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FOSTER PARENTS OF IWAKURA

  There is a piece of Haiku poem by famous poet Buson Yosano
in the mid of Edo period;
  In Iwakura, Fall in Love Mad Women, Littl Cuckoo.
A fantastic work matching impending voice of little cuckoo 
and passionate love of women. There might be many cuckoos in
villages of northernKyoto in mountains leading to Mt.Kurama.
  The place Iwakura and mad women, that is to say, those 
became insane, suffered neurosis, dementia, had special 
relations. It went back some hundreds years ago in Heian 
period from the time the poem was composed. 
  Once a noble woman got nervous breakdown but completely 
recovered by standing under the waterfall of Iwakura. 
  The rumor spread out, increased the nobles visited Iwakura
. Some brought children of mentally retarded. They coundn't 
expect, however, prompt recovery. They asked nearby families
to take care of them for a long period, then some of them 
finally arranged adoption for lifelong caretaking. Such a 
custom continued for more than one thousand years.
  Those families adopted the children could expect good 
protection by the aristocracy. 

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