Middle Izu

Introduction
Izu Peninsula Is Full of Hot Springs
Japan Islands are situated in the most active volcanic Rim of Fire in the Pacific Ocian on the globe, which has produced more than 2,500 hot springs throughout the country until recently.
There are about 140 acting volcanoes and another about 60 ones which are dormant or extinct in the country. Accordng to the information by Life and Scientific Center of Shizuoka Prefecture, this prefecture has been numerated as number third position in terms of number of hot springs included, following after Ohita Prefecture and Kagoshima Prefecture. It should be noted, yet, that Izu Peninsula has very 90% of all the hot springs in Shizuoka Prefecture.
However, the situation above mentioned had been one just several
years ago, because state of the art of boring the ground made great
strides and the rate of dicovering hot spring has been raised. Only
in this year, for example, three big hot spring bathing facilities (that
are Odaiba, Kohrakuen, and Toshimaen Hot Spring places) have
been open even in the middst of /or suberb of Tokyo. In near to Mishima City in Shizuoka Prefecture, Mishima Country Hot Spring Place, Utopia Hot Spring Place in Kan-Nami Town, and Hyakuwarai Hot
Spring Place were open. Indeed Japan Islands are hot spring islands.

Japanese Style of Bathing Hot Spring
The Japanese style of bathing hot spring is to immerse your body in nudity, but you hide what- you- know with a towel when opening the door of bathroom to immerse ｙｏｕｒｓｅｌｆ into hot spring and then put the towel on something such as an edge of bathtub of in-door spring room, or a stone of outdoor bathtub ( of so called 'Rotenburo in Japanese language) in order to warmen your　body and quietly enjoy the beauty of nature. Please do not put your towel into hot spring itself, for avoiding contaminating it. While bathing, one does'nt speak loudly to his　or her friends or does'nt swim like within a pool.
Effects to keep your health are great by bathing hot spring, albeit effects to diseases are different in accordance with quality of the type of substances in hot spring. In some cases, there are hot springs of common bathing tubs for both males and females (called 'Konyoku' in Japanese language which means mixed bathing), while most hot springs are partitioned to seperated bathing places for ladies and gentlemen.
It should be noted that there are some big hot spring facilities which request you to wear swiming suit like SPA in Europe, because they provide big streaming pool with hot spring in it. The cost only to bathing (not to stay one or more nights) ranges \500 to \1,500 or \1,800. If you take some food after bathing, of course you have to pay for it.
How to Arrive in Mishima,The Entrance City to Middle Izu and West Coast of Izu Peninsula
It takes just one hour to Mishima, the gateway to Middle Izu and West Caost of the peninsula, from Tokyo by JR's Tokaido Express Trunk train. The city is the starting station to Shuzenjicho Town, the turminal station of Izu Hakone Railway train. However, if you have enough time and wish to save the cost to arrive there, you had better get on Odakyu Express Train (which is called Romance Car) from Shinjyuku Station just neibouring to JR's Shinjyuku Station, by paying only \1,720 to Odawara, then change onto an ordinary train of JR's Tokaido Line (it costs additional \650) and get off at Mishima Station. It takes two and half an hours including transit time to arrive in Mishima.The Romance Car is more relaxed and more comfortable than unreserved seat of Tokaido Express Trunk train costing \3,890. But if you wish to quickly arrive in Shuzenji turminal, there are JR's express trains called Izu-no-Odoriko Express Train which directly carry you there from Tokyo Station. It takes 30 minutes to Shuzennji from Mishima by Izu Hakone Railway train and the transportation price is just \500. There are other stations near to hot spring places in addition to Shuzenji Hot Spring Place, for example, Nagaoka Hot Spring Place or Ohito Hot Spring Place.

Figure 1 shows the entire map of Izu
Peninsula

.
Preliminary Story
There is an old story entitled " Heike Monogatari (Story of Heike
Clan )", which has been known by almost all the people in this
country, commencing with beautiful and sad tone sentences as
the following (translation into English is by the author):

Japanese Language (phonetic sound)
Gion-Shojya no kane no koe,
Shogyo mujyo no hibiki ari,
Sara-Sohju no hana no iro
Syojya hissui no kotowari wo arawasu.
Ogoreru hito mo hisashikarazu,
Tada haru no yo no yume no gotoshi.
Takeki mono mo tsui ni horobinu.
Hitoe ni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji.

English Language
The bell of Buddha's Bone House rings,
Notifying every deed is empty.
No clans can last eternally,
Like the colour of flowers of the two sal trees fades away overnight,
Telling a flourishing clan will decline without fail.
An arrogant person will not last too,
As the dreams in Spring time.
A fierce warrior will at last die.
All are same as dusts before wind.

NOTE: Sal tree is called 'summer camellia' in Japan. It is said that Budda died at 80 years old under the two sal trees. And the trees sadly became white overnight, together with many pupils, believers, dwellers, and birds and beasts.

Japan's Brief History Since 6 Century To Genji Clan Restoration

Middle Izu was the cradle land where Genji Clan was restored by Yoritomo Minamoto (Minamoto is phonetic sound and means second name when a menber of Genji Clan is called) to reign over the whole Japan about 800 years ago, and alas it was also the land where his two sons who had acted the second or the third Shogunate were killed and ruined by Hojyo Clan's intrigues only after 27 years since Yoritomo's success of the restoration. In addition to the fact that suspicious Yoritomo by nature himself killed his two younger brothers Noriyori and Yoshitsune who rendered meritorious services in the war against Heike Clan.
Around 538 AD, buddhism came across to Japan through Kudara ( one of the three countries in Korean Peninsula at that time). It was the dividing period between balanced politically governing by several strong clans and absolutly centralized governing by an emperor. In the era of balanced politically governing, many clans had reclaimed lands as their own privatized ones, having owned slaving farmers, and those clans chose one emperor from the strongest clan. Those clans individually were in charge of any function such as finance, making earthenware, making ironware, making bow, weaving Japnese brocade,etc. Soga Clan had tried to promote the spread of buddhism, while conservative clans as Mononobe, Ohtomo Clans,etc. had opposed to Soga's consideration.
In the ending time of the 6th Century, a fierce confrontation happened between Soga and Mononobe Clans concerning the next emperor's throne when Emperor Yomei died of a disease, and at last they began a combat, resulting in the ruine of Mononobe Clan. And then Umako Soga, the head of the clan made his nephew sit the throne as Emperor Susyun and himself grisped the power with Prince Shotoku (called Shotoku Taishi), the son of Emperor Youmei . But Sushun was soon assassinated by Umako's order, as he hated his uncle's arbitrariness. After Sushun's death, Umako recommended late Emperor　Yomei's queen to sit the throne as an Enpress. She became Empress Suiko after attaching a condition of making Shotoku Taisi Regency. Shotoku was the first regency of emperer or empress in Japan's history.
Forming Centralized Japan by Emperor
Regency Shotoku was one of the greatest and the wisest figure throughout Japan's history. It is said that he could hear to understand what 7 people talked to him at the same time. He initiated costitution of 17 terms, enacted 12 official ranks in the centralized government similar to ones in old China, develped new lands owned by emperor or empress and the relatives. He also built the first Buddhism temples of magnificent named Hohryuji Temple　(built in Nara in AD607), Shitennohji Temple, and Hohkohji Temple. Hohryuji Temple is the world oldest wooden temple and registered as one of the world inheritance. These temples were far granduerer and arrayed in more dazzling splendor than the thatched imperial palace. They invited many priests and experts of buddhist picture and buddhist statue, and temple architects from Korean countries and China at that time. Shotoku Taishi himself mastered under a priest and lectured Empress Suiko. The administration by Shotoku Taishi and Umako had lasted for 30 years.
The successive rulers all constructed grandure temples and shrines in order to show their own authority to the general public and to gain happiness in the future life after their own death. But it was allowed to believe buddhism only by the class of rulers and not by the general public.

Soga Clan increasingly became arrogant and tyranized after the death of Shotoku Taishi. In 645, Prince Nakano-Ohyeno-Ohji and Kamatari Nakatomi (later changed his second name to Fujiwara) directly killed Iruka Soga, when he came to the palace to see the emperor then. Their coup de'tat was successful, when Iruka's father Emishi commited suicide by firing his house and regrettablly the Japan's first chronicles of emperors and national events edited by Shotaoku Taishi and Umako were burnt by the fire.
The prince and Kamatari made reformation called Reformation Taika in 645. In the first place, they abolished the territories and slaving farmers previously owned by autocrats or powerful clans to change to public domains and public farmers belonging to emperor. Secondly, they organized a centralized adminstrative organization and designated the whole land into capital and its environs, states, counties and villages as adminstrating districts. And lastly, they unified taxation system in the form of goods and labour. Until the time, every emperor moved capital and newly constructed his or her own one. They considered to build up a grandure capital called Capital Fujiwara-Kyo imitating after Chiang 'An in Tang. But 14 years later, a successive empelor decided to move capital to Nara and Emperor Genmei moved to the new capital called Heijyoh-Kyo in 710. Its scale was one fourth of Chang 'an. Emperor Shohmu (701-756) built up Todaiji Temple and the biggest Buddha statue in it. He later ordered to construct more than 40 Kokubunnji temples imitating Todaiji Temple in every state called XY-no-Kuni throughout Japan. It is said that within the premises of every Kokubunji temple, there was a seven-fold-tower. Unforturnately none of the Kokubunji temples exists today and 37 locations of them have been found by historians.

Graceful Heian Era to Kamakura Era,When Samurai Dominated

Since Emperor Kammu moved capital to Kyoto from Nara in AD 794, Heian Era had continued for about 400 years, when aristocrats had been given a wide domain by an emperor in their time but they did not lived in their own domain and they hired samurai class to deffend attacks by robbers groups, because most aristocrats chose to live in the capital to enjoy graceful life around an emperor. In the mean time, some samurai clans had stood out and two clans became the strongest avobe the all ones. One is called Minamoto and the other Taira. All the past emperors and aristocrats were good at controlling the samurai clans.
In the process of widen domination to distant land, emperors confronted a strong resistances by indigenous clans. Emperor Daigo (AD897-930) gave Yoshiiye Minamoto,head of Minamoto Clan, the highest degree of samurais called "Seii-Tai-Shyogun (" Grand General of Sabjugating Barbarous Clans" in Englsh)
In the situation that aristocrats ' domains had widen but they did not live there by leaning hired samurai clans to guard them, ancient centralized political structure by emperor had been chainging and the miritaly power of emperor began to be lost. Around the middle of the 9th Century, government had already lost its power to control the local powerful family clans.
In such the political circumstances, samurai clans, in general, had increased their influences and the heads of Genji and Heike family clans, the strongest two among many samurai clans were allowed to participate in the figures who could see emperor or empress in his or her imperial palace. Among emperors, their fathers who retired from the throne of emperor but had continued to hold the authority behind the successors, and court nobles, there had offten been trickeries and intrigues to obtain the throne of emperor and thier retainers' high positions as court nobles.
In 1156, a severe battle between both emperor's party and his father's party happened, and the army of then Emperor Goshirakawa, Yoshitomo Minamoto and Kiyomori Taira won the battle within just one day. The defeated Former Emperor Sutoku was exilled to Iki Island, while Tameyoshi Minamoto, and Tadamasa Taira were individually punished to death by their own son and nephew who participated in the enemy force.
In 1159,the second battle happened. This time, Yoshitomo Minamoto who had been jealous about Kiyomori's quick promotion to high ranks successively by Former Emperor Goshirakawa, raised an army and imprisoned Emperor Nijyo and Former Emperor Goshirakawa, while Kiyomori was absent from the capital, Kyoto. After Kiyomori rapidly returned to Kyoto, however, the situation completely turned to reverse and Yoshitomo's coup de-tat failed. Yoshitomo was killed on his escaping way to his own domain in the east province. His eldest son whose name was Yoritomo was exilled to Hirugakojima, in Middle Izu, owing to Kiyomori's generous mind who accepted the asking his life by Kiyomori's step-mother. Yoritomo then was 13 years old. His two brothers, Noriyori and Yoshitsune also were exilled to the different remote provinces.
Kiyomori Taira was promoted to the highest minister called "Dajyo Daijin" which is corresponding to prime minister today, as a court noble. Kiyomori was the first head of samurai clan, who could grisp political authority. The son of a sistor of his wife who served Former Emperor Goshirakawa became Emperor Takakura at his 8 years of age.
Kiyomori tried to positively trade with Song and built up Kobe Harbour. But the members of his family clan were promoted to high ranks in the court and lived luxurious lives over time.
Yoritomo Minamoto privately sweared to restore Genji Clan in his mind in Middle Izu, and 20 years later he raised an army against Taira Clan.

GO TO PART 1: MISHIMA CITY

GO TO PART 2: SHUZENJI TOWN

GO TO PART 3: NIRAYAMA TOWN

GO TO KAWAGOE CITY

GO TO HAGI CITY