Iga – The art of writing and of fighting

Known as the White Phoenix Castle, the gleaming white Ueno Castle keeps watch over the city of Iga. Today its walls house the Ninja Museum Igaryu. The art of words stands face to face with the art of fighting in Iga. The most important son of the city is the Haiku poet Matsuo Basho, who was born in 1644 and developed the amusing and playful Haikai poetry into an important literary form. However, Iga is also an important and steadily growing economic center.