Marugame, the city of fans 丸亀市

There are cities near which it would be possible to pass without stopping. Either because the name means nothing to you, or because they are far from the major centers of tourist activity, even though there are little wonders to discover there .

This is exactly the case for the city of Marugame, a coastal city of 110,000 inhabitants located on the island of Shikoku , in Kagawa prefecture, which is the smallest prefecture in Japan, with only 1,862 km².

LEADER IN FAN MANUFACTURING

The first feat of arms of the city is that it is here that 90% of the production of Japanese fans , called uchiwa , is made. These fans are traditional fans, round in shape. In the archipelago, there are three different varieties of round fans : those of Boshu (in the prefecture of Chiba), those of Kyoto and finally those of Marugame which can be recognized in particular by their flat bamboo handle.

This industry developed in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1868) and continues to this day. A museum is even dedicated to this know-how, the Uchiwa no Minato Museum. In this museum, you can admire different fans, but also the evolution of the trends of the different patterns appearing on the palm. However, the museum is rather small, which is why admission is free. Fan-making workshops are organized there every day.

A REMARKABLE CASTLE

Marugame Castle is one of the few castles in the archipelago to have retained its original internal wooden structure . Like most Japanese castles, it was built on an artificial hill , which is, moreover, with its 50 meters high, the highest built by man in Japan .

Built on the foundations of an old stronghold of the Nara clan, the castle was built in 1587 , according to the will of Lord Ikoma Chikamasa. But, in 1615, the castle was partly destroyed, in order to respect a shogunal edict which prohibited the presence of several castles per province.

It was in 1641 that Yamazaki received, as a reward, land which included the remains of Marugame Castle which was immediately rebuilt for 1644 . But the adventures of this castle did not stop there, since it was badly damaged by a fire in 1869. Despite everything, the castle of Marugame is one of the few in Japan to have preserved its original keep (they are not only 12 in this case, of which 4 are in Shikoku).

Another remarkable element: the enclosures of the castle, in the shape of a folded fan , called " Ougi no Kobai ". The enclosures, as well as the doors, are still original.

Discover: Ono Castle

A CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM

The city of Marugame also has a contemporary art museum , the MIMOCA , Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art. It opened in 1991 when artist Genichiro Inokuma donated much of his work to the town of Marugame, where he grew up.

It was on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the city that the municipality asked the architect Yoshio Taniguchi (father of MOMA in New York) to create this museum to house the works of Inokuma. So a three-storey museum has come out of the ground, where glass, metal and concrete mingle and on which water is constantly streaming .

This museum has three exhibition halls : two where temporary exhibitions are held and one permanent where the works of Genichiro Inokuma are exhibited.

Finally, the city is home to Konzo-ji Temple , which is one of the 88 temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage . 76th on the route, it is located 3 km from the well-known Zentsu -ji temple. You can see 88 drawings of Buddhist gods there. Gods who are each said to be attached to one of the 88 temples of the pilgrimage.

You no longer have any excuses for not coming to visit the beautiful Marugame!