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Mitarai was a port town in [[Hiroshima han]], located on Ôsaki-Shimojima, one of the Geiyo Islands in the [[Inland Sea]], located roughly halfway between the cities of [[Kure]] (in [[Hiroshima han]]) and [[Imabari]] (in [[Iyo province]], on [[Shikoku]]). Today, Mitarai has been absorbed into Kure City.

Mitarai was a port town in [[Hiroshima han]], located on Ôsaki-Shimojima, one of the Geiyo Islands in the [[Inland Sea]], located roughly halfway between the cities of [[Kure]] (in [[Hiroshima han]]) and [[Imabari]] (in [[Iyo province]], on [[Shikoku]]). Today, Mitarai has been absorbed into Kure City.

[[File:Mitarai.jpg|center|thumb|750px|The port of Mitarai in [[1904]]]]

[[File:Mitarai.jpg|center|thumb|1000px|The port of Mitarai in [[1904]]]]

The town's name literally means "hand washing," and depending on the source one refers to, the placename derives from either [[Izanagi]], [[Empress Jingu|Empress Jingû]], or [[Sugawara no Michizane]] having washed their hands there at one time. Numerous rivers, ponds, and other sites across Japan share the same name (sometimes pronounced Mitarashi or Mitarase, but written with the same [[kanji]]).<ref>''Mitarai tsûshi'' 御手洗通志 16 (July 2005), 5, 8.</ref>

The town's name literally means "hand washing," and depending on the source one refers to, the placename derives from either [[Izanagi]], [[Empress Jingu|Empress Jingû]], or [[Sugawara no Michizane]] having washed their hands there at one time. Numerous rivers, ponds, and other sites across Japan share the same name (sometimes pronounced Mitarashi or Mitarase, but written with the same [[kanji]]).<ref>''Mitarai tsûshi'' 御手洗通志 16 (July 2005), 5, 8.</ref>