Culture & History

Ju-ou Village Spring: One of Japan’s 100 Famous Springs

At a crossroads in Hikone's Nishi-i-machi neighborhood, a small pond lies amidst the houses, and at its center stands a hexagonal shrine dedicated to the bodhisattva Jizo. The wellspring that gushes forth from the center of this pond was already well known during the Genroku Period (1688-1704) as one of the "Three Springs of the Eastern Lake Biwa Region" (the others include Gokasho-cho's Shimizu-hana Spring and the Samegai Spring).
As legend has it, a young woman from Ju-ou Village was married off, and had trouble producing enough breastmilk. Yet when water was fetched for her from this very well, her milk became plentiful, and as a result her baby grew strong and healthy. To this day, the bodhisattva Jizo is fondly revered as a god of mother's milk.