Town of Ikata
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(Town-designated Heritage Site)
Camphor trees are evergreens that grow in the warm regions of western Japan.
They are known for being quick to mature and having a long lifespan, which is why there are so many large camphor trees around.
Inside the Densōji temple grounds grows a very old camphor tree 14.7 m (50 ft) tall with a trunk 8.7 m (29 ft) in circumference. Its age is not known precisely, but during the Heian period when Fujiwara no Sumitomo used Hiburijima Island as a base for his band of pirates, Minamoto no Tsunemoto was sent to capture him. Tsunemoto was defeated, and some of his party ended up settling in this area.
According to surviving records, at that time this ako tree was already quite large, so it is estimated to be over 1000 years old.
(Town-designated Heritage Site)
Shuzen Tokunō is believed to have been born in the village of Tokuda, Shūsō District (the modern-day city of Saijō) in the late 16th century, and was originally a rōnin samurai of the Kōno family. He became one of the 15 generals of Kinhiro Saionji, lord of the Uwa area, then later joined the clan of Fusatsuna Utsunomiya, lord of the Yawatahama Hagimori Castle. With the Kuchō Nagaski Castle as his base he ruled over the Kuchō and Futami Bay areas, receiving yearly tithes of about 43,000 liters of rice.
In Tokunō Forest there is a shrine dedicated to Shuzen Tokunō. He is a local god mostly for the residents in the area who share his name, but according to legend the descendents of Tokunō can never grow larger than 13 households.
The small mound of land on the south side of the Kuchō Daycare Center is called "Oki Castle," but it is not actually the remains of a castle. In the "Machimi Local History" it is written, "According to one account, Shuzen knew no end; though his enemies wished fervently for his demise they could not bring it about. He hid himself among the peasants near Oki Castle, but he knew this would not be enough. He buried his possessions at Oki Castle, then at the temple grounds he ended his life by his own blade." So, while Oki Castle is not actually a castle, this mound is said to contain the buried posessions of Shuzen Tokunō.
To the east of the current Tentokuji Temple, in one corner of a farm field there stands a stone pagoda. "Bonta" means "temple grounds," and it is said that Tentokuji once stood at this spot. In the "Uwa Records of Old" (1615) it is written "1, Mt. Kainan Tentokuji Temple ... In the field before the gates of this temple stands the stone pagoda of Lord Shuzen Tokunō," meaning this pagoda existed all the way back then. In the "Machimi Local History" it is written "Where Tsumei's body is buried there is a gravestone." It is thought that "Tsumei" refers to Shuzen Tokunō, but the details are yet unknown.
(Town-designated Heritage Site)
This is the grave of Ichiemon, leader of a peasant uprising that occurred in the Ikata area near the end of the Edo era.
The uprising occurred in the spring of 1830, incited by cruel treatment and tax theft perpetrated by the Ikata Bay area tax collector and his son.
Ichiemon was beheaded in Uwajima in 1831, but his body was returned to Ikata for burial. He was heralded as a hero by the townspeople, and his gravestone stands to this day in the Hōtsūji Temple grounds.
(Town-designated Natural Heritage Site)
Kurokizuta is a kind of seaweed that originally grew in the tropics and subtropics, and in Japan was originally discovered near the remains of Shimane prefecture's Kuroki Imperial Palace, from which it gets its name.
Currently in Japan there are only a few places where this kind of seaweed can be found. It was discovered growing off Ikata's Nitanohama coast in 1954. You can see kurokizuta growing around Ikata's breakwaters between Autumn and Spring.
(Town-designated Heritage Site)
On a small hill above Hōtsūji Temple in Nakaura thre is a place called the "Castle Platform."
It is the remains of Maruoka Castle, which was inhabited by Fujiwara no Yoshimichi, a lieutenant of the Arima clan, during the Warring States era.
There are also many other ruins relating to the castle in the area, such as moats, etc.
(Town-designated Heritage Site)
The remains of a long-gone castle stand above the Kuchō pond along the Suka coast area.
The remains show that the castle made good use of the foot of Mt. Nagasaki, with small fortresses on the north side and a dry moat on the south.
Many of the nearby neighborhoods to this day have names relating to the castle.
(Town-designated Cultural Heritage Site)
This pagoda represents the five basic elements from which the universe is made according to Buddhist tradition. From the top down they are Nothingness, Wint, Fire, Water, and Earth. Objects of worship incorporating these elements can be seen in Japanese history since the end of the Heian era.
The two granite Towers pictured are located in Myōrakuji Temple in Urayasu. The one on the right was made by Minamoto no Yoshiyuki, great-grandson of Yoshikata Rokkaku (–1636), lord of Ōmi's Nagahama Castle. The one on the left was made by his wife, Tano (–1662).
They are quite rare in that they have the artisans' names and dates of creation inscribed very clearly on them.
(Town-designated Heritage Site)
During the Edo period, the Tokugawa Shogunate built mounds on roadsides, on top of which they planted trees. These mounds were placed at distances of one ri, or about 4 km (2.5 mi), from each other, and were used like modern-day highway mile markers. These mounds were built on major roads in the Uwajima han as well. In 1673 Munetoshi Date, the second-generation ruler of Uwajima, ordered that black pines be planted on the mounds, and they came to be known as "mile marker pines." Within Ikata, it is said that these pines could once be found in Kawanagata, Kucho's Sanpōji Temple, and Futami's Kashu area; however, only Kawanagata and Kucho's are designated as historical sites.
(Prefecturally-designated Natural Heritage Site)
The nagi is a member of the podocarpus family of evergreens. They grow in warm areas, and have been planted in temples and shrines since ancient times. The one in Hōtsūji Temple is female, and generally blooms from mid May until mid June.
This nagi tree is about 19 m (62 ft) in height and its trunk is 3.24 m (11 ft) in circumference. Its age is estimated to be around 700 years old, probably having been planted in the Kamakura period.
(Town-designated Cultural Asset)
This is a dance performed every year in the Kuchō neighborhood during the Obon Festival (August 14). It is said to have originated sometime between 1781 and 1789. The lyrics to the music all follow a pattern of 7-7-7-5 syllables, and must begin with "Shussekiyama hodo takai yama nai ga" ("Is there no mountain taller than Mt. Shussekiyama?") and end with "senshū banzai omoigoto kanota" ("For a thousand years to come, my wishes have been granted"). In the past lyrics have sometimes also been improvised, and many different variations exist today.
1993-1 Minatoura, Ikata-chō, Nishiuwa-gun, Ehime-ken 796-0301, Japan
TEL: (0894) 38-0211 FAX: (0894) 38-1373 Email
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