Hokkaido Kudasai

Monday, January 5, 2026

I made five more little (16mm) hexagon flowers this week. Total 8.

Sunday, January 4, 2026

Outside of this castle is a shrine or a few shrines.

I decided not to wait for the castle to open at 9:00 am because of the train schedules and needing to travel a fair distance that day, so I just made do with walking around it.

This historical information comes from the J-Castle website -

Kuroda Yoshitaka was stationed here by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587. After the Battle of Sekigahara he was rewarded with greater lands in Fukuoka and replaced by Hosokawa Tadaoki. Hosokawa finished the construction of this castle and also built Kokura Castle. When Hosokawa Tadaoki moved to Kokura Castle he placed his son Tadatoshi in Nakatsu Castle. Following the Hosokawa, the Ogasawara Clan took over the castle and ruled until they were replaced by Okudaira Masashige in 1717. The Okudaira ruled until the Meiji Restoration.

This castle is said to be one of three great water castles in Japan. The inside of the castle serves as a historical museum about the Okudaira family, relatives of the Tokugawa family.

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Hiji Castle

The Hiji Castle area is now the location of some schools, but there are some buildings left.

Google translation of a sign

This is information from the J-Castle website -

In 1601, for his service during the Sekigahara campaign, Kinoshita Nobutoshi received a 30000 koku domain in Hiji. He began immediately to build a castle and it was mostly finished in 1602. His brother-in-law, Hosokawa Tadaoki, designed the castle layout. It consisted of a main bailey, where a 3 storey donjon stood, a second and third bailey. The Kinoshita ruled over Hiji until the Meiji restoration, when the castle buildings were auctioned and dismantled.

The Uramon Tower was built to protect the rear gate on the east side of the main bailey of Hiji Castle. In 1875 it was sold to the Tokunaga family and relocated to their grounds. In 2000, the Hiji Town Board of Education took over the rear gate tower, dismantled it, and preserved it, then carried out restoration work from June 2009 to March of the following year. In 2022, the interior of the tower was renovated to be used as a coworking space.

The Kimon yagura(turret), was located on the northeast side of the main enclosure. It had a unique appearance even among Hiji Castle. Its main feature is that it is missing a corner facing the direction of evil spirits (northeast). This is thought to have been done to prevent misfortune from entering from the direction of the demon gate by removing the corners. When it was built at Hiji Castle, it is said that the corners were also missing down to the stone wall below. It escaped demolition during the Meiji period and was relocated to the Nakamura family estate in Nio, but was acquired by the Nakamura family in 2009, dismantled, surveyed and preserved. Restoration work began in 2010 and took two years to complete, with completion on March 18, 2013. Such a tower with protection against evil spirits is rare across the country and can be considered a valuable historical building.

Both turrets, now, aren't in their original locations.

The Chidokan, or domain school was built in 1858, by order of the 15th Hiji domain daimyo Kinoshita Toshinori, in the ninomaru (second bailey). With the arrival of the Meiji era, Chidokan was closed with the abolition of the Hiji Domain. Afterwards, Chidokan was converted into the Yotani Girls' School, the Hiji Branch Office of the Kitsuki Ward Court, the Hiji Town Hall, the Hoashi Memorial Library, and other facilities. In 1950, the Chidokan was dismantled in conjunction with the construction of Hiji Junior High School, and the following year, the auditorium (main building) and main gate were moved to their current location as part of the project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Banri Hoashi. Chidokan is the only remaining building of a domain school in Oita Prefecture.

Friday, January 2, 2026

Friday Finish - Felt Fish

Four felt fish pins

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Year of the Horse

Happy New Year!

According to the 12 year cycle of the zodiac animals, this is the year of the horse.

Here are some interesting Japanese sayings which involve horses:

馬の耳に念仏—Uma no mimi ni nenbutsu. “To say a nenbutsu prayer in a horse’s ear” means to say something that is not understood or totally ignored, just as horses do not comprehend the chanting of the name of Amida Buddha in this form of prayer.

が合う—Uma ga au. The expression that “the horse matches well” is used for when people get on well with each other, based on the idea of riders being a good fit with their steeds.

人間万事塞翁が馬—Ningen banji saiō ga uma. “For humans, everything is like the horse belonging to the old man at the fort.” This proverb expresses the idea that life is unpredictable, and it is impossible to predict both good and bad fortune. It is based on a story about an old man in ancient China who lived at a border fort. One day, his horse ran away, but later returned with another fine breed of horse. The man’s son rode on the new steed, but fell and broke his leg. However, this turned out to be lucky as it meant he was not called up for war.

生き馬の目を抜く—Ikiuma no me o nuku. “To pluck an eye from a live horse” means to profit by sharp practices that may be legally dubious.

下馬評—Gebahyō. In former times, wherever people got off their horses, such as at castle gates or temples, retainers and others waiting for their masters would gossip to each other. This “dismounting talk” is used for idle rumors from people who are not directly involved with particular matters.

尻馬に乗る—Shiriuma ni noru. This phrase, either “to ride on the back end of a horse behind someone else holding the reins” or “to follow the back end of the horse walking in front,” is used for following other people’s words or actions without thinking for oneself.

馬脚をあらわす—Bakyaku o arawasu. “To reveal one’s horse’s legs” is to show one’s true colors or shortcomings.