TID Travel Journal "A Daily Trip to Sumoto"   By TID, Winter 2009 update

Sumoto -The City of sea, mountain, river and history

In this issue, I would like to introduce Sumoto City on Awaji Island. The city has an area of 182.48 square kilometers and a population of 49,481 people. Sumoto was developed around the mouth of the Sumoto River as a castle town. It is the center of politics, economy, culture, and tourism on Awaji.
The island's main industries are agriculture (rice, lettuce, cabbages, Chinese cabbages, onions), dairy farming (dairy cattle, beef cow), fisheries (sea bream, abalone, turban shell, whitebait, sand eel, laver and wakame) and flowering plants (narcissus, camellia, carnation, sweet pees). There are many tourism spots like Ohama Beach with clear waters, white sands and beautiful pine trees. Sumoto Castle on Mt. Mikuma is covered with the rich green and commands a gratifying view of the city below it. The yacht harbor in Santo Pier Marina, the beautiful island of Naruga, the Tachikawa Narcissus Field, the Monkey Center, and the Senko Temple on Mt. Sen are all wonderful places to visit. It is well known for tourism and recreation throughout the year. Japanese style hotels flourish due to the discovery of a natural hot springs.

On a calm day in early December I visited Sumoto City, leaving from Kosoku Maiko on a highway bus.

First I visited the Hyogo Prefectural Government, Awaji District Administration Office and heard about the future programs for Tourism on Awaji Island. They are trying to further promote tourism with a tourism promotion organization. On the surface of a wall in the office building, there was a banner that said "Let's aim to make Awaji a Park Island."

Then I visited Sumoto Artisan Square, the site of old Kanegafuchi Spinning Co., Sumoto Factory buildings, one of the leading cotton spinning mills from about 100 years ago. Now the old buildings are refurbished and used as a restaurant, a library and an artisan square. These buildings are designated as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In front of the Sumoto City Awaji Island Museum there is a statue of Otose, a TV drama heroine. According to the story, she was born to a poor farm family and served as a maid-servant to the Kano family, supporters of Shogun. She fall in love with a man named Mitsugu Tsuda, a samurai who supported imperialism. Traditionally it is inexcusable for a maid to love a samurai because of the class system during the Edo period (1600-1868) called shi-no-ko-sho (samurai, farmer, artisan, and tradesman). It was made even more difficult when Mitsugu was hostile to her employers, the Kano family. Otose never gave up loving Mitsugu and eventually they were married. (Otose is a fictional character placed in a true historical setting.)

The Sumoto City Awaji Island Museum

The museum was established in 1982 as Awaji's most representative museum and shows the culture and history of Awaji. It consists of a large exhibition room of folk art and festivals, a history exhibition room, folk art, a crafts and literature room, and the Jikihara Gyokusei Memorial Galleries. Main exhibits are materials on archaeological history, local arts and crafts, and literature created by the climate and people living on the island.

Awaji Puppet Theater has been designated a National Important Cultural Property and the famous Minpei-yaki ceramic is worth seeing. On the second floor, the Jikihara Gyokusei Memorial Galleries display his works which are at the top of the Nanga Japanese School of painting as well as items related to his religious life of zen and haiku.

Later, I climbed to the top of Mt. Mikuma on foot. It took about 15 minutes. Sumoto Castle sits on the peak of the mountain, 133m above the sea level. The main tower of Sumoto Castle was reconstructed in 1928, but it still feels ancient because there are remains of the original castle and the stone walls, also a national treasure.

The views from the top of the mountain overlooking downtown Sumoto and Osaka Bay is marvelous. I took a break at the tea room there. Then I went back to downtown Sumoto and walked to Teramachi (temple town) located in the western part of the downtown area of the city. Seven temples are situated along this street.

After, I headed home on a bus from the Sumoto Bus Center bound for Maiko Station. I really enjoyed my trip and all the new things I learned.