Answer
This is salt put in front of a
store. It is called “morijio”.
In Japan, salt has some special
meanings.
Japanese people have believed
that salt brings people in, so people put salt in front of stores. This derives
from a historical event in China. In those
days in China, people in high positions used carriages pulled by cows to
travel. One woman who wanted to bring a man to her house put salt in front of
her house. As a result, the cow pulling his carriage stopped to lick salt, and
the woman could receive him.
Also, salt is believed to make
places clean. This derives from Japanese traditional religion, SHINTO. Japanese
people have salt sprinkled on their body after a funeral
ceremony to clean their body. Sumo wrestlers also throw salt to purify the
ring. Surprisingly, about 650 kilograms of salt is used in one sumo tournament
held for 15 days, while an average Japanese uses about 10 kilograms in a year.
During the
age without oxydol, Japanese people used salt to disinfect things. It was also
used to store things. Salt has played an important role in lives of Japanese
people. Because salt was used in so many ways, it is natural for Japanese
people to believe that salt has a spiritual power.
Recently,
number of stores that have salt in front of them has decreased, but most Japanese
seem to believe the spiritual power of salt. Japan is said to be one of the
world’s biggest importers of salt. it is used not only as a seasoning but in
many other traditional ways. Salt may represents the taste of Japanese culture.