 Last additions - Iga 伊賀市 |
Hiroshige's woodblock print of Iga-Ueno from his "Famous Views of the 60 Provinces" series. The castle can be seen in the distance.Apr 24, 2011
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Ueno-shi StationJul 06, 2009
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Apr 28, 2009
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Apr 28, 2009
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Inside Iga Ueno Danjiri Museum.Apr 28, 2009
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Iga Ueno Danjiri MuseumApr 28, 2009
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Kitchen stovesApr 22, 2009
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Small door to the kitchen. People must have been pretty short then.Apr 22, 2009
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Toilets and bathApr 22, 2009
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UrinalApr 22, 2009
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Room inside Basho's childhood home.Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 22, 2009
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A short walk from Ueno Park is the Basho Oseika (芭蕉翁生家) or Basho's childhood home. Iga is the birthplace of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), and the house where he grew up in still stands.Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 22, 2009
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The back of the house is Basho's study called Chogetsuken (釣月軒) where he wrote the Kai-ooi (貝おほい) series of poems.Apr 22, 2009
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Inside the Chogetsuken study. 釣月軒Apr 22, 2009
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The house is open to the public as a tourist attraction (admission 300 yen). The house was rebuilt after it being damaged by a large earthquake in 1854.Apr 22, 2009
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Kitchen area with a well on the left and stoves toward the right.Apr 22, 2009
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Water wellApr 22, 2009
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The study is a very simple, yet aesthetic and meditative-looking room.Apr 22, 2009
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Statue of Basho at Ueno-shi Station.Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 22, 2009
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Iga-yaki ceramic statue of Basho inside the Haisei-den.Apr 22, 2009
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The Haisei-den was designed to look like Basho in travel clothing. The top roof resembles a hat, and the lower roof resembles his straw raincoat. Cherry blossoms were in bloom.Apr 22, 2009
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Inside the Haisei-den is a ceramic statue of Basho.Apr 22, 2009
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Iga-Ueno's Ueno Park includes this beautiful building called the Haisei-den (俳聖殿), a hall dedicated to Haiku poet Matsuo Basho who was from Iga-Ueno.Apr 22, 2009
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Haisei-den and wisteria in bloom. The Basho Matsuri Festival is a poetry reading held here on Oct. 12.Apr 22, 2009
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The building was designed by architect Ito Chota (1867-1954) (伊東 忠太) who designed numerous shrine and temple buildings in the 1920s and '30s, including Tsukiji Hongwanji temple in Tokyo.Apr 22, 2009
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A short walk from Iga-Ueno Castle and almost next to the ninja house, the Haisei-den was built in 1942 to mark the 300th anniversary of Basho's birth. Apr 22, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Storefront shutter with ninja drawings.Apr 17, 2009
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Everywhere you go in Iga-Ueno, you see a ninja motif.Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja shopApr 17, 2009
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Even ninja get thirsty.Apr 17, 2009
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Rope knots hung on roof eaves, etc., were also used for communication.Apr 17, 2009
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Female ninja climbing over a wall.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja doll on a pole.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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During April and early May, they hold the annual ninja festa.Apr 17, 2009
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More secret ninja language.Apr 17, 2009
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Bamboo sticks concealing a sword.Apr 17, 2009
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Pepper bombs to blind you.Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja swords.Apr 17, 2009
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Ninjas under cherry blossoms.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Ninja Festa posterApr 17, 2009
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CushionApr 17, 2009
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Female ninjaApr 17, 2009
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Iron clawsApr 17, 2009
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Another ninja museum.Apr 17, 2009
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See many people wearing ninja costumes during the ninja festa.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Where you can rent a ninja costume.Apr 17, 2009
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Making medicine.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Juggling sickles. Having a sickle did not arouse suspicion as it was a common farming tool. But for the ninja, it was an effective weapon.Apr 17, 2009
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Inside ninja museum which is in a former rice warehouse.Apr 17, 2009
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Duel to the death.Apr 17, 2009
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Throwing sickles and shuriken.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Five-colored rice grains used for secret communication.Apr 17, 2009
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Shuriken throwing.Apr 17, 2009
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You have to applaud once in a while.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja costumesApr 17, 2009
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Shuruken takes skill to throw.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Nakayama Emiri, a TV personality, tries to throw shuriken.Apr 17, 2009
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Five-colored rice grains used for secret communication.Apr 17, 2009
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Veranda of Iga-ryu Ninja House Apr 17, 2009
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What would a ninja museum be without a display of shuriken?Apr 17, 2009
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Kitchen area in Iga-ryu Ninja House.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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KitchenApr 17, 2009
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Iga-ryu Ninja House ninja show.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-ryu Ninja Museum Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Ninjas in the kitchen. We could not go up into the attic as we can in Koka's ninja house in Shiga.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja disguisesApr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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For an extra 200 yen, you can watch the ninja show right next to the ninja house.Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja swords are short and straight with no curvature.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Lock picksApr 17, 2009
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Thatched-roof of Iga-ryu Ninja House.Apr 17, 2009
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Sword demoApr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Revolving door of Iga-ryu Ninja House Apr 17, 2009
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Flipper-like clogs to walk through swampsApr 17, 2009
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Kitchen in Iga-ryu Ninja House.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno really plays up its ninja past. Apr 17, 2009
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Another wall door that leads to the basement tunnel.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-ryu Ninja House is a thatched-roof house whose roof once caught fire in the 1990s. It was rebuilt.Apr 17, 2009
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Hidden floor compartment where they hid their valuables outside the house.Apr 17, 2009
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Ninja paint job on a train.Apr 17, 2009
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This is a staircase concealed as a shelf.Apr 17, 2009
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Emergency escape hatch whose lock can be quickly released with a sheet of paper.Apr 17, 2009
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When you push in the end of this floor plank, it opens up to reveal a sword.Apr 17, 2009
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Inside the Iga-ryu Ninja House.Apr 17, 2009
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Another swinging wall door.Apr 17, 2009
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Sword hidden in the floor.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Kunoichi female ninja guideApr 17, 2009
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Even the trains have a ninja (female) paint job.Apr 17, 2009
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Inside the Iga-ryu Ninja HouseApr 17, 2009
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Entrance to the basement.Apr 17, 2009
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Once a group gets large enough, they take you all in and a female ninja guide explains the house's ninja trickery. Admission charged. Recommended is the set of tickets that admit you to the ninja house, castle, and Danjiri Museum.Apr 17, 2009
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There she goes.Apr 17, 2009
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Now a shelf. It leads to the attic.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-ryu Ninja House is in Ueno Park which includes Iga-Ueno Castle nearby.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-ryu Ninja House garden. They take you in groups, so you may have to wait a while before you can go in.Apr 17, 2009
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Ueno-shi Station has ninja dolls to greet you.Apr 17, 2009
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The first demo is this swinging wall.Apr 17, 2009
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An altar in the Iga-ryu Ninja House.Apr 17, 2009
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Lets you escape to the next room instantly, or climb up or down the ladder on the right wall.Apr 17, 2009
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One of the tallest castle walls in Japan.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Park area above the castle wall.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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You could jump off into the moat below. No fences, so watch your kids.Apr 17, 2009
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View from atop Iga-Ueno Castle.Apr 17, 2009
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Edge of castle wall.Apr 17, 2009
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View from atop Iga-Ueno Castle, looking toward Ueno-shi Station.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Samurai armorApr 17, 2009
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Inside the castle tower is the Iga Museum of Culture and Industry. This is the first floor.Apr 17, 2009
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Bust of Kawasaki Katsu.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Todo Takatora was originally from Omi or neighboring Shiga Prefecture.Apr 17, 2009
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Todo Takatora's helmetApr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Top floorApr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle's donjon or tenshu tower was reconstructed in 1935 by Kawasaki Katsu, a local politician, using his own funds.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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In 1980, Ueno Castle served as a backdrop for Kurosawa Akira's movie, Kagemusha.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle and cherry blossoms, Mie Prefecture. During the Meiji Restoration, Ueno Castle's structures were dismantled as with many other castles.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle and cherry blossoms, Mie Prefecture.Apr 17, 2009
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Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle and cherry blossoms, Mie Prefecture.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle and cherry blossoms, Mie Prefecture.Apr 17, 2009
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In 1611, Todo Takatora took over Ueno Castle. Iga-Ueno Castle is also a major cherry blossom spot in early April.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle is one of three major tourist attractions in the city of Iga. It is a short walk from Ueno-shi Station on the Kintetsu Iga Line.Apr 17, 2009
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Stone marker for Ueno Castle located in Ueno Park. Officially called Ueno Castle and nicknamed Hakuho Castle or Iga-Ueno Castle. Noted for cherry blossoms in April and the highest castle walls in Japan.Apr 17, 2009
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Iga-Ueno Castle was first built by Takigawa Katsutoshi, a vassal of Kitabatake Nobuaki (Oda Nobuo, Nobunaga's second son). In 1585, Tsutsui Sadatsugu took over. initiated construction of Iga Ueno Castle in 1585. He was followed by Tsutsui SadatsuguApr 17, 2009
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They are still excavating a few areas of the castle for historical remains. I visited in April 2009.Apr 17, 2009
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