Niiyama Plateau

Sakiyama Observatory

The Ria Scenic Line runs from Kirikiri towards Akahama. This observation deck is about 10 minutes by car from Kirikiri Station. You can see the magnificent Pacific Ocean, including Namiita Coast and Funakoshi Bay. Nojima can be seen directly below the observation deck. The contrast between the green pine trees, the white rock surface, and the blue sea is stunning, making it an impressive sight.

Otsuchi Castle Ruins

The ruins of Otsuchi Castle, which is familiar to the townspeople as a castle mountain, was the residence of the Otsuchi clan (actual height: 10,000 koku, economic power: 70,000 koku) for generations. It ruled this region for about 280 years, from the Middle Ages to the early Edo period, until the magistrate's office was established there. It is said that the lord of the castle, ``Otsuchi Magohachiro Masasada,'' sent the famous salted salmon to Edo, where it was prized and praised as the ``nose bent salmon'' of the southern part of Japan. The castle is built along a 140-meter-high mountain sandwiched between the Otsuchi River and the Kozuchi River, and this typical mountain castle was designated as a historic site by Iwate Prefecture in 1992.

Kirikiri Zenbei (Maekawa Zenbei) successive graves

It is said that the ancestors of Kirikiri Zenbei (Maekawa Zenbei) were from Sagami Province (present-day Kanagawa Prefecture), took the surname Shimizu, and served the Odawara Hojo clan. In the 18th year of Tensho, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Odawara and the castle fell, Maekawa's ancestors fled to Kesenura and eventually settled in Kirikiri. He then adopted the surname Maekawa, after his hometown of Maekawa Village in Sagami.