References

• Shimonita Town Official Website (Shimonita Town, 2019)
• Shimonita Town History (Shimonita Town, 1971)
• Shimonita Guidebook (Shimonita Tourism Division, 2016)
• The Shimonita War Record (Shimonita Board of Education)
• The Shimonita Road (Gunma Prefectural Board of Education, 1981)
• Architectural Carvings of the Suwa Shrine in Shimonita (Shimonita Chamber of Commerce, 2010)
• Merchants’ Guide for Provincial Travels (Miyama Library, 1990)
• Gunma History Walk No.183 (Gunma Rekishi Sanpo Association, 2004)
• Kosakasaka Pass Road (Kosakasaka Old Road Research Society, 1995)
• 100-Year History of the Joshin Railway (Joshin Railway Co., Ltd., 1995)
• Geology of Shimonita and Surrounding Areas (Shimonita Nature School, 2009)
• The Road History of Japan Vol.17: Nakasendo (Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2001)
• The Story of Konjac Waterwheels in Shimonita (Takashi Harada, 2019)

The Tajimaya Konjac Refinery operated from 1926 (Taisho 15) to 1998 (Heisei 10). In its early years, it used traditional Japanese wooden waterwheels, and from around 1935 (Showa 10), it switched to turbine waterwheels, which powered 112 pestles used for refining konjac powder.

Today, the waterwheels have been removed, but the remains of the water channels, the shed, and the pestles and millstones can still be seen.

Klippe are isolated mountains that were originally formed elsewhere and later displaced by tectonic forces. These rock layers were pushed over other rock bodies, and after long-term erosion by wind, rain, and rivers, they became separated from surrounding formations.

As a result, the upper layers of a klippe consist of rocks such as the Atogura Formation, which were formed from sediment that accumulated on the seafloor around 130 million years ago. Meanwhile, the lower rocks are younger greenstones (metamorphic rocks) that originated deep underground.

To the south of Shimonita, you can see a range of unusually shaped mountains. These rare formations are known in Japan as “Floating Mountains” or Klippe. Examples include:
• Kamanuki-yama
• Ōyama
• Ontake
• Ōguyama
• Kawai-yama
• Yotsumata-yama

The deities enshrined at Suwa Shrine are
Takeminakata-no-Kami, Yasakatome-no-Mikoto, and Homudawake-no-Mikoto.

In ancient times, they were revered as gods of hunting and agriculture; during the samurai era, as gods of war; and today, they are venerated as deities of industry, traffic safety, and matchmaking.

The shrine is believed to have been founded about 400 years ago. Originally a Hachiman Shrine, it was converted into a Suwa Shrine during Takeda Shingen’s incursion into Jōshū (present-day Gunma). It is said that Obata Owari-no-Kami, the lord of Obata Castle, invited the deity from Suwa (a process known as kanjō, the transfer of a deity’s spirit to a new location for worship).

The shrine’s magnificent and intricately crafted buildings were constructed between 1837 (Tenpō 8) and 1846 (Kōka 3), during the late Edo period.

The chief carpenter was Yazaki Zenji, a master builder of the Ōsumi school from Suwa in Shinshu (Nagano Prefecture), renowned for temple and shrine architecture. After Zenji’s death, the haiden (worship hall) and heiden (offering hall) were completed by his second son, Yazaki Fusanosuke Akifusa. The main sanctuary (honden) is considered Zenji’s final and most distinguished work, as he passed away in 1841 (Tenpō 12).

The greenish rocks that make up Aoiwa Park are formed from black basaltic lava and tuff that erupted from a submarine volcano and accumulated over time. When these rocks were pushed deep underground, heat and pressure transformed them into green metamorphic rock. Their distinct characteristics include their green color and their tendency to split in one direction.