Should you visit Takehara? (Subtitles Added/英語字幕付き) 安芸の小京都・竹原の散策 #japan #japantravel

Should you visit Takehara? (Subtitles Added/英語字幕付き) 安芸の小京都・竹原の散策 #japan #japantravel

Takehara, Hiroshima-ken Today, we have come to Takehara in Hiroshima prefecture. This city is sometimes referred to as Hiroshima’s “Llittle Kyoto” because of its well-maintained historical buildings, which date from the Edo period (1603-1867). In this video, we shall walk through the area advertised on the city’s official tourism website

As the Townscape Preservation Area. This area can be reached on foot from the railway station in around 10-15 minutes. Takehara rose to prominence during the early Edo period as a major producer of salt. Takehara salt was shipped all over Japan.

Many of the impressive buildings that one can still see today, such as the merchants’ houses and salt warehouses, were constructed during this period. This temple is Saihō-ji. Its magnificent stone wall gives it the appearance of a castle, although the temple itself has a quite simple single-storey structure,

Typical of Buddhist temples in this region during the mid-Edo period. A panoramic view of the preserved old town can be enjoyed from the top of the temple’s stone steps. We are now walking along Honmachi-dōri, the main street of the town’s historic district.

Honmachi-dōri is approximately 500 metres long, and is lined on both sides with traditional wooden merchant houses and townhouses with grey plaster walls latticework facades, and fired clay roof tiles. This building houses the city’s Museum of History and Folklore.

One of the museum’s most prominent displays features the life of Taketsuru Masataka, a local man, who is considered to be the founder of Japan’s whisky industry. Taketsuru Masataka, who is affectionately known as “Massan”, travelled to Scotland to study chemistry at Glasgow University. While in Scotland, he learnt how to distill whisky,

And went on to found the Nikka Whisky Distilling Company. “Massan” married a Scottish woman, Jessie Roberta Cowan, who is better known as “Rita”. This building is the former residence of Rai Tadasuga, a poet and Confucian scholar, who was active during the Edo period (1603-1867).

The house, which was built around 1775, is a perfect example of the architectural design from that period. The property has three wells, one of which was used for the dyeing of fabrics, which was the family’s business.

A walk through the well-preserved old town of Takehara, sometimes referred to as “Hiroshima’s Little Kyoto”.
広島県竹原市は映画やドラマのロケ地としてお馴染みです。江戸時代に製塩や酒造で栄え、今でも往時の姿を伝えています。
#japan #japantravel #竹原

英語学習中の皆さま-日本の景勝地や名所、祭りについて英語音声で説明しています。英語字幕も付けていますので、是非、英語学習にお役立てください。