Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave

The following text is a slightly modified machine translation and may have some unnatural parts.

==Manyoshu==

OnaSukunabikona no imasikemu
Shizu-no-Iwaya ha
Ikuyo henuramu

There are two places in Shimane prefecture that are said to have been described as "Shizuno-no-Iwaya" in the Manyoshu. Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave in Shizuma town, Oda City, and Shizu-no-Iwaya Shrine in Onan town Ochi county.

==Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave==

Shizu no Iwaya Cave in Shizuma-cho, Oda City is a rock cave (sea cave) on the coast. It seems that people could enter before, but now it is prohibited to enter because of the danger of collapse.

==Shizu no Iwaya Shrine==

Behind the main shrine of Shizu-no-Iwaya Shrine in Onan town, Ochi county, there is a huge rock called Kagami-Iwa, which shows the ancient belief in megaliths.

Shizu-no-Iwaya Shrine

There is Ko-Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave on the hillside of Mt. Misen, which is the back mountain of Shizu Iwaya Shrine. It is said that many huge rocks can be seen on the mountain.

Ko-Shizu-no-Iwaya

Ko means old.

==Shizuma Shrine==

Shizuma Shrine in Shizuma town, Oda City seems to have a deep connection with Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave.

Shizuma Shrine

Shizuma Shrine was built on February 8, 886, the reign of Emperor Kouko, the 58th generation. It used to be enshrined in Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave in Uozu, but was relocated to its present location on June 27, 1674.

The two gods, Okuninushi (Onamuchi) and Sukunabikona, gave farmers plows and hoe, sowed paddy rice seeds, and taught them how to grow rice. In addition, as gods who have been treated not only for human diseases but also for livestock diseases, they are still deeply worshiped by sick people in various parts of Japan.

As mentioned above, it is in the genealogy. Originally it was enshrined in Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave, but later it was relocated to the present location. The Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave was previously inside, but now it is off limits due to the danger of collapse.

Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave

It is said that Okuninushi and Sukunabikona were temporarily settled in "Shizu-no-Iwaya" in order to build the country. Thinking about it, Shizuma town, Oda City is closer to Izumo and closer to that of Manyoshu.

==Good and bad==

A long time ago, Okuninushi asked Sukunabikona, "Can we say that the country we built was well made?" Sukunabikona replied, "Some things went well, others didn't." This story seems to have a deep tenor.

After that, Sukunabikona went to Yamazaki in Kumano, Izumo, and finally went straight to Tokoyo no Kuni (eternity). He also said that when he went to Awashima island and climbed the stalk of millet, he was flipped and went to Tokoyo no Kuni (the land of eternal youth).

There are some things that worked and some things that didn't work to build a country. Reading this article reminded me of a long time ago when former Prime Minister Takeshita was controversial about past colonial rule, saying that "there were good and bad things." Prime Minister Takeshita may have had the above legend in mind.

==Digression==

There is a mountain climbing course on Mt. Misen, which is the back mountain of Shizu-no-Iwaya Shrine in Onan town, Ochi county, but at the time of my visit, I gave up climbing with a severe ankle sprain.

I tried to go to Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave in Shizuma town, Oda City, but there was no parking lot around Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave. A neighbor was angry at me saying, "There is no parking lot here."

On my second visit, Shizu-no-Iwaya was within walking distance of Shizuma Shrine, although the slope was steep. I parked my car in front of Shizuma Shrine and went to Iwaya Cave.

Shizu-no-Iwaya Shrine in Onan town, Ochi county runs from Hamada Expressway / Oasa IC on National Route 261 toward the former Mizuho Town. Enter Prefectural Road 6 and turn right from there (* Follow Route 6). There is a torii gate and a signboard, so go through the torii gate. After a while, there is a stake that shows the direction of the shrine. There is a private house and it is small, but there is a parking space when you go up there.

To reach Shizuma Shrine, take National Route No. 9 toward Shizuma, then Prefectural road No. 287, and turn toward Shizuma Elementary School. If you continue along the road, you will see a sign that says "Shizuma Shrine", so turn there. After a while, you will find Shizuma Shrine. There is a space to park your car in front of the shrine. If you go down the road from the shrine, you can go to Shizu-no-Iwaya Cave. It is within walking distance and there is no parking space around Iwaya Cave.

==References==

• * 「日本の神々―神社と聖地 第七巻 山陰」（谷川健一／編, 白水社, 1985）pp.169-170
• * 「<原本現代訳>日本書紀（上）」（山田宗睦／訳, ニュートンプレス, 1992）