Associated with: Fushigi (不思議) or "wonders"
Carved into a mountainside about 45 kilometers west of Kobe is a megalithic block of stone of unclear origin and unknown purpose. There are a few clues as to what it was, but the wonder was created so long ago that the builder’s intent has been lost to time. A mythology is now associated with it, and not surprisingly the ancient aliens people have been poking their heads around too. I’m not sure this is a Chariot of the Gods but the mystery associated with the stone, along with its impressive stature, has it listed as one of the Nippon Sanki (日本三奇), or Three Wonders of Japan.
Carved into a mountainside about 45 kilometers west of Kobe is a megalithic block of stone of unclear origin and unknown purpose. There are a few clues as to what it was, but the wonder was created so long ago that the builder’s intent has been lost to time. A mythology is now associated with it, and not surprisingly the ancient aliens people have been poking their heads around too. I’m not sure this is a Chariot of the Gods but the mystery associated with the stone, along with its impressive stature, has it listed as one of the Nippon Sanki (日本三奇), or Three Wonders of Japan.
From Nippon (1832, sketch rendered in 1826), Philipp Franz von Siebold (Source: http://www.tosakpc.net/)
So what is it? Well around 1500 years ago a massive block of stone was carved into the Takasago mountainside. Though it's still attached at the bottom, the bulk is estimated to weigh an impressive 5 to 7 hundred tonnes. There is room enough to walk around the structure, but it’s nestled so narrowly into the surrounding rock that it’s nearly impossible to capture its size in a single photo. The site is now worshiped as a shrine.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
The stone is referred to commonly as the Ishi no Hoden (石乃寳殿), or the Stone Treasure House. The shrine itself goes by the often misread and misheard title of Ohshiko Shrine (生石神社), with the elongated ‘O’ sound at the front the only tenuous barrier to it sounding like the Japanese word for piss. For this reason you might be better off asking someone about the "Stone Treasure House" rather than risk asking for the "Wee-Wee Shrine."
Like Mount Miwa in Nara, the stone is another example of the landscape itself being the object of worship. In fact, the account of the shrine's origin copies and pastes directly from the Omiwa legend. The reign of Japan's 10th emperor Sujin (98-30 BC) saw an epidemic sweeping the country. Just as the people were on the brink of annihilation, Sujin made contact with the deity Omononushi who conveyed to Sujin that his proper worship on Mount Miwa would halt the devastation. The Ohshiko Shrine account is almost identical, except it's Okuninushi and Sukunahikona who appear before the emperor in a dream, proclaiming, "If you enshrine and worship our spirits, the world will be at peace." Sujin's response was to then establish Ohshiko Shrine, and as in the Mount Miwa story, the epidemic abated and peace was restored. Interestingly, this is the closest thing we have to the shrine's historical origin. It also has a mythical origin with the same cast of characters.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
Ye Gods
This is the yokai tour bus, so let's take a closer look at our kami. Our first deity, Okuninushi (大国主; "Great Land Master"), is the better known of the two gods. The Kojiki records his harrowing trials in becoming the lord of Izumo Province (current day Shimane Prefecture), the tamest of which, insofar as it does not involve Okuninushi repeatedly enduring or confronting painful death, is the popular White Hare of Inaba. The second deity Sukunahikona (少彦名; "Small Man of Renown") came on the scene a bit later. Okuninushi first encountered Sukunahikona when the latter arrived at Izumo cresting a wave on a small boat made of bark. Startled to find a mysterious traveler clad in goose skin and of such small stature (Sukunahikona was a dwarf), Okuninushi went to pick up the little fellow, only to be bitten by him on the face. This cheeky encounter did not prevent the two from becoming fast friends, and Sukunahikona came to assist Okuninushi in forging the land. This sets the scene for the mythical origin of the Ishi no Hoden.
Road Trip Gone Awry
The story goes back to the time of Okuninushi's youth when he went by the name Oanamuchi (大穴牟遅). With his trusty companion Sukunahikona, they traveled from Izumo to Takasago and resolved to construct a stone palace on the site in one night. They were halfway complete when the god of Aga (likely referring to Aga in nearby Himeji) began a revolt. Oanamuchi and Sukunahikona descended the mountain and in the place called Kamizume (nearby Kazume, Takasago) gathered a multitude of gods to deal with the nocturnal rebellion. This they suppressed, but by the time things had calmed down, dawn had come and the palace was incomplete.
Depending on what you read, Oanamuchi and Sukunahikona then confine themselves to the stone palace in a vow of atonement to protect the land. This vow, or being subject to a promise, or being on the losing end of a bet for not having completed a job of work overnight is a theme in other folktales (the newly UNESCOed Namahage come to mind). While my cynical self wants to point out that two powerful supernatural beings needn't subject themselves to such an arbitrary time limit, the idea of work not having been completed by the dawn (by the time when light is thrown on the subject and by which it can be known) speaks to the psychological meaningfulness of the tale and perhaps refers to the stone's murky origin.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
As to its physical description, the perimeter of the stone is about seven meters square and the height is around six meters. The megalith is roughly cubic in shape and surrounded on three sides by stone walls. A trench was dug to facilitate the fabrication of the bottom "face." This trench was then filled with water, which, coupled with the low positioning of the object to the surrounding surface, gives the illusion that the treasure house is suspended in the air. For this reason it is also known as the Uki-ishi (浮石), or "Floating Stone." According to tradition the site is said to be more than 2000 years old, but archaeologically it's more like fifteen hundred. The stone is mentioned in the Harima Fudoki (播磨国風土記; Records of the Culture and Geography of the Harima Region), which we know dates back to the year 714. The discrepancy is likely a result of lining up the stone's chronology with the Sujin mythos. Even the older Omiwa Shrine does a similar thing, inflating its age by a couple of hundred years.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
One playful account of the site concerns the huge amount of wastage produced during construction. Humans and animals carted the rocks in a procession with the "monkeys leading the cows and horses" 4 kilometers north to Mt. Takamikura (高御位山), where they placed the rocks on the mountain's peak. This is how this mountain is said to have got the name Takamikura, or "Mt. High Throne."
From Majestic Wonder to Campy Oddities
Ohshiko Shrine boasts at least three other heart-stopping "wonders" that I would be remiss not to mention here. The Japanese term for wonders is usually fushigi, which means something more like curiosities.
Number 1: Dragons in the rock!
The front side of the Floating Stone is said to contain within it the images of dragons. How many? Some say say three. Some say eight or more. I didn't see any, but this could be a fish:
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
Number 2: An interesting shape on the rock wall!
A rock fall along the rear wall revealed a squiggly tadpole-like shape inside the resulting depression...
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
Number 3: A cliff that looks a bit like the face of a gorilla!
For the life of me I could not find this. I photographed a number of possible candidates, but it seems my camera was pointing in the opposite direction most of the time. I found it later just sitting on Google Maps (a search for "ゴリラ岩" should bring it up), but even then it's not obvious exactly where the Gorilla outline is. I guess it's all part of the mystery. Here's a photo taken in the general direction:
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
Though not specifically listed as a wonder, the water the Floating Stone sits in is thought to be miraculous, never running dry and greatly effective against all kinds of sicknesses. Personally I'd consider it a miracle if you drank it and didn't liquefy your bowels.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
So what is it?
It's possible the stone was carved into the mountain as an object of worship or part of a religious site. The goshintai (the honored god body) of many ancient shrines are large stones, if not exactly megalithic. However, the shrine is near a quarry, so it doesn't rule out the theory that it was being chiseled out for a specific function, possibly to construct a tomb. This idea has been pooh-poohed due to the shape not really lending itself to tomb construction, but large slabs were being quarried and carted for that purpose around the time, so the various technologies and know how were in play, even if we can't discern the stone's exact function based on how it looks. And yes, sure, if you want you can say it was built to look like a spaceship using the borrowed technology of a visiting alien civilization. Why not.
Comments: With Himeji Castle down the road acting as a tourist magnet, Ohshiko Shrine will be yours to enjoy. With pleasant pathways leading around the back of the mountain and beautiful scenery, the shrine gets my thumbs-up. Unfortunately there is not much else to do in the area, and besides the fact that the place exists, you're mainly going just to gawk at it. Get ye there gawkers!
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
Getting There
The starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Umeda Stn. Our destination is Hoden Stn. on the JR line.
Umeda Stn. lies next to Osaka Stn., a large hub of intersecting JR lines. From subway Umeda, follow the signs directing you to JR Osaka Stn. Unlike Umeda, there is only one "Osaka" station, but south there is another JR station called Kitashinchi. Though you'll likely find Osaka Stn. with your eyes closed, if you are following "JR" signs and you've been walking for longer than 5 minutes there is a small possibility you've made a wrong turn. Similar to previous entries, I want to point out that we're starting at subway Umeda Stn. to keep it in line with our Midosuji Line-centered travel, but if you are staying in the Osaka Stn. area or near a station on the Loop Line, you obviously needn't worry about the subway for this trip.
From Osaka, you need to take a shinkaisoku (special rapid service train) for the first part of the trip. They usually depart every 10 or 15 minutes depending on the time of day. Though you're staying on JR for the whole trip, you need to change to a local train at Kakogawa, which is on the JR Kobe Line portion of the Sanyo Main Line. On the shinkaisoku, Kakogawa is seven stops and approximately 50 minutes from Osaka. Don't be surprised if you find yourself standing the whole way, but around Sannomiya or Kobe you might be able to get a seat.
At Kakogawa, you need to get off and change to a local train so don't exit the station. Remember you are just changing services, not lines (there is a branch line running north from here called the Kakogawa Line). All you're doing is jumping on a local train going in the same direction as the one you just got off. Hoden is one stop from Kakogawa.
Getting Your Bearings at Hoden Station
The Stone Treasure House is actually on a mountainous outcrop between the train line and the ocean, so you need to go out the south exit. Please refer to the map below:
Map courtesy of Google Maps
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
The shrine holds its autumn festival on the third Saturday and Sunday in October. Opening times vary, so try to get there between 9:00 and 15:00 to avoid disappointment. Some sections may be accessible after hours, but you must pay to enter the Floating Stone enclosure.
You could probably squeeze the shrine in heading back to Osaka from Himeji Castle. A trip to the castle can be time consuming because of the tourist traffic, so make an early start if you're planning to do both.
Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/
The Master List (Hyogo)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-b-master-list-hyogo.html
(wonders) "The Floating Stone" or Uki-ishi (浮石)
Site: Ohshiko Shrine (生石神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Hoden Stn. (宝殿駅)
Google Map Search: "生石神社" <-- The English doesn't seem to come up.
