Uwajima宇和島

A castle town surrounded by mountains. Traditional 300-year-old bullfights take place here.

Uwajima is situated deep inside Uwajima Bay with a saw-toothed coast facing the Bungo Channel in southwestern Ehime. Uwajima, the central city of Ehime, is located in the southwestern district and embraced on three sides by mountains more than 1,000 meters high. The city has flourished as a castle town of the Date family since the early 17th century.

In the center of the city, there are Uwajima Castle (whose castle tower ruins, built in the early 17th century, have been designated as an important national cultural asset), Uwatsuhiko-jinja Shrine (built in the late 8th century), and other sites. The Tensha-en Garden, built as a retirement palace for the Date family, is especially beautiful in the wisteria and iris season and admired by many local people.

You can see bullfights, a traditional 300-year-old event in Uwajima. The events are held five times a year even today. Bulls weighing about one ton butt against each other in a 20-meter-diameter ring in a domed bullfight arena. The bulls fight until one loses its fighting spirit. The largest festival in Uwajima, Warei-taisai (Grand Festival), is celebrated every summer at Warei-jinja Shrine, where the protector deity of the sea is worshipped, and is familiarly called "Warei-sama" by locals. A prayer ritual for a rich haul and good harvest is conducted in front of the shrine.