Korankei

Korankei is a gorge cut by the Tomoe River, a tributary of the Yahagi, at Asuke in Toyota. It is among the best known places in the country for autumn colour, and it is also a place where wild mountain plants grow, with something in flower through most of the year.

The planting is said to have begun in 1634 with trees put in the ground by San'ei, the eleventh abbot of Kojakuji, the temple here. About three thousand momiji, the Japanese maple, grow in the gorge now.

From late March into early April the slope carries a colony of katakuri, a low flower of a pale purple, over about five thousand square metres. Its name in English is dogtooth violet, and it is one of the flowers called spring ephemerals, or in Japanese fairies of early spring.

The old town of Asuke stands on the other side of the Asuke River, its streets much as they were when it was a post town, and designated for the preservation of its buildings.