Stone Signpost 石仏道標

Official explanation

Left or Right?

The carving on this stone combines practical directions for travelers on the Yogawa-michi with a relief image of Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, holding a lotus flower. (Travelers would take the Yogawa-michi route when floods or landslides made the traditional Nakasendo route down in the valley impassable.)

Read the full explanation

The text on the left of the goddess reads, “Left for the road to Nojiri,” and the text on the right reads, “Right for the local mountain road.” We know when the stone was erected because the date is carved into it: “Tenth month” on the left side, and “Year 10 of the Horeki era” (that is, 1761) on the right. The slightly ornate, curved tip of the stone is a typical mid-Edo-period flourish.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.