Clear the Sendai Local Quiz and earn the Sendai Local title. Want to know Sendai even better, or already confident? The tougher courses are next.
Sendai's story starts with Date Masamune, the one-eyed lord who laid out the castle town now called the City of Trees. This quiz walks his streets in every season: Aoba Castle and the zelkova-lined avenues, gyutan, zunda and sasa-kamaboko on the table, the Tanabata festival in summer and the Pageant of Starlight in winter, and the domain's history, crowned by Hasekura Tsunenaga's voyage across the Pacific. Place names such as Ayashi, written with characters that fool first-time readers, put in an appearance too. The higher the tier, the deeper the questions settle into a Sendai native's memory. The practice questions are a fine way in.
What is a "Sendaikko"? From "Chiyo" to "Sendai"On which mountain along the Hirose River was Sendai Castle (Aoba Castle) built?
A new question every day — the real test is the quiz itself.
Take on this quizCorrect answerGyutan
Sendai's grilled beef tongue is credited to Keishiro Sano of Tasuke, a restaurant opened in 1948. Salted, rested and grilled over charcoal, it anchors a set meal with barley rice, oxtail soup and pickles, and specialty shops now line the station and downtown.
Source:仙台牛タン焼き（Wikipedia）
Correct answerSendai Tanabata Festival
The Sendai Tanabata Festival, with Aomori's Nebuta and Akita's Kanto, is one of Tohoku's three great festivals. Held in early August each year, it draws over two million visitors to shopping streets hung with lavish bamboo decorations, handmade anew every summer on customs passed down since the domain era.
Source:仙台七夕（Wikipedia）
Correct answerDate Masamune
Date Masamune, the first lord of the Sendai Domain, began building Sendai Castle and its castle town after the Battle of Sekigahara, laying the foundation of the 620,000-koku Sendai domain. Sendai's food and festivals still carry many traditions tied to Masamune.
Source:伊達政宗（Wikipedia）
Correct answerZuihoden
Zuihoden is Masamune's mausoleum, built by his dying wish on the Kyogamine hill in resplendent Momoyama style. The original, once a National Treasure, burned in the July 1945 air raid; the present hall dates from 1979. Nearby stand his successors' mausoleums, including Kansenden.
Source:瑞鳳殿（Wikipedia）
Correct answerA keep (tenshu)
Sendai Castle had a stone platform for a keep, but no keep was ever raised. The cliff-bound terrain of Mount Aoba was defense enough: the visiting Spanish envoy Vizcaino called it one of the finest and strongest castles in Japan, a fortress that needed no showpiece.
Source:仙台城（Wikipedia）
Stream it as-is, monetization welcome. The free installed edition is ad-free and extra smooth. Commentary and clips are welcome too.