Gozanoishi Shrine

In detail

This shrine is dedicated to Tatsuko-hime-no-kami, the dragon guardian of Lake Tazawa. Once a beautiful young woman named Tatsuko, her pursuit of eternal beauty led to her being transformed into a dragon.

Though dedicated to the dragon guardian, the shrine gets its name from the 1650 visit to the area by second lord of the Akita domain Satake Yoshitaka (1609–1672). Satake rested on the rock stretching along the lakeshore in front of the shrine. The large and flat rock (ishi) resembles a goza, a mat woven of rushes.

The shrine was established by the Sannojo family on October 17, 1911, in commemoration of Satake Yoshitaka’s tour of Lake Tazawa. It is easily identifiable by the vermillion-lacquered torii gate affixed to the Goza-no-ishi rock.

Nearby stands Nanairo-gi, the “Seven-Colored Tree,” with seven different species of trees (pine, cedar, cherry, pagoda, Japanese alder, pear, and snowbell) all growing from a single trunk.

There is also Katagashira-no-reisen, the “Miraculous Spring of Katagashira”-where Tatsuko pursued eternal beauty by drinking the spring dry-and Kagami-ishi, the “mirror rock.” According to legend, this boulder, once polished to a mirror-shine, was where Tatsuko admired her reflection.

A statue of Tatsuko is also located in the shrine grounds. Unlike the well-known golden statue located at the western end of the lake, in this version the lower half of Tatsuko’s body is that of a dragon.