The Tozawa clan, which first owned the Senboku Kakunodate, rose to the lord of the Shinjo domain, and was the winner of the daimyo [Senboku City highlights 1]

Senboku City, Akita Prefecture a new in 2005 (Heisei 17) through the merger of three towns and villages: , and Nishiki Village , which were formerly in Senboku

Located in the central eastern part of Akita Prefecture, the area is home to Lake Tazawa, the deepest lake in Japan, and Kakunodate, popular for its samurai residences, in the south. To the east of Lake Tazawa are some of Japan's best-known hidden hot springs, such as Nyuto Onsenkyo and Tamagawa Onsen, while the west side (formerly Nishiki Village) is an area where many mines were developed during the Edo period

It is also an area where many folk performing arts and events remain, such as the Sasara Dance and the fantastical Paper Balloon Festival

Kakunodate is the second most visited city in Akita Prefecture in terms of the number of tourists. During the cherry blossom season, it is the most visited city in Akita Prefecture

Senboku District still remains as a district to which Misato Town has become Daisen City has become Senboku City

It is said that there were over 180 towns and villages in the areas that are now Daisen City and Semboku City during the Edo period, but from the Meiji period onwards, villages merged repeatedly, and eventually Tazawako Town, Kakunodate Town, and Nishiki Village became Semboku City, and the rest became Daisen City

Kakunodate has stations on the Akita Shinkansen, JR Tazawako Line, and Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway, making it the gateway to Senboku City

The number of tourists visiting Semboku City is second only to Akita City (7.46 million visitors per year in Akita City, approximately 4.76 million in Semboku City), and in terms of the number of visitors to an event, the Kakunodate Cherry Blossom Festival (attracting approximately 1.4 million visitors) takes the top spot, surpassing Akita City's Akita Kanto Festival (approximately 1.3 million visitors) (data from the 2019 Akita Prefecture Tourism Statistics. The years 2020 to 2024 are not included due to the sharp decline in tourist numbers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic)

Mr. Tozawa came from Iwate Prefecture, crossing the Ou Mountains

Excavated ruins have revealed that people have lived in the Senboku region since ancient times, mainly around Lake Tazawa. Later, during the Asuka period (late 6th century to 7th century), people advanced into the Tohoku region, which the Yamato court in Nara called Emishi, and place names in the Senboku region begin to appear in historical documents

During the Heian period, the Kiyohara clan, known for the Former Nine Years' War (1051-1062) and the Later Three Years' War (1083-1087), and later the Oshu Fujiwara clan, based in Hiraizumi (Hiraizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture), are thought to have ruled the Senboku region

In 1228 during the Kamakura period, the Tozawa clan, a powerful clan from Shizukuishi Tozawa (Shizukuishi, Shizukuishi Town, Iwate Prefecture) in Mutsu Province (including Iwate Prefecture), crossed the Ou Mountains and invaded, building a castle in Kadoya (Kadoya, Nishiki Town, Semboku City) in Semboku. One theory is that the Tozawa clan was pursued by the Nanbu clan, a powerful clan in Mutsu Province, and barely escaped with their lives to Kadoya

The Tozawa clan was of Heike origin and rose to power by siding with the Minamoto clan

the Taira clan , who gained power in the capital during the late Heian period , and the father of the first head of the Tozawa clan, Hidemori (years of birth and death unknown), was a cousin of Taira general Taira Masakado (903?-940).

However, after his father, Michimasa (birth and death unknown), was killed by Masakado, Hiromori cooperated with Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199) to eradicate his father's enemy, the Taira clan. As a reward, he was given the territory of Shizuishi Tozawa and took the name Tozawa

The Tozawa clan ruled the Semboku region for a while, using Kadoya Castle as their base. In 1423, the 13th head of the clan, Iemori (birth and death unknown), Kakunodate Castle (Furushiroyama Castle Ruins/Furushiroyama Park/Furushiroyama, Kakunodate-cho, Semboku City), which had previously been ruled by a small local clan, and spent the Sengoku period there.

The Tozawa clan's first castle, Kadoya Castle, and its defensive base, Furuhota Castle, were destroyed during the Sengoku period

Tozawa Kanemori in 1228. It served as the main castle of the Tozawa clan for about 200 years.

After the Tozawa clan moved their base to Kakunodate Castle, their retainers defended the castle, but it was destroyed in the latter part of the Sengoku period

Kobota Castle was an important base for the Tozawa clan's northern defenses, and its lords were close relatives and vassals, but it was also destroyed in the latter part of the Sengoku period, along with Kadoya Castle

Information on Kadoya Castle Ruins and Furuhota Castle Ruins

• Facility name: Kadoya Castle Ruins
• Cultural property designation: Akita Prefecture designated historic site
• Address: 212 Oyamadazawaguchi, Nishiki-cho, Senboku City, Akita Prefecture
• Facility name: Furuhota Castle Ruins
• Cultural property designation: Akita Prefecture designated historic site
• Location: Kamiarai Furuhota, Nishiki-cho, Senboku City　
• For inquiries, please contact: Semboku City Tourism, Culture and Sports Department, Cultural Property Preservation Office
• Phone number: 0187-43-3384
• access:
  • Public transportation: Akita Shinkansen, JR Tazawako Line, transfer at Kakunodate Station, take the Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway for about 10 minutes, get off at Saimyoji Station and walk for about 25 minutes
  • By car: Approximately 45 minutes from Kyowa IC on the Akita Expressway via National Route 46, or approximately 50 minutes from Omagari IC

Google Map (Kadoya Castle Ruins)

Google Map ( Furuhota Castle Ruins )

Mr. Tozawa always sided with the winner and never knew defeat

After Iemori entered Kakunodate, the Tozawa clan gradually expanded its influence

When they first moved to Kakunodate, it was during the Muromachi Shogunate (1336-1573), when the Ashikaga clan During this period, the Tozawa clan worked as a retainer of the Ashikaga clan and the Oda clan, and in 1590 he joined the Odawara attack, where Hideyoshi sent troops to Odawara to defeat the remnants of the Hojo clan, and when the war situation changed, he was always on his side in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, taking on the Tokugawa side at the Battle of Sekigahara.

The 21st head of the family, Masamori (1585-1648), who achieved great success in the Battle of Sekigahara, was promoted by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602 from a tozama daimyo to a fudai daimyo (hereditary lord) closer to the shogunate, and appointed the Matsuoka Domain in Hitachi Province (Takahagi City, Ibaraki Prefecture).In 1622, he was entrusted with the larger Shinjo Domain (Yamagata Prefecture), and the Tozawa clan served as lords of the Shinjo Domain with a fief of 60,000 koku until the Meiji Restoration.

The "Tozawa Sasara" left behind by Mr. Tozawa is distinct from other Sasara dances

Sasara Dance Shishi Dance which is thought to be its prototype , are folk performing arts handed down in Akita Prefecture. A major feature of both the Sasara Dance and the Shishi Dance is the " Three Lions ," a dance performed by three dancers wearing lion masks. It is said that the dance originated when the Satake clan, who became the lord of the Kubota domain, moved from Hitachi Province, which they had previously ruled, to Akita, and their retainers danced in front of the lord to cheer him up, as he was feeling lonely, and the dance spread to the general public.

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Akita's Sasara Dance: Part 1] The roots of "Sasara Dance"? The hints are "lion dance" and "sasara"

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/41654

Many folk performing arts and traditional events have been handed down in Akita Prefecture. "Sasara Dance" (or "Sasara") is one of them, and has been handed down throughout Akita, mainly in the Kitaakita region (in this article, we will refer to it as "Sasara Dance" except in special cases). The "Sasara Odori" was previously danced in more than 100 villages in Akita Prefecture, but in a survey conducted by the International University of Liberal Arts Regional Environmental Research Center in 2013 (Heisei 25) as a comprehensive project to revitalize local traditional culture by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, nearly 60 "Lion Odori" and "Sasara Odori" were recorded. (2021...

read more

Tohoku Rokken Trivia Media NEFT

[Akita's Sasara Dance: Part 2] Is the Sasara Dance the beginning of a comforting Lord Satake, who is disappointed?

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/41715

Many folk performing arts and traditional events have been handed down in Akita Prefecture. "Sasara Dance" (or "Sasara") is one of them, and has been handed down throughout Akita, mainly in the Kitaakita region (in this article, we will refer to it as "Sasara Dance" except in special cases). The "Sasara Dance", "Lion Dance", and "Sasara Dance", which are performed in more than 60 villages in Akita Prefecture, were previously danced in over 100 villages in Akita Prefecture, but in 2013 (Heisei 25), the Center for Regional Environmental Studies, the International University of Liberal Arts, was a survey conducted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, as part of the comprehensive regional traditional culture revitalization project, which revealed that nearly 60 "Sasara Dance" and "Sasara Dance..."

read more

However, among the many Sasara Dances and Shishi Dances that remain in the central and northern areas of the prefecture, the Sasara Dance that is handed down in the Senboku City area is the only one that is clearly different from the ones in other regions

The "Sasara Dance" of Senboku uses instruments that are not used in the "Sasara Dance" handed down by the Satake clan

The Sasara Dances handed down in Semboku City include "Tozawa Sasara" (Kamihinokinai, Nishiki-cho), "Oyamada Sasara" (Oyamada, Nishiki-cho), "Shiraiwa Sasara" (Shiraiwa, Kakunodate-cho), "Hirokunai Sasara" (Hirokunai, Kakunodate-cho), "Donokuchi Sasara" (Shiraiwa Donoguchi, Kakunodate-cho), and "Umezawa Sasara" (Umezawa, Tazawako-cho), but they are all three lion dances

What clearly sets this Sasara Dance apart from other regions is the procession of lions heading to the location where the Sasara will be performed (such as a shrine), and the use of an instrument called the Binzasara

Strangely enough, this "Binzasara" is not used at all in the "Sasara Dance" or "Lion Dance" of other regions. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the "Binzasara" was used in the "Sasara Dance" that was handed down in Hitachi Province and was originally performed by the retainers of the Satake clan

Senboku had its own unique dance even before the Satake clan came to Akita

The "Koyamada Sasara" handed down in Kamihinokinai (Koyamada, Nishiki-cho), where the Tozawa clan's castle was located, has this anecdote

"Iemori decides to move to Kakunodate. His vassals and people are surprised, but they are convinced by Iemori's firm resolve. (Omitted) Iemori decides to teach the people the lion dance that has been passed down among his vassals. On the day of his departure, the people perform the dance in front of Iemori."

Source: Semboku City official website "On the hill where you can see the cherry blossoms - The story of the Tozawa clan over 800 years"

It is not known whether this dance is the same as the "Oyamada Sasara" that is passed down to the present day, but it shows that some kind of dance existed in Senboku before the Satake clan introduced "Sasara Dance" to Akita Prefecture

In Iwate Prefecture, where the Tozawa clan is from, there is a dance that uses the "Binzasara"

On the other hand, when Tozawa was living in Shizukuishi, there was a unique dance in the southern region called Nenbutsu

It is said to have originated around the time of the Battle of Zenkunen in the late Heian period, and was danced to pray for the souls of soldiers who lost their lives in battle to rest in peace. The Binzasara is used in part of this Nembutsu Sword Dance

However, there are many differences, such as the way the dancers holding the sasara dance differently, and the fact that the Nembutsu Kenbai dance has not been handed down in Shizukuishi, Tozawa's hometown, and researchers seem to be divided on why the sasara is used in Senboku's sasara dance

Information about the Sasara Dance, which is associated with the Tozawa clan

• "Tozawa Sasara" (Kamihinokinai, Nishiki Town / Akita Prefecture Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
• "Oyamada Sasara" (Oyamada, Nishiki-cho / Semboku City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
• "Shiraiwa Sasara" (Shiraiwa, Kakunodate Town / Akita Prefecture Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property /)
• "Hirokunai Sasara" (Hirokunai, Kakunodate Town / Semboku City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
• "Donokuchi Sasara" (Shiraiwa Donokuchi, Kakunodate Town / Semboku City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
• "Umezawa Sasara" (Umezawa, Tazawako Town / Senboku City Designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
• Please inquire for details on the date, venue, etc
• For inquiries, please contact: Semboku City Tourism, Culture and Sports Department, Cultural Property Preservation Office
• Phone number: 0187-43-3384

• The history and traditional events of Kakunodate are introduced in [Sights of Semboku City ②]
• For more information on Akita Prefecture's "Sasara Dance," please see Akita Sasara Dance.

NORIJUN

My love of travel grew, and I used to write a travel magazine, and now I'm a travel writer for the web. During my research, I visited all 47 prefectures in Japan, mainly in the Tohoku region, but my fun part is soaking in hot springs and experiencing traditional Japanese culture such as old townscapes, lifestyles, and performing arts and crafts.