English

Legend

Lot’s of stories, especially a story about JUJI-IKE is very famous.

Juji-ike

●Juji-ike pond(enshrined story around the pond)

At the foot of Negoro Mountains, at Nishi Sakamoto, once there lived a richman whose name was Muro-ie.

They didn’t have any child, so they vowed to the tomb of ONO-no- KOMACHI(She was said as one of the three beauties. She was also a poet.)

Their prayers were heard and they got a lovely girl whose name is Katsura Hime(princess), and she closely resembled to KOMACHI.

Years had passed, and grown up  Katsura-Hime had a wedding day.
When luxurious wedding parade passed by Juji-ike, suddenly a huge snake appeared and carried the princess away into the pond.

Her mother who was stolen her daughter was crying day and night.
On the fourth morning, she stood at the pond and prayed to see her daughter only once again.

Then, a huge snake and the princess came out on the water. The mother clung to her daughter, but at that moment she changed to another huge snake, then they swam away.

It’s said that Katsura- Hime was the rebirth of KOMACHI, and the huge snake was FUKAKUSA SHOSHO who loved KOMACHI, but his wish had not be fulfilled.

●A Farmer’s heroic tale about Juji-ike

Once upon a time, when “ta-ue”(planting the young rice plant in the field in rainy season)was getting close, farmers tried to open the conduit of the pond, but it had been choked only in one night.

It was a ta-ue season, so whole village was instantly thrown into an uproar.
They came together to the pond and investigated, then they realized that something had been stuffed up.

They should clear this problem, but who would be a volunteer?
It’s really a dangerous work, so they only looked each other, but no one proposed.
But at that time, a farmer who was from SOYA village, proposed that he would do it.

Now it’s time for a farmer to dive, then he said that when he would pull a rope, it’s a sign that he had tied up the obstacle, so he asked to pull him up immediately.
So he dived to the pond with a rope, and others were anxious about what’s happening.

Later, the sign was recognized, so they pulled the rope immediately.
Then suddenly, two antlers came out from the water.
They thought it was a huge snake, and ran away abandoning the rope.
(Later it was made out a big deer.)

On the way of being pulled up, the farmer was abandoned, he was absorbed into the conduit with the big deer.
By the huge water pressure, his body was chopped into pieces and was pop-upped by the rapid stream to the end of the stream.

By this great sacrifice, all the villages were filled with the water and finished the ta-ue, so they appreciated him.
With this work, the farmer’s village was confered an eternal free fee of utilization of the water from the pond.
After this accident, villagers became cooperative when the water came to this field,
No one disturbed this.

KOI- no-FUCHI (Deep Water with A Carp)

●Legend of Koi -no-mori (Forest with A Carp)

Koi- no-mori is located on the road side along KINOKAWA RIVER, from FUNATO to KISHIGAWA, ARAKAWA and NOKAMI district.

Once upon a time, the Duke of TOKUGAWA, KISHU heard that at Koi-no- Fuchi, there lived an old big carp.  Villagers scared it, so no one threw a net or fish it.

The Duke didn’t have anything to be afraid of, so he said he would catch a carp alive, as for villagers wouldn’t be scared anymore.
Villagers advised the duke that if he caught it alive, a calamity would happen, so please cancel it.

But the duke never canceled anything once he had said.The preparations were advanced, and there came the previous day of throwing a net down.On the day, it was a spring holiday, so villagers made “kusa- mochi” (green rice cake with Yomoghi=a kind of herb).

They wore beautiful kimono and spend their time in pleasure.
At that time, no one knew where she came from, but a lovely young girl came to them and said sadly, “ Please do not throw a net in Fuchi for a while.”They told her it’s not available, then she was badly disappointed.

They thought pitiful, so they gave kusa-mochi to her to eat.
She went down sadly to the direction of Koi-no-Fuchi.

On the very day, the Duke and lot’s of people were watching the water.Then strong men finally caught the big carp.
At last, they made a drastic cut into the belly, then kusa-mochi came out.

Villagers lost their words, but they told the Duke about the girl precisely.
The Duke didn’t spend the days for nothing as human, he stopped cooking.
The Duke ordered to make a tomb to bury the big carp and deified it.

Nowadays, Koi-no-Fuchi was disposed, trees were cut down, earth was dug to the field.Koi-no-Fuchi later bore the sand bank, so off from KINOKAWA RIVER.
But it still keeps a deep water for KISHIGAWA RIVER.