A poem composed on the way:

How hot the sun glows,
Pretending not to notice
An autumn wind blows!

At a place called Komatsu, or "Little Pines":

The autumn wind blows through
Little Pines - a lovely name -
Bush clover and pampas too.

Tada Shrine
At Komatsu, we visited Tada Shrine. There we saw the helmet of the warrior Sanemori [1111-1183] and a piece of his brocade armor robe. They are said to have been given him by Lord Yoshitomo of Minamoto, when Sanemori served with the Genji clan.

It was no ordinary helmet. From its peak to the turned-back ear flanges, it was embellished all over with chrysanthemum arabesques in gold. The crest was a dragon's head, and the helmet had flat, gilded "horns" that were proud and graceful.

When Sanemori was killed in battle, Kiso Yoshinaka sent Jiro of Higuchi to offer these relics to the shrine. All this is vividly recorded in the shrine's chronicles.

What a tragic thing:
'Neath a mighty warrior's helm
Grasshoppers chirruping!