No.20
Tateiwa Rock, the Man-Eating Sword
Component part
The Man-Eating Sword
In the legend Sokonashi Numa to Yoto, it is said that a leader of the Ainu village threw a man-eating sword into the bottomless swamp where the strange red Tateiwa rock reach up eight meters. A sword discovered at the bottom of the swamp is still enshrined at the Ryuo Shinto Shrine to the Water God.
Asam-sak-to (bottom – lacking – swamp) and Ipetam-suma (sword – rock) are the Ainu words for the bottomless swamp and Tateiwa rock. Tateiwa rock was given its name due to its resemblance to a sword, and the word Ipetam is derived from the Ainu words for eat (ipe) and sword (tam) to form the meaning of a man-eating sword.
This rock is said to be the same sword from the legend.
Basic Information
- Cultural property name
- Tateiwa Rock, the Man-Eating Sword
- Location
- Asahikawa