Clear the Mito-ppo Quiz and earn the Mito-ppo title. Want to know Mito & Northern Ibaraki even better, or already confident? The tougher courses are next.
Once you learn that Kairakuen garden and the Kodokan school were conceived as a pair by the same lord, Mito starts to look different. That is the spirit of this quiz, which covers far more than the old castle town itself. Northern Ibaraki is all here: Kasama Inari Shrine and Kasama ware, the torii gate of Kamiiso standing in the surf, Fukuroda Falls, the Ryujin suspension bridge, and hillsides turned blue by nemophila. Mito natto and the famously stubborn local temperament known as Mito-ppo are fair game too. Walk in as you would walk a garden: unhurried, eyes open, noticing what the design is quietly telling you. The daily question makes a good first stroll.
Q1.Kasama Inari Shrine, ranked among Japan's "Three Great Inari Shrines," is located in which city?
Oarai Town
Hitachi City
Kasama City
Mito City
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerKasama City
Kasama Inari Shrine in Kasama City is one of Japan's "Three Great Inari Shrines," alongside Fushimi Inari (Kyoto) and Yutoku Inari (Saga). Said to have been founded in 651, it draws about 3.5 million visitors a year. In autumn, the shrine grounds also host a chrysanthemum festival that has drawn crowds for more than a century.
Q2.The "Kamiiso Torii," a gate standing on rocks facing the Pacific Ocean, is located in which town?
Hitachinaka City
Hitachi City
Takahagi City
Oarai Town
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerOarai Town
The Kamiiso Torii stands at Oarai Isosaki Shrine in Oarai Town, on a reef called "Kamiiso" where the enshrined deity is said to have descended. Famous for its sunrise view through the gate, it is one of Oarai's signature scenic spots. Around New Year, crowds gather well before dawn to watch the sunrise appear through the gate.
Q3.Fukuroda Falls, ranked among Japan's Three Great Waterfalls, is located in which town?
Hitachiota City
Daigo Town
Takahagi City
Kitaibaraki City
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerDaigo Town
Fukuroda Falls is located in Daigo Town, Ibaraki, and is ranked among Japan's Three Great Waterfalls along with Kegon Falls (Tochigi) and Nachi Falls (Wakayama). Cascading about 120m high and 73m wide over a massive rock face, it is a breathtaking sight. Its four-tiered drop also gives it the nickname "Falls of Four Visits."
Q4.Kodokan in Mito was founded as a domain school to educate the samurai of the Mito Domain and their children. Which Mito lord founded it?
Tokugawa Nariaki
Tokugawa Yorifusa
Tokugawa Harutoshi
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
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Correct answerTokugawa Nariaki
Kodokan was founded in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki, the 9th lord of Mito Domain, as part of his domain reforms, and it became the largest domain school in the country. Nariaki is a different person from Mizuno Tadakuni, who led the nationwide 'Tenpo Reforms.' Alongside training in both scholarship and martial arts, it also housed a medical hall, making it the core of Mito Domain's education for samurai children.
Q5.In what Tenpo year was the Kodokan's "provisional opening ceremony" held?
Tenpo 12
Tenpo 15
Tenpo 3
Tenpo 1
Reveal the correct answer
Correct answerTenpo 12
The Kodokan held its provisional opening ceremony on August 1, 1841 (Tenpo 12), and after more than 15 further years its formal opening ceremony took place in 1857 (Ansei 4). Instruction of domain samurai continued throughout this interval as a center of Mito Gaku learning, carrying directly into the school's eventual formal opening.
