”こんぴら犬”って知っていますか？

参道を登って行く途中に、見逃すかも知れないくらいのですが、小さな犬の像があります。首のところに赤い色の袋を提げている。これが、”こんぴら犬”とよべれているものです。
There was a legend that dogs came and paid respects to the Deity( 神）on behalf of their keepers.In the bag hanging from a dog's neck was journey's expenses. What is journey's expenses? I wondered why and telephoned the shrine's office.A young female staff said to me because dog had to ride on boats on its way here,and also had to eat food. People take money from the bag.it is said that thanks offering for the year's first harvests is in the bag. I came to love this story. Please look at Konpira Dog next time.

What is ”５人百姓（五人びゃくしょう）”？

金刀比羅宮神社（Kotohira-gu jinjya)の本宮に参拝するには石段を７８５段登ります。神社は象頭山（ぞうずさん）の山腹中ほどににあります。３６５段の石段を登ると大門があり、そこを過ぎたあたりにで、５人の女性が飴を売っています。

For reaching the main shrine of Kotohira-gu Shrine, You have to climb up 785 stone steps. The shrine is located in the middle of the mountain called "Zozu-san",or an-Elephant-Head-like Mountain,which is so called because its shape resembles an elephant's head.Just arouf the place after you pass O-mon,or Great Gate, located at 365th stone steps, you can see five women ,who are selling candies,sitting on "tatami' mats under umbrella.This comes from the system called "Five Farmers",which was established in old days. Basicaly, in old days, in the precincts of th eshrine, any business tarde was not permited. Only five farmers were aloowed to trade there.So the five women you see on the way to the main shrine is its remaining activities.Every day, they change the location of their sitting there because they think sales opportunity should be
equalized.

当地紹介ー香川、こんぴら、などなど

This morning, it is raining in Takamatsu.But,basically,this area is one of the least rainfall one in Japan.By prefecture, Kagawa is the fourth in rankings in precipitation( 降水量）counting from the bottom.reflecting its small precipitation, people made a lots of reservoirs,ponds for irrigating rice paddy fields. There are about 14,000 ponds of this kind in the prefecture,which is the second most after Hyogo Prefexture.
香川県はもともと雨の少ないところで、県別で数えて全国で下から４位です。そのためにため池が多くて、14,000あります。兵庫県についで全国２位の多さです。

「ことひら」は、「こんぴら」とも、「こんぴらさん」とも呼ばれます。で、なぜ、そうなのか？１説によれば、インド仏教の守護神クンピーラに由来するそうです。クンピーラとはガンジス川のワニの神格化されたもの。
The region called " Kotohira " is also called both " Konpira" or "Konpira-san".What is origin of these names? Some people say that it comes from "kumbira" which is the God of Crocodile in the Ganges.

琴平に「金陵の郷資料館」があります。金陵というブランドの酒を出している酒造会社が運営しています。で、金陵とはどこから来たのか？江戸の昔、頼山陽がこの地を訪ねた時、この地が中国の古都、金陵（南京）を思わせるものがあり、この地をそう呼んだことに由来する、らしいのです。
You can visit a Sake -related exhibition facility operated by a Sake brewing company,one of whose Sake brnds is Kinryo. What is Kinryo.
It comes from the story that renowned Philosopher in the Edo period,named Rai Sanyo,visited this area and call this area so because this area could remind him of a ancient capital of China, Kinryop ,which would come to be called Nankin later.