Haramachi Cultural Properties 2

Four drums were offered to the Ota Shrine from the Oshu Nakamura feudal lord Tomotane in 1872, along with a feathered spear. However, two of the drums were damaged, and so they cannot be played.

The frames of the drums were made from Japanese zelkova tree wood. War drums used to be used in battle to heighten the warriors’ fervor, or to signal advance or retreat. Drums to press the attack, drums to indicate the start of the battle, and other types of war drums, along with signaling conches, were absolutely necessary on the battlefield.

In 1665, the Oshu Nakamura feudal lord Tadatane called on the Takeda-style tactician Ooe Matazaemon and gunman Seki Hachizaemon for assistance, and adopted the Takeda-style war tactics through a wild horse chasing drill. He spread out 10 groups of warriors to practice adapting to one’s immediate circumstance.

In 1958, the Ota Shrine had the opportunity to commission a drum repair job by the taiko drum master Miyamoto Unosuke. During repairs, the date the drums were made, 1691, was found inscribed on the inside of the drum frame, making them a precious historical property.

This votive image, or an image offered in fulfilment of a vow, was presented to the Soma Ota Shrine. The sacred horse on the plank was drawn in red and dressed in a saddle, stirrups, and other horse gear. Its front legs are standing still, but its back right leg is slightly raised as though pawing at the ground, giving the image a realistic feeling.

The person who dedicated the image, known as Ebata, lived in Senbokugun Sennanmura in Akita Prefecture, and offered the image in a prayer for the safety of their workhorse during farmwork. Soma Ota Shrine is one of the three Myouken Shrines of Soma Nomaoi, and many in the Tohoku region and even up into Hokkaido believe it to house a god of horse protection. People from all over gather at the shrine during the spring and summer festivals, as well as during Nomaoi.

The artist, Hirafuku Suian (1844-1890) was a painter from the Maruyama Shijou school of painting, born in Kakunodate Village in Akita Prefecture. After he studied in the imperial capitol, he became active in his home area. His son was Hirafuku Hyakusui, a very famous painter.

Dedicated to the Ota Shrine by the Oshu Nakamura feudal lord Tomotane in 1872.

The head house of the Soma clan, the Chiba family, worshiped the Buddhist guardian deity Myouken (due to Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, which was Japan’s only organized religion up until the Meiji period). Under the leadership of Soma Shigetane, the Soma clan moved from the Soma district in Soshu (an area centered around modern-day Toride City and spreading over Ibaraki and Chiba Prefectures) to Ota Village in the Namekata district of Oshu (modern-day Minamisoma area). They carried the deity Myouken with them when they moved, which has continued to be the guardian deity of the family of the household throughout the years. The first structure Shigetane built is said to be in the location of the current Soma Ota Shrine.

The torigeyari is a traditional item used during the Nomaoi procession. The feathered plumes are used to represent a district’s social standing. There are large and small feathered spears, and black feathers cover the top of the spear’s long handle. They used to be used in battle, but from the Edo period onwards they were solely used in processions such as the Nomaoi parade or the daimyo’s official attendance service in Edo as a symbol of authority.

There is one large feathered spear and five small feathered spears in the museum’s possession. From a social standing point of view, the large spear represents 10,000 koku (roughly 18 million liters of rice), while each of the small spears represents 1,000 koku (roughly 1.8 million liters of rice).

The Fujita clan record consolidates three scrolls of archives transmitted to the Fujita family. With a total of 41 documents, there are 29 notes of itemizations, as well as 5 fragments of documents. The rest are documents on duties, petitions, government papers, and renga (an early form of Japanese poetry).

The Fujita clan came from Harechika, the second son of Date Hisamune’s younger brother Yoshimune, the steward of Kakeda Castle. The clan looked after the Fujita house in the Date district. Toward the end of the Tenbun era (mid-16^th century), Date Harumune and his son Terumune were attacked at Kakeda Castle, and the castle fell. Harechika turned to the elder sister of Soma Moritane’s wife for aid and became a vassal, serving the Soma Clan for generations.

Amongst the historical records, Date Muneshige lost his life at Sakai residence in Edo due to a sword wound from Harada Munesuke (a.k.a. Harada Kai). This incident led to the Date Disturbance in the Kanbun period in 1671. Date Muneshige’s body was left on the Hamakaidou Road that runs along the coast. It is said that when the Soma Clan passed through that area, five warriors in attendance stopped where he lay to bow in respect.

The writer who consolidated these records was Fujita Hajime, an artist skilled with the brush and the author of “Soma Nomaoi Shoukou” (“Some Thoughts on Soma Nomaoi”).

Due to the increasing number of wild horses grazing in the Nomaoi field and laying waste to the surrounding crops, Soma Tadataneko spent 3 years constructing an embankment around the field, starting in 1666.

Wicket gates acted as ways in and out of the field, and gatekeepers were assigned at heavily-trafficked locations to manage the horses as well as the comings and goings of people. The site of the wicket gate on Hayama Peak was the chief entrance on the southern side of the Nomaoi field, connected to the Hamakaidou road.

The other sites of gates in the wild horse embankment include the Hamaeba Gate, the Upper Baba Gate, the Lower Baba Gate, the Okido Gate, the Haramachi Gate, the Sakurai Gate, the Kaibama Gate, the Sukakeba Gate, the Ichikokuzaka Gate, the City Crossing Gate, and the Waterfall Gate.

The Izumi Mansion site is on a hill to the north of the Tohoku Electric General Technology Training Center. It was the site of a mountain castle from the Middle Ages that used the natural terrain for construction. It is said to have been the residence of the Izumi clan, which descended from the Soma clan.

In around 1323, Izumi-kunaitayuu Taneyasu followed Soma Shigetane away from the capital from Shimousa toward the Namekata district (now Minamisoma area), and became the founder of the Izumi clan. During the Sengoku period, Izumi-touuemon Tanemasa received a fiefdom and possessed great power (according to the Ososhi, a book written between the end of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period, containing the history and geography of the Soma area). During the construction of Ushigoe Castle in 1597, he caused a problem, and fire was set to the Izumi Mansion in a show of disapproval of Soma Yoshitane’s judgement. He fled to Aizu and became vassal to Uesugi Kagekatsu.

Afterwards, Okada Hachibei no Butane came into possession of the area lived in Tairadate in Tategoshi near the mansion until the Soma clan moved to Nakamura Castle in 1611.

Izumi Mansion is counted as an important piece of history, showing the deep connection between the Soma family and the Izumi clan during the Middle Ages. It is counted as an important historic ruin among all the mansion sites within the Soma area.