Sadamitsu Usui (later one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, famous for exterminating demons on Mount Oe) was born deep in the mountains of the Usui Pass and was called Ara-doko or Arataro as a child. As his name suggests, he was proud of his great strength from his childhood, and it is said that he tested his power with this stone.
～The Great Bear of Kumoba Pond
A long time ago, a giant spider lived in Kumoba Pond. Once upon a time, a traveler was resting in a willow tree by the pond, and as he dozed off, he saw a beautiful woman come and hang a string on the string and enter the pond. Then, I saw a beautiful woman coming out of the pond, hanging a string on it, and repeating the same process over and over again. The tree was so startled that it gently attached the string to the willow tree and stood by the tree to watch. When the string finally became so thick that it turned white, the tree fell off its roots and sank into the pond in a flash.
～Kakure-ri
It is said that in the old days, there was a cave called “Kakure-ri” on the steep southern slope of the summit of Mt. Today, the caves of Kakure-ri are said to be a nest of bats.
～The Village of Ochikochi
In the old days, the area at the foot of Mt. Asama was like seven valleys, with only a few houses scattered over a wide area. It is said that when Narihira Zaihara passed through this village, he left behind a poem entitled “Shinano naru Asama no Dake ni Tachiburi ochikochi hito no mieno yattekamenu” (Standing on Mount Asama in Shinano, a place where people see and hear nothing).
～Laughing Hill
It is said that when Oiwake was crowded with many Iimori women, there were many young people who came from nearby areas to play, It is said that he was so happy that he beamed with joy.
～Watan-uzume~.
The Mikage Irrigation Canal runs from the north to the west of Furujuku and Borrowjuku. When the water was first channeled through this cough44, it flowed well up to the current cotton-filled creek, but it leaked and did not flow from that point. After much consideration, he decided that if he could get a large number of people together and put on a play, someone would come up with a good idea, and so he did. When they did, someone said, “It’s a pity, the water is flowing here. If we bury the cotton, it would flow.
～Katsurafuchi ~ A narrow river pool named “Katsurafuchi” on the way to Oiwake from Sugiuri.
On the way from Sugiuri to Oiwake, there is a narrow river pool called Katsura-fuchi. This pool is named after a prostitute named “Katsura” who, unable to bear her pain, ran away from the Oiwake inn, but was pursued by her pursuers and finally threw herself into the pool to her death. The name of the pool is derived from the fact that he finally threw himself into the pool to his death.
~Kamagafuchi~.
There is a permanent bridge over the Yugawa River on the way from Toriihara to Hatsuji. This is the Kamagafuchi Bridge, and below it is Kamagafuchi. Legend has it that when there was a shortage of tableware at weddings or funerals, the kappa would lend out more than he could easily afford.
～The Crow Myojin of Yui
A small hokora dedicated to Karasu Myojin, one of only three such deities in Japan, still remains in the Yui area. A small hokora (stone) dedicated to the Crow Myojin still remains in the Yui area. This Myojin is very popular among the locals because when a wart or other protuberance forms on the skin, if the Myojin’s stone is brushed against it, the wart or other protuberance will fall off. However, if you do not return the stone twice as many times as the number of stones you borrowed in return, the wart that should have fallen off will grow back.
~Kannon of Gold (Sugiuri Kannon)
There is a story about the origin of the Kannon Goddess of Mercy in the Sugiuri district. Once upon a time, when the children in the area went to the mountains to cut brush, they saw a shiny object in the grass. The people of Sugiuria immediately built a hall where the statue appeared as a guardian deity. The temple is now deserted, but at that time there were many worshippers who came from all over the Sakuhira area, as well as from Takasaki and Amaraku counties in Gunma Prefecture, over the Wami Pass to visit the shrine, and it is said that there was always a four-dozen barrels full of coins. It is said, however, that after someone stole and pawned the golden Kannon, the number of visitors to the temple disappeared without a trace. Although the golden Kannon has been lost, it is still worshipped as the guardian deity of the Sugiuri area.
~Hochi Koishiya ……~
It is said that once upon a time, there were seven temples and eight halls in Hotechi, located south of Karuizawa. In Kanpo 2, an unprecedented flood hit the area, and these seven temples and eight halls, as well as the Niou-sama enshrined there, were swept away by the water. It is said that Hatsuchi must have been a good place for Nioh-sama to live.
～Oshidateyama
When Minamoto no Yoritomo came to hunt at the foot of Mt. Asama with his men, the hawk he cared for escaped and nested on Mount Oshidate, 1,102 m above sea level. Since then, it is said that hawks have been breeding in the Oshidateyama area. Oshidate, which is 1,102 m above sea level.
～Myoga-iwa (Meiwa-iwa) ~ Myoga-iwa
According to an oral legend, the abbot of this temple buried a large amount of gold, and then he sang the following song and hung it on the rock. The legend says that the priest of the temple buried a lot of gold in the rock, and then he sang the following song: “A thousand gold pieces and two thousand gold pieces were dug up in the morning sun and evening sun, but no one was able to dig them out.
～Umatorigaya
Minamoto no Yoritomo often came to the foot of Mt. Asama to hunt and practice his martial arts. During one of his hunts, his beloved horse happened to be frightened by someone and ran away, but he was unable to proceed because he was stuck in a deep thicket of kaya, which is why the name “Umatorigaya” remains.
～The Great Man, Dairanbo
There lived a man here who was so large that he could pierce the clouds and reach the top of Mount Asama. It is said that this big man used to take a wild boar by the hand every day and boil it on a rock as a kamado, and that the rock that resembles a kamado near the top of Yagasaki Mountain is said to be the remains of this. Furthermore, Kumoba Pond, known as “Omizubata” in Karuizawa, is said to have been formed by the footprints of this big man, Dairanbou, who seems to have been an incredibly large man, but his name may be humorous.
～The story of the “demon’s eyeballs”.
It is said that every year on Misoka Day in January, demons go around the Karuizawa area to see which houses have beautiful daughters, and on Setsuna Day in March, they kidnap the most beautiful of the daughters, so at Misoka, they skewer three large dumplings (called “demon’s eyeballs”) at a time and place them in each room. The ogre would then come and say, “I have two eyeballs, but you have three,” and run away. It is said that the dolls are displayed on the 3rd of March to imitate the appearance of a daughter.
～When the Lord passed by
Whenever a lord would pass by, the government office would notify the innkeepers, and they would take care of the roads in their own yards. The innkeepers were supposed to take care of their own roads. When a feudal lord of tens of thousands of koku (about $50,000) passed through, new sand was brought in front of each house and placed in the middle of the road about 1 m wide, so that the soil could not be seen. The village officials would then escort them to the outskirts of the inn, dressed in kimono, and have a child hold a stick about one meter long and “pay the first bell” (also called “pay the dew”), followed by the village officials and the innkeeper, etc. The villagers would get down on their knees and bow their heads, and it was not possible to look in on them from inside their houses.
