- 16 hours ago
Great Japanese Railway Journey S01E03 Shima Peninsula to Nara
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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.
01:11This morning I'm taking a train that's more than just a vehicle.
01:15It's an experience.
01:20I am on the delightful Shimakaze train, which links together some of the most culturally important places in Japan.
01:29This will be my opportunity to visit the first capital, Nara, and to consider the two religions that infuse the
01:36Japanese outlook.
01:37Shintoism and Buddhism.
01:39Along the way I'll encounter both deer and oysters, each of them precious in their own way.
01:50I'm on the largest of Japan's four main islands, Honshu, and having taken in the bright modern metropolises of Osaka
01:58and Nagoya, as well as the historic city of Kyoto, I'm now heading to the shimmering seas at Ago Bay.
02:06I'll visit Nara, Japan's first capital, and end this leg in the beautiful Japanese Alps.
02:16My Shimakaze train is one of Japan's independent, limited express services, iconic luxury trains, which serve routes to more rural
02:25or culturally important areas.
02:28I'm travelling with its head of tourism, Yuichiro Shibatani.
02:33Yuichiro-san, I'm Michael.
02:36I'm Yuichiro.
02:38How lovely to see you.
02:39And this beautiful train.
02:42Tell me a little about the Shimakaze.
02:44Who operates this train?
02:46Well, Shimakaze is operated by Kintese Railway, which is kind of private railway company in Kansai region.
02:52Describe some of the features to me.
02:54I mean, I noticed we have these wonderful big windows.
02:56So this train is for sightseeing.
02:59So we look forward to the customers to enjoy the sceneries.
03:03This seat is made of the leather, and we do have massage functions in each seat.
03:10So we can be massaged as we travel.
03:12So press the button, you can enjoy the massage.
03:17That's funny.
03:17What sorts of customer uses this train?
03:21So this is for the tourists, but it's not well known for the foreign customers.
03:26So that's why over 90% of customers who on board in Shimakaze train is Japanese.
03:35What's the history of the Kintese Railway?
03:37Firstly established in 1910 between Osaka and Nara.
03:42But actually started train operation in 1914.
03:47And the reason why is that between Osaka and Nara prefectures, there are lots of mountains.
03:52We had to dig a tunnel.
03:54And it's about three kilometers.
03:58That was a tough job.
03:59It seems to me the Kintese Railway links up places like Nara, the ancient capital, Kyoto,
04:07the capital for a thousand years, Ishii Jingu.
04:12All these places are tremendously important culturally to the Japanese people, aren't they?
04:16Yes, actually.
04:17So the Kansai area is pretty historically important.
04:20And Ise Shima is very important for the Japanese culture and history.
04:24And one of the biggest important things in Ise Shima area is that there is an Ise Jingu,
04:30which is a top tier Shinto shrine in Japan.
04:33And it's commonly said for the Japanese people is that we should go to Ise Jingu once in their lifetime.
04:46On the way to the sacred sites of the region,
04:49it's clear that to make the most of the journey is as important as to arrive at the destination.
05:05You don't always find a refreshment car on a Japanese train.
05:10And so having this delightful restaurant here is a great luxury.
05:14In fact, demand for food and drink is so great that this restaurant car stretches over two storeys.
05:21There must be lots of hungry pilgrims.
05:27My train will take me to Ise, the access point for the Ise Jingu shrine,
05:32and the Ise Shima National Park, which covers much of the coastal headland.
06:05The
06:06From the station, it's not far to the religious site
06:09that attracts so many Japanese visitors.
06:20Isejingu is a complex of more than 100 shrines,
06:23which celebrate the goddess of the sun,
06:26and they're some of the holiest in all of Japan.
06:30This location draws around 8 million visitors each year.
06:43Close by the shrine is this busy tourist street,
06:46selling every kind of merchandise.
06:49I can't say that it feels very holy here,
06:51but if a Japanese person is visiting Isejingu for once in a lifetime,
06:58he or she cannot be expected to go home without a souvenir.
07:11South of the Isejingu shrine is the Isejima National Park,
07:16which covers many coastal zones of the Shima Peninsula
07:20and includes Argo Bay, my next destination.
07:26The bay encloses around 60 small islands and is famous for its stunning scenery.
07:33Here, a treasure of the sea was first cultivated over 130 years ago.
07:39The Akoya Pearl is renowned for its luster and elegance and the variety of its colorations.
07:49Miwa Tanabe runs Tanabe Pearl Farm.
07:52Hello. Hello.
07:53A generations old cultured pearl business.
08:00When was the process of making a cultured pearl invented?
08:05100 years ago, Miikimoto Koukichi-san,
08:11who was making a cultured pearl in the sea in the sea.
08:20Was Miikimoto from close by here?
08:24Yes.
08:25Miikimoto-san was born in the middle of the sea.
08:27So, Miikimoto-san was born in the sea.
08:33Only one in 10,000 oysters will produce a natural pearl,
08:38making them extremely rare and exceptionally expensive.
08:41In 1893, Koukichi Miikimoto became the first person in the world
08:47successfully to culture a pearl,
08:50inserting a small irritant inside the oyster shell
08:53to commence the pearl-making process.
08:57Here, the oysters are grown for two to three years in oyster beds
09:01before being collected and taken to the workshop.
09:16Hello.
09:18Hello.
09:19Mizuki-san desu.
09:20I didn't realize that you opened the oyster up.
09:24How do you open the oyster?
09:39Once this process is over and you return the oyster to the water,
09:42it will close again naturally?
09:44Yes.
09:45If you return the sea to the sea,
09:47it will close your mouth and be happy.
09:51And by then the oyster has forgotten this disagreeable experience.
09:56To create a pearl, a tiny bead is inserted.
10:01The host oyster then produces nacre,
10:04the mineral compound that we call mother of pearl,
10:07to coat the bead.
10:08As the layers accumulate, the pearl forms.
10:12This is like watching surgery in a hospital.
10:16So, yes.
10:17Really, it is a process for surgery.
10:19Very careful insertion of the needle.
10:22She is a technician.
10:25Why is this red?
10:32It's just to help the lady see what she's doing
10:38It's just to help the lady see what she's doing
10:39This tiny ball here after one year becomes this quite a bit bigger and of course so much more beautiful
10:49How many nuclei do you put in a year?
10:58Every single one has to be done by hand like this
11:04Are you going to be a good oyster and produce a pearl?
11:11We shall find out
11:15Around two-thirds of those implanted will go on to produce a pearl
11:19But only two to five percent of those pearls will be of sufficiently high quality to become earrings or pendants
11:26The remainder will become necklaces
11:29It takes at least a year for a pole to form
11:32And it's time to find out what's in these oysters
11:37There we go
11:41Okay
11:43They're surprisingly heavy
11:45There we go
11:47So, will we find pearls?
11:51It's hinta
11:52Atarashii
11:52New
11:54Atarashii
11:55Shiroi hasaki ga adeno ga genki nandesu
11:59Choose one with white edges
12:01Let's try this one
12:02This one?
12:03Yeah
12:03This one? Okay
12:28Look I have a pearl
12:30Look I have a pearl
12:34Second rank, okay, okay. You can tell straight away of course. Oh lovely
13:04I've come to Matsakka to continue my journey through central hongshu
13:09I'm tracking westwards across this historic region on another luxury limited express train
13:38I'm traveling in a delightful vista car towards Nara which in the year 2010 celebrated
13:451,300 years since it was made capital. It had the grandest buildings to perfit the imperial court
13:54the center of government and the heart of international diplomacy and it's remarkable
13:59to think of a city that in the 8th century buzzed with cosmopolitan visitors from China and as far
14:07away as India. It was capital for less than a century but it has left rich traces of that era
14:15which are now being excitedly explored by historians
14:27Nara was the first permanent capital of Japan
14:32My express delivers me to its outskirts where I change onto the Kintetsu local line
14:40A train south for Nara is arriving at track 2
14:48As I head to the center of Nara the railway passes one of the country's great historical sites
14:55The former imperial palace and heart of government from the Nara period
15:00The Heijou palace there was an immense complex of government buildings
15:06The Emperor was surrounded by his ministries in a recreation of the Chinese model of centralized government
15:16Still undergoing excavation, the site has UNESCO World Heritage status
15:22The buildings are being recreated in line with findings from the archaeological investigations
15:45As I arrive in Nara I am struck by how sharply it contrasts with Japan's larger and busier cities
15:52As I arrive in Nara I am struck by how sharply it contrasts with Japan's larger and busier cities
15:53It's relatively small low rise and blessed with calm
16:02The city's surrounded by generous green spaces, including Nara Park, home to some of Japan's
16:10most treasured cultural sites, and also some iconic wildlife.
16:16Across the city in its parks and public gardens, wild seeker deer roam free.
16:22Long regarded as divine messengers of the gods, they are fondly protected and deeply revered.
16:33Nakagaga-san. Hello.
16:37Konnichiwa.
16:39Very good to see you. Tell me, why are you carrying a French horn?
16:43If you are carrying a French horn, the horses will come up to this horn.
16:48Apparently, this is a tradition, playing the horn for the deer. How old a tradition is it?
16:55Since 1896.
16:57How long have you been blowing the horn for the deer?
17:00I have been doing it for 10 years.
17:02No.
17:02Yes.
17:03Ten years.
17:05Yes.
17:05You must enjoy it.
17:07Yes. I like animals, so I like this work.
17:11Now, which piece of music do you play for the deer?
17:15Ah, that's Beethoven's Den-Ei.
17:19Would they not come if you played the Mozart?
17:23Yes.
17:24I will.
17:42The deer are arriving in huge numbers.
17:48Lovely, beautiful deer.
17:58There are around 1400 seeker deer in the park, and recent studies show they possess a unique
18:05genetic lineage that separates them from seeker deer elsewhere, possibly because of centuries
18:11of protection and isolation. As such, they are designated natural monuments of Japan.
18:22Time for a spot of lunch.
18:26The deer are rewarded with one of their favourite treats, acorns.
18:32These deer are delightfully tame, but every now and again one tramples me, reminding me that
18:38they are actually wild animals. Get off me!
18:47Narra Park is the location of several important religious sites, dating back over a thousand
18:54years, both Shinto and Buddhist. While Shinto is indigenous to Japan, Buddhism was imported,
19:02and the two have co-existed for centuries. To learn more about this blend of religions, I'm meeting
19:09Dr Christopher Harding.
19:11Chris, how good to see you again.
19:13Hello, good to see you.
19:14And what a place to meet on this occasion.
19:16Oh my goodness, absolutely.
19:17Chris, the gate at Todai-ji is absolutely impressive, isn't it?
19:21Absolutely. You've got these two fierce guardian deities, one on either side. So it's the first
19:28stage of protecting the Buddha that we're about to encounter inside.
19:32How did Buddhism arrive in Japan?
19:35So we think it arrived in the mid-6th century from Korea. So Japan had diplomatic relations
19:41with Korea. They sent across Buddhist statues, they sent across some scriptures, a few Buddhist
19:47monks from Korea to help explain what the statues and the scriptures meant. And initially I think
19:53it was actually quite rocky. So Japan already had a tradition we now call Shinto, so the way
19:58of the gods. So for the first few decades it was touch and go, I think, as to whether Buddhism
20:01would really take off. But as we can see here, it made it through.
20:06I mean, the two religions are so absolutely different, aren't they? Shinto has no founder,
20:12Shinto makes no reference to the afterlife. So Buddhism is introducing very different subjects
20:17and themes.
20:19That's right. I think it became a kind of strength actually, because people do want to know about
20:25death, afterlife. They want that bigger cosmic picture and Shinto is much more about the here
20:30and now about life. And so Buddhism is really adding, I think, quite a lot of cosmological
20:35depth to Japan. I think the other part of its appeal probably is that it's very convenient
20:39for the imperial family. There's a sense almost a little bit like Europe, I think, in the same
20:44period, that you can have a kind of divine right of kings here. Buddhism's really good
20:49at giving backing to a legitimate ruler. So I think Japan's emperors found that quite
20:53helpful. Let's venture forth. Yes.
21:05The Todaiji Temple Complex spreads over a vast enclosure. At its heart is the great Buddha
21:13Hall. Just before we go inside, tell me a bit about this coexistence between Shintoism and
21:23Buddhism. Would an individual Japanese person feel drawn both to Shintoism and to Buddhism
21:30simultaneously? Yes. I think the way it often operates now, because Shinto is so concerned
21:34with this life, with a kind of divine force coursing through nature, and Buddhism has much
21:40more to say about death and the afterlife. There's a phrase, the English version of which
21:44is, born Shinto, die Buddhist. So when women are pregnant, when a child is born or when a child
21:50is growing up, there are all sorts of rites, Shinto rites, that go alongside that for support
21:55and protection. Almost every funeral in Japan is conducted according to Buddhist rites.
22:03The hall is one of the biggest wooden buildings in the world, with good reason. It houses one
22:10of the world's largest bronze Buddhas, which rises 15 metres. Nothing quite prepares you
22:20for the size of this Buddha. Absolutely. Even just the Buddha's head is about five metres long.
22:27It's extraordinary. It is. The statue is of Vairocchana, which means the shining one, and was commissioned
22:37in the 8th century by the Emperor Shomu, who was a fervent proponent of Buddhism.
22:43How would this extraordinary thing have been received by the public in the 8th century?
22:48I think one of the most important things to know about this statue is that, at the time,
22:53it was covered in gold. So they would melt the gold and they would apply it with a brush,
22:58so that when you came to see this soon after it was finished, it really would be, as the name
23:02of Vairocchana suggests, a shining, luminous Buddha. It must have been mind-blowing.
23:09It pretty much is today. Yes.
23:24When Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century, it became a centre for ink production,
23:30which was essential for recording official and religious texts.
23:36Hundreds of years later, Nara is still the ink capital of Japan.
23:44Japanese calligraphy is a deeply respected art, particularly in the age of the text message.
23:50It's beautiful to think how much can be expressed through the dexterity of the hand.
23:55And the greatest calligrapher needs to start with the most wonderful ink.
24:02Here in the Naramachi district of Nara is Kin Koen, a 150-year-old family business.
24:11Hello.
24:16How do you do?
24:17How do you do?
24:19I'm Michael.
24:21My name is Yoshi.
24:22Yoshi.
24:24What a pleasure.
24:25Please.
24:26You are a specialist in calligraphy and in ink.
24:30Yes.
24:30I'm craftsman in the Japanese sumi stick.
24:34This is the sumi stick I'm making in here.
24:37This is the proper ink. This goes back a thousand years.
24:41Sumi sticks are solid ink blocks, which, when mixed with water, create the liquid ink that's been used in calligraphy
24:49for centuries.
24:5295% of all sumi sticks made in Japan are crafted in Nara.
25:00Sumi stick, about 2,200 years ago, started in the founding of China.
25:06China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and here, about the 7th century.
25:15Sumi material, only three.
25:17Soot and animal glue and the perfume.
25:22Soot, collected by burning wood or oil, is the key ingredient that gives the ink its rich black colour.
25:29It's mixed with the liquid gelatine and a small amount of perfume to mask the gelatine's unpleasant natural smell.
25:37The soft mixture is then hand-rolled, shaped into blocks, and left to dry for at least four months until
25:45it hardens.
25:46Then it's ready to be transformed into beautiful calligraphy.
25:51Teach me your first name. You are the...
25:54Michael.
25:56Michael.
26:12Michael.
26:19So, thick, down-stroke.
26:23Mm-hmm.
26:25That's right.
26:29That's right.
26:34It's okay.
26:41Mm-hmm.
26:42So, so good.
26:43Just show me.
26:46Yeah, it's okay.
26:48It's okay.
26:48We can read Michael.
26:50Yeah.
26:50Yeah.
27:03Yeah, exactly.
27:06Yeah, it's okay.
27:07I got to go.
27:10It's okay.
27:11I'm not too ask.
27:12It's okay.
27:12You know, I'm not too, but it's okay.
27:14I'm not too.
27:14It's okay.
27:14To the one of the old,
27:14I'm not too, but I'm not too.
27:16It's okay.
27:17That's good.
27:22Whenever I come to Japan, I am inevitably aware of cultural differences.
27:28It's very easy to communicate with Japanese people
27:31who are very friendly and very humorous.
27:34And nowadays, your mobile telephone will translate.
27:38But there are assumptions and outlooks here
27:41which I think it would take me many years to comprehend.
27:45And I suspect that an understanding of the blend of religions in Japan is key.
27:52As important as, say, centuries of Christianity have been
27:57to making Europeans what they are today.
28:03Next time, with the flick of the switch,
28:08all the train seats have changed direction.
28:12Can you see that beautiful pine tree?
28:14That one is growing, growing, growing from the seas.
28:19How perfect.
28:22We go across our own bridge and we look down on the other bridges.
28:26Hello, everyone, on the other bridges.
28:28Oh, this is lovely.
28:32We'll see you soon.
28:33Bye.
28:41Bye.
28:46Bye.
28:52Bye.
28:55Bye.
29:01Transcription by CastingWords
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