Natural stone culture and stone belief in the Japanese Archipelago

Muneaki Yoshikawa

Presentation information

[J] Poster

O (Public ) » Public

[O-05] Geology and culture of the active plate margin

Sun. May 25, 2025 5:15 PM - 7:15 PM Poster Hall (Exhibition Hall 7&8, Makuhari Messe)

convener:Hisashi Suzuki(Otani University), Norihito Kawamura(School of Regional Resource Management, Graduate School, University of Hyogo), Tohru Sakiyama(Institute of Geo History, Japan Geochronology Network)

5:15 PM - 7:15 PM

[O05-P02] Natural stone culture and stone belief in the Japanese Archipelago

★Invited Papers

*Muneaki Yoshikawa

Keywords:Natural stone culture, Stone belief, Iwakura (stones and rocks where spirits dwell), Megalith, Stone appreciation

I would like to focus on how humans felt when they came into contact with stone. Cultures born under the influence of natural stone are called natural stone cultures. Stone belief is one of them. In this presentation, I will introduce not only "Iwakura" and "Megalith", well-known in Japan, but also not well-known examples about stone belief. In addition, by introducing stone appreciation ("Suiseki"and"Niwaishi") and stones in folklore, the area of natural stone cultures will be understood. The spiritual relationship between human being and stone is a subject that should be analyzed by various studies.