山本山→賤ヶ岳→余呉江土観音堂「後編」

山本山→賤ヶ岳→余呉「後編」　Mt. Yamamoto → Mt. Shizugatake → Yogo (Part 2)

前編はここです。山本山→賤ヶ岳→余呉江土観音堂「前編」
Click this link for part 1. Mt. Yamamoto → Mt. Shizugatake → Yogo (Part 1)

NOTE: Click any photo to enlarge.  注意:写真を拡大したいときは、クリックしてください。

ここまでの最後の上りは思ったほど苦しくなかった。300 meters to the summit lookout. This last part to here wasn't as hard as I was expecting

Walking sticks

リフトのすぐ上の展望 The view from just above the lift

三味線糸、琴糸の里、梔子の里
梔子（くちなし）の里の由来
七本槍の古戦場、賤が岳の南麓「大音」「西山」の里は千年の昔より製糸業（生糸）の盛んな地方で、今も地場産業として数軒の農家（5、6軒）が昔ながらに足踏みグルマ製糸の作業を受け継いでおり和楽器（三味線糸・琴糸）の原糸、生糸の生産高は全国の八割を占めています。
三味線糸・琴糸は黄色であるがその染色は、昔は梔子の実が使用されていました。（現在は、外国産ウコン粉が使用されています。）今も大音・西山の里には、家々にも庭先や畑地の一隅にも必ず梔子が植えられています。梔子の果実を乾燥保存し、原糸の取引の時など、いつも原糸の取引の時（仲買人）にプレゼントしたという…又、漬物やお祭りのお餅や団子蒸し御飯にもよく使われたと語りつがれています。このたび賤が岳にも梔子を植栽し、七本槍の古戦場の歴史とともに三味線糸、琴糸の里、くちなしの里として伝統を守り続け、より多くの人々に知って頂き、くちなしの白い花を見、香を利き、またいつの日か思い出して、訪ねて頂きたいと念ずる次第であります。
Shamisen String, Koto String Village, Gardenia Village
The origin of Gardinia Village
The villages of Ooto and Nishiyama at the southern foot of the old battleground of 'the Seven Spears', Mt. Shizugatake, was a flourishing silk spinning industry from around 1,000 years ago. Even now, as a local industry, about 5 or 6 farmhouses continue to spin silk with traditional foot pedal spinning machines and occupy 80% of the Japanese market in producing raw silk yarn for traditional Japanese musical instrument strings (shamisen & Koto).
The color of shamisen and koto strings are yellow and in ancient times the dye for them was made from the fruit of the gardenia tree. (Now-a-days foreign produced turmeric is used.) Even now, in the villages of Ooto & Nishiyama, every house, without fail, has gardenia trees growing in the garden and in the corners of the fields. It is said that the fruit of the gardenia was preserved through drying and when trading the raw thread, they always presented these to the brokers. Stories have been passed down of them also pickling them and using them in festival rice cakes and steamed dumpling rice. We want to keep the tradition the 'shamisen, koto village' and 'gardenia village' has of growing gardinia at Mt. Shizugatake along with the history of the 'battleground or the seven spears' and teach this to many people. We hope you see the white flowers of the gardenia and smell their fragrance and some time, remember these.

兜を被っている石仏 A stone statue wearing a samurai helmet

由来
今を去る四百余年天正十一年（１５８３）四月二十日～二十一日北国の雄柴田勝家と羽柴秀吉が天下をかけ雌雄を決した賤ヶ嶽の合戦湖北の山野を血で染し、
この戦いで南北両軍幾万のつわ者が，この地に散っていったと今も里の古老は語り伝えます。
（当時南麓大音の里には二十四軒の農家があったと言う）
この合戦の死傷者の霊を弔う石佛が野山に点在していました。
これ等無縁の石佛を戸々にお守りしておりましたが、心ある里人の声あり一ヶ所に合祀することになり山襞の一角に集めささやかな供養を続けてまいりましたが昭和五十七年賤ヶ嶽合戦四百年を機に，景勝のこの地に移転をして毎年四月当岳の山開き祭に里の行事として年に一度の供養をしているものです。

遠い昔私達の祖先が幾多の戦いを繰返しこの悲惨さ又むなしさを悟らばこそ、今日の平和があるのではなかろうか。
願は此處賤ヶ岳を訪う人々よ心あらば一時たりと徍時の先人に思いを寄せ、せめて一滴の光華を手向けられん事を願うものです。

賤ヶ岳山頂からの琵琶湖展望 「琵琶湖八景のひとつ」View of Lake Biwa from the summit of Mt. Shizugatake. One of the 8 top views of Lake Biwa.

赤い矢印で示されている山本山からここ（賤ヶ岳山頂）までずっと尾根を走ってきました。I rode all the way along the ridge from Mt. Yamamoto, indicated by the red arrow, to here (Mt. Shizugatake's summit)

武将の象 Statue of a Samurai General

戦いのあと After the Battle

余呉湖 Lake Yogo

下りはこの赤い線にある尾根を走ります。 The path down is along the ridge represented by the red line

賤ヶ岳古戦場
織田信長が、本能寺で明智光秀のために滅ぼされた、本能寺の変後、1583年（天正11）4月、信長の重臣柴田勝家と羽柴秀吉（のち豊臣秀吉）が、この賤ヶ岳を中心として信長の後継者争いをし、秀吉が勝利をおさめ、天下取りを決意した戦いだといわれています。
また、この合戦において、秀吉軍の近習加藤清正ら7人が、槍をとって真先に進み、柴田軍を突きくずしたといわれていることから、賤ヶ岳の七本槍としてよくしられています。

Mt. Shizugatake Battle Map

Summary of Mt. Shizugatake Battle

In May 1583, a former general of Nobunaga's named Shibata Katsuie coordinated a number of simultaneous attacks on Shizugatake, a series of forts held by Hideyoshi's generals among whom was Nakagawa Kiyohide. Sakuma Morimasa attacked on orders from Shibata Katsuie, and Nakagawa was killed, but the fortress' defenses held. On hearing this Shibata Katsuie immediately ordered Sakuma Morimasa to withdraw his troops as they were dangerously over extended and isolated from Katsuie's own force. Sakuma, however did not heed his lord's orders and made camp, planning to launch another offensive.

It was understood that Hideyoshi was at least four days' march away during Sakuma's attack. However, as soon as Hideyoshi learned of Sakuma's actions he led his men on a forced march through the night and reached Shizugatake within a day and a half. Hearing that Hideyoshi was coming with reinforcements, Sakuma ordered his men to break the siege lines and prepare to defend themselves. By this time it was too late and Hideyoshi's forces easily smashed through the defenses of the besieging army.

Hideyoshi's chief seven generals in the battle at Shizugatake earned a great degree of fame and honor, and came to be known as the 'shichi-hon yari' or 'Seven Spears' of Shizugatake.
(From Wikipedia - Battle of Shizugatake)

Mt. Shizugatake, 'Seven Spears Battleground' historical spot

Site of Mt. Shizugatake Fort

「山本と賤ヶ岳の間の尾根」ちょっと別の角度から [Ridge between Mt. Yamamoto & Mt. Shizugatake] From a slightly different angle

何の木でしょう。 Wonder what this tree is.

賤ヶ岳山頂が結構広いです。The top of Mt. Shizugatake is quite spacious.

Yogo / Mt. Shizugatake main mountain trail

Yogo / Mt. Shizugatake main mountain trail map

Yogo / Mt. Shizugatake Main Mountain Trail
The Yogo / Mt. Shizugatake main hiking trail is a 12km nature sightseeing trail that is split into 2 parts from Shimoyogo, Yogo Town to Hannoura, Kinomoto Town and Tsunosato, Kohoku Town with the 432 meter high Mt. Shizugatake acting as a junction.
In this entire region there are cedar & cypress plantations as well as red pine forests and within these you can see plants that grow in abundance on the Japan Sea side such as 'mizu-nara' (Japanese oak) and 'saigokumitsuba azalea' (Rhododendron nudipes).Please enjoy seeing the historical sights such as the old Mt. Shizugatake battleground, the Kohori Tomb Group and the Mt. Yamamoto Castle site.

Beware of bears

最初の30メートルが級ですがそのあとほとんど降りずに走られました。The first 30 meters was a little steep & windy, but after that I could almost ride the whole distance without dismounting.

最高!!! Awesome!!!

楽しい!!! Fun!!!

賤ヶ岳から余呉江土観音堂まで4㎞です。このトレールが最高で、めちゃ楽しかった。しかし、このトレールに登山客が15人か20人いました。山本山と賤ヶ岳の間に3人しかいませんでした。It is 4 km from here to the temple at the bottom. This trail was exhilarating and I enjoyed it a lot. However, There were about 15 or 20 hikers on the trail, where there were only 3 hikers between Mt. Yamamoto & Mt. Shizugatake

リュージュ Luge

時間があるとき動画を作りますがとりあえず静ヶ岳から余呉までこの感じでした。 I'll make more video when I get time, but in the mean time, this is a taste of what it was like from Mt. Shizugatake to Yogo.

A small flat part in the mountain which played a part in the battle of Mt. Shizugatake.

Right to Kiyohide Nakagawa's tomb

左側に林道があります。There is a forestry road on the left

Kiyohide Nakagawa's tomb info

Site of Mt. Oiwa Fort

Kiyohide Nakagawa was the second vanguard of Hideyoshi Toyotomi's force at the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583, and held Mt. Oiwa Fort. He died in the battle at the age of 42.

Kiyohide Nakagawa's tomb info

Kiyohide Nakagawa's tomb info

中川清秀の墓 Kiyohide Nakagawa's tomb

ここまで40メートルぐらい林道を走ります。その林道で降りてもいいですがやっぱりシングルトラックのほうが楽しいです。Until here you travel along a forestry road for about 40 meters. You can go down that road, but it goes without saying, the single track is more fun.

私は右に行きました。多分左の道は余呉湖に行きます。I went right. The left track probably goes down to Lake Yogo.

危なかった!!!この電線が見えにくいです。その上、トレールではなくて、眺めを見るところです。気を付けましょう。 That was close!!! This electric fence is hard to see. Especially since at this point you are looking at the view that just came into view and not the trail. Be warned!!!

Danger!! High voltage. Don't touch!!

Ring the peace bell.

江土観音堂の鐘 The temple bell

動画には鐘をつきます。I ring the bell in the video

大分前ですが、誰かが私に「一番沢山寺と神社がある都道府県はどこですか。」と質問しました。もちろん私は「京都府」と答えました。その人は「いいえ」と言いました。じゃ、「奈良県」と私は言いました。また「いいえ」と答えてきました。「じゃ、どこでしょう？」と私は聞きました。あの人は「滋賀県」と答えました。「本当～?」と私は言いました。しかし、賤ヶ岳に行って、山の麓に寺と神社を多く見て、滋賀県が日本一だと信じやすくなりました。 Many years ago, someone asked me, "Which Prefecture has the most temples and shrines". Of course I answered, " Kyoto". That person said, "Nope". So I said, "Nara". That person again said, "Nope". So I ask, "Where?". They said, "Shiga". I replied, "Really?". However, while at Mt. Shizugatake, I saw many temples and shrines and now find it easy to believe it is number one in Japan.

余呉江土観音堂から余呉川に沿って車の方面に帰りました。

From the temple at Yogo, I followed the Yogo River, heading back towards my car.

通り過ぎた神社

A shrine I passed

この道がいいですね。365号線に琵琶湖を一周しているサイクリストが多かったですが道が広くないしトラックと車が多いです。怖い!!!やっぱり余呉川に沿って行く道の方がいいです。

This road is nice, isn't it. There were lots of cyclists on route 365 riding around Lake Biwa, but it isn't so wide and there are lots of trucks and cars on it. Scary!!! This road that runs along the Yogo River is much better.

ススキ Pampas grass

最後に行きたかったのはこの西野水道です。The last place I wanted to visit was this Nishino Water Channel (tunnel)

Nishino Water Channel Timeline

Nishino Water Channel Song

何をしているでしょう。もしかして、歌を歌っています。

Wonder what they are doing. Maybe they're singing.

No wheeled traffic is allowed through here. Ooops!!! Does that include bikes?

トンネル内 Inside the tunnel.

オレンジ矢印のトンネルを通りましたが当初のトンネルかどうかわからなくなりました。写真の中に赤矢印で示されているのもトンネルかも知れません。残念ですがその中を見なかったです。サイズが当初の水道と同じ気がしますね。 I went through the tunnel shown by the orange arrow, but now I'm not sure if this was the original tunnel or not. The place indicated by the red arrow also appears to be a tunnel. Unfortunately I didn't look at it when I was there. The size appears to be the same as the original Nishino Channel tunnel though.

現代の水道 The present day channel.

河口に沢山の人が魚釣りをしていました。 There a lot of people fishing in the river mouth.

いい所ですね It's quite a nice place

Nishino Channel Information Board

西野水道に広い無料駐車場があります。皆がここで駐車して琵琶湖までトンネルを歩いて通り抜けます。300メートルぐらいです。 There is a biggish car park at the Nishino Channel. Everybody park here and walk through the tunnel to Lake Biwa. It's about 300 meters.

Nishinozuido (Nishino Water Channel)
Designated as a Shiga Prefectural Historical Site on March 30, 1984
In 1807, 1832 & 1836, Nishino was devastated by floods and famine. To save them from this pitiful situation, the head priest of Nishino Jumanji Temple thought the only way was to make a channel through the western mountain and run the water of the Yogo River into Lake Biwa.
Construction was started in 1840, and after much labor, expense and overcoming many difficulties, it was completed in 1945.
The water channel is called 'Omi's Blue Tunnel'. It's length is 220 meters, width 1.2 meters & height 2 meters. The Paleozoic strata bedrock was dug out from under the mountain range to make the drainage channel. It is a valuable historical spot that should be remembered.
On the channel's tunnel walls, chisel marks remain and here and there it is revealed where during construction they corrected the direction and level.

ここから車に戻りました。すごくすごく楽しい一日でした。また行きたいですね。 From here I returned to my car. I had a really really enjoyable day. I want to come again.