Old Farmer's House Gets New Life

 

This house was reconstructed in this park 15 years ago only for the purpose of reservation. My city renewed the house to let visitors rest inside last year. The straw-thatched roof was covered with metal plates at the same time. The left tree is an apricot.

Beside the house, the small cafe opened serving beverages and meals such as spaghetti, hamburger and curry with rice. Many people go into the renewed house taking foods and drinks.

This is a Japanese allspice tree having a wonderful fragrance. 蠟梅花

Its flower is called "wax apricot". The petals are not wettish but dry. They open bravely in the coldest time of the year. I think if the petals are wettish, they will be frozen up easily.

The house still keeps a fireplace. Farmer's family gathered around here to warm themselves. The hook usually has a wooden fish. Fish is associated with water. It is said a fish is set on the hook to avoid a fire. 

The roof was thatched every 30 years or so. Old but not damaged straws were reused and made layers in different colors. This is a beauty made by people's life.

In younger days, I love cherry blossoms more than apricot called "Ume". This Japanese pronunciation is based on a Chinese word "Mei". 

Now I am more attracted to Ume than ever. 

Poets in this country in the 7th century loved apricot because Chinese poets those days did. Cultural influences from China had decreased since the end of the 9th century. Japanese poets found beauty gradually with their own eyes and began making poems of cherry blossoms far more than apricot. I was surprised to know that our present views of beauty may have been influenced by those in older times. 

Jomon Pottery 繩文土器

These were made 5,000 years ago at villages built along the river I saw from the top of the mountain which I shared with you in the last post.

All of them were for daily use, not for ritual.

Jomon period has a long history from 10,000 years ago to 2,500 years ago. At the time 5,000 years ago, the temperature was warmer than ever. People could live easier with more foods and would afford to depict the spiritual world.

Most peculiar shapes of this time can be seen on an edge of the pot. I often think about their designs. Is that a whirlpool, flame or snake? Archaeologists have not discovered what they mean.

This would be portable.

Is this a god of wisdom or owl?

The left one attracted me very much.

Potteries following this type of design have not been excavated all over Japan except this area. The artisan made this pot with excellent skill.

These stone tools were used in this period. Tools at upper right are portable knives.

View From The Top

This is Yakumo Jinja (shrine) located in the center of Motegi. Rice plants harvested in autumn are hung on the left side of the building. 

I climbed up to the top of a mountain to enjoy good landscapes. When the weather conditions are good in the early winter morning, a fog covers the ground and you can see the sea of clouds with mountain tops which look like islands.

Though the town is in mountains, the land was cultivated widely to make rice fields. These greenhouses are probably for growing strawberries.

I wish you health and happiness in the new year.

 

Swans Enjoy Sunshine

 

I went to a swamp to take a walk around. Some kinds of ducks are in water under the warm sunshine.

To my surprise, about 20 swans have spent days here. Two years ago, I just watched 3 swans. I don't know why so many have decided to stay here. 

I thought about their way of life when I was a child. As you know, they fly to warmer areas from north in the early winter and fly back in the beginning of spring. I have no idea why  they chose this habit. Have they never felt difficulty of moving 5,000 kms without any insurance? Are not migratory birds in envy of convenience which resident birds are blessed with?

I watched some young ones that were born probably one or two years ago. How was your trip to here? I hope you can enjoy warmer days in safety.

White swans look beautiful, anyway.

They do not exaggerate their brave behavior. They love their children everytime and everywhere.

Handmade Soba (Buckwheat) Noodles 手工蕎麥麵

I got 1kg buckwheat flour at Motegi, which was harvested this autumn.

I usually mix 80% buckwheat and 20% wheat flour to make noodles smooth and long. Wheat flour would be mixed to connect buckwheat smoothly. This time I made the noodles with 100% buckwheat and water alone. 

During mixing buckwheat with water, I was fascinated with its fresh nutty flavour. The dough is green. The wonderful color reminded me of soba fields in summer under the sunshine.

I extended the dough with a long rolling pin to 1.5mm thick. When you bite pure buckwheat noodles, you will feel they are not smooth and stiff in case noodles are thick. I tried to cut the flattened dough into 1.3mm wide each while buckwheat is mixed with 20% wheat I cut it into 1.5mm. The taste was good!

This buckwheat is one of the best gifts this year.

A Small Town In Mountains

I went to Motegi to buy new buckwheat flour.

 There still remain two old style warehouses. 

The hill behind them is ruins of a castle.

Earthworks have been well preserved. These tall trees are cherry.

Many maple leaves changed to bright red.

I enjoyed the high blue sky and red leaves.

I found three cherry trees are in full bloom.

There are two kinds of cherry: one opens blossoms in spring, the other in autumn.  It's rare to have a chance to see cherry blossoms and red maple leaves at the same time.

Momiji Maples Turn Red

 

I visited a Japanese garden located in the northern part of my city.

Momiji is a kind of the most beautiful red maples. There are many Momiji trees here but  the time of color change is not same.

Inside the thick growth of trees, some lower Momiji stand like a lady in vermilion clothes.

林間煖酒燒紅葉

Bai Juyu, Chinese poet in 9th century wrote a poem: I warm wine by burning red leaves in the forest. 

This is the shape of Momiji leaf, a little bit different from popular maples. In China, Momiji is called "chicken claw maple".

Sharp temperature dropping makes the leaves more beautiful. It is said Momiji leaves near water are better than those inside of the forest as the water side can easily get this natural artistic effect.

I love to look up the red leaves.

This small bridge follows an historical design.

This Momiji still keeps yellow.

Lots of ancient poets in this country made poems using water and red Momiji as poetic subjects. Red leaves floating down on the stream were described as a gorgeous brocade.

Golden Snow Covering A Road

 

Today I went to a library to read some phrases of novels by Mishima. The road to the library are covered with ginkgo leaves.

I like to touch them. Newly fallen leaves are cold and wettish. This has been one of the best autumn memories for me.  

Climbing The Mountain Again

I went up long stone steps and walked a path under big trees. It had been a year since I climbed last autumn.

This is the first stage of long steps. Big cedars cover them. The air is cool.

After finishing the first stage, a red building welcomes visitors.

Then the second tough stage. I enjoyed the blue sky and the warm sunshine. It took 20 minutes for me to finish the both stages.

This is the main building of Ohirasan Jinja shrine. I think the stone steps were set up about 100 years ago. Before that, it must have been terribly hard to climb long and steep slopes waring straw sandals.

A mountain ridge path connects the mountain of this shrine and the next mountain.

This is the view from the next mountain called the Shining Stone Mt.. The white U shape in the lower part is a paraglider took off from the site near the path. Its flying altitude is around 1200 feet. It takes one hour from the shrine.