The ancient megalithic object, which raises even more doubt about the official dates, is located on a small mountain in Asuka Park. It is located on a slope near the summit in such a dense bamboo forest that, not knowing the local trails, it is very difficult to find it.
This is Masuda-Iwafun - a strange asymmetric "bath" weighing about 800 tons, from a distance it looks like a boulder of gray granite lost or thrown by some giants. Its dimensions in the east-west direction are about 11 meters; in the north-south direction - about 8 meters; height - about 5 meters.
Perhaps this is one of the most non-trivial objects we investigated during the expedition.
Apparently, Masuda-Iwafun was made from an ordinary block that lay either right here or somewhere very nearby, since the mountain itself on which it lies consists of the same gray granite, as we could see by examining the rocky exit in the neighborhood - just below the slope, where the material was clearly visible.
There is no mention of the creation of this strange object in written sources. Therefore, historians, without thinking twice, simply attributed it to a very late period - if you follow the most common version today, it was a pedestal of a huge monument to Kobo Daisi, who lived from 774 to 835 AD.
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Kobo Daishi is the posthumous name of a major religious, cultural and public figure, known throughout the world as Kukai during his lifetime, who was the most revered and famous Japanese Buddhist (Kobo Daishi means "Great Teacher"). Japanese legends attribute to him merits in various fields - the construction of dams, medicine, the invention of the syllabic alphabet, and so on. Kukai's authority was so great that even the rulers of medieval Japan subsequently referred to his name to justify their innovations.
According to the same version, in later times the monument was broken up and used to build the stone wall of the Takatori castle …
However, even the most superficial analysis reveals that in this version the ends meet the ends at all - both as a whole and in individual parts.
Firstly, if it was a finished monument, then why was the pedestal not finished to the end (see below)?..
Secondly, why would anyone want to erect a monument in such a place? Even if we assume that previously there was no bamboo forest on the mountain, then who would look at this monument? After all, there are no castles or large cities nearby.
Thirdly, if the authority of Kobo-Daisy was as great as the same historians represent, then who would dare to destroy his monument?..
Fourthly, although Tokatori Castle is located relatively close to Asuki, it is still not clear why it was necessary for its construction to destroy the monument at a distance of several kilometers, if this area is already abundant in granite rocks?..
Fifth, if for some reason there was still such an urgent need for building materials, then why was the pedestal not used at the same time for the construction of Tokatori castle? statues. Meanwhile, on Masuda Iwafun there are absolutely no signs of attempts to break off at least some piece of it - such as, for example, on the slab that made up the lower part of the Onino-retchin.
Sixth, there is absolutely no mention of the destruction of a monument here in any documents, which is very strange for this time, when many events were carefully recorded on paper.
And finally, seventh, in accordance with the will of Kukai, he was buried in the mausoleum of the Okuno-in temple on Mount Koya-san, which is located in Wakayama prefecture south of Osaka, that is, at a distance of at least a good hundred kilometers from the park Asuka. And at the place of his burial there is still an absolutely intact statue of Kobo-Daisi …
One gets the impression that Kobo-Daisi was simply "pulled by the ears" to Masuda-Iwafun because of the scale of the megalith - such a large stone should have been a pedestal for a monument to a very respected person. And Tokatori Castle was needed to justify the absence of anything on this "pedestal" and ended up in such an unseemly role only because it is located closest to Asuka Park. In general, this version is wholly and completely "sucked from the finger" …
Absolutely not consistent with the version of the pedestal for the monument and the multiple strange details that Masuda-Iwafun has. It is also an asymmetric shape; and different depths of two "baths" - rectangular depressions on the upper edge of the megalith; and the presence of different "borders" on both sides - on the one hand, the "curb" is made in the form of just one step, and on the other - two at once. Moreover, this double step is not limited only to the upper part of the megalith, but descends from two sides along the lateral faces of Masuda-Iwafun, although not to the very end, but approximately slightly below the middle of the faces …
The apparent weakness of the version of the pedestal for the monument has led to the emergence of other hypotheses, which, however, in fact, turn out to be no better.
For example, there is a version that Masuda Iwafun served as a platform for astronomical or astrological observations. Within the framework of this version, it is assumed that sighting pillars were installed in two "baths" -deepages to observe the stars crossing them.
Apparently, the supporters of this hypothesis understand absolutely nothing in the very basics of astronomy and only followed the theory of paleoastronomy fashionable among historians. It is enough just to estimate the thickness of the pillars, which would stand rigidly fixed in the "bathtubs" and not swing from side to side, to understand that the accuracy of any measurements and even just observations with the help of such "sighting devices" is absolutely useless.
For stargazing, it was possible with much more success to use simple bamboo trunks, which are fairly even, and stones of much smaller size (if someone really wanted to use stones for this). In addition, this does not require any "curbs" on both sides of the "baths". No need for such complex processing of a stone block for astronomical observations is required …
Another version of the purpose of Masuda-ivafun is a sarcophagus for burying the ashes after cremation, which was supposedly covered with a stone lid after placing the ashes in the recesses. However, this version is clearly let down by the dimensions of the "bathtubs". Their volume is enough to place the ashes of not one or two people there, but almost a whole platoon of dead soldiers in each "bath", if not more. In addition, Masuda Iwafun stands in splendid isolation, and the mountain does not at all look like a cemetery. So the megalith hardly ever played the role of a columbarium …
Another version is only a modification of the previous one. According to this version, which is considered the most preferred by historians, Masuda-Iwafun was not supposed to become an urn for ashes, but a whole sarcophagus, which was allegedly thrown unfinished due to a crack in the stone. But, firstly, although there are cracks, they are not at all critical. Secondly, this version is completely contradicted by the presence of two "baths". Each of them individually is too small for burying a body. And if it was planned to combine them in the future, it is completely incomprehensible why the masters needed to complicate their work so much, starting with the creation of not one, but two recesses at once with clearly purposefully maintained rectangular shapes.
Thirdly, the southern side of Masuda-Iwafun is clearly processed and brought to the end, but at the same time it has not a rectangular, but a distinctly convex shape, which is completely uncharacteristic of sarcophagi.
And fourthly, the famous sarcophagi in Japanese burials were made not at all from solid gray granite, but from much easier-to-work sandstone, which was in abundance in the area. What could be the reason for changing the material used to one that requires much more labor and fundamentally different tools in terms of strength and hardness is also absolutely not clear …
One would assume that the "baths" are really ordinary baths in which some important persons planned to refresh themselves. The Japanese love to keep their bodies clean. But the size of a deeper "bath" is barely suitable for squatting there, and in a less deep "bath" and squatting will not fit. Why spend so much effort and then experience continuous inconvenience when swimming?.. And the granite boulder itself is too big to be used as a regular bath. Such a decision is simply irrational.
The latest version that I was able to find connects Masuda-Iwafun with the previously mentioned mythical continent of Mu. However, the author of the version does not give absolutely any arguments that at least indirectly indicated the existence of such a connection. It all comes down to just an unfounded statement. It seems that another "fashionable" tendency of our time has affected here - everything incomprehensible and mysterious is automatically attributed to some lost mainland …
Thus, there is simply no reasonable version of the purpose and origin of Masuda-Iwafun.