Immediately after passing through the torī gate, we see a small shrine on the left. It enshrines the god Ikkan-Ryūō, who controls the water and owns Taneike Pond near Togakushi Shrine. Taneike Pond has no river feeding into it, but somehow, it is constantly filled with water. It was once believed that if you sprinkle the water you drew here on the rice fields in your village, it would start raining immediately.
Legend has it that anyone carrying a barrel of water drawn from this pond was forbidden to speak or put the barrel on the ground on their way back to the village. If one broke the ban, he wouldn’t receive the spirit’s blessing. Despite such harsh requirements, people would still visit the pond during a drought in the place of farmers.
Kuzuryū-sha ahead also enshrines a god who controls water. However, that god is said to be different from Ikkan-Ryūō. No one knows why this small shrine stands here, but both show the importance of water worshipping in Togakushi.
