＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<Added 2/23/2021> The park will finally open fully on March 27th this year (2021).
The Ama Ruins Park, which opened partially on March 23rd, 2020, will finally open fully on March 27th this year (2021).
<Added 10/4/2020> This year, it will be held at the “Takatsuki Expo 2020” at Ama Ruins Park on Sunday, 10/11.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many events in Takatsuki City, including “Takatsuki Jazz Street,” were canceled in 2020.
However, with the slogans “#Don’t lose to Corona” and “#Let’s Do Our Best Takatsuki”, the Takatsuki Expo 2020 will be held on Sunday, October 11th at Ama Ruins Park, organized by the Takatsuki Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Takatsuki Jazz Street will also be held as part of the event.
My hometown “Takatsuki City” is a town with a long history.
1．Ama Ruins
Takatsuki City has been inhabited and farmed since the Yayoi Period, approximately 2,500 years ago. When the current Takatsuki City Hall building was constructed, excavation under the fields revealed a large number of farming implements from the Yayoi period.
In Takatsuki City, there are several archaeological sites such as “Ama Ruins”, “Kosobe/Shibatani Ruins”, “Tenjinyama Ruins”, and “Gunge/Imasiro Ruins”.
On Saturday, March 23 this year, the site of the former farm of Kyoto University’s Faculty of Agriculture will be redeveloped and opened as the “Ama Ruins Park.
The Yayoi Period Ama Ruins are considered to be a national treasure of great historical value. The site covers an area of about 22 hectares, which is equivalent to five Koshien stadiums. The first opening (March 23) was for 4 hectares, within walking distance from JR Takatsuki Station and Hankyu Takatsuki City Station, and the surrounding roads have been developed along with Hatcho Matsubara. The full opening is scheduled for 2021.
This “Ama Ruins Park” is a new “landmark” of Takatsuki City. It is expected to be utilized as a “place of relaxation for citizens”, a “place for historical study” and a “disaster prevention park” in the future.
2．Takatsuki Castle
During the Edo period, Takatsuki Castle, called “Kumejiyama Ryugajo,” was the castle town of the Takatsuki clan, and was a majestic castle. 990, at the end of the 10th century, Kondo Tadanori built the castle on a small hill called Kumejiyama.
Later, when Miyoshi Nagayoshi entered Akutagawayama Castle in 1553, Takatsuki Castle became a subsidiary castle. When Oda Nobunaga invaded Settsu and captured Akutagawayama Castle in 1568, Takatsuki Castle surrendered without bloodshed.
Wada Koremasa, who was given Takatsuki Castle by Nobunaga, built a modern castle using it as his main castle. The lords of the castle were Takayama Ukon, Naito Nobumasa, Toki Sadayoshi, and others, and from 1649 during the Edo period, the Nagai clan became the lord of the castle until the Meiji Restoration.
The final size of Takatsuki Castle was vast, measuring 630m north to south and 600m east to west.
Takatsuki Castle was demolished in 1874 so that the Meiji government could use the stone walls and other structures as materials for building a railway. On the site of Takatsuki Castle, the Castle Ruins Park, Shiroato History Museum, Osaka Prefectural Tsukinoki High School, Takatsuki Municipal First Junior High School, Takatsuki Modern Theatre and other facilities were built, as well as Nomi Shrine and the Catholic Takatsuki Church.
3．Emperor Keitai’s Tomb (Imashirozuka Tomb)
The keyhole-shaped tumulus of Emperor Keitai (450?-531) is currently maintained as the Imashirozuka Kofun Park, which houses the Imashirozuka Ancient History Museum.
He was the 26th Emperor, and both the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki state that he was “a fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Ojin.”
<Added 2019/9/2>
On July 6, 2019, the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group in Osaka Prefecture was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this has led to an increase in the popularity of “kofun tours.”
According to the September 2 issue of Nikkei’s online edition “NIKKEI STYLE,” the most popular one in the country is the Imashirozuka Kofun.
The secret to its popularity is that it is “the tomb of a great king that is freely accessible.”