DOGO HOT SPRING

A hot spring town in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture in the northwestern part of Shikoku. It is said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan, dating back some 3,000 years. It is mentioned in ancient texts, such as Nihon Shoki, The Tale of the Genji, and Manyoshu, and is recorded to have been visited by the Imperial Prince Shotoku Taishi. Dogo Onsen Honkan, a three-story wooden building, is the symbol of the town and the first public bathhouse to be designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Dogo Onsen is a main setting of the renowned novel Botchan by the famous novelist Soseki Natsume, who brought the town to fame in the Meiji and Taisho eras. Taro was given a tote bag as a souvenir from Dogo Onsen. “What is this peculiar-looking mark on the bag?” He was told that it was yudama, a symbol of Dogo Onsen said to represent a drop of onsen water or the ripples that spread from the rising spring. (“Is that right? It looked like a pork bun to me…”) Obviously, Taro is very hungry right now.