Sakafune-ishi from OKA
Sakafune-ishi from OKA
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Length 5.3 meters
7th century Asuka-mura, Asuka-oaza
The upper surface has circular and oval indentations connected by narrow channels. In the Edo Period. it was called "the sake trough of an old-time chieftain." It is indeed
thought by some to have been a sort of trough for squeezing the moisture out of sake lees, while it is thought by others to have been used in the preparation of oil or medicine. However, there is also a theory that the stone was related to some sort of garden fixture. In any case it appears that water was carried to the stone by stone conduits and clay pipes, remains of which have been discovered at a somewhat higher elevation 40 meters to the east. Some 400 meters to the southwest, on the east bank of the Asuka River, researchers excavated two stones which, as a set, were designed to channel the flow of water. I n imitation of the name given the above-mentioned stone, these are also called sakafune-ishi. They are presently in Kyoto.
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