Japanese Legend Collection

(III) Legend of Hot Spring

(A) The Spa Ball

Between Kamisuwa and Shimosuwa, Suwa County, Shinano Province, hot springs spring up everywhere, and when they are connected, a line is formed.

In the past, Takeminakata no Mikoto was chased by Futsunushi no Mikoto and came to the present Jingu Temple in Kamisuwa and lived there for a while with his wife Yasakatome no Mikoto, but later they quarreled, and she divorced and moved to Shimosuwa. At that time, she took various pieces of furniture with her, and of course, the hot spring she used for her daily makeup was among them. It is said that the present Yunoue hot spring was the one for her to make up, so she soaked it in cotton and made it into Yudama (spa ball) and took it with her, but there was no way it wouldn't spill because it was soaked in cotton. The hot water spilled on the way and when she came to Owada, it suddenly spilled a lot and the present Owada hot spring was made. Also, Yunowaki and Nanatsukama Hot Spring in Kamisuwa were all made from these drops. She came to Shimosuwa and put the ball in the present Tatsumachi. It is said that the hot springs in Shimosuwa still spring the most because of this spa ball, which is named Cotton Onsen. (Viscount Akamaro Tanaka)

soak（動）浸す

(B) The Well in Furuichi

In Furuichi Village, Minami Kawachi County, Kawachi Province, there is a well with clear water. In the old days, when Kobo Daishi stopped at a peasant's house here and requested water, a woman who was cooking rice put out the fire in the furnace and hurried to the well to fetch water for a long time. Then an old woman scolded her. Seeing this, Daishi felt sorry for her and said, 'Let's make more water spring up,' and waved his staff three times. As soon as he did so, water burst forth from the well. Thanks to him, people living in Naka-machi and Minami-machi in this village still drink this water. They say that no matter how much you draw, the water will never go down. (X in Minami Kawachi)

stop at......立ち寄る

furnace（名）かまど

fetch（動）取りに行く

staff（名）杖

draw（動）汲む

(C) Spring Water and Hot Aprings

The area around Aramachi, Tsuruoka Town, Nishi Tagawa County, Yamagata Prefecture is known to have a lot of fresh water, because when Kobo Daishi was on a pilgrimage in the past, when he stopped by a house and requested water, the people of the house judged him based on his appearance and didn't respond, so when he poked around with a khakkhara, fresh water quickly gushed. Thanks to him, there is still a lot of spring water around there.

poke（動）突く

khakkhara（名）錫杖

gush（動）勢いよく湧き出る

It is said that Benkei's water in Yura, the same county, sprang up when Benkei, who was with Yoshitsune while fleeing to Mutsu, hit the ground with the tip of his naginata when Yoshitsune demanded water.

tip（名）先端

The hot spring area in Yutagawa in the same county is now lined with inns and is one of the best hot spring areas in the prefecture. It seems that this area also originated when a bull poked the ground and dug out the hot spring to heal his sick eyes, and the current Tanoyu Hot Spring is located there. Also, I heard that the current Shomen Hot Spring is equivalent to the Sagi hot spring where a white heron (sagi) soaked in the hot spring and healed its wounds. (Hokufu Kaneuchi in Yodobashi, Toyotama County, Prefecture)

(D) Kakeyu Hot Spring

Kakeyu Hot Spring is located deep in the mountains about five miles southwest of Ueda, Shinano Province. A long time ago, a hunter, wishing to catch a good game, went deep into the mountains, and found a deer on a lawn. It looked at him and made such a gesture as to worship him that he, too, went up in wonder and saw that it had a deep wound in the leg. And near the deer, a dense, steaming hot spring gushed forth. The deer was resting on the lawn, soaking its wounds in the hot spring.

game（名）獲物

dense（形）深い

They call it Kakeyu (the hot spring taught by deer) because it was discovered by deer, and it is now a famous hot spring in this area. (Shokichi Takeuchi in Gosho, Ueda, Shinano)

(E)  Dutiful Water

There is a small pond by the road in Nakahara Village, Masuda County, Hida Province. There was a dutiful man in this province long ago. His father became seriously ill and became heavy, and he remembered that the water of Lake Biwa in Omi that he drank when he was young was good, and he wanted to drink the water again somehow before he died. As soon as the dutiful son heard that, he ran out of the house and went to Lake Biwa to bring water without stopping night or day. When he came back, his father was already dead, so he dropped the vessel by the road in disappointment.

The place where he dropped it became a pond, and the water of the pond still increases, decreases, becomes muddy and clear according to the water of Lake Biwa, and is not affected by the weather conditions in the least. (Shomu Nishiki in Hida Takayama)

dutiful（形）従順な、義務を果たす

Note: Dutiful Water is better called Dutiful Pond Water. The locals usually call it that. In the past, Kadohara Sakon lived in what is now Nakahara Village, Masuda County. He was sick when his son visited there. His hometown was Omi, and he told his son that he would die after taking a sip of water from Lake Biwa, his hometown because he would not survive this time. His son went to Lake Biwa at once and drew water in a container called menpa and returned in a hurry, but when he came to the narrow strait, a mile away from where his father lived, he heard that his father had already died and threw the water he had drawn there. That's what Dutiful Pond water is today, and it's never muddy, even on rainy days. He is said to have dumped his menpa in a river pool 500 to 600 meters away from there, which is still called the Mempa Pool. Dutiful Pond is a small pond less than 10 meters in diameter with a pine forest in front and a mountain in the rear, and the water is clean and scenic. Sakon was later enshrined as a god, so famous that no one knows him, and many banners stand there. Perhaps he was a nobleman in Kyoto who was exiled to Kadohara. The menpa is a lunchbox used by a woodcutter and an oblong container with a lacquered top. (Kingetsu in Koriyama, Fukushima)

strait（名）瀬戸、海峡

dump（動）投げ捨てる

woodcutter （名）木こり

oblong（形）楕円形の

lacquered（形）漆を塗られた