Ashinashi River

There is a brook that runs through Imaichi District to the west of Hachiya Elementary School and Myojin Beach. This brook has a colorful history.

Once it was called the Baba River. In 1866 the outnumbered Kokura Clan set their castle on fire and retreated to Kawara where they were attacked and captured by Choshu troops. This lead to much unrest in the Buzen area. Many riots broke out. The ringleader of these riots was Seibei. Soon these riots were suppressed and Seibei was sentenced to death by decapitation.

The villagers rallied to support Seibei and begged a local priest, Tonan of Hofukuji Temple to help him. After much discussion it was decided that Seibei would be spared if he could cross the three meter wide Baba River. Unfortunately the riots had exhausted Seibei's energy and he couldn't manage this easy task.

After his death the villagers renamed the river Ashinae-Gawa (Foot Withered River), over time the local accent changed its pronunciation to Ashinashi-Gawa (Footless River).

Sad Story of Daidenji Slope

There is a steep slope going through Hiroyama to Chizuka which is called Joukan.
Once upon a time there was a farmer who lived with his mother in Shiroumaru.
When the farmer was old enough he married a woman from Omura village.
The couple were hard workers on the farm. Soon they had a cute baby boy but the grandmother became jealous and was very strict on the bride.
Everyday grandmother ordered her to work in the field though she hadn't fully recovered from childbirth. It was the busiest time to sow barley and there as a chilly rain yet the bride still worked on and on.
She became worried about her son and so she couldn't concentrate on her work and she made little progress. Before she realized it, the sun had gone down.
She fell down in the field, "Shall I continue to work" she pondered, "or return home".
With that she had breathed her last breath. From that day on a chilly rainy night it is said that woman's sad voice can be heard around that Daidenji Slope.

Red Goblin Mask of Usobuki Hachimangu And Burnt Fudo of Nehou-Temple

Over 400 years ago an army lead by Christian cultist Otomo, attacked the Buzen army. Otomo was responsible for the destruction of many local temples and shrines. In Yamauchi district Usobuki Hachimangu Shinto priests protected a goblin mask, the shrines most valued treasure, by hanging it in a high sacred tree.
When Otomo and his army approached the tree the mask blew a crimson flame towards the men. Astonished by this sight, the army abandoned their plan to burn down the shrine.
The mask itself is said to be undamaged and hidden in the shrine today.

On the other hand Nehou-temple was burnt down by the Otomo army and Fudo-Myo-O of principal image was charred too.
There was a small shrine surrounded by a grove of cedars. One camphor tree, said to be spiritual, had an image of Fudo-Myo-O sculpted into it. This statue was charred by fire around the year 1580. One day Fudo-Myo-O appeared in a local priest's dream.
He told the priest not to display the charred image of himself in public and that if the priest fulfilled his request he would promise that there would be no more fires in the village.
The priest consulted with local parishioners and built the Fudo-Do shrine and removed the image of Fudo-Myo-O from public display. even today, 400 years later, this image remains hidden. And true his word, there have been no fires in the area since then.

Wart Jizo

Two bodies etched on one stone in Kurotsuchi.
It is said that this stone cures warts instantly. It seems to be particularly well known to people from the Tokyo area.
In the Samurai era a feudal lord of Kokura got a big wart on his face. He ordered the vassal to bring back some moss of this stone.
His attendant visited the site of the famed stone but forgot to take some moss.
When he returned to Kokura he thought he might be beheaded for his forgetfulness.
But the lord was pleased to welcome his attendant back. His pain had vanished and his wart had disappeared.
It is said that a person who didn't believe this superstition grew a wart on his nose. He was in intense pain and had to be taken to a hospital.
His pain got more and more unbearable everyday. His face looked like he had two noses.
At last he visited the wart Jizo although he still doubted the superstition.
His nose was completely cured.
It is said that once the Jizo had been one body and a big fire divided it into two bodies.
The two bodies of the one stone are very peculiar. It is well known around the Buzen area along with the effects of warts.
Now it contained block house
Next to the Jizo there is a mortar stone. Standing Water in this stone is said to cure horse's wart.
Nobody sits on the stone. Children believe that if a person were to sit on the stone they wouldn't be able to move.
A small Jizo at the crossroads of Kurotsuchi attracts visitors all year round.
There are similar stories at Okazaki in Kanda town and at Kunisaku in Toyotsu town.
Wart is hard to cure disease in modern medicine. Mortar stone filled with water

Hinoura

Once there were two lanterns, one at Tobu in Iwaya and another faraway at Koyasan (near Osaka). Usually both lanterns burned all day long to keep Kubote's fort when the ascetic of Mt.Kubote was flourished. But if one was accidentally extinguished the other lantern was used to relight it.
One year when the Koyasan lantern was extinguished a group of people were sent to Iwaya with a torch. The torch was to be lighted by the lantern at Iwaya and the flame used to relight the Koyasan lantern. Unfortunately the Iwaya lantern has also been extinguished and a group had been sent out with their own torch to Koyasan. At some people along the way both groups meet each other.
They were all very saddened to learn that both lanterns has been extinguished at the same time and so neither could be relighted.
Quite unexpectedly a light fell from the sky and relighted both groups torches.
>From then on the place where the groups had meet has been called Hinoura or "Inlet of Fire".