Travelogue of Japan

Walk through Niigata's Furumachi district and experience the dance of Furumachi geisha and cuisine at the long-established restaurant "Nabechaya." From the history of Niigata, a port town that prospered from Kitamae ships, to its geisha district, restaurant culture, and the background that fostered the Furumachi geisha, we will explore its history.

Visit the Northern Culture Museum in Niigata and trace the history of the Ito family, one of the most prominent wealthy farming families in Echigo. From the rice and land of the Echigo Plain, to the large landowning system, magnificent mansions and gardens, tea rooms, ceramics and crafts, we will explore, with local photographs, why "wealthy farmers" emerged in Niigata.

From the Ryugenji mine shaft of the Iwami Silver Mine to Yunotsu Onsen, climbing kilns, Iwami Kagura dance, and Izumo Taisha Shrine, I re-examine my 2019 trip to Shimane from my current perspective as I've started pottery and accessory making, tracing the process by which silver, clay, paper, sand, and rice transformed into culture.

At the Gion Festival, we witnessed the tea ceremony performed by the head of the Omotesenke school at Yasaka Shrine. We experienced the floats, the tea ceremony rooms, and the Ichiriki-tei tea ceremony firsthand, and explored the connections within Kyoto culture through the tea ceremony, from Rokkakudo Temple, to the plays "Hana Ikusa" and "Kanadehon Chushingura," to the geisha districts and chimaki (rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves).

I've climbed Mount Kiso-Komagatake twice, and encountered ptarmigan both times. I'll share my experiences and photos, from the glacial topography of Senjojiki Cirque, the seasonal changes in ptarmigan feathers, conservation activities in the Central Alps, to Nogaike Pond, Komagai Pond, Kozenji Temple, and even Komagane's famous katsudon (pork cutlet rice bowl).

This book compares Nonomura Ninsei's national treasure, the "Polychrome Pheasant Incense Burner," which I saw in Kanazawa, with works by Ninsei and Ogata Kenzan that I saw at the Nezu Museum. It analyzes the polychrome enamel, form, patterns, and negative space of Kyoto ware, and introduces how this was applied to the actual production of polychrome tea bowls, along with photographs of the production process.

I visited Ippodo Tea Shop in Teramachi during the Gion Festival in Kyoto. Using Miyako Watanabe's "The Taste of Tea" as a guide, I will consider how the "taste of tea" is created in relation to matcha, thick and thin tea, tea ceremony practice, the seasons, and the tools used.

Kenji Miyazawa, Kohara-sha publishing house, folk art, café culture, Morioka Reimen (cold noodles), Jajamen (noodles with garlic), Fukuda Bread. While walking through the streets of Morioka, we will explore how past cultures are being passed down to present-day life.

I visited the "NIGO® and Handeishi" exhibition held at the Ishimizu Museum in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture. Through the tea bowls of Kawakita Handeishi collected by NIGO® and 25 bowls he created himself, I reflected on collecting, pottery making, the freedom to break away from form, and the inheritance of culture.

From the national treasure Matsumoto Castle to the traditional storehouses of Nakamachi Street, Matsumoto folk furniture, and the Matsumoto City Museum of Art showcasing Yayoi Kusama's works, the author, a native of Nagano Prefecture, walks through the city of Matsumoto, traversing architecture, folk art, and contemporary art, and introduces the overlapping cultures of the city.