37Karyovinga Kasaboko
The Karyovinga kasaboko is from Shioya-machi, a former castle town of Yatsushiro Castle.
The karyovinga is an imaginary creature with the upper body of a person and the lower body of a bird that lives in paradise. It is also called Myōnchō, meaning a bird with an exquisite voice. The karyovinga has also appeared in the Noh song, Hagoromo, or The Feather Mantle, which is a celebration of this this world as paradise.
Shioya-machi is located west of Yatsushiro Castle. The origin of the town’s name is rooted in the fact that it was a new area developed on salt fields through reclamation at the time Yatsushiro Castle was constructed in the fifth year of the Genna period (1619).
Shioya Hachiman Shrine is located in the town and the Shinkō procession of Myōken Shrine departs from here on November 23rd.
