【火祭りで駆け下る「火の神」 皇統神話と熊野の旅-27】

　日本の祭りでは、各地で「神奈備」のひとつとしてまことに勇壮な神事が執り行われる。そういったひとつとも思えるけれど、この新宮・神倉神社の奇祭の危険度は非常に高い。これら火祭りの画像は一般社団法人 共同通信社が配信しているKYODO NEWSの動画から静止画としたもの。
　カミと一体化するために多くの人びとは身を清め、相当の覚悟を持って神事に参加する。毎年２月６日に行われるということで、花の窟神社の御綱祭事が２月２日であることと関係するように思える。実際にこの奇祭の趣旨として、旧暦での新しい年の新しい「火」を里人の家に送り届けるというような共同体社会としての意味があるのだという。
　花の窟神社で祭神として祀られた軻遇突智（カグツチ）は「火の神」としてイザナミが産んだけれど、その時の火傷でイザナミが命を落とした。そのときにカグツチも花の窟神社に葬られたとされるけれど、しかし火は人間社会にとって絶対必要欠くべからざる存在。そこで花の窟神社の神体と類似したこのゴトビキ岩から火の神が駆け下りるという神意をまつりごととして実現させたように想像できる。
　神事に当たって参加者たちは海辺で神体を清め、神主さんに御祓いをして貰い、白装束に身を固めて固く決意をもって急峻な参道を上ってゴトビキ岩に向かう。

　北海道ではこういった伝統的神事はあまりない。明治以降、全国から分散的に移住してきた人びとが無縁性の高い社会を作り始めてからまだ150年ほどであり、こうした神奈備風習は多くない。対比的に熊野のような地域社会では習俗が連綿と繰り返され、それが地域のアイデンティティとして成立し続けている。
　列島社会としてはこうしたものが継続され続ける社会の精神性基盤があるということ。地域の生き方に強く関わっていて、個人を超える「公共」という意識を強く涵養し続けたことだろう。
　こういった神奈備へのリスペクトを基盤とした社会というものはどのような精神を育んでいくか。なりわいを中心にして形成される地域毎の「ムラ」社会が、こういった機縁を共同体のおおきな結束根拠として活用していくことは自然だったことだろう。
　そういった強い共同体意識はムラ同士の間では、ある緊張関係をもたらして、非常に分権的な社会構造が出来上がっていくことが容易に想像できる。島嶼地域アジアで強い王権や政体が出現しにくかったことと、やや北方に位置するこの日本列島社会の底流とは、類縁性が高いと思われる。
　そういったなかにも関わらず、いわばゆるやかな王権を確立させた日本の皇統は、各地に残るさまざまな地域的統合説話と丹念に向き合って、説話レベルでの「統合」を図っていったのではないだろうか。天武帝と舎人親王は地道な各地域の説話に整合性を与えていく困難な作業を厭わず、日本書紀・古事記を成立させて世界最長の皇統の歴史を築いていったように思われる。


English version⬇

The "God of Fire" who runs down in the Fire Festival: The Myth of the Imperial Lineage and the Kumano Journey-27
A decentralized society unified by the "matsuri goto" culture of the Mura unification. The cultural policy of the Japanese imperial lineage, which made efforts to be consistent with such a reality. ...

In Japan, many festivals are held in various places to perform truly heroic rituals as one of the "kannabis". Although it seems to be one of those, this strange festival at Kamikura Shrine in Shingu is very dangerous. These images of the fire festival are stills from the KYODO NEWS video distributed by Kyodo News.
　In order to become one with Kami, many people purify themselves and participate in the ritual with considerable determination. The fact that the festival is held every year on February 6 seems to be related to the fact that the Gozuna ritual at Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine is held on February 2. In fact, the purpose of this strange festival is to send a new "fire" for the new year in the lunar calendar to the homes of the villagers as a communal society.
　Kagutsuchi, the Kagutsuchi enshrined at the Hana no Kutsu shrine, was the "fire god" and was born to Izanami, but Izanami lost her life due to a burn at that time. Kagutsuchi is said to have been buried at the shrine of Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine, but fire is an absolute necessity for human society. It can be imagined that the divine intention of the god of fire running down from Gotobiki Rock, which is similar to the sacred body of the Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine, was realized in the form of a festival.
　Participants in the ritual purify the body of the god on the beach, have it purified by the priest, and then, dressed in white, walk up the steep path to Gotobiki Rock with firm determination.

There are not many of these traditional Shinto rituals in Hokkaido. It has only been about 150 years since the Meiji period (1868-1912), when people dispersedly immigrated from all over Japan and began to create a highly unrelated society, and there are not many such kannabi-style customs in Hokkaido. In contrast, in local communities such as Kumano, customs have been continuously repeated and have continued to be established as a local identity.
　This means that the archipelagic society has a social spiritual foundation that continues to sustain these customs. They are strongly related to the local way of life and continue to cultivate a strong sense of "publicness" that transcends the individual.
　What kind of spirit will be fostered in a society based on this kind of respect for Kannabi? It would have been natural for the local "mura" society, which is formed around the community's "nari-wari," to utilize this kind of opportunity as a basis for community cohesion.
　Such a strong sense of community would have brought about a certain tension between the mura, and it is easy to imagine that a very decentralized social structure would have been created. The fact that strong kingships and political systems were difficult to create in island Asia and the underlying currents of society in the Japanese archipelago, which is located slightly to the north, seem to have a strong similarity.
　The Japanese imperial lineage, which established a loose royal authority in spite of such circumstances, may have worked to "unify" at the level of legend by carefully examining the various regional unification legends that remained in various regions. Emperor Temmu and Prince Shonin seem to have established the history of the world's longest imperial lineage by establishing the Nihonshoki and Kojiki through their willingness to go through the difficult task of bringing consistency to the various regional legends.

【神倉神社とゴトビキ岩「火祭り」神事 皇統神話と熊野の旅-26】

　さて熊野三山の最後は熊野速玉大社なのですが、実際に熊野川河口の社には特段の感慨を持つことはなかった。ごく一般的な境内風景であり、特異性は感じられない。
　しかし、事前に調査していてこの速玉大社の「摂社」神倉神社の存在を知っていた。一番上の写真は同社のHPからのもの。２枚目はわたしが撮影した参道の様子。かなり急坂の538段の石段を登らなければ到達できないことで有名な神社。熊野三所の大神が最初に降臨した場所とされており、平安時代以降には多くの修験者が集う場所にもなっていたようです。神武東征譚でも、この霊地に来られたとされている。
　こういう修験スポットは日本人の自然崇拝と重なる「特異な」パワースポット性がある。
　この印象的な岩石露頭に神聖性が強い印象でこころにストレートに迫ってくる。・・・ということでなんとか参道を上がろうと100段くらいは上ったのですが、訪問当日朝には楯ヶ崎でシカと遭遇するような自然道探査もしていて体力の消耗を招き、途中で断念せざるを得ませんでした（泣）。金比羅さんの785段では体力を温存していてしっかり登り切ったのですが、安土城とここには心理的に降参させられました（笑）。
　っていうか、階段途中で早々に断念していた台湾からの観光のみなさん一団と、言葉が通じないのに話が盛り上がって、「これムリだよね」と国際親善交流していたのです（笑）。話せばわかる。

　同社では「御燈祭〜火祭り」という神事が知られている。安部龍太郎の「半島をゆく」著作シリーズ・熊野編でその奇祭の存在を知った、まことに野性的な神事。和歌山県指定無形民俗文化財に指定される、世界遺産「紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道」の一部である神倉神社で毎年2月6日に行われる勇壮な火祭り。
　白装束に荒縄を締めた約2000人の「上り子(のぼりこ)」と呼ばれる男子が御神火を移した松明を持ち、神倉山の山頂から、わたしが上るのを断念させられた538段の急峻な石段を駆け下るのだ。上るのもやっとのこの階段をたいまつを持って足下も見ずに駆け下るのだ、怖ろしい・・・。
　県外者や観光客でも参加できるのが特徴だが、女人禁制なので女性は上り子としては参加できない。熊野神の来臨を再現し、家々に神の火を戴くという神事で、古くは祭礼で分けられた火が届くまで、各家で灯明を挙げるのを禁じていたことから、新年における「火の更新」を意味する祭りとして旧暦の正月6日に行われていたという。
　この神倉神社の祭神は天照大神と高倉下命。高倉下（たかくらじ）は神武帝が熊野に上陸したときに鹿島神宮の祭神・タケミカズチからの神命を受けて神武帝に神剣を捧げて臣下になったと言う人物。
　しかしどうもわたしには、この奇祭は花の窟神社の祭神でイザナミの産んだ「火の神」カグツチのことが想起される。きわめて始原的な火山列島地形での「カミ」のありようが示されていると思えてならない。
　

English version⬇

Kamikura Shrine and Gotobikiwa "Fire Festival" Shinto Ceremony Imperial Mythology and Kumano Journey-26]
This fire festival has been held since ancient times, evoking Kagutsuchi, the "god of fire" born of Izanami. It may be an expression of the simple religious beliefs of the people living in the volcanic archipelago. ...

Now, the last of the Kumano Sanzan is Kumano Hayatama-taisha, but I was not particularly moved by the actual shrine at the mouth of the Kumano River. It is a very common precinct scenery, and no peculiarity can be felt.
　However, I knew of the existence of this "auxiliary" shrine of Hayatama-taisha, Kamikura Shrine, from my prior research. The top photo is from their website, and the second photo is a view I took of the approach to the shrine. The second photo shows the approach to the shrine, which is famous for its steep 538 stone steps that must be climbed to reach the shrine. It is said to be the place where the great deity of Kumano Sanjo first descended, and it was also a gathering place for many ascetic practitioners from the Heian period onward. It is said that even the tale of the Jimmu expedition to the east came to this sacred place.
　These shugenja spots have a "peculiar" power spot nature that overlaps with the nature worship of the Japanese people.
　This impressive rock outcropping gives a strong impression of the sacredness of the place, and it is straight to the heart. I tried to go up the approach to the temple and climbed about 100 steps, but on the morning of our visit, we had a nature trail exploration that led to an encounter with deer at Tategasaki, which exhausted my stamina and I had to give up halfway up the path (tears). I had saved my strength for the 785 steps of Kompira-san and made it to the top, but Azuchi Castle and this place made me give up psychologically (laugh).
　I mean, I was having a friendly international exchange with a group of tourists from Taiwan who had given up on the stairway early, and even though we didn't speak the same language, we got into a lively conversation and said, "This is impossible" (laugh). If you talk, you will understand.

The company is known for its ritual called "Goto Matsuri - Fire Festival. This is a truly wild ritual that I learned of its existence from the Kumano section of Ryutaro Abe's "Peninsula on the Way" book series, and is a truly unique ritual. Designated as an Intangible Folk Cultural Asset by Wakayama Prefecture, this heroic fire festival is held every February 6 at Kamikura Shrine, which is part of the World Heritage Site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
　About 2,000 men called noboriko, dressed in white and tied with a rope, carry torches carrying the sacred fire and run down the steep 538 stone steps from the top of the shrine to the top of Mt. It was scary to run down these steps, which I could barely climb, with the torch in my hand, without looking down at my feet.
　The festival is open to visitors from outside of the prefecture and tourists, but women are not allowed to participate as climbers because women are prohibited. It is a Shinto ritual to reenact the coming of the Kumano God and to crown houses with divine fire. In the old days, it was forbidden to light a lamp in each house until the fire divided in the festival arrived, and the festival was held on the sixth day of the first lunar month as a festival signifying the "renewal of fire" in the New Year.
　The deities of this shrine are Amaterasu and Takakura-shita no Mikoto. Takakuraji is said to have been a person who offered a sacred sword to Emperor Jinmu and became his vassal, receiving a divine command from Takemikazuchi, the deity of Kashima Shrine, when Emperor Jinmu landed in Kumano.
　However, to me, this strange festival reminds me of Kagutsuchi, the "fire god" born of Izanami, who is the deity of the Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine. I can't help but think that this festival shows how the "kami" are in the very primitive topography of the volcanic archipelago.

【神仏習合という宗教ジャパネスク 皇統神話と熊野の旅-25】

　熊野那智大社の社域には隣接して「青岸渡寺」という天台の寺院がある。
　それほど予備知識なく訪問したわたしは「え、なにこれ、神社なのに仏塔がある？」としばし唖然としておりました。調べてみると「那智山」は熊野三山の一つで熊野信仰の霊場として長い歴史がある。もともと那智の滝を中心にした神仏習合の一大修験道場だったが、明治初期に青岸渡寺と那智大社に分離した。今も寺と神社は隣接していて、双方を参拝する人が多い、のだという。
　もともとが修験道の聖地という歴史があるとされている。この青岸渡寺の由緒書きを見ると以下。
　〜開基は仁徳帝の頃(4世紀)、印度天竺の僧「裸形」上人が那智大滝において修行を積みその暁に瀧壷で八寸の観音菩薩を感得し、ここに草庵を営んで安置したのが最初。 その200年後、推古天皇の頃、大和の「生佛」上人が来山し、前述の話を聞き一丈(3ｍ)の如意輪観世音を彫み、裸形上人が感得した八寸の観音菩薩を胸佛に納め勅願所として正式に本堂が建立された〜
　裸形とか、生佛（どう考えても「いきぼとけ」か）とかの露骨な人名表現。どうも仏教の本筋というよりもやや飛躍した、いかにも修験道的な風合いがそこに感じられるように思う。
　そういう修験的な寺院として、日本的な鷹揚さをもった神社信仰が徐々に「習合」していったような経緯を感じさせてくれる。

　修験道は断食、瞑想、経典の唱え、滝の下での祈りなどの禁欲的な修行などを指す。7世紀の伝説の神秘家であり術師でもある役行者または役小角（634–700年）が起源と言われるけれど、日本的な常識的ビジュアルとしてはやはり「瀧に打たれる」という様子がイメージされる。
　三千六百峯とされる熊野の豊かな自然環境の代表スポットとしてこの那智の滝が表徴化されたのか。そういった修験道スポットに対して敬意を表して神社が勧請され、さらに日本独特な宗教の垣根取り払い運動があって、神仏習合という概念が進んで行ったのではないだろうか。
　やはり多様な国土環境の中での精神風土として「純粋性」よりも「和を尊ぶ」傾向がより優勢になるのが日本の特徴であるように思う。一神教と多神教の社会の違いとも思える。世界の中でこういった日本人はやはり特異な精神性を持っていると言えるのだろうか。
　その後、戦国期になってキリスト教・一神教が浸透してきたけれど、やはり多数派としては多神教的社会の保持に傾いていったのには、この熊野那智大社と青岸渡寺のような宗教ジャパネスク、習合思想が底流としてあるのだと思える。
　やはり神社信仰は宗教というよりは習俗・慣習の面の方が大きい。列島人の基本心性がそのことを表現しているのだろう。それが熊野という特殊な日本的地域信仰形成につながった。
　　

English version⬇

The Shinto/Buddhist syncretism of religious Japanesque Myths of the Imperial Family and the Kumano Journey - 25
Japanese society does not "fit in" with monotheistic exclusion of others. The "let bygones be bygones" sentiment prevails over the fundamentalism that leads to dictatorship. ...

Adjacent to Kumano Nachi Taisha is a Tendai temple called Seigantoji.
　I visited the temple without much prior knowledge and was stunned to see a pagoda in the midst of a shrine. I was stunned. Nachi is one of the three mountains of Kumano and has a long history as a sacred place of Kumano worship. Originally, it was a major training center for the practice of Shintoism and Buddhism, centering on Nachi Falls, but it was separated into Seigando-ji Temple and Nachi Taisha Shrine in the early Meiji period (1868-1912). The temple and shrine are still adjacent to each other, and many people visit both.
　It is said that the temple has a history of originally being a sacred place for Shugendo. The history of Seigando-ji is as follows
　〜The temple was founded in the 4th century during the reign of Emperor Nintoku (4th century) by a priest named Nigakata Shonin from India, who ascended to the Nachi Great Falls and, upon ascending, saw the eight-sided bodhisattva Kannon in the waterfall basin. Two hundred years later, during the reign of Emperor Suiko, a "Seibutsu" priest from Yamato came to the temple, heard the above-mentioned story, and carved a one-length (3 m) Nyoirin Kannon.
　The use of explicit personal names such as "nakagata" and "ikibutsuke" ("living Buddha" or "ikibotoke"). I feel that the temple has an atmosphere of Shugendo, which is a leap forward rather than the main line of Buddhism.
　It seems to me that the Japanese-style worship of shrines was gradually "merged" with this kind of Shugendo-like temple.

Shugendo refers to ascetic practices such as fasting, meditation, chanting sutras, and praying under waterfalls, and is said to have originated with the legendary 7th century mystic and practitioner En no Gyoja or En no Shokaku (634-700), but the common Japanese visual image is still "being hit by a waterfall. The image of a waterfall is also commonplace in Japan.
　Nachi Falls may have been symbolized as a representative spot of the rich natural environment of Kumano, which is said to have 3,600 peaks. Shrines were built to pay homage to such spots of Shugendo, and the concept of Shintoism-Buddhism syncretism may have developed as a result of the movement to remove religious boundaries unique to Japan.
　I believe that the tendency to "respect harmony" rather than "purity" is a characteristic of Japan's spiritual climate in the midst of its diverse land environment. This can be seen as the difference between a monotheistic and a polytheistic society. Can it be said that the Japanese people have a unique spirituality in the world?
　Later, during the Warring States period, Christianity and monotheism penetrated Japan, but the majority tended to maintain a polytheistic society, which I believe is based on the religious Japanesque and syncretistic philosophy of Kumano Nachi Taisha and Aogishitoji Temple.
　After all, shrine worship is more of a custom and practice than a religion. The basic mentality of the people of the archipelago expresses this. This is what led to the formation of Kumano, a unique Japanese regional belief.

【聖なる瀧「熊野那智大社」 皇統神話と熊野の旅-24】

　さて熊野三山のうちの熊野那智大社であります。現代とは違って、古代以来、人里のある熊野灘の海岸線道からながい山道をはるばると参詣するのは、けっこうな気合いが必要だったのではないか。
　現代の整備された参詣道でも歩く場合は１時間42分という表示だけれど、上りの山道なので、かなりキツい行程だと思う。熊野詣を繰り返した中世の皇統、上皇の一行などはかなりの人数でもあり、相当の健脚だったことがわかる。
　本当に古代以来の人びとの神聖なるものへの帰依の深さを思わされる。
　深い山中で写真のような瀧を仰ぎ見た人びとの自然な感情に思いが至る。映画もテレビもない時代、こういったビジュアルが眼前に広がっている様子に驚き、自然が生み出す驚異に信仰心を持ち、そして深めて行っただろうことはたしかに理解できる。
　主祭神は熊野夫須美大神（くまのふすみのおおかみ、イザナミノミコト）。きのうまで見ていた花の窟神社と同じ。国生みの母神がこうした自然崇拝と一体化しているのは同様。人類の抱く自然な感情として、水には女性的、母性的なるものが仮託されるものなのだろうか。夫須美（ふすみ）とは「むす」という生成発展を意味する言葉であり、同時に「結（むすび）」の意味という。
　さらに祭神としては以下。
　第一殿 瀧宮（大己貴神）大国主神。
　第二殿 証誠殿（家都御子大神）ケツミコ〜スサノオ。
　第三殿 中御前（御子速玉大神）熊野速玉神社の祭神。
　第四殿 西御前（熊野夫須美大神）これがイザナミ尊。
　第五殿 若宮（天照大神）アマテラス。
　第六殿 八社殿（天神地祗）その他八百万ということか。

　現代では鳥居のすぐ下に駐車場があって、そこにクルマを停めて急峻な階段を上って神前に出られる。国道からクルマでの「参道」行きという手軽な参詣が可能。古代の人びとの御利益とは大きくレベル低下しているだろうなと思わされる。
　そういえば、境内で平清盛が上皇と同道して、熊野詣を繰り返した様子の絵伝を目撃した。

　「平家の宰相・清盛公は熊野那智に対する信仰深く、とりわけ如意輪観世音の霊力を願い、1163年、後白河法皇を那智に迎え初度参詣の折、その行列の供として一族を引き連れてともに参詣し、如意輪の瀧と言われる二の瀧に於いて開運招福を願ったという。」という説明記述。
　朝廷内で平家が権力を強化していくことの裏には、こういった皇統に対しての周到な接近・随伴的工作が行われたのだろうことがハッキリ見て取れる。熊野信仰というものがどのように利用されたのか、わかりやすい証拠とも言えるだろうか。
　またこの絵伝からは、さすがに法皇は牛車に乗車し、清盛は馬に乗って参詣道を歩んでいることもわかる。神代と中世的権謀の世界とが、シンクロを見せ始めているのか（笑）。


English version⬇

Kumano Nachi-taisha Shrine, the Sacred Waterfall - A Journey to Kumano and the Myth of the Imperial Family - 24
The sacred body of Nachi-taisha Shrine is also a holy waterfall. It is a sacred waterfall, and the primordial form of Japanese faith is engraved in its roots. Even the shadow of Kiyomori is flickering in the distance. The waterfall is also a holy waterfall.

Now, let's take a look at Kumano Nachi-taisha, one of the three Kumano-sanzan shrines. Unlike today, it must have taken a lot of energy to make the long pilgrimage from the coastline of the Kumano-nada Sea, where there is a human settlement, to the shrine on a long mountain road since ancient times.
　Even on the modern well-maintained pilgrimage route, it takes 1 hour and 42 minutes to walk, but it is an uphill mountain path, so it must have been quite a strenuous journey. The number of people who repeatedly made the Kumano Pilgrimage, such as the members of the imperial lineage and emperors of the medieval period, must have been quite large, indicating that they were in good physical condition.
　It is truly a reminder of the depth of devotion to sacred things that people have held since ancient times.
　It makes me think of the natural feelings of the people who looked up at the waterfall like the one in the picture in the deep mountains. In an age without movies or television, we can understand how people would have been amazed at the sight of such visuals spread out before their eyes, and how they would have developed and deepened their faith in the wonders created by nature.
　The main deity is Kumano Fusumi no Okami (Kumano Fusumi no Mikoto, Izanami no Mikoto). This is the same deity as at the Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine, which we had seen until yesterday. The same is true of the mother goddess of national birth, who is united with this kind of nature worship. I wonder if water is a natural emotional center for human beings, in which something feminine and motherly is entrusted. The word "fusumi" is said to mean "musu," or generation and development, and at the same time, "musubi," or union.
　The deities of the shrine are as follows
　First Hall: Takimiya (Okonoki-kami), the deity Okuninushi.
　The second hall, Shoseiden (Ietomiko-no-okami): Ketsumiko - Susanoo.
　Third Hall: Naka-gozen (Goko-Hayatama), the deity of Kumano Hayatama Shrine.
　Fourth Hall: Nishigozen (Kumano-Osumi no Mikami) This is Izanami no Mikami.
　Fifth: Wakamiya (Amaterasu), the deity Amaterasu.
　The sixth hall, the eight main shrines (八社殿) (天神地祗), are the deities of the eight million other shrines.

In 1163, when the Heike clan welcomed Hōnō Go-Shirakawa to Nachi and made their first pilgrimage to the temple, he took his family along with him as an escort and prayed for good fortune at the two waterfalls known as Nyoirino-Taki. This is a description of the Heike family's power within the Imperial Court.
　It is clear that behind the strengthening of the power of the Heike clan within the Imperial Court, there must have been a careful approach to the imperial lineage and accompanying maneuverings such as this. This is a clear evidence of how the Kumano faith was utilized.
　The pictorial record also shows that the emperor rode in an ox cart, while Kiyomori rode on horseback along the pilgrimage route. Are we beginning to see a synchronization between the world of the Jindai and the medieval world of power and intrigue (laugh)?

【縄文を感じる原初「巨石」信仰 皇統神話と熊野の旅-23】

　熊野に残る精神文化空間のひとつの象徴がこの花の窟神社。やはり一番奇異を感じるのは、本殿建築のかわりに巨石、露頭岩石をそのままイザナミのご神体としているポイントだろうか。
　熊野本宮大社の古社があったとされる所在地・現大斎原は３つの河川の合流地点で、ひろやかな砕石・砂利石が清浄な、仏教的な言い方で言えば「三途の川原」を感じさせる空間の「神奈備」を訴求してくるけれど、しかしそこにたくさんの「高床式」の木造社殿が祀られていた。またアマテラスを祀る伊勢神宮も同様の木造の神殿群が展開している。
　建築的に見れば「高床」とは集団的農耕の結果生産物であるコメの長期保存のために「通風性」を第一に考えた木造建築デザインだろう。湿潤な温熱環境のなかでしかもネズミなどの食害をも防ぐ意味からも床が高く上げられ、床下は風洞構造を目指している。内部の乾燥を第一に追求した性能とデザインの日本的完成形。
　わたし的にはこういう「神奈備」についての花の窟神社と他社の社殿意識の相違は、やはり縄文から弥生への「精神伝統」の歴史的変化表現ではないかと思える。コメ文化が列島に流入してきたときの「在来」社会との関係性の表現かと。
　日本列島でもコメ文化以前の「神奈備」空間として列石群などの空間は一般的にある。縄文由来の生活文化を継承してきた地域文化として、東北北部・北海道などで見ることができる。石器社会から連綿としてこのような巨石に「神宿る」と感じる精神性は底流としてあり続けたのだろうが、こんなふうな始原的な神奈備とその文化を初めて正視する思いがした。
　そしてその象徴から「しめ縄」を海にまで長大に「つなげる」神事が継続し続けている奇観。いかにも「熊野」らしい習俗文化だと強くメッセージしてくる。


　原初的な精神性神話の始原とされるイザナミ尊が身ごもって、火の神「カグツチノミコト」を産むとき火傷をして亡くなったので、ふたりを花の窟に葬ったのだという。花の窟神社には露頭岩の本殿に対置してカグツチの神体巨石がある。またさらに丸石が信仰対象として置かれている。イザナミの体内からこの丸石が飛び出してきたと言われる。
　どうもこのあたりは、火山活動・造山活動の様子を「神宿る」ことがらとして信仰対象としてきた痕跡を感じさせられる。火山列島である国土で普遍的に「自然崇拝」が人びとのこころに根付き続けていたことを物語る。八百万の神々とは多様性に富んだ海洋性火山列島の国土にふさわしい精神文化なのでしょう。
　そういう国土において皇統が統一的政体として、どのように維持し、発展していったのか。わたしの熊野詣、いよいよ核心的な部分・覚醒ポイントに差し掛かってきたと感じさせられています。


English version⬇

The Jomon-era "Gigantic Stone" Worship: The Myth of the Imperial Lineage and a Trip to Kumano-23
The Jomon-like worship of nature, the land where eight million gods dwell, and the imperial lineage as a symbol of rice culture. The missing link between these two cultures and harmony. ...

The Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine is a symbol of one of Kumano's remaining spiritual and cultural spaces. What is perhaps most unusual about the shrine is that instead of a main shrine building, a huge rock outcropping is used as the sacred body of Izanami.
　The location where the old shrine of Kumano Hongu Taisha is said to have been located, the present Osaibara, is at the confluence of three rivers, and the open crushed stones and gravel stones are clean, appealing to the "Kannabis" of the space, which in Buddhist terms is the "Sanzu no Kawahara," but there are many wooden shrine buildings built on stilts enshrined there. The Ise Jingu Shrine, dedicated to Amaterasu, also has a similar group of wooden temples.
　From an architectural point of view, "stilts" are probably a wooden architectural design that places the highest priority on ventilation for the long-term preservation of rice, a product of collective agriculture. The floor is raised to prevent rodents and other predators from feeding on the rice in a humid thermal environment, and a wind tunnel structure is intended to be built under the floor. It is a Japanese perfection in performance and design, with the primary focus on keeping the interior dry.
　In my opinion, the difference in the awareness of "Kannabi" between Hana-no-Kutsu Shrine and other companies may be an expression of the historical change in "spiritual tradition" from the Jomon to the Yayoi period. It may be an expression of the relationship between the "native" society and the rice culture when the rice culture was introduced to the archipelago.
　In the Japanese archipelago, there are generally rows of stones and other spaces that were "kannabi" spaces prior to the rice culture. This can be seen in the northern Tohoku and Hokkaido regions, where the Jomon-derived lifestyle and culture has been inherited. The mentality of feeling that "gods reside" in such megaliths has been an underlying current since the Stone Age, but this was the first time for me to see Kannabi and its culture in its primordial form.
　It was the first time for me to see the primordial Kannabi and its culture in a proper light. It is a strong message that this is a custom and culture that is very typical of Kumano.

Izanami, the originator of the myth of primordial spirituality, was pregnant and died of burns when giving birth to Kagutsuchinomikoto, the god of fire, and the two were buried in the Cave of Flowers. The Kagutsuchi no Mikoto was buried in Hana no Kutsura Shrine, and the huge stone of the Kagutsuchi deity stands opposite the main shrine built of outcropping rocks. A round stone is also placed as an object of worship. It is said that this round stone came out of Izanami's body.
　This area seems to show traces of volcanic and orogenic activities that have been regarded as objects of worship as "dwelling places for the gods". This tells us that "nature worship" has been universally rooted in the hearts of the people of this volcanic archipelago. The 8,000,000 gods are a spiritual culture appropriate to a land of diverse oceanic volcanic archipelago.
　In such a land, how was the imperial lineage maintained and developed as a unified political entity? My pilgrimage to Kumano has finally reached the point of awakening to the core of the matter.