iwakura sacred rocks

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iwakura 岩座 / 磐座 sacred rock, sacred boulder
iwaza 岩座 "stone seat"



source :　veeten/iwakura
Achi Jinja Iwakura 阿智神社磐座


quote
A formation of rocks considered to be sacred to which a kami is invited to descend for worship.

Together with ishigami (stone-kami) and iwasaka, such forms of worship represent a type of rock-worshiping cult. As rites are repeated, the rocks themselves are worshipped as divine stones.

Archaeological sites throughout Japan point show traces of such worship, with many are related to ritual worship. Such sites may be referred to by a variety of suggestive vernacular expressions including "divine descent stone," "divine sitting stone," "divine appearance stone," and "kami' footprint stone."

The size and shape of the stones also vary widely. Such sites appear to have been worshiped since the neolithic Jōmon period, as suggested by such finds as the togari-ishi ("pointed stones") of Nagano Prefecture, and the sake-ishi ("salmon stones") of northeastern Japan, but rites were more frequently observed beside rock formations starting with the Yayoi-period sites of buried bronze bells (dōtaku), and especially in the tumulus (burial mound, or kofun) period. Large caches of mirrors, stone jewels, weapons, and earthenware utensils have been found at archaeological sites, in the same state as when they were when they were abandoned.

In shrine rituals, sites of stones believed to be related to the shrine's kami (saijin) are still used as "resting sites" (otabisho) for the kami's portable shrine (shin'yo) or for the presentation of food offerings to the kami.

At shrines called iwakura jinja, rock formations may be worshiped within or behind the shrine's sanctuary (honden), suggesting that such rocks were the focus of worship even before the formal establishment of the shrine.
source : Sugiyama Shigetsugu - Kokugakuin


Iwakura Jinja 岩座神村　Iwakura Shrine
for example in Hyogo 兵庫県 多可郡 加美町


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .


. iwasaka 磐境 stone altar, cairn .


Iwakura waterfall and temple Daiun-Ji 岩倉大雲寺

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In the legend, O-yama-gui-no-kami descended on a huge rock at the top of Mt. Matsuo at an ancient time, and the rock had been the religious site for local residents since then (usually this kind of holy rock is called Iwakura (磐座)).
. Matsu-no-o Taisha 松尾大社 Kyoto .


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お降りや磐座の石しめるほど
o-sagari ya iwakura no ishi shimeru hodo

first rain of the year -
just enough to wet
the divine rocks

Kawai Kazuko 河合和子

. WKD : o-sagari　おさがり rain on January 1 .


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磐座は海から見えて花の雨
iwakura wa umi kara miete hana no ame

the sacred rocks
can be seen from the ocean -
rain on cherry blossoms

Ibaraki Kazuo 茨木和生
(1939 - ) Haiku poet from Nara


. WKD : "Rain on Blossoms" (hana no ame) .


At the shrine Hana no Iwaya Jinja 花窟神社 in Kumano, Mie, sacred ropes are hung from the divine rocks.


source :　sakishimasuounoki.ti-da.net


O-tsunakake shinji お綱かけ神事
ritual of replacing the ropes at Hana no Iwaya Jinja
This unique rope ceremony is held twice a year in Feb. and Oct. A giant rope is suspended from a really big rock (45 m high), which forms an object of worship.
. WKD : Festivals of Mie Prefecture .



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