Side Notes on the Road | Heroic Saga: Hiruko Strange Tales | Kazemakase Literature Club "Translucent Sea"

◇ The Birth of a Hero

—A hero is, at their origin, an existence that has been cast aside.

I head toward Mt. Nishitakamori (Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture), which looks up at the Kasugai Three Mountains, and the Chikusuike Pond that spreads out at its base. Apparently, in the world of the gods, even the order in which you call out to them has deep significance. Today, I will invite the 'Mountain God' to join me in peering into the abyss of the mythological world.

It begins with a trembling water surface.
When god meets god, the life born first was not even given a name.
Hiruko is a heresy in Japanese mythology. An existence that was never recognized, abandoned from birth. It is said this was either because it was deformed, or because it was a 'Child of the Sun' (Hiruko) equal to the sun goddess Amaterasu (Hirume).

A hero's immense power seems to break the balance of the world. If the world does not have a vessel capable of accepting it, the hero's light is too blinding. Therefore, in the creation of heaven and earth, heroes are often abandoned. Momotaro, Jungle Emperor, Princess Mononoke, and even Dinosaur.

◇ A Temporary Vessel

—A hero is an existence tossed about in a reed boat on a translucent sea.

On the shore of Chikusuike Pond, which is filled with vast water. In the small remaining spring-fed wetland, I gaze at flowers that can only be found here and only bloom at this time of year. Never rushing, just quietly. When you do this, things you usually don't notice emerge from the landscape. It was a very meaningful way to spend time.

The gravel layer that thinly covers the surface of the mountain area slides down the ground triggered by heavy rain and the like. At the foot of the mountain, spring-fed wetlands unique to the region are born sporadically. Water constantly seeps from the earth, moistening the wetlands and flowing downstream. Such wetlands nurture a fragile ecosystem like a boat swaying between the vast seas. However, the lifespan of a wetland is short. If the water vein changes, it dries up and disappears in an instant. The lives in the wetland transfer to a temporary vessel and continue their lifeblood. It is like the figure of the young Hiruko, riding in an unreliable reed boat and being tossed about by the waves of a translucent sea.

The wetland ecosystem, where death and rebirth are repeated dizzyingly, was a place where reincarnation was easily visualized. The Kasugai Three Mountains harbor these symbolic places in their mountain bodies. With graceful tails trailing on both sides, if you worship in the morning, the morning sun rises from behind the mountain body, and if you pray in the evening, the sunset dyes the mountain red. Its appearance is truly that of a Kannabi (sacred) mountain.

Iwafune Shrine stands on a granite rock mass at the end of the flow where the water of the Kannabi mountain gathers. The deity enshrined is the heretical god, Hiruko (Ebisu-no-mikoto). Within the shrine grounds, Hiruko's reed boat—a granite rock boat—is prepared, and the shrine is a place to welcome back the abandoned god. Furthermore, granite is produced only in the vicinity of the shrine. The granite rock peak protruding from the chaos of the gravel layer is the order pulled up from the primordial sea by the Amenonuhoko (Heavenly Jeweled Spear) (*1).

The stage set is now complete. I adopt the theory that Hiruko is the 'Child of the Sun.' If this were not a remote worship facility for the 'Child of the Sun,' what else could it be? Iwafune Shrine is a place for the remote worship of the Kasugai Three Mountains, which are Kannabi mountains.

◇ The Hero's Triumphant Return

—Whether a hero is a hero depends on us.

I step on the summit of Mt. Nishitakamori and look down at the Chukyo metropolitan area. Today's snack is, of course—green beans (did you expect something else?). A quiet and calm time. No words are needed, only the sound of crushing beans echoes. Looking at the highly prosperous modern society in the distance, I think vaguely. This peaceful moment is also the result of having secretly buried something silent.

The hero grows up and returns in triumph, breaking the order of the world with a powerful light. The god Hiruko returned riding a rock boat. It was the dawn of a new order called technologism against the animism of the mythological world.

What he brought was the intense light of science and technology. The light brought from across the sea illuminated human society brilliantly. Technology to build embankments to prevent floods, technology to create reservoirs so as not to rely on spring water. Erosion control technology to prevent landslides. These are certainly the foundations that protect the stability and safety of modern society. However, behind that light, there were things that disappeared like shadows. Wetlands whose water veins were cut off withered, and when the water was lost, the harmony of life was quietly severed.

Science and technology, spoken of in a human-centric context, sometimes become a stone-fire arrow that denies animism and silences the words of the gods. That one-hit-kill arrow is a double-edged sword that burns up all things in the universe. Does modern society really have a vessel capable of accepting a new hero?

The story of Momotaro has two sides. From the perspective of human society, he is undoubtedly a hero. However, from the perspective of the world of the ogres, he is an invader and a destroyer. Those who do not have the linguistic system of human society disappear without speaking and without being left behind. When I learned that, I was too scared to sleep.

Dinosaur stories contain the danger of an ideology without thought. A utopia of herbivorous dinosaurs built by eliminating carnivores. It is nothing more than a prologue to a catastrophe. When I saw that, I applauded the irony embedded in a film for children.

Light is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse. Was the god Hiruko a rough spirit (aramitama) or a gentle spirit (nigimitama)? It is not for the gods to decide, but for us ourselves. We now bear the responsibility for that choice. And once again, a reed boat begins to drift quietly, unnoticed. "Don't mind" (^_^)v is not enough to cover it.

◇ The world calls that 'the wife'

──A walking path is a stage for the creation of the nation, and myth is something that returns to daily life.

Thinking of it that way, a mountain path walked slowly by two people begins to look like a stage for the creation of the nation. Yes, communication with the "mountain god" is an eternal proposition that has continued since the age of myth. Even the order in which you speak has meaning, both to the gods and to one's wife. Such a life of ours is already in the midst of myth.──Right?

"Ah, you mean the green beans from Kasugai (*2)!"

"Mountain god" smiled archaically like that.
Generally, it seems that such an elusive existence is called the wife.──Don't mind (^_^)v

(Notes)
*1 However, geologically it is the reverse, with a sand and gravel layer resting on top of granite.
*2 Originally, there is no relationship with Kasugai City (though it seems there is a factory in the city now).

(Mountain climbing record: June 21, 2025)

• Mountain name: Chikusuike Pond to Mt. Nishitakamori (Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture)

• Format: 2 people including wife, round trip

• Course: Starting from Kasugai City Urban Greening Botanical Garden, about 3 hours

• Weather: Sunny

• Water: Brought 1.0L -> Consumed 1.0L

• Action food: Green beans (Kasugai Seika), Nagoyan

• Vegetation: Deciduous broad-leaved secondary forest to spring-fed wetland

(First published June 21, 2025. Revised July 14, 2026)

#Couple'sJourney #MountainWalking #Awai #LivingWithNature #Myth #WetlandEcosystem #Hiruko #MountainGod #DontMind #FieldNotes #WakasasuVerse #KazemakaseLiteraryClub #TranslucentSea

▼ Click here for more detailed field notes.