Tono, is renowned as a town of folklore, mainly by a book “The legend of Tono”, or collection of folklores , published in 1910 by Kunio Yanagida. Yanagida was a pioneer of Japanese folkloristics, and the stories collected/edited are sometimes scaring, inspriting, implicating, or moralistic. The most known imaginary (which they believe it’s not) character in the stories is “Kappa”, monsters that live in water, particulary in Tono they are supposed to in a stream called “Kappa Buchi”.
Probably because of its difficulties to translate the stories, it must be hardly known by foreign tourists.
Tono, itself, was a small region but had two industires for some hundreds years : 1) mines including gold, (depleted now) and 2) growing horses (before wars became modernized), and these resources contributed to develop/prosper Hiraizumi Regime, allegedly said.
Tono Station.Statues of Kappa on right.Very classic, looks like in 50’s toy store.Pastral.Tono City Museum.Some extract sentences of folklores.
“In Tono, still we call large sized farmers as millionaire” “Old house has Parlor Child”“Tono is a part of Nanbu clan, with castle of Yokote”A map of the city. The castle utilizes Rainai river for protection.“Magari-ya”, curving, combined house with house stable. Thanks to affuence by gold and horse, they played local Noh (masked theater).Noh masks. Slightly different from ones used in other Noh, probably influenced by folklores.The conch shell is used for a signal by browing to create sound as oboe, originally in battle field. Probably used in the theater.Hammers to mine golds.Stone grinder to split sand gold.Watering plate to split sand and sand gold.Additional exhibition of dolls for Girls’ Festival.In Tono, many kids used go around to see neighbors’ doll display during the period, they say.Horse market. The best horse was sold to Japanese army for battle, opened from 1919 to 1956.
