The story begins in the age of warring states, when the famed "Dragon of Echigo," Lord Uesugi Kenshin (then Nagao Kagetora), fell critically ill with beriberi in this land.

His retainers offered prayers at the revered Shinji Shrine. That very night, a white-haired old man stood at Lord Kenshin's bedside and gave a divine message: "Follow the white dove, and where it lands upon a staff, strike the ground, and a sacred spring shall gush forth. Purify your body with that water, and your illness will surely be healed."

The next morning, the dream oracle became reality. The gushing clear water is said to have completely healed Lord Kenshin's illness within a few months.

Greatly pleased, Lord Kenshin planted a pine tree with his own hands as a mark of gratitude, and the site became known as a sacred spring ground. Time passed, and after this legendary spring was once lost, our founder, Tanaka Kikujiro, revived it in the 44th year of the Meiji era (1911) as 'Ikuji Onsen.'

This very water that we continue to protect, along with the story of Lord Kenshin, continues to heal people to this day.