Karakama Shrine

Karakama Shrine, or Karakama-jinja, is one of the most extraordinary and physically demanding sacred sites in the whole of Izumo, hidden deep in the forested mountains of the Karakawa valley on the Sea of Japan side of the peninsula. It enshrines Susanoo-no-mikoto, the storm god and mythic ancestor of the Izumo line, and it appears in records as ancient as the eighth-century Izumo-no-Kuni Fudoki, where it is written with characters meaning a Korean cauldron. That name is no accident: the shrine is bound up with legends of Susanoo crossing to the Korean peninsula and returning to bring the techniques of forestry and of iron and metal working, and the surrounding hills were indeed an old copper and tatara ironworking district, dotted with mine names and slag remains.

What makes Karakama unforgettable is the approach to its inner hall. From the wooden torii the path climbs a steep flight of natural stone steps through gloomy, towering cedars, in places without handrails, where a single misstep would send you tumbling. Near the top the way seems to vanish, until you notice a narrow vertical fissure in the cliff, only about forty-five centimetres wide. To reach the honden you must turn sideways and physically squeeze your body through this rock cleft, emerging onto a tiny stone terrace where the small shrine building shelters beneath a vast overhanging boulder. That boulder is the celebrated iwafune, the stone boat said in legend to be the very vessel in which Susanoo arrived, tilted over the hall like a roof so that neither rain nor dew falls on it.

Because of its dramatic, womb-like passage of stone, the shrine has become renowned as a power spot for enmusubi, the tying of good relationships, and for blessings of conception and safe childbirth. Standing on the cramped ledge with the cliff at your back and the boat-stone above, it is easy to understand why generations have felt this to be a place charged with the presence of the god.

This is emphatically not a casual stop. The steps are steep and slick when wet, the terrace is small and edged by drops, and the rock cleft cannot be passed by anyone with a larger build, claustrophobia or a fear of heights; visitors are frankly advised to consider their fitness before attempting it, and to avoid the climb in rain or ice. Those in the village can instead pray at a lower worship hall that faces the mountain. Allow about an hour for the round trip from the car park, more if you pause on the way.

Spring greenery and autumn colour are the finest times, and a dry day is essential for safety. Practically speaking a car is required: from Unshu-Hirata Station drive roughly twenty-five minutes toward the coast and up the narrowing Karakawa road to a small trailhead car park, from where the climb begins. For adventurous travellers willing to earn it, passing through the rock to stand beneath Susanoo's stone boat is one of the most thrilling shrine experiences in Japan.