Matsumoto

We were then on the bus to Matsumoto, through the Japanese alps, which unlike the European alps are very empty of people (a bit like Canadian wilderness). The fall colours were just starting to show at the higher elevations and the ride was very pretty (the seats were also very tiny!). 

We descended down to the valley with the town of Matsumoto and made our way to our hotel. I haven't figured out how to make google maps work well in Japan, I copy the English address from the hotel webpage, do a search and we have ended up at least several blocks away on a few occasions. However, sometimes it works. We are lucky that people in Japan are so willing to help when we are wandering around lost! 

In Matsumoto after we found our hotel we immediately went to visit the old castle. However, once we reached the castle grounds we saw a stage and yodelling performers from Switzerland! Apparently Grindelwald is a sister city to Matsumoto and they were celebrating 150 years of a relationship between Switzerland and Japan. 

I had noticed while walking by that there was a tent for free walking tours of the castle so we went back and asked and there was a guide ready there immediately to show us around (I think it was a slow day for them). Talk about lucky! We asked why he did this and he said it was for exercise of going up and down the stairs, and to exercise his mind by practicing his English (he seemed to be retired).
 

He explained to us all about the castle. Apparently there are only 12 original castles left, the rest were destroyed when Japan started to modernize and the castles were ordered destroyed so that they couldn't be used against the government. Matsumoto castle is the oldest of these castles, it is about 540 years old and was created just at the beginning of the use of rifles in war and so many features are devoted to the rifle. For example, the moat is 60m wide, the limit of rifle fire reach.

No one lived in the castle, it doesn't even have toilets. It is just used as the last place to fight in the battle which would have ranged all over the farm land around. There was also no need to protect the farmers and fighters, Japanese fighting is just about removing the enemy leader. When he is gone, you can take over the fighting men and you need the farmers to work the fields for you. This works because all the people have the same religion, language and customs and so there are no major changes needed when a new leader takes over.

The castle is made using the local building techniques. The walls are made of mud and wood and the only stone is in the base. The Japanese use no seige engines or catapults, just rifles and arrows with fire heads. Matsumoto castle never came under attack, it was part of a line of defense between the two most powerful factions in Japan at that time.

At the top of the castle during the battle was the lookup, and right below that was the commanders room (where he would commit sepuku if the castle was defeated).

We also saw the fish creatures which would decorate the top of the castle, they were fantastical beings which were believed to expel water when fighting, and that water was needed to put out the fires of the enemies. One fish has an open mouth and one has a closed mouth, and the sound with an open mouth is the equivalent of A, and the sound with the closed mouth is the equivalent of Z, so the open and close mouth pair encompase the begining and the end. In temples you an also see paired figures where one has an open and one has a closed mouth.We also learned about the ropes at the shinto shrine, the hanging rope is the cloud, the paper zigzag cutout we see everywhere is the lightning and the straw hanging down is the rain. These are charms everywhere to encourage rain which was necessary for a good rice harvest.

After our tour of the castle we stopped by to see the tea ceremony, these two older ladies which looked like they were also working with the community were at a tent celebrating wipe the small spoon for the tea powder etc. The water was drawn in a specific way from the pot with a wooden spoon/cup thing and placed at a certain angle, then a pause, then set down deliberately. Everything was highly formalized and stylized and they were very nice and wanted to know afterwards if we liked it (but we shared almost no words so communication was difficult). We read afterwards that we had totally butchered our half of the ceremony, to hold the cup a certain way, turn it and finish the tee in three gulps, yeah, that didn't happen.

Afterwards we walked around the temple where there was a festival going on, there were lots of vendors set up selling lots of different foods but not many people. We came back in the evening and the place was full, little children catching goldfish, takoyaki (octopus balls), a rather good bluegrass band playing on the center stage. We bought Yaki Soba from these little old ladies who were running a booth and they thought our English was hilarious. After the performance there were fireworks and then we went to bed!150 year relations between Switzerland and Japan. We watched while one lady performed the very elaborate tea ceremony, she had a specific and direct way she had to fold the napkin, which she used in a specific motion to lift the lid of the hot water, to wipe the small spoon for the tea powder etc. The water was drawn in a specific way from the pot with a wooden spoon/cup thing and placed at a certain angle, then a pause, then set down deliberately. Everything was highly formalized and stylized and they were very nice and wanted to know afterwards if we liked it (but we shared almost no words so communication was difficult). We read afterwards that we had totally butchered our half of the ceremony, to hold the cup a certain way, turn it and finish the tee in three gulps, yeah, that didn't happen.

Afterwards we walked around the temple where there was a festival going on, there were lots of vendors set up selling lots of different foods but not many people. We came back in the evening and the place was full, little children catching goldfish, takoyaki (octopus balls), a rather good bluegrass band playing on the centre stage. We bought Yaki Soba from these little old ladies who were running a booth and they thought our English was hilarious. After the performance there were fireworks and then we went to bed!

The next morning we left just as a festival parade was preparing for the day.