Pre-historic Izumo Culture and Magatama jewelry

My wife and I participated in a bus tour to visit and see Izumo, a pre-historic cultural center of Japan located in west Japan facing the Japan Sea. I visited there for the first time in this half a century since I had stopped over there as a student on my detour way back from Tokyo to my hometown in Yamaguchi Prefecture with many stopovers and stays in the railway stations. At that time, I had little idea that a man was prone to forget and hence I didn't write any travel log then. As a result, I forgot almost everything of the previous trip.

I don't have eagerness nor capability to study Izumo Culture first hand. I just learn theories of scholars to reach understanding in my own way as follows; The kingdom of Izumo named Toyo-ashihara-mizuho-no-kuni was initiated by Susano-no-mikoto and established by Okuninushi-no-mikoto, a popular god in mythes. The kingdom spread along the north shores of Japan with immigrants from Korean Peninsula and with imported culture from Korea. It diffused into Yamato Plain, and Suwa district by sailing upstream on River Itoigawa. When the kingdom began to decline due to struggles between two sons of Okuninushi-no-mikoto, Tenson Family, the ancestor of the present Emperor family, originated by Amaterasu-Omikami at Hyuga district in Kyushu increased its influence, and demanded Okuninushi-no-mikoto to cede supremacy over his kingdom, and peacefully acquired supremacy to establish Yamato Dynasty. In exchange, Okuninushi-no-mikoto demanded the ritual right in Izumo, and Yamato Dynasty built for him a huge shrine but dispatched a prince of the Yamato Family as the priest. For three generations of Emperors since then, descendants of Okunikushi-no-mikoto were invited as Empress in order to concillate him.

The first shrine was recorded as tall as 96m on top of a raised floor on huge pillars. Then it was rebuilt to be 48m tall, and then 24m without a raised floor as it is today. Scholars used to believe that the 96m shrine was a hype. About a decade ago, however, the underground portions of huge pillars happened to be discovered in front of the current shrine. Three big cedar trees of 135 cm in diameter were bound together to make one pillar, and the underground portions of 9 pillars were found. One of them was displayed in a museum. This discovery was found consistent with oral and written traditions of a very highly raised shrine, and a ground plan diagram handed down over generations.

Among three divine treasures handed down from generation to generation in the Emperor's family of Yamato Dynasty, the metal mirror symbolizes the sun and is from the Yamato Dynasty, which worshiped the sun. But Magatama jewelry, symbolizing the crescent, is from Izumo Kingdom which worshiped the moon, and the bronze sword was specialty of Izumo. It is reasoned that Yamato Dynasty had a great debt of gratitude and respect toward Izumo Culture and Okuninushi-no-mikoto.

I was deeply involved in Magatama agate jewelry this time. The tour guide said an excuse, "We have to stop over this shop in the corporate policy" and the bus stopped at a Magatama shop named "Densho-kan" besides the national highway. I asked the shop master which Magatama was made of Izumo agate yielded here. He responded, "All Magatamas are made of imported materials. We can not use domestic materials except for Magatamas supplied to the royal family." So we had to buy as souvenirs some Magatamas of imported materials.

That night, we stayed in a hot spring hotel in the town of Tama-tsukuri Hot Spring, where Tama-tsukuri means "jewelry making". We had some spare time before dinner, and I went out for a walk in the town. Along a river, where hot spring gushes, there was another Magatama jewelry shop and I casually entered. I said, "You don't have any Magatama of Izumo agate, do you ?" The shop mistress said, "Not many any more, but we have some" and showed them to me. There were several necklaces with many Magatamas and colored stones laced together, and about ten single Magatamas for pendant tops. The agate of this area is colored dark green and called "blue stone". The color was similar to that of New Zealand jade, which is colored blackish green. It seemed that Magatamas manufactured decades ago by this shop were left unsold. Nowerdays, Magatamas of imported bright green agate, or other bright colored agate, were sold much cheaper, and therefore, it was no wonder that Magatamas of Izumo agate were left unsold. But I was interested in original Izumo Culture, and bought a Magatama of Izumo agate for my wife's pendant head. To my surprise, the paper bag I got had a logo of "Densho-kan". The mistress said, "This is the century-old main shop. We opened a branch along the national highway for guests of sightseeing buses." The mistress also told me that Densho-kan owned a mountain Mt. Kasen where green, red and white agates had yielded since ten thousand years ago but that mining had been almost stopped some time ago because imported materials were cheaper and liked by young people. I wondered why the shop master of the highway shop, probably the husband of the main shop mistress, was not kind enough to tell me that some domestic stones were in the main shop. Probably the reason is the fact that I bought there some Magatama of imported materials after all.

We visited the shrine, took lunch, and were given the free time of one hour and a half. I had lunch in great haste and run to visit Izumo Museum alone. I saw there the above-said underground portion of a huge pillar, a one tenth model of the original 96m shrine as tall as a Japanese castle, 3.5 hundred bronze swords excavated near there all in one bundle. They were really worth seeing. I didn't have time to visit the museum shop, but stopped at a kiosk near the exit. There I saw Magatamas of Izumo agate and even the raw ore. I was excited to buy the ore to add it to my collection of minerals.

I can see the glory of ancient Izumo Culture in the deep green Magatama.

End