Wakimachi and Udatsu Old Street

 Today I got to go to Wakimachi, which is where I was supposed to go when I missed everyone at Tokushima Station.  Brooke, Zoe, and Masami-san took me.  Here are the three of them at lunch.

They did not know I was getting them in the picture until after the fact.  We had soba which was very nice.  The noodles are served on plates (5 plates for each of us is what we ordered), and you are given a small bowl or cup.  You mix up your own dipping sauce using thinly sliced green onions, wasabi, tororo (pureed yam), dashi (fish broth), and a raw egg.  The dipping sauce is cold, so the egg stays raw.  I should also say the yam has a "mucilaginous" texture.  That means slimy.  The flavor is good, but if you have texture issues with food, I'd avoid adding it.

Soba was not the main reason we went, though.  It was to see the old part of the city.  Like Tokushima, Wakimachi had a thriving indigo trade.  Up until about the 1980's the only way to get the deep blue was natural dye.  In the East this meant indigo plants.  It was very expensive and very sought after leading to Tokushima being one of the wealthiest prefectures in Japan.  With the advent of synthetic dyes, indigo became less expensive and less exclusive, and the prefecture's economy suffered.  However, for quite a long while, this was the place to make money.  Consequently, Wakimachi was very wealthy (at least parts of it), and the Udatsu Old Street is where many merchants lived.  The houses have been maintained and some turned into stores or museums.

The word "udatsu" refers to a piece of architecture added to houses after the fact.  It's a small section of wall on the roof of the first floor that acts as a fire break.

Right in the center of the picture is an udatsu.  These were expensive to add, so they also are something of a status symbol.  It was here I was able to go into one of the houses and see the old style.

This is a shogi board.  It's similar to chess, but more complex.  When I was in a toy store I saw a game with a similar picture on the box, but I'm not sure it was this.  Aside from this, the floor is tatami, or straw mats.  In older homes room size was measured in number of tatami needed to cover the floor.  Most of the rooms in the house we were in were 6 tatami.

The doors between each room are like what we see in movies - sliding with paper covered lattice.  Above many of them are what I call in my mind transoms.  At least, that's what we'd call them if they were in our house.  However, instead of being basic openings, these have ornately carved wood silhouette, like the one above.  There were different themes.  Flowers, mountains, and cranes are the ones I can remember.  I thought if we had these as transoms in our houses, we'd probably still have transoms.

Here I am at the window in what I think was a bedroom.  You can see the crane transom.  We would never have that opening in our houses.  Too much cold air comes in.  However, this is at 34 degrees north latitude, which is central Texas.  Barring the anomaly this year due to climate change, things don't get terribly cold here.  The view out of this window was of the mountains to the south.  If the building out the back was not there, you'd also be able to see the river from here.  I think it would be good to sit here in the morning and think about nothing while drinking coffee or tea.

Brooke said she would send me a few more pictures, and I'll probably post them here.  However, she is preparing to return to Australia at the end of next week.  Only about 15 months behind schedule.  (Thanks, corona!)  So, if this is not a high priority, I totally understand.

One thing before I go.  Every town, city, school. business, whatever, has its own mascot here.  I present to you Udatsu-chan.

Yes.  The town mascot is a section of wall used to denote wealth and act as a firebreak.  That is how important this piece of architecture is to this community.