Many Japanese people look forward to
watching Taiga dramas (or “big river” drama), which are broadcasted by NHK. These
annual dramas centre on historical figures who from a critical juncture of Japan’s history
and often have a great influence on tourism to towns related to the characters
or settings of the dramas themselves. It is very similar to the way many people
visit Rome to
travel to the settings of the movie “Roman Holiday.” The 2012 drama is about
Taira no Kiyomori. He is closely connected with Hyogo-Kobe, a fact that
stimulates local tourism greatly. So, who is he?
Who
is Taira no Kiyomori?
Taira-no-Kiyomori was a samurai warrior in
medieval Japan
(approximately 900 years ago). He was the first samurai in history to take a
political place among Japan’s
nobility, thereby establishing a samurai-dominated administrative government in
Japan.
He is often described as a villain or an anti-hero in a famous piece of
Japanese classical literature, “the Tale of Heike.” After Kiyomori and his clan
won a deadly battle against another samurai clan, all of Japan came
under his rule and his family and the members of his clan kept all the
important posts in the government to themselves. They placed too much
confidence and pride in their own power and ability, and as time went by, they
fell down from their proud existence of glory and elegance. However, Kiyomori was also an innovative harbour and urban planner with
a good sense of economy and internationality. Kiyomori’s clan improved the old
port in Kobe
(“Owada-no-Tomari”) and its surrounding area as one of their bases. He
dedicated his life to enriching the country by international trade; he prepared
and improved the trade infrastructure of the old port and laid the foundations
of full-scale international trade, including construction of an artificial
island. He established a trade relationship with the Sung dynasty of China and put imported Chinese coins into public
circulation, bringing about a money economy in Japan. He relocated the capital
from Kyoto to Fukuhara, present-day Hyogo Ward
in Kobe. Nonetheless,
the new capital stayed just for less than half a year before being returned to Kyoto again due to various
reasons.
The frustration with the dictatorship of
the Taira clan was growing among the nobility, temples, shrines and other
samurai clans. Kiyomori died of a fever while his inveterate enemy, the Genji
clan, rose up in arms supported by an anti-Taira clan movement. His ashes were buried
in a temple in Kobe.
Thus, Kobe has been closely connected to
Kiyomori, and many sites in Hyogo
Prefecture keep
historical treasures left by Kiyomori and his clan.
The
Great Buddha of Hyogo sitting at the temple where Kiyomori became a priest
People pay a lot of attention to any city or
town which provides the setting for any NHK Taiga drama. These locations come
to be the central attractions of tourism in the area. Hyogo will take this
opportunity to promote places of interest related to Taira-no-Kiyomori.
Our
next blog will introduce a new exhibition pavilion in Kobe which is connected to the NHK drama
"Taira no Kiyomori." Don’t Miss it!
Useful links:
Hyogo Tourism Guide
http://www.hyogo-tourism.jp/english/column/2009_04_tid.html (English)
http://www.hyogo-tourism.jp/english/hyogotsu/index.html (English)
Taira no Kiyomori
http://www.hyogo-tourism.jp/aitaihyogo_2011/ (Japanese only) .
http://www.kiyomori-genpei.jp/ (Japanese only)
http://feel-kobe.jp/genpei/nagare04.html (Japanese only)
KOBE de Kiyomori
http://kobe-de-kiyomori.jp/ (Japanese only)
NHK Official Drama page
http://www9.nhk.or.jp/kiyomori/ （Japanese only）
Yoko (Hyogo Tourism Association)
