Mimasaka: Cultural history in Hayashino

For a trip to Mimasaka, you can explore Hayashino’s cultural and historical themes, including Anyoji’s annual Eyo Festival, its medieval trading history, and historic buildings. The festival provides a clear point of reference for planning your trip; the castle site, temple garden, and museum buildings offer other highlights.

The Eyo Festival and Anyoji

Anyoji’s Eyo Festival is a 800-year-old naked festival held every year on the second Saturday in February. If you would like to combine your trip with the festival, this recurring date is the most important point of reference for deciding when to visit; check the event dates before making specific plans. The garden at Anyoji is attributed to Kobori Enshu. Behind the guest building is a dry landscape garden hill, while the front courtyard features an area designed as a turtle island. Anyoji is also home to a hidden wooden standing statue of the Eleven-Faced Kannon, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

The festival’s 800-year history and its February date answer different questions: the former places the festival’s long tradition in context, while the latter gives you the recurring annual date for planning your trip. The garden and the designated cultural property are other cultural and historical highlights of Anyoji.

Hayashino Castle and the trading history

Hayashino Castle was built at the confluence of the Yoshino and Kajinami rivers to control Hayashino. In the Middle Ages, Hayashino was a hub for river and land trade. The castle apparently already existed in 1361. The surviving areas include the summit and four enclosures on the mountain ridges sloping down to the north and west; the fortified area stretches for nearly 500 meters. The ruins are a 20-minute walk from Hayashino Station on the Kishin Line.

The two figures refer to different things: 20 minutes on foot is the distance from Hayashino Station to the ruins, while nearly 500 meters is the extent of the fortified area. The castle’s location at the confluence and its purpose are also linked: it was intended to control a place whose medieval importance lay in river and land trade.

Historic buildings in Hayashino

The building that now houses the Mimasaka Historical Museum was built in 1921 as a branch of Senō Bank in Hayashino and is currently closed. Its main building combines traditional Japanese construction techniques with a Western architectural style.

The Mimasaka Townscape Preservation Museum Kura preserves a storehouse with earthen walls dating from the period when Hayashino flourished as a trading town, and conveys the culture and history of that time. Its exterior walls are finished in the Namako style. Kura is normally open for exterior viewing only; interior viewing or use as a gallery space is possible by application. Please check in advance of your visit.

The castle and the storehouse represent different connections to trade: the castle was intended to control the medieval trading hub, while the earthen-walled storehouse dates from a time when Hayashino flourished as a trading town. By contrast, when comparing the two museum buildings, the focus is on their building history: the Historical Museum highlights its former use as a bank and the combination of two architectural styles, while Kura highlights its storehouse construction and Namako-style exterior walls.

For your trip planning, you can organize the information around three questions: When should you travel? The Eyo Festival takes place on the second Saturday in February. How do you get to the castle ruins? It’s a 20-minute walk from Hayashino Station on the Kishin Line. Would you like to see the inside of Kura? You’ll need to apply.

Discover more destinations: Kurashiki, Okayama, Hayashima, Tamano, Kagamino, Setouchi, Tsuyama, Asakuchi.

For an overview of the wider area: Okayama Prefecture.