Iwate · City
Tono
遠野市とおのしTōno-shiKappa, household gods and the birthplace of Japanese folklore studies
Tōno is a city in a mountain basin of inland Iwate, known throughout Japan as the setting of the Tōno Monogatari (1910), the collection of local legends that Yanagita Kunio recorded from the storyteller Sasaki Kizen and that founded Japanese folklore studies; kappa pools, household gods and L-shaped farmhouses keep that world visible.
Overview
Tōno lies in a basin in the Kitakami Mountains, halfway between the Kitakami valley and the Sanriku coast, surrounded by mountains including Hayachine (1,917 m) to the north. In the Edo period it was a castle town of a branch of the Nanbu clan and a market where goods from the coast and the interior were traded, with horse-breeding farms on its uplands. The present city was formed in 2005 when Tōno merged with the neighbouring village of Miyamori.
In 1910 the scholar Yanagita Kunio published Tōno Monogatari (The Legends of Tōno), 119 short tales told to him by Sasaki Kizen, a young writer from the area. They describe kappa that drag horses into rivers, the zashiki-warashi child spirits that bring luck to a house, the silkworm deity Oshira-sama, mountain men and women, and the ghosts of the dead. The book became the founding text of Japanese folklore studies, and Tōno came to be called the 'home of Japanese folklore'.
The city has made that heritage its identity. Visitors can see the stream behind Jōken-ji temple called Kappa-buchi, the Oshira-dō hall with its hundreds of cloth-wrapped Oshira-sama figures at Denshōen, and magariya, the L-shaped farmhouses in which people and horses lived under one roof. Storytellers still recite the tales in the local dialect.
Landmarks
- カッパ淵Kappa-buchi
Small pool in a stream behind Jōken-ji temple, said to be home to kappa; a shrine to the kappa stands on its bank.
Denshōen
伝承園DenshōenFolk museum with a magariya farmhouse and the Oshira-dō, a hall filled with hundreds of Oshira-sama figures wrapped in cloth.
Tōno Furusato-mura
遠野ふるさと村Tōno Furusato-muraOpen-air museum of relocated magariya farmhouses in a rural setting, used as a film location.
Chiba family magariya
千葉家曲り家Chiba-ke MagariyaLarge L-shaped farmhouse on a stone terrace, built in the Edo period; an Important Cultural Property.
Tōno Municipal Museum
遠野市立博物館Tōno Shiritsu HakubutsukanMuseum devoted to the Tōno Monogatari and the region's folklore, with a companion storytelling hall in the town centre.
Gohyaku Rakan
五百羅漢Gohyaku RakanHundreds of Buddhist disciples carved on moss-covered boulders in a forest ravine in memory of famine victims.
Tsuzuki-ishi
続石Tsuzuki-ishiA huge boulder resting on another like a dolmen in the forest, linked in legend to the warrior-monk Benkei.
Megane-bashi
めがね橋Megane-bashiArched railway viaduct of the Kamaishi Line in Miyamori, associated with Miyazawa Kenji's Night on the Galactic Railroad.
Districts
Tōno town centre
遠野中心市街地Tōno Chūshin ShigaichiThe former castle town around the station, with the museum, the storytelling hall and Nabekura Park on the castle hill.
Tsuchibuchi
土淵TsuchibuchiRural district of Kappa-buchi, Denshōen and Sasaki Kizen's birthplace.
Kamigō
上郷KamigōEastern valley towards the coast.
Tsukimoushi
附馬牛TsukimoushiNorthern district of Tōno Furusato-mura and the approach to Mount Hayachine.
Miyamori
宮守MiyamoriFormer village in the west of the city, known for the Megane-bashi viaduct.
History
The Tōno basin was ruled by the Asanuma family in the medieval period. In 1627 the Hachinohe branch of the Nanbu clan was moved here by the Morioka domain and governed Tōno from Nabekura Castle until the Meiji Restoration, making the town a small administrative and trading centre. The area suffered repeatedly from famine in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, remembered by the stone Buddhas of Gohyaku Rakan.
In 1909 Sasaki Kizen began telling Yanagita Kunio the legends of his home, and Yanagita's book appeared the following year. The Kamaishi Line linked Tōno with Hanamaki and the coast in the twentieth century. Tōno became a city in 1954 and merged with Miyamori in 2005. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Tōno served as a logistics base for relief to the devastated Sanriku coast.
1627
The Hachinohe Nanbu family moves to Tōno and takes over Nabekura Castle.
18th century
The Gohyaku Rakan are carved on boulders to console the victims of famine.
1910
Yanagita Kunio publishes Tōno Monogatari from the tales of Sasaki Kizen.
1954
Tōno becomes a city.
2005
Tōno merges with the village of Miyamori.
2011
Tōno becomes a base for relief efforts to the tsunami-struck Sanriku coast.
Culture
Tōno's culture is built on the Tōno Monogatari: kataribe storytellers recite the tales in the local dialect, and the city's museums present Oshira-sama, zashiki-warashi, kappa and the mountain deities. Rural performing arts are strong – shishi-odori deer dances, kagura and Nanbu-bayashi music – and appear together at the autumn festival. The magariya farmhouse, with its stable built into the house, reflects the old importance of horse breeding in the Nanbu lands.
Festivals
Tōno Festival
遠野まつりTōno MatsuriIn September, deer dances, kagura, Nanbu-bayashi and horseback archery (yabusame) at Tōno Hachimangū bring together the performing arts of the whole basin.
Kataribe storytelling
語り部kataribeRecitals of the Tōno legends in dialect, held throughout the year at the city's storytelling venues and at Denshōen.
Food
Jingisukan
ジンギスカンjingisukanGrilled mutton and vegetables, a local favourite often cooked on dome-shaped pans set over buckets of charcoal.
Hittsumi
ひっつみhittsumiSoup with hand-torn pieces of wheat dough, chicken and vegetables, the home dish of inland Iwate.
- どぶろくdoburoku
Unfiltered, cloudy rice wine; Tōno was one of the first areas permitted to brew it under a special zone system, and farm inns make their own.
- ホップhoppu
Tōno is one of Japan's main hop-growing areas, and local breweries make beer with its fresh hops.
Getting around
- Tōno Station is on the JR Kamaishi Line, about an hour from Shin-Hanamaki on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and about an hour from Kamaishi on the coast.
- Iwate Hanamaki Airport is about an hour away by road.
- The sights are scattered across the basin; rental bicycles, taxis or a car are the most practical way to reach Kappa-buchi, Denshōen and Furusato-mura.
Day trips
The golden temples of the Northern Fujiwara, a World Heritage site in the Kitakami valley.
Iwate's capital, with its castle ruins and noodle culture.
The ria coast of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park, via Kamaishi.
Flat-bottomed boat trips between cliffs, south of the Kitakami Mountains.
Other cities in the prefecture
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tōno Monogatari?
A book of 119 short legends from Tōno, published in 1910 by Yanagita Kunio from the telling of Sasaki Kizen; it is regarded as the founding work of Japanese folklore studies.
Can visitors see a kappa in Tōno?
Only in legend: Kappa-buchi, the stream behind Jōken-ji, is the place associated with them, and a local tradition issues light-hearted 'kappa-catching licences'.
What is Oshira-sama?
A household deity of north-eastern Japan, represented by a pair of mulberry-wood sticks with carved heads wrapped in layers of cloth; it is linked to silkworms, horses and the tale of a girl who married a horse.
How is Tōno best reached?
By the JR Kamaishi Line from Shin-Hanamaki, where Tōhoku Shinkansen trains stop, in about an hour.
Is an English translation of the Tōno Monogatari available?
Yes. It is available in English as The Legends of Tono, and many of the tales are retold in books on Japanese folklore and yōkai.
Related
Sources
- 1.遠野市 (opens in a new tab) — 遠野市 (Tōno City)
- 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — 総務省統計局 (Statistics Bureau of Japan)
- 3.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO