Kajiki Stone (Kagoshima Prefecture) [Famous Japanese Stone]

KAJIKI Stone

Kajiki stone

This is one of the inscribed stones that was mined in Kajiki-cho, Aira City, and was formed by pyroclastic flows from an undersea eruption about 600,000 years ago.
It is a precious stone that is now being mined in small quantities.
There are many small bubbles, which indicates that the pyroclastic flow at the time was hot and intense.
The bubbles resemble lava, and minerals that have separated from the lava have crystallized within them to form geodes, making it fun to look at each bubble with a magnifying glass.
The place name Kajiki is said to have originated from the legend of the camphor tree, which says that when a ship's rudder was placed there, a bud sprouted and became a camphor tree.
During the Heian period, this area was the territory of the Kajiki clan, and due to donations from Osumi Masahachiman Shrine, it became the territory of Masahachiman Shrine.
Osumi Masahachiman Shrine is the current Kagoshima Shrine, and its head deity is Yamasachihiko, the son of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Konohayasakuya-hime, and the grandfather of Emperor Jimmu.

This is one of the famous stones formed by pyroclastic flows from an undersea eruption about 600,000 years ago, which was mined in Kajiki-cho, Aira City. It is a precious stone, and the amount of it mined has decreased recently. There are many small bubbles, which shows that the pyroclastic flows at that time were hot and intense. The bubbles resemble lava, and some of them are geodes made from minerals that separated from the lava components and crystallized, so it is fun to look at each bubble with a magnifying glass. The place name Kajiki is said to be derived from the "Legend of the Camphor Tree," which says that a camphor tree sprouted from the rudder of a ship when it was placed there. During the Heian period, this area was the territory of the Kajiki clan, and was made the territory of Osumi Shohachiman Shrine due to a donation from Shohachiman Shrine. Shrine is the current Kagoshima Shrine, and its head deity is Yamasachihiko, the son of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Konohayasakuya-hime, and the grandfather of Emperor Jimmu.