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Chubu-Sangaku NP, Nagano
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Every October 8, 2 ceremonial boats circle Myojin Pond to gagaku. One has a dragon’s head; the other carries a mythical bird, 鷁 (geki), traditionally believed to withstand fierce winds and ward off water dangers.
After the boats circle the pond, Hotaka Shrine holds a memorial for people lost in the Japanese Alps, with bereaved families invited. The festival pairs prayers for mountain safety with remembrance.
At Kamonji Hut beside the pond, iwana are lifted from a stream-fed holding tank just before cooking, then slow-grilled over an irori hearth until they can be eaten from head to tail.
Brown trout around Myojin Pond are introduced, not native; they were stocked in Kamikochi during the Taisho–early Showa era. Research found they prey on native iwana, so the pond’s fish have a conservation backstory.
Once called Kagami-ike (“Mirror Pond”), Myojin occupies an old channel of the Azusa River and is fed by groundwater from Myojindake. The steady flow means it never freezes completely, even in winter.
Before today’s valley access, people commonly entered Kamikochi over Tokugo Pass and arrived at Myojin. In the Edo period, “Kamikochi” referred to this Myojin area—not the whole valley.
Kamonji Hut began in 1880, when hunter-guide Kamijo Kamonji built a hut beside the pond. In 1893 he guided Walter Weston; Weston’s 1896 book praised his skill, helping make him famous.
Hotakami-no-Mikoto, worshipped at the pondside shrine, is the ancestral deity of the Azumi, described by the shrine as a seafaring people from northern Kyushu. The same deity is honored at a sanctuary atop Okuhotaka.
Hotaka Shrine records a 1770 diary of rain-prayer rites at its Myojin sanctuary—evidence that this alpine shrine was already an active place of worship centuries before modern hiking.
