In the past, Ushiro was called “Urushibata-mura” because many Urushi (lacquer) trees were planted by the advice of Urushima Jiro Tayu, the priest of Ninomiya-jinja Shrine. The remnants of the past can be seen now in the name of the area, Urushitani. It is also said that Urushibata was later corrupted to Ushiro.
Ninomiya-jinja Shrine
The specific time of this shrine’s founding is unknown. It enshrines Isagiirihiko-no-mikoto. The original shrine was located at the present Ninomiya settlement of Kubata subdistrict. The current shrine hall was built in 1846. At the lower side of the precincts, there is a dance performance hall. Nearby, there are the remains of Kannon-do hall and the tomb of the governor of Wakasa Province Shigetsugu Ishitsubo. The shrine also has its folklore “Ninomiya-san”.
Remains Of Ushiro Castle
The remains of Ushiro Castle, its stream and horse lane can be found in the mountain behind Ninomiya-jinja Shrine. The castle, whose castellan was the governor of Wakasa Province Shigetsugu Ishitsubo, was felt by Hideyoshi Toyotomi during his conquest to Tajima Province in the late 16th century. Missives, Maso kagami (bronze mirror) and swords were unearthed.
Tenjin-san (Tenmandaijizai Tenjin)
Tenjin-san, or Tenjin Shrine, enshrines Michizane Sugawara, the god of academic achievements. It is little known that Ushiro has Tenjin-san, too. The statue of worship, Tenmandaijizai tenjin, and the shrine hall were presumably created and built by Kanzae Sugiyama, a native of Yakuoji and thought to be the descendant of the castellan of the defunct Takeda Castle in the present Asago City, Hyogo, and were endowed in 1802. The wooden seated statue was created with one-knife carving and painted in vivid colors. The splendid appearance still remains throughout the ages.
Remains Of Ushiro Tenjin
The educational board conducted the survey of Ushiro Tenjin’s remains in 1987. It unearthed the remains of pit dwellings, clay potteries, stone tools, seeds of foods and animal bones of the Jomon Period (about 14,000BC to 300 AD). These findings were the first in the former Tanto Town. Remains of dwellings and stone walls were buried intact under the agricultural road after the survey.
Remains Of Kannon-ji And Koren-ji Temples
There used to be two temples in Ushiro, Kannon-ji and Koren-ji. The former was located near the dance performance hall of Ninomiya-jinja Shrine. The Kannon statue is now placed at the hall. The latter was found as a temple of the Shingon Buddhism sect in the early Edo Period. It later moved to Kubata and switched to the Jodo Shinshu sect.
Old Mirror With A Slug
During the setup of timberworks for paddy rice, this mirror was unearthed when boring a hole to the depth of 60 centimeters.
