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00:04Japan.
00:05Michael, welcome to Japan, a railway paradise.
00:08Its huge population spread over Long Islands lives by its railways.
00:13Too like I'm driving.
00:14My new adventure takes me through the land that launched the high-speed train.
00:19I love Shinkansen.
00:21Where millions of journeys are made each day through some of the most bustling stations on Earth.
00:27Busy city.
00:28I'll ride Japan's vast railway network to uncover a land of bold innovation.
00:35Haven't quite got the hang of it yet.
00:37A place of enduring traditions, volatile geology, and remarkable people.
00:44Kanpai.
00:45Join me on an excursion like no other.
00:48I'm too excited to sit down.
01:08This Shinkansen is carrying me towards the Japanese Alps, and this part of my journey will end amongst mountain peaks.
01:16I'll investigate an artist who created a wave that washed across the world.
01:23I'll nosily explore a pungent Japanese condiment, and I'll strut amongst buildings unchanged in appearance since the age of the
01:33samurai.
01:35The first leg of my journey across the biggest of Japan's four main islands, Honshu, is reaching its conclusion.
01:42Having explored cities in the center and on the northern coast at Kanazawa, I'm now in the Japanese Alps, where
01:49I'll stop in Nagano, Hazu Mino, and conclude in Narai-juku.
02:03I'm arriving first into Nagano, a sprawling low-rise city which has a population of around 380,000.
02:18It was the host city for the 1998 Winter Olympics.
02:23And it's the gateway to the Japanese Alps, winter sports and mountain tourism.
02:45I could think of no better way to get my bearings than to head for the high ground.
02:49This is called the Ryuo Ropeway.
02:53It's a large square cabin which takes 166 people.
02:58Apparently, it is the largest cable car of its sort in the world.
03:03We're going up to a height of nearly 6,000 feet.
03:07The term Japanese Alps was coined in the late 19th century in relation to the Hida mountain range in the
03:14north.
03:14It now also includes the Kiso and Akaishi ranges in the center and the south.
03:20And I'm keen to take in the view.
03:23With a change in air pressure and a popping of the ears, we've arrived at the top.
03:29Japan has 23 peaks of more than 3,000 meters.
03:3315 of them are around Nagano, earning it the nickname the Roof of Japan.
03:39Here you get a phenomenon known as a sea of clouds which occurs on two-thirds of the days of
03:46the year.
03:46The valleys become obscure and the mountain peaks appear as islands in an ocean.
03:53The Japanese Alps extend 300 kilometers from north to south and create a formidable natural barrier across Honshu Island.
04:08My next stop in this region is the town of Obuse, which is back down in the valley.
04:14And I'm taking a local train to get there.
04:43The Japanese Alps
04:44For about two and a half centuries, during the period of the Tokugawa shoguns,
04:48the outside world knew almost nothing about Japan.
04:50And yet, an image created in that period by an artist is today one of the best-known works.
04:58Reproductions of it adorned walls all around the world.
05:02How did Hokusai's great wave sweep so far?
05:10And we will soon make a reset of light.
05:14Hokusai.
05:28I arrive in Obuse, where the artist Katushka Hokusai spent his final years in the mid-19th century.
05:39Today, there's a museum dedicated to his work, and Emi Wei is a curator.
05:45Emi, I'm Michael. What a pleasure.
05:47Hi, I'm Emi.
05:48Nice to meet you.
05:49How do you do?
05:50So, I've come to talk about Hokusai.
05:53How did he become an artist?
05:55Katsushka Hokusai became an artist.
05:58Well, he first started out as a ukiyo-e carver instead of a painter.
06:02Ukiyo-e are paintings or prints commonly associated with the Edo period.
06:07So, these are prints that are made from woodcuts, are they?
06:10Yes.
06:11What brought him to Obuse?
06:12He first visited Obuse in 1842, and there are two major theories to how and why he came.
06:21One is that during that time in Edo period, there was a publication ban which restricted his artistic expression.
06:28And therefore, he wanted to escape to a more lenient place.
06:32And he was acquainted with a man called Takai Kozan, who was from Obuse.
06:37Another theory is that Takai Kozan invited Hokusai from Edo to come visit him and stay with him for a
06:43while.
06:44So, Hokusai must have been quite an age by then.
06:47Yes.
06:48He was 83 when he first visited Obuse.
06:53Hokusai had already been in his 70s when he created the artwork officially known as the Great Wave of Kanagawa
07:01in the 1830s.
07:02And whilst he was the artist, it took many craftsmen to produce the woodblock impressions.
07:10Tell me then, what are we seeing here? This is the process by which Great Wave is created, is it?
07:15Yes. So, the first block would start here, the line art of the print.
07:22And from there on, each block would add a new colour.
07:26They will start with the lightest colour and move on to the more deeper colour.
07:30Yes. So, it's a complicated process.
07:32Yes.
07:33Have we any idea how many copies were made at once or during his lifetime?
07:37Did it become popular in his lifetime?
07:39So, the first edition of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints would typically start with 200.
07:44And if it's popular, they would continue on making more and more.
07:48And this series specifically was pretty popular during its time as the series name of this print is 36 Views
07:56of Mount Fuji.
07:57But because it became so popular, 10 more prints were added on and this series now consists of 46 prints.
08:03And when you're so distracted by this terrifying wave, this virtual tsunami, that it's possible to lose sight of the
08:11fact that Mount Fuji is here in the background.
08:13Yes, it's very blended into the waves.
08:15Exactly so.
08:18It's thought that several thousand impressions of the great wave were made.
08:23Surviving today are around 100 of those original prints, with each impression differing slightly.
08:31Oh, now this is interesting. These images are clearly related to the wave, but they're unfamiliar to me. What are
08:37they?
08:38So, these are paintings of waves by Hokusai.
08:41And why were these created?
08:43So, these were actually painted as ceiling panels for these festival floats.
08:49You've told me how it is that he became popular in Japan, but what's quite puzzling to me is how
08:54he becomes popular internationally.
08:56So, during the late 1800s after Hokusai's death, Japan went through rapid modernization.
09:03And Japan wanted to gain foreign currency in order to compete with the world powers.
09:08So, what Japan did was they would export arts and crafts made in Japan to European buyers.
09:14Ukiyo-e were considered vulgar by the Meiji government.
09:19So, legend says Hokusai's artworks were used as packaging.
09:25So, basically cushioning in the package and were sent to European countries.
09:30And artists found these cushionings and were so inspired by the prints, they popularized Ukiyo-e in the West.
09:38It is famous that impressionists were inspired by Ukiyo-e art.
09:43Van Gogh is said to have been inspired since he actually owned a lot of Ukiyo-e prints.
09:48And after that, how quickly does it spread?
09:50I mean, it's now a pretty much universally known picture.
09:55It spread pretty rapidly as it became, it instigated the movement of Japanism in Europe,
10:01which mainly started in France and spread throughout the European countries and into the Americas.
10:07Well, how do you react to the Great Wave? Do you find it terrifying?
10:11The wave is very terrifying, but the combination of the calm Fuji in the background
10:16and the more aggressive wave in the foreground creates a contrast that is memorable,
10:23which makes it a masterpiece.
10:37The small, relaxed town of Obuse is a draw for visitors to the Japanese Alps.
10:43And one of the most famous local delights is culinary.
10:59Lovely. Thank you.
11:04I'm sitting in the shade of a chestnut tree. Obuse is renowned for its chestnuts.
11:10It's to do with the acidic soil.
11:14And during the brief season, which is September, October, they produce a chestnut cake,
11:20which is so popular in Japan that people actually reserve the cake in advance to make sure that it's here
11:27when they arrive.
11:29Nothing prepared me of this shaggy looking creature.
11:34It's like a spaghetti of chestnut. How absolutely delicious and unexpected.
11:41Ooh. And here in the middle, we have what I imagine is a chestnut goo.
11:47So I think the key is you mix up the moist chestnut goo with the dryish chestnut spaghetti, and you
11:56have a chestnut wonder.
12:02Gorgeous.
12:08The Japanese Alps are a place of great beauty.
12:12Here in the north, we find clean mountain streams and a cool climate.
12:18There's no better spot in the world to cultivate the plant that produces one of Japan's most distinctive and fiery
12:26flavours.
12:30Wasabi is a condiment, which I normally encounter as a paste, which I mix with my soy sauce.
12:36And then I can dip into that my raw fish dish.
12:40It's pungent.
12:42So like horse radish and mustard, if you take too much, you get a burning sensation in the nostrils.
12:48At the foot of these glorious mountains, I've come to seek out the root of this Japanese staple.
12:56Here in Azuminon is the Dayon Wasabi Farm.
13:00Sprawling over 37 acres, it's the largest wasabi farm in the world and is run by fifth-generation owner Daisuke
13:09Fukazawa.
13:11Daisuke-san, this is such an extraordinarily beautiful place.
13:15You have these wonderful mountains, this beautiful, pure river.
13:19It's lovely, isn't it?
13:20Yes, it's a very beautiful place.
13:22It's, I think, the most beautiful place in Japan.
13:24Have you been associated with this place for a long time?
13:27Yes.
13:28The farm was founded in 1915 by my great-grandfather, Yuchi Fukazawa, and it marks 110th anniversary this year.
13:37So this river here looks incredibly pure.
13:40The water is crystal clear.
13:42Yeah, this is spring water.
13:44And it has lots and lots of oxygen, and it has lots of minerals, which are good for wasabi.
13:51So tell me, what conditions do you need to grow wasabi?
13:55In terms of climate, the ideal temperature is around 20 degrees.
14:01But as you know, the climate has been changing dramatically.
14:05And sometimes in summer, here in Asmina, the temperature reaches around 35, sometimes even 40.
14:12Yeah, the summer is a very tough season for wasabi.
14:14Wasabi contains fiber and potassium and has antibacterial properties.
14:21It's extremely delicate, vulnerable to the slightest change in temperature or water quality.
14:28Looking after the crop is Yuta Takahashi.
14:31Hi, I'm Michael.
14:34I'm Yuta.
14:35I have never seen wasabi growing before.
14:39This is a completely new site for me.
14:42How long have you been a wasabi farmer?
14:44I have been around 10 years.
14:46You must have learnt a lot in that time.
14:48Yes, I have a lot of knowledge, so it is hard to learn wasabi.
15:03I'm gonna have some ideas for this week.
15:11What I'm most familiar with is the paste that I mix with soy sauce.
15:16Which part of the plant does that come from?
15:18I'll show you.
15:41And then what do you use all the rest for?
15:59I had no idea. Will this be harvested now quite soon?
16:08OK. What do I do?
16:15The wasabi is harvested by hand, as tools might damage the plants.
16:22Once picked, each one is carefully hand-processed, separating the spicy underground stem, the milder stalks and the peppery leaves.
16:34I'm keen to taste the wasabi that we've picked.
16:38Now, to turn this into an edible product, does it need to be cooked or prepared or do you use
16:44it directly from the plant?
16:58What's this grape made of?
17:02It's called Samehada, but it's used as an edible product.
17:09Grating releases wasabi's famous heat and aroma.
17:13I'm getting the fragrance of that wasabi.
17:17Ooh! Yeah, I'm really getting it now.
17:20It is indeed pungent.
17:26And it naturally forms a paste because it's quite wet.
17:32Shall I taste it?
17:34Yes.
17:34Just a little bit.
17:36I understand that.
17:46It's a wonderful taste.
17:51The rough action of the metal grater intensifies the heat.
18:05That is extraordinary.
18:08I took much less this time, and it's much stronger.
18:14What does wasabi mean to the Japanese people?
18:18It's a sad life without wasabi.
18:22If I told you that you had to live without wasabi, what would you say?
18:31It's a sad life without wasabi.
18:33No, I'm fine.
18:34You weren't guard off the bike.
18:35Why should it go down right?
18:54What isabi найд ship?
19:04I'm heading to a town located midway between Kyoto and Tokyo on the old Nakasendo Way.
19:22In the centuries before railways, a long road wound its way from Kyoto, the old capital, to Edo, which is
19:31now Tokyo.
19:32There were 69 so-called post towns where merchants and travellers and pilgrims could find inns and supplies.
19:43At the very midpoint stood and still stands Naraijuku, which gives us a peep into history.
19:56Here the rail service also has touches of an earlier age.
20:02So I have two tickets, one that proves I paid my fare, one that shows where I got on the
20:08train.
20:23The historic town of Naraijuku was renowned as the longest and wealthiest of the Kiso Valley post towns along the
20:32Nakasendo route, and today offers a slice of old Japan.
20:39This is Matsuo.
20:40Yes.
20:41I'm Michael.
20:42Thank you for coming to Naraijuku.
20:44Welcome.
20:44I'm so pleased to be here.
20:46It's such a beautiful town.
20:49Naraijuku is wonderfully well preserved.
20:52How are the houses built?
20:53I mean, they're all made of wood.
20:55Tell me a little bit about the architecture here.
20:57Okay, so maybe look at this house.
21:00Yes.
21:01One of the great features is, so you can compare the footprint of the first floor and the second floor.
21:07Yeah, this one sticks out.
21:09Yes, yes.
21:10That is the main feature of the architecture.
21:13And the houses we see now, are they very old?
21:16So some of the houses are around 200 years old.
21:22Naraijuku flourished as a rest stop for travellers, including feudal lords and merchants who paused for lodging, food, supplies and
21:32entertainment.
21:34There were 69 post towns on the road.
21:38Are they all preserved like this?
21:40So most of the towns are already demolished.
21:43Right.
21:43Due to the motorization or modernization.
21:48Yeah.
21:48Yeah.
21:48So as they put the roads in, of course, they'd be left to the wayside, wouldn't they?
21:52The road would no longer go through the town in the way that it used to.
21:55So what happened here?
21:56How has this town been preserved?
21:59So about 40 years ago, there was a request from the other prefecture to move the most oldest building from
22:10here to there.
22:11So at the time, great priests in the temple stood up and tried to keep this atmosphere and landscape.
22:21Right.
22:22So he started what, like a movement, we would say?
22:25Yes, yes, you are right.
22:25And now, how well preserved is the town?
22:29Is it protected by law?
22:30Ah, yes.
22:32Yeah.
22:32Wow, that's great.
22:33By the Japanese government.
22:34By the Japanese government.
22:35It's a grant system to preserve all this area nowadays.
22:44Amongst the buildings that have endured so well, traditional crafts such as lacquerware have also survived.
22:52Craftspeople made souvenirs for passing travellers,
22:54as well as larger items for export along the Nakasendo Highway.
23:00Made from the sap of the Urushi tree, the lacquer is exceptionally hard and durable,
23:06capable of lasting centuries, if not millennia.
23:09Norio Ishimoto is a master of the craft.
23:16Konnichiwa.
23:17Konnichiwa.
23:19Konnichiwa.
23:19I'm Micheal.
23:21Fromкоя.никola.
23:23How long have
23:24you been doing this lacquer work? Yeah. It's
23:2757 years.
23:29From whom did you learn?
23:31The one who did you learn?
23:31From my father. What is the
23:36skill in applying the
23:37lacquer?
23:37Yes, it is very difficult to use this technology.
23:42It is not very difficult to use this technology.
23:54If the temperature is 20 degrees, the temperature is 70 degrees.
24:01How long does this tradition go back in Japanese history, do you think?
24:05Yes, it is said that the Uruishi is in Japan for 9000 years.
24:12Norio and his wife Aiko continue this long tradition,
24:16producing lacquerware of extreme detail and quality.
24:21Can you tell me what you are working on?
24:24Yes, this is called the Uruishi.
24:28This is real gold?
24:30Yes, yes.
24:32Your aunt is still carving at the moment.
24:34Making little indentations in the lacquer.
24:36Yes, that is.
24:37And this is where the gold will sit.
24:39Yes, yes, yes.
24:40This is exquisite work you are doing.
24:42What is this piece going to be?
24:44Where is this used in the house?
24:46This is a cabinet door.
24:50It is absolutely superb.
24:52How long does it take you to do the entire piece?
25:08Just six or seven months.
25:10High quality artisan lacquer pieces sell for thousands of pounds.
25:15so I'll steer clear of the cabinet.
25:17But I will try my hand.
25:27Not too deep, like that.
25:30It's pretty good.
25:32Yeah, yeah, so keep practicing, like that.
26:05So, do some of these, yeah.
26:07So, do some of these, yeah?
26:07So, so, so.
26:11I'm nervous about this one.
26:15I've set it up.
26:19Look at this detail being added now. All the little leaves. Beautiful.
26:27This is just the summer season.
26:32Extraordinary that you can do that freehand.
26:35I'm going to add some gold.
26:38Let's try some gold in there.
26:41This is gold.
26:49Isn't that amazing? It comes alive at once.
26:54That's gorgeous.
26:57Congratulations.
26:59And thank you for being such a brilliant teacher as well.
27:02You can take this today.
27:06Thank you very much. Thank you.
27:09How lovely. What a beautiful present.
27:14The first leg of my journey in Japan is at an end.
27:21During this excursion, I think I've glimpsed the soul of Japan
27:25in the revered Shinto shrines and the Buddhist temples.
27:30And I've sensed it too in the respect for nature where the deities dwell.
27:36Japanese people bow to one another.
27:39They are extremely considerate.
27:41They queue. They observe red pedestrian lights.
27:45They police themselves. They've dropped no litter.
27:48And they suffer almost no crime.
27:51They are extremely assiduous in their work.
27:54And their railways are perfectly reliable.
27:58While here, I have occasionally missed the individualistic chaos of Britain.
28:03But Japan offers a model of an orderly society with uncompromising standards.
28:15Next time, I don't know whether we're expecting an eruption today,
28:19but all the children are wearing hard hats.
28:24How many pilots flew from here, from Chiran, to their deaths?
28:31439. They respected their honor above their lives.
28:37Oh, the sand is warm. You feel it on your body. It's hot.
28:58This time of Talks!
28:59Or is that you will wait until there?
29:01You have no idea.
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