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(Location: Main Street)
Hello and welcome to the first Rising Sun episode of 2018! I'm your host SPC Brianna Doo. Our monthly program highlights news, activities, and the history of U.S. Army in Japan along with Japanese customs and culture. Our goal is to familiarize our Soldiers, Family Members and DA civilians with their host country during their tour in Japan. Today, we are at Ko-Edo or Little Edo-Kawagoe, located in the heart of Kawagoe City in Saitama prefecture. Here you will find classical Japanese architecture that retains an old-town ambience reminiscent of the Samurai era. The city also offers ancient castle ruins, historic temples and shrines, and of course a variety of cuisines that you can only find here. So, stay tuned to learn what to expect during a visit to Ko-Edo!
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(Location: Main Street)
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Kawagoe is about a 90 -minute drive or 100 minute train ride from Camp Zama and is a great area to learn about Japan's Edo Period during the 17th and 18th century. Kawagoe City was an important area to Edo City, the capital of that day, and provided trade and military strategy during this period. Because of that, the city inherited numerous aspects of the Edo culture and architecture which still stands today. Once you arrive at Kawagoe, you may want to visit Kawagoe's main street called Kura-zukuri shopping street where you can see a variety
of Kura-zukuri structures, which are clay-walled warehouse-styled buildings that line
both sides of street for about a quarter mile. These buildings were very unique to this area and were reconstructed after the Great Kawagoe Fire in 1893 in order to prevent fire damage.
Now, you're probably wondering why I'm wearing a kimono today. Well, Kawagoe promotes "the experience of Japanese culture and tradition" for its visitors and one way for them to enjoy a piece of history is- to wear it ! Here you can rent a kimono and even have it professionally fitted, all for only a few thousand yen... then make your way to the Kura-Zukuri street where (Comeback to Anchor) you can get special discounts from numerous stores just for wearing a kimono on every moth of the 8th, 18th, and 28th. But, before I head off to see what deals I can get, let's check in with Charlie. I heard you found some traditional Japanese sweets unique to Kawagoe. Charlie, where are you and what did you find?
(Food Segment – Penny Candy Lane) Introduce Tam-Riki-Seika’s freshly made Candy.
We’re here on what’s known as Penny Candy Lane, named for the famous Beatles song and the fact that they sell penny candy here… which is funny because they don’t have pennies in Japan. Maybe it should be called “YENI Candy Lane”.
It’s here where you can get candies from days gone by. The kind of treats that kids enjoyed back when things were much simpler. We have shops like this back in the States… I’m sure you’ve seen one once, at least in a movie. But just because the candies were from as simpler time doesn’t mean that the taste is simple… no, sir! These kinds of candies date back generations, and so does the flavor mastery. Don’t believe me? Take a look here… this is a real, live candy factory. You’re seeing magic being made.
[ TAMA-RIKI SEIKA CANDY FACTORY TALK “The Tama Riki-Seika is a traditional Japanese candy store that has been making handmade candy with all natural ingredients since 1914. They offer more than 50 different varieties of colorful candies,” etc etc ]
And here it is, fresh… [eats candy] and delicious… [talks about how candy tastes]
(Location: Toki-no-Kane)
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Wow, there were so many different kinds of colorful candies and I didn't know they actually make all of their candies inside the store! I will definitely check it out before I leave today! I'm now at the Toki-no-Kane bell tower, a symbol of the Kawagoe area, located just off the main street. This tower was built in the 17th century to notify citizens of the time. The original tower burned down during the Great Kawagoe Fire in 1893 and this current tower was immediately rebuilt afterward. Today, the tower still rings four times a
day. Tomoyuki Hara, the Senior Commissioner of the Kawagoe Storehouse Association tells us more about Kawagoe's history.
(Segment – Interview Tomoyuki Hara, Senior Commissioner, Kawagoe Storehouse Association) Introduce history of Kawagoe.
(Location: Honmaru-Goten)
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So, what you see behind me is the "Honmaru-Goten,” which are the only surviving ruins from the inner-circle palace of Kawagoe Castle. Here you can see how the Samurai lived and worked during the 18th century in this display with Samurai mannequins playing the roles of a feudal lord and his subjects. The building consists of fifteen large and small rooms that were previously office and residential space. The largest room inside the building is a 36-tatami-mat room which is about 710 square feet. The picture that was painted on the sliding doors here were drawn in 1848 when this structure was added on to the original castle. If you are interested in visiting Honmaru-Goten, it's about ten minute walk from the main street going east. OK, so now I'm hearing Charlie found a good restaurant that serves some dishes unique to Kawagoe . Charlie, tell us what's so special about this place?
(Food Segment – Torocco) Introduce Sweet Potato plate and sweet potato tea
I’ve been bopping all over Kawagoe hunting up something good to eat, and let me tell you… it’s not been hard! It’s one thing when you go into an area that’s famous for one specific thing; but it seems that here… everything is good! There’s yakitori… and mochi… all kinds of cool, mouth-watering street foods… but then I stumbled upon something that just… BAM! Well, you’ll have to see for yourself. Come on! You’re not going to believe this!
Look at this! Traditional Japanese meal, right? Well, I want you to look closer… guess what! It’s all made from potato! Every dish here is potato based… ok, the rice it’s made out of potato, but you know what I mean.
This is called the Kawagoe sweet potato mini kaiseki, and you can get it exclusively at a great little restaurant called Torocco. Now, normally kaiseki is culturally known for tea-ceremony dishes, but here it’s served “tea ala carte” which is French for “without the tea”… or maybe it isn’t. I don’t know, I don’t speak French. You can see how this is laid out that a great deal of care has been put into the food’s presentation, and that’s so important. Maybe you don’t think about it at home so much, but presentation is the capstone in the tri-force of tastiness.
[TRI-FORCE OF TASTINESS GRAPHIC]
I love that graphic. But not as much as I think I’m going to like trying this unexpected delight. Allow me to dig in…
[Eats food. Talks about food ]
But as good as that was… it was missing something. Luckily, I have the answer. Every good meal deserves a better beverage, and what better what to complement a potato-based meal than with a potato-based drink. No, I’m not talking about vodka… I’m talking about sweet potato tea, something I’m going to bet you didn’t even know existed in just about now. And this isn’t just any on’ sweet potato tea, it’s made with rare beni-aka potatoes that only grow in the Kawagoe area. It’s the cities way of promoting their sweet potato culture to the world. But enough of my jabbering. I always say “how does it taste”… well today we’re going to answer that age-old myster “how does it refresh?” And by “it” I mean sweet potatoes.
(Location: Pottery Class)
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While Charlie is enjoying his Sweet Potato tea at the Torocco, I've moved to Toho-Yamawa-Pottery Class located just behind him. Here you can actually experience making a variety of pottery using hand-forming or a pottery wheel. If you are not comfortable making pottery yourself, you can always create a decorative plate or cup that is ready for painting.
Each one will cost you a few thousand yen and take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete. Today, we will get an introductory lesson in Japanese hand-forming pottery.
Yoroshiku-Onegaishimasu!
(After completion of making pottery)
Here is my first pottery piece (with smile and pause for seconds)...it looks a little like a salad bowl but it's actually a plate…..(pause)…..anyway, just a few more steps and the process will be complete. And don't worry if you can't take it home with you, because once you finish, they can mail your piece anywhere; even an address outside of Japan! For more information, you can go to the website you see here. Sir/Ma'am, thank you very much for letting us experience pottery making with you today! Arigato-gozaimashita!
Well, before we wrap up today's show, we have one more place to show you; a historic factory producing world-famous soy sauce.
(Location: Matsumoto-Soy Sauce Factory)
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Here we are at our last stop; the Matsumoto Soy Sauce Factory. Most of you have probably eaten soy sauce at one time or another but you've probably never seen how it's actually made.
Here at Matsumoto Soy Sauce Factory, it requires a little pre-arranging but you can observe the actual process of making soy sauce from beginning to end. What's so unique about this soy sauce factory is that they've been making soy sauce using the same methods they first established in 1764. So, we took the opportunity to interview the owner of this historic soy sauce factory to learn their unique process of making traditional Japanese soy sauce.
(Segment – Interview Kimio Matsumoto, President, Matsumoto Soy Sauce Factory) Introduce history of Factory and its process of making soy sauce.
(Location: Main Street or Penny Candy Lane)
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I hope you've enjoyed this month's episode of the Rising Sun, learning about what Kawagoe has to offer. To find out more about what's going on around Camp Zama, ask questions, or send feedback, please "Like" us on Facebook at United States Army Garrison Japan. Join us next time for more in-depth stories and cultural coverage from the Army's home in the land of Rising Sun. I'm SPC XXXXXX, and we'll see you next month.
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.19.2018 23:03 |
| Category: | Video Productions |
| Video ID: | 650671 |
| VIRIN: | 160315-A-AB123-001 |
| Filename: | DOD_106319245 |
| Length: | 00:15:00 |
| Location: | ZAMA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Downloads: | 4 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 4 |
This work, Rising Sun Kawagoe edition 2018, by Daisuke Sato, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
