Blog

Now I am reading the “Gobancho Yugiriro” by Tsutomu Mizukami,
who was born in Fukui Prefecture. (1919 – 2004)
I wonder what will happen to Yuko (the main character) from now,
and also I feel her inner strength even though she is only 19 years old.
By the way, when we went to Kyoto in February, we also visited the Gobancho,
where was the location of the novel.

The Gobancho is situated in the area called “Nishijin”.
It has a short street from north to south, but there are many alleys from east to west.
In around 1951, when the novel is set, it is said that there were about 200 licensed quarters.
At present, it is not a tourist spot but a quiet residential area as it’s off-street.

While walking along the street of Gobancho, it made me want to travel back in time
when the Gobancho was very crowded. (H.S)

The exterior seems to retain the look of that time.

The house features the lattice door.
There is also an amulet called “Shoki-san” on the latticework of the second floor,
which is very Kyoto townhouse like.

Famous restaurant as soft-shelled turtle dishes “Daiichi” is nearby.
The restaurant was founded about 300 years ago,
so it must have been watching the transition of Gobancho.

Speaking of Kyoto, the Japanese confectionery called Yatsuhashi(Cinanamon cookies) is
well known. There are many kinds of Yatsuhashi. Among them, a representative one is “Yuko”.
It was named from the main character Yuko Katagiri of the “Gobancho Yugiriro”.
Actually, Tsutomu Mizukami officially approved to use the name for the confectionery.
This means that perhaps Mizukami also used to like Yatsuhashi.