. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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Chikumagwa 千曲川と伝説 Legends about the river Chikumagawa
"river with a thousand bends"
The Shinano River (信濃川 Shinano-gawa), known as
the Chikuma River (千曲川 Chikuma-gawa) - 214 km -
in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River).
It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing generally northeast through Nagano and Niigata Prefectures before emptying into the Sea of Japan.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
- - - - - The river caused incredible damage in October 2019.
. Typhoon Nr. 19 台風19号 Hagibis - 2019 October 06 .
- - - - - Another river overflowing during the typhoon was
. River Abukumagawa 阿武隈川 / 阿武隈河 .
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Takemizuwake Jinja 武水別神社
In Chikuma city.
、長野県千曲市八幡にある神社。式内社（名神大社）で、信濃国四宮。旧社格は県社で、現在は神社本庁の別表神社。
旧称は「八幡宮」。現在も「八幡（やわた）さま」「八幡神社（やわたじんじゃ）」の通称がある。
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Daitōsai (Nagano)
This festival consists of offerings of freshly harvested grains by the tōnin (leaders) from December 10 to 14 at the Takemizuwake Jinja in Kōshoku City, Nagano Prefecture. There are five numbered tōnin, the third considered the highest rank and thus known as the daitō, which is the origin for the name of this festival. In order to be appointed as the daitō, one must have been, in order, the fifth, fourth, second, and first tōnin for ten years each. During these ten years, daitō earn their rank by continually making offerings (shinsen) and by being selected by sacred lottery (mikuji). Even if one has good luck and is selected by mikuji each year, the total process takes fifty years. ...
- source : Kokugakuin, Mogi Sakae -
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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :
......................................................................................... Nagano 長野県
Tanpei 丹平 The Kappa Tanpei
Tanpei was a small child, but he just could not walk.
Once they put all the treasures of the family and his back, and oh wonder, he got up, walked to the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa, jumped in and disappeared.
Some say it must have been the local river Kappa Tapei.
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. onibi 鬼火 / kika キカ "demon fire", "devil's fire" .
Once upon a time, during a great rain, two young travelers fell into the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa and died.
After that, other people saw two strange balls of fire at night, dancing over the river.
Then came a man and offered prayers to appease their souls and the sightings stopped.
......................................................................................... Nagano 長野県
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小縣郡 Chiisagata district 神川村 Kangawa village (Kamikawa)
. ryuu, ryū 龍 竜 伝説 Ryu - dragon legends - Drachen .
In the middle of the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa there was a huge boulder and a dragon lived there.
If there were weddings or other family events in the village, the dragon would lent them trays and bowls.
One day a villager did not bring all the bowls back and from that time on, the lending stopped.
. zenwanbuchi 膳椀淵 "river pool for borrowing trays and bowls" .
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埴科郡 Hanishina district 戸倉村 Togura village
. kame 亀と伝説 Legends about turtles, tortoise - Schildkröte .
Once upon a time,
a fisherman went fishing at the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa, when a turtle crossed his way. So the fisherman followed the turtle, which walked a while and then stopped.
When the man came closer, he felt something warm. When he begun to dig, hot water sprouted and he had found an onsen 温泉 hot spring.
This is the origin of 戸倉温泉 Togura Onsen Hot Spring resort.
. Legends about Onsen Hot Springs 温泉と伝説 .
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小諸市 Komoro city
yuurei 幽霊 a ghost
This is a tale about the head priest of the Buddhist temple 玄江院 Genko-In, many generations ago.
One evening when the priest opened the shooji 障子 paper sliding doors, he saw someone leaning his shoulder on the door. When he asked who it was, the person disappeared.
The next morning he got the message that a person had drowned that night in the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa and he must have seen its ghost.
Genkooin 玄江院 Genko-In
耳取 / 1922 Mimitori, Komoro, Nagano
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南佐久郡 Minami-Saku district 川上村 Kawakami village
. kitsunebi 狐火と伝説 Legends about the "fox fire" .
The fox fire is most often seen during the evening time of the "demon dusk", and only from Spring to Autumn, but never in winter.
It is always seen at a curve of the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa.
Sometimes many lights show up to form a parade and then disappear.
Some say its the tails of birds shimmering in the last sunlight.
. oomagadoki オーマガドキ, Ōmagatoki 逢魔時 / 大禍時 "demon dusk" .
tasogaredoki たそがれどき, 黄昏
- - - - - Another legend about the "demon dusk" is from Niigata, Nagaoka city.
An old woman of more than 70 years did not like the "demon dusk" and never went to the outhouse during that time.
They sat during this time the deities of the outhouse come to meet.
One evening the husband of the woman went out for an urgent pee at that time anyway and made the gods very angry. He fell down and died soon after.
. kawaya no kami 厠の神 deity of the outhouse toilet .
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中野市 Nakano city
. kitsune densetsu 狐と伝説 fox legends - Fuchs .
An old woman went to the onsen 温泉 hot spring and was on her way home, when she lost her way. She went to the mountain forest and then to the fields of other people and ate their maize. When her family members searched for her, they found her near the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa.
She must have been bewitched by a fox.
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東御市 Tomi city
. Jizoo 地蔵菩薩 Legends about Jizo Bosatsu .
amagoi Jizo 雨ごい地蔵尊 rain rituals with Jizo
Once upon a time
When it had not rained for a long time, the villagers gathered at the crossroads and bound a large black boulder lying there, pulled him to the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa and pushed it in with the prayer to let rain fal soon.
And indeed, that night there was a heavy rainfall.
The villagers pulled out the black boulder and set him up to venerate, calling it
O-Tasuke Jizo お助け地蔵尊 "Jizo who has helped us" or amagoi Jizo 雨ごい地蔵尊.
To our day the villagers pray to this boulder as Suijin Sama 水神様 Deity of Water.
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上田市 Ueda city
Iwabana no nezumi 岩鼻のねずみ the mice from Iwabana
Between the postal station of Nezumijuku 鼠宿 (Postal station of the Mouse) in 坂城町 Sakaki town and 下塩尻 Shimo-Shiojiri in 上田市 Ueda city along the
. Hokkoku Kaido 北国街道 Hokkoku Highway Road .
there is a steep cliff along the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa, which is called Iwabana, "The Rock Nose".
On the other side of the river, in 上半過 Kami-Hanka, there is a large bolder sticking out. It had been connected to Iwabana a long time ago,
But when the mice in Sakaki town begun to increase the townspeople tried to chase them away with cats. The mice fled to Iwabana and bit off the cliff to make caves.
Later the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa came to flow through the openings.
. ne 子 / nezumi 鼠 / ねずみ Rat, Mouse .
......................................................................................... Niigata 新潟県
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岩船郡 Iwafune district 粟島浦村 Awashimaura village. Awashima Island
Hachiman Jinja no shinzoo 八幡神社の神像 statue at the shrine Hachiman Jinja
The Hachiman Shrine at the 粟島浦村釜谷 Kamaya hamlet in Awashimura originates from the Hachiman Jinja at 旧西蒲原郡黒崎町木場 Kiba in Kurosaki town, West-Kanbara district.
It was stolen from there and thrown into the river 信濃川 Shinanogawa, from where it flowed to the cape 八幡鼻岬 Hachimanbana Misaki.
When the villagers from Kiba heard about it, they went to Awashima Island to get it back, but the folks from Awashima did not give it back.
The villagers thought the statue itself did not want to go back any more.
. Legends about Hachiman Shrines 八幡宮 / 八幡神社 .
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長岡市 Nagaoka city
. Benkei ベンケイ / 弁慶と伝説 Legends about Musashibo Benkei .
Benkei no ashiato ベンケイの足あと / 弁慶 footprints of Benkei
Once upon a time, a giant man named ベンケイ Benkei stood on the peaks of 長峰 Nagamine and 東山 Higashiyama and begun to pee.
This is the origin of the river 信濃川 Shinanogawa.
There are still two deep depressions of his footprints on the mountains.
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十日町市 Mokamachi city 松代町 Matsushiro machi town
. Legends about ike no nushi 池の主 と伝説 the Master of the Pond .
The master of the pond 蒲生の池 Kamo no Ike went to the master of the pond 野々見の池 Nonomi no Ike to ask for his daughter as a bride, but he was refused. He practised for three years and then killed the master of Nonomi with a sword. The blood of the victim became the river 千曲川 Chikumagawa.
This is why the name of the river might be written chigumagawa チグマガワ with blood 血曲川.
The bones of the victim flew on to 浦田のホカサ Urada no Okasa.
The master from Kamo no Ike Pond became afraid and fled further to 七つ釜 Nanatsugama (seven water pools, erosion caves).
There he let the waster of the river flow away and created the fields.
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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
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. Kaido highway legends 街道と伝説 - - ABC list .
. animals and their legends 動物と伝説 - - ABC list .
. plants and their legends 植物と伝説 - - ABC list .
. trees and their legends 樹木, 木と伝説 - - ABC list .
. Persons, People, Personen and their legends - - ABC list .
. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師 空海 - 伝説 .
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -
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