Osano-Wo's Rock was a five foot tall outcrop of black basaltic stone located in the Hundred Stances Plain, but it predated human settlement in the area. [1]
Local Folk[]
Peasants believed it was the spot on which Osano-Wo met an old warrior. Osano-Wo compared his life with the one of the aged warrior, who was irritated by Osano-Wo's pride. The nameless warrior offered him a challenge, who was accepted. The old man challenged Osano-Wo to defeat death, breathed his last breath and quietly passed away, having himself lost the same challenge. Peasants claimed once Osano-Wo became a Fortune, he struck the earth with lightning to honor the old man's memory and remind him of how he had defeated death. [2]
Worship[]
The place became a center for Osano-Wo's worship, and many samurai sought out the rock to pray him. Once per year, at the height of summer, a procession travels from the nearby Roaring Thunder Village to the Rock, and deposited remains of their firewood around the rock, to set it ablaze. The exhausting trek sometimes resulted in one or more deaths, and it was belived they had found the fortune's favor and they would meet with great fortune in their next incarnation. [1]
References
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