[:en]6_Shirase Antarctic Expedition Memorial Museum[:ja]6_白瀬南極探検隊記念館[:]

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6. Shirase Antarctic Expedition Memorial Museum

location:  Konoura, Nikaho city – 5 minutes from Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway Konoura IC by car

The Shirase Antarctic Expedition Memorial Museum is a public science museum and memorial which is located in Nikaho city.  It opened in 1990 to commemorate the achievement of  Army Lieutenant Nobu Shirase, who led the first Japanese Antarctic Expedition in 1910.
Nobu Shirase devoted himself from a young age to his ambition of becoming an explorer.  Inside the museum there are graphic details of Nobu Shirase’s life as well as the crew of 30 men who shared Nobu’s spirit of adventure and participated on his epic voyage to Antarctica.
The museum also has exhibits about the British explorer Scott, who attempted to reach Antarctica at around the same time as Shirase.  Other displays cover the history of Japanese Antarctic expeditions from Shirase’s time to the present day.
Visitors to the museum can also see a snowmobile used on a later Antarctic expedition to the Showa Antarctic Base, as well as pick up and touch real ice brought back from Antarctica.

keywords:  science, history, expedition
features:  challenge, expedition, Antarctica

written by T. Yoshino


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名称 白瀬南極探検隊記念館(しらせなんきょくたんけんたいきねんかん)

種別 科学 歴史 探検

場所 にかほ市金浦

日本海東北道金浦ICから車で5分

イメージ 挑戦 探検 南極

概要

白瀬南極探検隊記念館は、にかほ市にある市立の科学館、記念館です。

当地出身で、日本人で初めて南極探検に挑んだ 陸軍中尉 白瀬矗(しらせのぶ)の業績を記念して1990年に旧金浦町に開館されました。

明治の末期、少年時代から極地探検を志して研鑽を重ねた白瀬矗と彼のロマンに共感した30人の男たちの物語がここにあります。そして同時期に南極点をめざした英国探検隊スコットの様子も併せて今に伝えています。白瀬らのスピリッツを継承し現在も続けられている、日本の南極観測隊の歴史と現在についても知ることができます。

ここに来て、後年昭和基地で使用された雪上車を見て、そして南極の氷に触れて下さい。

T.YOSHINO


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[:en]7_the Great Buddha of Akata[:ja]7_赤田の大仏[:]

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7. The Great Buddha of Akata (Chokoku-ji Temple)

location: Akata Yurihonjo – 30 minutes from Honjo railway station by car

Chokoku-ji Temple was founded by Zesantaigaku Bonze in 1775.
The 11 Faces Kannon, better known as the Great Buddha of Akata, was completed in 1786, and the outer building, known as the Hall of the Great Buddha, was completed in 1794.
The precincts of the original temple were completely destroyed in a fire in 1888.  The present-day Kannon was rebuilt in 1892 and the reconstruction of the Hall of the Great Buddha was completed in 1896.
The Kannon is 7.87m high and made from mosaic cedar.  It was painted in lacquer and finished with gold paper.
The Hall of the Great Buddha is 21.2 high with a dual-layer wall.  A window in the upper part of the front of the building shows the face of the Kannon.  There is also a large, round pillar which acts as a support for the whole structure.
On February 11th each year a ceremony called “Daihan Kitoe” takes place here.  Participants pray for wisdom, peace and prosperity.
On August 22nd the annual “Shinbutsu Konkoku” festival is held. This festival incorporates gods from both the shinto and buddhist religions, a characteristic which is rarely found in Japan nowadays.
Please enjoy your visit to this religious site.

keywords:  traditions, religious belief
features:  tranquility,  peace of mind 

written by K. Asada

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名称 長谷寺大仏殿 赤田の大仏

種別 信仰 風習

場所 由利本荘市赤田

羽後本荘駅から車で30分

イメージ 平穏 安心

概要

市指定有形文化財「十一面観世音菩薩」(じゅいちめんかんぜおんぼさつ)昭和61年2月13日指定、国登録有形文化財「長谷寺大仏殿」(ちょうこくじだいぶつでん)平成25年12月24日指定。

長谷寺は是山泰覚和尚(ぜさんたいがくおしょう)により1775年に開山されました。赤田の大仏として親しまれている十一面観世音菩薩立像は、1786年に完成し、大仏殿は1794年の完成です。残念ながら1888年に火災により境内(けいだい)のすべての伽藍(がらん)が焼失、現在の観音像は1892年に大仏殿は1896年に再建されました。

観音像は身の丈は7.87メートルで杉寄せ木作り、漆を塗り金箔を貼ってあります。大仏殿は総丈21.2メートルの高さを持つ上下二層の建物で上層正面には観相窓(かんそうまど)があります。大仏殿内部でみられる大きな丸柱が一本通しで大仏殿全体を支えています。

毎年2月11日には、平和と繁栄を祈る大般若祈祷会(だいはんにゃきとうえ)、8月22日には現在では珍しい神仏混淆(しんぶつこんこく)の大仏祭典が執り行われます。どうぞごゆっくりお参りください。

K.ASADA

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[:en]8_Oriwatari Sentai Jizo Statues [:ja]8_折渡千体地蔵[:]

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8. Oriwatari Sentai Jizo Statues (Oriwatari one thousand Jizo Statues)

location: Yurihonjo – 10 minutes from Iwaya railway station by car

These Jizo statues were founded by Zesanzenshi Bonze (the same man who founded the 11 Faces Kannon) around 200 years ago.  Originally, worshippers came to pray before these statues in the hope of long life.
Nowadays visitors pray in front of them for safety to passers-by and young children.
The Jizo statues originate from Fujian Province in China, and in the years after 1989 thousands of them were gradually brought here by contributors from all over Japan.  The statues were set down in rows covering the whole mountain. It took a long time to complete and this place subsequently became the sacred mountain of Jizo.
These Jizo statues have also acquired another name, as “wart-removing Jizo”.
It is said that someone took one stone from here home and rubbed a wart with it as they prayed in the hope of curing it … and, sure enough, the wart actually dissapeared.
As a result, anyone who takes a stone away and cures their wart with it is supposed to replace it with 2 new stones from the sea.

keywords:  traditions, religious belief
features:  spiritual, silence, remove warts, bell

written by M Sato

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名称 折渡千体地蔵(おりわたりせんたいじぞう)

種別 風習 信仰

場所 由利本荘市

岩谷駅から車で10分

イメージ 心霊、静寂、イボトリ 鐘

概要

今から約200年前是山禅師(赤田大佛開祖)により延命地蔵尊として建立されたものです。現在は、通行人の安全と子守地蔵として知られ、別名イボトリ地蔵としても有名である。

中国福健省で作られた千体地蔵が、全国の寄進者によって平成元年から年月をかけ全山に据えられ、地蔵霊山となりました。

ここに置いてある石を家に持ち帰り、それでイボがある部分を治るように祈りながらこすること、本当にイボが消えたとの言い伝えが有名です。イボが消えたら、新しい石を海から拾ってきて2倍にして返すことになっています。

M.SATO

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[:en]9_Yudeno Archaeological Site[:ja]9_湯出野遺跡[:]

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9. Yudeno Archaeological Site

location:   Higashiyuri, Yurihonjo – 30 minutes from Ugohonjo railway station by car

The Yudeno ruins are believed to date back about 3000~2500 years to the end of the Jomon Period.
One of the largest Dokoubo (circular grave) in eastern Japan was found here.
People in the Jomon Period dug these circular Dokoubo graves in the ground in order to bury the dead. Excavations at the Yudeno site discovered 103 of these Dokoubo graves together in the same place.
Around the graves they found ancient relics from the time, such as tear-shaped beads, jewels, earrings and clay figures.
Higashi Yuri area is surrounded by the Dewa hills and Mount Yashio.
At that time these rich natural surroundings and also the clean, clear
water brought many farmers to settle in the area. As evidence of this,
45 ruins were discovered on the banks of the river Takase which flows through this area.
The Yudeno ruins are believed to date back about 2500~3000 years to the end of the Jomon Period.

keywords:  history, ruins, archaelogy
features:  Jomon Period community, rich Jomon Period nature, faith

written by K. Sasaki & H. Sato

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名称 湯出野遺跡(ゆでのいせき)

種別 歴史 遺跡

場所 由利本荘市東由利

羽後本荘駅より車で30分

イメージ 縄文人集落 豊かな縄文の自然 信仰

概要

湯出野遺跡はおよそ3000~2500年まえの縄文時代後期から晩期のものと考えられている。ここで、東日本最大級の土壙墓(どこうぼ)という地面に穴を掘って死者を埋葬する形式の墓が103基まとまって発掘された。周辺から勾玉、小玉、耳飾り、土偶等副葬品が出土している。

出羽丘陵と八塩山に囲まれ、きれいな水と豊かな自然に恵れた東由利地域には、当時多くの縄文人が生活していた。その証としてこの地域を流れる高瀬川沿いには45ケ所もの遺跡が発見されている。ここは現代においても縄文時代と変わらぬ恵まれた自然が残っている地域と思われます。

K.SASAKI

H.SATO

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[:en]10_Myoukei-ji Temple[:ja]10_妙慶寺[:]

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10. Myoukei-ji Temple

location:  Yurihonjo Kameda – 10 minutes from Kameda railway station by car.

Myoukei-ji temple was founded in Kameda by Lady Oden (Oden-no-kata) in 1629 to pray for enlightenment and for the revival of her family.
Lady Oden, whose first name was Nao, was born in 1604 .  She is primarily known as the daughter of the Sengoku military commander, Yukimura Sanada, whose life was made into a popular NHK TV drama.
She supported her father, Yukimura, when he fought against Ieyasu Tokugawa during the Siege of Osaka in 1614.  The following year, after her father’s defeat, she was transferred and kept captive at O-oku (the inner halls of Edo Castle) in Edo and then later she went to live with her mother in Kyoto.
Here, Nao caught the attention of Yoshinobu Satake, who was Lord of the Kubota (Akita) Domain at this time.  She was subsequently taken to Akita and became the wife of Yoshinobu’s brother, Nobuie.
Nobuie was later appointed the feudal lord of the Kameda Domain and so Nao moved again, this time to Kameda. Their first son also became the feudal lord of Kameda.
Nao was supposed to inherit the title “Lady Sanada”, after her father, but she decided against this due to the political situation at this time.  Instead, she dropped the first character of his name (“Sana”) and took just the second character (“da”) with an alternative pronunciation, “Lady Oden”.
The family’s Japanese halberd, which is on display in the temple today, was loved and used by Lady Oden.
At the temple you can learn about the life and destiny of the daughter of a military commander in the Sengoku Period, a time of turbulence and war in Japanese history.

keywords: history,  Sanada family
features: Yukimura Sanada, daughter of famous samurai during Sengoku Period 15th/16th century, national treasure, Oden’s Japanese halberd

written by S. Hatazawa

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名称 妙慶寺(みょうけいじ)

種別 歴史 真田家

場所 由利本荘市 亀田

亀田駅から車で10分

イメージ 真田幸村 戦国武将の娘 幻の国宝御田の薙刀

概要

妙慶寺は、御田の方により、真田家の菩提を弔い、家の再興を祈願し1629年(寛永6年)亀田に創建された。

御田の方は、NHK大河ドラマで知られる戦国武将真田幸村の娘 直(なお)として1604年に生まれた。幸村が徳川家康と戦った大阪冬の陣では大阪城で父を助けた。大阪夏の陣の後、江戸(東京)大奥で人質として暮らし、その後京都で母と暮らした。そこで、直は、久保田藩(秋田藩)佐竹義宜の目にとまり秋田に下向、後に義宜の実弟宜家の妻となった。後に宜家が亀田藩主となり、直も亀田に居を構えることとなった。宜家との間に生まれた長男重隆も亀田藩主となっている。直は「真田の方」となるはずが、将軍徳川秀忠に遠慮し「真」の字をとって「御田の方」と呼ばれた。

寺宝として現在に伝わる薙刀は、御田の方が愛用したものである。

このお寺で、戦国武将の娘の運命を学ぶことができる。

S.HATAZAWA

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