大盤石 — Japan’s heaviest power stone

A massive stone is lying on gravel under a canopy. A shimenawa 'enclosing rope' is wrapped around the top of the stone with shide paper streamers.
大盤石 - Japan's heaviest power stone

Lying in the precincts of a small and peaceful shrine in Okegawa, Japan, is a gigantic power stone weighing a colossal 610kg (1,345 lb)! The stone is known as 大盤石 (daibanjaku) meaning ‘huge stone’.

This is one of the heaviest lifting stones that we know of. It’s also the heaviest lifting stone in Japan, measuring 1.25m long, 0.67m wide, and 0.4m thick.

For some, it might come as a huge surprise that Japan has lifting stones. But the reality is that Japan likely has the largest number of lifting stones in the world, with over 10,000 known power stones.

History

三ノ宮卯之助 (Sannomiya Unosuke), was a Japanese Strongman who traveled the country performing feats of strength. He was born weak but grew to become the strongest man of the Edo period, reaching the ōzeki rank in the Edo strength ranking — the highest possible. Sannomiya Unosuke was a prolific stonelifter. He lifted the enormous stone in 1852 at age 45 on the day of the Inari Jinja festival to an amazed audience.

A statue of Sannomiya Unosuke lifting a stone on his shoulder. Surrounding the monument are 5 other power stones.
Statue of Sannomiya Unosuke

Many will immediately argue that lifting the 610kg stone is an impossible feat. After all, the heaviest Atlas Stone ever lifted is 286kg (630 lb), and the heaviest deadlift is 501kg (1104.5 lb).

So how did he do it? Unlike the traditional style of stonelifting — where the lifter picks the stone from the floor — Sannomiya Unosuke lay on the ground and had the stone lifted to his feet. From there, he performed a dangerous feat of strength where he supported the stone’s weight with his powerful legs.

A photograph of a sign at the Inari Shrine. The image depicts Sannomiya Unosuke and other figures performing feats of strength with stones and other objects. One of the figures is supporting a huge stone with their feet while lying on their back.
An image of Sannomiya Unosuke and other figures performing feats of strength
A man is lying on a small wooden platform with his legs in the air wearing a mawashi. Four other men are lifting a large, soft, pillow-like object in the shape of the massive stone to the man's feet to demonstrate how Sannomiya lifted the 610kg stone.
A demonstration of how Sannomiya Unosuke lifted the stone

Sannomiya Unosuke was famous for dangerously lifting absurdly heavy stones with his feet. However, he also lifted dozens of heavy stones in a more traditional manner. He’s responsible for lifting at least 39 other significant stones — more than anyone else in Japan. Seven of the stones he lifted are designated tangible cultural properties, including the 610kg 大盤石, which was designated on December 13th 1975.

Sannomiya Unosuke sadly died a mysterious death a few years after his immense feat at just 48 years old.

Location

This massive stone is located at the Okegawa Inari Shrine in Saitama, Japan, and is relatively well known in the area. A traditional Japanese sweet shop a short walk from the shrine even sells manjū replicas of the stone!

The left side of the image shows three Manju replicas of the stone on display in a Japanese sweet shop for ¥210 each. The right side shows one of the Manju up close, highlighting the branded 大盤石 kanji.
Manjū of the stone branded with 大盤石
大盤石 under its canopy.
大盤石 at the shrine

The stone’s location is on our map.

Glossary

大盤石 (だいばんじゃく) daibanjaku: huge stone

三ノ宮卯之助 (さんのみや・うのすけ) Sannomiya Unosuke

Corrections

2023-07-21: Sannomiya Unosuke was not a sumo wrestler

References

大盤石 - heihei2010.blog.fc2.com

chikaraishiworld.blog.fc2.com

Okegawa Inari Shrine and Daibanjaku - japantravel.com

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