On the west side of Hankyu Mondo-Yakujin Station, where Saikoku Kaido and Yakujinsan-suji intersect, there’s a signpost that basically says “that way.”
👈 That way.
Here it is.
It’s on the way from Mondo-Yakujin Station to Kobe College, so many of you may already know it.
It says “Yakujin Myo-o Shrine,” and above that there’s something drawn that looks like what we’d call an emoji today.
It’s pointing, as if to say, “Yakujin-san is that way.”
It feels very modern, so I assumed this signpost had either been put up recently or reconstructed, but apparently that isn’t the case.
According to this information board, it was built in the mid-Edo period.
A signpost with an emoji-like drawing seems like it would have been a bit unusual for the Edo period.
By the way, there’s also an information board here for Saikoku Kaido.
There are five Saikoku Kaido information boards in total in the former Koto Village area, and the last one is located here.
