Friday is field trip day with the local homeschool group. Yesterday, we went along on a trip to Nejo castle, a reconstructed Samurai castle in Hachinohe, a nearby city. It was a crisp, autumn day, perfect for an outdoor adventure.
First, we toured the Hachinohe city museum, which has displays of artifacts from the area dating back to 3,000 BC. The kids were fascinated by the fishing nets and Samurai armor and the vertical section of a shell pit, which our English-speaking guide explained was an ancient garbage dump.
Outdoors, we entered the castle grounds through the original gate,
and saw the two moat system. These were dry moats with very steep sides, meant to keep rival samurai, who were horseback soldiers, away by making the approach too steep for horses to traverse safely.
As we came very near to the castle wall, we crossed a log bridge to get to the entrance. We wondered why a bridge? Wasn't the point was to keep intruders out? Our guide explained that the logs of the narrow bridge would look unstable to a horse, causing it to hesitate before crossing. In that second of hesitation, archers in the castle would have time to shoot the approaching enemy.
The house inside the castle walls
was arranged for the New Year celebration, so we saw many special costumes and dishes there.
In the outbuildings, displays showed what the buildings were used for, as in the stables
and the armorers' workshop.
It was a beautiful morning to enjoy the castle replica and grounds. All of us were happy to have spent the morning outdoors, and the kids collected more items for our fall table: colorful leaves and berries.
What a shame we had to rush back to Misawa for gymnastics at noon! I would have liked to stay awhile, wander around the grounds, and eat a picnic lunch. It's a good excuse to take John and Patrick back when John gets home, though.
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