Yabase

Hey guys! Welcome to 'Yabase Kihan' or 'The Returning Sails at Yabase' E&M: Not so many sails here anymore E:This one probably looks more different that any of the other ones we've been to yet, right? M: Yeah this one is most definitely I mean, the other ones have buildings added and stuff but his one is like... It does not exist anymore E: It does not exist! You can't see the lake from where we are because there's a man-made island that was made in the 70's or something? M: Yeah and even between here and the island is a ridge that cars are driving on So you can't see the actual lake from where we are but, back a long long time ago I'm sure you could M: Because we'd be sitting in it right now E: And right behind us-- Yeah! Right behind us is the old dock, right? M: You can kinda see maybe in the video I did this last time too where I reached across-- right there! There's a stone, like a stone dock basically And that is the original dock? That's the same dock from hundreds of years ago? M: I'm pretty positive that it is So if that is the original dock that means we are currently sitting in Lake Biwa M: Yeah basically. Old old Lake Biwa E: Like where the lake used to be So what else is interesting about this area Maddie. Maddie-sensei M: A whole bunch of things! M: Many many things The original print, or the original Omi Hakkei here as Emily said before was 'Yabase Kihan' or 'The Returning Sails at Yabase' All the old prints have pictures of sailboats coming back to this port Basically the reason it was super important was partially because it was a shortcut on the Tokaido which is the road that we've talked about before E: So if you guys remember us at Karahashi, the bridge I think that was part three in our adventure When we talked about Karahashi we were talking about how a long time ago that was the only way virtually to get from the east side of Japan to the at the time capital, Kyoto And that was over the Tokaido road which was the main road that everybody traveled on in Japan So this was an alternate route, correct? M: Yes, there's a road that went off of the Tokaido and came here to Yabase Port So the normal route would go down south from here and then cross at Karahashi and then come back up, so it's pretty far But here, you could get a boat and take the boat straight across to Otsu And so apparently, travelers who were in a hurry would do that E: But... M: But! So actually this is – there’s a proverb that originates here E: Pretty well-known phrase M: Yeah, it’s pretty, the original one is long, but the proverb part is “isogaba maware” which means – it’s basically the equivalent of “slow and steady wins the race” With “slow and steady wins the race,” it’s from the story of the tortoise and the hare, right? E: Yeah M: So it’s kinda, the hare loses that race mostly ‘cause he’s lazy but apparently isogaba maware, the Japanese version has more of a thing like, if you’re in a rush – E: A nuance of danger? M: A nuance of danger like something could happen – something might happen if you try to do it quickly Tempting fate M: Yeah, exactly It basically means, “it takes less time to take a boat from Yabase but if you’re in a hurry, you should take the detour at Karahashi” E: “It’s faster to go through Yabase but to be safe, take the main road” M: Yeah! There you go The reason that it was dangerous is because of the Hira Oroshi which we’ve mentioned before which is the wind that comes from the Hira Mountains I’ve talked about it extensively in my articles ‘cause I have to bike against it and I always like to complain Um, but it’s a really strong wind that comes down from the Hira Mountains Anyway, it blows down towards the Seta River and so apparently well I know that it’s flipped a lot of boats but apparently – specifically, boats going from Yabase to Otsu would often get flipped Or, like, it was really dangerous to do when the Hira Oroshi was there So if you’re trying to take the shortcut and you’re like “oh I have to save time!” and then your boat flips then you’re like “oh I wish I’d just done the Karahashi thing” E: ‘Cause that wind is still around today! Maddie deals with it more than I do, but… M: Yeah! No, it’s so funny that that always comes up like, the same stuff kinda like, is all connected and like Karahashi’s involved in this place E: So this is the fifth one that we’ve done so far but we’re finding connections to a lot of them Like Karahashi, Miidera, and the Hira Mountains M: Right, the legend, the Hira Oroshi E: yeah, the legends, and… yeah they’re all – they’re really interestingly connected So I feel like we’re kind of piece by piece getting the big story the big picture of like, what it used to be so many years ago Which I think we’re only just starting to see now ‘cause we’re more than halfway through M: Yeah! Right now that we’re doing a lot of them and the same things are coming up E: Yeah. Like, I don’t know, doing this has become much more interesting than the first one that we did We didn’t talk too much about the history or whatever But we’re discovering a lot more as we go. So, yeah E: So, thanks again guys for tuning in and watching our Omi Hakkei adventure We’ll continue to see what the rest of the big picture is of this area We have three more to go so look forward to that Like and subscribe if you want! If you don’t, you know.. whatever M: Thank you! E: See ya!