6th: Legend of "The Dragon of Futatsuike"

Futatsuike has long been divided into two villages, Shishigaya and Komaoka. There is a legend about dragons in Shishigaya and Komaoka. The fact that the content of the story coincides with each other and becomes a "dragon" is intriguing.

Once upon a time, there was a small village called Komaoka in Musashi no Kuni. The village was surrounded by small mountains on three sides, and there was a large swamp in it. Delicious water gushed out around the swamp, so the water did not dry in any sunshine year. The water of the stream flowing out of the swamp moistened the fields downstream.
In summer, the villagers enjoyed fishing by the banks of Onuma. In this swamp, large fish such as carp, crucian carp, eel, catfish, etc. were caught, and they were very useful as a source of nutrition for the villagers.
However, near one summer dusk, while watching a single army of black clouds appeared at the highest peak of Oyama, the black clouds covered Onuma with thunder, causing heavy rain falling, intense thundering, and flashes burst into the sky. Was torn.
The villagers were surprised and looked at Onuma, and a lump of black clouds fell into the swamp with terrible momentum.
At that moment, the water of the swamp swirled and heard so terrible that the heavens might have fallen. The sound echoed throughout Muranaka, and everyone was afraid that something might have been thrown into Onuma.
Soon, the so raging sky returned to its original tranquility like a lie, and the villagers went fishing in the swamp as usual, but unlike before, carp, crucian carp and loach could not catch any fish. Even after a year or three years, no fish could be caught from this swamp.
Five years have passed.
One afternoon, following the calm days of late spring, as in five years ago, suddenly black clouds burst all over, thunder rang, flashes ran, and heavy rains. It was the same as the last time. And a large black cloud fell again toward Onuma.
And at the same time as a heavy scream, the moment I thought that the black cloud flew as a tornado with a large green object and a large amount of swamp water, and fell just below a sudden turn to the swamp. The loud sound at that time was so loud that even in the neighboring village, I thought, "Earthquake!"
In fact, it was a child dragon that was thrown into the swamp on a stormy day five years ago. The dragon's child ate too much of the swamp fish in five years, grew too much, and fell from the air without riding the clouds.
After this, no one approached the swamp. However, one day after a few years, when the villagers gently approached the swamp, the swamp was divided by the dragon's fuselage that fell into Onuma, the dragon's fuselage was mossed, and grass was overgrown. It looks like a bank was built, "said the villagers. (The story of Yoshigoro Isogaya)

Once upon a time, this pond was one Oike. The dragon god lived in the pond, but rarely came out. When I happened to throw a stone into the pond, the whole area suddenly darkened, heavy rain blew with strong winds, and the thunder sounded and rough. It was said that the water in the pond whirlpools greatly, erupted a fire from the whirlpools, and the dragon, who lifted his eyes, stood up high above the sky and killed people passing through the path of the pond. When they passed, they passed through the road, so that they did not drop the stones.
In order to calm this dragon god, every year in December of the lunar calendar, one person from the village was to offer a sacrifice. If he did not do it, it was said that the dragon would be rampaged and the village would be wiped out.
That year, as the time came, Shoya was holding his head to whom to sacrifice. "This year, Yasuke was the worst crop. Yes, I'm going to be Tae, Yasuke's child." Immediately I went to Yasuke's house to ask him.
However, in Tae there was a man named Minokichi who promised the future. Minokichi was a master of bearers. Minokichi was surprised to hear the story, and decided to exterminate the dragon for his beloved Tae, and for the villagers.
Minokichi went out to the pond with ten tamed bears. When he came near the pond, Minokichi threw a stone into the pond and shouted, "The dragon that bothers the villagers, come out." Then it became a storm as usual, and the dragon came out with tremendous momentum, and barked "Gayo". And the dragon jumped at a bear.
As a result, a great deal of fighting took place. In the heavy rain, sometimes lightning glowed. It was not known that the battle between the two would end. But as soon as the storm calmed down, the ten bearers remained stuck with the dragon's body. The dragon squeezed his last power, soared high in the heavens, and fell down in the middle of the pond with a shout of "Ga."
In Shishigaya Village, it is said that the dragon's corpse became a levee and that one large pond was divided into two. (The story of Yoshinobu during the day and Takeo Yokomizo.)

Responsibility: Hiroshi Yotsumoto, Chairman of the Tsurumi History Society