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Mt. Kurotaki (260m) |
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Tadanoumi Town, Takehara City | |
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黒滝山 | |
| Map | Mt. Kurotaki with Tadanoumi Town and the Seto Inland Sea in the background |
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Mt. Kurotaki is situated in Tadanoumi Town, Takehara City. In ancient times, Tadanoumi
was called " Nomi no ura" which means a small bay named Nomi. At the end
of the Heian period (794～1185), when Taira no Tadamori, a great warlord, cracked down
on pirates in the Inland Sea area, part of his name was prefixed to "nomi", and became "Tadanomi
no ura" , paying honor to him, and later it was shortened to Tadanoumi. In 1632 in
the Edo Era, the Hiroshima Clan set up the Miyoshi Clan as a branch which governed the Miyoshi
district, an inland area of what is now the northern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. Tadanoumi
became a detached territory of the Miyoshi Clan, and it played an important role as
a port of shipping rice. A large amount of rice collected from farmers as land tax was
shipped to Osaka which was one of the biggest rice markets in the nation at the time, because
their finances were based on rice. Mt. Kurotaki, a symbol of the town, is an easy one-hour ascent from Tadanoumi Station. At the top of the mountain, there is a temple sacred to Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, which is said to have been established in 730 by the Buddhist saint, Gyoki. The eleven-faced image of Kannon is a masterpiece created during the Kamakura period (1185～1333). A panoramic view from the mountaintop cliffs is breathtaking, overlooking studded islands including Okunojima Island, which is entirely a national vacation village, just below the mountain to the faraway Ishizuchi mountain range in Shikoku. There are also 33 stone Buddhist images scattered on the mountainside, and these were dedicated by local people 150 years ago. Many people pay a visit to these places as a miniature pilgrimage of western Japan. Getting there: Take a train on the east bound Sanyo Line to Mihara and change to the Kure Line there, and get off at Tadanoumi Station. From the station, walk east for 5 minutes, and turn left to the mountain at a gas station. Suggested schedule: Hiroshima Sta.(8:12)===(Sanyo Line)===Mihara Sta.(9:26-9:42)=== ===(Kure Line)===Tadanoumi Sta.(10:04)---Mt. Kurotaki(11:30-13:30)--- ---Tadanoumi Sta.(15:17)===(Kure Line)===Hiro Sta.(16:21-16:24)=== ===Hiroshima Sta.(17:20) *Train timetables may be subject to change. Note: To be safe, especially in winter, keep in mind not to go into the mountains alone, and be sure to go with a well-experienced hiker. |
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