Banryukyo and a stroll around the area

Banryukyo

Drive across the Daiwa Ohashi Bridge from Japan National Route 375, turn right, and then follow the large forest road for a while to enter the Hinomiya (Hijiki, Muranogo, Miyauchi) area.

Banryukyo is a typical scenic spot in the Hinomiya area.

There is a suspension bridge and a gentle promenade, so you can enjoy a leisurely stroll while enjoying the beautiful view of the falling waterfall and the weaving of rocks and trees.

In about 10 minutes, you can go down to the bottom and look up at the waterfall.

Please wear sneakers that are easy to walk in when you walk.
Also, avoid exposing your skin, and be careful of snakes.

 

The Sad Banryukyo Folklore

Around 1350, there was a feudal lord called Nagachika Ogasawara in this Muranogo. One of his vassals was a samurai named Gendayu Munetoshi. At a young age, Nagachika had the talent of Taiki (great tool), and was given important posts as a strategist.

In the battle against the Ashikaga forces, Nagachika gave a concubine to Munetoshi, who had made the greatest achievements, and Munetoshi made the woman his legal wife.

A few years later, however, his wife was infected with a plague, and her face became so ugly that she could not be borne. At that time, there was a beautiful woman among Munetoshi's messengers. Munetoshi was moved by the beautiful maid, and gradually began to dislike his lawful wife. The lawful wife lamented this, and the sorrow gradually turned into a grudge, and she saw the opportunity to make the maid dead.

One day, the lawful wife invited Munetoshi and maid, and went to Banryukyo for a walk. The three decided to take a rest on the rock of the "Myokyodai." As the maid was pulling out the handheld mirror from her bosom and scraping up the frayed hair, the wife pushed the maid from behind.

The maid sensed the unbearable presence of the wife in the mirror, and at the moment she fell, she grabbed the sleeve of the wife's kimono, so the two were swallowed up by the basin under a waterfall. When Munetoshi, who was surprised, rushed to the scene, he saw the two women turning into dragons, screaming, and falling in a tangle. After the two disappeared, only the two missing hairs remained on the branches of the pine tree.

Munetoshi grieved over this. After returning to a place called Hikita, Munetoshi could not bear the depth of his crime and finally killed himself.

Since Munetoshi's grave is located in this Hikida and there are many iris flowers in the area, it is called' Ayame-zuka' (iris mound) and beautiful flowers bloom in early summer. It is strange that Munetoshi's grave leans toward Banryukyo no matter how much people try to rebuild it.

(From the signboard created by the Hinomiya Community Association in May 2008)

 

  

 

 

In mid-August, the Summer Festival in Banryukyo will be held, and the park will be lively.

 

 

 

 

Grass cutting art

On the east side (Gonokawa Riverside) of the Hinomiya Cultural Exchange Center (562-3 Miyauchi, Misato-cho, Ochi-gun, Shimane Prefecture), you can see beautiful grass-cutting art made by local people.

Scene after rice planting

Landscape before harvesting rice

Please see the PDF (Japanese), and check the way to Banryukyo since Prefectural Road No. 55 in the map below is narrow.

(Cross the Daiwa Ohashi Bridge and go to the right.)

「蟠龍峡までの行き方PDF」をダウンロードする（PDF：620kB）