◆Origin of the Otegata Suwa Shrine and the Otegata Stone◆
The origin of the Otegata Stone lies in the large handprint found on a huge rock enshrined at Suwa Shrine.
Long ago, a messenger came from Takamagahara, the heavenly plain where the eight million gods gather, to Izumo to urge Okuninushi to submit.
Okuninushi immediately agreed and surrendered, but his young son, Takeminakata, refused, breaking off negotiations and eventually fighting with Takemikazuchi from Takamagahara.
Takeminakata was defeated and fled, but Takemikazuchi pursued him relentlessly and finally caught up with him in the area of Sahara.
Takeminakata surrendered, pressed his hand onto a nearby stone as a pledge of submission, and peace was made between the two deities.
This place came to be called "Ooinokubo" (the Chase Hollow). The stone is said to have been formed because Takemikazuchi chased Takeminakata here.
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