We got to Oosaki-shimojima island, passing over three bridges from Okamurajima island, just like a grasshopper jumps between islands. The direction for Kure City was right, but we turned left and dropped in at the Mitarai Area. It's because this district was a historic place. I was ashamed for not knowing this place. This site was very small and tiny on a trivial island, but the location had been ideal for mariners for a long time. When a fierce storm passes, the inside of this area was secure. I think you can imagine that from the first picture. So, Korean envoies had used this place as a stopping point on the way to Edo (former Tokyo in 1600-1868). There remains some Korea-related stuff here. The second picture is of the light house that was built in the 17th century. The monument in the third picture says that the whole area is a national preserved area. Naturally, there was a licensed quarter and more than 100 prostitutes for mariners or travelers. The fourth picture is of the biggest house of profession, which was closed from the damage. The posts and beams seemed to be distorted and need to be repaired. Besides, there were so many nostalgic artifacts for Japanese, and that stuff would be fun for foreigners.
For reference: http://kumo.typepad.jp/wadachi/tobishima.html
(Vocabulary)
envoy 使節 公使
stopping point 中継地
licensed quarter 遊郭
prostitute 遊女
house of profession [delight, enjoyment] house of prostitutionの婉曲表現
post-and-beam construction 柱と梁の構造
artifact (人工）遺物
(KW: とびしま海道 大崎下島 平羅島 中の島 岡村島 御手洗 朝鮮通信使)
Comments