Deep Toyama you don't know about - A tour of Etchu Manyo poems

Walking around Fushiki, the town where Otomo no Yakamochi lived

Otomo no Yakamochi served as the governor of the province in Fushiki, Takaoka City, where the provincial capital (government office) was located. You can trace Yakamochi's footsteps and experience the era when the provincial capital was located at Shokoji Temple and Takaoka City Fushiki Meteorological Museum (formerly Fushiki Weather Observatory).

At Takaoka City Fushiki Meteorological Museum (former Fushiki Weather Observatory), located about a three-minute walk from JR Himi Line's Fushiki Station, there is a monument marking the site of the Kunimori residence. The Fushiki Meteorological Museum is a meteorological museum, and the elegant Western-style building built in the Meiji period remains intact.
A few minutes' walk away is Shokoji Temple, which was recently designated a national treasure in December 2022.

Shokoji Temple is a Jodo Shinshu Honganji temple, and its main hall, a national treasure, was built with the support of Maeda Harunobu, the 11th head of the Maeda family, and donations from its followers. Many buildings have been built within the vast 30,000m2 site, and have been in use since the Edo period. However, damage caused by age had not been able to be avoided, and the "Heisei Great Repair" took 23 years to restore the temple to its Edo period beauty.
As a result, of the 12 buildings that were designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan, two buildings, the Main Hall and the Great Hall and Ceremonial Platform, were elevated to National Treasure status.
There is also a monument with a poem from the Manyoshu on the grounds. It is a famous spot in Takaoka that is visited by many people.

A little further up the mountain, there is the "Takashi no Miharashi" of "Kita Shrine," a scenic spot overlooking Toyama Bay. On a clear day, it is a high point from which you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Tateyama mountain range, Fushiki Port, and Shinminato.
The stairs are a bit tough, but it's worth the climb. Keta Shrine is the most revered shrine in Etchu Province, so you should definitely visit before heading home.

Shokoji Temple

Keta Shrine

Walk along Etchuhama Street and end your trip with a taste of the Japanese sweets "Tokonatsu"

To conclude our Manyoshu journey, we visited "Amaharashi," a popular tourist spot with a roadside station.
The view from Amaharashi Beach, with the Tateyama mountain range visible across the sea, is rare across the country and is also famous as a symbolic view of Toyama.
The "Etchuhama Orai" that continues from the aforementioned Shinminato area is a road that Otomo no Yakamochi also walked, and there are many places where he composed many poems during his inspection of Etchu Province. In addition, it is a scenic coast with a view of Mt. Tateyama and Himi City in Toyama Prefecture against the backdrop of symbolic strange rocks such as "Yoshitsune Rock" and "Otokoiwa Rock" and "Onnaiwa Rock", and is crowded with many people with cameras and smartphones.
Amaharashi is the site of "Shibutani," a place mentioned in the Man'yoshu poems, and if you stroll along Hamaori, you can read explanations of the Man'yoshu on guide signs. There is also a monument to the poem on the grounds of the Amaharashi Roadside Station, making it a spot where you can immerse yourself in the world of the poem while actually looking at the scenery in front of you.

Next, we headed to "Yamamachisuji" in the center of Takaoka city. This area, with its rows of large old houses and storehouses, is designated as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings (Judenken).
Here you will find a historic Japanese sweets shop called "Oonoya," which sells Japanese sweets themed around the Man'yoshu.
Tokonatsu, named after a poem written by Ise no Kata no Ie after seeing the beautiful Mt. Tateyama, "Even though I look at the snow falling on Mt. Tateyama in perpetual summer, I never tire of it, as if it were from God," is a Japanese confectionery made with white azuki beans from Okayama Prefecture and wasanbon from Shikoku. It is made by hand-sprinkling wasanbon, which resembles the snow that falls on Mt. Tateyama, on small, rounded rice cakes. Takaoka was a thriving commercial town with a lot of people coming and going, and high-quality products from all over the country were gathered there, making it possible to obtain rare and precious ingredients. Its small and elegant size was also rare at the time, and it has been a popular item in the store since it was developed in the Meiji period. It is bite-sized and easy to eat, and its smooth texture and exquisite softness make it so delicious that you will want to eat one after another.
The store offers a variety of flavors perfect for a journey through the Manyoshu, including Takaoka Ramune, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and is made using molds made from rakugan and wasanbon sweets, as well as Tagoto and Echigoe Utamochi, which also have Man'yoshu motifs.

As you walk through the city of Takaoka, you can come across events related to the Manyoshu and things that embody the beautiful world of the poems.
In early October, the "Man'yoshu Complete 20 Volumes Recitation Event" will be held at Takaoka Castle Park, where local residents will recite all 4,516 poems from the complete 20 volumes of the Man'yoshu, one poem at a time, over the course of three days.
Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, is filled with many things related to the Manyoshu, such as stone monuments, Takaoka Manyo Karuta, the Japanese sweet "Tokonatsu," and this recitation event. This trip gave me a strong sense of how much the city loves the Manyoshu, Japan's first literary work, and how deeply it has taken root.

Roadside Station Amaharashi

Ohnoya

Takaoka Castle Park

[Takaoka Manyo Festival]
Takaoka City Tourism and Exchange Division Takaoka Manyo Festival Executive Committee Secretariat
Phone: 0766-20-1301