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Viewing Fall Foliage
[Mt. Togakushi, Togakushi, Nagano Prefecture]

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The She-devil's Tomb in Shigaki

In 969 Emperor Reize (967-969) orders Taira no Koremori to dispel a she-devil who is ravaging northern Shinano (modern Nagano Prefecture), with Mt. Arakura as her base of operations. Koremori finally arrives in the town of Shimo-sosan, but he cannot find the she-devil. He shoots an arrow in hopes of finding her, and it lands on Shigaki (Nishi-no-ya). At Mt. Arakura, Koremore fights the she-devil's entire clan. He receives the divine protection of the Bessho Kitamuki Kan'on, and with the help of the famous "Demon-cutting Sword" succeeds in cutting off the she-devil's head. Her head is very heavy and he is unable to carry it back to the capital, so he buries it where the arrow fell and erects a five-storied gravestone on the site. This is known as the She-devil's Tomb.

The demon's tomb (Mt. Arakura)

Mt. Togakushi

The demon's stone cave (Mt. Arakura

Togakushi Shrine
Main Shrine
Enshrined Deity: Tachikarowo-no-mikoto
According to the famous legend, in the fifth year of the eighth emperor, Emperor Kôgen (207 B.C.), when Amaterasu-ômikami becomes angry at Susanowo-no-mikoto and shuts herself into the Heavenly Rock-cave, Tachikarowo-no-mikoto, the god of good fortune, the five grains (rice, wheat, foxtail millet, millet, and beans), family well-being, and sericulture, uses his unparalleled supernatural power to open the door to the cave.
Toshigoi-matsuri: May 15 (a festival held to pray for a bountiful harvest of the five grains)
Main shrine festival: August 15
Niiname-sai: November 23 (a festival in which the Emperor offers that year's grain harvest to the gods)

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NPO Hiroshima kagura Art Laboratory

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