in the 14 century by ASHIKAGA Takauji, who ordered the construction of Ankoku-ji temples and Risho-to towers nationwide wishing for the repose of the war dead. The temples and towers were especially dedicated to the late Emperor Godaigo, who was opposed to Takauji and escaped to Yoshino, Nara where he died in frustration.

Amitabha trio
See the attendants' elegant hand postures

Ankoku-ji’’s high status didn’t allow it to have parishioners as financial supporters. Sometimes the temple was in dire situation. Historically and academically, however, this is an important temple. The Shaka-do (Sakyamuni Hall) that enshrines not the Sakyamuni trio but the trio of Amitabha Buddha and his attendants is a significant example of architecture from the 13th century which utilized techniques introduced from Buddhist monks and others fleeing Sung China whose authority was waning and about to be replaced by Yuan Dynasty.

Part of the stately tomb stone at Ankoku-ji,
built by a merchant family in the Edo period

Most of the existing temples were built under the order of FUKUSHIMA Masanori who was dispatched at the beginning of the 17th century to present day Hiroshima Prefecture by TOKUGAWA Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, who established peace and stability. Many line up one after another. 


FUKUSHIMA Masanori expanded the already-existing fortress into Tomo Castle. The central citadel was built on top of the hill now situated in the middle of the historic area of Tomo. In those days, the castle stood at the edge of the land but the seashore has receded due to reclamation. The lord too reclaimed some land and that's how Taiga-shima island became part of the main land. He moved Enpuku-ji temple from its original location onto the hill of the former island, a vantage point to overlook the waters and the location of a stronghold during the middle ages. 


The construction of the castle town continued and the planning was grand, which made TOKUGAWA Ieyasu upset and skeptical about his loyalty, leading to the demolition of the castle probably in 1609.


Walk along the temples and see some of your favorites carefully, thinking about the lord who was not a true sympathizer of the Tokugawa clan and demoted to a smaller domain after his short reign in Hiroshima. 

Io-ji on the hill

Refined Ota Residence in Tomo

See the elegant design of the railing

The Ota Residence is surrounded and protected by its whitewashed liqueur making factory buildings and the Choso-tei guest house stands across the alley. They were built around the middle of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. The Choso-tei, meaning the house for audience to nobles, is still a residence of the family who owns it and is not open to the public but its exterior can be enjoyed especially when seen from a distance across the bay. The Ota Residence is open to the public and the staff members there give you a guided tour in Japanese.

The ownership shifted from the Nakamura family to the Ota family in the Meiji period. NAKAMURA Kichibei, who moved from Osaka to Tomo some 360 years ago, started to produce Homei-shu liqueur and his family thrived as an exclusive manufacturer of the liqueur regulated by the Fukuyama Domain. The affluent family continually expanded their residence and factory. They were obliged to greet and offer lodging to VIPs during the Edo period. Thus the architecture was unaffected but sophisticated, following the manners popular in Kyoto. Both the residence and factories are superb examples of grace and refinement. You have to take time to appreciate the details and it’s worth doing so.

SANJO Sanetomi and his company, aggressive anti-shogunate and pro-imperial court nobles, were one of the most noted guests. They were fugitives from Kyoto when they called on the Nakamura residence in 1863 and 1864. Sanetomi’s Tanka poem made in Tomo in 1864 goes:

世に鳴らす　鞆の港の　竹の葉を かくて嘗むるも　めずらしの世や

Tasting the reputed liqueur of Tomo Port in such an unexpected situation

The tastefully designed wooden floor

Inside the former liqueur factory

Tomo-no-ura overview

Old pier called Hato built in the Edo and Meiji periods

Tomo is located in the center of the Seto Inland Sea region and lies 14 km south of JR Fukuyama Station. It protrudes into the Inland Sea at the southern end of the Numakuma Peninsula. The two different tides from the west and the east, meet in the waters off Tomo, which once forced the travelers to stop at Tomo for fair tides and winds to continue their voyages. Fortunately, Tomo’s terrain was ideal for a port. The hills close in to the small flatland and no river runs into the bay, which contributed to make an ideal port of required depth. And of course, Tomo’s inlets were quite suitable for a good moorage.

Tomo is a rare place still retaining the five essential elements for the ports in the Edo period [1603-1868]: 

Gangi stairs running into the sea;

Torodo stone lantern once provided a beacon light;

Hato piers made of stacked stones

The ruins of Funabansho maritime office

Tadeba dockyard where the outer ship bottoms were cleaned  

Since ancient times when the Anthology of Myriad Leaves was compiled in the 8th century, this once thriving port town has been called Tomo and the same character 鞆, invented in Japan, has been used. That will already convince you what a long and proud history the small port town should have. The town was referred to in the poems of the above-mentioned anthology eight times.

In the 12th century, the court ladies of the once glorious TAIRA clan are said to have been abandoned at Tomo when their troops were escaping from the emerging MINAMOTO forces. The ladies had no choice but to engage in the oldest business in the world.

In the turbulent 14th century, Tomo witnessed battles caused by power struggle in Kyoto in many ways. Kogarasu Shrine where battles were fought still stands although the configuration of the area seems to differ largely from the days of the fighting.

Tomo triggered the Ashikaga clan’s resurgence because ASHIKAGA Takauji received the letter of imperial approval while in Tomo after being ousted from Kyoto and in 1338 he was appointed shogun, starting the Ashikaga Shogunate. Ironically the 15th and last Ashikaga Shogun took refuge in Tomo to revive his authority from ODA Nobunaga in vain.

In the Edo period, when peace was finally established at the beginning of the 17th century, the diplomatic relationship between Korea and Japan was restored and the Korean friendship mission visited Japan 12 times (though they had to stop at Tsushima one time and didn’t come to Tomo as well as Capital Edo). They spent some days at Tomo on their way to Edo and their way back to Korea. That was a pleasure both for the Korean delegates and Tomo locals. Literati came over to meet with the intelligent guests from overseas.

More recently, famed animated film director MIYAZAKI Hayao stayed in Tomo for a while, conceiving of his film “Ponyo,” a story about a little mermaid-like goldfish and a human boy. Now Ponyo’s pictures are commonly seen along the streets of Tomo.

Dr. Donald Keene, a highly respected scholar of Japanese literature, recently retired from Columbia University in 2011 and moved to Japan permanently. Many years ago a school in Fukuyama invited the professor to give a lecture and kindly arranged an overnight stay at the island of Sensui-jima, five minutes’ boat ride from the Tomo terminal, after his lecture. He said he wandered in Tomo alone since he didn’t have a guide. Later he wrote a lyrical article about Tomo in the Yomiuri Newspaper. Some stores in Tomo post the article where it can be seen easily. One store owner said she reads the article occasionally and I saw it framed and hung on the wall. The article advised tourists to be considerate and keep this precious gem intact. I felt like crying.

Any place would inspire you if you listen to the distant voice from numi carefully. This time I had a chance to listen to the message and the affair with Tomo seems to last for quite some time.

Taicho-ro guest house on the premises of Fukuzen-ji temple
Taicho-ro means "the pavilion located where the two tides meet"

One example of the Tomo Architecture
Houses with this type of plastered walls and windows
were built at the beginning of the 20th century.
Note one of the partitions at the end of the wall on the 2nd floor.

Tomo-no-ura prelude

Ota Residence; photo taken in the courtyard

Tomo-no-ura is a hidden gem. Though many travel agents and tourists already discovered Tomo, they often leave without knowing its entire significance. 

Tourists should all find Tomo quite interesting, taking a walk around the old port from the Edo period, visiting the former temple guest house where the Korean friendship missions dispatched during the Edo period (1603-1868) stayed (one misson said the scenery from the guest house was the best along the route from Korea to Edo), given a guided tour at the grand merchant house built some 200 years ago, and seeing aged but characteristic wooden houses where people of Tomo live.

These are already very interesting for you to spend a few hours. But you can easily spend another few by becoming explorers. In fact, instead of some hours, staying in Tomo for two nights is not bad at all. In that case, don’t forget to rent a bike and visit Abuto Kan-non. Or if it’s too much to go up the slope, take a taxi for ten minutes or maybe just walk. It’s only five kilometers and you won’t regret the walk. The view is remarkable and refreshing.

The Ota Residence and the Taichoro Guest House must be two major destinations in Tomo. This time, just to start up, let me show you only a portion of the Ota Residence. After the house tour, try walking in the alley behind the residence. The black tiles with white dots protecting and adorning the walls; wooden boards joined by quality nails covering the lower part of the walls (they were originally part of a ship and the nails are rust free). They will quietly talk to you once you are away from the crowd.

Photo taken from Abuto Kan-non Hall

The mythical world of Koji-kin, Aspergillus oryzae

Looking at the storage tanks at Saijo Tsuru

What's Koji-kin? What's Aspergillus Oryzae? 


This microbe is indispensable for sake making. 


There are a lot of amazing and intriguing facts about sake brewing. Comparing how wine, beer, and sake are produced will make your love and appreciation to these beverages deeper. 


So here's a little tidbit. This time mainly about Koji-kin.


The grape juice already has sugar in there and it will be fermented into alcohol. And the wine is ready, though wine making is much more than that of course.


The barley has to be malted so that the starch in barley should be turned into sugar, which will be fermented by the yeast to alcohol named beer. These are sequential processes, one step at a time.


The sake rice ready to be used for sake making is already without husks. Thus no malting process is involved in sake making. In addition, the rice is first milled. Sometimes down to 35 % of the original weight if it's for Dai-ginjo premium sake. The milling ratios of the rice range from 70 % to 35 %. The rice powder is used for other purposes such as the ingredient for snacks, animal feed, etc. so don't worry.


The milled rice is still rice and does not have the sugar to be eaten by yeast cells and cause the fermentation process. Here comes the Koji-kin or Koji spores. Their scientific name is Aspergillus Oryzae.


The Koji spores are sprinkled over the steamed rice and they begin to propagate, making Koji-molded rice. This molded rice containing glucose is the food for yeast cells.


The Koji-molded rice, steamed rice, and pure underflow water are mixed in a vat and the yeast is added to the mixture. The yeast cells are happy with the food and the fermentation process begins while the starch in rice continues to be broken into the sugar by the enzyme the Koji spores produced. 


First the starter mash has to be prepared, followed by the serious fermentation process for 20 to 30 days. 


These processes, saccharification and fermentation, take place at the same time in the same vat. Not sequential processes like in the beer making.


The sake breweries have the special room, Koji Muro, where the Koji-molded rice is prepared. It's a delicate process which has to be controlled and monitored carefully.


In this photo, two of my guests are taking a look at the tanks where the fermentation stage is happening at the factory of Saijo Tsuru, Saijo, Hiroshima. Toward the end of November, breweries have their products of this year, their new sake. 


My husband is a great fun of Shinzui produced by Saijo Tsuru, one of the breweries in the Saijo Sake Brewery Street. This superb product is naturally pricey. I promised him to buy him a bottle for the new year's celebration if he tries to be a good boy. He has a month and a half to go.  We'll see.

Tom Na H-iu in Teshima

Yes, I managed to visit Teshima again. This time in early fall when rice fields are colored gold with bowing rice ears.

I rode a bike around the island, looking at artworks. Teshima has some difficult hills but the riding was VERY easy and smooth because the bike is electrical and of three gears. 

Before this visit, I walked in the island which enabled me to slow down and see well. Also I enjoyed talking with the islanders and staffers, which you cannot do in a fast pace. 

But biking is refreshing and provides you with easy transportation measures.

I liked both.

This time I'm sharing MORI Mariko's artwork. 

The approach to her work standing in the middle of static water is fantastic and  essential. 

The following description is from Flavorpill NEW YORK

Deitch Projects says…

Like many visionaries, Mariko Mori combines the ancient with the futuristic in her fantastical sculptures. At Deitch Projects, Mori presents three new works, including the glowing 15-foot-tall Tom Na H-iu, inspired by Celtic funeral rituals, but created with intelligent LEDs connected to the Super Kamiokande neutrino observatory at the University of Tokyo. The orb-like monolith changes color as researchers on the other side of the world capture different varieties of the miniscule particles emitted by dying stars. Twenty-two ceramic stones surround a replica of an ancient vase inFlatstone, mimicking the space of a shrine from Japan's ancient Jomon civilization. Roundstone is a horizontally placed, luminescent orb, meant to evoke the Jomon-era practice of placing stones near the hearth to ensure a bountiful harvest.

This pdf also write about MORI Mariko and her artworks.

Arte Piazza Bibai

Arte Piazza Bibai is stone sculptor YASUDA Kan’s creation.

Once there stood an elementary school. Most were lost as Bibai lost its edge as a coal mining community. Fortunately, one school building and a gymnasium were saved from dismantling and now function as artistic facilities at Arte Piazza. The first floor of the former school building even serves as a kindergarten, fully rehabilitated and getting more children due to its serene, friendly and artistic environment YASUDA created.


Enjoy some of the photos taken on September 12, 2009 when I joined the day tour to Moere Numa Park and Arte Piazza.

Here you see a former school building. Schools have to be where children's heart and mind grow. Young people deserve well-designed school buildings and surroundings.

Isamu NOGUCHI & Moere

The rooftop of the GLASS PYRAMID

This article first written in September 2009 and compiled in September 2011


Isamu Noguchi designed the railings of the two peace bridges in the city of Hiroshima. His Japanese father worked as a professor at the university in Tokyo I graduated from. And above all, what he did was very attractive to me, especially the so-called earthworks of his. He once said, "One day I had a vision: I saw the Earth as sculpture." 

Due to these facts, Noguchi’s name has always been in my mind. So when I first came across a bit of information about Moere Numa Park, which I instantly knew I would love, I was convinced that someday I should be there. I do not exactly remember my first encounter with Moere but it should have been about ten years ago.

For many reasons, I couldn’t make it up to now but I gratefully feel that was destined that way. The grand opening of the park was in 2005. If I had been there earlier than that, I could have missed some of the works “sculpted” on the earth of the park. The time was just right and Mother Nature treated me kindly, providing the perfect weather.

Noguchi first came to Sapporo, Hokkaido on March 30, 1988. He was already at an advanced age of 83. He was shown three candidate locations suggested by the city of Sapporo for the planned grand park. One of them was a garbage dump site which the city had already started part of the transformation into a large spacious park. The city started the groundwork in 1982. Fortunately, however, when Noguchi saw the site, it was still barren and garbage was flying in the wind. No wonder because 2.7 million tons of garbage was brought in before the waste treatment plant in Moere Numa was finally closed in 1990.

In a sense, the land had not been tampered by anyone (except by the general public who produced the garbage) and it had to be infused with vision.

I believe that was much better than those already formed and shaped and nicely prepared in accordance with mediocre plans and designs.

Moere was what Noguchi showed keen interest in.

It’s never easy to give birth to any sort of things. But Noguchi was quick to come up with the ideas. In November, 1988, he presented the final master plan for the park.

When he had a meeting with the man who later became the director of the completed park in November, he showed the models of the park and the Black Slide Mantra for Odori Park in downtown Sapporo and jokingly said, something like “Now you can do without me.” This meeting turned out to be the last.

He passed away of pneumonia on December 30, 1988, leaving the master plans for the park and the Black Slide Mantra. He was 84.

Moere Numa Park is 189 hectares (467 acres) in area, larger than half the size of Central Park in NYC.

Dreamy MOERE NUMA PARK

This article first written in September 2009 and compiled in September 2011

Play Mountain

Moere Numa Park in the suburbs of Sapporo, Hokkaido has always been in my heart for the last ten years. The time has come; I had to go; and it was the right move. 

A  short TV program featuring Arte Piazza Bibai, lying about one-hour-drive away from Sapporo, made me convinced that I had to go to Hokkaido. I somewhat knew that it was time to finally go to Moere. The combination of Moere and Arte seemed just right and made sense to me.

Then the wonderful thing happened. I checked the Arte web site to find that a day tour to Moere and Arte was available soon and the tour was set only one time.

I called the agency, made a reservation, and started other arrangements like flight between Hiroshima and Hokkaido, accommodations, etc.

Lots to write, but first, look at the pictures. The stories will come much later. I just need to show you some of the pictures without any further delay.

Let me start with PLAY MOUNTAIN. The 30-meter-high mountain cheerfully attracts you and you'll feel you are free of any scale.

Play Mountain & Tetra Mound 

Music Shell & Play Mountain

Here's Moere Beach and Moere Mountain in Moere Numa Park. Between them is a larch grove making the Sea Fountain invisible from outside.

The beach has ripples just like a calm friendly sea. A special gift to children living in Sapporo where real sea is far away.

Underneath the mountain is simply garbage. Which is inevitably produced in big cities. A mountain of garbage is now transformed into a small grassy hill, 62 meters high and recognized as an authentic mountain for the government-authorized map.

Moere Mountain from a different angle

If you come from the Sapporo area, Moere Mountain is the first you sea as a sign of the park. Completed and opened to the public in 2004, the mountain now looks very natural and part of the landscape. Sixty two meters high. Try climbing it. The mountain is very inviting.

Glassy Pyramid

This pyramid is a combination of a quadratic prism and a quadrangle. The structure gives you a different impression depending on from which side you see.

Inside of the GLASS PYRAMID. The 1st floor.

Sea Fountain

Sapporo does not face the sea. So the SEA FOUNTAIN is another gift to the Sapporo citizens. The fountain has shows, with pumps and motors operating under the fountain bowl, some of which last for 15-minute and the rest of which for 45 minutes.

The longer program creates waves in the center bowl.

A larch grove surrounds the fountain, hiding it from its neighborhood.

Eight Saijo sake breweries near the railroad station

The red roundish stamp on the smaller one images a ceder ball hanging at breweries;
the final stamp you get when you are finished with your walking rally.

See nine stamps we got!

The first ART in Sakagura event is now being held until September 25, 2011. A lot of fun to see the artworks done by local college students displayed in the areas of the sake factories that are usually off limits. They are planning to make this event annual. Good job!


The flyer for the event is well-done, carrying unaffected, friendly, artistic atmosphere. My friend and I loved the nine seals used for the stamp rally. We happily walked collecting stamps at nine locations around the sake factories. Start with Stamp 01 and collect the rest and you are given nine animated images depicting sake making in sequence.


Click and see the flyer and signs for the event. Pretty good.




Nine sake breweries in Saijo, Higashi-hiroshima joined hands under the collective brand name, Saijo Sake, with the slogan, Taste Japan.


Eight of them have their factories and offices near JR Saijo Station, making your stroll into the Sakagura Dori (Sake Brewery Street) simple and easy.


How sake is made, the history and development, etc. are all interesting topics but once at the street, please taste Japan, which means not only sipping sake but also using all your senses to experience the local magic. You might slightly smell fragrant sake at each brewery though this year's sake making has not started yet, which I thought was very special.


Here let me give you a quick summary of the eight breweries to encourage you to visit all of them. If you'd like to buy bottled sake, I recommend you do it after you've visited them all. I believe you do not want to carry the bottles around while enjoying your walk. You can easily go back as the sake brewery zone is not that large. The breweries are listed in the model walking course.


1. KAMOTSURU
The largest in the area; well-established; large premises good for photo taking; can casually taste several kinds of sake as well as sake-making water in the former sake making building.


2. FUKUBIJIN
Founded and adopted the modern corporation system for the first time in the sake industry in 1917; once served as a sake-making school; has the tallest chimney (27 meters).


3. KAMOIZUMI
Famous for the junmai ginjo (refined pure rice sake) with a tint of gold due to no carbon filtering; Shusenkan, which accommodates a sake cafe/shop (sake cosmetics/soap, sake goods, their sake, sake sweets, etc on sale), sake library (you can sit down and take a rest free of charge), and others, is open on the weekend and holidays; at the sake library, the KAMOIZUMI sake introduction video, narrated in English, can be watched freely. It lasts about 25 minutes. One of the three narrators was no other than me to reduce the video production cost. The translation was done by me helped by the other two narrators who happened to be both Canadians.


4. KIREI
Tastes beautifully dry and clear; the store carries interesting food (udon noodle for example), snacks and goods besides sake; ladies, sometimes gentlemen, are always friendly and smiley; has a special kind only sold at their brewery not at other outlets; couldn't help buying one. Ignoring the advice I gave to you, my friend and I bought a bottle and carried it around. Later we bought more at other breweries. Oops.


5. SAIJOTSURU
Around this time of the walk, my friend and I had to admit that ladies from the brewery families are all beautiful with smooth skin and gentle attitudes. The Sakagura environment, where invisible microbes live, must be doing a magic; a small brewery faithfully following their traditional sake making method; the only one that still uses the chimney; the other 14 chimneys standing in the neighborhood are now symbolic and not practical; awarded by the Monde Selection Association quite a number of times; their Shinzui sake is really good.


6. HAKUBOTAN
Has three sake factories standing straight in line; picturesque but utility lines bother the scene, which often happens in Japan; a large established company.


7. SANYOTSURU 
Operates several sake pubs in Hiroshima and Tokyo; has a Japanese cuisine restaurant deep inside.


8. KAMOKI
Has an elegant cafe/store; their coffee and legendary tube cake (pour some sake served with the cake) is tasty.


No time to lose but to go! Right? If you are still wondering, take a look at the photos in my picasa album. Or visit the web site of Saijo Sake Brewers Association. You'll be there tomorrow, having a nice time, I bet.