Gunma Pebble (calcareous breccia) <Gunma Prefecture> [Famous Stones of Japan]

Gunma Sazareishi

Gunma pebbles (calcareous breccia)

The word "Sazareishi" appears in the Japanese national anthem, "Kimigayo" (Your national anthem) - "For a thousand generations and eight thousand generations, until pebbles become rocks and moss grows on them."
"Until the pebbles become rocks and moss grows on them" refers to a long period of time until "small stones become large rocks and moss grows on them."
Pebbles are large rocks that have formed over a long period of time when small pebbles and sand have bonded together with calcium carbonate and iron hydroxide, filling the gaps between them.
This process occurs when limestone loses its components due to rain or other factors, causing it to grow larger while incorporating small grains of sand and stone.

The phrase “sazareishi (pebbles)” appears in the Japanese National Song as the meaning “A small stone becomes a big one and grass is born above that rock

Sazare stone refers to pebbles that combine each other when gaps in them are filled with calcium carbonate or iron hydroxide, and turning them into big rock over eons. When the composition of limestone breaks down due to rain or other events, it`s end up grooving bigger and bigger by gathering things like small bits of sand and stones.