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Utsunomiya`s Folktales
Prediction of the Ikari Flood
There was an old lady who deeply believed in the Daimyojin, a great god, of Futaarayama-jinja Shrine in old days. One night she had a dream that a great flood was going to happen. The dream goes —. Shinto priests of Futaarayama-jinja Shrine were gathering and having a discussion. Then from the back of the main hall, a god voice was heard, saying “This neighborhood shall be hit by a great flood on August 8, and many people would lose their lives. How shall I prevent it?”. In reply to it, an elder Shinto priest answered, “To prevent the great flood, we should cut down a ginkgo tree at the foot of Mount Haguro-yama and lay it along a river to shut out a water flow with the tree. In this way we think a damage may be minimized.”