Ohshiko Shrine; a shrine which worships a large incredible artistic stone




The presence of the shrine with the stone

In Takasago City, which is located between Kobe and Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture, there is a wondrous shrine which worships a large incredible artistic stone. It’s Ohshiko Shrine, but yet strictly speaking, it enshrines two great gods dwelling in the stone or this land. They are “Ohnamuji” and “Sukunahikona-no-mikoto”, and Ohnamuji was the greatest lord of old Japan and Sukunahikoha-no-mikoto was the most credible subordinate of Ohnamuji, they opposed the ancient Imperial Court.

After praying at the entrance building of the shrine, you can immediately see the stone. But yet it is the front face of the stone, you can’t grasp all of the stone if you look around.

You will feel something energetic from the wall-like stone which is three times taller than you. There is a narrow path on which you can walk around the stone to the right.


Turning left at the right corner of the front face there is a water pool surrounding the stone, and the stone looks like hovering on the surface of the water pool. The stone face on the right is more artificial than the front face. The front face is artistic and rough but the right face is perfectly processed with a big vertical artistic groove.

Turning left at the right corner of the right face there is the back face of the stone, but it looks like a brim over the path rather than a face. It is a perfectly artificial.

Furthermore, turning left at the right corner of the back face there is an artificial face which is same as the opposite face. The picture above is the one taken from the corner of the fourth face and the front face. Looking upward you can see a large roundly stone-cliff surrounding the stone.

After stepping out of the shrine building and walking up to the top part of the cliff, you can see all of the shrine and the stone. Nonetheless, you can’t grasp the original form, because the stone is partly covered by many trees from the stone.

However, according to the ancient chronicles in the 8th century of the area including this shrine the stone was cut and planned to be transported to a far place in order to be a tombstone of an ancient mount tomb, by the command of a great powerful family in the ancient Imperial family in the 6th century before the unity of Japan. In addition, the chronicles say that the cutting was done in only one day.

Moreover, due to the analysis from many photos of every part of the stone, the back face which seemed to be the brim was formed a roof-top like a pyramid with a middle flat plate. According to the records of the chronicles and the photos, the stone was in the middle of being set as a tombstone in the distant place before stood up and transported. In ancient times, were there such techniques, a precise technique of cutting big stones, a physical technique of standing up heavy stones and a powerful technique of transporting big stones? It is difficult to think it possible, because it is not easy to cut such a large stone including the round cliff and the water pool even by current techniques. Furthermore, to make them in a day may be an extraterrestrial technology.


Like a great exhibition of contemporary art

On the contrary, if you think from a different view point of you that the stone is a complete one, you may be able to feel something else. It could be explained well by the idea that the stone is a piece of contemporary art in ancient times. The water pool looks like a necessary facility of the stone. The water pool with the stone brews something artistic. In addition, the round cliff surrounding the stone, the water pool and the path are shaped perfectly artistic under someone’s planning. I can understand that the exhibition of the stone stimulate my perception. The artistic mood with the energetic power from the stone is similar to the great exhibition of “Time/Timeless/Notime” by Walter De Maria in the Chichu Museum in Naoshima.


If my opinion may make a good point, I have to try to explain the meaning of the pyramid on the back face. It is said that a pyramid is a facility which amplifies the energy in the cosmos. Yes, the pyramid of the stone amplifies the galactic energy, and the stone with the pyramid stimulates us.

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