I had some business to attend to in Kozu no Mori.
Since I had come a long way, I thought I would take a walk around the area, and when I looked at the map, I saw that it was near Sogo Rei-do, so I decided to pay a visit.
Kozu no Mori Park
Kozunomori Station
There seemed to be a large park called Kozu no Mori Park on the way to Sogo Rei-do from Kozu no Mori Station, so I decided to go through there.
Kozu no Mori Park
When I arrived at the southeast corner of the park, I found that there was no entrance. The park is surrounded by a fence and the whole area is a depression. The depth of the depression is probably a little over five meters.
It’s a shame that I can’ t walk around the park because it’s so beautiful and green, but it can’t be helped.
I walked along the east side of the park, looking at the park, and found the entrance at the northeast corner.
Stone monument at the site of Ohbukuro Elementary School
There was a stone monument to the former site of Ohbukuro Elementary School. It must have been an elementary school with a good environment surrounded by nature.
I thought about entering the park from here. But this time I didn’t want to, because I might not be able to find the exit. It turned out to be the right decision.
Sogo Expressway
Along the north side of the park, Sogo Kaido runs. This road also runs higher than the park.
In other words, only Kozu no Mori Park has a hollow.
Arakicho in Yotsuya is famous for its hollowed-out terrain, and this is just like that. However, it looks larger than Arakicho because you can see the whole area.
I looked at a topographical map after returning home, and it seems that it was originally a source of water for the Egawa River, which flows out to the north and flows into the Lake-Inba swamp. In other words, the area of Sogo-kaido shown in the photo above seems to have been created by culverting the Egawa River and filling it up.
Hypericum Hidcote
Under cloudy skies with a light rain, Hypericum Hidcote was blooming with vivid colors.
Toshoji Sogo Reido
Tosho-ji Sogo Reido
I arrived at Tosho-ji Sogo Reido.
Master Sogo Sakura, whose real name was Sogoro Kiuchi, was a feudal lord.
He made a direct appeal to Ietsuna Tokugawa to save his people from a bad harvest and harsh annual tribute.
In doing so, 100,000 of his people were saved, but he and four of his children were executed. Afterwards, Sogoro was honored with the Dharma title of Sogo Dokan Koji, and is enshrined here*.
In the sense that he took the place of Jesus, he was a righteous citizen no less than Jesus.
Tosho-ji precincts
I arrived at Toshoji Sogo Reido.
The grounds were larger than I expected, and the place was cleaned up nicely.
I went there late, so the Sogo Goichidaiki-kan and Sogo Reihoden were already closed.
There was a scent of incense in front of the shrine, and it seemed that people were constantly visiting the shrine every day.
Fig tree
After visiting the shrine, I found a fig tree on my way to Sogo Sando Station along Omotesando.
The fig tree had quite a strong aroma around it.
Gate of the approach
After crossing the gate of the path, you will reach Sogo Sando Station. It is exactly 1km from Rei-do to the station.
A map prepared by Narita City shows the Gimin Road that leads from Rei-do and Sogo’s old house to Jinbei Park, which is about 7 km away.
Sogosando Station
I had missed lunch and thought there would be something at the station, but there was nothing.
Walking data
Course：Kouzu-no-mori Station (Keisei Main Line) -> Toushoji Sogo-Reido -> Sogo-Sando Station (Keisei Main Line)
Distance: 3.4km
Time: 1 hour
※ Quoted from the explanatory board of the town of Sakasai.
