Sherlock in Japan; Gulliver next?

Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman - redefining Sherlock

Sherlock, the Benedict Cumberbatch - Martin Freeman re-interpretation of the classic Arthur Conan Doyle detective stories has proved a massive hit in Japan. So much so that at the moment we're seeing re-runs not only of the nine episodes made to date (come on Sherlock, 2016 is a long way off to wait for the next series!) but also Elementary, the Lucy Liu version as Watson with that other chap (apologies, but that's how my friends refer to him) and additionally multiple non-English language versions of a dapper Basil Rathbone-esque deerstalker variety (one of which is something Eastern European but I'm not absolutely sure where from; possibly Hungarian, definitely not Russian). 

Lucy Liu and "that other bloke" in Elementary

Japan loves a good mystery and all the original stories had been translated by the early 1950's after a thirty year labour of love from the author Nobuhara Ken. He had retreated to the old postal town of Oiwake, a day's walk on the Nakasendo (the ancient road from Kyoto to Tokyo) to the popular resort destination of Karuizawa, itself some three hours train northwest of Tokyo (in the days before the Shinkansen). Nobuhara fell in love with the area and eventually settled in the village, bringing a permanent connection to Sherlock in the process.

And so Sherlockians petitioned the local town of Karuizawa to erect a statue of their hero, something the councillors were at first reluctant to do. Eventually relenting, and accepting the tribute into their midst, in 1988 a life size statue of Sherlock Holmes was finally unveiled in Koshinzuka Park, on the western fringes of Oiwake. And if you go there today you can walk up to the bronze figure and enjoy taking a selfie with him. You'll probably notice the park is more of a field, adorned with obelisks decorated with gorgeous, though unexplained, kanji. However, if you enjoy your old English literature you might be interested to know that although Holmes never made it to Japan, Gulliver actually did on his own travels. But sadly there isn't a statue to him in Japan. At least, not yet....

Koshinzuka Park, Oiwake, the only statue in Japan. A classic.

Running the Nakasendo - From Kyoto to Tokyo

The Nakasendo, Japan's central mountain road, is one of Japan's five (relatively) ancient super-highways that stretched some 500+ kilometres from Kyoto to Edo, modern day Tokyo. The problem had arisen in the early days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the military government that came to power in the early seventeenth century. For the first time Japan had a potentially stable leadership and to secure that stability it needed rapid communications. Edo and Kyoto being the two effective seats of power, it became necessary they were linked.

Prior to the creation of these roads, travelling the length of the country was little more than navigating village lanes. Not an ideal approach to deploying the occasional army or carrying a message in the fashion of the Pony Express. And so the lanes were connected and the roads became highways and the Nakasendo came to cut through the centre of the country. With sixty-nine overnight stations, approximately a days walk one from another, the super-highway was created. And although it didn't require fords, it did have its breaks where a little scrambling is required.

The village of Oiwake, with its statue of Sherlock Holmes (a story for another day), is one of those stops, it's central route through the town having been recently repaved in a more traditional style akin to the days of the Shogun. And if you visit during Obon, make sure you follow the drums and wander into the forests. You'll be surprised the sprites you find there. But if you want to see the entire length of the Nakasendo, do what the British School in Tokyo achieved last year. Repeat the run, on foot, all 332 miles of it. In five days. Nicely done to students, teachers and parents who took part, what an incredible achievement.

The Nakasendo through the old postal town of Oiwake, Nagano-ken