[ Hiroyo ]
”I can't believe that the Yamaguchi City I built was featured in the New York Times. How proud I am!”
[ Muraoka ]
”Festivals with their roots in Ouchi Culture have been introduced on the world stage!”
- Head of the Ouchi clan
- Ouchi Hiroyo
He was the head of the Ouchi clan in the Nanbokucho period and laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Ouchi clan. He is said to have developed a town modeled after Kyoto in the Yamaguchi Basin and left behind many episodes related to the origin of the Ouchi culture, including the traditional craft of Ouchi lacquerware.
- Governor, Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Muraoka Tsugumasa
He is the current governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. He was first elected in 2014, and re-elected in 2018 and 2022. He was born in Ube City in 1972 and graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in Economics. In 1996, he joined the former Ministry of Home Affairs. While serving in Hokkaido, Hiroshima City, and Kochi Prefecture, he worked in financial affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
I can't believe that the Yamaguchi City I built was featured in the New York Times. How proud I am!
- Head of the Ouchi clan
- Ouchi Hiroyo
He was the head of the Ouchi clan in the Nanbokucho period and laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Ouchi clan. He is said to have developed a town modeled after Kyoto in the Yamaguchi Basin and left behind many episodes related to the origin of the Ouchi culture, including the traditional craft of Ouchi lacquerware.
- Ouchi
- Well, the houses lined up in rows have completely changed, but the townscape remains as beautiful as ever…
- Muraoka
- What do you think of the current state of the town of Yamaguchi that you developed?
- Ouchi
- Oh, Mr. Muraoka! The area around Ryufukuji Temple, where I used to live, still retains its original layout! It was a good idea of posterity to plant cherry trees along both banks of the beautiful Ichinosaka River.
- Muraoka
- Not only cherry blossoms in spring but also Genji fireflies in early summer, have become one of the specialties of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Thanks to the efforts of residents, the river's natural beauty has been preserved even amid a city, and visitors can enjoy the beautiful sights of the four seasons. By the way, is it true that you released fireflies from the Uji River into the Ichinosaka River to please young ladies?
- Ouchi
- I'll leave that part to your imagination. It would be unwise to reveal the romance of history so simply. Anyway, my sons as well as their descendants, seem to have made Yamaguchi prosperous splendidly. I carefully studied feng shui, so it is only natural that it turned out this way.
- Muraoka
- Masahiro san, who sheltered Sesshu and commissioned him to design gardens, Yoshioki san, who assisted the Muromachi shogun... And Yoshitaka san's interactions with the missionary Francis Xavier have led to the current exchange between Pamplona, Spain, and Yamaguchi City, and between Yamaguchi Prefecture and the province of Navarre.
- Ouchi
- I see many people from other countries. They seem to be enjoying touring the city with curious looks on their faces.
- Muraoka
- That's right! As a matter of fact, Yamaguchi City was introduced as one of the "52 Places to Go in 2024" by the New York Times, bringing the city into the limelight. Thanks to this, the city has been widely covered in the media and has attracted many tourists from Japan and abroad.
- Ouchi
- I'm quite moved that the beauty of the city I built has been conveyed to a distant foreign country. Is that a map the man is looking at on his smartphone?
- Muraoka
- Oh! That is an ancient map of Yamaguchi. There remain old maps depicting Yamaguchi at the end of the Edo period, about 500 years after your time, or about 150 years before the present, and the domain headquarters moved from Hagi by Mr. Mori Takachika is marked as "Yamaguchi-yakata." In recent years, the entire prefecture of Yamaguchi has been promoting town tours with old maps.
- Ouchi
- According to the old map, the Gion Shrine, which I built as a branch shrine of the one in Kyoto, is located at the foot of Mt. Konomine on this map.
- Muraoka
- The Gion Shrine was originally built on Tatekoji Street by you, but was later moved to the foot of Mt. Konomine, and then to its current location shortly after this map was drawn, and its name was changed to Yasaka Shrine. The Yamaguchi Gion Festival, which is held every summer, was introduced by the New York Times, and this year was even more crowded than usual.
- Ouchi
- I've heard that the festival started a little later than my time, but I am deeply moved to see that the prosperity of the Ouchi clan has been transmitted to the future world as the "Ouchi Culture."
- Muraoka
- Today, Yamaguchi is called the "Kyoto of the West" because the heads of the Ouchi clan actively supported cultural figures. National Treasure "Rurikoji Five-Storied Pagoda," Ouchi lacquerware, and Japan's first Christmas are all symbols of Ouchi culture that the people of Yamaguchi take great pride in. And at the Yamaguchi Gion Festival, everyone dances together to honor the Ouchi clan. Hiroyo san, why don't you attend next year's festival as a judge?
- Ouchi
- Well, then, it's not enough just to sit around! Yoshihiro, Morimi, and the heads of the family for generations will join the dance! Mr. Muraoka, please teach us how to dance!
- Muraoka
- Oh, that will be the highlight of next year's festival! Let's carry the mikoshi (portable shrine) and visit festivals around the prefecture!
Festivals with their roots in Ouchi Culture have been introduced on the world stage!
- Governor, Yamaguchi Prefecture
- Muraoka Tsugumasa
He is the current governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. He was first elected in 2014, and re-elected in 2018 and 2022. He was born in Ube City in 1972 and graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in Economics. In 1996, he joined the former Ministry of Home Affairs. While serving in Hokkaido, Hiroshima City, and Kochi Prefecture, he worked in financial affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
