S P O T ／ SPOT-060

Oumu-iwa (Parrot Rock)

おうむ岩おうむいわ

On the southern coast of the Shima Peninsula, two boulders face each other across roughly fifty meters of forested slope, and between them an acoustic curiosity has been quietly demonstrating itself for centuries. At one rock (the 'speaking spot'), an ordinary speaking voice — neither raised nor projected — is precisely transmitted across the gap to the other rock (the 'listening spot'), where it can be heard with full clarity, including soft consonants and changes in tone. The effect is the product of the boulders' specific shapes, their angle to each other, and the natural amphitheater of the slope between them, and once you have walked from one rock to the other to test the phenomenon yourself, it remains difficult to believe even after repeated trials. Local folklore treats the site with the respect ordinarily reserved for shrines: prayers, secrets, and confessions have been spoken into Oumu-iwa for generations, the listening rock acting as something between an oracle and a sacred ear. Approach the path carefully — the woods are unimproved and slippery after rain — but the experiment itself takes only a few minutes and lodges permanently in memory.