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[[Image:Ishiganto.jpg|right|thumb|320px|One of many ''ishigantô'' in [[Naha]].]]
*''Japanese'': 石敢當 ''(ishigantou)''
''Ishigantô'' are stones erected at intersections and inscribed with the characters 「石・敢・當」 (''ishi, gan, tô'')<ref>Or, occasionally, variations such as 石敢堂, 石当散, 石散当 or 石将軍, the latter being especially common in [[Fukushima prefecture]], and in China.</ref> as a charm against evil spirits. The practice started in China, and spread to Japan via Ryûkyû; today, ''ishigantô'' can be found as far north as [[Aomori prefecture]], though they are by far the most numerous in [[Okinawa prefecture|Okinawa]] and [[Kagoshima prefecture]]s.
Some accounts relate that the earliest ''ishigantô'' was erected by a governor of a district within [[Fujian province]] in the year [[770]], but the true origins of the practice are unclear.
==References==
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%9F%B3%E6%95%A2%E5%BD%93 Ishigantô]." ''Sekai daihyakka jiten'' 世界大百科事典. Hitachi Solutions, 2012.
<references/>
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
*''Japanese'': 石敢當 ''(ishigantou)''
''Ishigantô'' are stones erected at intersections and inscribed with the characters 「石・敢・當」 (''ishi, gan, tô'')<ref>Or, occasionally, variations such as 石敢堂, 石当散, 石散当 or 石将軍, the latter being especially common in [[Fukushima prefecture]], and in China.</ref> as a charm against evil spirits. The practice started in China, and spread to Japan via Ryûkyû; today, ''ishigantô'' can be found as far north as [[Aomori prefecture]], though they are by far the most numerous in [[Okinawa prefecture|Okinawa]] and [[Kagoshima prefecture]]s.
Some accounts relate that the earliest ''ishigantô'' was erected by a governor of a district within [[Fujian province]] in the year [[770]], but the true origins of the practice are unclear.
==References==
*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%9F%B3%E6%95%A2%E5%BD%93 Ishigantô]." ''Sekai daihyakka jiten'' 世界大百科事典. Hitachi Solutions, 2012.
<references/>
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Folklore]]