Japan’s Sawayaka Walking Events and the Ii Naotora Pin Badge

JR Tokai Sawayaka Walking Pin Badge, Ii Naotora, 2017

A Metal Badge From JR Tokai’s Regional Walking Series

This circular metal pin badge was produced for a Sawayaka Walking event organized by JR Tokai — formally Tokai Passenger Railway, also known as JR Central — the railway company operating trunk lines through central Japan including the Tokaido Main Line. The event took place on September 23, 2017, under the specific theme “Naotora Rekishi Tanbo” (Naotora Historical Exploration). The badge face carries that theme name, the Sawayaka Walking logo, the event date, and the JR Tokai mark.

One clarification before going further: the listing title describes this as a Pokemon item from JR East. Neither is accurate. The badge was issued by JR Tokai and has no connection to Pokemon. Both are errors in the title, not in the badge.

Sawayaka Walking has been part of JR Tokai’s annual calendar since around 1994, offering themed walking routes along its regional lines throughout the year. Each outing has its own local focus — history, scenery, seasonal events — and participants often receive commemorative items tied to that specific course. This badge belongs to that tradition.

Ii Naotora, Iinoya-gu Shrine, and the 2017 Taiga Drama Wave

The badge’s central illustration is a round, softly drawn mascot character representing Ii Naotora, dressed in a red-and-white kimono. Two rabbit figures appear alongside her — likely local mascots from the Inasa district of Hamamatsu, though their specific identities are not confirmed in available documentation. The background depicts Iinoya-gu Shrine, located in the Iinoya area of present-day Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. The shrine enshrines Prince Munenaga of the Nanbokucho period and stands within the territory historically associated with the Ii clan.

Ii Naotora herself was a Sengoku-period figure recorded in historical sources and local tradition as the female head of the Ii clan, governing the Totomi domain — the area now known as the Inasa district of Hamamatsu. Her documented status as a female daimyo has made her a subject of sustained historical and popular interest.

The 2017 timing connects to a major cultural event. That year, NHK broadcast the 56th installment of its Taiga Drama series — “Onna Joushu Naotora” (The Female Castle Lord, Naotora) — starring Shibasaki Kou in the title role. The year-long drama brought Ii Naotora to a national audience and generated a concentrated wave of tourism and local events across the Hamamatsu and Inasa areas. JR Tokai responded by routing a Sawayaka Walking course through Naotora-related sites, with checkpoints including Nishikiga Station on the regional Tenryu Hamanako Railway and Iinoya-gu Shrine itself. The badge is JR Tokai’s own event souvenir, produced independently and not as an official NHK or drama production tie-in.

Why the Specificity Matters to Collectors

What sets this badge apart from a generic character souvenir is the density of context it carries. One small object connects a documented historical figure, a functioning historic shrine, a regional third-sector railway, and a precisely dated cultural moment. The September 23, 2017 date stamped on the face anchors it to a single day.

Railway-event commemorative items of this kind are made for a specific walk on a specific occasion and do not enter general retail distribution. For collectors drawn to Japanese local history, regional railways, or the Taiga Drama as a cultural institution, that specificity — the date, the place, the occasion — is exactly what makes the badge worth seeking out.