A lone black kite was flying in the blue sky over Nanao South Bay

Nanao is the birthplace of Hasegawa Tohaku, one of the most famous painters of the Momoyama period. Hasegawa Tohaku, who was born in Nanao, came to Kyoto around 1571 and learned the painting styles of various schools, including the Kano school, and rose through the ranks of the art world to the point where he was valued by Sen no Rikyu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

It is not unrelated to the fact that Nanao was so prosperous that it was called "Little Kyoto" that famous painters were born here. This is because in order for society to accommodate artists who do not directly produce food, there must be enough wealth accumulated in the society to feed the non-producers. That's how much wealth Nanao had. In fact, Tohaku's works from the Nanao period use pigments of such high quality that they are rarely seen even in the capital.

The source of Nanao's wealth was shipping. The port of Nanao is located in the center of the Noto Peninsula, and has prospered as a good natural port since ancient times. In the era of the Kitamae ships, it seems to have flourished as a port of call. The wealth accumulated in this way must have been the basis for the birth of Tohaku Hasegawa.

When I arrived at Nanao Port, there was no busyness at all, just a peaceful atmosphere. To be honest, I can only imagine the wealth that is being accumulated here every day. Looking up at the sky, I saw a steeplejack flying gracefully in the sky.

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