Mount Obasute

A mountain in the southwest of the Nagano Basin. It stands on the border between Chikuma City and Chikuhoku Village, and is known as the mountain where the legend of Ubasuteyama (abandoned old woman) originated. It is 1,252 meters above sea level. Its shape is a dome, and although it is not high, it is steep and completely covered in forest. The JR Shinonoi Line passes under it through a tunnel. It is also known as Obasuteyama (abandoned old woman), Kamurikiyama (abandoned old woman), and Sarashinayama (abandoned old woman), and has been known since the Heian period as a famous spot for viewing the moon in addition to the legend. The legend first appeared in the Yamato Monogatari, then in Konjaku Monogatari, and was also the subject of Zeami's Noh song Obasute. Before that, it was called Kanmuriyama (abandoned old woman). In addition, this mountain was passed by a branch road of the Tosando road connecting Nagano City and Matsumoto City, as well as the Zenkoji road from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, so there are Ipponmatsu Pass to the south of the summit and Sarugababa Pass to the north, the latter of which has recently been called Hijiri Plateau and made into a prefectural natural park. In addition, the slope overlooking the Nagano Basin is lined with small rice fields arranged in a stepped pattern, and Chorakuji Temple near Obasute Station on the Shinonoi Line is a famous spot for the moon reflected in the stepped rice fields (Tagoto no Tsuki) and the moon rising over Kyodaiyama on the opposite bank, and there are many stone monuments with haiku poems in its Kangetsudo Hall, and Matsuo Basho, Noin Hoshi, Fujiwara Teika and others have written poems about the moon and mountain here. In 1999 (Heisei 10), "Obasute (Tagoto no Tsuki)" was designated as a national place of scenic beauty.

[Hiroyoshi Kobayashi]

"Obasuteyama: The History of the Sacred Mountain" by Shigejiro Nishizawa (1966, Historical Facts and Cultural Assets Publication Society for the Sakai Village Kanmuriyama and Sacred Mountain Plateau Area)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

長野盆地の南西部にある山。千曲市(ちくまし)、筑北村(ちくほくむら)の境にそびえ、古来姥捨山伝説(うばすてやまでんせつ)のある山として知られる。標高1252メートル。山容は円頂丘をなし、標高は高くないが全体に険しく全山森林に覆われている。JR篠ノ井(しののい)線がこの下をトンネルで抜ける。一名、姨母棄山(おばすてやま)、冠着山(かむりきやま)、更級山(さらしなやま)などともいわれ、伝説のほか、月の名所としても平安時代以来知られている。伝説は『大和(やまと)物語』に出ているのが初めで、ついで『今昔(こんじゃく)物語』にも現れ、さらに世阿弥(ぜあみ)の謡曲『姨捨』ともなった。それ以前は冠山(かんむりやま)といっていた。また、この山は長野市と松本市方面を結ぶ東山道(とうさんどう)の支道をはじめ、中世から近世にかけての善光寺(ぜんこうじ)道が通過していたので山頂の南に一本松峠、北に猿ヶ馬場(さるがばば)峠などがあり、後者は最近この一帯を聖(ひじり)高原と称し県立自然公園になっている。また、長野盆地に臨む斜面一帯は小さな水田が階段状に並び、篠ノ井線姨捨駅近くの長楽寺(ちょうらくじ)は、階段状の水田に映る月（田毎の月(たごとのつき)）や、対岸の鏡台(きょうだい)山に昇る月の名所にもなっていて、その観月堂には多くの句碑があり、松尾芭蕉(ばしょう)や能因(のういん)法師、藤原定家らがここの月や山に関し詠じている。国の名勝として1999年（平成10）に「姨捨（田毎の月）」が指定された。

［小林寛義］

『西沢茂二郎著『姨捨山　聖山の歴史』（1966・坂井村冠山・聖山高原周辺の史実と文化財刊行会）』

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