November 7, 2007: Marriage rocks
 

http://cellar.org/2007/marriagerocks.jpg

A nice entry by a blog called deputydog, titled "these rocks rock", this was number one on the hit list. According to the photo's Flickr page,
deputydog points out the really amazing part: the rope connecting the rocks (the shimenawa) weighs over a ton and is replaced throughout the year during various ceremonies.

The rocks are not politically correct, however, because they diminish the relative size of the woman, to the measure that she appears a bit dog-collared.

So I suppose that marriage on the rocks is out of the question?

No rope binding the two children-rocks, I see...

argh, its really bugging me trying to figure out the scale of these rocks, there is nothign to compare to, i want to know how big a man is compared to the rope/rocks - if the rope ways a ton.

Scale of the rocks
 

Fa-, this should do: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...1%28mie%29.jpg

Well now, based on these two photographs, looks can be deceiving, especially when viewed through a single lens. The first photo made me think, "Wow, I'd like to see that! That's amazing, and huge!"; realizing only moments later that this is probably the work of some bored Japanese 11-year-old who's handy in rope-making.

I would guess the gate at the top of the man rock is human-sized.

I wonder what the other rocks are thinking.


(Thought balloon) She may be just a mineral but I bet she's an animal in bedrock

I hope not, that would be flippin' awesome.

Why is everyone assuming the big rock is the man??

Trust me, it is.
And it also reflects the traditional (and still mostly prevailing) attitude to marriage in Japan.

Here is another picture showing the replacement of the rope, for scale. The big rock seems to be about 5 meters high or so.

These are about 100 or 150 km from my place, but I've never been there. They're just rocks, they don't do much. Although, at midsummer, the sun rises between them and may even silhouette Mt Fuji in the distance.

Hey now, that's sexist. That could just as easily be a midget hermaphrodite leading around a very tall eunuch.

That's sweet of those guys to have the targets painted so clearly on their backs.

Big rock? Don't you understand, we're all the same height under the surface? It's just that you women make us men... poke up more. And y'all are all wet underneath. Marriage does that.

Quotha!

So... what would they do when they got there?