Visitting Iga --- A Famous NINJA Village

A Spanish boy was being immersed in the Ninja atmosphere. Many minutes had already passed, and many Japanese sightseerers had been coming and going. It was something to see. Not Ninja exhibits, but his attitude toward them. Iga is well known in Japan for its 3 historical events. First, it appeared as one of the biggest suppliers of Ninja. Second, it is the birth place of Basho, who created Haiku as a new poetry in Japan. Third, it worked as a location for one of the 3 biggest vengeance (ADAUCHI)in Edo Period. Some suggest their connection. My niece brought the Spanish boy to Sakai. He loves both Japanese historical spots and entertainment quarters, and asked me to take them to Iga, which is 2-hour-drive away from Sakai. We arrived at Iga Ueno Castle before noon. The castle area has a castle tower, Ninja Museum, and Basho Monument. We visited the tower first, which gave us a great view around the castle, and let us imagine how wonderful it must have been to overview 'our' land, and how awful it was to see the castle surrounded by the enemy. Before getting into Ninja Museum, we enjoyed Ninja Show.

We wlked down along Nakano-Tatemachi Street to find a Ninja shop. One of the Ninja Show performers handed me the shop's business card. On the way, we found a tea-leaf store. Iga is one of several second-class tea brands in Japan. The store was not only selling tea leaves but also dealing some antiques as well as Iga souvenirs. After scanning the store, we kept walking in the sun to find the Ninja shop. The shop was seemingly a clothes shop except its sign. An old man welcomed us. As we told him why we had come, he withdrew into the back room, and a young man in Ninja clothes appeared. It was obvious that the heir was remaking the shop as a Ninja boutique. We had found banners along the street appealing to make whole the street 'a museum.' That may be one of renaissances by younger generations around today's Japan.