JAPAN 2025 | DAY 2 | Matsushima / Sendai

JAPAN 2025 | DAY 2 | Matsushima / Sendai

Woke up at 5 am, left hotel at around 7 am.
Our 1st stop was park nearby were we met our 1st sakura for this trip.
Since Sendai is located a bit north sakura was only starting to bloom.

Our next stop was Matsushima:
Matsushima (松島) is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (shima) covered in pines (matsu) – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan.

Godaido Temple:
Is the symbol of Matsushima. It was first established in 828 CE by Jikaku Taishi
The temple building on the island today was constructed in 1604 by Date Masamune to celebrate the victory at Sekigahara, the decisive battle which brought an end to the era of civil wars.
The intentionally precarious red bridges connecting the island to the shore are known as sukashibashi. The gaps between the boards are deliberate, existing to compel worshippers’ concentration as they cross.

Went back to Sendai for lunch and observation terrace.

Then proceed to Date Masamune grave:
Date Masamune (伊達 政宗, DAH-tay; September 5, 1567 – June 27, 1636) was a Japanese daimyō during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye, as Masamune was often called dokuganryū (独眼竜), or the “One-Eyed Dragon of Ōshū”.[1] As a legendary warrior and leader, Masamune is a character in a number of Japanese period dramas.
As a child, smallpox robbed him of sight in his right eye, though it is unclear exactly how he lost the organ entirely.[3] Various theories behind the eye’s condition exist. Some sources say he plucked out the eye himself when a senior member of the clan pointed out that an enemy could grab it in a fight. Others say that he had his trusted retainer Katakura Kojūrō gouge out the eye for him, making him the “One-Eyed Dragon” of Ōshu.

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Мацусима (яп. 松島, букв. «Сосновые острова») — группа островов в одноимённой бухте в префектуре Мияги, Япония. Здесь находятся около 260 маленьких островков (сима, яп. 島) покрытых соснами (мацу, яп. 松). Мацусима считается одним из трёх знаменитых пейзажей Японии.

Датэ Масамунэ (яп. 伊達 政宗, 5 сентября 1567 — 27 июня 1636) — японский самурай, живший в конце периода Адзути-Момояма и начале периода Эдо. Известен как основатель города Сэндай и покровитель христианства в Японии. Из-за потери правого глаза в результате оспы был прозван «одноглазым драконом» (Докуганрю)