Ashidori

This article is about a fictional location.

Although this story is set in Mie Prefecture, the towns and villages are not associated with any real-world location.

"PLEASE, DON'T TELL ANYONE..."

This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Ashidori
Location marked in blue.
Japanese	足取
Rōmaji	Ashidori
Information
Type	Town
Located in	Mie Prefecture
Inhabitants	Maki Family
Debut	Chapter 3

Ashidori (足 (あし) 取 (どり) , Ashidori^?) is a town in The Summer Hikaru Died.

History

The XX Territory Split

Ashidori once belonged to a single, much larger domain. This domain may have been formed during or before the Keichō era, as 12 years following this era it was renamed to "the XX Domain Territory". Toward the end of the Edo period (1700s), this territory was split into the towns of Kubitachi, Udekari, Udeiri, Ashidori, and Darumasute. Although other towns experienced changes, such as merging and renaming sometime after the early Meiji period (late 1800s), Ashidori has remained the same since the 1700s split.

Worship of Unuki-san

A long time in the past, there was frequent mercury mining in the area. This resource made people continue to settle in the area despite the illness, crop failures, and other misfortunes that frequently befell the land. As the amount of mercury dwindled, it began to be used to create Uronuki medicine (うろぬき薬 (やく) , Uronuki yaku^?), which was used to induce abortions. Colloquially, using the medicine to terminate a pregnancy was referred to as "returning it to Unuki-san of the mountain". Over time, "Unuki-san" became worshiped as the deity of Nisayama, and the calamities died down.

Worship of Unuki-san in Ashidori stopped due to the arrival of missionaries in the 1700s.

Houko Festival

• A hōko doll carrying needle and thread.
• The Houko doll monument.

1/2

The Ashidori Houko Festival (足 (あし) 取 (どり) ほうこ祭 (ま) り, Ashidori hōko matsuri^?) originated from the practice of hole-patching (穴 (あな) つづり, Ana tsuzuri^?). Because Ashizukadou, a cave on the outskirts of the village, contains a hole connected to The Other Side, hole-patching was needed to prevent impurities from crossing into the world of the living and causing calamity in Ashidori. Hole-patching requires entering the hole, then using a needle and thread to sew it closed from the other side.

Hōko (這 (ほう) 子 (こ) , Hōko^?, lit. "crawling child") are soft-bodied dolls given to pregnant women to protect mother and child. These dolls were made frequently in Ashidori during the time that worship of Unuki-san was still practiced. During the modern Houko Festival, the townspeople make a large number of hōko and arrange them on a monument. The dolls each carry a needle and thread. They are then moved to Ashizukadou and remain displayed there for a few days. According to "Hikaru", the hōko monument resembles a memorial or funeral.

Due to the village's history of frequent abortion and infanticide, Yoshiki theorizes that originally, living children were sent into the hole to sew it closed, and the hōko were made as an offering to those children who were sacrificed. After the arrival of missionaries in the 1700s, the ritual was made into a festival and hōko dolls were used instead of real children.

Geography

A main road running north-south connects Ashidori to Kibogayama.

Neighboring Municipalities

• Kibogayama
• Kubitachi
• Udekari

Notable Locations

Ashizukadou

• The entrance to Ashizukadou.
• The hole in Ashizukadou.

1/2

Ashizukadou (足 (あし) 塚 (ずか) 洞 (どう) , Ashizukadō^?, lit. "leg burial-mound cave") is cave where a large amount of ancient human bones were found. They were only bones belonging to the legs, similar to the discovery of arm bones in Udekari and torso bones in Darumazuka Tunnel, Kibogayama.

The cave is now considered a tourist attraction, so anyone can freely enter it. A sign outside the cave explains the location's history: a legend that the mountain god will open a hole inside the cave, which led villagers to hold a festival to close the hole.

The hole is actually connected to The Other Side and allows impurities to cross into the world of the living. It appears to be a black slit framed by a multitude of humanoid legs. The legs are are statue-like, very solid with the temperature of stone.

Residents

• Maki's Brother
• Maki's Father
• Maki's Great-Grandfather
• Maki's Mother
• Maki Yuuta

Etymology

• The kanji in the town's name are "leg" (足 ashi) and "to take" (取 dori).

Gallery

Mountain path from Kibogayama to Ashidori (Ch.3)

Forest path from Kibogayama to Ashidori (Ch.3)