Ise - Blog Posts

Meoto Iwa - the married rocks of Futami

We noted the presence of "married camphor trees" at Meiji-jingû last time, so I guess we can talk about other sacred things linked by rope.

One of the most famous of these is the couple of "married rocks" on the coast of Mie, on the premises of Okitama-jinja at Futami, near Ise. The Meoto Iwa represent the founding couple of Japan according to Shinto, Izanagi and Izanami.

The shimenawa ropes are more heavy-duty than what we saw on the camphor trees: 5 strands, 40 kg each. Still, as they are exposed to the seawater spray from crashing waves, they need to be changed several times a year, which involves quite a few people as you'd expect, as shown on the poster below. Ceremonies occur in May, September and December.

The ropes certainly look heavy on the smaller rock in particular, they look like they could slip off, but instead they cling on rather gracefully.

Dotted around the shrine are statues of the messengers of the gods: frogs.

While Futami's Meoto Iwa is the most important example of "paired rocks" in Japan, owing to how far the tradition dates back and its proximity to Ise Grand Shrine, there are quite a few others across the country. Below is another Meoto Iwa in Mihonoseki, Shimane.