Actor Goro Kishitani, who played Fujiwara Tametoki in last year's NHK Taiga drama "To Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)", visited Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture on June 15th. He participated in a city-sponsored cultural event held at the excavation site of the Echizen Kokufu ruins, which can be said to be the origin of Echizen culture. Kishitani, who will be appointed "Echizen Kokufu Ambassador" in November 2024, visited the city for the first time as ambassador. At the event, he expressed his thoughts, saying, "My dream of excavating has come true. It was a wonderful experience. The excavation will continue for many years to come. I hope that all citizens will support us in identifying the location of the Kokufu. I support you."
On this day, Echizen City welcomed Kishitani for the first time as the "Echizen Kokufu Ambassador," and held an excavation experience with local residents and a cultural event aimed at joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Echizen City is the place where Murasaki Shikibu lived away from the capital for the only time in her life. It is said that her sensibility was nurtured by her encounters with the magnificent nature, culture, and people that were not found in the capital.
Honkoji Temple, the venue for the event, is home to the "Red Plum Tree Associated with Murasaki Shikibu." It is said that when Murasaki Shikibu returned to the capital, she planted a white plum tree in the temple grounds, and later, her daughter planted a red plum tree in memory of her mother. Echizen City is currently conducting excavation surveys around Honkoji Temple with the aim of identifying the location of the Echizen Kokufu, which was the political and cultural center of the area during the Heian period. The "Echizen Kokufu Excavation Project" began in 2023 and is now in its third year. So far, partition ditches and green-glazed pottery that are said to have surrounded the Kokufu-related facilities have been unearthed, attracting a great deal of attention locally. During the Heian period, the Kokufu was the administrative center, as well as the place where people, information, and culture came and went, and where local culture began. This excavation survey is once again attempting to unearth the source of culture.
Mr. Kishitani participated in the excavation work together with the local residents. Taking up a shovel, digging the soil, and picking up some of the excavated items was an unforgettable experience for the participants.
During his excavation experience, Kishitani unearthed five fragments believed to be sueki ware from the Heian period. "Fujiwara Tametoki allowed me to dig, and guided me. Rather than finding something 1000 years old and digging up something that had been asleep, I felt like I was surrounded by things that had been alive and existed all along. I was happy at the moment I touched them. I felt like I was connected," he said.
In "To Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)," Echizen is portrayed as having a rich international atmosphere. Located on the Sea of Japan coast, Echizen has been influenced by continental culture and has developed a unique culture through the interaction of values and aesthetic sensibilities different from those of the capital. This atmosphere is the background behind the handicrafts of Echizen, such as Echizen washi paper and Echizen forged knives, that are still passed down today.
Kishitani said, "At that time, people came from the continent and the culture of the capital was also introduced. Tametoki was not the type of politician with a strong hand, but he performed his duties as a provincial governor. He did his best work when he was in Echizen. I think it was because he was surrounded by the peaceful atmosphere of the local people. Murasaki Shikibu also encountered Echizen washi paper, which inspired her to write the Tale of Genji. I think the reason she left behind the song about Hinoyama is because Echizen was a place that made her feel that way."
