Article

20306 ／みなみあいきむら

Nagano Prefecture 南佐久郡

Minamiaiki Village

A lord opened a temple for his father.

Jogen-ji, the Aiki clan's temple

Photo by 珈琲牛乳 (CC BY 3.0)

01 ／ Offerings to the mountain deity

In an old mountain shrine, metal objectssuch as nagikama, sword and bow forms are enshrined.

The Minamiaiki Village offerings to the mountain deity are a Nagano Prefecture Tangible Folk Cultural Property. The Hachijuni Cultural Foundation counts 942 items and explains that metal objects such as nagikama, sword forms and bow forms are enshrined in an old shrine on a mountain. Of these, the nagikama are regarded as ritual implements linked to Suwa Shrine worship.

942 items (Hachijuni Cultural Foundation count)
Prefectural Tangible Folk Cultural Property
Nagikama, sword and bow forms

02 ／ Former village office

On the stage's rotation axis, an inscriptionreading Tenpo 3 was found.

During restoration work, an inscription reading Tenpo 3, the year of the dragon, was found on the rotation axis of the revolving stage in the ceiling space, showing that the former village office was built in Tenpo 3 (1832). It later became a school, and from 1913 to 1993 it was the village office. Today it is a folk museum where the revolving stage and other items are displayed.

Tenpo 3 (1832)
Village office, 1913 to 1993
Village-designated Tangible Cultural Property

03 ／ Tateiwa Falls

Below Tateiwa, said to have been stacked by an oniin three trips, lie Tateiwa Falls.

Tateiwa is a rock 60 m high and 10 m wide, which the village calls a symbolic strange rock. Susanoo no Mikoto is enshrined at its top, and lines divide it as if into three equal parts, so it is also said that long ago an oni carried and piled it up in three trips. Tateiwa Falls lie below the rock.

60 m high, 10 m wide
Lines as if in three equal parts
Susanoo no Mikoto at the top

Minamiaiki Village from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot November 2022)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

No station in the village; 20 minutes by village bus from Koumi Station.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the village. From Koumi Station on the JR Koumi Line, a village bus reaches Nakajima in 20 minutes on the services that run every day. The village covers 66.05 km², about 80 percent of it mountain forest and field, with 10 hamlets scattered along the Minamiaiki River.

People living here: 962people
Area: 66.05km²
Households: 406households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Minamiaiki Village in Japan36.036°N 138.547°E

to KoumiLocal bus20min

Travel times follow 南相木村公式『村営バス』ページ（https://www.minamiaiki.jp/bus.htm）の令和8年度（R8.4.1改正）村営バス時刻表（画像）。①中島⇄小海の黒字（毎日運転）の便：中島発6:55→小海駅着7:15、8:25→8:45、10:50→11:10、14:30→14:50、16:10→16:30＝いずれも20分。小海駅発7:30→中島着7:50、9:40→10:00、11:50→12:10、15:20→15:40、16:40→17:00＝いずれも20分。往復とも20分。 (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Minamiaiki Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

8.1km

Nagano Prefecture: Kawakami Village, Kitaaiki Village, Minamimaki Village, Koumi Town
Gunma Prefecture: Ueno Village

Minamiaiki Village isthis kind of town.

01Jogen-ji, a Soto Zen temple that the lord of Aiki Castle opened in 1550 for the memorial rites of his father, is the family temple of the Aiki clan, from which the village takes its name
02The offerings to the mountain deity, including nagikama enshrined in an old shrine on a mountain, are a Nagano Prefecture Tangible Folk Cultural Property, which the Hachijuni Cultural Foundation counts as 942 items
03The former village office, built in Tenpo 3 (1832), is now a folk museum displaying its revolving stage, and the 60 m Tateiwa rock, said to have been stacked by an oni in three trips, stands in the village

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Minamiaiki Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes