"Mitsuhide headed towards Kyoto" ... Stroll from Kameoka(the gateway to Tanba) to Sonobe. ~ April 2026 ~

It seems that Tanba Kameyama was changed to Kameoka during the Meiji era because there were many places with the name Kameyama throughout Japan, which was confusing. It may not seem like a big change, just changing from mountain to hill, but for fans of the Sengoku period, the sound of Tanba Kameyama Castle generally might evoke associations with the Honnoji Incident, so it might feel a bit strange. Tanba Province is a long rectangle that straddles Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, and Kameoka is located at the entrance to Kyoto, and can be reached in just under 30 minutes by local train from Kyoto Station.

It was exactly three years ago that a fatal accident occurred on the Hozugawa River boat trip. The trip takes about two hours from a ferry landing near Kameoka Station to the vicinity of Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama. It was Ryōi Suminokura, who was active in the early Edo period, who made it possible to travel across these rapids by boat. He also built the artificial Takasegawa Canal and improved the Setagawa River, making a great contribution to water transport and logistics centered on Kyoto. Incidentally, when the Hozugawa River enters Arashiyama it is called the Ōigawa River, and then it becomes the Katsura River, which merges with the Kamo River and flows into the Yodo River.

While checking the locations I visited in Kameoka on a map, I noticed that all the ancient shrines and temples are located on the high ground surrounding the basin, suggesting that there was a large lake (Lake Tanba) in ancient times. The large basin is now a tranquil rural area except for the urban area to the south, but by the time the 5th-century keyhole-shaped burial mound (Chitose Kurumazuka Kofun) was built in the middle of the rice fields, the lake had likely shrunk to the south. Nearby are several ancient shrines (Izumo Grand Shrine, Atago Shrine) and temples (Tanba Kokubunji). Although no remains have yet been found, it is presumed that the Tanba provincial capital was also located nearby.

The question arises as to why there is an Izumo Grand Shrine in Tanba, but according to shrine tradition, Izumo Taisha was established by inviting the deity from this area. Until the end of the Edo period, Izumo Taisha was called Kitsuki Taisha, so it is confusing as to which is the original. The main deities enshrined here are Okuninushi-no-Mikoto, who ceded the land, and his consort Mihotsuhime, who is the daughter of Takamimusubi-no-Mikoto, who descended to Takamagahara during the creation of heaven and earth, as described in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Tanba Ichinomiya, located at a transit point between Izumo and Yamato, may be a monument commemorating the reconciliation and unification of the Yamato court and the Izumo kingdom.

I was worried that one of them might be the original shrine and that they were having a dispute with Izumo Taisha, but I was relieved to see a stone pillar inscribed with the shrine's name, written by Senge Takatomi, the chief priest of Izumo Taisha four generations ago.

The current chief priest, the 84th generation Kunimaro Senke, is married to Princess Noriko of Takamado, but it seems he has not yet had an heir. I hope that the descendants of the former Izumo Kingdom, as well as the main family (the Imperial Family), will continue to exist for a long time to come. The national anthem, "Kimigayo," written on the pebbles, touches my heart.

This is the original Atago Shrine, and it seems that the Atago Shrine in Kyoto was established by inviting the deity from this location. One of the main deities is Kagutsuchi, the god of fire who caused the death of Izanami, and is believed to have miraculous powers against fire. It is said that Wake no Kiyomaro moved the Atago Shrine in Kyoto to its current location (Saga Atago-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City), and since then it has become a sacred place for praying for fire prevention in the capital. I happened to be able to visit the original shrine this time, but I would like to visit the Atago Shrine in Kyoto soon as well.

The current Tanba Kokubunji Temple was rebuilt in the mid-Edo period on the site of the original Kokubunji Temple. Although it is an uninhabited temple, excavations are progressing in the surrounding area, which is the site of the former Kokubunji Temple, and its full extent is gradually being revealed.

Within the grounds, 17 foundation stones remain that supported the seven-story pagoda built at the time of its founding, allowing us to imagine its former scale. It is presumed that the provincial capital was located on the opposite bank of the Hozugawa River from the provincial temple, and it is thought that the northeastern part of the Kameoka Basin, including the aforementioned burial mounds, shrines, and temples, was the center of ancient Tanba Province.

I climbed to Senju-ji Temple, which offers a panoramic view of the entire basin. I could see the entire basin from north to south (from left to right in the photo above), and the city of Kameoka was visible in the far right. Tanba does not have many steep mountains, but it is composed of a continuous landscape of mountains and basins, and like Shinshu and Higo, it was probably a difficult place to govern entirely. Mitsuhide raised his troops here for five years and then headed to Honno-ji Temple with 15,000 soldiers.

Many theories have been proposed as to the reasons for Mitsuhide's uprising, but I imagine that it was due to a fairly standard view: anxiety about the future prospects. Mitsuhide was supposed to be in charge of negotiations with Chosokabe Motochika while simultaneously pacifying Tanba, and was expected to play a leading role in the upcoming pacification of Shikoku, but Nobunaga's third son, Nobutaka, ended up taking on this role. Logically, one would think that he would join the attack on the Mori clan via the San'in Road and come under Hideyoshi's command. His former lord, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, had moved his residence to Tomo in Bingo under the protection of the Mori clan and was setting up a coalition against Nobunaga, but in some cases, he would have to be defeated. The Honnoji Incident, which will be depicted in the Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!", is yet to come, and I am looking forward to seeing how Kaname Jun will portray the tormented Akechi Mitsuhide.

It seems that Mitsuhide had a strong faith in the Fudo Myoo (Acala) of Kokushōji Temple, and a burial mound for Mitsuhide's head is located at the temple, where a memorial service is held every year.

Apparently, in early summer, the bellflower crest of the Akechi family (Toki clan) blooms profusely.

Mitsuhide wasn't the only one to raise the banner of rebellion in Kameoka. Ashikaga Takauji initially led the shogunate army to Kyoto to quell the Genkō War, which Emperor Go-Daigo was plotting, but he rebelled against the shogunate in Kameoka, attacked and captured the Rokuhara Tandai. He prayed at Shinomura Hachimangu Shrine, located at the southern end of the basin, and Hachiman (Emperor Ōjin) is the god of war and the guardian deity of the Minamoto clan.

Takauji raised his army by having the white flag of the Minamoto clan fly from a willow tree, urging powerful warlords throughout the country to rise up in revolt to overthrow the shogunate. The "Flag-Raising Willow" is located on the side of a private house next to the shrine, and the explanation states that although willow trees have a short lifespan, this tree has been passed down through generations by taking cuttings. Takauji（高氏） changed his name to Takauji（尊氏）, receiving a character from Emperor Go-Daigo (Takaharu尊治), but this honeymoon period was short, and Japanese history then entered the Nanboku-cho period.

Ancient temples and shrines line the southern part of the basin as well. Kuwayama Shrine, like Izumo Grand Shrine, has its origins in the legend of Lake Tanba and celebrates how Okuninushi-no-Mikoto and Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto (son of Takamimusubi) reclaimed the wetlands and transformed them into fields. Both the Kyoto Basin and the Nara Basin were once lakes, and the development of these granary regions, which was involved in the emergence and establishment of the Yamato Kingdom, must have been of paramount importance in nation-building.

Anōji Temple is said to have been founded in 705, before the relocation of the capital to Nara, by Ōtomo no Komaro. The Ōtomo clan was a prominent family that had long supported the Yamato court, and produced famous Manyō poets such as Tabito and Yakamochi. Komaro was a cousin of Yakamochi, and the Ōtomo clan still maintained a certain level of power, but as the Fujiwara clan continued to ostracize other clans, Komaro's great-grandson Yoshio fell from power in the Ōtenmon Incident, and the clan disappeared from the political stage.

Inside the temple was a statue of the reclining Buddha, which I was allowed to touch as it is a Buddha that is meant to be stroked. Since I recently suffered a recurrence of lower back pain, I made sure to stroke my lower back carefully.

The nearby Kongoji Temple is also known as "Okyo Temple," and it is said that Maruyama Okyo was entrusted to its care when he was a child, and that he left several screen paintings there in his youth. The head priest at the time sensed the talent of young Okyo and had him study painting in Kyoto. It made me realize once again how important it is to find and nurture a genius in the right environment.

Heading north from Kameoka City, you enter Nantan City, which is a municipality centered around the former Sonobe Town. During the Edo period, the Kameyama Domain saw numerous changes in its fudai daimyo (hereditary feudal lords), and Kameyama Castle, which had been in power since Mitsuhide's time, was positioned as a strategic castle for entering Kyoto from the San'in Road. However, the Sonobe Domain was ruled throughout the Edo period by the Koide family, who were tozama (outside) daimyo. Even including the territories divided among the family, it was a small domain of less than 30,000 koku, and in terms of family status, they were lords without a castle, meaning they could not own a castle. Becoming a castle lord was a long-held dream of the Koide family, and permission was granted by the new Meiji government. Sonobe Castle became a rare castle built after the Meiji Restoration, before the abolition of the feudal domains and establishment of prefectures. Shortly after its completion, it was abandoned and the castle was sold to private individuals, but currently, Sonobe Prefectural High School (and its affiliated junior high school) is located there, and the day I visited was the entrance ceremony.

The Koide family rose to prominence when Koide Hidemasa, the husband of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mother's sister, was promoted. They managed to survive the Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka, with two branches (the main family running the Izushi Domain and the branch family the Sonobe Domain). However, the Izushi Domain was dispossessed due to a lack of heirs, and only the Sonobe Domain survived the Meiji Restoration. They haven't appeared in "Toyotomi Brothers!" yet, but will they make an appearance?

Sonobe is a peaceful town nestled in the mountains, surrounded by idyllic rural scenery, and it is home to the oldest known shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, Ikimi Tenmangu. The reason it is the oldest is that Michizane's economic base was located in this area, and the shrine had been there since his lifetime. The latter half of the 9th century was a time when the foundations of the Ritsuryo system were shaken, the manorial system began, and the Fujiwara Hokke clan, which would later become the regency government, was increasingly monopolizing power and economic strength within the imperial court. It makes one wonder how Michizane, a rival force, responded to this situation. The Koide family apparently moved Ikimi Tenmangu to its current location because they felt it was disrespectful for the shrine to be overlooked by the encampment.

Mokujiki Shonin traveled throughout Japan, leaving behind single-piece wooden Buddha statues across the country. He apparently had a long-held goal of creating a thousand statues, which he achieved at Seigenji Temple at the age of 89 (1806). He is said to have stayed there for five months.

On the other hand, Enku, who died during the Genroku period more than a hundred years earlier, is said to have carved 120,000 statues, which is hard to believe, but these two are often compared as traveling Buddhist sculptors. Personally, I feel that Enku's works have a rough carving style, while Mokujiki's have a smooth surface and give the impression of always smiling Buddhas.

I visited Kuhonji Temple, which houses the mausoleum of Prince Kakugyo, the second son of Emperor Shirakawa. After passing through the main gate, which is designated as an Important Cultural Property, I climbed the stairs for a while, but the stairs were covered in moss, and some parts were loose and dangerous. When walking around local temples, I occasionally come across ruins that are on the verge of becoming abandoned, and it is especially sad when it is a historically significant place. This temple has a gate designated as an Important Cultural Property and a mausoleum managed by the Imperial Household Agency, so I believe it will not be left neglected, but I am worried because there is no sign of people living in the priest's residence. The loss of cultural properties leads to the loss of culture and history, and this is one of the major issues for Japanese people in the future.

I visited Make Shrine and then headed home. The cypress bark roof and the elongated shrine building are an unusual style, and I felt a sense of the unique faith of the region. The main deity enshrined there is Omiketsuhiko-no-mikoto, the god of water and food. Tanba, located on the border between the Izumo and Yamato regions, is a place I particularly want to explore while thoroughly understanding the origins of the shrines. It is said that the Outer Shrine of Ise Grand Shrine (Toyouke Daijingu) was also moved from Toyouke Daijingu (Fukuchiyama City), which only deepens the mystery.

The area around Kameoka is called "Kuchi-Tanba" (Front Tanba) because it's the gateway to Tanba. Next time, I plan to venture further inland to experience Tanba more deeply. This area was more supportive of Mitsuhide than I expected, but unfortunately, the site of Kameoka Castle is now occupied by facilities of the Omoto-kyo religion and is private property, so it's not freely accessible for visitors. The two biggest blunders of the Meiji government were indeed the destruction of Buddhist temples and the cheap sale of castles.