Page 240 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

21 " LAFCADIO HEARN
Uji City
Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904)
宇治市 arrived in Japan in 1890. He
! D5 £ Uji Stn, Keihan-Uji published several books, such
or Nara lines as Glimpses of Unfamiliar
Japan and In Ghostly Japan,
In addition to some of the which allowed the Japanese
best green tea grown in Japan,
to view their culture through
EXPERIENCE Western Honshu on the 10-yen coin. The tem- Japanese home was Matsue.
the small city of Uji boasts

the eyes of a foreigner for
Byodo-in, which is featured
the first time. Hearn’s first
ple’s Phoenix Hall and Amida
He married the daughter of
a local samurai family and
Nyorai image inside are
later acquired Japanese
marvelous remnants of one
citizenship, changing his
of Japan’s greatest epochs.
name to Koizumi Yakumo.
Manpuku-ji was established
in 1661 by Ingen, a priest who
fled China after the fall of the
Ming dynasty. Ingen intro-
duced the sencha, or leaf
monstrosities.” One of the few
Matsue
in Japan to remain intact, it
tea, ceremony. 22 made up of magnificent
Close by, in Shigaraki, the 松江 was built in 1611 of pine and
Miho Museum has some fine ! C5 ⌂ Shimane Prefecture stone, then partially recon-
Japanese treasures such as structed 31 years later. Its five-
Buddha statues and hand- k Yonago and Izumo £ story keep is Japan’s tallest.
n At Matsue JR Stn; www.
scrolls, as well as treasures visit-matsue.com Within a short walk of the
from Egypt and Persia. castle are two more modest
Situated at the intersection of architectural gems. The Buke
Byodo-in Lake Shinji with Miho bay and Yashiki is a mansion built in
⌂ 116 Uji Renge #8:30am– Nakaumi lagoon, Matsue is 1730 by the Shiomi family,

5:30pm daily also known as the “water city” who were chief retainers at
and is rarely explored by the castle, and the Meimei-an
Manpuku-ji international visitors. Teahouse (1779) is one of
" ⌂ 34 Gokasho Sanban- Matsue is referred to at Japan’s oldest and best
wari # 9am–4:30pm daily length in Glimp ses of Unfamiliar preserved. Along the same
Japan (1894) by Lafcadio street is the Tanabe Art
Miho Museum Hearn, a journal ist of Irish- Museum, with a refined
" ⌂ 300 Tashiro Momodani, Greek des cent who spent collection of tea bowls and
Shigaraki-cho, Shiga § (074) 15 months in the town. Hearn other tea-related objects.
882-3411 # 10am–5pm Tue– described Matsue Castle as “a Just north of the castle, the
Sun ∑ miho.or.jp veritable architectural dragon, Lafcadio Hearn Residence is

The interior of Uji City’s Miho
Museum, designed by I. M. Pei
with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
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