, formerly known as , is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

in the Tomo ward of Fukuyama,

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It stands on the southern point of the Numakuma Peninsula, 14 kilometers south of

Fukuyama Station is a railway station in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Fukuyama Station is served by the following JR West lines. * Sanyo Shinkansen * Sanyo Main Line * Fukuen Line Station Layout The Sany ...

, with a population of about half a million people as of 2017. Tomonoura has been a prosperous port since ancient times. Its unique circular harbor was preserved even after modern port facilities were introduced. Tomonoura lies within , which forms part of the

Setonaikai National Park is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, known as the Setouchi ...

. In 2007, the port was listed as one of the top 100 scenic municipalities in Japan and its harbor was listed as one of the top 100 historical natural features in Japan. There are many historical temples and shrines around Tomonoura, and the area is famous for fishing.

History

* 8

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s about Tomonoura are to be found in the oldest collection of Japanese poems, the ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

'', compiled in the

Tenpyō-hōji was a after '' Tenpyō-shōhō'' and before '' Tenpyō-jingo.'' This period spanned the years from August 757 through January 765. The reigning Emperor was , who was a mere figurehead while authority was in the hands of Fujiwara no Nakamaro a ...

era. * Jyoganji Temple was established by

Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school of Buddhism based on the Chinese Tiantai school he was exposed to during his trip to Tang China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-j ...

and Ioji Temple was established by

Kūkai Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon sec ...

during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. * According to the Engishiki (延喜式, "Procedures of the Engi Era"), mainly completed in 927 A.D.,

Yasaka Shrine Kanpei-taisha , once called , is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. Situated at the east end of Shijō-dōri (Fourth Avenue), the shrine includes several buildings, including gates, a main hall and a stage. The Yasaka shrine is ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

had its origins in Tomonoura's Nunakuma Shrine ( 沼名前神社) during the Heian period. * After the

Battle of Tatarahama (1336) The 1336 battle of Tatarahama (多々良浜の戦い, ''Tatarahama no tatakai'') was one of many battles constituting the Nanboku-chō Wars in Japan, in which two rival Imperial Courts battled for legitimacy and control of the country. It was de ...

Emperor Kōgon was the first of the Emperors of Northern Court during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts in Japan. His reign spanned the years from 1331 through 1333. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Nanboku-chō throne, his personal name (h ...

visited Tomonoura and gave a memorial written for

Nitta Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famously marched on Kamakura, besieging ...

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

. * The Five-story pagodas of Jyoganji Temple was destroyed during the Battle of Tomo between the

Northern Court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cour ...

and the

Southern Court The were a set of four emperors (Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitively ...

in the

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

. * The former Tomo Castle was built by the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

during the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. * After

Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573.Ackroyd, J ...

was banished from Kyoto by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

, Ashikaga formed the Tomo Bakufu with the

Ise clan Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie *Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway * Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of the ...

, the Ueno clan and the Odachi clan, and with the support of the Mōri clan. *

Fukushima Masanori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period to early Edo period who served as lord of the Hiroshima Domain. A retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and soon became known as one of Seven Spears ...

of Bingo Province started rebuilding Tomo Castle during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, but construction was halted by order of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

. *

Mizuno Katsushige (1564–1651) was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Mizuno" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 3 ...

Fukuyama Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Bingo Province and Bitchū Province in modern-day Hiroshima Prefecture.">DF_39-40_of_80">"Mizuno"_at_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_pp._35–36_[PDF_39-40_of_80/nowiki>_retrieved_2013-4- ...

was opened the government office at the site of Tomo Castle. * Tomonoura was the site of the sinking of the ''Iroha Maru'', a ship belonging to Sakamoto Ryōma. * Railway service between Tomo Station and

started in 1913, but the line was closed in 1954. * The

, which includes Tomonoura, was founded on 16 March 1934. * Tomonoura was once given the nickname Shio mahi minato which means "port of waiting for tides".

Preserving the historic harbor

The local government had a plan to build a bridge over the scenic harbor for a bypass road, which caused conflict with members of the local community concerned about the preservation of the historic harbor. The plan has now been overturned by the Hiroshima District Court. The plan led to the town being included in the

World Monuments Watch World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and traini ...

by the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. This organization later helped to restore a historic merchant house in the town with financial support from

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

. The 19th-century residence, known as Uoya-Manzohas since become an information center and guesthouse for visitors.World Monuments Fund - Tomo Port Town
/ref>

In the arts and literature

Poetry

- (7th to 8th century) (8 poems, including 2

Ōtomo no Tabito was a Japanese military leader and poet, best known as the father of Ōtomo no Yakamochi, who contributed to the compilation the ''Man'yōshū'' alongside his father. In the year 720, the Hayato Rebellion erupted in Kyushu. Otomo was ordered ...

's poems)

Art

*"Seto Inland Sea, Tomonotsu, 1940"; woodblock print by Tsuchiya Koitsu (土屋光逸), a sunset scene of ships in the harbor at Tomonoura.

Music

* Haru no Umi, composed by

Michio Miyagi was a Japanese musician, famous for his '' koto'' playing. He was born in Kobe. He lost his sight in 1902, when he was 8 years old, and started his study in koto under the guidance of Nakajima Kengyo II, dedicating the rest of his life to th ...

Koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

music - (1929) * Tomonoura Bojō,

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...

song by

Misaki Iwasa is a Japanese idol. She is a former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48 and enka singer. Her nickname is Wasamin. Her talent agency is Nagara Productions. She was also a member of the sub-unit Watarirouka Hashiritai 7. Career 2008 * Decem ...

(2014) (The music video was shot in Tomonoura, and the song is about feelings and the harbor.)

Books

* Tomonotsu Chakaiki (1986), a novel by

Masuji Ibuse was a Japanese author. His most notable work is the novel '' Black Rain''. Early life and education Ibuse was born in 1898 to a landowning family in the village of , which is now part of Fukuyama, Hiroshima. Ibuse failed his entrance exam to ...

about the life of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

*鞆の浦殺人事件 (Murder in Tomonoura, 1988), a detective novel by Yasuo Uchida

Photography exhibitions

尾道への旅 (''A Journey to Onomichi'', 2006) by

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

Films

*白椿 (''White Camellia'', 2007), directed by

Masatoshi Akihara is a Japanese film director. Filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy f ...

, starring

Hiroko Hatano (born November 23, 1975) is a Japanese model and actress. As an 18-year-old, she made her model debut on Japanese fashion magazine '' JJ'' in March 1994. She was one of the top models for the magazine until 2001, when she temporarily quit model ...

, based on a story about a family in Tomo by Yumeno Kyūsaku *崖の上のポニョ (''

Ponyo is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and distributed by ...

'', 2008), directed by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

, who stayed in Tomonoura for two months in 2005 * The Wolverine, 2013, directed by

James Mangold James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the films ''Cop Land'' (1997), '' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), ''Walk the Line'' (2005), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' The Wolverine'' (2013) and '' Logan'' ...

, starring Hugh Jackman, was filmed in Tomonoura

References

External links

Tomonoura
in Portuguese)
Yakup Bektas, "Visions of Vanishing Japan: Threatened with radical redevelopment, the rare Edo-Period port town of Tomo-no-Ura has been granted a reprieve. For just how long, no one knows." ''ICON Magazine,'' Summer 2004, p. 18-23.

・VISIT Tomonoura

・Japan Heritage Portal Site Tomonoura
* {{Coord, 34.380762, 133.380111, format=dms, display=title, type:waterbody_region:JP_scale:10000 Tourist attractions in Hiroshima Prefecture Fukuyama, Hiroshima Buildings and structures in Hiroshima Prefecture Transport in Hiroshima Prefecture