(A) Tappi and Oga God Army

A long time ago, there lived a god called Kurogami (black god) on Cape Tappi* in Mutsu Province, a god called Akagami (red god) on the Oga Peninsula in Ugo Province, and a beautiful goddess on Lake Towada on the border between Mutsu and Rikuchu Provinces. Kurogami flew about on the dragon, and Akagami used deer as emissaries. There was no way that the fame of the beautiful goddess would not be passed on to them forever. They both proposed to her. She was at a loss.

peninsula（名）半島

emissary（名）使者

The goddess's figure was as beautiful as a spread of jewels. The hems of her dark green kimono shone 100 miles in every direction. Although her heart once leaned toward the affectionate and kind Akagami, she was more confident of Kurogami at the sight of the manly swagger and was delaying her reply anyway. The black, iron-faced black god rode a dragon and visited her almost every day. The goddess's figure was as beautiful as a spread of jewels. The hems of her dark green kimono shone 100 miles in every direction. Although her heart once leaned toward the affectionate and kind Red God, she was more confident of him at the sight of the manly Kurogami's swagger and was delaying her reply anyway. The black, iron-faced black god rode a dragon and visited her almost every day. There was not a day when the Akagami's deer messenger didn't come to urge her. She could do nothing but weep over her misfortune. It is said that the chirping of the Nanran bird, which is still present at Lake Towada, is a vestige of the time when mountain birds cried in unison with the goddess's cry at that time.

hem（名）裾

affectionate（形）愛情のこもった、優しい

confident（形）自信に満ちた

manly（形）男らしい、雄々しい

swagger（名）自信たっぷりの態度

urge（動）繰り返し呼びかける

weep（動）涙を流す

vestige（名）痕跡

A war finally broke out between Akagami and Kurogami. They used rock shields and jeweled swords, raised the wind, and made waves several times to fight but failed to win.

At that time, the 8 million gods took up positions on Mt. Iwaki to watch the battle between Kuroagami and Akagami. The god who favored the black ink (Kurogami) stood on the right, the god who expected the red god to win stood on the left, and even the onlookers were divided into the right and left. The right shoulder of Mt. Iwaki is still lower than the left shoulder because only 60-70% of the gods were supporting Kurogami and only 30-40% were supporting Akagmi. Because it was trampled down by a multitude of gods.

take up positions......陣を敷く

onlooker（名）観客、見物人

trample（動）強く踏みつける

There was a strategist named Uzi on the side of the Akagami army. He dreamed that the sun would fall headlong from the sky into the sea and die overnight. Then, the Akagami army quickly became confused, and the Kuroagami army gained strength and approached the foot of Oga's castle. The Red God gave in and swore he would not appear in the world again and hid himself in a grotto.

strategist（名）戦略家

headlong（副）真っ逆さまに

grotto（名）洞窟

When Kuroagami rushes to Lake Towada, he doesn't see the goddess. After searching various places, Kuroagami heard that she hid with him in the hidden grotto of Akagamiand let out thousands of years of sighs all at once.

It is said that Ezo separated from Tsugaru by his breath.

Even now, if you go to Tappi, you can see the black and oddly shaped rocks and the rough waves around them. Oga rocks are usually red. The picturesque locations of Otose and Kotose on the west coast retain the vestiges of the fierce battles of that time. (Keijo Takahashi at Owani, Minami-Tsugaru, Mutsu County)

picturesque（形）絵のように美しい

(B) Mt. Hayachine, Iwate, and Himekami

Mt. Hayachine, Mt. Iwate (also known as Mt. Nanbu Fuji), and Mt. Himekami, three famous mountains in Iwate Prefecture, face each other like the legs of a ding across the Kitakami River from the center of Morioka. All are dormant volcanoes, and all three have the beautiful shape of Mt. Fuji.

dormant（形）休眠中の、不活発な

Mt. Hayachine and Mt. Iwate are men, and Mt. Himekami (princess goddess) is, as the name suggests, a woman. Long ago, Mount Iwate and Mt. Himekami were married. Mt. Hayachine fell in love with her and finally tricked her into becoming his wife. So even now, Mt. Hayachine and Mt. Iwate are on bad terms, and they always fight over Mt. Himekami. The proof is that these three mountains never clear at the same time in summer. When Mt. Hayachine and Mt. Himekami are clear, Mt. Iwate is always cloudy, and when Mt. Iwate and Mt. Himekami are clear, Mt. Hayachine is always cloudy. (Nagasune-Hiko at Aomori Prefecture)

In Tsujitani, Magome, Kawai Village, Minami-Saitama County, Saitama Prefecture, there was the richest man in the neighboring villages during the Koan period (1278～1288). The rich man's daughter's name was Otora, and she was so beautiful she looked like a fairy who descended from heaven. Her fame was so great that by the spring of her seventeenth year, countless people from inside and outside the village proposed marriage through matchmakers. Her parents, too, were initially delighted with the lucky news for their daughter, but as the applications grew larger and larger, they belatedly began to agonize over the difficulty of choosing a son-in-law. It is up to them to choose among the many good bridegroom candidates, but if they save one's face up to another, they will not. And if they accept one person's application, they have to turn down another person's earnest request. The man who thinks himself worthy of Otora's son-in-law is so stubborn that, as long as she has only one body, the contest is unlikely to be settled safely. The demands from the men grew more intense day by day. Her parents' response extended to one day at a time. The pitiful one was Otora. She cried every day and night due to her natural beauty.

matchmaker（名）仲人

application（名）申し込み、志願、応募

belatedly（副）遅れて

agonize（動）苦悩する

son-in-law（名）義理の息子、娘婿

bridegroom（名）花婿

save face......面子を守る、顔を立てる

earnest（形）本気の、真剣な

The rich man finally made up his mind. It is not clear whether this was done after convincing Otora or not, but anyway, he held a feast on a specific day and invited the men who had requested their engagement. When a few plates of mountain and sea delicacies and a few sake cups had been served, the rich man, the master, said calmly, "Well, gentlemen, I am sorry that I have invited you, and have nothing to eat, but here I have a rare piece of meat that I would like to give you, "and brought it out from the back, and they could see that the heap of bloody raw meat on the platter was indeed the thigh of his beloved daughter, Otora. The men there looked at each other and could not say a word, but they thought it could not be helped, and they followed his words and ate up their beloved girl's flesh and left in tears. The origin of the present Torago Stone is that even those who heard the story, not to mention the men who participated in the feast, felt sorry for her death and at least discussed the idea of mourning her death and erected a memorial tower. It grew moss from exposure to wind and rain over a period of 600 years, and 14 letters inscribed with "Namu Amida Butsu. March 5, Enkyo 2 (1309)" faintly commemorate the time.

feast（名）宴会

engagement（名）婚約

delicacy（名）ごちそう、珍味

heap（名）堆積

thigh（名）腿

mourn（動）弔う

exposure（名）さらされること

commemorate（動）記念する、追悼する

The tower is about 30 meters high, 3 feet wide, and 7 ~ 8 inches thick, with letters about the size of each letter. There seems to be some carving on the back, but I'm not sure. An old local man says there is also a 30-meter-long rock buried under the ground. Near the tower is a Tragoan hermitage. Even today, on the anniversary of Otora's death, people in this village purify, make dumplings, and distribute them after offering them to Torago Stone. Children in the village are looking forward to the Otora dumplings. The number of pilgrims from nearby villages has never stopped. (Rinzo Motohashi lived in the east of Toragoan hermitage and in Omiya, Saitama Prefecture)

hermitage（名）庵

dumpling（名）団子

(A)

*Cape Tappi: A cape juts into the Tsugaru Strait in Sotogahama Town, Higashi Tsugaru County, Aomori Prefecture. It is located in the northernmost part of the Tsugaru Peninsula.

(B)

(C)