[Sangetsu]

I took a second hike today, once again in the mountains. The scenery was more or less the same as it was yesterday, so I didn't bother with pictures.

Today's walk took me to a mountaintop cemetery. I had planned on walking through the cemetery to the far side of the mountain, and then taking the road back to the city. But while in the cemetery, I found another trail, and decided to follow it instead.

The trail was paved, but heavily covered with leaves and fallen branches. The going was steep, and thankfully the ground was dry and not slippery. The trail led in the general direction of a nearby shrine, so I was surprised that it seemed to be unused. Once again I had to find a stick to keep sweep the spider webs out of my way as I walked.

As I was walking, I noticed some broken bits of pottery and shells on the left side of the trail. The slope on that side of the trail rose very steeply upward, and was heavily overgrown with brush. Curious, I climbed up the slope and came to what might have been a burial place, or simply a hiding place.

Erosion from the rain had eaten away the slope, and exposed a large amount of old, broken pottery and ceramics. Some were simple fired clay items, others were very fine porcelain, in blue and white. Only a couple of pieces were undamaged. I examined them carefully, but not being an expert on ceramics, I had no idea what they were. One of the unbroken pieces was a beautifully made small bowl, decorated with a typical Japanese family crest. There were other things with similar markings, but only on the larger shattered pieces that I could find. I carefully put the items back in the exact places I found them, and continued with my walk.

The trail continued downward, switching back and forth several times. The earthen slopes became stone, and a natural spring flowed from a large crack in one of the stone walls. There were clouds of mosquitoes flying around the spring and the stream it ran into, so I didn't linger.

Several minutes later I reached the bottom of the trail. It ended behind a very old and traditional style Japanese house which appeared to be abandoned. A couple of the other nearby homes were also old and appeared to be unlived in. Once I passed these homes, the area became more modern and more busy. I found my way to the main road, which ran past the large nearby shrine and temple.

I'll return next week and take some pictures, maybe someone will be interested or know something about the artifacts. I know that the area here has been inhabited for a very long time. Children at the nearby elementary school found a few bits and pieces of Jomon era pottery when digging in the school yard one afternoon.