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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.
00:13I feel 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.
01:07I'm travelling by rail across Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's main islands.
01:19To continue my journey, I've returned to Kagoshima Chuo Station, the southern terminus of the island's high-speed rail network.
01:34It's always exciting to see a Shinkansen, that long jet star nose designed to break up the wall of air
01:42as it zooms into a tunnel.
01:47I'll be travelling on a bullet train, the icon of the Japanese railway, to explore Kyushu's fascinating history.
02:01Kyushu makes up about a tenth of Japan's land mass, and the population is around a tenth as well.
02:07I began in the south, at Kagoshima, and I'm now exploring the western side of the island, whose character has
02:15long been influenced by its location, which exposes it to Asia and Europe.
02:21I'll then travel via the western tip of Honshu Island to end at Hiroshima.
02:31The revered position of Emperor of Japan has existed for many centuries.
02:38But across history, from time to time, it has been largely symbolic, with true political power exercised by others.
02:45On this part of my journey, I will look at the regime of those military rulers known as the Shoguns,
02:53who isolated Japan from the outside world for two and a half centuries.
02:58And at how, at the end of that period, with a change of government, Japan reopened and embraced technology from
03:06abroad.
03:10There are many models of Shinkansen, or bullet train, and on this journey, an N700 series zooms from Kagoshima up
03:19the west coast.
03:29We'll be stopping at all stations before arriving at Kumamoto.
03:34Japan's high-speed trains, the Shinkansen, have been operating since 1964, when lines were opened into Tokyo.
03:44But it is a truly national project, and now there are about 3,000 kilometres of line.
03:53Some of the 21st century additions included the line down to the most southerly station at Kagoshima.
04:00And it was a very difficult project. It runs through the mountains, and nearly all of it is in tunnel.
04:06Only very occasionally does the train stick its long nose into the daylight.
04:11And for that reason, the line has been nicknamed the Mole.
04:31My journey north takes just 25 minutes, a speedy trip to a destination noted for its slower pace of life.
04:40The exit will be on the next side of the train.
04:45Passengers going to the Hisatsu Orange Railway.
04:48Please change trains here, at Izumi.
05:01I'm alighting at Izumi Station.
05:04The architecture and decoration draw inspiration from the region's fame as being the winter home for over 10,000 cranes.
05:13They migrate here each year, largely from Siberia.
05:19It's also the boarding point for boats to the Amakusa Islands, which sit off the western coast of Kyushu.
05:37They're made up of two large and many small islands.
05:42Celebrated for their lavish greenery and fascinating geology, they're designated a geopark in recognition of their natural beauty, local communities
05:52and cultural heritage.
05:58I'm visiting Shimoshima, the largest island in the Amakusa archipelago.
06:10Hello!
06:12Hello!
06:14What a wonderful welcome!
06:24Ladies, thank you for your welcome. Hello!
06:27Hello!
06:28Oh, such beautiful costumes.
06:31Same colour.
06:33Hello!
06:39They're spectacularly dressed to perform a traditional Amakusa Island dance called the Ushibuka Haya.
06:46The women wish the fishermen, their husbands, lovers and sons, a safe return.
06:54Lovely, cheerful music.
06:58The gestures, I think, replicate movements on a boat.
07:03Balling nets, rowing, pulling ropes.
07:09Oh, haul those ropes!
07:12Oh, haul those ropes.
07:15Haul those ropes.
07:18It's so compelling that I can't resist joining in.
07:40Oh, thank you.
07:47Situated on the outer edge of the Japanese archipelago,
07:50these islands were often the first port of call for foreign ships
07:55and the gateway through which new ideas and influences entered Japan.
08:00That included Christianity.
08:03Today, around 2% of the Japanese population,
08:05roughly 3 million people, identify as Christian.
08:10Christianity arrived on these shores with Portuguese missionaries in 1549
08:16and hundreds of thousands were converted.
08:21And the contagion that it represented was one of the reasons
08:25why the shoguns, the military rulers of Japan,
08:29excluded foreigners and banned foreign travel.
08:33Amazingly, in this remote place, Christianity survived in secret
08:39to rise again when the prohibition was lifted.
08:55To hear about the island's Roman Catholic heritage
08:58and the group known as Hidden Christians,
09:01I'm meeting Saki Urakami,
09:04an Amakusa Island resident and guide.
09:07This is such a beautiful restroom.
09:09The setting is amazing, on the water with the greenery beyond.
09:13Yeah, it is.
09:14This place is very interesting because of the history of Christianity.
09:20Why do you think the shoguns banned Christianity?
09:22I think there are several reasons,
09:25but one of them, like, the shogun,
09:29he was the top of the society at the moment.
09:33But under the Christianity, everyone is equal.
09:38And so the shogun realised that Christianity was a threat for his administration.
09:45And the Christians who remained here during the ban,
09:51how did they behave?
09:53And of course, like, people, like, called the hidden Christians,
09:58people disguised themselves as Buddhist or Shinto believers.
10:06They attended the Shinto, like, festival,
10:11and they visited the Buddhist temple.
10:18Oh, thank you, beautiful.
10:21This is spectacular, isn't it?
10:31Well done, chef.
10:34During the time of the ban on Christians,
10:37did the other people, the Shintos and the Buddhists,
10:40sometimes inform against Catholics to the authorities, to the shoguns?
10:45The government ordered to, you know,
10:49inform if they found some Christians.
10:53But here, never happened.
10:56Nobody did. Why is that?
10:58Because this Saketsu village, a fishing village,
11:01so once you go out of the sea,
11:04you need to support your fellow fishermen.
11:09There's no time to care about the differences in the religions.
11:15Because people have to trust each other for their lives.
11:19Tell me about the island today.
11:22So three religions could exist.
11:24Catholic Church and Shinto Shrine and Buddhist temples.
11:29Well, quite happily living with each other.
11:32Yes, of course.
11:41There are several hundred Christians on these islands today.
11:45One is Mr. Yamashita, a fisherman.
11:54How many generations of your family have lived in Saketsu?
12:01Were they fishermen too?
12:04And is it dangerous?
12:13In your boat? I'd love to see it, please.
12:18Oh.
12:20That's very beautiful.
12:22How old is this, do you think?
12:24Yes, of course.
12:25It's been 100 years.
12:27So I've been around to the island.
12:33It's been around the island.
12:36I've been around to the island.
12:38So I've been around to the island.
12:46I've been around to the island.
12:47When I went to the area close to the area, I came back to the area.
12:52I'm a great man.
12:55I'm a great man.
12:58To me, it's amazing to find such Catholic face in Japan.
13:04That's a surprise to me.
13:07Would it be possible to come aboard and have a spin on your boat?
13:24Here is history in a postcard.
13:27These beautiful traditional Japanese houses with their distinctive roofs and tiles.
13:33And there, a church spire that could be from England with the cross above.
13:40The tiny harbour village of Sakitsu is an important centre of Christianity.
13:47Worshippers attend what's nicknamed the Church on the Sea.
13:51It's Roman Catholic, built in 1934.
14:00This is a pretty church.
14:02And a pretty good size too.
14:05And it wouldn't look out of place in Europe or South America.
14:10It has all these Gothic touches, pointy arches and things like that.
14:15But one thing that makes it very Japanese is that I had to remove my shoes as I came in.
14:20And here on the floor, there are tatami mats.
14:35As a gentleman, we are in England.
14:36To continue my journey, I've return to Kyushu island to take a train from Mitsumi.
14:42What a beautiful station with a steeple and a cross on the exterior
14:47and beautiful Japanese modernity inside.
14:54From here, I'm picking up a regional train.
15:00A lovely, narrow-gauge, one-person-operated diesel.
15:08It's a 50-minute journey up the western coast of Kyushu,
15:11and with such large windows, there are glorious views.
15:15A great coastal railway journey.
15:26My next destination will be the city of Kumamoto.
15:32As the Shinkansen was extended southwards,
15:35services began to run into Kumamoto on the 12th of March, 2010.
15:41The city used the opportunity to promote itself
15:45and invented a new mascot called Kumamon.
15:48He's a wide-eyed creature with a cuddly belly.
15:52The Japanese love of the cute is known as kawaii,
15:57but it goes beyond innocence and sweetness.
16:01It ventures into the quirky, the rebellious, even the mildly erotic.
16:07It seeps into fashion.
16:09It affects neighbouring countries.
16:12A valuable and persuasive source of Japanese influence.
16:20I've come to Kumamoto to see its world-famous castle.
16:24But before that, I hope to glimpse its most celebrated, emblematic creature.
16:35Kumamon!
16:37How lovely to see you!
16:39Wow!
16:40What an honour!
16:42Kumamon has achieved celebrity status in Japan.
16:46Why are you so famous?
16:49Oh, for your dancing!
16:57Do you know the way to the castle?
17:00Yes!
17:02Let's go!
17:21Sayonara!
17:23Bye!
17:25Bye!
17:26Bye, Kwanamon!
17:35Kumamoto is Kyushu's third largest city,
17:38with around 750,000 inhabitants.
17:42It's also steeped in history,
17:44with one of Japan's best known and most significant castles.
17:49In 2016, a massive earthquake caused terrible damage to the city and the fortification.
17:56Restoration work costing around £320 million is still underway.
18:01Hence the hard hat.
18:04In 1853 and 1854, United States naval expeditions under the command of Commodore Perry threatened Japan with violence and forced
18:14it to open itself to world trade.
18:18Forces within Japan, notably the samurai Saigo Takamori from Satsuma, toppled the Shogun government in what was known as the
18:28Meiji Restoration.
18:29Meiji being the name of the emperor.
18:32The new administration abolished feudalism and began to modernize Japan.
18:38America's gunboat diplomacy set in motion the dramatic regime change which is seen as the birth of modern Japan.
18:46To hear about that turning point and the celebrated figure of Saigo Takamori, the inspiration for the hero of the
18:54Hollywood film The Last Samurai, I'm meeting Professor of History Izumi Haraguchi.
19:01I'd love to hear about this great personality, Saigo.
19:06Saigo Takamori was born and bred in Kagoshima castle town.
19:13He came from lower samurai class, but he was very respected among young samurai.
19:21and wise lord Shimazu Nari Akira selected him as secretary.
19:29He recommended to learn about the parliamentary system and constitution and educational reforms.
19:41He was a great modernizer.
19:43Yes, he was a modernizer.
19:45Yes, he was a modernizer.
19:45Yes, he was a modernizer.
19:46He opened the railway age.
19:49He first objected the railway construction initially because it cost too much money.
20:00But, eventually, he approved the railway construction and you can come to Kyushu by railway now.
20:13Indeed, indeed.
20:16Despite being a key figure in the new modernizing government, the rapid pace of reform, which included the abolition of
20:23the samurai class, proved too much for Saigo.
20:27He resigned his post, rallied an army of samurai from Satsuma and rose against the government in what is now
20:35called the Satsuma Rebellion.
20:36In one of its defining moments, he placed Kumamoto castle, the principal stronghold of government forces, under siege for 52
20:45days.
20:47And this castle was very, very strong, very well prepared for siege.
20:52Yes, it's hard to climb up.
20:55Yeah.
20:56Even for ninjas.
21:00He was defeated.
21:01After the battle, Saigo dies.
21:04Yes, he died for himself.
21:07He killed himself.
21:08Soldiers cut off his head.
21:11On his command, on his wishes.
21:13Yes.
21:14How do you feel about Saigo?
21:16I love Saigo.
21:17You love Saigo?
21:18Yes, of course.
21:19He was a man of strong justice and royalty and courage.
21:26A great hero, a charismatic figure.
21:29Yes.
21:30And a timeless figure.
21:31Yeah.
21:40I return to Kumamoto station to take a train heading north.
21:47My next stop will be the station of Shimomuta, a journey of 17 minutes on the high-speed line.
21:57On the dot, as always.
22:00I'm on a Shinkansen 800 series, introduced to this line in 2004.
22:07I'm bound for a place with important links to the region's samurai heritage.
22:15Japan's samurai warrior class became famous all over the world for its stoicism and also for its very demanding code
22:22of conduct.
22:23A samurai warrior would prefer death to defeat or to surrender.
22:27And he would use his sharp blade to commit harikiri to disembowel himself.
22:32One of the first reforms after the removal of the shoguns was to abolish the samurai.
22:37And you might expect that with that, the art of making the sword, the katana, would also disappear.
22:43But not so.
22:44There are still a few craftsmen today working to the same high standards that were demanded by the samurai for
22:51whom they once worked.
22:55My Shinkansen has brought me to Shinomuta Station, which opened in 2011.
23:07It's the closest Shinkansen Station to Arao, an old mining centre located on the coast.
23:15I'm seeking out a master of Japan's centuries old craft of sword making.
23:21The forge.
23:25Matsunaga sensei.
23:27Hi. How are you going to?
23:28Hello.
23:30Can I come down?
23:31OK.
23:34Matsunaga Genrakuru has been crafting blades for over 40 years.
23:39They are recognised as works of art and cultural artefacts.
23:43Their manufacture is strictly regulated.
23:47Master, how many swords do you make?
23:56How long does it take you, Master, to make a sword?
24:00Yes.
24:02My work is two weeks.
24:05Ah.
24:05Then, I'm going to make it for 3 months or 4 months.
24:12It will be a long time for a half year.
24:16Yes.
24:17Your craftsmanship is a piece of the whole jigsaw.
24:21And where do you find the material for this?
24:25It's in there, right?
24:28There's copper.
24:29The copper is in there.
24:31It's like this.
24:33Yeah?
24:34Tama-hagane.
24:35Tama-hagane.
24:39Once the iron sand is worked into a big block of tamahagane,
24:43pieces are cut from it and stacked, ready to be fired together.
24:54Paper.
24:56Paper?
24:57I would never have guessed it would be wrapped in paper.
25:04Yes.
25:12The block is reheated, then hammered with a force of 200 kilograms.
25:23It's then folded over, reheated, hammered and folded again more than ten times.
25:28Only then is it stretched to the length of the sword.
25:36Matsunaga Genrokuru has made over a thousand in his lifetime
25:40and has a collection of old samurai armour and weapons.
25:45Oh!
25:47300-year-old sword.
25:49Oh, and here comes the blade.
25:50My goodness, the blade on these swords.
25:53This is a license.
25:57That's the license.
25:58Oh, my goodness, I'm holding the sword.
26:01Look at that edge.
26:04Oh, my goodness.
26:05It's quite a strange feeling to hold something that's quite so beautiful
26:10and quite so dangerous.
26:12Right, thank you.
26:14May we put it away?
26:16There we go, master.
26:17It's just extraordinary to believe that that black iron that I saw before
26:22creates this beautiful, perfect cutting steel.
26:27Next to the forge is a dojo,
26:30a room where Matsunaga Genrokuru
26:33teaches students the art of samurai swordsmanship,
26:36which includes tamishigiri,
26:39or cutting practice targeting a rolled tatami mat.
26:47To the hustle, not Michael Komandan McGraw,
26:52It's fine.
26:53Oh, what's next?
26:53Oh.
26:58The effective age comes to Leap lords.
27:04Order's own own nightmare,
27:07places are ongoing or the Brisbane pizzas actions.
27:08In the middle of populaes,
27:12light comes to the añ Icelandic Code.
27:14Fill out of territory.
27:17Alarmed by the spread of Christianity,
27:20the shoguns were pretty successful at excluding further foreign influences.
27:26And as a result, the heritage here is purely Japanese
27:31and the culture highly distinctive, such as the rigorous code of conduct of the samurai.
27:37One disadvantage of isolationism was that Japan fell behind the West
27:42in military prowess and technology.
27:45And the rapid transformation of the country from feudalism
27:51to being a global military and industrial power
27:55is an amazing example of Japan's single-mindedness.
28:00Next time...
28:02For more than two centuries Nagasaki was literally the only officially open port in Japan.
28:07What are the conditions like? Is it hot?
28:10The temperature was over 35 degrees centigrade
28:13with 95% humidity, basically like working in a sauna.
28:20So that is a premium tea. How much would you pay for that?
28:23Could be priced between like 400 and 500 pounds a kilo.
28:30The four committee and the animal is the most vulnerable,
28:44which is what would you say?
28:44It's more of a natural control.
28:44The air is not too much.
28:45The air is not too much.
28:50But you can't go around the field.
28:53The air is not too much.
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