Sam and I have been struck by the number of signs we encounter on the road that tell us about local history or local legends. This is a series of posts that translate these signs for readers of this blog so you can share with us the sense of the legendary landscape we are passing through.

The Story of Hanaga Pass

“Until the early Showa period (1926-1989), this mountain pass road was the only route that linked Uwa to Mima and Uwajima and, as such, was alive with the movement of many people. Here, as well, there is a legend of a giant.

Probably a man of legend, the eastern warrior Ashikaga Matataro Tadatsuna, was a man of unmatched courage. He was of the Minamoto clan, but for reasons of his own he sided with the Taira and gained an honorable reputation as a man of courage. After the Genpei War (1180-1185) he was pursued by the Minamoto, fled to the west and settled in this place.

He had the strength of one hundred men and his voice could carry 10 ri (40 kilometers) in all four directions. His teeth were over 1 sun (3 centimeters) long. He was known as Long Tooth Matataro (Hanaga Matataro) and the hermitage he built as well as the pass carry his name.

(Today his grave can be found at Shichouji [Long Tooth Temple] in Igakami in Uwa Town, as Hanaga Matataro. He is known as the god of tooth pain.)

As the entry to Uwa, this pass has long had strategic importance and it was the stage for many battles between the forces of Uwa and those of Tosa. It is said that after many clashes it fell to the control of the Chosokabe clan (rulers of Tosa).”