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千曲市の八幡地区に大雲寺と言うお寺さんがあります。高い石の壁の上に出来ているのでお城のように思われます。回りは桜の機は沢山ありますので春先に咲くときに、その桜の花と石壁、お寺の屋根の瓦が物凄く綺麗なイメージになります。
しかし、このお寺の一番の特徴はこの池の蓮です。通常は７月中旬から８月まで咲きますが、今年は雨のせいで多少遅れました。蓮の花の数が多くて、見事です。実は、お寺にお参りしないので蓮を見て帰る方がいるぐらいにその花が特別です。（見に行けば、一応、お寺にも顔を出してくださいね。

In the Yawata area of Chikuma City, there is a temple called Daiunji. It is built upon a rock wall, giving it the grand appearance of a castle instead of a temple. The blossoms of its cherry trees when they bloom in the Spring provide a pleasing visual contrast to the rock wall and the black "kawara" roof tiles of the temple.
However, Daiunji is actually best known for the huge pond in front of it filled with "hasu" lotus plants. They usually bloom from mid-July to August but this year were a little late due to all the rain. The flowers are so numerous, they make a spectacular sight. So spectacular in fact that some people just go to see the flowers and never enter the temple grounds. If you go see Daiunji's hasu, we do suggest also paying your respects to the temple, too. 🙂

大雲寺の詳しくはこちらClick here for more info on Daiunji

１６００年間は長いですね。想像が付かないぐらいに長い。

それにしても、１６００年前に現在の千曲市の周辺がうんと盛り上がっていたと分かっています。どうやって分かるかと言うと、これだけな大きい古墳があるから。千曲市の森地区に国と県と市が力を合わせて、元々だっただろうの形に綺麗に出来た森将軍塚。
見事に１６００年前の雰囲気をそのまま感じれます。
見事に綺麗に整備されています。作り直されてから１７年が立ていますが、古墳実態及び下にある資料館が良い状態にキープされています。
見事に、お盆の最中に行ったにかかわらず、人がいなかった。私たちが古墳の上に登った時に、貸しきり状態でした。ボランティアガイドさんしかいなかったです。まあ、そのお陰で質問は聞き放題でした。そして、親切に簡単に説明してくれました。有難うございました！

今日は偶々天気の良い日で、偶々夏休み中の子供達が退屈だったので、海外からとまりに来ていたお客さんが私が手伝って作った市の英語のパンフで古墳の事を偶々見て行きたいと言ってきた。本来なら、お盆の忙しさで昼寝したかったところ、代わりに皆を森に連れて行った。

その感動的に歴史のある古墳や、深い青い色の空を見て、生き返りました。

皆様も、１６００年前からの古墳と、信州の自然を見れば、生き返ると思います。

1600 years is a long time. It's impossible for the mind to grasp how long that is.

One thing I can say for sure, though, is that 1600 years ago, this Chikuma City was a happening place. How do I know that? Because of how big the Mori Shogunzuka ancient tomb is. Whose ever tomb it was, he was one major dude who ruled one major chunk of territory. In 1992, the city, along with support by the prefecture and the national government, rebuilt the keyhole-shaped tomb to as it was 1600 years ago.

It's amazing to see ancient history come alive through this tomb.
It's also amazing to see how well the city has kept up the re-made tomb and the explanatory museum below.
It's even more amazing to see how few people come to see it. We went in the middle of the peak O-Bon season, and had the tomb to ourselves. There was just the volunteer guide guy at the top. That meant we could ask away with all of our questions, and he was so kind to give us simple, non-technical answers. (Thanks, Guide-man!)

I was going to take a nap this afternoon -- we've had a series of full days here at the inn thanks to O-Bon. However, seeing our kids laze around on their summer vacation watching TV, and seeing the bright blue sky, and thanks to Reece, our guest from Canada who spotted the Mori tomb in our town's new English brochure, I skipped the nap and piled everyone in the car to check out the tomb. It was more refreshing than a nap would have been. Come and get refreshed yourself at the Mori Shogunzuka tomb.

森将軍塚の詳しくはここClick here for more info on the Mori Shogunzuka

Guideさん、有難うございました！

全長１００m・・・でかい！