Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Unil 1948 the 5th day of the 5th month on the lunar calendar was celebrated as Boys' Day, Tango no
Sekku (
端午の節句
; also called the Feast of Banners). The 3rd day of the 3rd month, Hina matsuri,
(
雛祭
; also known as Doll Fesival) was celebrated by and for girls. Ater World War II the Japanese
government redesignated the two days as one Children's Day, to be celebrated on May 5th on the Ro-
man calendar. It's now called Kodomo no hi (
こどもの日
). For this day, parents put up
koi-nobori
(
鯉
幟
), carp-shaped wind streamers, which are meant to symbolize strength and courage. Families spend
ime together and pray for their children's' health, growth and happiness. This photo was taken on
Yomitan's Hijagawa River (
比謝川
), the iniial landing site of Allied Forces in the Batle of Okinawa.
The ruins of Zakimi Castle.
Large cut stones are a precious and valuable commodity. According to legend, Gosamaru
is said to have had the stones from his former castle in Yamada moved one by one to Zakimi
by forming a human chain of workers. Later, Gosamaru's reputation as a great castle builder
was further enhanced by his completion of Nakagusuku, the largest castle on Okinawa after
Shuri. He left Zakimi for Nakagusuku in order to be closer to his king.
11
CAPE ZANPA
残波岬
From the Zakimi Castle site, we'll drive almost due north 4 miles (6.5 kilometers), as far as
we can go in Yomitan, to its north-westernmost point at Cape Zanpa. There are three things
