November 2005
Hirakata! Located between the commercial metropolis of Osaka City and the ancient capital of Kyoto, Hirakata is a high-density suburban city bordering the Yodogawa
River and the Ikoma mountain range. The city was established in
1948, and it used to be a place for manufacturing weapons
during World War Two. The city developed rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s
because of the strong Japanese economy and people moving to Osaka to work, and so settled in Hirakata as it was a short commute and a cheaper place to live. We
were going to Hirakata Park - it's an amusement park, but at that time of year the
Chrysanthemum Doll Show is held. British Nick had heard about it and suggested it
to us as a great chance to get some pics.
The chrysanthemum doll show has been held since
1910, and the year we went was to be the 94th show, the last show, of an event which was firmly a part
of Japanese culture. I wanted to see it before it was
lost forever, but I never discovered why they were going to stop doing it.
The chrysanthemum dolls were life-size dolls garbed in costumes
made of small, natural chrysanthemums with roots. The dolls depict 9 famous
scenes from Japanese history. Background scenery, such as a temple or a castle,
was used to reproduce the atmosphere and feeling of different eras and places
with the settings sometimes recreated in actual size. The number of
chrysanthemums used to clothe each doll was between 100 - 150 plants. I
discovered that to retain the freshness of the dolls' costumes, the plants,
including the roots, were watered daily and must be changed every 7 - 10 days,
requiring a total of 40,000 plants for the entire show! I have to say that I
thought it a truly staggering display of natural beauty and man-made props. I lingered a while and when I emerged into the sunlight, Andy, Junko and Aussie Nick were sitting on a wall waiting. Brit Nick took a further 20 minutes, having
taken pictures from every conceivable angle!
We entered the amusement area and proceeded to ride on all the rollercoasters and go on all the rides available! I didn't go on the "Great Drop: Meteo" as I don't like the thought of being elevated straight up in the air and then plunged down to the ground in a few seconds! But I used the movie feature on my camera to record the others doing it! Aussie Nick was positively green when he came off it and swore he'd never do it again! Brit Nick, Junko and Andy went on it 4 times! The Ferris wheel, the highest in the Osaka area gave us a wonderful view of Hirakata, and as we went up at dusk, we could see all the glittering lights below. The other rollercoasters were cool, and we had a great time. At the end of the day we went for a meal, and then went home.
