Mount Miwa

A mountain in Sakurai City, northern Nara Prefecture. It is 467 meters above sea level. It is located at the southwestern edge of the Yamato Plateau, and is connected to Makimukuyama and Haseyama on the eastern ridge. The mountain is made of granite, and the summit is made of hornblende gabbro. When viewed from the Nara Basin side, it is a cone-shaped mountain covered with pine trees, but it is not a volcano but a remnant of erosion. It has been the center of ancient faith, and on the western foot of the mountain is Omiwa Shrine, Yamato Ichinomiya, which regards Mt. Miwa as its deity. Within the mountain, there is a group of megaliths called "iwakura" that surround the mountain in three tiers. It is often written about in old poems, and the most famous is "Would even the clouds hide Mt. Miwa? Would they hide my heart?" (Manyoshu, Volume 1). Yamato Aogaki Quasi-National Park area.

[Ichiro Kikuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

奈良県北部、桜井市にある山。標高467メートル。大和(やまと)高原南西端に位置し、東側の巻向(まきむく)山、初瀬(はせ)山と尾根続きになっている。山体は花崗(かこう)岩類、頂上部は角閃斑糲(かくせんはんれい)岩からなる。奈良盆地側から見ると松の木に覆われた円錐(えんすい)形の山であるが、火山ではなく侵食から残ったもの。古来信仰の中心で、西麓(せいろく)に三輪山を神体とする大和一宮(いちのみや)の大神神社(おおみわじんじゃ)が鎮座する。山中には三段に分かれて山を取り巻く「磐座(いわくら)」と称する巨石群がある。古歌に多く詠まれ、額田王(ぬかたのおおきみ)の「三輪山をしかも隠すか雲だにもこころあらなも隠さふべしや」（『万葉集』巻1）は有名である。大和青垣(あおがき)国定公園域。

［菊地一郎］

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