Learn the history of KOFU!

We have planned a “Takeda Shingen history tour”

 

Hello everyone! This is Kofu City’s Student Reporter Noel. 

 

On Sunday, December 17^th, 2023, I had the chance to participate in a historic tour of Takeda Shrine (known as Takeda Jinja). Thanks to Yamanashi Prefectural College, the teacher and students gave our group a guided tour through Takeda Shrine. 

 

I’ve been living in Kofu for almost two years and have been to Takeda Shrine but had no idea that the grounds behind the shrine had a lot of history to it! 

Takeda Shrine dates to the Sengoku Period (Sengoku Jidai). This period, also known as the Warring States Period (1467-1568 CE) was a very tumultuous and violent time for Japan. Takeda Shrine was dedicated to the warlord Takeda Shingen, the famous leader of when the Kofu area was known as Kai Province. 

The shrine grounds house ruins of the castle, ruins of the Takeda family residence, as well as a museum which displays numerous artifacts pertaining to Takeda Shingen. Those artifacts include weapons, armor, battle standards, and some personal effects of Takeda Shingen. You can even try on the helmet (kabuto) that they have displayed!  

Behind the main shrine area is where you can find the ruins of the castle. Towards the west, there are the ruins of the enclosure where you can find many remnants of signs around. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit north from there, you can find the Tiger’s Mouth ruins. Why is it called the Tiger’s Mouth? This is due to the defense that was set up around a moat that would protect the castle where the Tsutsujigasakiya (the three generations of Takeda, Nobutora, Shingen, and Katsuyori) resided.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This path was created with the entrance and exit misaligned from each other. This obscured the interior view and slowed the advancing enemy troops making them the perfect targets of a shower of arrows from the moat walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were even given the chance to experience what it would’ve been like during that time as one of Takeda’s troops shooting at the enemy! With toy bows and arrows, of course! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slightly north of the Tiger’s mouth, there is an excavation site. This is where the war horses would wait in preparation for any movement. As it is an active excavation site, it is blocked off from the public. But they are looking to reconstruct this area in the future.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From here, it is also possible to see the mountain in which Takeda Shingen was born, near Yogaiyama Castle. His father had ordered a retreat once the castle became compromised. From there, his wife and mother fled to the mountains where he was born. Later he would overthrow his father and take control of the clan and the surrounding area. 

The group had the chance to experience, through VR, what the stables possibly may have been designed as, as well as the water well that is said to have been where Takeda Shingen was born. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We ended the tour at the Ryuuga Pond’s Observation Deck. There was yet another view of Takeda shrine and a beautiful view of Kofu City! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a cemetery near the foot of the mountain. It is said the cemetery was placed there as a pathway to the afterlife. Some spirits return to Earth and reside in many different parts of nature.   

For those familiar with Japanese anime: the black and white forest spirits from Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke; Digimon’s Palmon; Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist)’s Shiemi Moriyama’s Nii-chan are all taken after the image of Kodama, or forest spirits. 

Takeda Shrine is a common place tourists like to stop but I believe the ruins are unfortunately not seen as much as the shrine itself. 

 

History buffs, feel free to take a stroll around the grounds and gain a feel for the historic side of Kofu! 

Click here for the Japanese report!

日本語のレポートはこちらから！

 

일본 소도시 여행: 고후 여름 마츠리

 

안녕하세요！

고후시 학생 리포터의 이오륜 과 말씀드립니다!.

고후에선 올해 산의 날을 맞아 여름 마츠리를 열렸습니다. 운 좋게도 저희 고후 학생 기자단은 고후의 가장 활기찬 지역을 도는 투어에 참여할 수 있었습니다! 고후 시청에서 멋진 투어를 기획해주셔서 우리 학생 기자단은 마이즈루 성 공원과 보석 박물관 투어를 할 수 있었어요.

지금껏 고후에 살면서 성터에 얽힌 역사에 대해선 전혀 몰랐었는데요, 가이드분의 말씀에 따르면 이 돌담들은 400년이 넘는 역사를 가지고 있다고 합니다.

이 성이 정확히 언제 세워졌는지는 아직도 미스테리라고 해요. 일본 역사를 연구하는 학자들은 이 돌담을 통해서 대략적인 연수를 예측한다고 합니다. 정말 더운 여름날이었는데도 가이드분의 열정적인 설명 덕분에 일본의 역사와 건축에 대해 공부할 수 있는 의미있는 시간이었습니다.

 

다음 스케쥴은 보석 박물관이었어요. 고후에서 가장 반짝반짝 빛나는 곳이라고도 할 수도 있겠는데요, 박물관에서 일본과 전세계의 다양한 종류의 원석과 보석들을 볼 수 있었습니다. 사진 촬영이 금지라서 보여드릴 수 없어서 조금 아쉬워요. 그래도 관람료가 무료니까 다들 꼭 한번 방문해보시길 추천해드려요.

보석 박물관은 관람 뿐만 아니라 체험 이벤트도 함께 열고 있어요. 직접 엑세서리를 만드는 프로그램이 활발하게 시행되고 있었습니다. 고후 학생 기자단은 실버 목걸이를 만드는 체험을 했어요. 은 점토를 활용해서 자신의 이름 이니셜 목걸이를 만드는 프로그램이었는데요, 실리콘 틀이 있어서 은 점토를 틀에 넣어 형태를 만들고 굽는 절차였습니다. 가마에서 구워져 나온 따끈 따끈! 반짝반짝! 실버 목걸이가 보이나요? 정말 재미있는 체험이니 관심 있는 분은 고후의 보석 박물관은 검색해보시길 추천 드려요,

 

학생 기자단 6명의 이니셜이 보이나요? 이니셜을 만들고 목걸이 체인을 골라서 자신만의 목걸이를 만들었어요. 목걸이 길이도 40센치, 50센치, 60센치 3가지 종류가 가능해서 정말 나만의 목걸이를 만들 수 있었어요.

 

 

보석 박물관 체험이 끝나고 학생 기자단은 자유시간을 가졌습니다. 아까 봤던 고후 성터로 돌아가서 여름 축제의 뜨거운 열기를 느꼈습니다. (고후의 태양은 진짜 뜨거웠어요. 썬크림과 차가운 음료 필수!) 무대에서는 마이클잭슨(!?) 등 다양한 공연이 펼쳐졌고 무대 주변에는 노점상이 있어서 먹고 즐길 수 있었습니다.

 

 

고후 마츠리는 정말 인기가 많은 행사였어요. 공연장에 모여 앉은 관객들과 노점상에서 자신의 차례를 기다리는 긴 줄이 보이나요? 이 사진들이 고후 마츠리를 향한 고후 시민(+관광객)들의 높은 열기를 보여준다고 생각해요.

 

그리고 마츠리의 하이라이트! 불꽃놀이가 열렸습니다. 8시 45분, 조금 늦은 시간에 열렸는데요, 늦은 시간에도 불구하고 모두 한 마음으로 이 시간만은 기다렸어요. 고후 하늘을 수높은 불꽃들은 “너무 예쁘다!” 라는 함성을 자아내기에 충분했습니다.

 

고후는 마츠리 외에도 맛있는 과일로 유명한 도시예요. 특히 여름에는 복숭아와 포도가 맛있으니 8월의 고후에 꼭 한 번 들러 보시길 추천 드려요.

일본어의 리포트는 이쪽으로부터!

日本語のレポートはこちらから！

  

Discovering Kofu’s Charm Points!

 

 

Hello everyone! My name is Noel (most left) and I’m currently in Japan as an Language Learning student.

On Friday August 11^th, 2023 (also known as Mountain Day!) I was luckily able to take part in a short tour around the liveliest part of Kofu! Thanks to the Kofu City Hall, we were able to get a guided tour through Maizuru Castle Park and the Jewelry Museum!

I’ve been living in Kofu for over a year now and had no idea how much history there was to the castle grounds! These stone walls have over four hundred years of history to them!

Did you know that there are two connected walls that have about a one hundred year difference between when they were erected? The way that you can tell is how the rocks are placed!

It’s also not clear if the castle itself was ever completed. Researchers have been investigating but it’s still unknown...

They monitor the walls for any and all movement. Japan has many earthquakes everyday and even though they may be small, they do have an effect on buildings as old as these!

Moving on to the Jewelry Museum, we were able to see all the different kinds of rocks and gemstones from both Japan and all around the world! Pictures are not allowed inside but it was definitely a sight to see. On display is a step-by-step creation on how they create a decoration and/or accessory from the rock itself. At the end of the route, they also have a video of this process! Starting from what the creator wants out of the gemstone to how it’s grinded down to the finished product. As well as another video that shows a more in-depth process making of how a stone is shaped, grinded, and smoothed.

We also had the chance to create our own necklaces! We created necklaces with our initals from scratch! They have the Latin alphabet molds so no need to worry about thinking what it would be in Japanese. The whole process itself didn’t take too long at all and it’s worth all the time and effort seeing something that you made come out of a mini-kiln!

They do groups of four per session but our group was six so the instructor had us all together. We tried to make it as easy as we could for her but of course it was a bit confusing. But thanks to her wonderful instructions, none of our letters broke! She said that it’s very common to have a small end break off (which is easily fixed!!) but we were all lucky enough to not break them and only need a small crack or two repaired!

Lastly, we disbanded and had our free-time! Kofu’s Summer Festival also coincided with the tour and most of us headed back towards the Castle Park to watch all the events on the main stage and eat at the stalls! 

Unfortunately, last year we were unable to have a summer festival due to the remnants of COVID-19, but thankfully this year the whole town was able to enjoy themselves!

There were many events throughout the day and many, many food stalls to eat at! To say that it was lively and exciting would be to put it lightly!

And what would be a Japanese Summer Festival if not for fireworks? Of course to close out the night, there was a short fireworks show to wrap it all up.

If you have the chance to visit Kofu, I recommend adding these places to your list! These Japanese summers are hot and humid so please make sure to drink lots of water and enjoy your time!!

Click here for the report in Japanese! 

日本語のレポートはこちらから！