Golden-rayed Lilies in a castle ruin

 This kind of lily opens in the mid summer at cool places.

 People in my city established a society to preserve the Koyama castle ruin few years ago. They cut undergrowth and plant lilies every year.

 Members of the society have planted  a lily on mounds one by one. Some of them are senior citizens. It would be not easy for them to keep their balance and do this work on a slope.

 We admire the beauty of nature. On the other hand, it would be important to realize that the natural environment near to our residence has been kept by human efforts every year.

I dropped at an old farmer's house.

The wooden house did not use nails or metal parts to fix pillars and beams.　

"Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters!"

Old style Japanese houses are quite comfortable to stay on intense heat days in summer.

This house is now used as a public hall.

Suwa Akimiya Shrine 諏訪大社秋宮

After visiting Matsumoto Castle, I went to Suwa Akimiya. This is a mysterious place. Suwa shrine consists of four shrines. No one knows when the shrines were established originally. This is the entrance gate "torii". A long stone slope under big conifers welcomes visitors in the silent atmosphere.

Kaguraden is a building to play sacred music and dancing. The architecture is quite similar to that of Izumo taisha in western Japan、800km away from here. A myth recorded in early 8th century says a son of Izumo god escaped from his territory in Izumo and arrived at this area.　

This is a worship hall. Behind this building, there is one big conifer standing for years. The tree is the worship focus. Some rituals of Suwa shrine have kept ancient customs before the age of rice growing 3000 years ago. It is said that four shrines might have been established in the Neolithic era.

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto castle was constructed 400 years ago in Nagano, central Japan.

The frameworks were made of wood. The outer walls were plastered and black painted wood covered the plaster for preservation against the weather. 

This is the main gate called Black Gate restored in 1990.

After the new central government was established in 1868, many castles in Japan became no use and were sold or destroyed. After this beautiful castle was also sold at auction, wealthy citizens in Matsumoto were afraid of its taking down and bought it back. To stop the dilapidation, people in this city established a castle preservation society in 1901 and made big repairs for 12 years. The repairments saved the castle from collapse.

 This is the top structure of the main tower.

 Sunshine comes in from a gable.

 Insides are still kept in good condition.

 The right tower with a red railing was added in a peaceful time for the purpose of moon viewing.

 

In every direction, I enjoyed the variety of the beautiful constructions composed of the main and sub towers.