Is a 10,000 yen tourist tax high or low? ≪7≫ ～How to use the tourist tax（Accommodation tax）, the creation of the Okoshiyasu Program, and new tourism proposals (The fusion of venture industry and tourism) (Welcome Program) ～
Kitayama Polished Logs is a pioneering example of venture industry from 600 years ago
～Excavation of sand abrasives from Bodai Falls. A super spot,
and the roots of Kyoto ventures found in nature～
Yoshie Doi
As time passed and the 20th century began, analysis of the sand from the Kitayama polished logs at Bodai Falls revealed that it contained a geological layer containing elements essential for making semiconductor devices.
The area around Bodai Falls, where the sand used to finish Kitayama cedar logs is collected, is a power spot today. The sand contains Zr (40 zirconium), layers of SiO2 (quartz), and deposits containing Si (14 silicon) and SiC (silicon carbide) have been discovered.
In addition to being used as abrasives, polishing agents, and grinding stones, these substances are also the materials that make up silicon wafers, the semiconductor substrates that are in the limelight in 21st century science and technology, and devices that use silicon wafers are used in some form in the things that surround us today. As for SiC, it is the SiC wafers in power devices that are causing an energy revolution. It is no wonder that this was once a place where abrasive powder was excavated.
I heard from the Nakagawa area that around 2024, when the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, many people from all over the world will visit Bodai Falls, including visitors from France, Africa, Tunisia, Canada, Russia, Italy, Dubai, and Australia. Although the stairs leading down to Bodai Falls were destroyed by flooding, so visitors have to take a detour, many visitors still visit.
Waterfall asceticism has the effect of purifying the mind and body, removing worldly desires, and refreshing oneself. It is a form of training that revitalizes the mind and body. This is because the energy of nature has a negative ion effect and one becomes one with nature, allowing one to absorb the energy of nature into oneself and refresh oneself. During the Nara period, En no Gyoja is said to have practiced waterfall asceticism from the time he was a child and gained supernatural powers. It is a form of training that is practiced in Japan.
(Continued in the next issue)
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Translated by Masami Otani
