Hidden Japan with Claudio Suenaga

Masuda-no-iwafune (“Masuda Stone Ship”), on top of a hill in the middle of a residential neighborhood in the village of Asuka, in the Takaichi district, Nara province, is one of the strangest and most mysterious megalithic monuments in Japan. Carved out of a single 800-ton granite block measuring 11 meters long, 8 meters wide and 4.5 meters high, planed at the top, where there are two hollowed-out square cavities, and embossed lattice cutouts on the sides, evokes an unknown high civilization that disappeared without a trace.

One clue is that Masuda-no-iwafune has a certain similarity in its construction, not exactly in its shape, with another stone puzzle in Japan, as we just saw: Ishi-no-Hōden, in the city of Takasago (in the province of Hyogo, Kansai region), which although it is a place of worship dedicated to the Shinto god Onamuchi-no-kami (better known as "Ookuninushi", that is, "Grand Master of the Earth"), and the Ooshiko-jinja shrine templeit was built around the stone to worship it, nobody knows for sure who sculpted it, why and for what, but the fact is that, like Masuda-no-iwafune, it has similar grooves on the sides and two cavities at the top of the rock, even if they are not visible, hidden that are under trees that grew on them.

Why did they sculpt the Masuda-no-iwafune rock and for what purpose? Who, when and why? Did it have a ceremonial purpose? Could it have been used for fertility rites or animal and even human sacrifices? Were these cavities used to store and drain the blood of the immolated? Or were these "tanks" simply used to produce sake, Japan's traditional rice-based drink? Unfortunately, there are no definitive answers to these questions, but numerous suggestions have been made to explain this unique and unusual structure.
Some suggested that the site was an astronomical observation point.It is interesting to note that the central depression and the square holes in Masuda-no-iwafune are aligned and run parallel to the top of the mountain on which it rests, which would indicate that this specific stone may be related to the development of the Japanese lunar calendar.In addition, the summit of the top of the rock is aligned with the sunset on a certain day of the year called "Spring Entrance", which occurs 13 days after the spring solstice and is called "Pure Brightness". This day was important in the lunar calendar and in Japanese agriculture, as it marked the beginning of the agricultural season.

Learn more about Masuda-no-iwafune by reading my article published in the british magazine Shadows of Your Mind, edited by Dave Partridge.

Confessions of a NASA Space Scientist - Show Notes, (5.20.23)

Show notes, (5.20.23) The ruins of Atlantis Chaos, Mars