| 25th Station: Nissaka |
| History |
As you can see in the picture above, travelers there was a big big stone on the highway. The stone was called "yonaki-ishi" meaning crying stone, and there are many stories related to its origin. One of them is....
Long long ago, at one night, a pregnant woman was trying to pass through Sayo-no-nakayama pass alone. Suddenly, one ruffian came rushing out of the bush, slashed her with the sword, and robbed her of her property. Unfortunately the woman passed away, but her baby was born out of the big cut. It soon began crying so weakly and no one could hear it. Unbelievably, one stone by the baby began crying, and it was crying big enough to get an attention from people in the villege. They found the new born baby and raised it with candies. The stone continued crying every night, and it was called "crying stone". Later, Kobo-taishi, a famous monk in the Nara period (710-794), heard the story when he passed by the village. What he did was praying to Amida Buddha and curving "namuamidabutsu" (part of sutra) on the stone. Surprisingly, the stone stopped crying.
In the Hiroshige's picture, travelers are curiously looking at the stone on the Tokaido highway. In fact, ancient people considered it as a misterious stone and no one tried to move it to other place. Thus, the stone had been at the same spot until the Meiji era (1868-1912).
You can find the crying stone behind Izumiya, a restaurant and souvenior shop on the national route.
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| Kanaya |
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| Kakegawa |
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| Tokaido route |