By Ines Keane
Yellow fruit above white plaster. That is the picture the city of Hagi chooses for its castle town, and it hides a small story about money. The trees were planted because the samurai ran out of it.
Where it sits
Wikipedia’s article on the city places Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture, facing the Sea of Japan with mountains on three sides. Nippon.com, a Japanese news and culture site, adds that the castle town stands on a delta island at the mouth of the Abu River and has three areas: the castle district, the samurai district and the merchant district. Wikipedia gives the population as 43,233 on 30 April 2023, down from 97,744 in 1955.
The castle that was taken down
According to Wikipedia’s article on Hagi Castle, the MÅri clan built it between 1604 and 1608, on the order of the Tokugawa shogunate, near the shore. In 1874 the new Meiji government had most of the buildings demolished. The article says the stone walls of the central and hilltop areas are largely intact. Nippon.com says the same demolition was by government order in 1874 and puts the ruins within a park at the foot of a hill it calls Mount Shizuki, 143 metres high. Wikipedia calls the hill Mount Shigetsu and gives 150 metres. We report both names and both heights.
A town left largely as it was
Wikipedia says the castle town was declared a National Historic Site in 1967 and “remains largely intact and unchanged from the end of the Edo Period”. The tourism board’s page on the samurai district says the street layout has not changed since the Edo period and names two preserved residences: Kikuya, with a rock garden, and Kubota, noted for its Edo-period kitchen. It says the cross-hatched walls of one alley inspired the Hagi flag, and that the town holds a Kimono Week each October, when bamboo lanterns line the streets at night.
The oranges
The City of Hagi’s own web page says summer oranges were first grown in Hagi after the Meiji Restoration, to support samurai who had lost their stipends and fallen into poverty. Empty samurai residences with large grounds became orchards, which the page calls the first such effort of its kind in Japan. Growers were doubtful at first, but by 1886 the town was almost filled with the trees, and income from fruit and seedlings began to exceed the town’s public finances. White blossom fills the town from early to mid-May.
A pottery from 1604
Wikipedia dates Hagi ware to 1604, when two Korean potters were brought to Hagi by MÅri Terumoto. JAANUS, an academic dictionary of Japanese art terms, names them as the brothers Yi Gyeong and Yi Jak-gwang. It says Hagi pots are rarely painted and rely on wood-ash glazes, and that a clay found in 1717 changes colour and texture in the kiln. Wikipedia adds that the fine crackle in the glaze is called kan-nyuu, and that the glaze darkens as the porous surface takes in tea or sake. It gives the saying “Raku first, Hagi second and Karatsu third” for tea wares.
Dates in order
- 1604 to 1608: Hagi Castle built, according to Wikipedia.
- 1604: Hagi ware begins, according to Wikipedia and JAANUS.
- 1717: the clay named in JAANUS is discovered.
- 1874: most of the castle demolished, according to Wikipedia and Nippon.com.
- 1886: the town almost filled with summer orange trees, according to the City of Hagi.
- 1967: castle town declared a National Historic Site, according to Wikipedia.
Side by side
The MÅri clan ruled from Hagi for 250 years, says Wikipedia’s city article. The city’s World Heritage page says the castle town served as the domain’s centre for 260 years. Wikipedia’s castle article gives 1924 in its opening and 1951 in its body for the ruins’ Historic Site designation. On the base of Hagi bowls, Wikipedia says a chip was made deliberately so pieces could be sold to merchants; JAANUS says a wedge was often cut into the foot, and links damaged pieces to sales to commoners. We choose none of these. Our reading: a pottery once reserved for one family leaves a trace in its own shape. That inference is ours.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia, which anyone can edit; a municipal website; a tourism board page; a news and culture site; and an academic dictionary. We read no kiln or museum page.
What we left out
Rebellion, executions and war, which several pages mention. Transport, hours and prices. Names of living potters.
Quick answers
How long did the MÅri clan rule from Hagi? According to Wikipedia, 250 years. The City of Hagi’s World Heritage page says the castle town was the domain’s centre for 260 years.
Why does Hagi have summer orange trees? The City of Hagi says they were first grown after the Meiji Restoration to support samurai who had lost their stipends.
What is kan-nyuu? Wikipedia says it is the fine crackle web in Hagi ware glaze, formed as the glaze shrinks faster than the clay while cooling.
Related on this site: autumn-leaves-koyo-momijigari-japan-forecast, japanese-chopsticks-hashi-wakasa-nuri-etiquette, densan-mark-traditional-craft-japan-designation
Roam first. Shop later.