Mt. Inkyo

(Late 2000s) Toki City, Gifu Prefecture

Mt. Inkyo is located right near the junior high school I attended. Today, the mountain is well maintained, but when I was a child it was covered with trees and grass, and I often played there with my friends. Actually, this mountain has 3 faces.

1. Remains of a Kiln

2. Ancient Tomb

3. Fossil

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Remains of a Kiln

Pottery is still actively produced in the Tōnō region (southeast of Gifu Prefecture), but it is said that pottery began to be made in this region around the 16th century.

From these kiln ruins, pottery in a number of styles, including Ao Oribe, Shino Oribe, Narumi Oribe, and Aka Oribe, as well as tea utensils, were excavated.

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Ancient Tomb (Kofun)

On this mountain, there are many cave-style tombs built during the Kofun period (3rd to 7th century). It is not clear whose graves these are, but they probably belong to powerful people who ruled this region at the time.

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Fossil

It is said that this area was once a sea a long time ago, and shellfish and fish fossils have been unearthed everywhere. In 1950, fossils of Paleoparadoxia were discovered on Mt. Inkyo. Paleoparadoxia is a type of mammal that lived 17 million years ago.

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But…

For us kids, that mountain was just a playground. We didn't care about its historical value.