2020-07-12 | Japanese Countryside Travel Notes

2020-07-122020-07-12

Safflower is the most important trade item in the Edo period

It is often said that beautiful things have thorns.

It’s not about women. It is safflower. ! Roses, which have almost the same origin in the world, have thorns, but safflowers belonging to the Asteraceae family are injured when harvesting.
There is a legend that the young girl who is harvesting safflower bleeds from her hands with the thorns, which makes the color even more crimson. They have the sadness that they cannot use the lipstick made from safflower for themselves because the safflower is the most important trade item.

Why do safflowers turn crimson color when they are blooming yellow? Actually, when I brought back the safflower to dry flower, the flower turned crimson without doing anything. It is said to turn crimson by melting yellow pigment off by water and then fermenting the remaining ingredients. Then the safflower shaped as rice cake was exported to Kyoto and Osaka via the Kitamae ship down the Mogami River. It seems that Mogami (Yamagata) brand safflower was as valuable as gold.

The Safflower Museum in Kahoku town is the former site of the building of a merchant who made a fortune in handling safflower, and you can also see the production of safflower.

museum entrance

kahokucyo museum

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Heavenly Paradise: Mt.Gassan surrounded by alpine plants and ponds (Gassan 8th station)

There is Mt.Gassan 8th station at the end of the winding uphill. The Midagahara Marsh, ‘Heavenly paradise’, is spreading there. I feel like jumping into the Shonai plain overlooking the Sea of Japan. It takes 3 hours from here to the mountaintop shrine

entrance to gassan

snow gassan

alpine1

alpine2

pond

bird

chokaisan from gassan

parking space 8th station

This is also a paradise for common ducks

common duck1

common duck2

common duck3

common duck4

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exhausted 2446 stone steps with about 600 old cedar trees to reach Mt. Haguroyama and a traditional tea house in an exquisite location on the way

Unfortunately, it is downhill to the five-storied pagoda, National treasure. But you can meet the 1000 year old grandfather ceder. In 2019, we had a special visit inside the pagoda. The octagonal core was tied to the surrounding skeleton with a kudzu vine. (>click photos)

haguroyama zuishinmon

old grandfather ceder

five storied pagoda

octagonal pillar inside

special visit inside

buddha on the roadside

Uphill surrounded by old cedars feels sacred air, not just forest bath. But it is hard to climb the 2446 stone steps at once. There is a traditional tea house in an exquisite place. And you can overlook the flat Shonai plain facing the Sea of Japan. If the weather is very nice, you can see Tobishima island over the Shonai plain. (>click photos)

stone steps start

stone step on the way

stone step upto tea house

chikaramochi and tokoroten

shonai plain

view tobishima island over plain

We finally reached the summit of Mt. Haguroyama. It took 50 minutes without a break from the foot. It is difficult to go to the other two mountains, so it is also secular that the three gods are enshrined together here.
It seems that the belfry was built as a thank-you for praying for the invasion of Mongolia during the Kamakura period. (>click photos)