Morioka is located in the north of the Kitakami Basin in the central part of Iwate Prefecture, Northern Japan (less than two and half hours from Tokyo by the Shinkansen train).  The city, with its c. 400 year-history, is the center of Iwate's politics, economics and culture.  Mt. Iwate overlooks the city from the northwest, and two rivers, the Kitakami River and the Nakatsu River, created the great look of the old streets of Morioka, which is known as "the City of Water and Greenery."  Since the two lords of Nambu, the 26th lord Nobunao and the 27th lord Toshinao began to build Kozukata Castle in 1598 with Nagamasa Asano's suggestion, Morioka flourished under the reign of Nambu lords between the senventeenth and the nineteenth centuries .  "Kozukata," literally "Direction [area] of No Return," is derived from the local legend (see below).  Today the castle ruins are maintained as Iwate Park and are appreciated by people as a place for recreation and relaxation.  Some haiku enthusiasts can remember Takuboku Ishikawa's poem "Laying myself down on the grass of Kozukata Castle/ I felt my heart of fifteen/ absorbed into the blue sky." Along the eastern side of the Kitakami River, Zaimoku-cho (between Asahi-bashi Bridge and Yugawase-bashi Bridge; famous for "Yoichi" bazaar) and along the eastern side of the Nakatsu River, Kamino-hashi, historical buildings from the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries, such as merchants' houses and private houses, can be seen.  The nostalgic appearance of this area is a good contrast to the modern appearance of the fashionable shopping areas in O-dori Street and Saien Street.
  The famous products of Morioka include:

    Nambu Tekki: local Ironware
    Nambu Kodai Katazome: traditional dyeing
    Nambu Shikonzome: traditional dyeing
    Nambu Sembei: traditional wheat crackers
    Wanko Soba: buckwheat noodles served from "Hidehira Nuri"
      or the local lacquered bowls in one bite portions: one must
      compete with others by eating as much as they can.
      "Azumaya," Nakanohashi (see below), etc.
    Morioka Reimen: North-Korean-styled cold noodles made
      from flour and dogtooth violet starch with cold beef stock
      (Morioka variation of Pyongyang "mul naengmyon"): I can recommend
      three restaurants: "Pyonpyonsha" and "Seirokaku" in front of Morioka
      Station and "Shokudoen," off Odori Street (see below).
    Morioka Jyajyamen: the Morioka version of Chinese "jia jiang mein":
       the most famous restaurant is "Pairon," Uchimaru (see below).

  "Ishiwari-zakura" (the Rock Splitting Cherry Tree: see below), standing outside the Court of Justcice, Chuo-dori Street, is worth visiting if you come to Morioka in the cherry-blossom season.  The over-300-year-old tree is a wonder of nature of life; it was "unpurposely or naturally planted between the split rocks" (Chris Bamforth's Japan Times article dated Friday, Jan. 16, 2004, which totally defames the local people's worship, must be corrected).  Hoon-ji Temple, Nasukawa-cho, (notable for its 500 Rakan-do; "Rakan" means "Holy People") and Morioka Hachiman-gu Shirine, Hachiman-cho are also "must see."  "Hachiman" is the Nambu Clan's patron saint; they are said to be the descendents of the Genji Clan according to their genealogy.
  One of Morioka's unique traditional events is "Chaguchagu Umako", which is held just before summer arrives.  During the event, decorative working horses carry small children on their backs and parade along a 15-kilometer route.  This event attracts many spectators every year (click the above link and see below).
  Since its successful beginning in 1977, "Morioka Sansa Odori" (Sansa Dance Festival Morioka) is a joyous summer event which gathered over 33,000 participants (173 groups) in 2006.  It was a 3-day event but in 2006 it is expanded to be a 4-day event in early August because of its growing popularity: the total number of the 2006 spectators exceeded over 1,180,000, about 300,000 more than the previous year's figure.  Groups of Morioka citizens dress in traditional garb and dance down Chuo-dori Street (the civic street) to the delightful music of wooden flutes and the traditional taiko drums.  Drumbeats shake the earth, echoing off the buildings as flutes ring out in the summer sky.  Over 21,000 dancers, 11,000 drummers and 1,700 pipers, cloaked in a variety of colorful yukata, move along almost floating upon this strong rhythm, and following the parade people dance along in circular formation with sightseers free to join this pulsating venue of numerous moving rings at will.  "Morioka Sansa" has become one of the great Tohoku summer festivals as well as "Nebuta [Neputa] Matsuri" in Aomori and "Tanabata Matsuri" in Sendai.
  The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shirine Festival, is held in September 14-16, is another traditional festival (see below).
  On January 10th, 2006, Morioka and Tamayama Village combined to form the new Morioka City.  The city has an area of 886.47 sq. km and the current population is 298,115 (March 1, 2011): The density is 336 persons per sq. km.

IMAGE	IMAGE NO.	DATA
Sansa Odori		Since its successful beginning in 1977, "Morioka Sansa Odori" (盛岡さんさ踊り; Sansa Dance Festival Morioka) is a joyous summer event which gathered over 33,000 participants (173 groups) in 2006.  It was a 3-day event but in 2006 it is expanded to be a 4-day event in early August because of its popularity: the total number of the 2006 spectators exceeded over 1,180,000, about 300,000 more than the previous year's figure.  Groups of Morioka citizens dress in traditional garb and dance down Chuo-dori Street (the civic street) to the delightful music of wooden flutes and the traditional taiko drums.  Drumbeats shake the earth, echoing off the buildings as flutes ring out in the summer sky.  Over 21,000 dancers, 11,000 drummers and 1,700 pipers, cloaked in a variety of colorful yukata, move along almost floating upon this strong rhythm, and following the parade people dance along in circular formation with sightseers free to join this pulsating venue of numerous moving rings at will.  "Morioka Sansa" has become one of the great Tohoku summer festivals as well as "Nebuta [Neputa] Matsuri" in Aomori and "Tanabata Matsuri" in Sendai.
	mrk2006-007	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-009	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-012	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-014	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-017	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-021	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-025	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-026	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-027	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-028	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-032	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
	mrk2006-033	(Friday 4 August) Sansa Dance Festival Day 4: about 260 participants from Iwate Prefectural University
Hoon-ji Temple		Zuikyuho-zan Hoon-ji Temple (瑞鳩峰山 報恩禅寺), known as Hoon-ji Temple (報恩寺), was founded by the thirteenth lord of Nambu, Moriyuki (南部 守行) at the foot of Hachimantai, Sannohe in 1394 and moved to the present location in 1601 in the reign of the twentieth lord, Toshinao (南部 利直).  It was the headquarter of Soto-shu Sect in Nambu Country.  Now it is known for having a famous Zen meditation hall with 1,200 parishoners.
	mrk2004-025	(Sunday 22 August) Hoon-ji Temple, Nasukawacho
	mrk2004-026	(Sunday 22 August) San-mon (Temple Gate, or the two-storied gate to the Buddhist temple), Hoon-ji Temple.
	mrk2004-028	(Sunday 22 August) Hon-do (Main Hall), Hoon-ji Temple
	mrk2004-030	(Sunday 22 August) Interior of Hon-do (Main Hall), Hoon-ji Temple (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple)
	mrk2004-031	(Sunday 22 August) The Rakan-do (羅漢堂), Hoon-ji Temple.   It houses 500 (precisely 499) statues of rakan (derived from the Sanskrit word "arhat" meaning "holy people"; "lohan" in Chinese); the Five Hundred Disciples of the Buddha who attained the Nirvana.  There are many Five-Hundred-Rakando all over Japan.  The number "500" means "many," not limited to the exact number.  The 500 Rakan statues were made by Tange Komano and other nine Buddhist sculptors around 1735.
	mrk2004-032	(Sunday 22 August) Interior of the Rakan-do (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple).  It is called "Kegon-den" (華厳殿) or Kegon Hall.  "Kegon" is the name of the Japanese transmission of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism.  This hall was created to visualize Nirvana based on the Kekon Sutra.  The central image at the back is Gautama Buddha, called "Kegon-no-Shaka"; two big images on the both sides are the children noted in the Kegon Sutra and the Lotus Sutra which tells us that if you continue to practice asceticism with your whole heart you will find yourself entering the Kegon universe someday.  The 10 standing images are the Ten Disciples of the Buddha and the 16 sitting images are the sixteen Rakans: all of those are not included in the "500 Rakan" statues lined on the surrounded shelves.
	mrk2004-034	(Sunday 22 August) Some of the Five Hundred Disciples of the Buddha (五百羅漢), Hoon-ji Temple (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple)
	mrk2004-036	(Sunday 22 August) Some of the Five Hundred Disciples of the Buddha, Hoon-ji Temple (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple)
	mrk2004-043	(Sunday 22 August) The images of Gautama Buddha and four of the Ten Desciples, Rakan-do, Hoon-ji Temple (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple)
	mrk2004-044	(Sunday 22 August) Some of the Five Hundred Disciples of the Buddha, Rakan-do, Hoon-ji Temple (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple)
	mrk2004-046	(Sunday 22 August) Images of Marco Polo and Kublai Khan(both made in China, c.1840), Rakan-do, Hoon-ji Temple (courtesy of Hoon-ji Temple).  Were they also Buddhists?  No, I do not think so!
Mitsuishi-jinjya		The founding date of Mitsuishi-jinjya Shrine (三ツ石神社) is unknown; probably more than 1,000 years ago.  "Mitsuishi" means "Three Rocks" which are the symbols of not only the shrine but also Iwate Prefecture.
	mrk2004-051	(Sunday 22 August) Mitsuishi-jinjya Shrine, Nasukawa-cho
	mrk2004-054	(Sunday 22 August) Mitsuishi-jinjya Shrine, Nasukawa-cho.   The Sansa Dance was originally a kind of "Obon" dance but it also narrates a local folk story of an evil goblin and the Great Stone of Mitsuishi-jinjya Shrine (see below).  ("Obon" is the Japanese Festival of the Dead or the Buddhist All Souls' Day mostly in mid-August.)   According to legend, there lived a demon called "Rasetsu" who always pulled a stunt to the village people.  The weary people prayed to the stone to get rid of the demon.  In return the Stone's enshrined God caught the demon, making him promise "never to return to the area" and in his rush to depart the demon left his handprint on the boulder while fleeing.  The ecstatic villagers joyously dance around the stone to celebrate these events while cheering and singing "sansa, sansa" in praise of the dance.  Formerly this region was called "Kozukata" which means ""Direction [area] of No Return" and Lord Nambu's Morioka Castle was also called "Kozukata Castle" (see above).  The prefecture is named "Iwate" (literally "Stone Handprint" or "Rock Hand") after the legend, hoping that this area becomes a "Demon-free Country" or a "Promised Land."
	mrk2004-055	(Sunday 22 August) Mitsuishi-jinjya Shrine, Nasukawa-cho.  Now it is almost impossible to find the legendary demon's handprints as the picture on the wall of the shrine indicated.  Some local people say that only a person with a pure heart and a pure soul can see the handprints.  You can try it if you want.
Kami-no-hashi		Kami-no-hashi (上の橋)
	mrk2004-059	(Sunday 22 August) Old "Iya-shoten" (draper), Kaminohashi-cho.  This old-fashioned house built in a warehouse style by a merchant prince in Meiji Era in the late nineteenth century.
	mrk2004-060	(Sunday 22 August) Shirasawa Sembei Shop, Konya-cho.  One of the oldest Nambu-Sembei (traditional wheat crackers) shops.  Founded in 1926.
Uchimaru		Uchimaru (内丸)
	mrk2004-061	(Sunday 22 August) Prefectural Auditorium, Uchimaru (built in 1926).  The traditional French-styled restaurant "Kokaido-Taga" was on the basement floor.
	mrk2004-062	(Sunday 22 August) Bust of Takashi Hara (原敬, 1856-1921; Prime Minister 1918-1921).  Born in Morioka, he was the first prime minister born in the commonalty.  As secretary-general and later president (1914), Hara established the Seiyukai as the first powerful majority party by compromise with the oligarchs (Jap. "genro"), distribution of patronage posts to cooperative bureaucrats, exploitation of public works legislation, and lavish use of election money.   He was the first prime minister to form a party cabinet in accordance with principles of parliamentary government.  He encouraged the extension of suffrage but suppressed labor organization.  His administration was notable for the expedition to Siberia, the independence movement in Korea, Japanese participation in the Paris Peace Conference, labor unrest, and naval armament.  He was assassinated by a fanatic at Tokyo Station in 1921.  See Tetsuo Najita, Hara Kei in the Politics of Compromise, 1905-1915 (1967).
	mrk2005-011	(Tuesday 26 April) "Ishiwari-zakura" (石割桜; the "Rock Splitting Cherry Tree"), Court of Justice, Uchimaru.  It is another symbol of Iwate Prefecture.  Inazo Nitobe's Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1899) begins: "Chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than its emblem, the cherry blossom; nor is it a dried-up specimen of an antique virtue preserved in the herbarium of our history" (Ch. I, "Bushido as an Ethical System").  Cf. also Ch. XV, "The Influence of Bushido," in which he refers to the cherry blossom (Jap. "sakura") as "the favorite of our people and the emblem of our character."  For Nitobe, "Ishiwari-zakura" must have been the special cherry tree because he was very familiar with it in his early years since he was born in a lower Samurai house as their third son in Morioka.  For more information about Inazo Nitobe, go to the Inazo Nitobe page.
	mrk2005-012	(Tuesday 26 April) "Ishiwari-zakura" (the "Rock Splitting Cherry Tree"), Court of Justice, Uchimaru: Originally here stood the chief retainer's house during the Edo Period (1603-1867).
	mrk2005-015	(Tuesday 26 April) "Ishiwari-zakura" (the "Rock Splitting Cherry Tree"), Court of Justice, Uchimaru: Originally here stood the chief retainer's house during the Edo Period (1603-1867).
	mrk2004-128	(Wednesday 8 September) "Pairon" (白龍), Uchimaru, home of "Morioka Jyajyamen" (Morioka variation of Chinese "jia jiang mein"), one of the three Morioka noodles.  Different from the original Chinese "jia jiang mein," theirs is made of "Udon" noodles (made from wheat flour, salt, and water) assorted with "Sendai miso" paste with keema, sliced cucumbers and sliced red pickled gingers, which create a salty-sweet flavor.  After eating the noodles, you can eat "Chi Tan T'ang," an egg drop soup with "the gourmet's bit" or the small leftover on your dish.  Trust me!  It is a delicious and "addictive" food (of course free from any drug, HA HA!).
Chuo-dori St.		Chuo-dori St. (中央通り)
	mrk2004-065	(Sunday 22 August) Hikage-mon Green Space, Chuo-dori Street, where Meigi-do (Sakujin-kan), the Nambu clan's school, stood during the Edo Period.  Takashi Hara (see mrk2004-062), Kanichiro Yoshimura and his son Kaichiro Yoshimura of Jiro Asada's Mibu-Gishi-Den (The Life of a Loyal Retainer in Mibu, 2000), studied.   *Kanichiro Yoshimura (1840-1868) was a real member of the "Mibu-Gishi" or later "Shinsen-gumi" the Kyoto garrison at the end of the Edo Period.
	mrk2004-067	(Sunday 22 August) "Chonju" (全州), a Korean "bonne femme" restaurant), Chuo-dori Street.  Korean people have been playing the important role of the local food culture.  In autumn 2007, they moved to a wider place at 2-1-4 Chuo-dori Street.
	mrk2004-070	(Sunday 22 August) The house Takuboku Ishikawa (石川 啄木) lived a newly married life (former samurai house), off Chuo-dori Street.  Takuboku Ishikawa (1886-1912) was a tanka poet and novelist.  Tanka is a traditional Japanese poetic form with only 31 syllables.  Among his works, two collections of tanka poems, Ichiaku no Suna (A Fistful of Sand, 1910) and Kanashiki Gangu (Grieving Toys, 1912) were most famous.  For more information about Takuboku Ishikawa, go to my Japanese Studies page.   This is the house Ishikawa and his bride, Setsuko Horiai (堀合節子), began their married life on June 4, 1905.  Ishikawa's parents and his sister, Mitsuko, also lived with them.  They lived here for only three weeks until they moved to Kagano along River Nakatsu.
	mrk2004-072	(Sunday 22 August) The room for Takuboku and Setsuko, Takuboku Ishikawa's honeymoon house.  At that time, Ishikawa often contributed to the local newspaper, Iwate Nippo (113 times in total) ; one of his articles was "Yojohan" (lit. "A four-and-a-half-mat room") because Takuboku and Setsuko's room had a four-and-a-half-mats here.      *In Japan, we say a room has so many mats.   A four-and-a-half-mat room (8.19 square meters) is widely used in old Japanese houses and apartments.  It is a very small space but it is a very significant size for us.  Try to web-search for the word "Yojohan" by any Japanese search engine and you will be amazed with the number of the results!
Zaimoku-cho		Zaimoku-cho (材木町) is an ttractive area full of traditional local products, etc.; especially famous for Yoichi Fair (よ市) opening every Saturday afternoon from April to November.;  Only five minutes' walk from Morioka Station:  Cross Asahi Bridge and turn left at the first signal.
	mrk2004-077	(Sunday 22 August) Zaimoku-cho
	mrk2004-078	(Sunday 22 August) Kogen-sha (光原社; folk craft shop and coffee house), Zaimoku-cho.  Famous for having published Kenji Miyazawa's Haru to Shura (Spring and Ashura, 1924).
	mrk2004-079	(Sunday 22 August) Statue of Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢賢治) built in 1993 by Tsutomu Uno, Zaimoku-cho.  For more information about Kenji Miyazawa, go to my Japanese Studies page.
	mrk2004-081	(Sunday 22 August) Zaimoku-cho
Morioka Station		Morioka Station (盛岡駅)
	mrk2004-083	(Sunday 22 August) Takuboku Ishikawa (石川 啄木)'s tanka monument in front of Morioka Station:      ふるさとの山に向ひて   言ふことなし   ふるさとの山はありがたきかな   (Furusato no Yama ni Mukaite)   (Iukotonashi)    (Furusato no Yama ha Arigatakikana)   Facing the mountain* of the old sod, I stand,   Nothing to say ---   This is the gracious mountain I respect.     (trans. Eishiro Ito)      *It is ambiguous which mountain(s) Ishikawa suggests here: There seems to have three candidates: 1) Mt. Iwate (You can see from Morioka Station), 2) Mt. Himekami (Ishikawa was born in 1886 at the foot of Mt. Himekami, Tamayama Village) and 3) Both of them.   For another translation of this poem, go to my Japanese Studies page.
	mrk2004-084	(Sunday 22 August) Morioka Station
	mrk2004-085	(Sunday 22 August) Mt. Iwate and River Kitakami, viewed from Kaiun-bashi Bridge near Morioka Station.  "Kaiun-bashi" means "Bridge of Improving your fortune."
O-dori St.		O-dori Street (大通り)
	mrk2004-087	(Sunday 22 August) O-dori Street (a major shopping area)
	mrk2004-088	(Sunday 22 August) Statue of Young Takuboku Ishikawa (石川 啄木) by Takatomo Honda (1977) in front of Marufuji (traditional sweet shop), O-dori Street
	mrk2004-090	(Sunday 22 August) "Shokudo-en" (食道園; a Korean restaurant famous for "Reimen" noodles), off O-dori Street.  Founded in 1954 and became the first "Reimen" restaurant in Morioka with the idea of the founder Teruhito Aoki who was born in North Korea.   *"Reimen" is the Morioka variation of Pyongyang "mul naengmyon," the North-Korean-styled cold watery buckwheat noodles, served cold, made with fresh beef stock that has been chilled.  Some restaurants in Morioka also serve the spicier "pibim-naengmyon."
Iwate Park		Iwate Park (岩手公園) is the site of the former Morioka-jo Castle, which was also known as "Kozukata-jo" Castle.  Now the park is a popular relaxing place for the citizens.  The municipal office of Morioka City has been starting a prize context for the new name of the park in 2006.
	mrk2005-006	(Tuesday 26 April) The cherry-blossoms are peeping out in the southwest of Iwate Park
	mrk2004-138	(Wednesday 8 September) "Kenji [Miyazawa's] Shimizu" (賢治の清水; Kenji's Well), Osawagawara (southern edge of Iwate Park).  When Kenji Miyazawa (poet and writer of juvenile literature, 1896-1933) and his brother boarded with Mr.Tamai's in Osawagawara in 1917, they often used the public well (now in the abutting parking lot).
	mrk2004-092	(Sunday 22 August) Iwate Park (former Kozukata Castle).  Since the two lords of Nambu, the 26th lord Nobunao and the 27th lord Toshinao began to build Kozukata Castle in 1598, Morioka flourished under the reign of Nambu lords between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries.  Today the castle ruins are maintained as Iwate Park and are appreciated by people as a place for recreation and relaxation.
	mrk2004-133	(Wednesday 8 September) The "invisible" equestrian statue of First Lieutenant Toshinaka Nambu (南部 利祥),the 42nd Nambu prince (1891-1905), Iwate Park (former Kozukata Castle).  The statue was designed by Taketaro Shinkai and erected in 1908 by the citizens who were deeply impressed with the prince's glorious death in action in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905.   In the time of "Boshin-senso," the civil war in 1868-1869 after the Meiji Restoration, the Nambu clan supported the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Aizu clan and other Tohoku clans (except the Akita clan): after the decline of the Shogunate, many Tohoku clans were unexpectedly and infamously stigmatized as the "rebel army" by the Imperial army (the Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa and Hizen clans, etc.).  The citizens of the time believed that the prince's death in the service of the "Imperial Army of Japan" vindicated the Nambu clan's honor.   The statue was recycled as war materials in 1944.  According to the municipal authorities, they have no plan to rebuild the statue with the city budget because Toshinaka Nambu did not live in Morioka and govern this region, although he was a lineal descendant of the Nambu family.  Thus, only the plinth remains now.  In my personal opinion, this is the most lamentable statue in Morioka.
	mrk2004-098	(Sunday 22 August) Takuboku Ishikawa (石川 啄木)'s tanka monument in Iwate Park:      不来方のお城の草に寝ころびて   空に吸はれし   十五の心   (Kozukata no O-Shiro no Kusa ni Nekorobite)   (Sora ni Suwareshi)   (Jyugo no Kokoro)   Throwing myself down on the grass of Kozukata Castle,   I felt my halfling [15-year-old] heart   Assimilated into the sky.     (trans. Eishiro Ito)          For another translation of this poem, go to the Japanese Studies page.
	mrk2004-099	(Sunday 22 August) A monument of Inazo Nitobe (新渡戸稲造, 1862-1933), Iwate Park: "I do hope that I will be a bridge over the Pacific Ocean."  He told so for the first time in the viva-voce examination of Tokyo Imperial University at the age of 21.  For more information about Inazo Nitobe, go to the Inazo Nitobe page.
	mrk2004-105	(Sunday 22 August) Tsurugaike Pond, Iwate Park
	mrk2004-108	((Sunday 22 August) Sakurayama-jinjya Shrine, Uchimaru (adjacent to the north side of Iwate Park).  It was the tutelary deity of the Nambu clan since 1749.  Originally called "Awajimaru Daimyo-jin" and renamed to the present name in 1812.
Nakanohashi		Nakanohashi (中ノ橋)
	mrk2004-111	(Sunday 22 August) Nakanohashi Branch of Iwate Bank (former "Morioka Ginko"), Nakanohashi.  Designed by Kingo Tatsuno and Manji Kasai (born in Hiraizumi, 1863-1919) who also designed Tokyo Station and Bank of Japan Head Office, and completed in 1911.  No wonder if the bank building looks like Tokyo Station.  Kenji Miyazawa described this bank in the last part of his poem "Iwate Park" (100 Bungo Shiko 100-pen" or "One Hundred Literary-Styled Draft Poems").
	mrk2004-130	(Tuesday 8 September) Head office of Morioka Shinyo-Kinko (Credit Association of Morioka), Nakanohashi.  Designed by Manji Kasai (born in Hiraizumi, 1863-1919) who also designed Tokyo Station and "Morioka Ginko" (see above), and completed in 1926.
	mrk2004-148	(Tuesday 14 September) "Morioka Kenji -Takuboku Seishun-kan" (盛岡賢治啄木青春館; "Morioka Museum of the Adolescent Days of Kenji Miyazawa and Takuboku Ishikawa, Nakanohashi.  The building was formerly known as the old No. 90 Bank originally built in 1910.
	mrk2004-150	(Tuesday 14 September) The willow tree and the bricks were transferred from Ginza, Tokyo where a monument of Takuboku Ishikawa stands in front of the Asahi Shimbun headquarters Ishikawa once worked.  "Morioka Kenji -Takuboku Seishun-kan."
	mrk2004-112	(Sunday 22 August) "Hot Line Sakana-cho" a shopping arcade in Nakanohashi-dori Street.
Wanko-soba Eat		Azuma-ya (東屋) is a famous "wanko-soba" (わんこそば) restaurant founded in 1907 in Nakanohashi-dori Street.   "Soba" is a very common buckwheat vermicelli noodles over Japan.  There are many places famous for local "soba" over the country.  However, "wanko-soba" of Morioka is different from others-- in that they are served in the local lacquered wooden cup called "Hidehira-wan" - only a mouthful of soba at one time.  "Wanko" means "wan" (cup) in Morioka dialect.  The hostess will keep putting another mouthful of soba into your cup until you finally put the lid on -which means "Maitta!" (It's enough!).   This custom is related to the characteristics of the local warm-hearted people.  This area had been a barren land because of the severe climate surrounded in mountains in Northern Japan.  Instead of eating cereal grains they had to live on barnyard grasses or noodles.  Naturally "soba" became an indispensable food for them.  When many guests visited a house on the special occations like a wedding and a funeral, "soba" had been usually served as the final dish.  However, as only ten cups of "soba" in the normal size can be cooked at one time with the standard caldron.  Finally, they got an idea of offering "soba" with small cups in a gluttonizing competition to entertain guests, so that they can cook another cup of "soba" on and on.   One cup of the standard "kake-soba" (simple soba with no ingredients in) is equivalent to 15 cups of "wanko-soba" according to "Azuma-ya."  On average, man can eat 50-60 cups of "wanko-soba" while woman can eat 30-40.  All Japan "Wanko-soba" Eat Championship (全日本わんこそば選手権) is annually held in either Morioka or Hanamaki.  Competitors will eat as many cups of "wanko-soba" as they can within 15 minutes.   The man's historical record is 559 cups made by Hirofumi Nakajima, Yamanashi in 1996.   The woman's record is 298 cups by a Morioka-native housewife Hatsuyo Sugawara (42) in 2006.  According to an Azumaya staff, the secret of gluttony success is not to drink the soup in the "wanko" but just to swallow each portion of "soba" without chewing or biting it.  Let's try "wanko-soba" eat!  Unlike other gluttony competitive eats, "wanko-soba" is very healthy digestible food unless you exceed your critical limit.
	mrk2007-001	(Friday 16 March) Two challengers (Hideya takahashi and Yasushi Takano, Iwate Prefectural University) in front of Azuma-ya
	mrk2007-003	(Friday 16 March) "Wise" Takano brings "Cabagin Kowa S" (a medicine for the stomach and bowels; a digestive), Azuma-ya
	mrk2007-004	(Friday 16 March) Two challengers are ready for the severe "wanko-soba" eat, Azuma-ya
	mrk2007-005	(Friday 16 March) "Wanko-soba" eat has already started: Now two challengers are going very good!
	mrk2007-006	(Friday 16 March) Takano follows in desperation!
	mrk2007-007	(Friday 16 March) The waitress is mercilessly keeping serving cups of "wanko-soba" urging forward them, "Hai, jyangjyang (or "don don)" (Hey, eat fast and hard!) and "Sore, mo-ippai!" (Here, one more cup!)
	mrk2007-009	(Friday 16 March) Short break: The merciless waitress is gone for bringing us more dozens of cups of "wanko-soba."  The two challengers are in victory-sign!  Actually, they are doing a very good job!  We are very proud of you!
	mrk2007-010	(Friday 16 March) The waitress is back-- but we don't want any more "wanko-soba," although we, brave men, are still struggling to go for it!  Takahashi has already eaten more than 100 cups while Takano is still making a great effort to finish the 100th cup!
	mrk2007-011	(Friday 16 March) After the eat fight, the waitress is counting cups and writing a certificate for each challenger.
	mrk2007-012	(Friday 16 March) Takano achieved his personal record of eating 100 cups!  He is proudly showing off his certificate and the honorable wooden tag given for those who eats more than 100 cups.
	mrk2007-013	(Friday 16 March) Takahashi ate "only 114 cups" today.  However, he won the second honorable wooden tag.
	mrk2007-014	(Friday 16 March) Two overachievers.  (I ate only 82 cups.)  In fact, we did not eat side dishes so much.  The "wanko-soba" eat costs 3,100 yen per person including side dishes and the official counting and certificate.
Hachiman-gu		"Hachiman" (八幡宮) is the Nambu clan's patron saint; they are said to be the descendents of the Gen-ji clan according to their genealogy.  Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine (盛岡八幡宮) was called Hatomori Hachiman-gu Shrine among Hito clan.  It was restored by the first lord of Nambu, Mitsuyuki, about 800 years ago.
	mrk2004-114	(Sunday 22 August) Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine
	mrk2004-116	(Sunday 22 August) Iwate Gokoku-jinjya Shrine, Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine.  This shrine was built for easing the souls of local war victims.
	mrk2004-118	(Sunday 22 August) Main Hall (Hon-do) of Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine
	mrk2004-119	(Sunday 22 August) Interior of Main Hall (Hon-do) of Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine
	mrk2004-120	(Sunday 22 August) Daikoku-sama & Ebisu-sama (two of "Seven Lucky Gods of Japan"), Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine.  "Daikoku" is an Indian God of Wealth, Commerce, Farmers, the Kitchen (Sanskrit "Mahakala").  "Ebisu" is a Japanese God of Fishermen, Rice Farmers, Good Fortune and Commerce.
	mrk2004-153	(Tuesday 14 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 1, Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine.  This three-day festival is said to have about 300-year-history: it began to celebrate the construction of the bourg of Morioka in 1709, and since then people have been holding the festival every year wishing for keeping the town safe from fire.
	mrk2004-154	(Tuesday 14 September)The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 1: The three-day festival begins on September 14.
	mrk2004-157	(Tuesday 14 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 1: The three-day festival begins on September 14.  Several traditional floats are paraded through the streets to the stirring rhythm of drums and chants.  This year (2004) seven teams draw their seven "Dashis" (festival cars or pageants) around the old town (Hachiman-cho, Sakana-cho, Iwate Park, Chuo-dori, etc.).  This 'Dashi" is led by "Wa-gumi" (the No.11 Chapter).
	mrk2004-159	(Tuesday 14 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 1: The three-day festival begins on September 14.  Several traditional floats are paraded through the streets to the stirring rhythm of drums and chants.  This 'Dashi" is led by "Wa-gumi" (the No.11 Chapter).
	mrk2004-164	(Thursday 16 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 1: The three-day festival begins on September 14.  Several traditional floats are paraded through the streets to the stirring rhythm of drums and chants.  This 'Dashi" is led by "Ha-gumi" (the No.1 Chapter).
	mrk2004-165	(Thursday 16 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 1: The three-day festival begins on September 14.  Several traditional floats are paraded through the streets to the stirring rhythm of drums and chants.  This 'Dashi" is led by "Ha-gumi" (the No.1 Chapter).
	mrk2004-173	(Thursday 16 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 3: The three-day festival ends on September 16.  This is called "Yabusame" (ceremonial archery from a galloping horse), held in the precincts and each archer dressed as a samurai lashes the horse one by one and fires on horseback three arrows at three targets.  During the Edo Period the Nambu clan especially encouraged samuirai to play this sport because this district was a famous horse-breeding center.
	mrk2004-175	(Thursday 16 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 3: The three-day festival ends on September 16.  This is called "Yabusame" (ceremonial archery from a galloping horse), held in the precincts and each archer dressed as a samurai lashes the horse one by one and fires on horseback three arrows at the three targets.  During the Edo Period the Nambu clan especially encouraged samuirai to play this sport because this district was a famous horse-breeding center.
	mrk2004-177	(Thursday 16 September) The Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine Festival Day 3: The three-day festival ends on September 16.  This is called "Yabusame" (ceremonial archery from a galloping horse), held in the precincts and each archer dressed as a samurai lashes the horse one by one and fires on horseback three arrows at the three targets.  During the Edo Period the Nambu clan especially encouraged samuirai to play this sport because this district was a famous horse-breeding center.
Chaguchagu Umako		"Chaguchagu Umako" (チャグチャグ馬コ) is held just before summer arrives.  During the event, decorative working horses carry small children on their backs and parade along a 15-kilometer route starting at Onikoshi Sozen-jinjya Shrine, Takizawa Village and finishing at Morioka Hachiman-gu Shrine.  This event attracts many spectators every year.     The name "Chaguchagu" is derived from the onomatopoeia of cracking sounds of the gorgeous horse ornaments in the procession: It is the harmony of the big "Nariwas" (Ringing Rings) and many small and big bells attached to the ornaments.   Further information and more photos are available: go to the "Chaguchagu Umako" page.
	tkz2005-002	(Saturday 1 June) Stone Gate (Outer Torii) of Onikoshi Sozen-jinjya Shrine
	tkz2005-008	(Saturday 1 June) Sacred Horses' Hall, Onikoshi Sozen-jinjya Shrine
	tkz2005-013	(Saturday 1 June) "Hon-do" (Main Hall) of Onikoshi Sozen-jinjya Shrine: A horse and a boy comes to worship the god.
	tkz2005-030	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, Ukai, Takizawa
	tkz2005-037	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, Ukai, Takizawa
	tkz2005-040	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, Ukai, Takizawa
	tkz2005-043	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, Ukai, Takizawa
	tkz2005-044	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, Ukai, Takizawa
	mrk2005-018	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, O-dori Street, Morioka
	mrk2005-025	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade, O-dori Street, Morioka
	mrk2005-031	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade in front of the Nakanohashi Branch of Bank of Iwate, Nakano-hashi Bridge, Morioka
	mrk2005-036	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade in front of the old 90th Bank (now "Morioka Takuboku / Kenji Seishun-kan" Museum), 1-1-26 Nakanohashi-dori, Morioka
	mrk2005-039	(Saturday 1 June) The Chaguchagu Umako parade in Hachiman-cho, Morioka
Tenman-gu		Morioka Tenman-gu Shrine (盛岡天満宮), Shinjo-cho (foundation date unknown; moved here in 1679).  It enshrines Michizane Sugawara (845-903) as the deity of academics.  Two Tenman-gu shrines are very famous: Dazai-fu Tenman-gu Shrine, Fukuoka and Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto.  There are some to see here including "Ishiwari Ume" (the "Rock Splitting Japanese-Apricot Tree").<
	mrk2004-121	(Sunday 22 August) Morioka Tenman-gu Shrine, Shinjo-cho
	mrk2004-122	(Sunday 22 August) "Ishiwari Ume" (石割梅; the "Rock Splitting Japanese-Apricot Tree"), Morioka Tenman-gu Shrine, Shinjocho
	mrk2004-123	(Sunday 22 August) "Komainu" ("Foo Dog," donated by Genjiro Takahata in 1905), Morioka Tenman-gu Shrine, Shinjo-cho.  This "Komainu" is loved by the local people, especially Takuboku Ishikawa (石川 啄木).  He described this foo dog in his short novel "Souretstu" ("A Fineral Procession," first appeared in the literary magazine, Myojo, (『明星』) December 1906) and in two tanka poems.      夏木立中の杜の石馬も   汗する日なり   君をゆめみむ   (Natsu-kodachi Naka-no-Sha no Sekiba mo)   (Ase-suru Hi nari)    (Kimi wo Yumemin)   Even today in summer   When the stone horse* sweats   In the shrine grove,   I think of you.   (from Ichiaku no Suna [『一握の砂』; A Fistful of Dust, 1910])     (trans. Eishiro Ito)      松の風夜昼ひびきぬ   人訪はぬ山の祠の   石馬の耳に   (Matsu no Kaze Yachu Hibikinu)   (Hitotazuwanu Yama-no-Hokora-no)    (Sekiba no Mimi ni)   The pine trees rustle in the wind by day and by night   Resounding in the ears of the stone horse*   In the empty garden of the mountain shrine.   (from Ichiaku no Suna [『一握の砂』; A Fistful of Dust, 1910])     (trans. Eishiro Ito)      *Somehow Ishikawa described this "Komainu" as the "Sekiba" ("stone horse"), though I do not know why.
	mrk2004-124	(Sunday 22 August) Main Hall (Hon-do) of Morioka Tenman-gu Shrine, Shinjo-cho
	mrk2004-127	(Sunday 22 August) Takuboku Ishikawa's tanka monument in Morioka Tenmang-u Shrine, Shinjo-cho.  It is inscribed with one verse from Ichiaku no Suna (A Fistful of Dust, 1910):      病のごと   思郷のこころ湧く日なり   目にあおぞらの煙かなしも   (Yamai no goto)   (Shikyo no Kokoro Waku Hi nari)   (Me ni Aozora no Kemuri Kanashi mo)   As if I were sick   Only a longing for home arises today.   A smoke that flows in the blue sky appears sadly to my eyes.     (trans. Eishiro Ito)      This location, known as "Hill of Tenjin" in his time, was chosen because Ishikawa often came here to walk and think about his writings.
Shibutami		Shibutami, Tamayama Ward, Morioka City (盛岡市玉山区渋民) is Takuboku Ishikawa Country.  Hajime Ishikawa (石川 一, 1886-1912), the real name of Takuboku, was born on February 20, 1886 at Nissho-san Jyoko-ji Temple (日照山 常光寺; a Soto-shu sect temple; 曹洞宗の寺), Hinoto Village, County Minami Iwate (南岩手郡日戸村;now Hinoto, Tamayama Ward, Morioka City; 盛岡市玉山区日戸).  His father Itsutei Ishikawa (石川一禎, 1850-1927) was a Buddhist priest.  In March 1887 when Itsutei became the chief priest of Mannen-san Hotoku-ji Temple (万年山宝徳寺; a Soto-shu sect Temple), Shibutami Village (渋民村; now Shibutami, Tamayama Ward, Morioka), the family moved there.  Takuboku lived in Shibutami until March 1895 when he graduated from Shibutami Normal Elementary School (渋民尋常小学校) at the age of nine.  They he moved to his uncle's house in Morioka to go to Morioka Higher Elementary School (盛岡高等小学校) and Iwate Morioka Normal Middle School (岩手盛岡尋常中学校; renamed 岩手県盛岡中学校; now 岩手県立盛岡第一高等学校).   Takuboku seems to have spent a happy childhood days in Shibutami.  His mother Katsu Kudo (工藤カツ, 1847-1912) spoiled their only son with abundant affection in every way she could according to his younger sister Mitsuko (光子).  Takuboku's two elder sisters Sada (さだ) and Tora (とら) also took good care of their brother, which gradually made his arrogant character.  Everything went well in Shibutami, comparing with his later fugitive and troublesome days.  He never forgot his happy early days in Shibutami during his short stormy life.
	mrk2007-016	(Wednesday 6 June) The first tanka monument dedicated to Takuboku Ishikawa (built by his fellow country men including his ex-pupils in April 1922), Shibutami Park along the Kitakami River, Tamayama
	mrk2007-017	(Wednesday 6 June) The inscription of the above monument quoted from Takuboku Ishikawa's Ichiaku no Suna [『一握の砂』; A Fistful of Dust, 1910]), Shibutami Park, Tamayama:      やはらかに柳あをめる   北上の岸辺目に見ゆ   泣けとごとくに   (Yawaraka ni Yanagi-aomeru)   (Kitakami no Kishibe Meni-miyu)   (Nake-to-gotoku-ni)   Gently, green willows* bend to the wind   Along the bank of the Kitakami River in my eye,   As if those urged me to weep and cry.     (trans. Eishiro Ito)      *Many researchers assume that Takuboku wrote this poem with the image of the late March or early April when willows are budding in Tokyo or western Japan.  However, here in Shibutami in northern Japan, it must be later than early May, after cherry blossoms blooming (early May in Takuboku's time), when willows are budding and becoming fresh green little by little.
	mrk2007-021	(Wednesday 6 June) Tsurugai-bashi Bridge across the Kitakami River, Shibutami, Tamayama.  The original bridge was constructed in the fourth year of Ansei (安政4年) or AD 1857.  In the 30th year of Meiji (明治30年) or AD 1897, Takematsu Takeda (竹田竹松) of Shimoda Community (下田部落) who saw a stylish suspension bridge near Sendai, constructed the first modern suspension bridge of this area, which enabled people cross over the wild Kitakami River easily.  The present bridge was reconstructed in the 59th year of Showa (昭和59年) or AD 1984.   Whenever Takuboku went on a trip by train, he always crossed this bridge and walked south for about 30 minutes along the railroad to Koma Station (好摩駅).  The original bridge was located a little downstream from here.   Takuboku wrote about this bridge in his poem titled "Tsurugai-bashi ni Tachite" (鶴飼橋に立ちて; "Standing at Tsurugai-bashi Bridge") in his first poetry collection Akogare (Adoration; あこがれ [1905]).      (橋はわがふる里渋民の村、北上の流に架したる吊り橋なり。岩手山の眺望を以て郷人賞し措かず。春暁夏暮いつをいつとも別ち難き趣あれど、我は殊更に月ある夜を好み、友を訪ふてのかへるさなど、幾度かここに低回微吟の興を擅にしけむ。) (The bridge is a suspension bridge crossing the Kitakami River in my native place, Shibutami Village.  Local people ungrudgingly admire the bridge with the landscape of Mt. Iwate.  Anytime, even in any spring dawn or in any summer evening, it is hard to leave here.  I especially like a moonlight night.  I often came here, like, after visiting my friends, humming and lingering here to my fancies.)      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       [The fifth stanza]   尊ときやはらぎ破らじとか   夜の水遠くも音沈みぬ。   そよぐは無限の生の吐息、   心臓のひびきを欄につたへ、   月とし語れば、ここよ永久の   詩の領朽ちざる鶴飼橋。     [The rest is omitted.]   Although it tries to break the holy gentleness,   The sound of the night water goes to the bottom.   It is a sigh of the infinite life that quivers   And conveys my heartbeat to the fields.   In talking to the moon, this is the eternal   poetic territory, the immortal Tsurugai-bashi Bridge.     (trans. Eishiro Ito)
	mrk2007-022	(Wednesday 6 June) Tsurugai-bashi Bridge across the Kitakami River near the above tanka monument, Shibutami, Tamayama.  As the above poem indicates, this bridge is "the eternal poetic territory" for young Takuboku.  For Takuboku, this bridge was l'arc en ciel (the rainbow) across the borderline (the Kitakami River) between his native place Shibutami and other places (especially Tokyo) to grant his literary ambitions.
	mrk2007-023	(Wednesday 6 June) "The bank of the Kitakami River" Takuboku referred to in his tanka poem (see above), viewed from Tsurugai-bashi Bridge, Shibutami, Tamayama
	mrk2007-024	(Wednesday 6 June) The Kitakami River, Shibutami, viewed from Tsurugai-bashi Bridge, Tamayama
	mrk2007-025	(Wednesday 6 June) The Kitakami River with Mt. Iwate (岩手山) in the background, viewed from Tsurugai-bashi Bridge, Shibutami, Tamayama
Lake Gando		"Gando-ko" (岩洞湖; Lake Gando) is located in the northern part of the new Morioka City or east of Mt. Himekami: Sotoyama, Yabukawa, Tamayama (40 kilo meters north of the city centre).  Yabukawa is known as the coldest place of "Honshu" or the main Japanese Island (700 meters above the sea-level): The record is -35.0 Centigrade (January 26th 1945).  So in mid-winter people enjoy fishing "wakasagi" (the pond-smelt) digging iceholes on Lake Gando.   Lake Gando is not a natural lake: It is an artificial lake completed in 1964 as a dam for reclaming waste land around Mt. Iwate and generating electricity.  Two power stations here began to work in 1960.  Since the construction Lake Gando has been bearing those two important roles.
	mrk2005-058	(Friday 30 September) "Gando-ko" (Lake Gando), Sotoyama, Yabukawa, Tamayama
	mrk2005-059	(Friday 30 September) "Gando-ko" (Lake Gando), Sotoyama, Yabukawa, Tamayama
	mrk2005-060	(Friday 30 September) "Gando-ko" (Lake Gando), Sotoyama, Yabukawa, Tamayama

        

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