Kumamoto

So last Sunday, I joined an MWR trip to Kumamoto. Kumamoto is just far enough away from Sasebo that it's kind of expensive to drive because of the tolls. So taking the MWR trip is the most reasonable way to get there. Plus, then you get a tour guide who will explain all the stuff that isn't translated, and if you're lucky (like I was) you get Eriko:

who doesn't know how to be anything but enthusiastic. She drew the poster she's pointing to, which is her brief history of the end of the age of Samurais. On the two hour drive, she explained how what we were about to see fits into history. As a direct result of this lecture, I can't remember the names of any of the important people, I simply know them as "horse family, monkey guy, and tiger guy." I apologize if anyone reading this has a better grip on their history.

At any rate, our first stop in Kumamoto was a park created by the horse family. The whole family was involved because it took like twenty years to get it looking right. The park site was chosen because there is a stream there that has super pure water: good for tea ceremony. At the time, a truely cultured man knew how to make really good tea (I like this culture), and so horse man number one decided to create a park in which he could practice. The park is also home to several shrines. The reason the park took so long to design was because the designer wanted to depict all the most scenic spots in Japan in one central location. I'm told that now I don't have to leave Kyushu, I've seen the rest of Japan. Here's what it looks like:

Honestly, the only part I recognized was the imitation Mt. Fuji, so may be I should do some traveling anyway. The park really was lovely, though. There were walking paths and bridges, and the biggest koi I've ever seen:
Eriko bought some fish food and insisted we all feed them, hence the crowd. And of course there was a shrine centered around the super-pure stream water. Eriko said, "If you drink one sip, you'll live one day longer. Two sips, and you'll live two days longer. If you drink a whole cup, you'll live until you die." That's just her sense of humor.

And since there were two shrines on site, I got the extended version of Eriko's patented shrine lecture. I learned about years that are considered unlucky for men and women (based on the average ages that they lost parents or children hundreds of years ago), and I also learned that shrines with a line of gates like this: are meant for business purposes. Hence, for those of you who saw Memoirs of a Geisha, when the girl runs through all those gates and drops her money in and makes her wish, she's wishing for good business. (Sorry, I haven't seen the movie, but I know some of you have, so hopefully that will make more sense to you.)

The final stop on the park tour was a 400 year old tea house built by one of the horse family members. It commands the best view of the park. Tea is no longer served there, much to my dismay. Mostly it serves as a historic monument.

In the vertical picture you can sort of see on the wall two tiny squares, one dark brown, the other tan above the rock on the ground. If you look closely, there's a stone path leading to that spot on the wall. That, according to Eriko, is how visitors who intended to be a part of the tea ceremony had to enter the building. The theory was that during the tea ceremony ritual, everyone was equal, and if you had to come through that tiny door, it meant you had to take off any weapons or armor and crawl, so it equalized everyone. I found it interesting that honored guests would be expected to crawl into a space to take part in a tea ceremony.

Our next stop was Kumamoto Castle. It is the third largest castle in Japan. If you've seen The Last Samurai (another of Eriko's favorite movies), the events described in that movie took place at Kumamoto Castle, more or less. There was no Tom Cruise, Eriko says, but I saw a real picture of the Japanese last samurai, and let me tell you, the one in the movie was way cuter. Anyway, that guy wanted to keep the shogun in power, and the emperor didn't want a shogun anymore, so the last samurai and a bunch of samurais retreated to Kumamoto Castle where they stayed, living relatively comfortably until the army that was seiging the castle gave up and blew it to pieces. Like every castle I've seen so far, it's not the original, but a replica. However, this castle does have one tower still standing that is over 400 years old. Here it is:




Kumamoto Castle is also home to the longest stone wall in Japan due to the fact that it's one of only a few castles built on a plane instead on a high bluff or peninsula that has natural defenses. Instead, it has this nice long wall and what used to be a deep moat:























The reason for the exceptionally long history lesson was that it tied nicely into the building of Kumamoto Castle. It was built by Tiger Guy, who was a fierce fighter with unfortunate family ties. He got a great reputation when his cousin was shogun (Monkey Guy) by killing a tiger with his bare hands in Korea, but then when monkey guy died the guy who promised to take care of his son and help him become shogun killed said son instead (surprise surprise) and became shogun himself. Tiger guy, as a result, was sent to a different prefecture, someplace quiet and out of the way where he couldn't cause too much trouble, and Horse guy number one got promoted basically and took over the castle and finished building it. As a result, the family crests of both families are strategically built into various aspects of the castle. We had the option of climbing one of two towers: the 400 year old one or the rebuilt one here:

We were warned that climbing the 400 year old one involved taking off shoes, going through narrow stairs, and climbing ladders. Naturally, I chose the modern one. The castle is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year, so they have a few people wandering around in character:
And as usual, the view from the top was fantastic: From the castle, we made our way to a nearby samurai mansion. The mansion was home to a member of the horse family who was also a judge. Here, we all had to take off our shoes to tour the place. We saw, among other things, the room where honored guests were entertained:
The judge's study:

The judge's personal bathroom (reserved for him and his wife):
And the stairway to the where the female servants slept: By this time it was late in the afternoon, so we all piled back on the bus. But it was a very good trip. We saw a lot and got a lot of history too.