What to know
Tono (遠野, Tōno) is a rural town nestled in the hills of central Iwate Prefecture. The area is known for its rustic landscapes and traditional farming culture. However, Tono is most famous as a treasure trove of Japanese folklore, with legends of spirits, animals, and supernatural creatures. This rich oral tradition was passed down through generations of storytellers and eventually compiled into a book by pioneering folklorist Yanagita Kunio.
Yanagita Kunio visited the region in the early Meiji Period and worked with Tono native Sasaki Kizen to collect local stories. They published "Legends of Tono" in 1910, one of the first collections of Japanese folktales. The legends they recorded are still told today, and storytelling performances in Japanese are regularly held at folk villages, museums, and some hotels around town.
The most famous folk creature from the region is the kappa, a mystical water sprite that looks like a small, humanoid turtle and is said to lurk in rivers and ponds. Kappa serve as a warning about the dangers of water, as they are believed to enjoy eating children and cucumbers, but they are also beloved, and images of them can be found all over Tono.
The rural Tono region is known for its traditional thatched-roof farmhouses, called Nambu Magariya (Nambu Bent Houses) because of their characteristic L-shaped construction and prevalence in the Nambu Region (the historical area of northeastern Tohoku named after the local Nambu lords). Several of these homes have been preserved and relocated to Tono's various folk villages.