History of Kadojin

Kadojin was completely burned down twice, once in the 1830s and once in the 1940s, during the Dorogawa fires.
It is extremely difficult to trace back its roots, so investigations are being carried out using traces and information from other sources.
In particular, the stone monument clearly indicates the era name from the early Genroku period.
However, although it is assumed that he lived before the Genroku period, nothing has been confirmed about his existence before that time.
The company is currently said to have been founded in 1688 (the first year of the Genroku era).

Although the history of hot springs in Dorogawa itself is short, it has a long history as a post town for the Omine Ko sect.
Its origins are said to have been founded by the descendants of Goki who followed Gyoja.
It was around 1,300 years ago that En no Gyoja established a place of training for Gyoja, and since then,
This encouraged people to settle there, and it flourished as the main training center for mountain asceticism.

The names "Yamabushi" and "Yamaga" are thought to have originated between the end of the 12th century and around the 17th century.
As Edo Period began, the lives of ordinary people entered a period of stability.
It became common for professional mountain ascetics to take laypeople on pilgrimages to the mountain (Mt Omine Omine).
It was around this time that groups of believers such as Yamanoue-ko and Gyoja -ko were established in various places.

Kadojin was during this time that Kakujin was established as an inn and was used by various religious associations and mountain ascetics.
Some of the lecture groups continue to this day, and the connections with each group are very deep.
Looking back at the 330-year history of Kadojin, we can see that it has been engulfed in fires in Dorogawa area three times.
Although most of the temple was burned down and the temple faced various hardships, the temple was supported by the continued patronage of the various schools and monks, and the deep bond that began with the encounter with the Lord of Kisyuu.
It is said that this is how we have been able to reach this point today.

In the Heisei era, Dorogawa has become increasingly well-known as a tourist spot, with its limestone caves, hot springs, and Dorogawa Water Springs of Japan's 100 famous waters.
The number of general customers is also increasing year by year.
Staying ahead of the times, in 2006 we renovated two guest rooms with private open-air hot spring baths, the only ones in Dorogawa Onsen, and a private open-air bath.
Our aim is to preserve the traditional charm of our hotel and make our guests feel at home.
The current head of Kadojin is Kakutani Jinshiro, the 13th generation.
In the future, we plan to pass it on to Kintaro (the 14th generation) and Sora (the 15th generation),
It is all thanks to our customers that we have been able to make history up to this day."

Mt Omine is a famous mountain of ascetic practices known throughout Japan, and Dorogawa at the foot of the mountain is the base for mountaineering.
Since ancient times, mountain ascetics who train on Mt. Omine, as well as farmers who come to pray for a good harvest, have formed associations and made the annual pilgrimage to the mountain, usually staying overnight in Dorogawa.

Emperor Shirakawa traveled to the mountain from Yoshino, but the lord of Kishu stayed in Dorogawa and undertook his training at Omine.
The lords of Kishu boasted a prestigious lineage as one of the three main Tokugawa families, but they were also human beings.
Various rumors are also heard.

About 200 years ago, there is a very interesting story about Lord Kisyuu, who stayed at the Kadojin in Dorogawa.

Kadojin is one of the oldest inns in Dorogawa.
A document written by the previous president, Jinichi Kakutani (71 years old in 1967), reads as follows:

The ancestry of the Kakutani family is clear from the Genroku period onwards, as can be seen from the posthumous Buddhist names, but before that, the inscriptions on the stone monuments and memorial tablets have been worn away or lost, making it unclear.
It is an old family home in Dorogawa that has continued uninterrupted for 300 years.
The fact that the inn has been operating for about 300 years was confirmed by the head of the Ryuzan-ko mountaineering association in Osaka.
This is certain and unmistakable, as he is currently (as of 1967) the 16th head of the school.

According to the documents of the Kakutani family, "In April of the fourth year of the Bunka era, Lord Yoritsune, the Grand Minister of State of Kii, was awarded the rank of Shoichii and stayed at our house.
The fifth generation ancestor,At this time, I was asked to be a guide for Mt Omine Omine. As the story goes, the lord of Kishu stayed there overnight.
When the family inquired with the Tokugawa family in Wakayama, they learned that the family name was Lord Tokugawa Shigenori, the eighth lord of the Kii domain.

First, let me talk about Lord Tokugawa Shigenori.
Lord Shigenori was born on February 28th, 1746 (Enkyo 3) as the second son of Tokugawa Munemasa at the upper residence in Edo.
His childhood name was Iwachiyo, and when he came of age on November 28, 1755 (the 5th year of the Horeki era), he changed his name to Hitachinosuke and was given one character from his name to be called Shigenori.
In 1765, at the age of 20, he became the eighth feudal lord of Kii, but he had a violent disposition.
It is said that killing people by hand was her hobby, and that she killed over 20 vassals and maids by hand.

There is a story like this.
While at his Edo mansion, he saw a woman enjoying the evening breeze in the high tower of the neighboring Matsudaira family, and when he saw her looking down on our house and mocking us, he became angry and shot her to death with a gun.
When his violent behavior became known to the shogunate, he was ordered into retirement, so in 1775, at the age of 30, he shaved his head and took the name Taishin.
He was later succeeded by Tokugawa Harusada as the ninth feudal lord.
However, he passed away in 1789 at the age of 62, and Tokugawa Harutomi, who was only 19 years old, became the 10th feudal lord.

Therefore, the lord of Kishu who stayed at Kadojin was not the feudal lord but rather the "Great Lord," Lord Shigenori, who lived at the Arahama Palace in Wakayama at the time.
In the history of climbing Mt. Omine, it is written that Kishu Kisyuu (who is said to be the lord of the Kii Tokugawa domain, but was a former lord)〇It is said that in the fourth year he made a pilgrimage to Mount Kinpu from Dorogawa,
The Kishu Kisyuu mentioned here is Shigenori, or Daishin, who became a monk.
The time period was the first year of the Bunka era (1804), the year of the Rat, when Lord Shigenobu (Taizhen) made his pilgrimage to the mountain, and the fourth year of the Bunka era corresponds to the year of the Rabbit.

By the way, a problem arose regarding guiding the lord up the mountain.
The lord will be climbing the mountain tomorrow to perform a ritual, so we need someone to guide him up the mountain.
The reputation of the lord had already been heard, so there was no one to guide us.

According to Jinichi's posthumous writings, Lord Shigenori was one of the three main Tokugawa families and a powerful lord with a fief of 550,000 koku, and was also a very generous man.
Because one wrong word could result in losing one's head, there was no one to guide them, so the head of the Kakutani family did the same.
However, at the "Nishi no Nozomi" ritual site, a scene unfolded surrounding the lord that shocked everyone around him.

First, I will quote from Kudata Suizan's "Sanjo Gakuki" (Record of the Mountains), written in 1847, to describe the state of the Western Peeking-out Ascetic Practice Area at that time.

"The western peek is heading southwest.
To the left, a group of mountain guides are sitting cross-legged at the edge of a rock formation.
In front of the rock, there is a gap where a little water has accumulated.
Peek beyond that.
I crawled on my stomach on the edge of the rock, and the guide grabbed me by the neck and looked down. The bottom was deep.
When you look at the tops of those large trees, like cedar, you can see that they are cliffs sloping inwards, which is dizzying and truly terrifying.

To the right is the ancient Western Peek (west of the bell hanging).
It is an extremely steep cliff.
The rocky path is so sharp it could be called a mountain of swords.
I can't measure the depth.
The base of the rock juts out far into the valley floor.
In the past, people used to look here, but many people fell and died, more than 300 people.
This view was discontinued and replaced with the current western view.
Even in the current Western Peek, three people jumped to their deaths over a three-year period starting from the end of the Tenpo era (1843).

The person who died last year was a young man from the capital. He had taken off his short sword and clothes and left a note saying:
He was wearing a white coat and jumped to his death. (It is said that this man was a temple attendant at Nishi Honganji Temple in Kyoto.)
It is said that if one falls from this place, his whole body will break as he comes into contact with stones and trees.
This is probably because the area where it falls is completely bare of rocks, with no soil.
It is said that people from Dorogawa came from the road below, collected the scattered corpses, and piled stones on top of them to make a grave."

Now, the pilgrimage site on Mt Omine, Nishi no Nozoki, is a place where you can look down upside down from the top of a large rock wall.
There, the servants who had arrived first were already there, laying out the felt mats and getting ready.

Gyoja, the head of the Kadoya family, pushed the carpet away, saying that En no Gyoja had not performed his "ascetic practices" by doing such things.
He also cast a net over Lord Shigenori, telling him to face that way.
When Lord Shigenori asked what he was going to do, he replied that he was going to tie up the head of Kadoya because it was dangerous, and if he fell he would be in danger.
He easily picked up Lord Shigenori and thrust him forward, and even Lord Shigenori instinctively grabbed onto the rock, but he shook it off and thrust him forward.

Everyone who saw this was astonished,
As soon as Lord Shigenori came up, he turned pale, expecting to be executed.
However, after completing his training, Lord Shigenori sat down on a military stool and commented, "He's an interesting guy.
It's the first time in my life that I've been tied with rope," he said with a smile.

Next, after all the rituals in the back ritual hall were completed, we came to an area called "Motoyui-barai."
The head of Kadoya said to the lord, "This completes the entire procession.
So, here, instead of becoming a monk and shaving one's head, one takes off one's hairpin and places it here," he said.
Lord Shigenori untied the silk cord that had been wrapped in a thousand layers and placed it there.

Then, right in front of him, the head of the family said, "I'll take this as a souvenir," and immediately put it in his pocket.

When the shogunate ordered him to retire, he shaved his head and became a monk.
The wooden statue bestowed upon Kadoya has a hair tie on its head, so it is likely true that at that time, the statue was tied in a hair tie, in keeping with the style of a feudal lord.

Lord Shigenori was very fond of the character of the head of the Kadoya family, who was his guide through the mountains.
After descending the mountain and returning to the castle, he was given the Imperial seal of approval (certificate of title) as recognition for his efforts.
This was an imperial stamp of approval granting the right to collect the first harvest of rice, wheat and cotton from within the Kisyuu domain of 550,000 koku.
The head of the Kadoya family was also permitted to carry a sword.
After that, the Kadoya family apparently went around Kisyuu domain every year with their attendants to collect the first fruits of the harvest.

After Lord Shigenori returned to Kisyuu, he ordered his Buddhist sculptor,
He had a portrait of him seated on a double stool on the Western Nozoki Rock, holding an iron fan, engraved and bestowed upon Kadojin.
Although he was known for his violent nature, Marquis Shigenori was approaching 60 years old at the time of his mountaineering adventure, and the temperamental tendencies of his youth had likely faded.

He was relaxed when showing Kakuya around the mountains, and was probably impressed by his boldness, something he had never experienced before.
Marquis Shigenori passed away in 1829 at the age of 84.

Jinichi states that around the time Lord Shigenori entered the area, the Kakuya family had been a clan of gangsters for three generations, including Kakuhei, Kakutomo, and Kakusen.
The person who guided Lord Shigenori is said to be the ancestor of five generations of our family, but it is not known which of these three generations was the fifth generation.

At that time, he was undoubtedly a brave warrior who had no regard for life, and this anecdote began.
It is also considered rare for a family to have three generations of gangsters without a break in their lineage.
At Kadojin, there is a portrait of Aizen Myoo bestowed by the Lord of Kii,
A hanging scroll depicting Lord Shigenori in armor and a battle coat going into battle is still kept as a family heirloom.

Also, in 1916, when Lord Tokugawa Yorinori came to Mt Yoshino to view the cherry blossoms,
As a remembrancer of the Northern and Southern Courts period, he donated one plaque to Nyorin-ji Temple and another plaque to commemorate his ancestors Kadojin, and also wrote some calligraphy on it.
However, no other calligraphy was done, which apparently surprised the Governor of Nara Prefecture and the Governor of Yoshino County who were accompanying him.
The calligraphy conveyed the meaning that "the joy and fame that my ancestors received from the lord is passed down to the present day."

At Kadojin, portraits and other items received from Lord Shigenori were enshrined as family heirlooms,
During the great fire Dorogawa in 1946, the entire house was burned down because the fire started in the house opposite.
At that time, the invoice from Lord Tokugawa Yorinori was also burned.
Jinichi said that he felt extremely sorry and ashamed that the portrait of Marquis Shigenori and other items had been burned, and that he felt sorry for his ancestors.
Fortunately, a portrait of the deceased was found, so a Buddhist sculptor was employed to create a new statue based on it, which is still enshrined today.

Later, when Lord Tokugawa Yorinori passed away,
His heir Yorisada, his relative and head of the family Ietada Tokugawa (then the president of the House of Peers), his friend and head of the family Kinmochi Saionji (an advisor to the Privy Council, i.e. someone who would give his opinion directly to the Emperor when he asked for advice),
A funeral invitation was sent to the Kakutani family in the names of the above three men, and they attended the funeral.
It is said that there is a record of this in the Tokugawa family.

As such, Kadojin has a connection with Kisyuu Tokugawa clan, and perhaps for this reason, even today many members of scholarly associations who come mountain climbing from Wakayama City stay at the inn.
There are also several anecdotes about feudal lords from the Kishu region who stayed overnight at Dorogawa and made pilgrimages to the mountain.

This was probably after the head of the Kadojin family had guided Lord Shigenori around.
Tobei Okaya of Dorogawa guided the lord of Kii through the mountains and became very popular with him.
There is a story that he eventually moved to Wakayama Castle town and began serving there.
Tobei's house was located near Masugen Ryokan, and there was also apparently a storehouse where the lord's horses were tied up.

Furthermore, the name Goten-yashiki, which stands alongside Mount Dainichi on Mount Inamura-ga-take, is said to come from the fact that the residence of the Lord of Kisyuu was established there.
Kisyuu domain established Tenkawa Office in 1699 and began cutting timber from Kawasakoyama.
"Hyakusanashi" at the back of the northern corner is a site from that time and has a close connection with Tenkawa Village .

Finally, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to Mr. Tsunoda Tsunoda and the current head Kadojin, Mr. Tsunoda Mitsuru, for providing us with valuable materials.