Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum

Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum No. 3

Records on Miocene fossils in Mizunami area in pre-Meiji period are synthesized and reviewed. The oldest record is a mold specimen of Vica1yella replaced by calcedony found in Hakusan-shrine old mound (early Jomon period) of Tajimi City near Mizunami. Cast specimens of Vicmya, Vicaryella and other gastopods replaced by calcedony and sediments are called “Osagari”. White one is “Tsuki-no-osagari” (excrement of the moon) and reddish one is “Hi-no-osagari” (excrement of the sun). There are many folk stories and the history of a temple on the origin of Osagari which has being deified by people in Tsuki-no-miya (shrine of the moon) and Hi-no-miya (shrine of the sun), and in the shelues for Shinto tablet in each home.

Fossils appear in Japanese poems (Tanka and Haiku) from Heian period (go up nine century) made by various poets who passed the area. They are recorded in old literatures and monuments of poem.

Other records are also in various books as follows;

a. Books of Honzo (oriental “natural history”)

Butsurui-hinsitsu 6 vols. (1763 A. D.) by Gennai HIRAGA

Unkon-shi 18 vols. (1772–1779) by Sekitei KIUCHI

Honzo-komoku-keimo 48 vols. (1803) by Ranzan ONO

b. Books on a topographical sketch and travels

Funpon-ko (1786) by Masumi SUGAE

Noshu-junko-ki (1739–1800) by Koko HIGUCHI

and others

Some of them are shown in plates.