History
The onsen was opened in 1615. It was discovered by an ally of Hideyori Toyotomi, who retreated here after the defeat of the Toyotomi forces at the summer siege of Osaka Castle. The onsen was named after a tool used in the making of traditional herbal medicine, which it resembled.
Oku-yagen Onsen was opened even earlier. In 862, Jikaku Daishi, who discovered Osorezan, suffered a great injury after he got lost. The story is that he was saved by a kappa (water imp) who immersed him in the waters of the 'Kappa-no-yu' bath, thereby healing his injury.
Read more about this topic: Yagen Valley
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“Yet poetry, though the last and finest result, is a natural fruit. As naturally as the oak bears an acorn, and the vine a gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done. It is the chief and most memorable success, for history is but a prose narrative of poetic deeds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)