Cow abyss
In the upper picture is the view of the ruin of Nagakubo castle from my room's window.
There is no castle now. But Nagakubo castle was great. Nagakubo castle was Hakone's the most eastern castle. There are some theories about who first built that castle. After the Sekigahara war, Ieyasu Tokugawa destroyed the castle and the castle disappeared. There are some mysteries about it. I searched some legends.
The Hojo family ruled Nagakubo castle for the longest time. People who lived there liked the Hojo family. There is a legend that Ieyasu used Nagakubo castle when Hideyoshi attacked Odawara castle. That may be only a legend, we aren't sure whether the legend is true or not. But it is indicated that Nagakubo was a great castle.
In Kise River, there is Cow abyss near Nagaizumi North Junior high school. I researched about why the abyss is called Cow abyss.
The owner of Nagakubo castle was Jiroemon Mizuno. He was not only brave but very frank. People who lived there loved him. He had a daughter, princess Ogi. She was a beautiful girl with cool eyes, she wasn't a quiet girl. She didn't stay at the castle, she went to the Kise river. She played with her friends around there and helped the women who carried water. People loved her very much. And Jiroemon loved her, too.
When princess Ogi grew up, there was a big problem. The Takeda family raised their head, trying to gain power. Jiroemon made the castle stronger. He waited for the Takeda attack, but they didn't come. Then Jiroemon and his people thought Takeda wouldn't come. "If this castle were to fall, all the castles of Hojo would fall". They laughed and were careless about the attack of the Takeda family.
One day, there was Winter storm. The watchmen were careless. Many people moved in the dark. When many people noticed the first fire, it was too late. Hojo was lost again and again. When princess Ogi arrived at the room where Jiroemon lived, she found he was dead. She cried. She found a note written by Jiroemon. That note was for her "Don't die! Survive!" That made her stop crying. She decided to survive as long as she could.
She found an oxcart. She tried to escape by using the oxcart. But when she arrived at the Kise river, she saw that she had been surrounded. She made a decision. In the next moment, she and the oxcart fell into the abyss and disappeared into the water. That was 1569, she was 19 years old.
That is why the abyss is called "Cow Abyss". When the water level of the Kise river decreases, it always rains and the water level increases. People thank to princess Ogi and believe that she becomes a dragon who controls the weather and gives them water.
