Ehime Prefecture Specialties, Souvenirs, Shrines, Temples, and Travel | 47 Prefecture Guide

Ehime is a prefecture facing the Seto Inland Sea and connected to Honshu by islands Crossing the sea has always been a premise of this land.

Specialties

mandarin oranges is, Alongside Wakayama and Shizuoka, it ranks among the top in Japan for harvest volume Iyokan, Dekopon, Setoka, and more, a prefecture with an outstandingly large number of citrus varieties in Japan in total.

Citrus grows well on steep south-facing slopes that receive reflected light from the sea The terraced fields of Uwajima are places where people created those conditions by hand. It is an example of a lack of flat land working, if anything, to its advantage.

Red sea bream (Japan’s highest farmed production volume), jakoten fish cakes, goshiki somen, and Imabari roast pork.

Souvenirs

Imabari towels is, are said to account for the majority of domestic towel production.

Soft water is needed to bleach materials and make them soft. The underflow water of the Soja River met those conditions. The production area was determined by the single factor of water.

Ichiroku tart (Matsuyama) and iyokan jelly.

Shrines and Temples

Oyamazumi Shrine on Omishima in Imabari City is the head shrine of the roughly 10,000 Yamazumi and Mishima shrines said to exist across Japan in total.

What makes this shrine unusual is that a considerable number of arms and armor designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties are concentrated in this one shrine means. They include items said to have been dedicated by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Benkei, the Kono clan, and others. These are traces of the faith placed in it by Seto Inland Sea naval forces and warriors as a deity of the sea and of battle.

Ishiteji Temple (Matsuyama City) has a Nio Gate designated as a National Treasure. It is the 51st temple of the 88-temple pilgrimage and stands very close to Dogo Onsen.

Nankobo Temple (Imabari City) is the only temple among the 88 sacred sites to use “bo” in its name. The stone steps of Uwatsuhiko Shrine.

Sightseeing

Dogo Onsen is, is one of Japan’s oldest hot springs, appearing even in the Nihon Shoki is regarded as such. Its main building is an Important Cultural Property of Japan and is still an active public bathhouse.

Shimanami Kaido is about 70 kilometers long, connecting Imabari and Onomichi. It has been developed so that it can be crossed by bicycle, becoming a route visited by cyclists from overseas. Matsuyama Castle (with an original surviving keep), Uchiko-za Theater, and Ozu, known as Iyo’s Little Kyoto.

Traditional Crafts

Nationally designated items are Tobe ware and Ozu washi paper, making 2 items.

Iyo kasuri is one of Japan’s three great kasuri textiles, alongside Kurume kasuri and Bingo kasuri The threads are tied and dyed first, and the pattern appears when they are woven. It is a process of holding the finished image in mind, then working backward at the thread stage.

For details, see 【VILLAGE Report vol.11】Working Backward at the Thread Stage

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References: Ehime Prefecture, Matsuyama City, Imabari City, Uwajima City, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries — Value Village Editorial Team