PB&J: Japan - Day 6, Part 1: The Shinkansen, the Old Komagi Farm, and the New Komagi Farm

Monday, July 30, 2012

My excitement this morning was through the roof. We were heading up North to visit my Dad's home town and meet most of his relatives. AND we'd take the Shinkansen. ALL things I've heard all my life about! Bright and early we left Tokyo.

THE SHINKANSEN RIDE

Each bullet train has a different face (both paint and body style). This is our beautiful engine for our high speed ride. And by high speed, we mean an average of 200 mph!

Seeing the city name "Ichinoseki" on the scrolling screen was so exciting!

Scenery....

ICHINOSEKI

My Uncle Shinobu, my dad's younger brother, met us at the station. We had a brief cell phone call to locate each other but found each other within a couple short minutes. I recognized him immediately - he still looks like all our pictures of him. He speaks a small amount of English - perhaps just a bit more than I can speak Japanese. Between our mutual attempts I think we managed to communicate fairly well, but we BOTH agreed it would have been much better to have my dad with us to translate!

Shinobu, bless his heart, had taken two days off from work (at the family business run by the oldest brother) and lined up a series of visits will most of the local relatives and a tourist detour.

Stop #1: Komagi, the apple orchard family. My dad's favorite childhood memories are spending the summers at his aunt & uncle's farm and eating their sweet apples (the flavor being beyond describable other than heavenly). This is also where my grandmother was raised. Her brother Hisami stayed on the farm with their parents and raised his family there.

A few years previously the river flooded, the village was torn down and families relocated. But the river has receded and that land is still farmed. We were to see this spot first.

This bridge was built after my dad left Japan. Previously the only way to the village was across this river. Family would stop on the road and climb down the riverbank. From the edge of the water they would yell across the river until someone in the house on the other side heard them yelling and row a boat over to pick them up. Some boats are still used today, as in the pic below, but now cars can drive on roads further down the river and cross over the bridge. When my dad was a kid, there wasn't even a road that led into the village at all.

This is the back side of the farm, looking onto it from the other side of the river.

This is another cousin's house that we didn't get to meet, but my uncle told me to take a picture of it to show my dad. This is where the Kasai family lives.

This is the community farm stand where our family sells the produce they grow. Several families sell produce here and they take turns different days of the week to man the store.

The road into the village. Only 6 houses/families used to live and farm here. This also did not exist when my father was young.

The land where the family house and barn for animals used to be.

Still working the land. Here are onions. Root vegetables grow really well here since it used to be a riverbed a long time ago. The ground is soft & sandy. This ground also gives the apples a special & distinctive taste even compared to others in the region.

The famous (at least in our family) orchard.

I asked to taste an apple, but was told they were not close enough to be ripe and it would have been very sour. I was very disappointed. We'll have to try an autumn trip next time.

This is the pump that draws water from the river.

My uncle called me over to take pictures over here. Back in the day this was a well worn path instead of overgrowth because any time anyone went to school, the store, etc. they would pass through here to get to the boats and across the river.

This is the boat they used to ferry people over the river. It seemed to be a magical memory for my uncle, too.

My Uncle Shinobu and me. My parents both have nothing but great things to say about Shinobu.

The slope down to the river from here becomes steep.

Kabocha squash

Kabocha plants

Another section of the orchard.

Driving away looking back at the farmland.

Another bridge for more access.

Stop #2: The New Komagi Home

After kicking the families out of the flooded land, the government built new homes for the residents in a safer area. We came here next.

This is the new home.

We were greeted by my great-aunt and her youngest son Yasayuki. My dad grew up calling her "Komagi Obachan" (literally Aunt Komagi). When pressed, he finally remembers that her first name is Shigeko. My great-uncle Hisami, my grandmother's brother, was out in the fields for the day and would not be home until late. We would not be able to see him. My great-aunt is a tiny woman, shorter than 5 feet tall and her back is hunched from farming for many years. She even carried food and pictures half-way bent over. She served us fresh veggies from her garden, crackers and sweets. After eating and talking and showing my iPad photos of the family back home, my great-aunt showed me pictures around her home.

Ariel view of the community before the flood. This was also gifted to the families by the government.

Close up of the Komagi farm. I believe the house is in the middle with the peaked roof. The bathroom may have been the small building behind. The barn is rounded roof on the right. (I'll have my dad correct me on this if I'm wrong.)

My great grandmother, Susumu Sato. My grandmother's mother.

My great grandfather, Hisashi Chiba (my brother Sam's middle name was named after him), my grandmother's father.

I love how the family crest is on the kimonos for the pictures. This is Hisashi's mother, Waki Onodera.

This is my dad's cousin Yoshihisa who lived and worked on the farm. He died a few years previously leaving his wife and two boys without a husband & father.

These deceased family members' pictures are hung in remembrance near the ceiling in the master bedroom.

These are all my grandmother's siblings and spouses. My grandmother, Fuyo Chiba, was the second child. She is second from the left in the bottom row. My grandfather, Riyokichi Chiba, is standing behind her. The Komagi couple is the third couple from the left. He is my grandmother's brother. Because he is the oldest son (even though he's the third child) he inherited the farm and took care of his aging parents.

Back Row: Mr. Kawakami & Tamiko Kawakami
Middle Row: Mr. Oikawa, Riyokichi Chiba, Hisami Chiba, Hisato Chiba, Harumizu (Chiba) Onodera
Bottom Row: Sumiko Oikawa (the oldest child), Fuyo,

The siblings in birth order: Sumiko, Fuyo, Hisami, Hisato, Harumizu, Tamiko

After this bit of family history and pictures, my dad's cousin showed us around outside.