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| "Emily", graphite postcard |
I was thinking about marriage.
I always thought marriage was forever.
My parents were divorced when I was 5.
So though I didn't understand why,
I did know at that early age that it could be broken.
Later I was married at age 21, for 32 years.
Can I tell you a little story?
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| Meoto Iwa, Ise, Mie, Japan |
Every day, an old married couple watches the sunset from a tranquil coastal spot at Ise in Japan’s southern Mie prefecture. Connected to one another by a rope woven from rice straw, husband and wife sit quietly as the sun dips from view. Every morning, when day breaks, the couple can be found in exactly the same spot—still tied together, still standing sentinel.
The rock-like stoicism of this couple makes sense when you consider that they are, quite literally, rocks. In Shinto religion, the majority faith of Japan, spirits known as kami are believed to inhabit people, places, and objects in the natural world.
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| Izanagi |
The larger rock, about 30 feet tall, embodies Izanagi, the male, while the smaller rock, standing around 12 feet, is the female Izanami. The rope that bonds them in matrimony is a shimenawa, a sacred Shinto object often placed over shrines and gates to ward off evil spirits. The rope uniting the Meoto Iwa frays quickly due to the wind and waves, and must be replaced three times per year.
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| Diagram of where the sun rises from |
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| sunset at Meoto Iwa |
A popular and beautiful site.
Great story, right?
A smile for Saturday ...
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