After a hectic early morning rush to get to my train, problems with getting my JR pass and issues finding the right train to take, I am safely boarded to Kyushu and Kumamoto. My first day's itinerary is to arrive right around 10 AM, drop off my bags, and spend the day taking in the Kumamotojo (Kumamoto Castle) and the various outbuildings/museums.
I arrive in Kumamoto and immediately head to Mr. Donut, since I didn't have any breakfast, and it was not yet lunch time. Two chocolate donuts later, and I'm off to my hotel. The New Chisan is boasts 10 floors and has a fine front desk staff, including the manager who can speak a bit of English. After they take my bags, I'm off to the jo.
Kumamotojo is one of the most famous castles in Japan, due to both its excellent siting and strange acute walls (one of the few examples left in Japan). It is also called the Castle of the Ginkgo Trees, since they are EVERYWHERE. It was designed by Lord Kato Kiyomasa and completed in 1607. The castle occupies a circumference of nearly 9 kilometers. One side of the jo backs up against the river, forming a natural moat. Another side of the castle fronts a shear cliff, creating another natural barrier. The Lord Kato and his descendants only ruled in Kumamoto for only 2 generations, approxmiately 44 years. They were suceeded by the Hosokawas, led by Hosokawa Tadatoshi, who governed Kumamoto for 239 years and 11 generations of lords. In 1877, the Satsuma or Kagoshima Army led by the famous Saigo Takamori (the person who is the basis for the samurai lord in The Last Samurai) attacked Kumamoto as part of the Seinan Civil War. The castle was under siege for nearly 50 days, during which most of the castle buildings burned. However, the main garrison never surrendered, showing the power of the castle and the foresight of its designer. There are two main towers to the castle, along with 49 surrounding turrets. There were 120 wells dug in Kumamotojo, in anticipation of a siege. While only 17 of these wells remain, the average depth is 40 meters, or about half the length of a football field.
While I was in Kumamotojo, I heard the distant skirl of shakuhachi flutes and the deep throb of drums. I ran to the window of the turret I was in and looked out. Down below at the nearby Shinto shrine, there was a gigantic crowd with the shoulder-borne shrines that are portable. I quickly made by way down to the shrine and descended into madness. As far as I could glean from the people participating in the event, it happens every year when they rededicate the shrine and the shrine's shrines by parading them around the city. Many people were in traditional clothes, and most, if not all, of the men were drinking the free sake that was passed around. After chatting with a few groups I was brought over to the main shrine by a little old lady. She showed me to some of her group there, who proceeded to ply me with sake and salt. "It's the man's way to drink it!" they said with a smile as they tried to refill my cup. After a day in the sun, I was already pretty dehydrated, so I decided not to risk more than a glass or two. However, quite a few of the men were pretty drunk and getting drunker. Anticipation began to build, and then the ceremony began.
Large groups of men began to gather around three large shrines in front of the main shrine. Grasping the poles, about twenty men lifted the shrine up on to their shoulders with a great shout. Two or three men stand in front with two wooden blocks and a whistle, keeping time while being as loud as possible. The drums and flutes on the hill above the shrine begin to play, unifying the rhythm. A few guys jump in front of each shrine and push back on the poles, keeping the shrine from moving forward too quickly or staggering to one side or the other (remember, most of the shrine bearers are a bit tipsy). This amazing sight continues until all of the shrines are out of the temple grounds.
That's when a few Japanese re-enactors showed up, dressed as ninja, monks, and Noh musicians. They proceeded to take a few photos, as the Shinto priests clean up the grounds.
After realizing I'm running out of photos, I head to the nearby Kyu-Hosokawa Gyobutei, the residential mansion of the Lord of the Hosokawa-Gyobu clan. Lord Hosokawa-Gyobu was a high ranking military officer in the Tokugawa era. The house was first built in 1646 as a rest house for Okitaka Hosokawa, the younger brother of the first Hosokawa lord or Higo (or Kumamoto), when he received a 25,000 koku domain (koku is a unit of rice production). From around 1688 to 1711, it was constantly remodeled, becoming a beautiful architectural marvel, as well as the second residence of the Hosogawa-Gyobu. In 1871, after an order by the new Imperial Army to remove all samurai residences from Kumamotojo, it became the primary household of the Hosogawa-Gyobu in 1873.
There are two main enterances, one for the lord and high ranking retainers and guests, the other for lower ranking retainers and other guests. There is a third side enterance for merchants and servants. There is a two story section for the lord, called the shunsho-kaku, which is extremely rare in Japan. The bottom room is the gin-no-ma, silver room, and has doors that are finished in silver leaf. The upstairs is the lord's private quarters. The tea room is a strange and wonderful architectural rarity, with an adjecent study, complete with a large circular window covered by a paper blind. The tea room itself is built of unfinished wood of various types, most with the bark still on. It is also enormous, being at least 3 and a half to 4 tatami mats.
After returning to the hotel, it began to pour. I quickly showered, changed, then went to have dinner in the resturant under the hotel. It was a delicious and relatively cheap French-Japanese fusion meal, delivered with a bit of English and more free sake (including a strange sake made from Japanese potatos - it predictably tasted much like vodka). The Japanese here in Kumamoto are incredibly generous and helpful. Hopefully this is representative of the rest of Japan on my trip.