Fun of Good Old Japanese - 江戸・明治に学ぶ　楽しむ生き方

 The altitude of Aoni hamlet (a small settlement in northern Nagano Prefecture) is 760m.  Around ten families live there ; they introduced water from the mountain and made  rice terraces . The scenery of Hakuba mountains which stand at the opposite side of the valley is breathtaking. I visited in mid-May.  青鬼集落は、長野県北部の白馬村、標高 760 ｍにあります。山の中に水を引き、 棚田を作って 10 軒余りの家々 が生活されています。姫川の向こうに見える白馬の山々が絶景。息を飲むような景色でした。訪問したのは５月の中旬です。  Both houses and farming fields are designated “Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings” by the government; it also is selected as one of the 100 best rice terraces in Japan. Every house faces south in order to take into sunlight easily. Those roofs were thatched ones before.  家々と農地は重要伝統的建造物群保存地区に選定され、棚田「日本の棚田百選」にも選ばれています。どの家も、南向きに建てられています。元々は茅葺きです。 A house which was built in 1908 is opened to the public  as “Ozenki-no-Yakata”. “Ozenki” means a good  oni  (powerful being) and “Yakata” does for a residence. The...

  History of Nagano City is introduced in this article. Folklore is introduced in the part 1 .  この記事では、 長野市の歴史 に関する展示を紹介します。なお、民俗は パート 1 で紹介しています。  Nagano Basin is 50km away from Sea of Japan, HOWEVER, it was sea long time ago. People had suffered from floods.  長野盆地は、なんと元々は海で、水害にも悩まされてきました。 Jomon period (more than three thousand years ago) 、 縄文時代  In the  Yayoi period (from 4 th  century B.C. to 3 rd  century) section , the clay pot with a human face and raising hands (replica, lower left) is very impressive. The actual one was made around 1500 years before. I’d like to know the meaning of the design.  弥生時代の展示 では、片山遺跡で発掘された 1500 年前頃の 「挙手人面土器」 （左下、複製）。インパクトが強いです。何を願って作ったのでしょうか。  In the  ancient period (from 8 th  to 12 th  century), Yamato dynasty in Nara prefecture began to rule Nagano. Provincial capital, temple, highways and post towns were built. Current highways were built in the same locations.  古代の信濃 ...

 Nagano is located at the central Japan and it is an inland prefecture. The museum was built at the old battlefield. Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin fought in the 16 th century.  The  exhibits about local lives and livelihoods  are great and those about  the history are  also excellent. I'll introduce exhibits of the history in the next article ( part2 ). Btw, Zenkouji Temple and the silkworm-raising industry are integral parts of exhibitions of Nagano.  上杉謙信と武田信玄が戦った川中島の古戦場後に博物館があります。歴史展示（ Part2 で紹介）もさることながら、稲作など人びとの生業･暮らしの展示が分かりやすいです。養蚕と善光寺は欠かせません。   Farmers’ livelihood 、農家の暮らし It’s a very understandable section which starts with “ A year of rice farming ” before the mechanization. 「 米づくりの一年 」からはじまる機械化前の農家の暮らしの展示が、とても分かりやすいです。 The rice farming begins with ploughing in March and ends with removing chaff from paddy in November. 米づくりは、３月の田起からスタートし、 11 月の臼挽きまで続きます。  Typical female farmer  wore a straw hat, a covering for the back ...