JAPAN PICS
Hachimantai City, Iwate
岩手県八幡平市
Table of Contents

  Fudo Waterfall (不動の滝)
  "Ichiri-zuka" or the Japanese milestones (一里塚)
JAPAN PICS GENERAL INDEX
Hokkaido District
  
Do-o (Hokkaido Central)
  
   Naganuma Town (The Tsuchinotomi Society Tour)
2006
   Otaru City (The Tsuchinotomi Society Tour)
2006
   Sapporo City (The Tsuchinotomi Society Tour)
2006
   Sapporo City ("Nihon-no-Matsuri" 2006)
2006
Iwate of the Tohoku District
  
   Esashi, Oshu City
2004-2011
   Hachimantai City
2006
   Hanamaki City
2005-2007
   Hiraizumi Town
2003-2007
   Ichinoseki City
2004-2010
   Iwaizumi Town
2005
   Kitakami City
2005
   Miyako City
2009-2011
   Mizusawa, Oshu City
2004-2012
   Morioka City
2004-2012
   Ninohe City
2007
   Rikuzentakata City
2008-2011
   Shizukuishi Town
2007
   Tono City
2003
Other Tohoku Regions
  
Aomori
  
   Hachinohe City (The Tsuchinotomi Society Tour)
2006
Miyagi
  
   Matsushima Town
2006
   Tome City
2005
Yamagata
  
   Yamadera, Yamagata City
2005
Kanto District
  
Ibaraki
  
   Joso City
2007
   Kashima City
2006
   Mito City
2008
   Shimotsuma City
2007
Kanagawa
  
   Kamakura City
2005-2007
Tochigi
  
   Nikko City
2002-2007
   Utsunomiya City
2007
Tokyo
  
   Tokyo Central
2002-2012
Yamanashi
  
   Kofu City
2007
Chubu District
  
Aichi
  
   Nagoya City
2008
   Toyokawa City
2009
Fukui
  
   Eiheiji Town
2009
   Fukui City
2009-2011
   Obama City
2009
   Tsuruga City
2009-2011
Gifu
  
   Gujo-Hachiman
2009
   Sekigahara Town
2008
Ishikawa
  
   Kanazawa City
2008
Nagano
  
   Nagano City
2007
   Matsumoto City
2007
Shizuoka
  
   Fuji City
2009-2010
Kansai (Kinki) District
  
Hyogo
  
   Ako City
2008
   Himeji City
2008
   Kobe City
2008-2012
   Nishinomiya City
2012
   Tamba City
2010
Kyoto
  
   Kyoto City Central
2005-2012
   Kyoto City East
2005-2012
   Kyoto City North
2005-2011
   Kyoto City South
2006-2012
   Kyoto City West
2005-2012
   Ayabe City
2010
   Maizuru City
2010
   Miyazu City
2012
   Uji City
2006
   Yahata City
2006
Mie
  
   Iga City
2011
   Ise City
2009
Nara
  
   Asuka Area
2006
   Ikaruga Town
2005
   Nara City Central
2006-2010
   Nishinokyo, Nara City
2005-2010
   Sakurai City
2011
   Tenri City
2011-2012
   Yoshino Town
2010
Osaka
  
   Hirakata City
2005-2012
   Osaka City Central
2007-2011
   Sakai City
2010
Shiga
  
   Azuchi-cho, Omihachiman City
2008-2010
   Hikone City
2008
   Koka City
2011
   Nagahama City
2008-2011
   Otsu City
2006-2009
Wakayama
  
   Koya Town
2009
   Wakayama City
2011
Chugoku District
  
Hiroshima
  
   Hiroshima City
2002-2012
   Miyajima, Hatsukaichi City
2002-2012
   Onomichi City
2002
Okayama
  
   Kurashiki City
2008
   Okayama City
2008
Shimane
  
   Izumo City
2011
   Oda City
2012
   Tsuwano Town
2012
Yamaguchi
  
   Hagi City
2012
   Iwakuni City
2012
   Shimonoseki City
2010-2012
   Yamaguchi City
2010-2012
Shikoku District
  
Ehime
  
   Matsuyama City
2011
Kagawa
  
   Kotohira Town
2011
   Takamatsu City
2011
Kochi
  
   Kochi City
2011
Kyushu District
  
Fukuoka
  
   Dazaifu City
2010
   Fukuoka City
2010
   Kitakyushu City
2010-2012
Kagoshima
  
   Hioki City
2010
   Kagoshima City
2010
Nagasaki
  
   Nagasaki City
2010
Oita
  
   Oita City
2010

Hachimantai City, Iwate
18 October 2006

  Hachimantai City is located in the northwestern part of Iwate Prefecture or in the northern east side of Ou Mountains.  It is a city formed after the merger of Nishine Town, Matsuo Village and Ashiro Town (all in Iwate County) on September 1, 2005.  The city is famous for the Hachimantai Resort-- Hachimantai National Park (bestriding both in Iwate and Akita prefectures), Appi-kogen Snow Park, Shomokura Snow Park, the three spas of Matsukawa, Toshichi and Appi.  The Hachimantai area boasts of numerous beautiful bogs and marshes.
  The population is 30,633 (September 2006): It has an area of 862.25 square kilometers.  The town area is along R282.

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IMAGE NO.
DATA
Fudo Waterfall
     Fudo-no-Taki (不動の滝) or Fudo Waterfall, Takahata, Hachimantai City (formerly Ashiro Town).  There are many waterfalls named "Fudo-no-Taki" in Japan because the name "Fudo" is after "Fudo-myo-o" (不動明王), the fierce form of the Buddha Vairocana in Japanese Buddhist mythology.  "Fudo" means "the Immovable One" which is the patron of the Martial Arts and the term 'Myo-o' indicates that "Fudo" is one of the Wrathful Kings of Mystic Knowledge.  Thus Japanese people, especially Samurai warriors, had worshipped waterfalls as the personification of "Fudo-myo-o" and liked to train martial arts near the waterfall or bathing under the waterfall.
  This 15 m (49 ft) Fudo-no-Taki is a medium sized one.  It is said that there was a drill hall for monks who led an ascetic life in the mountains since the ancient time.  The existing old shrine was built by the rocky wall sometime in the early nineteenth century: It was renamed "Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine" (桜松神社) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912).  An image of "Sekkutsu Fudo-myo-o" (Stone Statue of Fudo-myo-o) was enshrined in the middle of the waterfall in 1934.  In the period of World War II, numerous families from the Tohoku District visited here to pray for their soldiers at the front to return in triumph, tossing their donated coins in the waterfall.   The Annual Sakuramatsu-jinjya Festival is held on March 3.
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(Wednesday 18 October) The 15 m. "O Torii" (Great Shrine Gate), Fudo-no-Taki or Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine: The signpost indicates this point is at N. Latitude 40'.
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(Wednesday 18 October) The 15 m. First "Torii" (Shrine Gate), Fudo-no-Taki or Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) Fudo-bashi Bridge over the Appi River.  There are three red bridges on the approach to the Fudo-no-Taki: This is the first one.
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(Wednesday 18 October) Inari-jinjya Shrine near the Fudo-bashi Bridge
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(Wednesday 18 October) Ryoen-bashi Bridge (Bridge of a Good Match) over the Fudo-gawa River: the second red bridge on the approach.
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(Wednesday 18 October) Second "Torii" (Shrine Gate), Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine.  The post on the left indicates that this Fudo-no-Taki" was selected as one of the "Best One Hundred Waterfalls of Japan": This is the only waterfall in Iwate on the list.
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(Wednesday 18 October) Approach to the shrine halls and the third shrine gate.
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(Wednesday 18 October) Approach along the stone lanterns and Japanese cedars (cryptomeria)
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(Wednesday 18 October) Approach along the stone lanterns and Japanese cedars (cryptomeria)
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(Wednesday 18 October) Fourth "Torii" (Shrine Gate)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The Wood Gate
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(Wednesday 18 October) The approach continues: The wooden board on the left is the place for sacred lots (the white paper slips).
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(Wednesday 18 October) The new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) The new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) The left foo dog (stone-carved guardian dog) of the new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) The right foo dog (stone-carved guardian dog) of the new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) Wooden plaque signing "Sakuramatsu-jinjya," the new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine: Donated by Yoshizo Udosawa on May 3 (Annual Festival Day), 1989.
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(Wednesday 18 October) Inside of the new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) Inside of the new hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) Approach to the waterfall and the old shrine hall: The wooden board on the right is the place for dedicated votive pictures (of a horse) to the deity.
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(Wednesday 18 October) The small wooden post was erected in memory of the visit of the 15th Morioka lord Toshihisa Nambu (南部利剛, 1827-1896) along the approach.  He was also the 41th lord of the Nambu clan who governed this huge area since the early Kamakura Period (1192-1333).  As the last lord under the Tokugawa Shogunate government, Toshihisa experienced the most severe time of the history of the clan-- the Meiji Restoration in 1867 and the Boshin War in 1868-69.  The new government commanded him to retire from lordship and leave Morioka greatly reducing his dominion.
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(Wednesday 18 October) The Wood Gate to the waterfall and the old shrine hall
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(Wednesday 18 October) On the approach: The famous "En-musubi-no-ki" (the Sacred Tree of Marriage or Hymen) is on the upper right.
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(Wednesday 18 October) Stone statue of "Daikoku-ten" (Skt. Mahakala), one of the "Shichifukujin" (七福神; Japan's Seven Deities of Good Fortune), in front of the old hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-do" (Hall of Fudo), the old hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) Stone plaque of the Cock in front of "Fudo-do" (Hall of Fudo), the old hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) A small hall located between the waterfall and the old hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) A sacred cave over "Fudo-do" (Hall of Fudo), the old hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-do" (Hall of Fudo), the old hall of Sakuramatsu-jinjya Shrine
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(Wednesday 18 October) Inscription of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall) erected by the education board of the former Ashiro Town dated April 21, 1971
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) Red Bridge over the stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) Red Bridge over the stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall) viewed from the Red Bridge
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(Wednesday 18 October) Red Bridge in the background of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) Red Bridge and the stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
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(Wednesday 18 October) The stream of "Fudo-no-Taki" (Fudo Waterfall)
  
  
  
Ichiri-zuka
  
  During the Edo Period (1603-1867) a number of "Ichiri-zuka" (the Japanese milestones) were made by the Tokugawa Shogunate.  One "Ichiri-zuka" was made in four-kilometers along the major roads.  First it was just a mound, but later a pine tree or hackberry was planted for indicating the sign.
  This "Ichiri-zuka," located near the Fudo-no-Taki, Hachimantai City, was named "Nanashigure Ichiri-zuka" (七時雨一里塚) because it is located along the "Nagareshigure-michi" (流霰路) or "Kazuno-kaido" (鹿角街道) at the foot of Mt. Nanashigure (七時雨山, 1,060 m).  The name "Nanashigure" or "Nagareshigure" derived from its changeable weather: It changes many times in a day and it very frequently rains.
  "Nagareshigure-michi" was the main road from between Morioka and Kazuno via Osarizawa Copper Mine (尾去沢銅山) during the Edo Period when the Nambu clan governed this huge area including Osarizawa and Kazuno (both in Akita Prefecture now).  However, it rapidly declined after the new road "Tsugaru-kaido" (now called "Route 282" between Morioka and Kazuno) was constructed in the west in 1878.
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Nanashigure Ichiri-zuka," Terada, Hachimantai City (former Ashiro Town Area)
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(Wednesday 18 October) "Nanashigure Ichiri-zuka," Terada, Hachimantai City (former Ashiro Town Area)



        


Copyright (c) 2006 Eishiro Ito.  All rights reserved.