Final Kamen Ride! Our last Shimane tourist spot is home to a brilliant red fire tree, the only ironworks left in Japan, and the flashy teamup between Kamen Rider Gotchard and Kamen Rider Daybreak.
Kamen Rider Gotchard: The Future Daybreak has been showing in Japanese theatres all summer, after what feels like a decade of anticipation, so it’s only fitting we conclude our mini blog series with the last destination advertised on the Gotchard movie-Shimane Travel Guide website.
Previously, we took a look around the decommissioned Taisha Train station and its antique steam engine. Now, our journey brings us back to the countryside for one last stop: Sugaya Takadono ironworks.
RELATED: Kamen Riding Across The Shimane Prefecture, Part Three
Sugaya Takadono is an ancient iron smelting manufacturer tucked away in the countryside village of Yoshida.
Here, we can see Hotaro and his future incarnation perform their signature henshin poses, just outside the Takadono.
A landmark such as this isn’t here to just provide for a cinematic henshin scene but neatly demonstrates the movie’s theme of historical preservation; perhaps the strongest out of all our Shimane destinations.
What is Tatara?
Tatara itself is a traditional furnace used in Japan to smelt raw materials like iron, using a (quite literal) explosive mixture of ironsand and charcoal. The charcoal used in the furnace heats up so much that its carbon turns the iron into steel. It’s also the only method of producing Tamahagane steel, which is used to craft swords!
Sugaya Takadono
Smelting as far back as 1751, Sugaya Takadono steelworks operated in the ironmaking district of Sugaya Tatara Sannai in Yoshida, for exactly 170 years before being closed down in 1921; it was eventually declared a national Japan heritage site in 1967. The Takadono remains one of the last ironworks left in the country, its furnace’s fire still burning after 200 years.
Katsura Tree
Planted just outside the Takadono ironworks is a giant Katsura tree, also known as a Judas tree, hailed as a sacred tree that Tatara’s ironmaking Goddess Kanayago descended upon. Ever since, Katsura trees have been commonly associated with Tatara, their autumn leaves coloured just as red as the flames of an ironmaking furnace.
A Flame Still Burning
History is important in the Shimane Prefecture. Throughout the last three blogs, we’ve explored the historical architecture, the region’s folklore and deities, their historic preservation and so much more.
This history is equally as important to the Gotchard movie, whether it be genuine steamliners or the significance of sunsets. The Tatara Sugaya Sannai is no exception to this, remaining an integral part of the prefecture itself, but also a wonderful location to film in for The Future Daybreak.
The Tatara furnace smelts and mixes chemical and natural materials to create something new, just like how Gotchard carries out his alchemy by combining different Chemy Cards to transform. It’s a rich place of craftsmanship and creation, fitting the nature of a series like Rider Gotchard. Stoking the flame with coals also certainly mimics that of a moving locomotive train, one of Gotchard’s main aesthetics. Even the Katsura tree outside undergoes a fiery transformation, just like Gotchard does!
It’s ever lit fire that still sits within the steelworks of the Takadono also encapsulate the heroism of Daybreak, his story and the story of the Takadono going hand in hand: both continue to burn brightly and provide for the new future generation. The furnace is all that remains of Japanese ironworks, while Future Hotaro is all that stands to protect humanity in his future.
Closing Words
Gathering research for this blog series has been a joyous effort. The Shimane Prefecture is such a dense hotspot for Japanese history that it’s a mystery so much of it is considered a hidden gem of the country.
Perhaps this is something we can learn to appreciate more through the big bug eyes of Kamen Rider. We see these lovable characters battle and cartwheel, staged in front of a handful of iconic landmarks across Shimane: a sports dome that honour the legacy of wood based architecture, or the last remaining steelwork left in Japan.
These staples of Shimane culture all stand today to remind visitors of what came before, to educate us about our past and what we can learn from it today. Our past inspires us, all thanks to the efforts our ancestors made, that preserved every bit of our societies today. I hope this is something Daybreak can learn from Gotchard, too.
Thank you for joining me on this Kamen Riding adventure! It’s been a pleasure, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it just as much as I have. If you’ve loved learning about a little piece of Japan history from this blog series, then that’s what matters most.
Are you eager to see the sights of Shimane in Kamen Rider Gotchard: The Future Daybreak? Was the movie worth the wait? Let us know in the comments below!
