36Matsu Kasaboko
The Matsu kasaboko is from Hiragawara-machi, a former castle town of Yatsushiro Castle.
Matsu, or pine, is a form of vegetation with a long life and is thought to be based on the Noh songs, Oimatsu and Takasago. Matsu is also called Aioi-no-matsu, or twin pines, and symbolizes the hope that married couples will live long and happily together until their hair goes grey.
A landing spot and guard house, which controlled the loading and unloading of cargo, had been placed in Hiragawara-machi, located on the shores of Mae River. It is said that the town was home to many wholesalers and retailers of all kinds of fabrics.
According to records from the first year of the Meiwa period (1764), the kasaboko of Hiragawara-machi around that time was decorated with peacocks and seems to have been changed to the current design of pines in the 1800s.
