The Roving Ronin Report

Spring is the time of cherry blossoms in Japan and Japanese love their hanami. Hanami is cherry blossom viewing parties where people gather under the sakura blossoms and make merry. One of the grandest hanami events ever held was over 400 years ago at Daigo Temple in Kyoto. The host of this hanami was the most powerful man in Japan at the time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and this gala event could be see as the culmination of an extraordinary life which began in a farmer's hut. Toyotomi was the medieval Japan's ultimate rags-to-riches story.  Toyotomi was born to a poor farmer/foot soldier during a time of anarchy known as the Sengoku Period or Warring States when Japan was torn apart by feuding warlords. He joined the services of Oda Nobunaga an innovative warlord who began unifying the land. After Oda's death, Toyotomi continued this work and by 1590 succeeded in uniting all the warring factions in the country.  Toyotomi became the strongest leader in Japan bu...

Although built for war, Japanese castles were also built with an eye for beauty. It would be a boorish samurai castle owner not to have certain trees and flowers planted on the grounds of his castle for their aesthetic quality. Matsumoto Castle in Nagano Prefecture is a beautiful castle in its own right. It's black color stands starkly contrast to the colors around in the form of mountains, rivers, and trees. Before the modern era and its ugly functional buildings, Matsumoto Castle must have been a sight to beyond especially during cherry blossom season. Once a year for one weak during the peak blooming time of the cherry blossoms, the city of Matsumoto opens up the castle grounds from 6pm to 9pm. The castle and the cherry blossom trees are all illuminated and as visitors stroll about they can listen to live music performances. One of the aesthetic aspects of Matsumoto Castle is the tsukimi yagura or moon-viewing tower. One wing of the castle is a two-story tower whose wall...