Koridagawa River Middle Basin
The riverbanks are home to native colonies of reeds, reed palms, Amur silver grass, Japanese mugwort, kuzu, Japanese hops, Cogon grass, and non-native plant colonies such as Canada goldenrod, horseweeds, and Paspalum urvillei.
In terms of area, colonies of reed palms, Cogon grass, Japanese hops, and Japanese mugworts are widely distributed. However, due to the narrow width of the river, the wetland area is small, and shrub forests such as willow forests are not distributed.
The cross-section of vegetation is as follows. The right bank has a Phragmites japonica colony where the center of the river meets the channel, a flute reed colony in the central part of the riverbed, an Amur silver grass colony in the slightly elevated sandy area, Canada goldenrod and ramie territories in the muddy area, a kelp colony, and vine colonies such as a Canegrass colony, Japanese hops, and Japanese arrowroot colonies in the upstream region of the bank. Cogon grass colonies are found on the dam, and fern colonies are along the roadside. A characteristic community is Amur silver grass colonies. Amur silver grass is Japanese pampas grass with red leaf sheaths, dense hairs, and very silvery-white ears, which can withstand constant waterlogging. The mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture is the southern limit of its native habitat. The Amur silver grass of the Korida River is a valuable example of a community south of the limit zone.
Togami Shrine
Although the shrine is located in the Shigehisa district, it has close ties to the Kiyomizu district.
According to Kagoshima Shrine Journal, the current deities are Hikohohodemi-no-Mikoto, Toyotamahime-no-Mikoto, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, Hachiman Ookami, Ugayafukiaezu-no-Mikoto, and Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto.
The founding date is unknown, but according to Sangoku Meisho Zue, when Emperor Keiko visited this location to subdue the Hayato people, the spirit deity of Rokusho Gongen appeared as a giant hawk and protected the emperor, resulting in his successful subjugation.
It is also said that a festival to repose the souls of the Hayato called “O-no-Gokou” was held at the Togami Shrine from the 7th to the 22nd day of the first lunar month until the Keicho period. There, six “kings” (white, red, white, red, black, and yellow) and priests and portable shrines were said to make a pilgrimage to the four otabisho (pilgrimage sites) in the territory of the Togami Shrine. It is said that the Deshimaru-Kotogame shrine was located there as one of the otabisho and that o-men (votive hanging masks) were used there. Fifty-one veneers are still utilized and preserved at the Kokubu Local History Museum. The number of shows is the most significant number owned by a shrine in Kagoshima Prefecture, indicating the prosperity of the shrine’s rituals. It is also said that the shrine was initially located on the summit of Mt. Omure, behind the current shrine pavilion.
Kumano Shrine
The shrine is located in Utsura, Korida. Its deities are Izanagi-no-Mikoto, Izanami-no-Mikoto, Kotosakao-no-Mikoto, and Hayatamao-no-Mikoto. There is a wooden statue in sokutai as a sacred object. Although the date of foundation is unknown, the ancestor of the Ota clan, a local samurai of Kiyomizu-go, was involved in the shrine’s founding. He has served as the chief priest for generations since Awaji-no-kami, during the Tensho era (1573-1592).
It used to be called Kumano Sansho Daigongen. After the Meiji Restoration, the name was changed to the current one. A fire broke out on March 21, 1588 (Genroku 15). The treasure hall, worship hall, munefuda, and old documents were destroyed by fire. The temple’s history was lost (from the Local History of Kiyomizu-mura).
According to the August 1980 issue of the Municipal Bulletin Kokubu, a munefuda reports that after the fire, the treasure hall was built in December 1702, the worship hall was built six years later, and the Daigongengu shrine was built nine years later. Presently, some rituals, such as Okudari, are performed. According to the chief priest Tsurumaru, the shrine’s parish covers Utsura, Katahira, Yamamoto, Kubota, and Narimatsu. The portable shrines are transported by light trucks to these settlements. Please check that the translation has not changed your intended meaning.
Teruishi (Teruichiko) Shrine
This is located in Kihara, and although its founding date is unknown, it was initially worshiped as the Sakamoto family’s family deity. It is currently enshrined in the residence of Sakamoto Shichirozaemon’s family. The Sakamoto family were mountain priests and were relocated to present-day Kitanaganoda by the head of the Shimazu clan during the Warring States period, where they established their residence under the Shichisha Shrine. It is believed that they were responsible for local security.
Later, in November 1558 (Koji 4), the era of a mountain priest named Sakamoto Shogan, a young man and woman in his employ fell in love, and the woman became pregnant. The mountain priest, angered by this action, is said to have killed both of them in front of the hearth. Later, the Sakamoto family experienced a series of misfortunes, and the dwelling enshrined both spirits. As a hearth festival, a sacred dance was offered every year on the anniversary of their deaths. Later, someone called Kisaki Shozo renamed the shrine ‘Chishii-kamisama.’ In the third month of the lunar calendar, women from a wide area of the Kokubu Plain would visit the shrine to pray for the miracle of childbirth. On the festival day, there was a lively atmosphere with shamisen. This was called “chishiikansaamei” (from Local History of Kiyomizu-mura).
According to the 1986 issue of the Municipal Bulletin Kokubu, a woman over 80 years old said, “I walked past Hokushin-sama [present-day Ama-no-Minakanushi Shrine], up the ladder hill, past Kenashino, and along the inconvenient road to pay my respects. On the night they returned home with oneko (narrow-leaf pasqueflower) as souvenirs, they brought in nishime and held a party.
Okayama Daijingu Shrine and Monuments
A stone shrine and two monuments stand on a small hill next to the Kamikihara Community Center in the Kihara district. There is also a stone shrine behind it, hidden by trees. The shrine on the rear side has the inscription on the front side, “Dedicated, Mountain God, April, Bunsei 4,” indicating that this was founded as a mountain god in April 1857 (Bunsei 4).
The tall monument is the Kamikihara Waterworks Monument, erected on January 20, 1960. It commemorates the completion of the waterworks on October 15 of the previous year. The other monument is the Road Opening Monument, which marks the completion of repair work on roads and other structures damaged by the torrential rains that occurred on July 23, 1936. The stone monument indicates that the construction period lasted from April 1, 1938, to March 31, 1939.
The stone shrine on the far left is called Okayama Daijingu Shrine. It is believed to be the guardian deity of the Kihara district. The stone shrine has the inscription “Okayama Daijingu, dedicated, Third month, Ansei 2, Kihara Hougen.” It was erected by local people in March 1855 (Ansei 2), and the name “Okayama” is thought to indicate a small, elevated place in this area.
Shigehisa-chudai Ditch
The water intake is on the left bank of Sekinosaka, upstream of the Tegogawa River, and feeds the rice paddies of Korida in Kiyomizu-mura.
The installation date is unknown but is believed to be before the Meiji period. On December 26, 1891 (Meiji 24), an ordinary water users’ association was established in the three villages of Kiyomizu, Higashisonoyama, and Kokubu, with the mayor of Kiyomizu-mura serving as the head of the management association.
Hiramizo (Kiyomizu Shinden)
Hiramizo, also known as Kiyomizu Shinden, is an irrigation channel that takes water from Korida and Narimatsu, located in the middle reaches of the Korida River in the Kiyomizu district. The total length of the current canal is approximately 8 km, and the irrigated area is estimated to be about 143 m. It mainly supplies water to rice paddies in the Deshimaru of Kiyomizu District, the western part of Kokubu District (Chuo, Karanicho, etc.), and the now commercial and residential areas of Kami-Ogawa, Matsuki, and Fukushima.
According to Kagoshima Pre-Revolutionary Civil Engineering History, the road was built in the Kanmon era (1661-1672). This was also when the Shinkawa River was re-streamlined (1662-1666). It is also possible that the construction work was part of the large-scale development of new rice paddies on the Kokubu Plain. Since the area where the Hiramizo was extended also includes the site where the river channel was converted to rice paddies by the river channel modification, it can be inferred that the construction of the irrigation canals was done in stages, from the Kiyomizu area near the intake to the Kokubu area on the plain.
However, according to the Local History of Kiyomizu-mura, in 1706 (Hoei 3), Shirobei, a master carpenter of Tairamon in Korida, was commissioned by the feudal government after a failed water intake project and succeeded. Since Shirobei of Tairamon did the construction, it is said that the name was first changed from “Taira” to “Tera-Dote” and then from “Tera” to “Hiramizo.”
As mentioned above, the completion of construction during the Shirobei era is conveyed by a water god monument in Narimatsu, inscribed with the year 1706 (Hoei 3).
Tea Industry in Makiuchi
Tea is also listed as a specialty of Kiyomizu-go in “Sangukoku Meisho Zue.” According to the “Local History of Kiyomizu-mura,” the highland areas of Kawahara and Korida were famous for tea production, especially in Kuroishi and Makiuchi. Regarding Makiuchi, it has been reported that Uehara Masatake of Deshimaru began managing a tea plantation of 2 cho and 5 tanbu in 1930. He also introduced the first tea processing machine in Kiyomizu-mura.
In 1934, the rights to the tea plantation were transferred to the Kiyomizu Industrial Association. The factory had an excellent record and was the sole exemplary factory in the village and a model for spreading the tea industry throughout the prefecture. In Makiuchi, the tea industry is still the most active in the Kiyomizu district.
Korida no Maki
According to Kokubu Local History, there were 18 horse farms in the domain during the Edo period under the direct management of the field. One of these is Haruyamamaki, which was located in Soogun-go, adjacent to Kiyomizu-go. However, because of the vastness of Haruyamamaki’s circumference of 2 ri and 10 cho, one-third of the area was covered by Kiyomizu-go.
Sangoku Meisho Zue and Kagoshima Prefectural History list the number of cattle raised at Haruyamamaki: 456 in 1709 (Hoei 6), 306 in 1777 (Anei 6), and 140 in 1838 (Tenpo 9). In addition, “Umaoi events” were held annually in April or August to gather two-year-old horses at the pastures directly managed by the domain. The festival was also held at Haruyamamaki. On such occasions, laborers were collected from Soogun-go and Kiyomizu-go, Hinatayama-go, and Shikine-go. The place names indicating the existence of a pasture include Makiuchi and Makijin in the Kihara area, which is believed to have been part of Haruyamamaki. [A1]English equivalent measurements (as previous).
The Birthplace of Tomiyoshi Eiji
Tomiyoshi Eiji was born in Korida, Kiyomizu-mura, in 1897 (Meiji 32), according to Local People’s Lineage, Volume 1 and Kagoshima Dai Hyakka Jiten (Encyclopedia of Kagoshima). After graduating from Kensukan High School, he became a teacher at Kokubu Seika School. During this time, he formed friendships with Hamada Nizaemon from Kokubu, Uchida Ichiji from Shikine, and socialist Yamakawa Hitoshi. He later retired as a teacher to devote himself to the peasant liberation movement.
He was involved in forming the Aira County Federation of Peasant Farmers’ Associations in 1924 (Taisho 13) and joined the Japan Farmers’ Union. In 1925, the association was renamed the Kagoshima Prefectural Federation, and he later became its chairman. He subsequently served as a Kiyomizu Village councilor and was elected to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly in 1927. Tomikichi’s speeches as a prefectural assembly member were so exciting and popular that he was said to “Tell a lie but make it sound true.”
In 1930, he created the Aira Branch of the Japan Labor and Agriculture Party, and in 1932 he became the chairman of the Kagoshima Prefectural Union of the Socialist Party. In 1936, he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1946, after the war, he was elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the Japan Socialist Party. He was selected for four terms and was appointed Minister of Telecommunications in Ashida Hitoshi’s Cabinet. However, he lost his life at age 55 in the sinking of the Toya Maru on the Aomori-Hakodate route in 1954. In a life devoted to social movements, he was arrested 17 times. His grave is in the Ryuso-ji cemetery behind Kokubu Seika Gakko (now Kokubu Chuo High School), where he taught.
Legend of Kame-no-Kou-oka
A field of 1 tan 5 unebu at 18-1, Aza Kamenokou, Korida, Kiyomizu-mura is a small oval-shaped hill resembling a turtle’s back, commonly called “Kamenkuoka,” and was the only government-owned field surrounded by privately-owned rice fields on all sides. Kiyomizu-mura now owns it after the registration on July 24, 1914 (Taisho 3).
A strange legend says, “If you plow the Kameno-kou-oka, it will bleed,” which goes back to the olden days. Because the faithful see it as a sacred land, it has not been cultivated, and the original topography has been preserved.
At the beginning of the Taisho era, two or three people from Shigehisa in Higashisonoyama-mura moved to the area. Still, they moved out within a few years due to epidemics and other calamities.
Bleeding, as described in the legend, is implausible. Perhaps, it is an ancient burial mound, and people might have dug up buried vermilion or red oxide.
Asahi Yuhi
According to the description in Kokubu Local History (Vol. II), there used to be a place in Korida called Asahi-sama to the west and Yuhi-sama to the east. When the Kumaso lived here, they built a checkpoint and kept a strict watch. One day, however, some carelessness led to an invasion by the enemy. The two checkpoint guards were held responsible and killed. It is said that the spirit of the guards has been reborn as a snake and continues to protect the area to this day. It is said that the 1,000 ryo of vermilion and 1,000 ryo of gold at the checkpoint were washed away by the Korida River during a flood. It is also said that those who see a snake around Asahi and Yuhi are lucky.
According to the Local History of Kiyomizu-mura, there were “Yuhi snakes” and “Asahi snakes.” At Yuhidon by Yamanomichi, split rocks lie on top of each other. The Yuhi snake only reveals its body and does not show its head or tail in an aperture in a large stone. It is said to be a messenger of the gods and Buddha, hidden and manifested from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox. Many people came to see and worship it until the Meiji era (1868-1912). However, this ceased in the Showa era (1926-1989) when the Local History of Kiyomizu-mura was written. The location of the Asahi snake was on the opposite bank of Yuhi. Still, at the beginning of the Showa period, it is said to have been transferred to a cleft in the rocks by the national highway road at “Dounomae” downstream from the river, 4 cho away. Other details are said to be the same as the Yuhi snake.
Hayato’s Head Mound
There is a mound, said to be the head mound of Hayato, near a rice paddy about 600 m southwest of Togami Shrine. It was called Manaitada (also known as Shishikiriyabu). Today, a natural stone monument stands on a plot of about 2 tsubo [1.5 m2] in size. It is inscribed with the words, “The legendary place of Hayato Mound.”
In the old days, the meat of a boar caught on the first hunting day of the 14th day of the first month of the lunar calendar was put on 33 bamboo skewers and stood in the ground to perform the ritual, but this is no longer done.
It is said that this ritual is based on the legend of the killing of the Hayato in the distant past and that it is held to appease their spirits. Until around the beginning of the Showa period (1926-1989), it was customary for villagers to skewer taro and eat it as dengaku while waiting for the sun’s coming, reminiscing about the old days.