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Ohana-Kitsune
Photograph at: Nagahama-city, Shiga Pref., Japan In "Nagahama-Kurokabe-Town", near "Goboh-san" This statue is named "Ohana-Kitsune(Ohana-san the Fox)". "Ohana-Kitsune" is placed in front of main street to "Goboh-san". There is a story about Goboh-san and Ohana-Kitsune. This is like below; "About 400 years ago, Goboh-san is in where ruined Nagahama castle had been(that is about 1km west from today's Goboh-san's place), and a female fox called 'Ohana-Kitsune' lived in the gate of temple. One day, someone said that the temple should be moved prosperous centre of Nagahama-town, but others opposed it. So the people headed for Kyoto-metropolice where the head temple 'Hongan-ji' was in, to look up 'Sennyo-shohnin(a higher priest of head temple)' the judgement if the temple should be moved or not. The approval people went on Lake Biwa by ship, and opposite ones went on foot.When opposite people reached to Yasu-town (where is in southern part of Shiga), " there was a small tea house and a pretty girl named 'Ohana-san' ran this house. The people had a lunch and drank so much here, and slept to the next day.....then the morning came, rain falls heavily and the Yasu-river flooded and they couldn't cross the river for more than 5days. When they barely arrived at the head temple, they met the approval people who accepted the permission of higher priest that 'Goboh-san should be moved'. The opposite people was dissapointed so much, and on their way to Nagahama, they planned to go to 'Ohana-san's tea house' and have a consolation party there. But they got to Yasu-town, They couldn't find the house anywhere. Although they asked the people there, they said 'I never know such a house'. They wondered what happend, and they think they were tricked by 'Ohana-Kitsune(who was the female fox in Nagahama-Gobo). And they gave up to oppose to move the temple because 'Ohana-kitsune' also think the temple should be moved. And so, 'Nagahama-Goboh-san' was moved to today's place....."