For some reason, do they have a lot of unusual names? Station names on the Ou Main Line [Fukushima, Yamagata, Akita]

The Ou Main Line is a JR East line that runs
Fukushima Station Aomori Station , passing through stations such as Yamagata Station and Akita Station one of the main lines that runs north-south through the Tohoku region, and in the past, express trains operated on it, covering the entire route.
are used by trains such as
the Yamagata Shinkansen " Tsubasa ," the Akita Shinkansen ," and the limited express "Tsugaru." stations with unusual names stand out on the Ou Main Line , so this time we'll introduce some of these unusually named stations.

The Ou Main Line is a major trunk line in the Tohoku region

The Ou Main Line is a JR East line stretching 484.5 km from
Fukushima Station in Fukushima Prefecture, passing through Yamagata Station in Yamagata Prefecture, Akita Station in Akita Prefecture, and on to Aomori Station in Aomori Prefecture While the Tohoku Main Line may come to mind when thinking of main lines in the Tohoku region, the Ou Main Line is unique in that it is a main line that is completely within the Tohoku region. The
it passes through the prefectural capitals of four of the six Tohoku prefectures seems to indicate its importance within the region.
In addition to the prefectural capitals, it also passes through cities such as Yonezawa, Shinjo, Yuzawa, Yokote, Omagari, Noshiro, Odate, and Hirosaki.

In the past, express and limited express trains ran the entire length of the Ou Main Line.
Even now, the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" runs from Fukushima Station to Shinjo Station via Yamagata Station, and the Akita Shinkansen "Komachi" runs from Omagari Station to Akita Station.
Many people have ridden the Ou Main Line, even if they don't know of its existence or name.

Now, let's introduce some unusually named stations on the Ou Main Line

Toge Station (Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture)

Toge Station , located in Ozawa Toge, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture .
It's a mountain pass. In Japan, where about 75% of the country's land area is mountainous, it's a "mountain pass." The name doesn't convey anything other than the fact that the station is located in the mountains.

refers to
Itaya Pass, which straddles Fukushima Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture Toge Station is 626 meters above sea level, the highest point on the Ou Main Line, and from this station onwards the tracks go downhill in both the direction of Fukushima and the direction of Aomori.
As the name of the station suggests, crossing Toge Station means "crossing a pass."

Crossing Itaya Pass by train was difficult with the old technology, and it was known as one of the most difficult places to cross. However, the Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" now climbs up the pass with ease. However, the "Tsubasa" does not stop at Toge Station, but passes through it.
, you will need to use a local train, also known as the Yamagata Line .

Toge Station is located in the mountains, so it is difficult to reach by any means other than by train, and is known as a remote station.
There are no station staff, but the station does have a food stall selling something rare these days.
Toge no Chikara Mochi sold at the stall is a specialty of Toge Station.
*Please check the latest information when visiting the station.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

Stations are still on sale now | What is Yonezawa City's hidden specialty, "Toge no Rikimochi"? [Yamagata Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/6959

Do you know about stand-up sales at stations? As the name suggests, standing sales is a style in which bento boxes and other items are sold on station platforms by vendors wearing banju (banju) around their necks. I'm sure some of you have seen it in old movies. There are some places where this station's standing sales still continue. This is Toge Station on the Ou Main Line, located in Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. The Touge Chikaramochi that is sold there is a hidden specialty of Yonezawa City and has become one of the pleasures of train travel. In this article, we will introduce Chikaramochi from Toge. Daily life at Toge Station From Fukushima Station in Fukushima Prefecture, the Ou Main Line...

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Takatama Station (Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture)

Next Takatama Station, . "擶" is extremely rare and is usually difficult to read.

The station name is taken from "Takadama Village," the name of the local government at the time the station opened in 1952.
While the local government name is pronounced with a voiced consonant, the station name is pronounced with a voiced consonant, "Takatama," a common occurrence throughout the country, especially at JR stations.

The character "擶" is difficult to read unless you know the character, and is said to come from the elm tree.
Perhaps in keeping with this origin, the waiting room at the station is constructed primarily out of wood.

The Yamagata Shinkansen "Tsubasa" also passes through Takatsuna Station , so to get off there you will need to take a local train on the Yamagata Line.

Oigi Station (Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture)

Next is Nozoki Station, located in Oaza Nozoki, Mamurogawa-cho, Mogami-gun, Yamagata Prefecture. Even before it has an unusual name, it is known as one of the most unusually named and difficult to read stations in Japan

There are various theories about the origin of the place name "Oi" which is written as "Nozoki" but pronounced as "Nozoki", but the accepted theory is as follows:

In the past, ascetic monks in the nearby mountains would practice a form of training called "Nozoki no Gyo" in which they would hang from steep cliffs and peer into caves in the cliffs. The place who "reached" a high "rank through Nozoki Gyo. This is a very noble origin that contradicts the first impression one might get from the name.

There are no express trains between Shinjo Station and Omagari Station, where Oigi Station is located, so if you want to get there by train you will have to take a local train

Daigo Station (Yokote City, Akita Prefecture)

Daigo Station, located in Tamoden, Daigo, Hiraka-cho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture . The place name Daigo the dairy product called daigo, which is made by boiling down milk . Perhaps this area was once a pasture for cows.

It is not known exactly what kind of dairy product daigo was, and there are various theories that it was something like butter, Calpis, or yogurt.
However, the word "daigomi," which is derived from daigo, is well known.

"Listening to the Whistle in the Distance," released in 1976 , features a photo of the platform at Daigo Station.

There are no express trains at Daigo Station, and the morning rapid trains do not stop there either, so we visited by local trains that stop at every station

Gosannen Station (Senboku District, Akita Prefecture)

Gosannen Station, located in Higashiyamamoto, Iizume, Misato Town, Senboku District, Akita Prefecture . The origin of the station's name will be immediately obvious to those familiar with Japanese history. It comes from the fact that the surrounding area during the Gosannen War . Incidentally, it seems that current textbooks tend to refer to it as "Gosannen Gassen" rather than " Gosannen War ." We will follow this convention from now on to prevent the mistranslation of "eki" (station) as "eki" (station).

The Gosannen War was a battle that took place in the Oshu region from 1083 (Eiho 3) to 1087 (Kanji 1).
As you can easily imagine from the fact that there are battles with the word "go" in their names, there was also a battle with the word "mae" in their names. This
battle was called the Zenkunen War.
The Gosannen War was a battle in which Minamoto no Yoshiie, the governor of Mutsu and a member of the Minamoto clan, intervened and won an internal conflict within the Kiyohara clan, a powerful clan in Dewa Province.
With the help of Minamoto no Yoshiie, Kiyohara no Kiyohira, who won the battle, was able to restore his father's surname, Fujiwara, and became the first head of the Oshu Fujiwara clan.

There are no express trains or rapid trains stopping at Gosannen Station

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

The battle for bone flesh unfolded in Yokote Basin: "Three Years of Second Year Battle" [Akita Prefecture]

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/24309

The Yokote Basin, where Yokote City is located, is located in the southeastern part of Akita Prefecture, and borders Iwate Prefecture on the east. During the Heian period, it was under the control of the Kiyohara clan and is known as the site of the ``Go Sannen Battle.'' During the Edo period, Yokote Castle was the territory of the Kubota clan (Akita clan) and was the intersection of roads such as the Ushu highway, which branches off from the Oshu highway and connects Akita and Aomori. It flourished as the political and economic center of the region. Asamai and Masuda, geographically located in the center of the Yokote Basin, also flourished as distribution centers. He defeated the Abe clan, which ruled Okurokugo, and became the general of Mutsu...

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Marker pillar at the battlefield of the Gosannen War<Information>

• Name: Battlefield of the Gosannen War
• Location: Iizume Tozaihoji Temple, Misato Town, Senboku District, Akita Prefecture

Google MAP

Ikawa Sakura Station (Minamiakita District, Akita Prefecture)

Ikawa Sakura Station, located in Hamaikawa Shinzeki, Ikawa Town, Minamiakita District, Akita Prefecture comes from the fact that the nearby Nihon Kokukaen Garden The station name is a combination of Ikawa Town and "Sakura .

However, there is no denying that it feels like a station name.
on goo rankings held in 2008 and 2018 for station names that feel like people's names , it came in first place, beating out station names such as "Taketoyo," "Nakayamaga," "Omi Maiko," "Iiyama Man," "Chiba Minato," and "Yoshikawa Minami . "

・Top 29 real station names that are likely to be mistaken for stage names or people's names – goo ranking
・Ranking of station names that make you want to say "Isn't that a person's name?" – goo ranking

When Ikawa Sakura Station opened in 1996, the town of Ikawa invited "Ikawa Sakura," who had just started elementary school at the time, to visit the town

Please note that the express trains "Tsugaru" and "Super Tsugaru" and the rapid train "Resort Shirakami" do not stop at Ikawa Sakura Station, so you will need to use a local train or an unnamed rapid train

As an aside, one station that is actually named after a person is Miyamoto Musashi Station . It was named after
the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, as there is a theory that the surrounding area is the birthplace of the famous swordsman.
Asano Station on the JR Tsurumi Line, located in Suehirocho 2-chome, Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, is named after Soichiro Asano, the founder of the Tsurumi Rinko Railway (the predecessor of the Tsurumi Line) and the Asano Zaibatsu (finalist conglomerate), so it can also be considered a station name named after a person.

Japan National Flower Garden<Information>

• Name: Japanese National Flower Garden
• Address: 102-1 Hamaikawa Nikai, Ikawa-cho, Minamiakita-gun, Akita Prefecture
• Entry time: 24 hours
• URL Japan National Flower Garden | Ikawa Town, Akita Prefecture Homepage

Google MAP

Owani Onsen Station (Minamitsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture)

Next is Owani Onsen Station, . Owani is the name of the place where the station is located.
It is an unusual name to have a place called Owani in Japan, where there are no crocodiles.

There are several theories about the origin of the place name, and the following is one.
The area was originally called
"Oamida" (Great Amida) This gradually evolved into "Oami" (Great Amitabha) → "Oane" (Great Amitabha) → "Oanni" (Great Ankokuji) → "Oane" (Great Sister) became associated with the crocodile, the guardian deity of Buddhism , "Owani .
, it is said that
the crocodile does not refer to a typical crocodile, but rather a large salamander In any case, Owani Town's ties to Buddhism remain strong today, and the seated statue of Amida Buddha, designated a national important cultural property, is enshrined at Daienji Temple

In addition to local trains stopping at Owani Onsen Station, the limited express trains "Tsugaru" and "Super Tsugaru" that run between Akita Station and Aomori Station also stop there .

Daienji Temple<Information>

• Name: Daienji Temple
• Address: 12 Kuradate Muraoka, Owani-machi, Minamitsugaru-gun, Aomori Prefecture
• Inquiry number: 0172-48-2017
• URL Daienji – Owani Town Homepage

Google MAP

Nadeushiko Station (Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture)

Next Station, . After crocodile, there's cow. It's a difficult station name to read, and even if you can read it, you might be wondering, "Pat the cow... so what?"

about the origin of the place name Nadeushiko, one that it is derived from "Nandeushi" (Nandeushii) or "Nandeushii Kko" , a Tsugaru dialect corruption of "Nadeushi" (Nade cow), and another that it comes from the Ainu words "Nai (river or stream) Chashi (fort or fence)" (in which case it has nothing to do with cows), but there seems to be no definitive theory.

Only local trains stop at Nadeshi Station.
Limited express trains such as "Tsugaru" and "Super Tsugaru" and rapid trains do not stop here.

Extra: Ushizaka Railroad Crossing

"Bekosaka Railroad Crossing," a railroad crossing on the Ou Main Line (between Oiwake Station and Okubo Station) in Tenno-Oiwake, Katagami City, Akita Prefecture , I couldn't help but introduce it.
As you'd expect from the Ou Main Line, even the name of the crossing is difficult to read.
Incidentally, there is also a bus stop with the same name near the crossing.

It seems to be a well-known place name locally, to the extent that if you can't read Ushizaka as "Bekosaka," you'll be known as someone from another area, but its origins are unclear even to the locals.
I think it may have been a slope where cows or oxcarts often passed.

Google MAP

summary

There are 101 stations on the Ou Main Line, and the stations introduced here account for less than 10% of them.
However, it is rare nationwide for a line to have nearly 10% of its stations with unusual names, given the number of stations it has.

As explained in the article, station and place names are engraved with a part of the history of the area .
The Ou Main Line does not just transport people and goods, but it can also be said to play a role in conveying part of the history of various parts of the Tohoku region to the present day.
And when you travel, paying attention to the history of the area will make your trip that much more interesting.

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood. His dream is to make railway travel his job.