Tomonoura

Summary

Tomonoura (鞆の浦), formerly known as Tomonotsu (鞆の津), is a port in the Tomo ward of Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It stands on the southern point of the Numakuma Peninsula, 14 kilometers south of Fukuyama Station, with a population of about half a million people as of 2017.[1]

Tomonoura
Lighthouse
Tomonoura featured on a 1939 stamp of Japan.

Tomonoura has been a prosperous port since ancient times. Its unique circular harbor was preserved even after modern port facilities were introduced. Tomonoura lies within Tomokōen (鞆公園), which forms part of the Setonaikai National Park. In 2007, the port was listed as one of the top 100 scenic municipalities in Japan and its harbor was listed as one of the top 100 historical natural features in Japan.[citation needed]

There are many historical temples and shrines around Tomonoura, and the area is famous for red sea bream (真鯛, Madai) fishing.[2]

History edit

Preserving the historic harbor edit

The local government had a plan to build a bridge over the scenic harbor for a bypass road, which caused conflict with members of the local community concerned about the preservation of the historic harbor. The plan has now been overturned by the Hiroshima District Court.[5][6][7][8] The plan led to the town being included in the World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund in 2002 and 2004. This organization later helped to restore a historic merchant house in the town with financial support from American Express. The 19th-century residence, known as Uoya-Manzo has since become an information center and guesthouse for visitors.[9]

In the arts and literature edit

Poetry edit

Man'yōshū - (7th to 8th century) (8 poems, including 2 Ōtomo no Tabito's poems)

Art edit

  • "Seto Inland Sea, Tomonotsu, 1940"; woodblock print by Tsuchiya Koitsu (土屋光逸), a sunset scene of ships in the harbor at Tomonoura.

Music edit

Books edit

Photography exhibitions edit

尾道への旅 (A Journey to Onomichi, 2006) by Wim Wenders

Films edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Tomonoura Overview". NAVITIME Travel. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  2. ^ Adika, Alon, "Taking in Tomonoura's many delights", Japan Times, 24 July 2011, p. 10.
  3. ^ Engishiki
  4. ^ Bektas, Yakup. Visions of Vanishing Japan. WMF.org. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Save Tomonoura".
  6. ^ "ICOMOS Symposium 2006".
  7. ^ "report of Tomonoura 2009".
  8. ^ "毎日jp(毎日新聞)". Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  9. ^ World Monuments Fund - Tomo Port Town

External links edit

  • Tomonoura
  • Tomonoura(in Portuguese)
  • Yakup Bektas, "Visions of Vanishing Japan: Threatened with radical redevelopment, the rare Edo-Period port town of Tomo-no-Ura has been granted a reprieve. For just how long, no one knows." ICON Magazine, Summer 2004, p. 18-23.

・VISIT Tomonoura

・Japan Heritage Portal Site Tomonoura

34°22′51″N 133°22′48″E / 34.380762°N 133.380111°E / 34.380762; 133.380111