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Mt. Takamiyama The view from Mt. Takamiyama (283 meters) is spectacular: mountain ranges
on Shikoku in the distance, with islands, such as Yokoshima, Tashima, and Momoshima, dotting the sea just below your eyes. The area was once hit by a severe drought which left no crops at all, a real disaster for the people. The drought that hit western Japan in 1939 dealt a fatal blow to the agriculture on these islands and is still fresh in our memory. At that time, heads of municipalities decided together in each area to have senbabi (a bonfire to pray for rainfall). On the summit of Takamiyama, the largest senbabi in this district was lit. The cries to the heavens, "Amyo tamore, Ryu-jin-sama!" (Please give us rain, god of rain!) desperately reverberated in the dark skies over the entire area. No ceremony to pray for rain has been held since then. A monument was built on Takamiyama to mark the ceremony held to pray for rain in August, 1924. A monument to Ryu-o-jin (the god of rain) was built in 1933. This is the most stately monument dedicated to a deity in Hiroshima Prefecture. 
PhotoAround the top of this hill, you will find a path dotted with monuments inscribed with verses and a site for the ceremony to pray for raln (Photograph taken circa 1994)
Memo The Tachibana area is blessed with a mild climate . Cultivation of flowers, such as stocks and orchids, is prospering. The Yoshiwara residence is one of the four typical 17th century private homes designated as houses of important cultural property of the prefecture. The wooden miniature Buddhist shrine that has been handed down through generations of the family is said to date back to the early Muromachi era. The funa-kakushi (boat-hiding device) and stone pavings at Yosaki Castle take our minds back to the days when the Murakami Suigun was at the height of its glory. On Takamiyama Hill in the Seto Inland Sea National Park, the "Path of Verses of Seto" is situated, where natural rocks are inscribed with verses by Isamu Yoshii and others.
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