Murata Folk Crafts Studio

Kitakami River

The total length is 250km from the water source in the north of the prefecture to Oiwa Bay, Kitakami Town, Miyagi Prefecture. The 5th largest river in the country. It is the mother river of Iwate. The Kitakami River and the beautiful Mt. Iwate are one of Morioka's most representative landscapes. Viewpoints include Kaiun Bridge, Asahi Bridge, and Yugao Se Bridge, and colorful flowers decorate the shore.

16 Arhats

The 21 stone statues that remain on the grounds of Souryuji Temple were built to commemorate the victims of the famine that occurred during the Nanbu domain era. It was started in 1837 and completed in 1849, thirteen years later. It took over half a year just to transport the rock from the neighboring town of Yahaba, where it was cut, to this location. In addition, the statues were carved by craftsmen employed by the domain, and stone statues made by local stonemasons are rare in Japan.

Kyosuke Kindaichi

A linguist from Morioka City and a leading expert on Ainu research. Graduated from the Department of Linguistics at the University of Tokyo, and won the Academy Award in 1933 for ``Research on the Ainu Epic Yukara.'' He became a professor at the University of Tokyo and Kokugakuin University, and was also a member of the Japan Academy and the Japanese Language Council. In 1951, he received the Order of Culture. He had been friends with the poet Takuboku Ishikawa since their days at Morioka Junior High School, and it is said that he often took care of him.