Japan (April 2019): Hagi
(1/2: On the island)
Annotated aerial view of Hagi.
Hagi is an old castle town (pop. ~50,000)
located in the southern part of the San-in coast, on the delta formed by the
Abu-gawa (river). Most of the city is built on an
island bounded by the Sea of Japan to the north and two branches of the Abu-gawa, the Matsumoto-gawa to the
east and the Hashimoto-gawa to the south and west.
The island is flat, except for Mount Shizuki (143m)
that forms a cape at the northeast. The rest of the city is built on the
eastern side of the Matsumoto-gawa and the southern
and western sides of the Hashimoto-gawa.
During the Edo period, until the Meiji
restoration, for more than 260 years, Hagi was the
fief of the Mori clan and the capital of the Hagi domain,
also known as the Choshu domain, which approximately
covered the present Yamaguchi prefecture. Fourteen successive Mori lords ruled
the domain, starting with its founder Mori Terumoto. Terumoto was the grandson of the great warlord Mori Motonari. In the late 1500s, as a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he was a
powerful member of the Council of the Five Great Elders appointed by Hideyoshi, along with Ieyasu
Tokugawa. He was then controlling a large domain centered on Hiroshima, where
he built the castle of Hiroshima. After the death of Hideyoshi,
he sided against Tokugawa. Following Tokugawa′s victory at the battle of Sekigahara (October 21, 1600), Terumoto
had his domain greatly reduced. He retreated to Hagi
and made it into his new stronghold, where he built the Hagi
castle in 1604. Perhaps a mediocre general, he was nevertheless a good
administrator. He managed his reduced domain well, held the Mori clan together,
and patronized the development of the Hagi ware, a
type of ceramic pottery considered one of the best in Japan, which contributed
to the wealth of the domain.
In the 19th century, in the late Edo era
and the Meiji era, Hagi played an important role as
one of the birthplaces of modern Japan. It contributed to the industrial
revolution of Japan, by experimenting with technologies from Western nations,
and to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the
subsequent restoration of power to the emperor. A Hagi
man from a modest samurai family, Yoshida Shoin
(1830-1859), developed revolutionary ideas and taught them in a small private
school in Hagi. Although he was executed 9 years
before the Meiji restoration, several of his students fought against the shogunate and became political and military leaders during
the Meiji era. There is some irony in the fact that the victory of Ieyasu Tokugawa at the battle of Sekigahara
in 1600 led to the formation of the Hagi domain by
the loser, Mori Terumoto, and that 268 years later
people from Hagi contributed to the fall of the
Tokugawa shogunate in 1868.
Hagi is an amazingly interesting city
despite its relatively small size. Although its castle has been dismantled at
the Meiji restoration, the former grounds of the castle now constitute a
beautiful park, especially during sakura (cherry
blossom). The old samurai and merchant districts (respectively, called Horiuchi and Jokamachi) are well
preserved. The graveyards of the Mori lords at the Buddhist Daishoin
and Toko-ji temples form impressive
spiritually-charged sites.
I created two pages about Hagi. The first (this one) is about places located on the
island, while the second (see here)
deals with sites off the island.
The city of Hagi
seen from the birthplace of Shoin Yoshida located on
a hill east of the Matsumoto-gawa above the Shoin shrine. Mount Shizuki
stands at the center-right of the photo.
Castle:
It was built by Lord Mori Terumoto in 1604 at the foot and on the slopes of a 143m
hill (Mt. Shizuki). The castle was dismantled in 1874
during the Meiji restoration. Today, only outer defense walls and part of the
moat remain at the foot of the hill. There are also ruins of ancient walls at
the top of the hill. The outer walls now enclose a beautiful park, Shizuki-koen, planted with hundreds of cherry trees, with a
teahouse and a Shinto shrine built in the 19th century at its center.
Some of the outer defense walls seen at
different times of the day. Mt. Shizuki is visible in
the first photo below.
Blooming cherry trees in Shizuki-koen.
Main alley in Shizuki-koen
with a large stone torii, leading to the Shizukiyama shrine.
The Shizukiyama
shrine constructed in 1878, located at the end of the alley. Five Mori lords
are enshrined here.
In the garden of the Hananoe
teahouse.
Garden in the back of Shizuki-koen.
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Old samurai district (Horiuchi):
Bronze statue of Lord Mori Terumoto (1553-1625), the founder of the Hagi domain, a short distance south of the castle that he
built.
Former residence of the Asa Mori family, a branch of the large Mori clan. All that
remains of the residence built in 1856 is a tenement nagaya,
a long house made of a succession of separate rooms, opening all on the same
side of the house, each serving as a samurai residence. With a length of 51m
long and a width of 5m this nagaya is the largest
former samurai residence remaining in Hagi.
Tenjuin graveyard, where Mori Terumoto is buried, along with his wife.
Gate of the former residence (which no
longer exists) of the Fukuhara family, the chief
retainers of the Hagi lords.
Kaimagari street. It is
bordered by high walls on both sides and makes successive right angles for
defensive purpose.
Various old walls in the vicinity of the
Kaimagari street.
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The Masuda Family house and watchtower,
believed to have been used for weapon storage. The taller part of the house,
built on top of a stone wall, was used to check the surrounding grounds.
Tenement-house gate of the Suu family
residence.
Kasuga shrine, one of the many branches of the
Kasuga Taisha in Nara,
located in the southeastern corner of the old samurai district.
Statue of a white horse next to the
shrine. (In Shinto horses are regarded as intermediates between the world of
the humans and the world of the gods. Statues are usually white as white horses
are expected to bring sunny weather. The less common statues of black horses
are believed to favor rain.)
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Heron in the outer moat
on the eastern edge of the samurai district.
Old merchant district (Jokamachi):
View of the northernmost street of the
district, where two impressive merchant residences are located: the Kikuya and Kobuta residences.
Kikuya residence, built in 1604 (early Edo era)
by a wealthy merchant who came to Hagi with Mori Terumoto, following his defeat at the battle of Sekigahara.
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Kubota family residence. It was built in
the early 19th century by Shoshichi Kobuta, a kimono merchant, and later expanded by his son.
Enseiji shrine/temple located on the eastern
side of the merchant district. It is a rare example where a Shinto shrine and a
Buddhist temple share a common ground. (Shinto and Buddhism were separated at
the Meiji restoration.)
- Entrance gate (seen from the interior
of the precinct),
- In the prayer hall of the Buddhist
temple. Note the two lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The black sign (three
dots below a horizontal bar) on each of them is the ″mon″ (Japanese
term for emblem or coat of arms) of the Mori clan.
- The adjacent Shinto shrine is
dedicated to Tengu, a legendary creature treated as a
god in Shinto. A Tengu is traditionally depicted with
a long nose.
- Again a statue of a white horse, next
to the Shinto shrine.
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Port area (Hamasakimachi):
This district is located at the northern
tip of the Hagi island, between
the Sea of Japan and the mouth of the Matsumoto-gawa.
It consists of narrow streets bordered by old warehouses and residences, some
dating from the first half of the 19th century.
Boathouse built soon after the
completion of the castle near the Matsumoto-gawa. The
boats of the Hagi lords were stored here.
Former warehouse.
Residential homes.
Aiba waterway:
This long canal flows through the
southeastern part of the Hagi island,
from the tip of the peninsula coined between the Matsumoto-gawa
and the Hashimoto-gawa to the outer moat of the
samurai district. Constructed in the first half of the 18th century, it was
used for irrigation and the transportation of rice and firewood. Today the
canal is narrower and can no longer serve these purposes. But the section
traversing the southeastern peninsula of the island is an excellent place for a
stroll. It is quite picturesque and bordered by former residences.
Along the canal.
Former residence of Taro Katsura (1848-1913), a general and politician who served
three times as Prime Minister. The usage of the basin in the photo on the right
is interesting: by pouring water into the rocks beneath it and bringing the
bamboo pipe into one′s ear at one end and close to the rocks at the other
end, one can hear a very relaxing type of ″music″, never twice
exactly the same made by the water droplets falling through the rocks into
another basin located below.
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Yukawa family residence. In the first
photo below note the two openings below the residence into the canal. Stone
stairs from the kitchen give access to the opening on the left of the bridge
for washing food and tableware (see the photo on the left in the next row).
Another set of stairs from the bathroom located on the right of the bridge
leads to the canal for bathing (photo on the right in the next row). Note also
the big pink carp in the canal (photo on the right in the first row).
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