Once upon a time, in the province of Noto (now Ishikawa Prefecture), iron ore was mined and delivered to the provincial governor.
There was a group of six miners, and their leader spoke to his companions.
“There is a place in the province of Sado (now Sado City, Niigata Prefecture) where golden flowers bloom.”
This information reached the ears of the provincial governor, who summoned the leader, rewarded him, and asked,
“Is there really a place in the province of Sado where gold can be found? I heard you discussing this with your companions.”
The leader replied, “It seems there is a place in the province of Sado where gold can be found. You must have overheard us talking about it.”
“In that case, could you go there and retrieve some for us?”
“If you command it, we shall go.”
“Do you need anything?”
“We do not need laborers. If you could provide us with a small boat and some provisions, we will cross over to Sado and see if we can dig for gold.”
The governor did as they asked, discreetly providing them with a boat and provisions. The leader then set out for the province of Sado.
Twenty days to a month later, when the governor had nearly forgotten, the leader suddenly returned. Initially, the governor was in a crowded place, but sensing the situation, he met with the leader privately, away from others. The leader placed something wrapped in black cloth on the governor’s sleeve. The governor’s steward took it, holding it heavily, and carried it inside.
After that, the leader disappeared, and his whereabouts became unknown. The governor sent people to search for him, but he was never found. The reason for his disappearance remained a mystery. It was suspected that he feared being questioned about the location of the gold. It is reported that the gold weighed approximately 18 kilograms.
People from the province of Noto (now Ishikawa Prefecture) say, “Gold can be mined in the province of Sado.” It is likely that the leader continued to dig after that, but his whereabouts were never known. This story has been passed down through the generations.
[Translation]
Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using ChatGPT-4o to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[Explanation]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
Currently, Sado Island belongs to Niigata Prefecture, and ferries depart from Niigata City. This is the modern route, but in the past, any location along the coast of the Sea of Japan sufficed, so in this story, the boat departs from Noto (now Ishikawa Prefecture).
Sado Island
The fact that gold could be mined in Sado has been known for quite a long time (More than a thousand years ago), and this story is one of the earliest examples. Mining continued at the Sado Gold Mine until 1989, but it is now closed. In 2024, it was decided that the site would be registered as a World Heritage Site.
Sado Island Gold Mines
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
●Japanese
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