History
The onsen was opened in 1615. It was discovered by an ally of Hideyori Toyotomi, who retreated here after the defeat of the Toyotomi forces at the summer siege of Osaka Castle. The onsen was named after a tool used in the making of traditional herbal medicine, which it resembled.
Oku-yagen Onsen was opened even earlier. In 862, Jikaku Daishi, who discovered Osorezan, suffered a great injury after he got lost. The story is that he was saved by a kappa (water imp) who immersed him in the waters of the 'Kappa-no-yu' bath, thereby healing his injury.
Read more about this topic: Yagen Valley
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“The history of our era is the nauseating and repulsive history of the crucifixion of the procreative body for the glorification of the spirit.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
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—Henry James (1843–1916)
“... that there is no other way,
That the history of creation proceeds according to
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—John Ashbery (b. 1927)