Visit gallery
The day trip by car to Aizu Wakamatsu from Tokyo was one of the most memorable highlights of the entire visit to Japan. Our thanks go to Toshi san for spending his time with us. It wouldn’t be the same experience without him.
The city itself is located in a valley, surrounded by mountains. After a long drive (about four hours from Tokyo), an unexpected view of the great white statue on Kannon overlooking the city leaves a surreal impression.
Aizu Wakamatsu Castle (Tsuruga Jo)
The castle contains a very nice museum, and the grounds still retain the atmosphere of samurai history. There is a kendo dojo in the castle grounds. We heard the unmistakable sounds of clashing shinai and kiai, and followed them to watch the practice. The walls of the dojo were removed, which must have made the practice in the heat of the Japanese summer at least bearable. There were mostly very young people in the dojo (probably, middle- or high school students). It was nice to see that the castle grounds are still being used for martial arts practice. I had a similar feeling of history being naturally preserved in the castles of Czech Republic.
The castle has many enclosed areas that are not apparent at first, but are a pleasure to discover. For example, if one looks out of a window from the main tower, one can see a small inner courtyard filled with bonsai trees.
In one of the halls, there are portraits of Byakkotai (“White Tiger Corps”) – young (mostly teenage) samurai, who committed seppuku when they saw smoke from the castle town and assumed that the castle had fallen during the Boshin War (1868). It was very sad to see their faces after we just observed a kendo practice inside of the very same castle walls. With all the flare of chivalry, it is definitely important not to forget the darker side of bushido.
Buke yashiki (Samurai residence)
Another excellent samurai museum is in a restored household of the chief retainer of the Aizu clan, Saigo Tanomo.
The architecture of the old buildings is fascinating, and the museum gives a glimpse into the daily activities during the Edo period.
There is also an example of a deadly resolve to protect the clan dispayed by the people who used to live there – the “blood room,” where women of the household, to avoid being taken as hostages, killed their children and themselves when the compound was overtaken by enemy troops during the Boshin War. The story is that the last woman mortally wounded herself, but was unable to deliver the mortal blow. She asked a soldier, who entered the room, to assist her, assuming that he was an ally. He was, in fact, an enemy, but he did help her to commit suicide in order to ease her suffering.
These days, the room is starkly empty. The screen paintings in the room are placed upside-down (gyaku-byobu) to indicate that there has been a death in the family.