After the Three Views were composed in the 17th century, many authors have come up with their own lists of Japanese sites and attractions. While there are countless lists and variations thereof, here is a selection of the best-known ones: Sankei (三景). The most famous list of them all, attributed to scholar Hayashi Gahō back in 1643. They follow the Snow-Moon-Flower (雪月花) aesthetic with Amanohashidate representing the snow (雪), Matsushima representing the moon (月), and Miyajima representing the flower (花), although the "flowers" are said to actually be the autumn leaves. Amanohashidate, Kyoto Matsushima, Miyagi Miyajima, Hiroshima 日本新三景 Onuma, Hokkaido Miho no Matsubara, Shizuoka Yaba Valley, Oita 三大夜景 Sandaiyakei Hakodate seen from Mount Hakodate Kobe and Osaka Bay seen from Mount Rokko Nagasaki seen from Mount Inasa 新三大夜景 Shin-sandaiyakei Kitakyushu seen from Mount Sarakurayama, Nara seen from Mount Wakakusayama Yamanashi seen from Fuefuki River Fruit Park 三名城 Sanmeijō. A list written by Ogyu Sorai in the Edo Period. He chose these three castles as the top among those designed by Kato Kiyomasa and Todo Takatora who he considered to be the best castle designers. All three are modern reconstructions, since Kumamoto Castle burned down during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion and Nagoya and Osaka Castles were destroyed during World War II. Nagoya Castle Nagoya, Aichi Osaka Castle Osaka, Osaka Kumamoto Castle Kumamoto, Kumamoto 三大山城 Sandaiyamashiro Bitchu Matsuyama Castle Takahashi Iwamura Castle Iwamura Takatori Castle Takatori 三大平山城 Sandaihiroyamashiro. Himeji Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Matsuyama Castle in Matsuyama, Ehime Tsuyama Castle in Tsuyama, Okayama 三名園 Sanmeien It is unclear when these gardens were chosen or by whom. The first recorded list dates back to 1899, but a postcard bought by Shiki Masaoka from his visit to Korakuen Garden in 1891 has "Korakuen Garden, Number 1 of the Top 3 Gardens" written on the back. It is widely believed that the gardens follow the "Snow-Moon-Flower" (雪月花) aesthetic coined by a famous Chinese poem by Bai Juyi. Kenrokuen Garden, famous for its snowy scenery, represents the "Snow" (雪), Korakuen Garden, which to this day has an autumn moon-viewing event, represents the "Moon"(月), and Kairakuen, known for its early spring plum blossoms, represents the "Flower" (花). In addition, each of the gardens are strolling gardens built by famous daimyo (The Tokugawa built Kairakuen, the Ikeda built Korakuen, and the Maeda built Kenrokuen) which is also believed to have played a role in which gardens were given the prestigious designation. Kairakuen, Mito, Ibaraki Kenrokuen, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Kōrakuen, Okayama, Okayama 三大祭 Sandaisai Gion Matsuri, Kyoto Tenjin Matsuri, Osaka Kanda and Sannō Matsuri, Tokyo The Nebuta Matsuri of Aomori is often considered to be one of the top three festivals, but it is actually only listed as one of the top three festivals of the Tohoku region (below). 東北三大祭り Nebuta Matsuri Aomori, Aomori Kanto Matsuri Akita, Akita Tanabata Matsuri Sendai, Miyagi 京都三大祭 Gion Matsuri Aoi Matsuri Jidai Matsuri 四国三大祭り Awa Odori (Tokushima) Yosakoi Festival (Kochi) Niihama Taiko Festival (Niihama) 日本三大盆踊り Nishimonai Festival (Ugo, Akita) Gujo Odori (Gujo, Gifu) Awa Odori (Tokushima, Tokushima) 日本三大花火 Omagari Fireworks (Daisen, Akita) Tsuchiura All Japan Fireworks (Tsuchiura, Ibaraki) Nagaoka Fireworks (Nagaoka, Niigata) Certainly one of the more hotly contested categories. (No pun intended). 三大温泉 Sandaionsen Atami, Shizuoka Beppu, Oita Shirahama, Wakayama 三名泉 Sanmeisen. Authored by Hayashi Razan, father of Hayashi Gahō. Arima Onsen, Hyogo Gero Onsen, Gifu Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma 三古湯 Sankosen Dogo Onsen, Ehime Arima Onsen, Hyogo Shirahama, Wakayama 扶桑三名湯 Fusō-sanmeiyu. Fusō is a poetic name for Japan and this one is credited to traveling haiku poet Matsuo Basho. Arima Onsen, Hyogo Yamanaka Onsen, Ishikawa Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma 三大稲荷 Sandai Inari Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto Toyokawa Inari Shrine, Aichi Saijō Inari, Okayama or Yūtoku Inari Shrine, Kashima As the head of all Inari shrines, Fushimi Inari Shrine is naturally one of the top three, but there is little historical or present consensus on the others. After Fushimi Inari, the list varies depending on the source. Takekoma Shrine in Iwanuma and Kasuma Inari Shrine in Kasama are also suggested by some. 三大天神 Sandai Tenjin Kitano Tenman-gū in Kyoto, Kyoto Dazaifu Tenman-gū in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Hōfu Tenman-gū in Hofu, Yamaguchi All Tenjin (Tenmangu) shrines are dedicated to the worship of Sugawara Michizane. This top three list actually highlights his exile from Kyoto to Dazaifu. Along the way, he stopped in Hofu and built the first Tenjin shrine. Official dedication of shrines to him began after his death when a series of natural disasters and tragedies in the capital were believed to be caused by his restless soul seeking vengeance for his unjust exile. Kitano Tenmangu was built to pacify him. 三八幡 San Hachiman Usa Hachimangu Shrine (Usa, Oita) Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine (Yawata, Kyoto) Hakozaki Hachimangu Shrine (Fukuoka, Fukuoka) 三大鳥居 Sandai Torii Omiwa Shrine (Sakurai, Nara) Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima, Hiroshima) Kehi Shrine (Tsuruga, Fukui) 三大霊場 sandai-reijo Mount Koya Mount Hiei Mount Osore 奥州三霊場 Ōshū sanreijō are the three most famous pilgrimage sites in the ancient land of Oku (奥), now known as Tohoku. Kinkasan Mount Osore Dewa Sanzan 三大大仏 Sandai-daibutsu Todaiji, Nara Kotokuin, Kamakura Daibutsuji, Takaoka 三名塔 Sanmeitō Horyuji, Ikaruga, Nara Daigoji, Kyoto, Kyoto Rurikoji, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi 三長谷 Sanhase Hasedera (Sakurai, Nara) Hasedera (Kamakura, Kanagawa) Hasedera (Nagano, Nagano) 三名山 Sanmeizan (Three Famous Mountains), also 三霊山 Sanreizan (Three Sacred Mountains) Mount Fuji Mount Haku Mount Tate 三大秘境 Sandaihikkyō Shirakawa-go, Gifu Iya Valley, Tokushima Shiiba, Miyazaki 三大渓谷 Kiyotsu Gorge, Niigata Kurobe Gorge, Toyama Osugi Gorge, Mie 日本三大鍾乳洞 Akiyoshi-do (Akiyoshidai, Yamaguchi) Ryuga-do (Kami, Kochi) Ryusen-do Cave (Iwaizumi, Iwate) 日本三名瀑 Nachi Falls Kegon Falls Fukuroda Falls 三大松原 Sandai-matsubara Miho no Matsubara (Shizuoka, Shizuoka) Niji no Matsubara (Karatsu, Saga) Kehi no Matsubara (Tsuruga, Fukui) 日本三大酒処 Fushimi, Kyoto Nada, Kobe Saijō, Higashihiroshima 日本三大漆器 Kainan, Wakayama Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Wajima, Ishikawa 三大中華街 Sandai-chūkagai Yokohama Chūkagai, Yokohama Shinchi-Chūkagai, Nagasaki Nankinmachi, Kobe 三大そば Sandai-soba' Wanko Soba (Morioka/Hanamaki, Iwate) Izumo Soba (Izumo, Shimane) Togakushi Soba (Nagano, Nagano) 三大ラーメン Sandai-raamen Sapporo Ramen (Sapporo, Hokkaido) Kitakata Ramen (Kitakata, Fukushima) Hakata Ramen (Fukuoka, Fukuoka) 三大うどん Sandai-udon Sanuki Udon (Takamatsu, Kagawa) Inaniwa Udon (Yuzawa, Akita) Mizusawa Udon (Shibukawa, Gunma) 三大和牛 Sandai-wagyu Kobe Beef (Kobe, Hyogo) Omi Beef (Shiga) Matsusaka Beef (Matsusaka, Mie) Some sources also claim Yonezawa Beef (Yonezawa) is one of the top three beefs.
{'wiki_source': 'wikivoyage', 'other_info': '{\'content_model\': \'wikitext\', \'language\': \'en\', \'title\': "Japan\'s Top 3", \'type\': \'text\'}'}