Iga City (伊賀市) is a city located in the northwestern part of Mie Prefecture, Japan.  It became a city on November 1, 2004 as a result of the merger of the old city of Ueno (上野市); the towns of Iga (伊賀町) and Ayama, the villages of Shimagahara (島ヶ原村) and Oyamada (大山田村), all were in Ayama County (阿山郡); and the town of Aoyama (青山町), from Naga County (名賀郡).  The former towns, villages, and districts were abolished at the time of the merger.  Iga has a population of 96,984 and an area of 558.17 sq km (as of February 1, 2011).
  Before the merger, Iga was the name of a town, which now lies within the new city.  Earlier, it was the name of the province surrounding the present-day city.  As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 10,768 and a density of 173.65 persons per sq km.   The total area was 62.01 sq km.
  Iga is known as the birthplace of the haiku poet Basho Matsuo (松尾 芭蕉) and the home of the ninja Hanzo Hattori (服部 半蔵).  Two of Iga's main tourist attractions are the Iga Ueno Castle (上野城) and the adjacent Iga-ryu Ninja Museum (伊賀流忍者博物館).  There is also an annual Iga Ueno Ninja Festa (伊賀上野NINJAフェスタ) (from c. April 1 to c. May 5).  (Referred to the site of "Wikipedia.")
  

IMAGE

IMAGE NO.

DATA

JR Iga-Ueno Station

JR Iga-Ueno Station (伊賀上野駅) is located in Mita, Iga City (伊賀市三田).

mig2011-004

(Monday 14 March) Ninja dolls, JR Iga-Ueno Station, Mita, Iga City

mig2011-005

(Monday 14 March) Ninja dolls, JR Iga-Ueno Station, Mita, Iga City

mig2011-006

(Monday 14 March) Welcome Board to Iga-Ninja Country, JR Iga-Ueno Station, Mita, Iga City

Basho Memorial Museum

Basho Memorial Museum (芭蕉翁記念館) is located in Ueno Park (上野公園): The address is 117-13 Marunouchi, Ueno, Iga City (伊賀市上野丸之内117-13). It was founded in 1959 (昭和34年). Basho Matsuo (松尾 芭蕉, 1644 - November 28, 1694), born Kinsaku Matsuo (松尾 金作), then Chuemon Munafusa Matsuo (松尾 忠右衛門 宗房), was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Basho was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and within Japan many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Basho was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo [now Tokyo] he quickly became well-known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher, but renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements. (Referred to the site of "Wikipedia.")

mig2011-019

(Monday 14 March) Basho Memorial Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-020

(Monday 14 March) Basho Memorial Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

Iga-ryu Ninja Museum

Iga-ryu Ninja Museum (伊賀流忍者博物館) is located in Ueno Park (上野公園): The address is 106 Marunouchi, Ueno, Iga City (伊賀市上野丸之内106). It was founded in 1964 (昭和39年). The museum's collection includes ancient ninjutsu writings analyzed scientifically along with ancient ninjutsu weapons. The museum has audiovisuals, models and extensive static displays of the weaponry and techniques employed by ninja. There are over 400 ninja tools on display, including shuriken actually used in the time of the ninja. The museum also features a model village hosted by women in ninja costumes who assist in conducting tours and demonstrations of its features. Iga-ryu 伊賀流 (literally “the Iga School”) is a school of ninjutsu. It became one of the two most well-known ninja schools in Japan, along with the Koga-ryu (甲賀流). The Iga-ryu originated in the Iga Province in the area around the towns of Iga and Ueno (modern Iga City in Mie Prefecture). Iga-mono is a synonym for Iga ninja . Since the Nara Period, the Iga district had supplied lumber to jisha (寺社; the generic term of Japanese religious construction and tribe). But in the Kamakura Period, jisha declined in influence while shugo (守護; governors) and jito (地頭; manor administrators) grew dominant. The power of these functionaries then waned in Iga while that of bushi (武士; warriors) rose instead. Iga was divided in to local jizamurai (地侍) regions locked in guerrilla war for which Iga warriors developed specialized skills and tactics. The Koga-ryu school began in a similar way. During the early Muromachi Period, the people of Iga became independent of their feudal overlords and established a kind of republic--Iga Sokoku Ikki (伊賀惣国一揆) in Japanese. Iga-mono (伊賀者: Iga men) first appear in historical records in 1487 when the Shogun Yoshihisa Ashikaga (足利 義久) attacked Takayori Rokkaku (六角 高頼), the lord of southern Omi Province (近江の国) from the Rokkaku clan. Both Iga and Koga ninja fought on the side of Rokkaku, helping to successfully repel the shogun's attack. In 1579, warlord Nobunaga Oda (織田 信長)'s son Nobukatsu Oda (織田 信雄) launched an unsuccessful attack against the Iga Republic. In 1581, Nobunaga Oda himself attacked Iga from six directions with a force of 40 to 60 thousand men, about a ten to one advantage, and slaughtered many Iga ninja and their families. The Iga held only two castles when Nobunaga declared a ceasefire and allowed some of the ninja to escape. In 1582, during the turmoil following Nobunaga's death, Hanzo Hattori (服部 半蔵) advised Ieyasu Tokugawa (徳川 家康) to escape to Mikawa (三河) through the Koga and Iga regions. Ieyasu, when he became the shogun, employed ninja to guard Edo-jo Castle- - the headquarters of the Tokugawa Shogunate -- and to supply intelligence. He settled 200 men from the Iga-ryu in the Yotsuya (四谷) neighborhood of Edo (Tokyo). Hanzo's Gate (半蔵門) in Edo-jo Castle took its name from the nearby residence of the Hattori clan. Hanzo Hattori’s son Masanari Hattori (服部 半蔵 正成) commanded the castle's Iga guards but proved a less successful leader than his father. In 1606, the Iga men rebelled due to harsh treatment. They continued to serve the shogunate until Yoshimune Tokugawa (徳川 吉宗; ruled 1716-1745) dismissed all ninja from his intelligence network and replaced them with people from Kii province (紀伊の国). Iga ninja were trained in disguise, escape, concealment, explosives, medicines, poisons, unarmed combat, and a multitude of weaponry. They used scaling hooks for climbing and supposedly employed special water-walking shoes called "Mizugumo." The ninja of the Iga-ryu were divided into three classes: high ninjas (上人; jonin), middle ninjas (中人; chunin) and low ninjas (下人; genin). (Main reference: the site of "Wikipedia") See also the Koka City page.

mig2011-021

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-022

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-024

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-026

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-028

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-029

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-030

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-031

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-032

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-033

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-035

(Monday 14 March) "Mizugumo" (水蜘蛛; lit. "water spider"; a water crossing device used by ninja), Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City. (Courtesy of Iga-ryu Ninja Museum)

mig2011-037

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-038

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-040

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City. (Courtesy of Iga-ryu Ninja Museum)

mig2011-041

(Monday 14 March) Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in Ueno Park, Iga City. (Courtesy of Iga-ryu Ninja Museum)

Haisei-den

Haisei-den (俳聖殿) is located in Ueno Park (上野公園): The address is 117-4 Marunouchi, Ueno, Iga City (伊賀市上野丸之内117-4). It was founded for commemorating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Basho Matsuo (松尾 芭蕉) in 1942 (昭和17年). It has a statue of Basho Matsuo which is annually open to the public on October 12.

mig2011-049

(Monday 14 March) Haisei-den, in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-054

(Monday 14 March) Haisei-den, in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-056

(Monday 14 March) Haisei-den, in Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-058

(Monday 14 March) Haisei-den, in Ueno Park, Iga City

Iga-Ueno Castle

Iga-Ueno Castle (伊賀上野城) is located in Ueno Park (上野公園): The address is 1106 Marunouchi, Ueno, Iga City (伊賀市上野丸之内1106). It is also known as Hakuho-jo Castle (白鳳城). Construction on Iga-Ueno Castle began in 1585 by the command of Katsutoshi Takigawa (滝川 雄利). However, the honmaru, or innermost bailey, as well as the tenshu, or donjon, upon which the modern reconstruction was based were built by Katsutoshi's successor, Sadatsugu Tsutsui (筒井 定次). Sadatsugu was then succeeded by Takatora Todo (藤堂 高虎). Takatora renovated the hon-maru, giving it 30 meter (33 yard) high walls. This meant that the walls of the hon-maru of Iga-Ueno Castle were the tallest of any castle in Japan, a record that still holds. After the threat of rebellion passed, the castle was not seen as important as it once did. As a result, the tenshu was not re-built after it was destroyed by high winds in 1612. In 1935, the tenshu of Iga-Ueno Castle was re-constructed out of wood. It houses a museum which holds a collection of artifacts relating to the area's history. Most other parts of the castle lie in ruins, though the towering hon-maru (本丸) walls still stand. The castle is now a National Historic Site and preserved in Ueno Park. Parts of the Akira Kurosawa (黒澤 明) movie Kagemusha (『影武者』1980) were filmed at Iga-Ueno Castle. (Referred to the site of "Wikipedia.")

mig2011-062

(Monday 14 March) Stone approach to Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-063

(Monday 14 March) The stone wall of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-065

(Monday 14 March) A scene from Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-066

(Monday 14 March) The stone wall of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-068

(Monday 14 March) The stone wall of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-071

(Monday 14 March) The stone wall of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-072

(Monday 14 March) Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City. This stone inscription was written by Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成): "Young Riichi Yokomitsu, Remembering here and Composing here" (若き横光利一君/ここに想い/ここに歌ひき). Yokomitsu lived in Iga City between 1904 and 1914: He came here at the age of six and graduated from Daisan Middle School (三重県第三中学校; now Ueno High School [三重県立上野高等学校]) before he went to Waseda University (早稲田大学).

mig2011-075

(Monday 14 March) The donjon of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-076

(Monday 14 March) The donjon of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-078

(Monday 14 March) The donjon of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-079

(Monday 14 March) The donjon of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

mig2011-080

(Monday 14 March) The donjon of Iga-Ueno Castle, Ueno Park, Iga City

        

Copyright (c) 2011 Eishiro Ito.  All rights reserved.