[Totsukawa Village] (Totsukawa Village, Nara Prefecture, former province name: Yamato)

＜The deepest part of Japan, where the will of loyalty to the emperor was steadfast; its spiritual power and unique climate create a feeling of another world＞ The place name "Totsukawa" appears almost always at a time when Japanese history is about to undergo great change, and when the storm settles down, it has a strange breathing that sleeps quietly for hundreds of years. This mountain village, located in the southernmost part of Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture), is the largest village in modern Japan, and its size exceeds the entire 23 wards of Tokyo. The Omine Okugake Trail, which runs from Yoshino to Kumano, runs through this area, and it is filled with the spiritual power of nature and the depths of faith, so to speak, it is filled with the feeling of "the deepest part of Japan." The Jinshin War of 672 was the trigger for Totsukawa's appearance in history. When Prince Oama (later Emperor Tenmu), hiding in the mountains of Yoshino, raised an army, the warriors of Totsukawa gathered along the mountain paths and are said to have contributed greatly to his victory. Perhaps because of this history, the people of Totsukawa have had a strong desire to serve the emperor for generations, and the Imperial Court, taking into consideration their achievements and the steep terrain with steep mountains and valleys, recognized the area as a special area with tax exemption. Totsukawa was formally under the control of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, but in reality, the local people were able to govern themselves. This unique climate, which also resembled a kind of independent country, attracted the attention of forces that tried to resist the "mainstream" of each era, and especially during the Kaiten period of the Meiji Restoration, loyalists who advocated loyalty to the emperor traveled deep mountain paths to visit this village. In the history of Totsukawa, the "Tenchugumi Incident" that broke out in 1863 was probably the most significant turning point in Japanese history. This incident, in which a group of ronin who aspired to revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians, and overthrow the shogunate occupied Gojo, a Tenryo (imperial territory) in Yamato Province, and openly rebelled against the shogunate, was later celebrated as the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. One of the reasons they deliberately invaded deep into Yamato Province was the existence of Totsukawa, which firmly upheld the tradition of loyalty to the Emperor. As soon as Tenchugumi occupied Gojo, they dispatched people to Totsukawa first, and asserted the legitimacy of their uprising, which was in obedience to the imperial order. They gained the support of the Totsukawa villagers, who are said to number 1,000. The villagers believed the words of Tenchugumi and joined the siege of Takatori Castle, but when they found out that the Tenchugumi themselves were designated as rebels in a political upheaval, their morale dropped and they left. This made Tenchugumi's defeat decisive. However, even after this, the people of Totsukawa were recognized as a rare existence that stuck to the cause of the Emperor amid the intertwining of many ideologies that sometimes contained contradictions, and appeared in history with the sharpness of a flying arrow. (As an example of how this characteristic was used, when the assassin tried to assassinate Sakamoto Ryoma, he falsely claimed to be a Totsukawa samurai to lull Ryoma into a false sense of security. You can learn more about this unique Totsukawa culture at the Totsukawa Village History and Folklore Museum (photos 3-6).) On the other hand, Tamaki Shrine (photos 1, 7-10) is a major foundation for cultivating this cultural and spiritual culture of Totsukawa. The shrine is located in a sacred area where the Omine Okugake Trail approaches Kii Province (present-day Wakayama Prefecture), and has continued to serve as the guardian deity of Totsukawa since ancient times. According to legend, the shrine was built by order of Emperor Sujin on Mount Tamaki, which was the route of Emperor Jimmu's eastern expedition. In reality, however, it is believed to have been a sacred place that was born spontaneously, as people found a god in the mountain itself, which is covered with giant trees and boulders. If you visit the site, you will see a cross-section of the strata on the approach to the shrine, which gives a real sense of the earth's pulsation, and the small torii gate and shrine in front of it allow you to think about the feelings of people who found mysticism in nature. The main hall, built at the end of the 18th century, is an imposing structure made of keyaki wood that firmly grasps the rock surface, and along with the torii gate and stone steps in front of it, it is tinged with a faint silver or blue color. Its unique appearance is the reason why this place has been attracting attention in recent years as a power spot, and it is also a material that fosters an exquisite aesthetic sense that blends in with the surrounding forest with its deep shades. If you go into the forest, you will find a row of giant cedar trees that reach up to 50 meters in height, some of which are estimated to be 3,000 years old. Their trunks are intricately intertwined, towering into the darkening sky, a form that far surpasses human understanding. When you think of the mystery and time that resides there, it is not difficult to describe the climate of Totsukawa and the mood of the people who lived there as a "other world." Recommended for solo travelers: ★★★★ (There are people, but not many. You can enjoy sightseeing in peace!) Visit date: Saturday, the first week of October, around 4pm Access: About 80 minutes by car from Gojo IC (to the center of Totsukawa village) #Totsukawa #Totsukawa village #Tamaki Shrine #Nara #Nara prefecture #Nara trip #Nara sightseeing #I'm a Nara fan #Delicious and beautiful Nara #Back to Nara now #Nara is good #Domestic travel lover #Temples and shrines #Visiting temples and shrines #Visiting shrines #Shrine lover #Tenchugumi #Late Edo period #Late Edo period heroes #Lover of the late Edo period #Meiji Restoration #Omine Okugake Trail #World Heritage Site #Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range #Sacred tree #Power spot shrine #Unexplored areas of Japan