{"id":84872,"date":"2021-09-22T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=84872"},"modified":"2021-09-15T12:08:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T03:08:52","slug":"cycle-kibiji-monster-slaying-route-momotaro-okayama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/cycle-kibiji-monster-slaying-route-momotaro-okayama\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycle Momotaro’s Monster-Slaying Route in Okayama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Once upon a time, the Okayama<\/a><\/strong> (\u5ca1\u5c71) plain was an inland sea called Kibi no Anaumi, which was surrounded by the powerful province of Kibi. It was a time of belligerent princes, carnivorous cormorants, eye-piercing arrows, shape-shifting ogres\u2026 or was it? At the heart of the action is Kibiji<\/a><\/strong> (\u5409\u5099\u8def), the area between northwestern Okayama and Soja (\u7dcf\u793e), where you can relive the legend of Momotaro and Ura through many sacred, historical, and archaeological sites. Most enticingly, a dedicated bicycle path<\/strong> (\u81ea\u8ee2\u8eca\u9053, jitenshado<\/em>) leads the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The entire route from Okayama station to Soja station is about 25 kilometers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since May 2018, the legend of the peach boy Momotaro<\/a><\/strong> (\u6843\u592a\u90ce) in Okayama is officially part of Japanese heritage folklore<\/a>. You might know the folk tale, but the true story is still a mystery to most of us. Some say the boy was born out of a peach, but the more plausible tale is that Momotaro was originally Prince Isaserihiko of the powerful Yamato clan, who lived during the Yayoi period (c. 300 BC-AD 300)\u200b of the prehistoric Iron Age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover the Legend of Momotaro and Ura<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the story goes, young Isaserihiko was a highly skilled archer. So in order to win a wager with the bandits who had abducted his sister, he simultaneously shot two arrows that pierced two separate peaches hanging from a tree. Grateful for the protective power of these sweet round fruits, he took the pits back home, planted one, and nourished it into a tree, while he kept the other as a good luck charm. From then on, he became known as Momotaro, with a special affection for Kibi province, where peaches were abundantly cultivated and cherished<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tale takes a bloody and surreal turn when Momotaro vows to defeat and destroy Ura<\/strong> (\u6e29\u7f85), the leader of ogres rumored to kidnap women and children, boil them alive in an iron pot, and eat them in the mountains above Kibi. Momotaro sets off with a dog, a pheasant, and a monkey (as seen in the statue outside Okayama train station, among many other images), and sets up camp on the Kibi plain. During a fierce battle, Momotaro\u2019s and Ura\u2019s arrows collide, until Momotaro finally shoots an arrow that pierces Ura\u2019s left eye. The ogre attempts to flee into the sky in the shape of a red pheasant, but Momotaro just as soon transforms into a hawk to pursue him. Then Ura morphs into a carp and dives into the river, only to be chased and chewed to death by Momotaro in the shape of a cormorant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story doesn\u2019t end there and only gets bloodier.<\/strong> But I\u2019ll spare you the gory details for now, because you can discover the rest of the tale for yourself\u2014along with a few historical parallels at certain bloody pulse points\u2014as you cycle across Kibiji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link the Legend to the Landscape of Kibiji<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I set out on my bike from central Okayama in the afternoon, so after following the cycling route on narrow paths weaving through local neighborhoods and across farmlands, occasionally pausing along the way, I ended up racing the setting sun westward toward Soja station. It was enough for me to keep the Momotaro legend in mind, imagining myself shapeshifting into various dynamic forms as I cycled across Kibiji\u2019s contemporary topography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hakusan Shrine\u2019s stone guardian lion dogs strike a rare welcoming pose.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The first destination on my Momotaro journey was Hakusan Shrine<\/a><\/strong> (\u767d\u5c71\u795e\u793e) in Okayama city\u2019s northern Kobe (\u9996\u90e8) district. The tiny sanctuary is tucked away at the top of steep stairs in a residential neighborhood. What\u2019s particularly striking are the two komainu<\/em> (\u72db\u72ac) lion dogs guarding the entrance\u2014as if bowing, with tails in the air! Perhaps it\u2019s no coincidence that \u9996\u90e8 is the ancient radical for \u201chead\u201d, because here also lies a burial mound for severed heads\u2026 After Ura\u2019s body washed up on shore, this is where Momotaro took his monstrous head and left it exposed on a stake<\/strong>, where it groaned and wailed every night for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honor Divine Origins at Kibitsuhiko Shrine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From there it was a short but interesting ride through hillside alleyways to Bizen-Ichinomiya<\/strong> (\u5099\u524d\u4e00\u5bae) station, so-named after the first shrine in the former Bizen territory of Kibi, right around the corner: Kibitsuhiko Shrine<\/a><\/strong> (\u5409\u5099\u6d25\u5f66\u795e\u793e).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By this time in the tale, Momotaro is a well-respected Yamato prince and warrior. As the \u201cdivine\u201d protector\/conqueror of Kibi province, he becomes known as Kibitsuhiko<\/strong> (\u5409\u5099\u6d25\u5f66). Kibitsuhiko Shrine was built among the remnants of his residence, and is one of the two founding sanctuaries of Kibi. The chant to honor the deity (\u795e, kami<\/em>) of Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto<\/strong> is homophonous with the five mutually influencing elements of creation: Ki (\u6728, wood) Bi (\u706b, fire) Tsu (\u571f, earth) Ka (\u91d1, gold) Mi (\u6c34, water).<\/p>\n\n\n\n