S P O T ／ SPOT-004

Momotarō Shrine (Peach Boy Shrine)

桃太郎神社ももたろうじんじゃ

Perched above the Kiso River on a sheer cliff face, Momotarō Shrine is dedicated to the Peach Boy — Japan's most beloved folk hero — and it wears that dedication with an absolutely unhinged kind of pride. The approach passes through a torii gate shaped like a giant pink peach, setting the tone for what follows: dozens of concrete sculptures by the legendary Asano Shōun, depicting demons, ogres, hags, and the hero himself in poses that range from triumphant to deeply unsettling. Shōun's figures have a particular genius for capturing the grotesque — the veins bulging on a demon's arm, the manic glee of a conquering warrior, the sorrow of a defeated enemy. Inside the modest treasure hall, an eccentric collection of local donations and strange curios completes the experience in ways that no museum curator would sanction. The shrine sits at the confluence of Momotarō mythology and Asano Shōun's concrete universe, making it a keystone of what local enthusiasts call the "Asano Ginga" (Asano Galaxy) — the cluster of Shōun works concentrated in this corner of Aichi. Below the shrine, the Kiso River flows in a vista of genuine beauty, which makes the concrete demons above it all the more disorienting.