【Designated by the City：Tangible Folk】Isu-ga

This spring is said to be the foundation of the Karimata Settlement, and is mentioned in the ritual song of worship, the Tabi, recited at Ueyan (ancestral worship festival) of Karimata. The song is outlined as the following: The god of creation, Tuyumi Akaboshi Tedanafura-masu, first descended down to Tabari, and in search of a good spring, headed north. The god went to the Kanagi-ga, Kurugi-ga, and Yamada-ga springs, and finally found the Isu-ga. Although the quantity of the flowing water was little, the water was good. The god deemed the water to be the Shitogi water, or sacred water, to be offered to god, and made a fixed place to reside at Funmui, above Isu-ga.
In addition, according to oral tradition, there is a myth regarding the creation goddess Teranupuzu and a young man embodied by a giant serpent that inhabited the Isu-ga. The daughter born between the goddess and the serpent later became the goddess Mayamatsumega, and this is said to have been the beginning of the settlement. The serpent is said to have become the god Asatida, and was enshrined together with Teranupuzu at Upugufumutu.

Even today, the spring is deeply connected to the rites of the settlement, and the water from the Isunu-ga is always used in the offerings conducted in the rituals at Upugufumutu in the worship of the god who created the settlement. In this way, the Isu-ga is an important spring that teaches us of the history and customs of the Karimata village.