Tsuno Town

Rock drips gather, bound for a mouth 196 km away.

Source of the Shimanto River

Photo by Asset utilitist (CC0)

01 ／ Toratarō Yoshimura's House

The birthplace of Toratarō Yoshimura,a village headman's eldest son, was rebuilt in 2015.

Yoshimura Toratarō was born in 1837 as the eldest son of a village headman (shōya) of Hōbuno Village, and organized the Tenchūgumi. He was one of the "Four Heroes of Tosa." His birthplace was rebuilt in 2015 as the Yoshimura Toratarō House, with displays from his years as a headman in Tsunoyama to his flight from the domain and his part in the Tenchūgumi. Admission is free.

Born on April 18, 1837 (Tenpō 8), eldest son of a village headman of Hōbuno (town website)
The birthplace was rebuilt in 2015 (town website, prefecture)
Free entry; 10:00–16:00; closed Tuesdays and over the New Year (town website)

02 ／ Hayama Hanatori Dance

Meant as a memorial to the Tsuno clan, once lords here,it is danced in headdresses of copper pheasant tail feathers.

A furyū dance offered at the autumn grand festival of Mishima Shrine in Himenono. Eighteen dancers — 2 drummers, 8 with large swords and 8 with small swords — wear headdresses of bird feathers. In January 2024 the national Council for Cultural Affairs selected it as an intangible folk cultural property for which records should be made.

Selected in January 2024 by the national Council for Cultural Affairs as an intangible folk cultural property for which records should be made (prefectural bulletin)
Eighteen dancers: 2 drummers, 8 with large swords, 8 with small swords (prefectural bulletin)
Songs are mostly in a four-line "5-7-7-4" form (prefectural bulletin)

03 ／ Tsunoyama Koshiki Kagura

A kagura said to have been danced since aroundthe enshrining of Mishima Shrine in Engi 13 (913).

A kagura handed down in Tsuno, with a grand program of more than 18 pieces, including "Ama no Iwato" and "Ōban," that takes about 8 hours to dance through. The town website announces offerings on November 15 at Kawachi Gosha Shrine in Kitagawa, on the 16th at Mishima Shrine in Takano and on the 19th at Suwa Shrine in Hōbuno (planned).

More than 18 pieces, including "Ama no Iwato" and "Ōban" (prefecture)
About 8 hours to dance through (town website, prefecture)
The town website announces offerings on Nov. 15, 16 and 19 (planned)

Living here

Forest covers about 90% of the town.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

Formed in February 2005 when Hayama Village and Higashitsuno Village merged, the town covers 197.85 km². Cradled by the Shikoku Mountains, the land is steep and about 90% is forest. The Shinjō River runs through the Hayama area and the Shimanto and Kitagawa rivers through Higashitsuno, with hamlets scattered along them. The town's catchphrase is "A town to meet clear streams, wind and history."

People living here: 5,291people
Area: 197.85km²
Households: 2,206households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 5 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —2 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 8 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Tsuno Town in Japan33.447°N 133.199°E

Territory of Tsuno Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

15.4km

Kochi Prefecture: 檮原町, 中土佐町, 仁淀川町, 須崎市, 佐川町, 越知町, 四万十町
Ehime Prefecture: 久万高原町

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Tsuno Town isthis kind of town.

01The Shimanto River source in Tsuno rises on the eastern slope of Mt. Irazu; walking from the source monument along the signposts, water drops seep from rocks all around, and the town website says that each drop gathers into a great river heading for a river mouth 196 km away.
02In Hōbuno stands the Yoshimura Toratarō House, a reconstruction of the birthplace of a village headman's son; in Himenono the Hayama Hanatori dance carries a meaning of memorial for the Tsuno clan; and Tsunoyama Koshiki Kagura has been offered at places such as Kawachi Gosha Shrine in Kitagawa.
03The bronze statues of Gidō Shūshin and Zekkai Chūshin in Funato, the birthplace of the Kataoka brothers Naoteru and Naoharu in Nagano, the terraces of Kainokawa, the tea fields of Fusegasaka and the Shikoku Karst Tengu Highland are also part of the town.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Tsuno Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗