{"id":3739,"date":"2022-03-08T03:26:40","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T18:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/?post_type=special&#038;p=3739"},"modified":"2023-02-27T14:24:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T05:24:57","slug":"special_008","status":"publish","type":"special","link":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/en\/special\/2022\/03\/08\/special_008\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legend of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro and Cherry Blossoms\uff5cNagai\u30fbShirataka"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.reverse{flex-direction: row-reverse;}  .row{margin-bottom:10em;} .marker-pink{background: linear-gradient(transparent 75%, #ffe3ec 75%);}<\/style>\n<div id=\"tokusyu\">\n<div class=\"tokusyu_icatch\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_main.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"700\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_main.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_main-300x109.jpg 300w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_main-1024x373.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_main-768x280.jpg 768w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_main-1536x560.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tokusyu_main\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n<p><span class=\"marker-pink\">In the Okitama region where there are many famous cherry blossom (sakura) spots, there is a giant cherry tree said to be 1,200 years old. It has signaled to the locals of the oncoming of spring since the days of old. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who received the first title of Sei-i Taishogun, makes an appearance in the legend of the origins of the tree. The start of this beautiful cherry blossom begins with a hero and tragic love.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<h3>Plant Cherry Blossoms in Okitama, <br class=\"sp\">An Extraordinary Hero<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<p>Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, a court nobleman of the early Heian period, is well known for being a loyal subject who served under the 4th emperor. He was especially skilled in fighting, open-minded, and comely. It is said, \u201chis actions were agile and demeanor senseful. If angered, he would down a beast on the spot. When he laughed, children came to him.\u201d There were many followers of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in the lands he subjugated. So many it is said that they couldn\u2019t supply horses to everyone who followed. He is known for erecting Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, but there are other temples and shrines built for Tamuramaro. There are shrines that deify Tamuramaro country-wide. It\u2019s clear how immensely popular he was, and it can even be said he was seen as a hero of sorts.\n<\/p>\n<p>The first time someone was given the title Sei-i Taishogun was in the year 796 (Enryaku 16). Sometime then, he made two expeditions to settle Oshu. Five cherry blossom trees are said to have been planted by Tamuramaro in Okitama: Isazawa Kubo cherry blossom, Shirataka Ko-o Yakushi cherry blossom, and the three Kusaoka Daimyojin cherry blossoms. The Shirataka Miyama and Nagai City Kanjindai cherry blossoms have withered away.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"495\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_1.png 820w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_1-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_1-768x464.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row reverse\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<h3>Otama\u2019s Tragic Love<br \/>\n<br \/> \u201cIsazawa Kubo cherry blossom\u201d<br \/>\n<\/h3>\n<p>When Tamuramaro came to this region, he stayed at the powerful Kubo clan\u2019s house. He was engaged to Otama, the daughter of the powerful Kubo clan, but when his settlement of Oshu was completed, he gathered his army and left for Kyoto. Otama could not withstand her feelings of love, got sick, and passed away. Tamuramaro came back to Tohoku and found out about her passing. It is said with sorrow he took a cherry blossom from Mt. Maya in the Settsu province, and planted it with his own hands on her grave as a grave marker. As for the origin of the tree, there is a theory that the cherry blossom was sent there. There is another theory that a local member of a powerful clan mourning over the death of his wife named Otama and child planted the tree by hand. In each case, a woman named \u201cOtama\u201d makes an appearance, so that is why it is also known as \u201cOtama cherry blossom.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tokusyu8_kubo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"580\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3407\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<h3>A Fantastic and Ephemeral Story <br class=\"sp\">of Love and War<br \/> \u201cYakushi cherry blossom\u201d<br \/>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<p>The story of Yakushi-do and the cherry blossom in Shirataka Ko-o is like a sequel to the legend of the Isazawa cherry blossom. Shrouded in grief from the loss of Otama, Tamuramaro made a flute by a pond\u2019s edge and played it into the night. As if drawn by the timbre of the flute, a woman appeared. She stood in silence as he played the flute, and once finished, Tamuramaro\u2019s damaged heart was healed. The two fell in love.\n<\/p>\n<p>The woman\u2019s house is on the bank of the swamp where she wants to build a nursery and have children. Tamuramaro was told, \u201cI will give birth on the night of a full moon, and in half a month I will come back to you. Make sure no one comes to the nursery,\u201d but he could not wait and headed to the nursery. There he saw a big, white snake coiled up fast asleep with a golden dagger. Tamuramaro, thinking that the snake ate the mother and child, became outraged, but he thought back on the mysterious events that happened after meeting the woman and gloomily left for home. A few days later the woman who visited Tamuramaro claimed she was the master of the swamp, and disappeared after giving birth to a golden sword made from valor.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"580\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3407\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-12\">\n<p>One night, a woman came to him in his sleep and implored him to defeat a family of serpents who will attack her swamp in three days\u2019 time. He heard her wishes and lobbed the leader of the serpents head off with the golden sword, but the village chief feared they were cursed. Tamuramaro pitied the death. He hand-planted one cherry blossom on a mound and built a temple. It is said the offering of the golden sword, and performed ritual are the origins of the tree.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row reverse\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<h3>The Connection to Date Masamune<br \/> \u201cKusaoka Daimyojin cherry blossom\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Regarding the origin, it is only reported that it was planted as a memorial when Tamuramaro conquered Oshu. There is a story that Date Masamune was defeated in the first battle of Ayukai in the 1580s, and survived by hiding himself in a cherry tree that had a hollowed-out hole big enough for one person. Masamune wrote, \u201c\u685c\u5b50\u306e\u3000\u6563\u308a\u6765\u308b\u65b9\u3092\u3000\u983c\u307f\u8349\u3000\u5ca1\u306b\u3066\u53c8\u3082\u3000\u82b1\u3092\u54b2\u304b\u305b\u3093,\u201d and sent it off with Yokoyama Kageyu, a retainer who carried it cordially. Even today, there are cherry blossoms on the site where the descendants live.\n<\/p>\n<p>The Edohigan cherry tree has the longest life-span among cherry trees, because of its hard trunk and resistance to rot. However, some of them can\u2019t bear the weight of the heavy snow and their thick trunks break. Still, their fervent ability to live a long life is noble. We can feel the long-awaited coming of spring through the old trees\u2019 pale buds. Cherry trees bloom no matter the year as long as it is spring, and has a long history intertwined with humans so much so that they are almost legendary. Their existence has become a support for our hearts.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"820\" height=\"560\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_4.jpg 820w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_4-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/tokusyu8_4-768x524.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Okitama region where there are many famous cherry blossom (sakura) spots, there is a giant cherry tree said to be 1,200 years old. It has signaled to the locals of the oncoming of spring since the days of old. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who received the first title of Sei-i Taishogun, makes an appearance &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/en\/special\/2022\/03\/08\/special_008\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Legend of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro and Cherry Blossoms\uff5cNagai\u30fbShirataka&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3402,"template":"","categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3739","special","type-special","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special","en-US"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/special\/3739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/special"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/special"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcadia-kanko.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}