# Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan/Series 1/Volume 2/Notes of a Journey in Hitachi and Shimosa

NOTES OF A JOURNEY IN HITACHI AND SHIMOSA.
BY
C. W. LAWRENCE, Esq., H. B. M. Legation.
Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan, on the
13th May, 1874.
———o———
Tsukubasan lies North of Yedo, about 60 miles distant. Its two peaks are clearly seen from many places in the city. It is the highest mountain in Hitachi, if mountain it can be called. Its height is not much over 3,000 feet, but there not being any other mountains near it looks higher than it really is. The road to it is by the Mitokaidô which joins the Ôshiukaidô about half way down the long street of Senji. A shorter way of getting into the Mitokaidô than by way of Senji is to cross the Sumidagawa by the Adzuma bridge close to Asakusa, and then go through Mukôjma which brings one into the Mitokaidô, one ri from Niijiku, the first stage on the Mitokaidô and 2 ri from Senji. Niijiku is on the banks of the Itakagawa, and close to the river is a very good inn, the Fujiya. The next stage is Matsuido, the road perfectly flat the whole way. Before arriving at Matsuido the road crosses the Nishitonegawa or Ichigawa. Matsuido consists of a long street by the side of the river, and is a prosperous looking place, as indeed are all the villages on this road. A little way beyond Matsuido, on the left, is the temple of Mamanji which formerly possessed a revenue of 70,000 koku given to it by the Shôguns on account of a celebrated priest, Takuwan, having been brought up here. The ​country now becomes less flat, the road crosses two hills to Kogane, 2 ri from Matsuido. Near Kogane is an extensive moor where the Shôguns used to rear horses. It is now cultivated. The Mitokaidô now branches away to the right to Tsuchiura, and 2 ri beyond Kogane the road to Tsukuba separates from it. The next stage is Fusé (3 ri 8 chô) on the banks of the branch of the Tonegawa which falls into Pacific Ocean. On a well-wooded hill close to the river is a shrine of Benten, and a little further is the hill of Akebeno, much frequented in the spring and summer on account of the cherry and maple trees and azaleas with which it is covered. The shrine of Benten is worth a visit. It is surrounded by magnificent trees. A scroll in the possession of the priest says that the hill was once an island with the river on one side and a lake 7 ri across surrounding it on the other sides. The gateway and the bell tower have some of the finest wood carving that I have seen in Japan. The priest exhibits a piece of rock almost black, with a light-coloured layer in it, which with the help of a little manipulation is a very curious representation of the dragon which the Japanese are so fond of making drawings of. From the priest’s house there is a very fine view of the mountains of Nikkô and Tsukuba San, with the broad expanse of the Tonegawa as a foreground. From the little village on the opposite side of the river to Fusé there are two roads to Tsukuba: one by way of Sannon, a village on the Kokaigawa, and the other by the castle town of Mori which is a little the shorter of the two. The two roads meet again at Yatabe, 8 ri further on. Sannon is a flourishing place. The Nanushi has a big house and is very civil to travellers. From Sannon it is 3 ri to Itabashi passing through Ataka where are the remains of the castle of Ogami, and from the side of the hill on which it is built are extracted shells of small round shellfish called ishimanju (stone dumplings). Between Ataka and Itabashi the country is covered with pine. At Itabashi is a large temple of Kuannon with a pagoda. From Itabashi to Yatabe is a 2 ri walk through a pine forest. ​Yatabe is a large dirty place with gates. It was formerly the residence of a Hatamoto. A little way out of the town, the two roads from Fusé by way of Sannon and Mori join. It is a long stage of nearly 5 ri from Yatabe to Hôjô through Karima, Ichinomiya, where is a Miya of great repute, Tatamori, Ozore, and Wakamori, which was at one time the seat of the Ken, and very large buildings were erected here for the Chiji and his officials. Between Wakamori and Hôjô the road crosses the Sakuragawa. Hôjô is a large place at the foot of a little hill on which formerly stood a castle of the Hôjô family. From here to Tsukuba is a walk of 1 ri through the villages of Kagori and Usui. The latter lies in a valley, which was formerly, it is said, an arm of the sea, and here was the harbour of Toyoura. At the foot of the mountain, to the right of the road among some fir trees, is a shrine in honour of Waka-musubi-no-mikoto who came on shore here. Her real name was Konshiki hime, and she landed here during the reign of Kimmei Tennô from a country called Kiuchiu in the North of India. She was the King’s daughter and being hated by her step-mother, she was put into a coffin and cast adrift in a boat which was blown on shore at Toyoura. When the body was taken out of the coffin it was converted into worms which the country people fed upon mulberry leaves and produced silk. Hence, according to the tradition of the place, the introduction of the culture of silk into Japan. The hill to the right of Kagoro is called Kaiko san and here is a Miya, the Kannushi of which exhibits one side of the coffin in which the goddess was conveyed to Toyoura. Here also is a block of stone which is scooped into holes by worshippers at the shrine, who believe that the powder scattered over their farms will ensure a plentiful crop. The village of Tsukuba is about a quarter of the way up the mountain. It consists of a long steep street of steps. The people of the provinces of Mito, Hitachi and Shimôsa congregate here for amusement. There is, however, one respectable inn kept by one of the officials. The houses have all upper stories from which there is a very ​fine view of the plain of Yedo and Fuji, etc. The ascent of the mountain begins immediately after leaving the village, and the road passes through what was formerly the Buddhist temple of Chisokuin which has lately been removed by the zealous Chiji of the province who is a strict Shintoist. He has only left standing a curious covered bridge which used only to be opened for pilgrims and the gateway or Niô-mon. On the site of the temple it is intended to erect a Miya. From the temple to the summit of the western peak, called Nantaizan, it is a walk of 50 chô, about three and a half miles. This is the usual route for making the ascent, being much less steep than the road to the eastern peak, Niotaizan. The western peak is the higher of the two. On the summit are numerous shrines, those on Nantaizan dedicated to Izanagi no mikoto, and those on Niotaizan to Izanami no mikoto. The view from the summit is very extensive. The 8 provinces of Kuantô are said to be seen from it. The meaning of the word Tsukuba is a “bank heaped up to resist the waves,” and the god and goddess to whom the shrines are dedicated are said to have caused the sea to retire beyond what is now the island of Kashima. As the country is perfectly level up to the base of the mountain it is very probable that the sea has receded on this coast. Tradition says that the earth with which Tsukuba was formed was transported from a sacred mountain in China called Godaisan, which, according to the Guide Book, accounts for there being species of grass and trees found on it which are not found elsewhere in Japan. The mountain is covered with cryptomeria and pine, and in the summit are huge rocks over which it is difficult to scramble. In several places there are chains to assist one. The two peaks are half a mile apart. The descent from the Eastern Peak is very steep and much longer than the other, being 70 chô, about 5 miles. The path passes over and often between huge rocks to which fanciful names have been given from their supposed resemblance to various parts of the human body. There are in all 120 shrines at different places on the mountain.
​Itinerary from Yedo to Tsukuba:
| Senji from the | Nihonbashi | 2 Ri. |
| SenjiNiijiku from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 2 Ri.„ |
| SenjiMatsuido from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 1 Ri.„ 18 Chô |
| SenjiKogane from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 2 Ri.„ |
| SenjiFusé from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 3 Ri.„ 08 Chô„ |
| SenjiSannon from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 2 Ri.„ |
| SenjiItabashi from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 3 Ri.„ |
| SenjiYatabe from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 3 Ri.„ |
| SenjiHôjô from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 5 Ri.„ |
| SenjiTsukuba from the„ | Nihonbashi„ | 1 Ri.„ |
The easiest way of returning to Yedo from Tsukuba is to walk across to Sekiyado, 10 ri, and then take boat, and sail down the Tonegawa; leaving Sekiyado at night, one is at Yedo in the morning. Another route for those wishing to visit the shrines of Kashima and Katori is to return to Hôjô and thence to Tsuchiura, 4 ri, on the Mitokaidô, at the head of the fresh water lake of Kasumigaura. Tsuchiura is a large place of 2,000 houses and a castle town. Leaving here in boat it takes the day to get across the Lake to Ushibori, 10 ri, thence down a channel connecting the Kasamigaura lake with the Nishiura lake past the large village of Itako. The Kasumigaura is about 10 ri in length and 7 in width; the shores are well wooded but very flat, and one can readily believe that the lake was once of much greater extent. There are 16 islands in it, the largest of which is Ukishima. The Nishiura lake is only 1 ri across; it runs up a long way into Mito. Crossing it one lands at the little village of Ofunatsu in the island of Kashima, or Deer Island, 14 ri from Tsuchiura. Kashima cannot strictly speaking be called an island. On the north it is separated from the mainland by a river. It is a spit of land, 13 ri in length, and 1 in breadth, separating the sea from the Lake of Nishiura and ending at the mouth of the Tonegawa opposite Chôshi. The shrine is a mile from the village of Ofunatsu and situated in the middle of a forest. The god of Kashima is Take-mika-dzuchi no mikoto who is descended from a god originating from the blood which fell from the ​edge of Isanagi no mikoto’s sword when he cut down Kagutsuchi, (the god of fire). According to the legend when Takami musubi no kami assembled all the gods to choose some one to send to subjugate Ashiwara no nakatsu-kuni (Japan), all said “Futsunushi nokami,” who was ordered to go; but Take-mika-dsuchi advanced and said “Futsunushi is not the only brave man, am I not one also?” In consequence of his noble language and air he was joined with Futsunushi in the expedition. The two gods descended in the province of Idzumo, whereupon Ohonamuchi no Kami, and Kotoshironushi no Kami fled and hid themselves. Upon this the two gods slew all the rebellions demon spirits, and the sublime grandchild afterwards descended from heaven upon Takachiho no Miné in the province of Hiuga. The temple was founded in the age of the gods; when Jimmu Tennô set out to subjugate the East Take-mika-dzuchi and Futsunushi appeared at the head of his army and slew all evil doers. It was frequently restored by different historic personages, and Yoritomo in particular added to it. About a mile from the shrine is a plain called Takama-no-hara, where the god is said to have frequent battles with foreign demons; when he is victorious the deer emulate each other in pursuing the foe into the sea; when he is beaten, they hang down their ears, take to flight, and seek refuge in the dwellings of the people. This moor is said to have been the site of a battle and stone arrow-heads are found here. In the middle of the moor is a mound called Onidzuka; the god is said to have killed a devil and heaped up the mound over his burial place. There are plenty of deer in the Island of Kashima. Being sacred to the god they are unmolested. About half a mile from the shrine is a pillar which is supposed to be of fabulous length; the end of it protrudes about a foot out of the ground and the other end descends into the centre of the earth; it is called Kanameishi (Kaname meaning the rivet of a fan) and it was placed there by the god who buried there a gigantic fish and placed the stone on it to prevent its moving and ​disturbing the world. An incredulous Prince of Mito is said to have dug down for six days around it without finding the end. From Kashima to Katori is a distance of 31/2 ri by boat, and with a favourable wind the journey takes only a couple of hours. You descend the Nishiura lake until it joins the Tonegawa, which river you reascend for about a ri as far as the village of Tsunomiya. The shrine is 18 chô from this village and is situated in a grove of immense cryptomeria. It is larger than that of Kashima and in better repair. The god is called Futsunushi no mikoto, and the shrine is so called from the department of Shimôsa in which it is situated. According to the legend the ancestor of this god was a large heap of stones formed by the blood which dripped from Isanagi no Mikoto’s sword after slaying Kagutsuchi. Futsunushi is also worshipped at the temple of Kasuga near Nara. The temple is said to have been founded during the divine age.
From Tsunomiya is a walk of 10 ri along the right bank of the Tonegawa to Chôshi. By the river it is 9 ri. Chôshi is a large town of over 3,000 houses. It is a prosperous fishing place, but the harbour is a very bad one: on either side of the mouth of the river are rocks. The number of fish caught here is enormous; one tempô will buy from 12 to 20 Iwashi or sardines. In Chôshi and in the villages on the coast of Shimôsa and Kadzusa, the sardines are boiled in huge cauldrons and the oil is drawn off and used as lamp oil, the residue is dried in the sun and used as manure. The stench from this process is overpowering and renders Chôshi and the villages near the sea-shore unbearable. There are several roads from Chôshi to Yedo. The most direct is by Tsunomiya, another one follows the coast. Near Chôshi are high cliffs which end abruptly at the edge of the sea, but the road soon becomes flat and uninteresting. It crosses several rivers the largest of which is the Kuriyamagawa, the boundary between Shimôsa and Kadzusa. At Ichinomiya, a large place on a river of the same name, 21 ri from Chôshi, there are once more cliffs close to the sea. One ri beyond ​Ichinomiya at a place called Daitôzaki a stream runs out of a valley into the sea through a break in the cliff. By enlarging and deepening this break, and making the level of the valley lower than that of the sea it would be very easy to make a harbour which would be perfectly land-locked. The fishermen of Ichinomiya and the neighbouring fishing villages have clubbed together and are at present engaged in the operation. Should they succeed they will have a capital harbour, with an entrance rather narrow, but quite large enough for their fishing boats which at present have to be hauled up on the beach. Close to Daitôzaki, rising abruptly from the beach, is a hill called Nariyama or mountain emitting a sound, so-called from the sound of running water being clearly heard inside it. On the high ground above it a little river called the Suyenashi loses itself in the sand and, it is supposed, finds its way into the hill. However this may be, certain it is that when standing on the beach the roar of the waves does not prevent one’s hearing the sound of water as if falling over rocks. From Ichinomiya the road continues round the coast to Kisaradzu opposite Yokohama; a more direct route runs inland from Ichinomiya to the castle town of Ôdaki 54 ri. From Ôdaki to Kururi 5 ri, and thence by way of Kanosan to Kisaradzu 9 ri. The whole way between Ichinomiya and Kisaradzu the road passes up and down hills, through a country broken up into small ridges; the scenery is very pretty. By going a little out of the direct road between Kururi and Kisaradzu, after crossing the Koitogawa at Ichijiku one can ascend Kanozan the highest of the hills of Kadzusa. There is a village on the summit, and the temple of Tônoji Kanosan is much frequented by pleasure seekers in hot weather and has very good inns. In the Shôgun’s time it was a great resort of gamblers. One has a very fine view of Fuji and the bay of Yedo. From Kisaradzu Yokohama and Yedo can be most conveniently reached by boat.