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Setonaikai NP, Kagawa
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A local Urashima Tarō legend says the mountain got its name when smoke from his opened treasure box turned purple and drifted across the summit—a familiar folktale written directly into the landscape.
In a 2014 survey, the ancient summit settlement yielded 372 asari-clam remains, fish, deer and boar bones, plus 3 pits from a small peach type. Whether the peach was wild or introduced remains unknown.
In 1949, local resident Yūzō Maeda found Yayoi pottery and a stone axe during trail construction. The trail was part of a postwar tourism plan, so opening Mt. Shiude to visitors accidentally uncovered its 2,000-year-old settlement.
About 1% of pottery from the summit was imported or imitated the styles of vessels from Iyo, Kibi and Bingo, regions visible across the water. Ordinary pots map this Yayoi village’s far-reaching Seto Inland Sea connections.
A 1988 dig found a round pit house about 3m across and traces of 2 square, 2.5m-wide buildings thought to be raised-floor storehouses. This 352m summit was a place to live, not merely a lookout.
A pillar trace on the summit is estimated at about 5m. Researchers think this lofty settlement may have helped residents watch boats crossing the Seto Inland Sea.
Shonai Village began planting Mt. Shiude’s cherry trees in 1952–55 as part of a postwar tourism plan built around the Urashima legend. The famous blossom landscape is a deliberate local creation, not ancient woodland.
Paired shells at Mt. Shiude are treated as good-luck charms: visitors write wishes on them and tie them to a “happiness tree.” This small local custom has helped give the summit its matchmaking reputation.
In 2024, local schoolchildren helped plant 5 young Yōshun cherry trees on Mt. Shiude. The variety was chosen for greater resistance to witches’ broom disease, helping renew the mountain’s aging blossom grove.
