Wolf River - Oikawara

...The central settlement of Maiya is located on the east bank of the Kitakami River. During the Edo period, it was the intersection of the Motoyoshi and Ichinoseki roads, and was a river port for boat traffic on the Kitakami River until the Taisho period. It is said that iron smelting began in the Eiroku period (1558-1570) at Oikawara (Yonekawa) on the Nishigori road that runs along the Futamata River, and rough iron was transported to Maiya to be refined and used to make weapons. The Oikawara area was also home to many Christians in the early modern period, and a monument believed to be the grave of Goto Juan, who worked hard to spread Christianity, remains, and Sankyozuka is said to be the site where over 120 Christians were executed.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Okamigawara" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…中心集落の米谷（まいや）は北上川東岸にあり，江戸時代には本吉街道と一関街道の交差点であり，大正期ごろまでは北上川舟運の河港であった。二股川に沿って走る西郡街道の狼河原（おいのかわら）(米川)では永禄年間(1558‐70)から製鉄が行われたと伝えられ，荒鉄を米谷に運んで精錬し武具を作っていた。また狼河原一帯は近世初期にキリシタンが多数居住した所で，キリスト教の布教に尽力した後藤寿庵の墓とされる碑が残り，三経塚はキリシタン120名余が処刑された地といわれる。…

※「狼河原」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報