Hotokegaura

A rocky coastline stretching for about 3km between Fukuura and Ushitaki in Sai Village on the west coast of the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture. Also known as Hotoke-Uta, it is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument. The cliffs of green tuff have been eroded, resulting in a variety of strangely shaped rocks and stones of various sizes. They have been given Buddhist names such as Five Hundred Arhats, Kannon Rock, Thirteen Buddhas, Nyorai no Kubi, Hitotsubutsu, and Tengai Rock. A monument bearing a poem by Omachi Keigetsu, "God's work, demon's handiwork, Hotoke-ura is a place not of this world," stands near Tenryu Rock. Originally, it was one with Mount Osorezan, and it is said that people made pilgrimages to Hotoke-ga-ura after visiting Mount Osorezan. For sightseeing, there are pleasure boats from Sai Port, and National Route 338 runs along the coast. It is part of the Shimokita Peninsula Quasi-National Park, and there is also a marine park.

[Hiroshi Yokoyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

青森県下北(しもきた)半島西海岸、佐井村の福浦と牛滝(うしたき)間約3キロメートルにわたる岩石海岸。仏宇多(ほとけうた)ともいい、国指定名勝・天然記念物。緑色凝灰岩の海崖(かいがい)が侵食を受け、大小さまざまの奇岩・怪石が屹立(きつりつ)する。五百羅漢(らかん)、観音岩、十三仏、如来(にょらい)の首、一ツ仏、天蓋(てんがい)岩など仏教的な名前がつけられている。大町桂月(けいげつ)の「神のわざ鬼の手造り仏浦人の世ならぬ所なりけり」の歌碑が天竜岩の近くに立つ。元来、恐山(おそれざん)とは一体をなし、恐山に参詣(さんけい)したのち仏ヶ浦を巡拝したといわれる。探勝は佐井港からの遊覧船があり、海岸沿いには国道338号が通じる。下北半島国定公園域で、海域公園もある。

［横山　弘］

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