Tamatsukuri-yu Jinja, Tamatsukuri onsen

photo by by Monado · CC BY-SA 2.5

photo by Saigen Jiro · CC0

You touch a sacred stone three times with one you have bought, for a wish to take away.

In the shrine that protects the Tamatsukuri onsen, inside a glass case, stands the 願い石 (negai-ishi), a sacred stone; at the shrine office you buy a second stone, the 叶い石 (kanai-ishi), touch it three times against the first while making a wish, and take it home in a pouch together with a sheet with the wish written on it (the other copy stays at the shrine). The link with jade working is no coincidence: tradition has it that the court's magatama (the comma-shaped stone of the Japanese imperial regalia) was also worked here, and the onsen itself already appears in the Izumo Fudoki of 733.

Shinto shrine along the Tamayu River, in the heart of the Tamatsukuri onsen: listed in the Engishiki (tenth century) as a 式内社, it preserves the local tradition of working magatama stones. The onsen itself is among the oldest mentioned in Japanese written sources and is counted among the great hot springs of the medieval tradition, together with Arima and Dōgo.

ℹ️ Free entry to the shrine. At New Year, free servings of crab soup and red bean soup (1–2 January, 9:00–16:00). The onsen is reached by bus from JR Tamatsukuri-onsen (San'in Line) in a few minutes.

🚉 Tamatsukuri-Onsen · 28 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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