Japan Heritage Treasure House of Scenic Beauty Wakanoura

Hourai Rock in Wakaura can be reached on foot from the promenade west of Wakaura Fishing Port. Hourai means a mountain inhabited by a hermit who possesses the elixir of immortality, and it is famous as a power spot. I heard that many photographers come here to take pictures of the strangely shaped rocks. If you look closely, you can see the layers of the rocks. You can imagine that there used to be a large mass in the space where there should be no rocks. The shape of the rocks may be an expression of time itself.

【Wakayama Secret plum watching】

At the beginning of spring, there are full of masks and Kawazu Sakura everywhere. The smell of alchole sanitizer and plum blossom was in peak. At the second year of Reiwa, Wakayama city was full of red plum blossom in the warm breeze. In the past, people seeks for “popular places” for tourism, but now people seeks for “no people area”. Since there are too many people in Kyoto or Osaka, I rather choose secret quiet area Wakayama. Local Tourism Bureau asked me to promote “My Secret Wakayam”, which I translated as “私藏和歌山，趕在封關前去賞梅” in Chinese.

The seaside area of Wakayama called “Wakaura” is recognised as Japanese Heritage for its beautiful scenery. In Heian period, its beautiful scenery was already painted in Ukiyo-e, japanese traditional painting. It faces to the Wakayama bay with silent ocean in light wind, where little tourist visit. There are two secret shrine having beautiful scenery background. One is called Kishu Toshogu shrine where people worships Tokugawa Shogun, and the other is called Tenmangu shrine where people worships the god of study.

The shrine stands on half way up the mountain. Walking up 100 step stairs, you will find a boundless scenery of Wakaura with the aroma of plum blossom. My heart was covered with joy, watching branches of trees with full of pink red color! Without going through ice cold winter, plum tree won’t smell sweet. he aroma of plum tree coming from somewhere, thus spring won’t be too long from now. Being alone in beautiful silent scenery, I sang loud ” Oh plum tree fully decorate everywhere. The more cold the winter was the more flower it blooms. Plum tree’s strengh are like us, as powerful great china.”

Here is Japan, then why Great China? Those who young probably doesn’t know that our Chinese nationalism song “Plum blossom” was made in here Japan. Back in 1971, after Taiwan left United Nations, a famous singer Liu Chia-chang went Chinese embassy in Japan for protest, and shouted “Hail Taiwan” and made this song in that afternoon with excitement. That song named “Plum blossom” got popular at that time.In 2017, Liu Chia-chang said in Weibo that Taiwan independent politics has kept going, however in international society Taiwan has gone, so I rather change this lyric from “It is our country flower” into “It is our plum flower”, ending up making this lyrics no sense. Within 40 years everything can be changed, in 3000 years 18 dynasty has ended. Chinese people has been always causeing touble to themdelf.

和歌秘境賞梅

©︎項明生 James Hong