三毳石＜栃木県＞ 【日本銘石】

MIKAMO Stone

三毳石

産地の三毳山は南北3.5kmにわたり連なる山で、最高峰は青竜ヶ岳と呼ばれます。
万葉集で歌われたほど美しい山で、「関東の富士見百景」「花の百名山」にも選ばれています。
日本書紀に登場する天香香背男命(あめのかがせお)という星の神を祀る三毳神社があります。
「毳」という字は柔らかい毛のことを意味し、この山が柔らかい毛のようになだらかなことから名づけられたという説があります。
その三毳山で産出する三毳石は、現在採掘が中断されています。
自然石特有の美しい色味は人気があり、今でも石垣や庭石として使われています。

Mount Mikamo, where the stone is produced, is a chain of mountains stretching 3.5km from north to south, with the highest peak called Seiryugatake. It is such a beautiful mountain that it was sung about in the Manyoshu, and has also been selected as one of "One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji in Kanto" and "One Hundred Famous Flower Mountains.". The site is Mikamo Shrine, which enshrines Amenokagaseo, a god of star who appears in the Nihon Shoki. The character "sei" means soft hair, and one theory is that the mountain was named after its gentle curves like soft hair. Mining of Mikamo stone, which is produced at Mount Mikamo, has currently been suspended. The unique beautiful color that only natural stone has is popular, and it is still used today for stone walls and garden stones.