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Arm Wrestling in the Clouds
The story mostly takes place in a hermitage in the Hakone mountains, a range that straddles the Musashi and Sagami borders. A mysterious visitor on the mountain alludes to various other sites while spinning tales for his host.
Locations
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Mount Hakone’s Kumadani: Once straddling Izu and Sagami
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Provinces, the mountain is now part of Kanagawa Prefecture. Its checkpoint station was renowned as Edo’s most scenic, offering a view of Lake Ashi from its summit and surrounded by steep terrain.
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Kamewarizaka: Located on the coastal slopes of Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture (formerly part of Echigo Province), this site was the scene of a fierce battle between warring lords in 1547.
Hakone in Hitome Tamaboko
On Hakone Mountain, pale-purple ‘tsubo-violets’
twice-dyed, thrice-dyed
who could have tinted them so?
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