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Great Japanese Railway Journeys Season 1 Episode 3
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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.
01:11This morning I'm taking a train that's more than just a vehicle, it'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.
01:54And having taken in the bright modern metropolises of Osaka and Nagoya, as well as the historic city of Kyoto,
02:02I'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 Kintetsu 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 these 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?
03:21Yes.
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 onboard the Shimakaze train is Japanese.
03:35What's the history of the Kintetsu Railway?
03:37Firstly, established in 1910 between Osaka and Nara, but actually started during 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, and it's about three kilometers.
03:57That was a tough job.
03:59It seems to me the Kintetsu Railway links up places like Nara, the ancient capital, Kyoto, the capital for a
04:09thousand 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 Isshima is very important for the Japanese culture and history.
04:24And one of the biggest important things in Isshima area is that there is a Issei Jingu, which is a
04:30top-tier Shinto shrine in Japan.
04:33And it's commonly said for the Japanese people is that we should go to Issei Jingu once in their lifetime.
04:46On the way to the sacred sites of the region, it's clear that to make the most of the journey
04:51is 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 Issei, the access point for the Issei Jingu shrine, and the Issei Shima National
05:34Park, which covers much of the coastal headland.
05:38The city's most אפ.
05:42In one of the languages over there is a localьer pessoa in the Därár publishes a connected bird hundreds of
05:51the indigenous barrels of dz Dark Dominic Arc.
05:52de Ease a triangle about Demac跟eter Park рублей is 70% of the symbol of power.
05:54The world of nature.
05:55The world of nature is 64% of all living with no soul in the death.
05:56And then the players are associate�� almost one of the cities, too.
06:06They're blessed.
06:06They're not prepared to survive without sure where the cities are confined.
06:07but it's not far to the religious site that attracts so many Japanese visitors.
06:20Isejingu is a complex of more than 100 shrines
06:24which celebrate the goddess of the sun,
06:26and they're some of the holiest in all of Japan.
06:29This location draws around 8 million visitors each year.
06:43MUSIC
06:44Close 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,
06:52but 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.
07:08MUSIC
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.
07:26MUSIC
07:27The bay encloses around 60 small islands
07:29and is famous for its stunning scenery.
07:32Here, a treasure of the sea was first cultivated over 130 years ago.
07:40The Akoya Pearl is renowned for its luster and elegance
07:45and 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?
08:20Was Mikimoto from close by here?
08:24Was Mikimoto from close by here?
08:30Was Mikimoto from close by here?
08:33Only one in 10,000 oysters will produce a natural pearl,
08:37making them extremely rare and exceptionally expensive.
08:41In 1893, Kokichi Mikimoto 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.
09:21I 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 to the ocean, it will close your mouth and be happy.
09:50And by then, the oyster has forgotten this disagreeable experience.
09:55To create a pearl, a tiny bead is inserted.
10:01The host oyster then produces nacre, the mineral compound that we call Mother of Pearl,
10:06to coat the bead.
10:08As the layers accumulate, the pearl forms.
10:12This is like watching surgery in a hospital.
10:17So, this is like watching surgery in a hospital.
10:18It is really a procedure.
10:19Very careful insertion of a 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 nuklei 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 pearl 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
11:46There we go
11:47So, will we find pearls?
11:51It's hint
11:51Atarashii
11:52New
11:54Atarashii
11:54Shiroi hasaki ga
11:56Arunaga
11:57Genki nandesu
11:58Choose one with white edges
12:00Let's try this one
12:02This one?
12:03Yeah
12:03This one? Okay
12:05The shells have to be opened by hand
12:08The shells have to be opened by hand
12:09And then the shells are open to the top
12:15Look! I have a pearl
12:17Look! I have a pearl
12:30How good is it? Second rank. Second rank. Okay. Okay. You can tell straight away, of course. Oh, lovely.
13:04I've come to Matsaka to continue my journey through central Hongshu. I'm tracking westwards across this historic region on another
13:14luxury limited express train.
13:38I'm travelling in a delightful vista car towards Nara, which, in the year 2010, celebrated 1,300 years since it
13:48was made capital.
13:50It had the grandest buildings to perfit the imperial court, the centre of government and the heart of international diplomacy.
13:58And it's remarkable to think of a city that, in the 8th century, buzzed with cosmopolitan visitors from China and
14:07as far away as India.
14:08It was capital for less than a century, but it has left rich traces of that era, which are now
14:16being 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 of Nara is arriving at track 2.
14:48As I head to the centre of Nara, the railway passes one of the country's great historical sites, the former
14:56imperial palace and heart of government from the Nara period.
15:01The Heizhou 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 centralised 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.
15:32The site has UNESCO World Heritage status.
15:38The buildings are being recreated in line with findings from the archaeological investigations.
15:45As I arrive in Nara, I'm 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 is surrounded by generous green spaces, including Nara Park, home to some of Japan's most treasured cultural sites,
16:12and 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.
16:32Theatriation of modern
16:37Hello.
16:38Great to see you.
16:40Tell me, why are you carrying a French horn?
16:43If you raise that horn, the chickens areming not near 100.
16:48Apparently, this is a tradition, playing the horn for the deer.
16:52how old a tradition is it how long have you been blowing the horn for the deer
17:02no 10 years you must enjoy it now which piece of music do you play for the deer
17:19would they not come if you played the mozart
17:22the deer are arriving in
17:44huge numbers lovely 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 of
18:11protection and isolation as such they are designated natural monuments of japan
18:22time for a spot of lunch the deer are rewarded with one of their favorite treats acorns
18:32these deer are delightfully tame but every now and again one tramples me reminding me that they are
18:38actually wild animals get off me
18:47narra park is the location of several important religious sites dating back over a thousand years
18:54both shinto and buddhist whilst shinto is indigenous to japan buddhism was imported
19:02and the two have coexisted for centuries to learn more about this blend of religions i'm meeting
19:09dr christopher harding chris how good to see you again hello good to see you and what a place to
19:15meet on this occasion oh my goodness absolutely chris the gate at todai ji is absolutely impressive
19:21isn't it absolutely you've got these two fierce guardian deities one on either side so it's the
19:28first stage of protecting the buddha that we're about to encounter inside how did buddhism arrive
19:34in japan so we think it arrived in the mid sixth century from korea so japan had diplomatic relations
19:41with korea they sent across buddhist statues they sent across some scriptures a few buddhist monks from
19:47korea to help explain what the statues and the scriptures meant um and initially i think it was
19:53actually quite rocky so japan already had a tradition we now call shinto so the way of the gods so
19:59for
19:59the first few decades it was touch and go i think as to whether buddhism would really take off but
20:03as
20:03we can see here it made it through i mean the two religions are so absolutely different aren't they
20:09shinto shinto has no founder shinto makes no reference to the afterlife so buddhism is introducing
20:16very different subjects and themes that's right i think it became a kind of strength actually
20:22because people do want to know about death afterlife they want that bigger cosmic picture and shinto is
20:29much more about the here and now about life and so buddhism was really adding i think quite a lot
20:34of
20:34cosmological depth 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 period that
20:44you can have a kind of divine right of kings here buddhism is really good at giving backing to a
20:50legitimate ruler so i think japan's emperors found that quite helpful let's venture forth yes
21:05the tojaiji temple complex spreads over a vast enclosure at its heart is the great buddha hall
21:17of japan just before we go inside tell me a bit about this coexistence between shintoism and buddhism
21:24would an individual japanese person feel drawn both to shintoism and to buddhism simultaneously yes
21:31i think the way it often operates now because shinto is so concerned with this life with a kind of
21:36divine force coursing through nature and buddhism has much more to say about death and the afterlife
21:42there's a phrase um the english version of which is born shinto die buddhist so when women are pregnant
21:48when a child is born or when a child is growing up there are all sorts of rights shinto rights
21:52that
21:53go alongside that for support and protection almost every funeral in japan is conducted according to
21:59buddhist rights
22:03the hall is one of the biggest wooden buildings in the world
22:07in the world with good reason it houses one of the world's largest bronze buddhas which rises 15 meters
22:19nothing quite prepares you for the size of this buddha absolutely even just the buddha's head is about
22:25five meters long it's extraordinary it is
22:31the statue is of vairachana which means the shining one and was commissioned in the 8th century by the
22:39emperor shomu who was a fervent proponent of buddhism how would this extraordinary thing have been received
22:46by the public in the 8th century i think one of the most important things to know about this statue
22:51is that
22:52at the time it was covered in gold so they would melt the gold and they would apply it with
22:57a brush
22:58so that when you came to see this soon after it was finished it really would be as the name
23:02vairachana
23:03suggests a shining luminous buddha it must have been mind-blowing it pretty much is today yes
23:24when nara was the capital of japan in the 8th century it became a center for ink production
23:30which was essential for recording official and religious texts hundreds of years later nara is
23:38still the ink capital of japan japanese calligraphy is a deeply respected art particularly in the age of
23:49text message it's beautiful to think how much can be expressed through the dexterity of the hand
23:55and the gracious 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 how do you do i'm michael my name is yosh ter yosh yoshi thank you what
24:24a pleasure please
24:26you are a specialist in calligraphy and ink i'm craftsman in the japanese swimming stick this
24:34in the semi stick i'm making in here this 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
24:48in calligraphy for centuries 95 of all sumi sticks made in japan are crafted in nara
25:21soot collected by burning wood or oil is the key ingredient
25:26that gives the ink its rich black color it's mixed with a liquid gelatine and a small amount of
25:33perfume to mask the gelatine's unpleasant natural smell the soft mixture is then hand rolled shaped
25:41into blocks and left to dry for at least four months until it hardens then it's ready to be transformed
25:49into beautiful calligraphy teach me and your first name you are the my my michael
26:12so
26:14michael
26:14hmm michael so thick down stroke
26:22mm-hmm that's right
26:29that's right
26:34oh it's okay
26:41mm-hmm so so good just show me yeah it's okay it's okay we can read myself
26:50yeah
26:50yeah
26:51yeah
26:52yeah
27:00I love you.
27:22Whenever I come to Japan, I am inevitably aware of cultural differences.
27:28It's very easy to communicate with Japanese people who are very friendly and very humorous,
27:34and nowadays your mobile telephone will translate.
27:38But there are assumptions and outlooks here which 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 to making Europeans what they are today.
28:04Next time, with the flick of the switch, all the train seats have changed direction.
28:12Can you see that beautiful pine tree?
28:15That 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 go across our own bridge.
29:00We go across our own bridge.
29:01We go across our own bridge.
29:02We go across our own bridge.
29:02We go across our bridge.
29:02We go across our bridge.
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