Changes

*''Japanese'': 鞆の浦 ''(Tomonoura)''

*''Japanese'': 鞆の浦 ''(Tomonoura)''

Tomonoura is a harbor in modern-day Fukuyama City, [[Hiroshima prefecture]], which historically was a significant [[Inland Sea]] port and [[jokamachi|castle town]]. It was a port of call along the [[Western Circuit]] shipping route of the ''[[kitamaebune]]'', and a formal maritime post-station (''umi no eki''), regularly hosting ''daimyô'' on ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' journeys and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]], [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean]], and [[Dutch embassies to Edo]], as well as shogunal officials and official shogunal cargo shipments.

Tomonoura is a harbor in modern-day Fukuyama City, [[Hiroshima prefecture]], which historically was a significant [[Inland Sea]] port and [[jokamachi|castle town]]. It was a port of call along the [[Western Circuit]] shipping route of the ''[[kitamaebune]]'', and a formal maritime post-station (''umi no eki''), regularly hosting ''daimyô'' on ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' journeys and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryukyuan]], [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korean]], and [[Dutch embassies to Edo]], as well as shogunal officials and official shogunal cargo shipments. Tomo is today the only site in Japan to still possess all five of what are said to be the key elements necessary for an Edo period port: a ''jôyatô'' lighthouse lantern, ''gangi'' (steps leading directly into/out of the water), a ''funabansho'' (port guardhouse), a ''namidome'' (breakwater), and a ''tateba'' (drydock for ship repairs).<ref>Mouri Kazuo (2016), “The concept of ‘cultural landscapes’ in relation to the historic port town of Tomo,” in Matsuda, Akira and Mengoni, Luisa Elena (eds.) ''Reconsidering Cultural Heritage in East Asia'', London: Ubiquity Press, 130.</ref>

Even since ancient times, Tomo's natural geography made it an ideal harbor for ships to wait for the right winds and tides (''shiomachi'', or "waiting for the tides," frequently appears as a theme in poetry and literature about the port, going back even to the ''[[Manyoshu|Man'yôshû]]'').<ref name=plaques>Plaques on-site in Tomonoura.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/36862112272/sizes/h/]</ref> As early as [[1607]], the town is said to have been fairly densely packed, the homes "like the teeth of a comb,"<ref>Aono Shunsui 青野春水, "Edo jidai Tomo-chô no seiritsu to kôzô" 江戸時代鞆町の成立と構造, ''Tomo no tsu [[Nakamura-ke nikki|Nakamura-ke monjo]] mokuroku IV'' 鞆の津中村家文書目録 IV (2009), 252, citing ''Haecha lu'' (海槎録), a record by Korean envoy Gyeong Chilsong<!--慶七松-->.</ref> at a time when nearby ports such as [[Mitarai]] are said to have had no elite houses at all, developing a sizable population only in the 18th century.<ref>Kimura Yoshisato 木村吉聡 (ed.), ''Ryukyu shisetsu no Edo nobori to Mitarai'' 琉球使節の江戸上りと御手洗, Shiomachi kankô kôryû Center 潮待ち館観光交流センター (2001), 3.</ref> Korean envoys visiting Tomo ten years later (in [[1617]]) wrote that Tomo was even greater than [[Shimonoseki]].<ref name=aono252>Aono, 252.</ref> By the 1760s, Tomo boasted some 1,465 buildings, housing around 5,860 people.<ref>These included 434 families who owned their own homes, 1,031 homes which were rental properties, twenty-seven Buddhist temples, and ten families who operated Shinto shrines. Fujii Kazue 藤井和枝 and Mitsunari Nahoko 光成名保子, "Nakamura ke nikki (III) ni tsuite," ''Nakamura ke nikki III - Fukuyama shi jûyô bunkazai'', Fukuyama Castle Museum Tomo-no-kai (2009), 3.</ref>

Even since ancient times, Tomo's natural geography made it an ideal harbor for ships to wait for the right winds and tides (''shiomachi'', or "waiting for the tides," frequently appears as a theme in poetry and literature about the port, going back even to the ''[[Manyoshu|Man'yôshû]]'').<ref name=plaques>Plaques on-site in Tomonoura.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/36862112272/sizes/h/]</ref> As early as [[1607]], the town is said to have been fairly densely packed, the homes "like the teeth of a comb,"<ref>Aono Shunsui 青野春水, "Edo jidai Tomo-chô no seiritsu to kôzô" 江戸時代鞆町の成立と構造, ''Tomo no tsu [[Nakamura-ke nikki|Nakamura-ke monjo]] mokuroku IV'' 鞆の津中村家文書目録 IV (2009), 252, citing ''Haecha lu'' (海槎録), a record by Korean envoy Gyeong Chilsong<!--慶七松-->.</ref> at a time when nearby ports such as [[Mitarai]] are said to have had no elite houses at all, developing a sizable population only in the 18th century.<ref>Kimura Yoshisato 木村吉聡 (ed.), ''Ryukyu shisetsu no Edo nobori to Mitarai'' 琉球使節の江戸上りと御手洗, Shiomachi kankô kôryû Center 潮待ち館観光交流センター (2001), 3.</ref> Korean envoys visiting Tomo ten years later (in [[1617]]) wrote that Tomo was even greater than [[Shimonoseki]].<ref name=aono252>Aono, 252.</ref> By the 1760s, Tomo boasted some 1,465 buildings, housing around 5,860 people.<ref>These included 434 families who owned their own homes, 1,031 homes which were rental properties, twenty-seven Buddhist temples, and ten families who operated Shinto shrines. Fujii Kazue 藤井和枝 and Mitsunari Nahoko 光成名保子, "Nakamura ke nikki (III) ni tsuite," ''Nakamura ke nikki III - Fukuyama shi jûyô bunkazai'', Fukuyama Castle Museum Tomo-no-kai (2009), 3.</ref>

One of the chief famous local products (''[[meibutsu]]'') is a form of medicinal liquor called ''[[homeishu]]'' (保命酒). The [[Nakamura family]], known for their ''homeishu'', also hosted ''daimyô'', Ryukyuan embassies, [[Fall of Seven Nobles Incident|court nobles]], and other elite visitors in a set of buildings which together functioned as the town's ''[[honjin]]''; two of those buildings are today known as the Ôta family house (''Ôta-ke jûtaku'') and the Chôsôtei, and have been designated National [[Important Cultural Properties]].<ref name=shirarezaru41>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'' 知られざる琉球使節, Fukuyama-shi Tomonoura rekishi minzoku shiryôkan (2006), 41.</ref> Another establishment in the town, known as the Neko-ya, was run by ''[[goyo shonin|goyô shônin]]'' in service to the [[Shimazu clan]], and also regularly provided accommodations to the Shimazu and to Ryukyuan missions.<ref>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'', 45.</ref> Headed in each generation by Neko-ya Kiyosuke<!--猫屋清助-->, the shop specialized in marine products.

One of the chief famous local products (''[[meibutsu]]'') is a form of medicinal liquor called ''[[homeishu]]'' (保命酒). The [[Nakamura family]], known for their ''homeishu'', also hosted ''daimyô'', Ryukyuan embassies, [[Fall of Seven Nobles Incident|court nobles]], and other elite visitors in a set of buildings which together functioned as the town's ''[[honjin]]''; two of those buildings are today known as the Ôta family house (''Ôta-ke jûtaku'') and the Chôsôtei, and have been designated National [[Important Cultural Properties]].<ref name=shirarezaru41>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'' 知られざる琉球使節, Fukuyama-shi Tomonoura rekishi minzoku shiryôkan (2006), 41.</ref> Another establishment in the town, known as the Neko-ya, was run by ''[[goyo shonin|goyô shônin]]'' in service to the [[Shimazu clan]], and also regularly provided accommodations to the Shimazu and to Ryukyuan missions.<ref>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'', 45.</ref> Headed in each generation by Neko-ya Kiyosuke<!--猫屋清助-->, the shop specialized in marine products.

For a brief time in the early [[Edo period]], Tomo was also home to a designated inn maintained by the factor of the [[British East India Company]] based in [[Hirado]]. When Korean missions stopped in Tomonoura on their way to and from Edo, the Korean lead envoy typically stayed in a guest room at the Buddhist temple of [[Fukuzen-ji]]; the guest room was known as Taichôrô (対潮楼), and is said to have offered a beautiful view of the Inland Sea. Many plaques, works of calligraphy, and the like given as gifts from Korean envoys remain in the temple's collection today.  

For a brief time in the early [[Edo period]], Tomo was also home to a designated inn maintained by the factor of the [[British East India Company]] based in [[Hirado]]. When Korean missions stopped in Tomonoura on their way to and from Edo, the Korean lead envoy typically stayed in a guest room at the Buddhist temple of [[Fukuzen-ji]]; the guest room was known as Taichôrô (対潮楼), and is said to have offered a beautiful view of the Inland Sea. Many plaques, works of calligraphy, and the like given as gifts from Korean envoys remain in the temple's collection today. A tree near the temple, known as that Muro no ki, is mentioned in a poem by [[Otomo no Tabito|Ôtomo no Tabito]].<ref>Plaque on-site.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/36636469890/sizes/k/]</ref>

Komatsu-dera (小松寺), a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple of the [[Myoshin-ji|Myôshin-ji]] branch located near the harbor is home to the grave of [[Sho Dokyo|Shô Dôkyô Yoseyama Peechin]], <!--與世山親雲上朝易（向道亨）--> a musician and member of the [[1790]] Ryukyuan embassy, who died on the way to [[Edo]] on 10/13 in that year. A plaque was later donated to the temple in his memory, by Yoseyama's grandfather, Fukuyama ''[[ueekata]]'' Chôki<!--譜久山親方朝紀-->. Another plaque, hanging over the main gate to the temple, features calligraphy by a man named Wu Taihe<!--呉泰和-->, but little else is known about this figure.<ref>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'', 42.</ref>

Komatsu-dera (小松寺), a [[Rinzai]] [[Zen]] temple of the [[Myoshin-ji|Myôshin-ji]] branch located near the harbor is home to the grave of [[Sho Dokyo|Shô Dôkyô Yoseyama Peechin]], <!--與世山親雲上朝易（向道亨）--> a musician and member of the [[1790]] Ryukyuan embassy, who died on the way to [[Edo]] on 10/13 in that year. A plaque was later donated to the temple in his memory, by Yoseyama's grandfather, Fukuyama ''[[ueekata]]'' Chôki<!--譜久山親方朝紀-->. Another plaque, hanging over the main gate to the temple, features calligraphy by a man named Wu Taihe<!--呉泰和-->, but little else is known about this figure.<ref>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'', 42.</ref>

Tomonoura is also home to the shop of Uoya Manzô, where [[Sakamoto Ryoma|Sakamoto Ryôma]] engaged in negotiations surrounding the [[Iroha-maru]] Incident.<ref name=shirarezaru41/>

Tomonoura is also home to the shop of Uoya Manzô, where [[Sakamoto Ryoma|Sakamoto Ryôma]] engaged in negotiations surrounding the [[Iroha-maru]] Incident.<ref name=shirarezaru41/> In total, some 102 Edo period buildings, 85 Meiji period buildings, and 270 later prewar buildings, together, have been designated by Fukuyama City as a ''dentôteki kenzôbutsugun hozon chiku'', or "Protection District for Groups of Traditional Buildings," though this has not yet been taken up the national-level [[Agency for Cultural Affairs]].<ref>Mouri, 131.</ref>

A small island known as Sensuijima lies just off the coast from the town, and is accessible by regular ferries. The name of the island derives from a legend in which a [[Taoism|Taoist]] immortal (''[[sennin]]''), intoxicated by the natural beauty of the area, lay down, and became an island. The island is roughly six kilometers around, and rises to the 154m Ômisen mountain at the center. Another peak on the island is known as Gozen-yama. It is officially part of the [[Setonaikai National Park]], which was established in 1934. A number of much smaller islands, including Benten-jima and Kôgô-jima, surround Sensuijima.<ref>Plaque at the Tomo ferry port.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/36892147611/sizes/k/]</ref>

A small island known as Sensuijima lies just off the coast from the town, and is accessible by regular ferries. The name of the island derives from a legend in which a [[Taoism|Taoist]] immortal (''[[sennin]]''), intoxicated by the natural beauty of the area, lay down, and became an island. The island is roughly six kilometers around, and rises to the 154m Ômisen mountain at the center. Another peak on the island is known as Gozen-yama. It is officially part of the [[Setonaikai National Park]], which was established in 1934. A number of much smaller islands, including Benten-jima (also known as Hyakkan-jima, home to a [[Benten]] shrine) and Kôgô-jima, surround Sensuijima.<ref>Plaque at the Tomo ferry port.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/36892147611/sizes/k/]</ref>

{{stub}}

{{stub}}