Points of interest in the Gozanoishi Area
Miraculous Fountain of Katagashira: In search for eternal beauty, Tatsuko offered Kwannon Bosatsu (Guanyin Bodhisattva) of Okura at Innnai prayers for 100 nights. On the last night, she received a divine order to drink water from this fountain. The divine water changed her into a beautiful divine dragon.
Bridge of Wishes: It is said that one’s wish comes true by mentally reciting it while crossing this bridge.
Stone of Sacred Seat (Gozanoishi): Once in the Keian period (1647–1651), the lord of Kubota (Akita) Domain, Satake Yoshitaka, set a camp stool here and enjoyed the landscape of Lake Tazawa. The rock he sat on is now called the “Stone of Sacred Seat (Gozanoishi).” There was also once a fountain here called “longevity water,” but this has long since dried up.
Tatsuko’s Mirror Stone: Located 300 meters up the hill behind Gozanoishi Shrine is a mirror stone that according to legend, Princess Tatsuko used to apply her makeup. A flat-surfaced hexagonal stone of about 75 cm is fit into a large rock to make it look like a mirror.
Wish-Fulfilling Rock: It is believed that one’s wish will be fulfilled by offering a prayer to the Wish-Fulfilling Rock on the Bridge of Wishes on the way back from the Mirror Stone.
Gozanoishi (Stone of Sacred Seat) Shrine: In commemoration of Satake Yoshitaka’s inspection of the area three centuries earlier, the Haruyama no Sannojo family on the shore of Lake Tazawa (the present-day Onigawa Sannojo family) set up the shrine at the present location on October 17, 1911 after merging the Ebisudo Shrine of the Ubusunagami God of Tagonoki Village, Saki Myojin Shrine of the Ubugami God of Osawa Village, and other shrines in the area. According to records, this was third time the shrine had been relocated. Before the relocation, it was visited by Satake Yoshimasa (1775–1815).
Rain Stone: Behind the fence around the Seven-Color Tree (see below) is a stone about 1 meter high. Its front has a cavity about 50 cm high, 25 cm wide, and 15 cm deep. The legend says that we can get rain by moving the stone, which is why it is called the “Rain Stone.”
(Another) Statue of Tatsuko: This bronze statue located on the premises of the Gozanoishi Shrine, was donated in 1981 by Mr. Masahiro Shimbo of Shinchosha Publishing Company. Different from the famous Statue of Tatsuko, this one has a snake-shaped lower body and its sad face suggests her regret for pursuing eternal beauty. The statue is an artwork by Sculptor Mr. Eisaku Tanaka.
Haiku Monument of Ishii Rogetsu: At this monument, a haiku composed by Ishii Rogetsu (doctor and haiku poet, 1873–1928, from Tomegawa Village in Kawabe County, which is now Memeki District in Yuwa Town) in the fall of 1909 is inscribed:
Aki-to-ieba nami-uchikoshinu Gozanoishi (When we speak of fall, we think of Gozanoishi whose shore is washed by the waves of Lake Tazawa).
This haiku monument was built to commemorate the opening of the circular toll road around Lake Tazawa in 1968.
Seven-Color Tree of Gozanoishi: A hybrid tree standing 10 meters to the left of the lake from the red gate (torii) of Gozanoishi Shrine is called the “Seven-Color Tree.” It is a hybrid of pine, cedar, cherry, Japanese pagoda (styphnolobium japonicum), hazel, Japanese Snowbell (styrax japonicus), and pear trees.