Hirosaki Castle

Description

Hirosaki Castle stands tall in the center of Hirosaki, Japan in the Aomori Prefecture. The castle, built in 1611, has six baileys or wards and encompasses the Hirosaki Botanical Gardens. It was amazing to drive through the city and come up upon the castle baileys as you reached the center. At first glance it appears that the wards and the donjon (or castle keep) is a stunning combination of black and white, but upon a closer look the walls were a gray (though some had recently been painted white) with black details and had a patinaed roof of that gorgeous teal green.

I was lucky enough to visit the Hirosaki Castle grounds twice in the year that I lived in Japan. Once in the spring for the sakura matsuri (cherry blossom festival) – when this picture was taken – and again in the fall for the kiku matsuri (chrysanthemum festival). They each had their own charm. This photo features the lovely cherry blossoms and the donjon. You could go inside the donjon and see several different artifacts that represented the castle’s history.

For this variegated colorway I combined colors that I wouldn’t normally put together but with the inspiration photo, they work well. The gray walls are echoed here, with a touch of pale pink for the cherry blossoms and a sky blue that blends into a rich teal. This colorway would be perfect for a faux fair isle design, or when combined with a white, dark gray, or black it could make a lovely shawl.

Worn Suitcase base:
75% Superwash Merino wool, 25% nylon
Fingering Weight
462 yards / 100 grams
7-8 stitches = 1″ on #1-3 needles
21-32 sc = 4″ on B-E hooks
Machine wash gentle / Tumble dry low

Please note that color variations may occur from skein to skein as a result of hand dyeing. I have matched the colors in the photo as close as real life as possible however some differences may be noticed from monitor to monitor. Please also order as many skeins as you need for your project as color variation may happen one dye lot to the next.