Walking Takamatsu

　　　In the U.S., there are regional accents; someone from Boston sounds different than someone from Atlanta, but we pretty much understand each other. Compare that to the differences between American English and Scottish English. You ken?
In Japan, there are many dialects, hougen, each with its own sound , unique words and expressions. In Takamatsu, Sanuki Ben is spoken.
　　　There are no pictures in this blog, because it's about a castle that no longer exists. This is fitting, because I heard this story in a bar that no longer exists.
There used to be a castle in Takamatsu, Tamomo Jyo. I don't know what happened to it. I think it moved to Marugame. Today, there is a park and there are a few old buildings. Admission is charged, so you must pay to see where the castle used to be.　Tamomo Jyo was located at the northern end of Chuo Street, next to the Inland Sea.
There was a feudal lord and there were feudal ladies. There was intrigue- feuds! And there were feudal soldiers to protect everyone.
There were enemies, other feudal lords that would send their soldiers to attack the castle. Today in Takamatsu, there are still many streets that aren't straight; you have to suddenly take a　right and then a left. This was planned, to slow down the enemy on horseback.
　　　　Feudal soldiers, samurai, were posted all around the castle in case of a surprise attack. The main threat lay to the south, so around the southern circumfrence of the castle, the smartest and bravest and strongest samurai stood guard to protect their lord and his ladies.　Around the northern circumfrence, staring into the sea, were posted a bunch of idiots.
This is why, even today, hokko, which litterally means "to look north" is　the Sanuki Ben word for idiot. The castle, the lords and ladies and the samurai　are all long gone. Only the crooked streets and a few hokko remain.