Sengokuhara

It is also called "Sengokubara." This grassland is located in the northern part of Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is a crater plain that spreads between the ancient outer rim of the Hakone volcano, centered on Kintoki-san (1,212 meters), the central crater cone Kozuka-yama (853 meters), and the foot of Daiga-dake (1,054 meters), and is 650 to 700 meters above sea level. It is said that the place name originated when Minamoto no Yoritomo (Yorimoto) looked at this magnificent plain and said, "If we cultivate this land, we will be able to produce 1,000 koku of rice." Unusually for mountainous Hakone, it has a continuous pampas grassland, and a part of the Hayakawa River that flows out of Lake Ashi still has a marshland. The marshland is home to a variety of wetland plants, including purple iris, bamboo grass, persimmon orchid, water thrush, sundew, and sphagnum moss, and is designated as a national natural monument under the name of the "Sengokuhara Marshland Plant Community." There are also many wild birds, such as Latham's Snipe, Common Reed Bunting, and Common Reed Warbler, and you can also see beautiful green hairstreak butterflies.

Sengokuhara's gentle slopes and flat land are now open to golf courses and campsites, and together with the slopes of Mt. Daigatake and Mt. Kozuka, there are many dormitories, resorts, and villas for groups and companies, making it the area with the most recreational facilities in Hakone. It is also on the Usui route of the oldest Tokaido road that passes through Hakone, and in the Edo period it was a key location on a back road that led to Gotemba by crossing Otome Pass. A checkpoint (Sengokuhara Checkpoint) was established along with Yagurasawa (Yagurasawa Road) and Nebukawa (Atami Road) to the north, and today the checkpoint official's house and a monument marking the checkpoint site can be seen. National Route 138 runs through the area. Take a bus from Odawara Station or Hakone-Yumoto Station.

[Yukio Asaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「せんごくばら」ともいう。神奈川県足柄下(あしがらしも)郡箱根町の北部にある草原。金時山(きんときざん)（1212メートル）を中心とする箱根火山の古期外輪山と中央火口丘小塚山（853メートル）、台ヶ岳（1054メートル）の山麓(さんろく)との間に広がる火口原で、標高650～700メートル。源頼朝(よりとも)がこの雄大な原野を眺めて「ここを開墾すれば千石の米がとれるであろう」といったというのが地名のおこりといわれる。山の箱根としては珍しくススキの草原が続き、芦(あし)ノ湖から流れ出る早川沿いの一部には湿原が残っている。湿原にはムラサキハナショウブをはじめ、チゴザサ、カキラン、ミズチドリ、カセンソウ、モウセンゴケ、ミズゴケなどの湿草が茂り「仙石原湿原植物群落」の名で国の天然記念物に指定されている。また、オオジシギ、ホオアカ、ヨシなどの野鳥類も多く、きれいなミドリシジミもみられる。

　仙石原の緩い傾斜地や平坦(へいたん)地は、現在ゴルフ場に開かれ、キャンプ場が設けられ、台ヶ岳、小塚山の斜面とあわせて団体や企業の寮や保養所、別荘が多く、箱根では休養施設の最多地区となっている。また、箱根を過ぎる最古の東海道の碓氷(うすい)路にあたり、江戸時代には乙女(おとめ)峠越によって御殿場(ごてんば)に通じる裏街道の要地で、北の矢倉沢(やぐらさわ)（矢倉沢往還）、根府川(ねぶかわ)（熱海(あたみ)道）とともに関所（仙石原関所）が設けられ、現在、関所役人の家と関所跡の碑がみられる。国道138号が通じる。小田原駅、箱根湯本駅からバスを利用。

［浅香幸雄］

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