Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: A 300-Year-Old Prayer Still Runs Through the Streets

Locals are demanding answers of Kishiwada City Mayor Nagano Kohei after he dissolved the Assembly, calling it a "personal matter."

Hachijin-no-Niwa Garden at Kishiwada Castle - a very unique karesansui garden set in the courtyard of Kishiwada-jo and designed to be viewed from the windows of the castle. It is a very modern design of geometric, linear stones punctuated by rocks in a field of pebbles. The garden was designed by Mirei Shigemori, a leading figure in the development of the modern Japanese garden. Eight groups of rocks represent the "Battle Formation of the Eight Positions". Each of these eight groupings has a name: heaven, earth, phoenix, dragon, cloud, serpent, tiger and wind. The garden challenges our thinking about the usually calm effect of stone gardens. Based on the layout of a mythological battle conducted by Chinese General Zhuge Liang, the stone setting at the center of the design, named Central Camp, is the garden’s focal point.