horseback archery followed by certification horse riding (here is characteristic!) in Tono-go Hachimangu shrine at Tono Festival

horseback archery1
horseback archery back
horseback archery back

The origin of Tono horseback archery (Yabusame in Japanese) is in Kamakura (Tsuruoka Hachimangu shrine).  It was brought to Tono (Tono Hachimangu shrine) via Hachinohe (Kushibiki Hachimangu) in Aomori prefecture as well as ‘Kappa’ story.   But the distinguishing feature in Tono’s is that the another warrior runs to see if the previous warrior hits the target successfully or not.  If the arrow hits the target, he will yell out “Yo itariya (Good shooting) ! “, but it sounds like “Yo Italiano ! “.

Each warrior runs 3 times on the track and he shoots a bow three times on each run.

Visit stages of Tono Story before/after festival

tono arakamisama in aozasa
tono countryside
tono countryside

Preliminary preparation is essential to enjoy Tono truly.  Tono Story is compiled by Kunio Yanagita for more than 100 stories told by mouth, but they are all unsatisfactory because of lack of succession.  Am I the only one who feels like the story is cut off?   Even so, when I came to this land, it was strangely convinced that such a strange thing happened.

<example1> God hides the child
At twilight, the girl disappeared suddenly, and thirty years later, when her relatives were gathering at her house, she suddenly reappeared, but she soon left somewhere…….    So what happened then? I do not understand the continuation of the story.

<example2> Kappa
While washing the horses in the river, a kappa came out and tried to pull the horse into the abyss.  Kappa, who was caught by a villager and said to kill him, apologized mysteriously saying “I’ll never be bad again”, so the villager felt sorry for him and let the kappa go off.  Then Kappa stopped playing mischief………    So what happened then? I do not understand the continuation of the story.

tono guardian kappa
tono guardian kappa

Kappa is said to be apparition (ghost), abandoned baby, etc.  Historically, there is a theory that the Lord moved from Hachinohe with Kappa living at Kushibiki Hachimangu Shrine in Hachinohe.    At the entrance to the shrine, a dog is usually a guardian, but in Tono this is the kappa.   The Tono Kappa likes cucumbers, and the Tono city issues a capture permission (This is true!).

<example3> an old man
In order to secure food for the family, an old man,  over 60 years old, was moved to a land called Denderano.  He not only waited for his death, but also went down to the village during the daytime to engage in farm work and live…….    It’s a thought-provoking story.

Please find your mysterious story and favorite landscape in Tono countryside !

Gallery (click photos)

Roadside Rest Area ‘Wind Hill'(Welcome Festival event)

Here you can buy lunch boxes made by locals.  Good assortment !

Geto Hot Spring is even unexplored area even in the countryside

geto mountain stream
geto retro hotel
geto retro hotel

If you compare the ranking of hot springs to sumo wrestling, this is said to be Yokozuna (Grand Champion) in the east.  There are many original hot springs along the blue-white river, and fresh hot springs spring from the bottom of the wild bathtub.  The hot springs are said to deteriorate from the moment they come into contact with the air, so it’s ideal because they come directly to the bathtub without touching the air. On the other hand, however, some hot springs are ridiculously hot, so be careful not to burn yourself.  Another point to note is that you have to go down to the riverbed every time you want to enter any hot spring, so you will be exhausted to enter the hot spring. It may be because this is Yokozuna !

geto hot spring
geto hot spring

Hot spring cabin is dismantled before every winter so as not to be crushed by deep snow.  Thank you for their hard work and enjoy the hot springs.

 

 

Motsuji-Temple, World Heritage, and Yoshitsune self-harm land overlooking the Kitakami River where basho wrote famous haiku

kitakami river

‘The Summer grasses / Of brave soldier’s dreams / The aftermath’

by Basho

Basho traveled to Tohoku district during the Edo period and left many famous haiku poems. One of them is the battlefield of the distant past.  The view of the flowing Kitakami River where Basho wrote this haiku was impressed and too sad because this was just the place where Yoshitsune harmed himself being surrounded by his brother’s army and where the glory of Hiraizumi began to collapse.   Almost the same fate as the one of Emishi was repeated.

Stories of Aterui and Yoshitsune in another post     >read more

Motsuji Temple, World Heritage

motsuji temple pond
motsuji temple pond

It was said that Hiraizumi had the same scale and brilliance as the capital of Kyoto during its Golden Age.  Being far from the political center brought peace and prosperity to Hiraizumi.  The garden in Motsuji Temple has been restored and remind us of Uji-Byodoin Temple in Kyoto.

Gallery (click photos)

Chusonji Temple, World Heritage, where the highlights are connected by a too long slope, and finally arrive at the Golden Hall after getting tired

chusonji temple gate

‘Eary summer rains / Fall not here / Temple of light’

by Basho

cyusonji temple basho
chusonji temple basho

Basho traveled to Tohoku district during the Edo period and left many famous haiku poems. One of them is the Chusonji Temple, especially the golden hall.  The hall was shining with a dazzling light, which seemed to have prevented the rain.   It may have something to do with the discovery in Tohoku as a result of exploring the whole country because a large amount of gold was needed to manufacture the Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple in the Nara era.

cyusonji temple oi
chusonji temple oi

You can’t reach the golden hall unless you climb a fairly long slope. There are many highlights, so let’s save your physical strength.  One of highlights I thought was the backpack ‘oi’ Benkei used when he came back to Hiraizumi to accompany his master Yoshitsune and escaped from the army of Yoshitsune’s brother Minamoto no Yoritomo.  I was surprised that there was something like this.  It was made of wood with ‘Kamakura’ carving.  How ironic it is that the name of carving method came from the capital name where Yoritomo put the political center.

koromogawa saku
koromogawa saku

Here around Chusonji Temple is strategic region that have been important since ancient times.   It was the forefront base when the Yamato Imperial Court was trying to expand its power to the north in Heian period, and it was also the forefront of Emishi defense.  The captured leader of Emishi, Aterui, was killed in Kyoto, almost the same as the fate of Yoshitsune.   You can look down on Japan’s oldest ancient battlefield from the place you climbed up, but the only trace is the lush river.  Against this background, another Basho haiku has been created.

cyusonji temple big trees
chusonji temple big trees
cyusonji temple basho
chusonji temple basho haiku

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geibikei  Canyon, Boat excursion that invites us to ‘Another World isolated’.  Fun at the end !

geibikei senryutan
geibikei boatman
geibikei boatman

The Kitakami Mountains have been land for a long time since the Japanese Islands were torn off from Russia by the plate movement.  They are older than the volcanic belt that runs through the Japanese archipelago.  Therefore, Geibikei was exposed to long erosion and a deep canyon was completed.

Until Edo period the villagers did not list the canyon on the map, fearing that many officials would visit it for sightseeing.  Recently, tourism development was carried out as a boat excursion.  Autumn leaves and snow boat excursions are also good, but the excursions in the calm atmosphere of the fresh green were exceptional.
In the canyon surrounded by cliffs,  I could hear only the voices of birds other than the sound of the water flowing by pointing the river bottom with a rod, and the song of the boatman quietly soaked into the canyon.

Gallery (click photos)

Fun at the end !

geibikei stones
geibikei stones

At the turning point of excursion, once get off the boat and enjoy the spectacular view for a while.  At the end of walk, throw a stone toward the hole in the cliff and wish yourself good luck, or just try your own pitching control.  The things written on the stone that became a strike will be fulfilled, so it is necessary to check the things before throwing !

Shinjoh Festival (Registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage)

festival car 4
festival car 1
festival car 1
festival car 2
festival car 2

This festival is held for 3 days in the  end of August.  Each neighborhood association(small town) competes for floats composed of the festival car decorated* by a lot of arts(dolls) based on classical subject and the    following musical accompaniment.  The decoration is like ‘Nebuta’ in Aomori. 


*)Due to festival cars decorated only one side (left side in the direction of parade), pay attention to the trends of the locals so that you do not fail to pick up space(side) for seeing the festival parade.


Totoro Tree

totoro tree
totoro tree detail
totoro tree detail

No matter how you look at it, it looks like a Totoro tree !

In fact, a cedar tree is divided into two at the base, which is only visible to Totoro’s ears at a distance. Even so, the shape is really good.

There is an observation deck with a parking lot nearby, but let’s walk around the Totoro tree through the thickets.

*)On the way I often worried about whether I could reach my destination or not in the real countryside.
By the way, Sakekawa village is famous for various mushroom cultivation. I learned later looking at the production area display at the supermarket in the neighborhood.

Going down the Mogami River by boat

mogami river

‘Gathering early summer rains / Even more rapid / The Mogami River’
by Basho

boat going down
boat going down

Basho traveled to Tohoku district during the Edo period and left many famous haiku poems. One of them is the Mogami River.

fall from the cliff
waterfall from the cliff

The seasons were different, but the flow was not as intense as I expected.
Time seems to have stopped and the area is quiet. I can only hear the sound of pointing the boat’s rod to the river. A stream of water falls from the cliff and the boat song of the boatman is sucked into the mountains. On the way you can see the ruins of Oshin’s outdoor studio. I fell asleep on the way.


The following is a boat landing.  One-way, two-way, etc. you can chose according to your schedule.

Ginzan Hot Spring too famous

ginzan hot spring
retro modern hotels
retro modern hotels

In the Edo period, silver production in Japan was about one-third of the world and the representative ‘ Iwami Ginzan(Silver mountains)* ‘ became World Heritage.  ‘Ginzan Hot Spring ‘ has the same story adding hot spring and the downtown is said to be retro-modern and is visited by many foreign tourists like Kyoto.

public bath
public bath

 

 

 

But the best way to spend time was to take a public bath in the entrance of the village designed by Mr.Kuma Kengo, architect who designed the main stadium Tokyo2020 after visiting mine ruins at the end of village (small walk). 

mine ruins
mine ruins

*)Ginzan and Ginza(silver guild or place)
Since the foundry of silver coins was placed in Tokyo during the Edo period, Ginza has developed into a high-class shopping district and any central shopping districts of even small towns in Japan have been named as the same  Ginza district.

falls at the end of village
waterfalls at the end of village