Just another day at a Japanese school. It seems everytime I get back to my desk, there’s yet another pamphlet or flier from a insurance or travel agency sitting on my desk, waiting to be thrown away. Sometimes they leave hard candy. I like it when they do.

I couldn’t've been more surprised the other day when I saw this one. A new exhibition was being held in Kurume at the Arima Memorial Hall, a small but tidy historical museum of the Arima clan at the site of their former castle. Well, looks like I finally had a plan for the coming Summer vacation.

Sprung!

The drive to Kurume castle was brief. Making my way from the Eastern entrance, I walked across the face of the Sasayama Shrine (篠山神社). Having not entered via the front gate, the first doors I was presented with were that of the toilets. And, if my memory served me correctly (it did), the wall of the male toilets is decorated with old roof tiles, some featuring heraldic symbols. I could hardly resist, so I whipped out my camera.

I struggled to get the shot I was after in that confined space. At my third attempt I noticed a man approaching. Actually, I noticed that he had noticed me. I gave a slight bow then scuttled off. Gee, that didn’t feel weird.

The memorial hall

In the door & up the stairs I went. "Konnichi wa", to the man at the front desk. I handed over the ¥200, and I was handed back about ¥200′s worth of pamphlets & fliers. What the..? I felt like I was back at work.

I heard footsteps behind me. It was the man who saw me in the toilet taking photos. He relplaced the man who had been on the front desk. There was just the two of us there now. What a relief that we’d broken the ice earlier!

The exhibits

I was immediately ushered toward a seat, and the friendly staff member started a short video of how the Arima clan came to be in Kurume city. A second video briefly spoke of the life of a princess at the end of the Edo period. A third video spoke of the Arima clan residence in Edo & of the clan’s legacy. The primary focus appeared to be that of an elementary school & a horse race.

I found all three videos of interest. They weren’t too long, and I was able to pick up on some tasty tid-bits of information here & there.

It was time to unleash myself upon the rest of the exhibits. It was a very short walk and I was reminded of how far away I was from Tōkyō, Kyōto, Nara, Nagoya or even Fukuoka city.

Okay, sarcasm aside, I really did enjoy myself. I definitely got my ¥200′s worth. There were several paintings/prints & artifacts relating to the castle that I was very happy to see. Also interesting was the amour with the dark-blue laces shown in the top picture. There is a dent in the breastplate from where it had been tested against gunfire. Kewl!

It was time to go, but before I left, I made sure I got the big, round, red stamp you see to the right to make sure it was ¥200 well spent.