Drive up towards
the Northwest from the center of Takahashi city. After going through a winding
road in the mountains for about 40 minutes, you will see a little red village
all of a sudden - it is Fukiya Furusato Village.
Fukiya Furusato Village
The reddish
roof tiles and plaster walls are tinted with “bengara”. The tone of the village
makes Fukiya certainly distinctive from other Japanese old townships.
What is bengara?
Bengara is color
pigment made from oxidized iron. In japan, bengara was first produced here in
Fukiya in 1707. It was in the middle of Edo period, the last feudal Japanese
military government lasted for about 300 years under Tokugawa shogunate. It is
said that “bengara” was named after a region’s name of India, Bengal, because
the pigment originally came from there.
From mid Edo
period to Meiji era, bengara manufacturing flourished in Fukiya, and wealthy
merchants invested a lot of money to build the beautiful houses along the main street. Fukuya was designated as one of the categories of Japanese historic
preservation called Groups of Traditional Buildings. It was the first site of its kind in Okayama prefecture.
Colors of bengara.
Thatched roof old house has been renovated to
a café.
It's a traditional Japanese house, but it
also looks like an old western house, maybe because of the reddish color of
bengara?
An Edo style house, Katayama house is open for public. Katayama family was a bengara manufacturer and merchant in Edo period.
Namako (Sea cucumber) wall. It is used for
warehouses to protect clay from rain damage. Slate tiles are reinforced with
the plaster joints. The shape of the joints look like sea cucumber that is why
this wall is called “Namako wall”. The slate tiles are tinted with bengara here
in Fukiya.
There used to be four bengara factories
around this area. All of them were closed down by 1974. One of those old
factories is now open as a bengara museum where you can see how bengara was
produced.
This is melanterite made of iron sulphate. It
is baked in an oven at 700 degrees for 1 or 2 day(s).
Inside of the factory is all reddish too.
Water is added to the baked material and it
is finely grinded with stone mills powered by a waterwheel. Finally it is
washed few dozen times to remove acid.
If you go to Fukiya by car, stop at a view
point called “Matsubara Kiri-no-umiTenbougaoka”. In a winter morning, you can see sea of
clouds.
Fikiya Furusato Village
Public transportation:
Local bus service from JR Bicchu
takahashi station (As of Feb. 1, 2017, operated by Bihoku bus)
Takahashi bus Center -> Fukiya
Dep. 10:50 Arr. 11:48
Dep. 13:50 Arr. 14:48
Dep. 18:00 Arr. 18:58
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fukiya -> Takahashi bus Center
Dep. 06:50 Arr. 07:48 (*Weekday only)
Dep. 07:15 Arr. 08:13 (*Sat, Sun and Holidays only)
Dep. 09:05 Arr. 10:03 (*Weekday only)
Dep. 12:48 Arr. 13:46
Dep. 15:45 Arr. 16:43
800 yen/One way
Comments
Post a Comment