* Osenkorogashi
	There is a heartbreaking story behind Osenkorogashi, which extends to a height of 20 meters and 4 kilometers in length. Osen, the only daughter of the local ruling family upset everyday over the peasants who suffered under cruel land tax systems. She tried desperately to persuade her greedy father but to no avail. She knew the peasants were planning to murder her father and so sacrificed herself in place of her father, being pushed off a cliff into the murky darkness below. The peasants, unaware of Osen’s death until the following morning, were grief-stricken and held memorial services for her. It was only then that her father finally decided to make changes to the system.

	* Tanjo-ji
	Tanjo-ji was originally built in the 1276 on the same grounds as Holy Priest Nichiren birthplace. The temple was destroyed twice by the earthquake and tsunami of 1498 and 1703 before being moved and rebuilt in its present location. Most of the temple was destroyed by the great fire of 1758; the Nio-mon gate, built in 1706, was the only structure left standing. One of the biggest of such gates within the prefecture, Nio-mon was selected as a Cultural Asset in 1997 as a building treasured for its nostalgic appearance. A transcript, written by Holy Priest Nichiren when he was 58, addressed to the wife of Toki Jonin of Shimofusa, is also regarded a Cultural Asset for its importance in portraying the profession of the Holy Priest in those ancient days. The two wooden statues of the Holy Priest left remaining in the main temple building and the Soshi-do are valuable models depicting the portrait of Nichiren, and as such have also been designated a Cultural Asset by the City.

	* Seicho-ji
	Seicho-ji is an ancient 1200-year old temple, rumored to have been constructed by a mysterious Buddhist priest in the latter half of the 8th Century. The temple is known to be the place where Holy Priest Nichiren conducted his Rikkyo conversions. The Chumon gate, constructed in 1647, has been elected as a Prefectural Cultural Asset for its elegant beauty and remains a precious monument of the Edo period. Also designated as Cultural Assets are the temple bell, with an inscription dating back to 1392, precious relics of Asahi Ga Mori Kyozuka, serving as a prime examples of the early stages of the Muromachi Era, and the various stone lanterns, also of the Muromachi Era. The bronze statues of the Goddess of Kannon with an inscription dating back to the Kamakura Era, and the wooden statue of Buddha, showing elements of medieval Buddha, are also designated as City Cultural Assets.

	* Tainoura – Home of the red sea bream (An Officially Designated Protected Species)
	The red sea bream of Uchiura Bay were of historical importance and catching red sea bream was prohibited for generations, instead being carefully protected as the fish associated with the Holy Priest Nichiren. Red sea bream generally live in waters between 30-150m deep but strangely, around this area, they group together in waters only 10-15m in depth. Great shoals of red sea bream can be seen from aboard tour boats. As one of the world’s largest colonies of sea bream, the area was designated a National Treasure in 1922, and escalated to the fish being designated a Nationally Protected Species in 1967. Even today, these sea bream are the only Nationally Protected Species within the prefecture.

	* The Great Cedars of Seicho (An Officially Designated Natural Monument)
	A single 47m high cedar tree stands majestically in front of Seicho-ji’s Nio-mon gate. Its age is unknown but it is affectionately known as the “thousand-year-old Cedar” by locals. There were originally two cedar trees standing but the typhoon of 1954 toppled one of the trees, snapping a branch on the south side and even leaving a scar in the trunk of the remaining tree. A hollow in the south side of the tree has been turned into a small shrine, but the tree itself is still in remarkable condition.

	* Amatsu’s Marubachisha Tree (A Prefecturally Designated Natural Monument)
	The Marubachisha tree is a deciduous tree native to west Awa, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa, Taiwan and other warm climates. There are several pockets of Marubachisha trees around Amatsu Kominato, but the area is considered the northern limit of growth. There are four of these trees within the grounds of Shinmei Shrine. The largest of these trees, thought to be the largest amongst the species, measure 1.5m in circumference.

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