岩戸山(Iwato Yama)

This drawn float is named after two Japanese mythical stories, "Kuniumi"(Making of the Land) and "Ama-no-iwato" (Heavenly Rock Cave) in the "Kojiki" (Record of Ancient Matters) and "Nihon-shoki" (the second oldest history book about ancient Japan).









According to the myths, Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess, hid herself in "Ama-no-iwato", the legendary cave, out of anger towards her violent younger brother, Susanoo-nomikoto, and darkness covered the land. The multitudinous gods gathered at Yasu-no-kawara, the riverside in the Plain of Heaven, to discuss how to calm her anger and entice her out of the cave. They made singing birds that never get old and die (cockerels), cast a divine mirror, made 500 comma-shaped beads, planted Sakaki, the evergreen trees of Mt. Ama-no-kagu-yama, and had Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto dance in front of the cave to induce the goddess to come out. Three dolls representing Izanagi-no-mikoto, Amaterasu-Omikami and Tajikarao-no-mikoto respectively, are set up on the float.
By T.S. on 5th Jul., 2008