Did Ancient Oshoro Stone Circle Serve As A Portal To The Spirit World?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - There are many intriguing ancient stone circles in different parts of the world. Constructing a stone circle is a major undertaking.

Our ancestors had to flatten the land, quarry the stones, transport these heavy and large stones, and then finally lay them in a circular pattern. Why did ancient civilizations bother to go through so much trouble? Obviously, these stone circles were of great importance to our ancestors.

Mystery surrounds the ancient Oshoro stone circle. 

Examinations of several ancient stone circles have shed some light on the structures’ purpose, but there are still archaeological cases that remain an unsolved mystery.

In Japan, we come across the curious Oshoro stone circle in south-west Hokkaido. Despite many attempts, no-one has been able to figure out why the stone circle was raised during the late Jomon period that lasted from 2400 B.C. to 1,000 B.C.

Was this place used as an ancient astronomical observatory, a cemetery or was it considered to be a portal to the underworld?

Archaeologists have been able to confirm that ceremonial stone circles first appeared at the beginning of Jomon era. Hundreds of stone circles and stone features have been found in Japan.

Ceremonial stone circles first appeared at the beginning of Jomon era. Hundreds of stone circles and stone features have cropped up all over Japan. Often rocks had to be carried long distances to raise the stone circles.

Ancient Astronomical Observatory Used To Study Celestial Objects?

In his book Prehistoric Japan (1908), Scottish amateur archaeologist Neil Gordon Mundo suggested that the Oshoro stone circle was a result of ancient peoples’ fascination with astronomy and cosmology. He believed the stone circle was an ancient astronomical observatory.

Oshoro stone circle in Japan. 

Some scholars think Jomon people selected special locations that were most suitable for sightings of the heavenly stars such as Polaris.

If It Was A Cemetery Why Have No Bones Been Found?

Another possibility put forward by archaeologists is that Oshoro stone circle was an ancient cemetery. The problem with this theory is that no bones belonging to the Jomon people have been found in the area. Perhaps this is not surprising because the acid in the soil could have destroyed all human remains.

See also:

Yokai: Mysterious Interdimensional Force With Odd Abilities In Japanese Mythology

Towering Sacred Mt. Fuji: Abode Of The Immortals In Ancient Japanese Beliefs

The Norimitsu Odachi – Giant Japanese Sword Remains An Enigma

What has been unearthed are ancient ritual objects that suggest something of importance was taking place in this vicinity.

A Portal To The Spirit World?

In “The Cambridge History of Japan”, J. Edward Kidder writes that the late Jomon people had the practice to isolate the dead, allowing the gap to be bridged by mediums who in time drew the rational world of the living further away from the spirit world of the dead.

The Japanese spirit world is structured with the spirit world itself and the physical world on opposite ends of a spectrum, with a middle-ground purgatory creating a gap between them.

Basically, these ancient Japanese mediums had the roles of Shamans. Kidder’s research into the subject led him to conclude the Oshoro stone circle was indeed an ancient cemetery.

According to ancient Japanese beliefs, Yōkai (in Chinese: ‘kanji’, which means “strangeness, mystery, or suspicion”) are weird creatures that dwell in the borderlands and in spaces, which are located “in-between”.

A somewhat unusual, yet interesting theory comes from Naoaki Ishikawa, chief curator of the Otaru Museum. Ishikawa doesn’t exclude the possibility the largest stone circle in Japan was a cemetery, but he also suggests it may have been a trash dump.

As many as 400,000 ancient tools and crashed pottery fragments have been found in the area. Why are most of them broken? Were all these ancient objects used in ritual ceremonies or were they just thrown away because they were no longer necessary?

The Oshoro stone circle leaves us with many unanswered questions and the place remains a great unsolved archaeological puzzle.

Written by  Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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About the author:
Ellen Lloyd – is the owner of AncientPages.com and an author who has spent decades researching ancient mysteries, myths, legends and sacred texts, but she is also very interested in astronomy, astrobiology and science in general