Japan Heritage story
Tsuwano: walk into a book of 100 old paintings
津和野今昔
At the end of the Edo era, an artist painted 100 scenes of the small castle town of Tsuwano. About half of them can still be seen today, so you can walk the town with the old pictures in hand.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Sea and waterside, Festivals and rituals
- Era
- Edo
- Region
- Chugoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 津和野今昔
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～百景図を歩く～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 島根県（津和野町）
The story
Tsuwano sits in a valley ringed by mountains in western Shimane. For the Kamei family, its old lords, the tea servant Kurimoto Satoji spent three years and eight months painting Tsuwano Hyakkeizu, the 100 Views of Tsuwano, with notes on places, customs and food. It shows the town as two boys knew it: the writer Mori Ogai and the thinker Nishi Amane, who walked along the river to the domain school every day, reading as they went.
Through railways and new roads, local leaders worked to keep the town looking as it did in the pictures. About half the scenes and events can still be seen.
What to see
- Tonomachi street: the Yorokan domain school and old senior retainers' houses, close to the Tsuwano River, where carp swim as they did in the paintings.
- Tsuwano Castle ruins: the stone walls that appear in 11 of the 100 paintings.Google Maps 津和野城跡 (opens in a new tab)
- Yasaka Shrine: where the elegant heron dance, Sagi-mai, is performed at the summer Gion festival.Google Maps 弥栄神社 津和野 (opens in a new tab)
- Washibara Hachimangu: horseback archery under the cherry blossoms in spring.Google Maps 鷲原八幡宮 (opens in a new tab)
Most of the scenes lie within about 3 km by 1.5 km, so walking or cycling is the best way to see them. More castles across Japan.
Good to know
- Visit during a festival to see a scene from the paintings come to life, such as the heron dance or the masked Bon dance.
- The town is compact: rent a bicycle and give it a full, slow day.
- Fans of Mori Ogai can see the area he described in his writing about his childhood.
Questions travellers ask
What is the Tsuwano Hyakkeizu?
A set of 100 paintings with notes, made for the former lords of Tsuwano, that records the town's places, festivals and food at the end of the Edo period.
How long do I need in Tsuwano?
Most of the sights lie within a small area around the castle, so one full day on foot or by bicycle is enough.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Fukiya: the birthplace of Japan Red
- Iwami kagura: gods and demons dance the old myths
- Iwami's volcanoes: Jomon forest and silver mountain in Oda
- Izumo: the sacred land where the sun sets
- Izumo's tatara: a thousand years of making iron
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Masuda: a medieval masterpiece of Japan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.