S P O T ／ SPOT-097

Karakama Shrine (Korean Hearth Shrine)

韓竈神社からかまじんじゃ

Up a mountain road in the woods of Karakawa-chō, outside Izumo, a small shrine of striking antiquity is recorded in both the 733 Izumo no Kuni Fudoki and the 927 Engishiki — making it one of the oldest documented shrines in Japan. Karakama Shrine is dedicated to Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the storm god of Japanese myth, who is said to have arrived from the kingdom of Silla on the Korean Peninsula on a stone boat that is identified with a boulder still behind the shrine. The name 'Karakama' means 'Korean cauldron,' a reference to the iron-and-cauldron technology associated with Silla and absorbed into the deep iron-smelting culture of Izumo. To reach the main shrine, pilgrims climb about three hundred uneven stone steps, and then — just before the shrine itself — squeeze through a 45-centimeter gap between two huge boulders, an authentic test of body and intent. No cell signal, no signage, no concessions to the casual visitor; the mountain forest and the gap in the rock are the entire experience.