Aoyamon Gate

You know this this “Handsome Role” right?…

The picture is a scene from the movie “The Last Samurai”, when Captain Nathan, played by Tom Cruise, honorably fights with the leader of Samurai, namely Katsumoto, played by veteran Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, against the soldiers of Emperor Meiji who are trained by American Army. The background of this war is “Modernization vs Feudalism”. Emperors glorified modernization and Samurai maintained tradition.

Those are just a few of many heartbreaking mosaics that made Japan’s history when it transformed from a conventional country to a modern one. One such mosaic is Boshin War, a civil war which left a mark of destruction and was recorded in this historical place which I visited.

Yups….This is Osakajo….People call it as Osaka Castle or Osaka Castle.

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On 09:50 hours, I stepped on the platform of Tanimachi 4-chome Station, then exited through one of its gates where Osaka Museum of History and Hoenzaka Iseki proudly stood in station’s courtyard. My steps continued to be connected on Uemachi-suji Avenue with red maple tree decorations on both sides.

Its strong history made Osaka Castle be my first destination in the city with a nicknamed “Manchester From East”. I really didn’t want to delay and lose my first glance at king’s palace which is more than four centuries old. The distance is only six kilometers from Kaga Hotel where I stayed and the availability of Osaka Metro line to it made it so easy to access this destination.

Did you dare to introduceing yourself to her?

Not long in walking, I arrived at Osaka Castle, through Otemon Gate to be exact. Otemon Gate itself is on east side of palace, while on its west side is provided Aoyamon Gate. Like an ancient palace, this place is surrounded by a wide canal nearly a hundred meters long as a form of defense.

Passing a bridge, pedestrian path began to direct every tourist to enter a side of Otemon Gate. It began with a door made of two towering steel sheets. After that, plastered walls which made from fine andesite, some of which were left intact with a length and width of almost five meters.

Soon the second gate greeted. The gate with a size larger than the first one was nicknamed Osakajo Tamon-yagura which was composed of large, intact and sturdy wood. Through this second gate, tourists would automatically enter palace area which had an area of not less than six hectares.

In some fragments of its history, it’s told that this castle was destroyed by fire due to the Boshin War in 1868. Now the Boshin War itself has been illustrated by Tom Cruise in the preambule at the beginning of this article.

I arrived at southern courtyard, call it as Osaka Castle Park. This is where tourists gather and enjoy the elegance of castle made by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the leader of Japan’s Sengoku Period. I took time to take pictures with old samurai role in castle grounds. Even to got rid of loneliness, I often have fun posing behind a group of tourists who were taking pictures. Grinning horses, jumping, waving or whatever I did. Sometimes it made one of that group pointed at me while laughing after seeing their photos in their digital room. Seriously acute.

After an hour of enjoying Osaka Castle, I decided to sit down and enjoyed the Ikayaki which I bought from one of many food truck which was neatly lined up in east courtyard. A portion of Ikayaki was priced about 300 Yen. Ups, do you know Ikayaki?…. It was a large grilled squid seasoned with mirin (Japanese seasoning).

The original samurai armor is usually in black colour, right?.

Finishing in eating Ikayaki, or at exactly 10:30 am, I started to leave Osaka Castle area and planned to head to Naniwa City District.

Where would I step?………

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Gambar itu adalah penggalan adegan film “ The Last Samurai”, ketika Kapten Nathan yang diperankan Tom Cruise bertarung secara terhormat bersama pemimpin para Samurai yaitu Katsumoto yang diperankan aktor kawakan Jepang Ken Watanabe melawan tentara Kaisar Meiji yang dilatih oleh Angkatan Darat Amerika. Latar belakang perang ini adalah “Modernisasi Vs Feodalisme”. Kaisar mengagungkan modernisasi dan Samurai mempertahankan tradisi.

Itulah sedikit dari banyak mozaik memilukan penyusun sejarah Jepang ketika bertransformasi dari negara konvensional menjadi negara modern. Satu mozaik itu adalah Perang Boshin, perang saudara yang meninggalkan bekas kerusakan dan terekam di dalam tempat bersejarah yang aku kunjungi ini.

Yups….Inilah Osakajo….Khalayak menyebutnya Kastil Osaka atau Osaka Castle.

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Pukul 09:50, aku menjejakkan langkah di peron Stasiun Tanimachi 4-chome, kemudian keluar melintasi salah satu gerbangnya dimana Osaka Museum of History dan Hoenzaka iseki berdiri gagah di pelatarannya. Langkahku terus tersambung di Uemachi-suji Avenue dengan hiasan pohon red maple di kedua sisinya.

Sejarahnya yang kuat menjadikan Osaka Castle sebagai destinasi pertamaku di kota berjuluk “Manchester dari Timur”. Aku memang tak mau menunda dan kehilangan pandangan pertama pada istana raja yang berusia lebih dari empat abad itu. Jaraknya yang hanya enam kilometer dari Hotel Kaga tempatku menginap dan tersedianya jalur Osaka Metro menujunya membuatku begitu mudah mengakses destinasi itu.

Tak lama berjalan kaki, aku pun tiba di Osaka Castle, melalui Otemon Gate tepatnya. Otemon Gate sendiri berada di sisi timur istana, sedangkan di seberang barat disediakan Aoyamon Gate. Seperti layaknya istana zaman dahulu, tempat ini dikelilingi oleh kanal lebar sepanjang hampir seratus meter sebagai bentuk pertahanan.

Melewati sebuah jembatan, jalur pejalan kaki mulai mengarahkan setiap wisatawan memasuki sisi Otemon Gate. Diawali dengan pintu berbahan dua lembar baja menjulang. Setelahnya, terpampang dinding-dinding berbahan andesit halus yang beberapa diantaranya dibiarkan utuh dengan panjang dan lebar hampir lima meter.

Tak lama gerbang kedua menyambut. Gerbang dengan ukuran lebih besar dari yang pertama itu berjuluk Osakajo Tamon-yagura yang disusun dari kayu-kayu besar, utuh serta kokoh. Melewati gerbang kedua inilah, wisatawan secara otomatis memasuki area istana yang memiliki luas tak kurang dari enam hektar.

Dalam beberapa fragmen perjalanan, diceritakakan bahwa kastil ini pernah luluh lantak oleh api akibat Perang Boshin pada tahun 1868. Nah Perang Boshin sendiri sudah diilustrasikan oleh Tom Cruise pada preambule di awal.

Tibalah aku di pelataran selatan, sebut saja Osaka Castle Park. Disinilah para wisatawan berkumpul dan menikmati keanggunan kastil buatan Toyotomi Hideyoshi, sang pemimpin Jepang Zaman Sengoku. Aku menyempatkan diri berfoto dengan samurai tua di pelataran kastil. Bahkan untuk mengusir kesepian, aku sering iseng dengan berpose di belakang rombongan turis yang sedang berfoto. Nyengir kuda, melompat, melambaikan tangan atau apapun kulakukan. Terkadang membuat salah satu rombongan itu menunjukku sambil tertawa setelah melihat hasil foto di kamara digital mereka. Parah akut memang.

Genap satu jam menikmati Osaka Castle, aku memutuskan untuk duduk dan menikmati Ikayaki yang kubeli dari food truck yang berjejer rapi di timur pelataran. Setusuk Ikayaki disana dihargai dengan 300 Yen (Rp. 41.000). Eh, tahu kan Ikayaki?…. Itu lho, cumi bakar ukuran besar yang dibumbui mirin (bumbu khas Jepang).

Baju zirah milik samurai asli kan warnanya hitam.

Kalau punya duit, boleh ngemil. Kalau ga punya duit tapi kepengen, boleh juga, ga ada yang ngelarang.

Menuntaskan Ikayaki, atau tepat pukul 10:30, aku mulai meninggalkan area Osaka Castle dan berencana menuju ke Distrik Kota Naniwa.

Kemanakah gerangan?……….

Kisah Selanjutnya—->

Tag: Aoyamon Gate

Tom Cruise and Osaka Castle

Tom Cruise dan Osaka Castle