refers to the belief in rocks as

yorishiro A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called , thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. are used during ceremonies to call the for worship. The word itself literally means "approach ...

containing

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

in ancient Shinto. It also refers to the rock itself, which is the object of worship.

Overview

Nature worship Nature worship, also called naturism or physiolatry, is any of a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on the worship of a nature deity, considered to be behind the natural phenomena visible throughout nature. A n ...

, also known as spirit worship or

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

, is a type of base faith that has been present in Japan since ancient times. This form of worship revolves around the belief in gods and spirits that reside in nature. In Shinto rituals, gods are said to have descended from

shintai In Shinto, , or when the honorific prefix ''go''- is used, are physical objects worshipped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or ''kami'' reside.''Shintai'', Encyclopedia of Shinto ''Shintai'' used in Shrine Shinto (Jin ...

, a rock, and the

, called himorogi, was made the center of the ritual, symbolizing the divine power of the gods. As time passed and

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, where gods were believed to reside, became more permanent, the object of worship shifted from the body of the gods to the shrine itself. Sacred trees and stones, adorned with shimenawa ropes, can still be seen in many temple precincts. In addition to rocks, there are several other forms of belief in nature in Japan, including Chinju no Mori, the "island" as a forbidden area, the Okinoshima of Munakata Taisha, belief in mountains such as Rokko Himei Shrine and Mount Miwa, belief in fire, waterfalls, and various weather phenomena such as wind, rain, and lightning. There is also mention of another rock-related object called Iwasaka, which is believed to be a ritual site centered on a rock. However, there is little evidence of its existence compared to Iwaza. The '' Nihonshoki'' (Chronicles of Japan) distinguishes Iwasaka from Iwaza, suggesting that it is a distinct object. A banjiki, on the other hand, is similar to a

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...

, an ancient ruin made of stones arranged in a ring, and serves as a boundary that marks the divine realm and preserves the sacredness of the site. Some of the

megaliths A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

along the Kaido have

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

carved on them, and some have

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

s attached to them, such as the famous samurai who connected

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s. There is a research group (Iwakura Gakkai) claiming that the belief in rock formations and megaliths, including these, can be traced back to the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

, and that there are also artificially arranged rock formations, and that their arrangement represents certain figures, directions, or the shape of

constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellations were likely defin ...

. In contrast to this view, the Iwakura Society points out that it was not until the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

that the Iwakura ritual began. In addition, there is criticism of the theory that megaliths are artifacts.

An is a stone altar or mound erected as a to call a for worship. The concepts of and are so close that some suggest the two words are in fact synonymous.Sugiyama, "Iwasaka"

Gallery

File:Hitsuishi, gaikan-3.jpg, File:Yagyu-Yamaguchi-jinja, Tateiwa-jinja, iwakura.jpg, Tachiban Shrine in the precincts of Yashifun Yamaguchi Shrine (Nara City, Nara Prefecture) File:Yoki-tenman-jinja Shrine - Iwakura.jpg, (Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture) File:Omiwa-jinja Iwakura.jpg, Ōmiwa Shrine (Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture) File:Meotoiwa Site (Matsue), gaikan.jpg, File:Takashima (Okayama, Okayama), iwakura.jpg, Rocks on

References

External links

イワクラ（磐座）学会
{{Shinto shrine Sacred rocks Animism Shinto religious objects

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links