Hobara, Fukushima


Hobara is one of five neighborhoods within the city of Date, Fukushima, along with the towns of Date, Yanagawa, Ryozen, and Tsukidate. Until the merger of all five towns in 2006, Hobara was a town located in Date District, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
At that time, studies reported the town had an estimated population of 24,491 people and a density of 583.25 persons per km². The total area was 41.99 km².

History

The town's symbol was designed in 1957, mixing the katakana character for "ho," as in "Hobara" and the character for "en" or yen.
In 1960, the town of Hobara and the villages of Ooda, Kamihobara, Hashirazawa, and Tominari merged, retaining the name "Hobara."
In 1979, peach blossoms, the Japanese red pine, and the common cuckoo were designated the town's official flower, tree, and bird, respectively.
On January 1, 2006, Hobara, along with the towns of Date, Ryōzen, Tsukidate and Yanagawa, was merged to create Date City.

Education

Transportation

Railway

AbukumaExpress – Abukuma Express Line

Highway

Events

Tsutsuko-biki Festival

Tsutsuko-biki is a yearly festival that happens in Hobara on the first Sunday in March. Men from upper, lower, and central Hobara pull at three sides of a "tsutsuko" containing mochi. In the past, when the town market was held on the 5th and 10th of every month, this festival was held on January 24 to decide which section of the town would have the right to host the market.
Local legend states that the festival began when a severe famine broke out during the Kyōhō Era in the mid-Edo Period. The lord of Yanagawa at that time, Matsudaira Michiharu, gathered the locals and gave them rice seeds that provided a great harvest the following year. The event is a Shinto ritual of Itsukushima Shrine.

Momo Marathon

There is a yearly "Momo Marathon" which passes through Hobara each summer.

Folk Tales and Local Legends

Shinkeibo

Shinkeibo was a Japanese monk who travelled through Hobara during a plague and was able to treat the villagers, saving them from their sickness. Shinkeibo was asked by the villagers to stay in the town permanently, but stories vary as to whether he resumed wandering or spent the rest of his life in Hobara. Shinkeibo is still considered a hero for his help.

Bomaka

Bomaka is the name of a playful spirit that caused trouble to residents of Hobara for approximately one year. Little is known about him beyond his great power and mischievous nature.

Kamekyo

Kamekyo is the name of a spirit that resides in a local shrine, Itsukushima Shrine in Hobara. Local legends include tales in which Kamekyo, a childlike spirit, plays with village children or helps villagers in times of famine or poverty.

Local Foods

Mame Kojiru

Mame Kojiru is a kind of bean used in making dango, a dumpling that is eaten both on its own and as an additive. Mame Kojiru is considered to be a creation native to Hobara.

Local attractions

Takako Lake

A short walk from Takako Station, Takako Lake is located in Kamihobara's area of Takako. According to legend, when the area changed hands from the 17th lord of the Date Clan, Date Masamune to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, locals rushed to hide any trace of the local gold smelting works from the incoming rulers by submerging them in the lake. Alleged sightings of medieval millstones and other tools continued on into the Showa Period.

Takako's Twenty Scenic Views

The Takako Twenty Scenic Views are twenty sites chosen and named by three generations of the Kumasaka family, who wrote kanshi poems in commemoration of each of these sites. These poems are inscribed on white land markers at each of the twenty sites. A guided tour of the twenty sites is held annually, featuring detailed explanations of each stop along the two courses offered as well as performances of local folk songs and a raffle in which anyone who participates may be rewarded with locally grown grapes.
The Twenty Scenic Views include:
  1. Tanroban
  2. Gyokutogan
  3. Chōshōrei
  4. Ryuusekigan
  5. Saishigai
  6. Kiunkutsu
  7. Shoukihan
  8. Rishukō
  9. Insen
  10. Kōshihi
  11. Fukiō
  12. Jūsuigai
  13. Henshōgen
  14. Sōmarei
  15. Hakurohō
  16. Uzan
  17. Ufuzan
  18. Gukōkoku
  19. Haku'undou
  20. Koshōkyuu
Also referred to as Takakogaoka-kan or "Takakogaoka Hall," Tanroban, the first of the Takako Twenty Scenic Views is also the former site of a castle built by Date Tomomune. This was the first structure built by Tomomune upon arriving in Date. As such, it is considered the founding place of the Date Clan. At the mountain peak is the Kameoka Hachimangu Shrine. The shrine's white torii gate stands at the foot of the site.

Others

  • The Former Kameoka Family Home
  • Hobara History and Culture Museum
  • Hobara Total Park
  • Tōkō Temple
  • Beniya Ridge
  • Chin-chin Train and Winter Illumination