Cloud-Shaped Rock “Kumoishi”

Tales from the Kumaishi Area

In Setanai (present-day Setana Town), when the Ainu chieftain Tanakesi started a war, the third-generation Matsumae family lord of Kaminokuni Castle ordered his brothers, who were his vassals, to suppress the rebellion. However, Tanakesi’s army was powerful, and the lord’s elder brother was killed in battle in Setanai, while the younger brother escaped to Kumaishi. When the younger brother tried to hide in the rocky stretch of the Unseki (Cloud-Rock) Coast, black smoke billowed forth, and lightning burst all around. This extraordinary natural phenomenon allowed him to evade the fierce pursuit of Tanakesi’s army, and to return to Kaminokuni.