8  Kawaguchi ,  The  Town  Of  Cupola

　

　

    Do you know the movie “Cupola no aru machi “ ?  It’s an old movie which was released in 1962.  The leading actress is Yoshinaga Sayuri. She is a very famous actress in Japan.    Kawaguchi city is the setting for this movie.

   What is a cupola ?  It’s a small round part on the roof of a building, which is shaped like an upside down bowl. It is used for melting iron down with coal to make metal casting（鋳物).  Kawaguchi-city is famous for iron casting. It is said that the technique for iron casting was brought to Kawaguchi near the end of the Muromachi Period.  The reason was that it was close to the capital Edo, and there was good quality sand there.

　

 

    Through iron casting they make the manhole covers, posts, water pipes, escalators,  pulleys for elevators and so on. Kawaguchi has produced iron casting for Tsutenkaku（通天閣）, Kuroyon Dam（黒四ダム）, Kegon Falls（華厳の滝）, the Diet Building and famous department stores like Takashimaya（高島屋） and Mitsukoshi（三越）. They also made the Olympic flameholder for the Tokyo Olympics.

Pulleys（エレベーターで使う滑車）

　

   Nowadays foundries are changing. One reason is the environment. New apartment buildings are built near foundries. The people who live in the apartment buildings don’t like the smoke and sparks from cupolas. Another reason is coal. In Japan the production of coal is decreasing, so they have to import coal from foreign countries.  So most companies have started to use electric furnaces instead of cupolas. （233語）

　

was released上映された leading actress 主演女優　upside down さかさまの　blow 風を送る

tools道具 　the Diet Building国会議事堂　the olympic flameholder聖火台 foundry鋳物工場

environment環境　sparks 火花　production生産　 coals石炭　 is decreasing減少している

furnace溶鉱炉　instead of　〜の代わりに

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

中学生のIkumiさんは、留学生のTomくんと 川口市 のお祭りに来ています。
Tom:　 Wow!　It’s so crowded.
Ikumi: Yes. This is “Tatara−matsuri（たたら祭り）”. It is the most exciting festival in Kawaguchi.
It’s held for two days in August.
Tom: What’s tatara?
Ikumi: Have you ever seen “Mononoke Hime(もののけ姫)”?  It’s the old way to make iron castings in Japan.
They blend iron sand and charcoal in a furnace.
Tom: I see.
Ikumi: In this festival, we have many small shops, dancing and fire works.
Tom: I’m looking forward to watching fire works.
Ikumi: Me, too. They are very beautiful. And we also have a dance.
It’s called the “tatara ondo ”.  About 2000 people dance it.
Tom: Oh, really?
Ikumi: Yes. A lot of people come from other cities to watch it.
It is very exciting.
Tom: Fantastic!
Ikumi: Look!
Tom: What are they doing?
Ikumi: They are playing “be-goma　(ベーゴマ)”.
Tom: What’s “ be-goma”?
Ikumi: It’s a kind of top. It’s a Japanese traditional game.
We spin it by pulling the cord wound  around  it.
Tom: It’s interesting.
Ikumi:  “ Be- goma ” is one of the metal casts produced here.
Now only one foundry makes it in Japan.
Tom: Oh, really?  Anyway it looks fun to play be-goma.
Ikumi: Shall we join them?
Tom: Sure.

iron 鉄　 blend 混ぜる　 charcoal 木炭　 alternatelyかわるがわる　 small shop屋台

Fantastic 素晴らしい　 spin 回す   pull 引く   cord ひも

wound　wind（巻きつける）の過去分詞　  the metal casts 鋳物