With Isabella Bird — Part 4: On the Road to Akita – Journeys in Japan
[Music] The next day’s journey was still along the same fine road through a succession of farming villages and towns of 1,500 and 2,000 people such as Toiida and Ubanasawa were frequent. From both there was a glorious view of Chokaan, a grand snowcovered dome. It may be considered one of the grandest views of Japan. I’m sitting on the Sabani mountain pass enjoying the beautiful landscape of Yamagata Prefecture. Far off in the distance is the Chokai Sunan and on the opposite side the Gasan recognizable by its snowcovered peak. 140 years ago, Isabella Bird, one of the very first English women to travel Japan, passed this region when she was on her way north. Her book will be my guide on the road to Aka. tracing the Japan that Isabella Bird glimpsed 140 years ago. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, Maria Bronnman, an archaeologist and writer from Germany, follows in the footsteps of the British explorer Isabella Bird. She’ll be looking for vestigages of that time soon after Japan opened up to the world. [Music] The starting point for this section of the journey is Kaneyamachi in the Moami district of Yamagata Prefecture, some 360 km north of Tokyo. Over there is the Oshu Kaido which Isabella traveled by Ricksha. And there must be the three mountains she mentions in her book. They look like something out of a fairy tale. After leaving Shinjjo this morning, we crossed over a steep ridge into a singular basin of great beauty with a semicircle of paramedal hills rendered more striking by being covered to their summits with paramedal cryptoarriia and apparently blocking old northward progress. At their feet lies Kanayama in a romantic situation. Bird’s book unbeaten tracks in Japan is a record of what life was like in Japan 140 years ago. She wrote it in the form of letters home to her sister. Isabella Bird was born in Yorkshire in the north of England. She was 47 when she arrived in Japan and later went on to travel further in Asia and the Middle East. Setting out from Yokohama, her route took her to Niko, Nigata and then Akita and Hokkaido. Later she also visited western Japan. In all, she stayed in the country more than half a year. [Music] Bird set out from Kaneyama Machi, crossed the Yokot Basin, and reached Akita City from where she headed further north. Maria will be following in her footsteps. [Music] In the Edeto period, Kanyama was a flourishing post town on the Ushu Kaido, a highway that ran from northern Fukushima Prefecture all the way north to Almori Prefecture. Since the old days, the main industries in Kanyama have been forestry and farming. Birds stayed in the town a while to recuperate after falling sick. [Music] You may episode. Hold on. Matsuda Dais is a local official responsible for taking care of the environment in the town. [Music] In post-war Japan, traditional townscapes changed fast, especially from the 1960s. Kaneyama 2 came close to losing much of its old features. However, the town has taken steps to preserve what’s left of its traditional buildings. [Music] sticking out. As she traveled, Bird did her best to find out from influential people how the local farmers lived. However, before coming to Kanyama, this proved to be a rather difficult task. [Music] It is impossible to get an expression of opinion which is worth anything, either from a natural incapacity for truthtelling or from a lingering dread of espionage. These men were an exception to the general rule and we managed to conduct a conversation which lasted till midnight with frequent relays of tea and sweet meats. [Music] Based on what she heard in this town, she wrote that farmers in Japan have an extremely strong attachment to their land. [Music] From Kaneyama, Bird traveled 40 km north through two steep passes, eventually arriving in the Yokote Basin in modern-day Akita Prefecture. [Music] Many places in this area were battlefields during the Boschin War, the civil war that swept the country 10 years before Bird’s arrival. One of them was Masura Machi in the south of the Yokot Basin. During the Edeto period, it was a thriving center for the collection and distribution of farm produce. [Music] In the fighting, many villages were burned down. But after peace returned, it became a flourishing distribution hub for raw silk and leaf tobacco. Oh, this is an interesting house. And there is a house inside the house. [Music] This building dating back some 150 years is the house of a family who have been traders since the Edeto period. Besides being the residence, it still operates as a shop. [Music] [Music] [Music] storehouses known as kura are sturdy buildings that are covered with plaster to make them fireresistant. Because this area gets such heavy snow, this storehouse was covered with a wooden building to prevent the plaster from being damaged by the elements. In Yuzawa, 10 km on from Masuda, Isabella saw warehouses that had survived a fire. I found that a fire a few hours previously had destroyed 70 houses, including the Yadoya at which I should have lodged. The ground where the houses had stood was absolutely bare of everything but fine black ash among which the Kura stood blackened and in some instances slightly cracked. [Music] Oh, [Music] who you [Music] In Masuda, Uchigura storehouses were originally built behind the main house. They were used for storing valuable items and for important occasions. This is the only house where people live inside their uchigura. Amazing. [Music] [Music] Why? [Music] [Applause] One of the illustrations in the book shows bird wearing a raincoat and a hat made of straw. This is from an episode in a later part of her journey. She wrote that she was caught in a downpour and found herself wearing a straw cloak over her usual clothing. [Music] Misato Cho lies 30 km north of Masuda in the north of the Yokot Basin. Oh, look what we have here. There is a casa and there are these coats made of straw. Isabella wrote in her book that she wore them as well. [Music] What [Music] The Straw is made by drying out the stems of rice or wheat. In the Japanese countryside, farmers use straw to make many different items in their time off from their farm work. [Music] [Music] These days, there are few people who still know the straw crafts of the old days. In Misato, a project has been launched to keep that tradition alive. Takahashi Kuichi is one of those taking part in the project. He’s a traditional confectionary maker, but he’s fascinated by the old straw crafts. On this day, he was weaving straw sandals. [Music] [Music] It takes him about half an hour to make one pair. He starts by making two ropes about 2 m long. These will serve as the warp threads. The thong is braided in the middle and fastened with a strip of cloth at the end. [Music] All right. [Music] Foreign [Music] speech. Foreign speech. [Music] [Music] Modern-day Akita City lies close to the Sea of Japan coast. It originally developed as a castle town known as Kubota. Bird was charmed by the purely Japanese townscape and stayed in the town for a few days. She visited a number of places which helped to deepen her understanding of the Japanese people. I no longer care to meet Europeans. Indeed, I should go far out of my way to avoid them. I have become quite used to Japanese life and think that I learn more about it in traveling in the solitary way than I should otherwise. [Music] This is the house of a kimono merchant in Aketa city. The family set up in business in the late Edeto period and operated as a kimono shop until about 45 years ago. Oh, look. This house has an utura. [Music] During her stay in Kubota, Bird was invited to attend a wedding. While in the Yoko Basin, she also attended a funeral. Isabella also wore a kimono at a wedding ceremony and a funeral. At the wedding, she wore a kimono that was striped, a little bit like mine. I think that Isabella might have been the very first foreign woman to wear a kimono. From her limitless stores of apparel, she chose what she considered a suitable dress for me. An underdress of sage green silk crepe, a kimono of soft green striped silk of a darker shade, with a fold of white crepe spangled with gold at the neck, and a girdle of sage green corded silk with a family bed here and there upon it in gold. [Music] In the book, she often mentions Japanese women. At the end of the episode describing the wedding, she wrote in strong terms about how women became tied to the husband’s family after marrying. [Music] [Music] Gojo Machi lies in the Minami Akita district. It’s about 30 km north of central Akita city. [Music] Bird pass between this town and a lagoon that faces the Sea of Japan coast. [Music] A river runs through Gojo before flowing into the lagoon. The town prospered as a transportation hub for people and goods heading to and from inland areas. The town’s morning market was already operating 500 years ago and still continues to this day. It’s a very fresh vegetable. I bought Oh, I’m really looking forward to trying them. Here it is. Koshimoi. When Isabella came to this region, she noticed something very interesting. Let’s look for that. [Music] Oh, I found it. Do you see that bush? That’s a sugama. at Morioa and several other villages in this region. I noticed that if you see one large, high well-built house standing in enclosed grounds with a look of wealth about it, it is always that of the sake brewer. A bush denotes the manufacturer as well as the sale of sake. It is curious that this should formally have been the sign of the sale of wine in England. [Music] This cafe bar was set up by the sake brewery with the Sugi Dama. [Music] Since my journey came to an end, I want to celebrate it with a cup of sake. This is a very delicious, very light taste. Wantab Koi is the owner of the brewery. His family moved here from Ishikabra Prefecture and started brewing sake about 330 years ago. [Music] Akita is one of Japan’s leading rice producing regions. Thanks to its ample groundwater, it’s also perfect for brewing sake. [Music] Foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. [Music] For me, it was a very interesting experience to follow Isabella’s tracks and to visit so many places I have never been to before. In her book, Isabella described her emotions, her impressions, and all the experiences she had in a very detailed way. She also writes about Japanese women and the role they play in Japanese society. That’s why I think that her book is very important for every person who wants to study Japanese history. During my journey, I met so many interesting people and by interviewing them, I learned so much about Japanese culture and I enjoyed a wonderful landscape. I hope to return in the future and to get to know Tohoku even a little bit deeper. From Tokyo to Kanyama, it takes three and a half hours to Shinjjo Station by the Yamagata Shinkansen. From there, it’s about 30 minutes by bus.
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Departing Yamagata on a path passing through several preserved historic districts, the travels of 19th century British explorer Isabella Bird proceed north to Akita.