{"id":81280,"date":"2021-04-30T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=81280"},"modified":"2021-04-28T23:36:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T14:36:22","slug":"takayama-traditional-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/takayama-traditional-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Takayama, an Enduring Landscape of Authentic Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Surrounded by a rich natural environment in the heart of the Japanese Alps, the historical district of Takayama<\/strong> (\u9ad8\u5c71) perpetuates the traditions of Japan\u2019s flourishing Edo period<\/strong> (1603-1868). Since ancient times, this merchant city in Gifu prefecture <\/a>has been renowned for the highly skilled woodcraft of its native artisans<\/a>. In the 8th century, unable to pay its taxes in rice, as was the custom at the time, Takayama offered the fine skills of its woodworkers instead. Today the city is known as \u201cthe little Kyoto of the Japanese Alps\u201d for its pedestrian streets lined with traditional houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel Back in Time in Takayama\u2019s Old Town<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Takayama\u2019s historic district is located just east of the Miyagawa River, which runs through the city center. The old town (\u53e4\u3044\u753a\u4e26, Furui Machinami) is a former merchant district.<\/strong> The old town is actually made up of two official preservation districts for traditional buildings<\/strong>, including numerous Edo-period merchant houses with latticed bay windows and wooden trellises<\/strong>. The narrow fa\u00e7ades were originally designed to reduce the property tax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preserved Edo-period buildings line Sannomachi street in Takayama\u2019s old town.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By day, the streets are punctuated by noren<\/em> shop curtains and sugidama<\/em> (balls of cedar sprigs hung in sake breweries). By nightfall, after all the tourists have deserted the streets, once silence has settled over the neighborhood and lights come on one by one behind the wooden lattices, it will feel like you\u2019ve been magically whisked back a few centuries in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See Rotating Shelves of Ancient Sutras at Ankoku-ji Temple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re in the region, it\u2019s worth traveling north into the mountains to visit Ankoku-ji<\/strong> (\u5b89\u56fd\u5bfa), a Chinese-style temple built in 1347 that belongs to a branch of Zen Buddhism. The peaceful Buddha statue in the main pavilion dates from 1356, but Ankoku-ji\u2019s real gem is its kyozo<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (\u7d4c\u8535, scripture house)<\/a>, one of only three such national treasures<\/strong> in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kyozo<\/em> contains a wooden rinzo<\/strong><\/em> (\u8f2a\u8535, wheel repository), a rotary octagonal cabinet that stores the sutras<\/strong>. This 600-year-old rinzo<\/em> is the oldest existing one of its kind in Japan. It once stored 5,397 books, of which 2,208 can still be viewed on the shelves today. With the temple\u2019s permission, you may even have the privilege of joining others to rotate this ancient creaking rinzo<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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