Nowadays, salts can be found anywhere. But it wasn't always so. Till fairly recently, salt was a monopoly, dealt only by the Japan Tobacco & Salt Public Corporation. Furthermore, times immediately following the war, salts were given as rewards and bonuses as substitute for money. From the first place, the derivation of the word "salary" as in "salary men" is the word "salt" in English. It seems to come from the historical fact that during ancient Roman Empire, salts were handed to soldiers as allowances.

This shows how vital salts are for us human beings. It is a known fact that our bodily fluid basically consists of saline solution, with its component being very similar with that of the seawater. Without salt, our bodies can't effectually exchange energies in and out of our cells.

This is not unique to human beings. It is common to all living organisms, especially animals. When an animal urinates in the jungle, thousands of butterflies gather there. When a living organism urinates in the snow of the frigid inland area, cows and horses vie with one another in feeding it. Living near the ocean would cause no problem. But in the inland area, acquiring salts becomes enormously difficult. There are places like Europe where it is teemed with rock salts. But in those are without it, salts become very precious.

Same thing can be said with Japan. Inland areas always had salts supplied from towns on the coasts. That is why mountain trails named as "salt road" can be found in various regions of Japan. People living on the coastline sold salts to those in the mountains and such people sold lumbers in return. Therefore, in most cases, "salt roads" were also called "lumber roads" at the same time.

Salts are not only vital to human bodies, but also act as disinfectants and preservative substances. Foods can be preserved longer when salted. Sprinkling salts can prevent contamination. By such reason, high value was place upon salts as magical purificatory items, especially in Japan.

For example, we sprinkle salt over unwelcome guests and to those coming home from funeral. We also heap up salt on a defiled place. Furthermore, sumo wrestlers sprinkle salts over sumo ring from the same reason.

This custom, however, is not a custom deriving from Buddhism. It comes from Shinto. In Shinto, it is thought that salts purify defilement. For Shinto, a faith that completely wards off defilement, must had regard salt as something indispensable.

But what interests me is that there's another religion in the world that regards salt as purificatory item. Such religion is the Jewish faith. Jewish people know that sprinkling salts act as purification. Rabbi M. Tokayer wrote in his book " Jews and Japan -- the mystery of ancient history " that Jewish people can immediately grasp the meaning of sumo wrestlers sprinkling salts. In fact, "The Old Testament" states that salts were sprinkled over the town for purification when the town was filled with human corpse.

According to Torkeyer, the only people who utilize salts as magical purification are Japanese who embraces Shinto and Jewish people who embrace the Jewish faith. But I would like to add one more. They are the Primitive Christian Jews. Even "The New Testament" states that their customs were identical to those of the Jewish people. The prayed at the temple of Jerusalem even after the Ascension of Jesus Christ but were not persecuted by the Jewish. This was because of nothing else but that they had followed the Jewish custom.

If such would be the case, Hata-clan, the descendants of the Primitive Christian Jews may also have been using salt as purification. It is more likely that the reason Shinto regards salts as having an effect of purification may have its bedrock in the Primitive Christian Jewish that Hatas had introduced.

Before salts became artificially producible, salts were produced on salt field by the shore. The seawater was sprinkled and then dried under the sun. By repeating this procedure, salts become crystallized.

Nowadays, natural salts are made mostly in the southern areas. Salts of Okinawa, Tsushima and Hakata are famous. But among its long history, the most famous area for the production of salt must be the Ako of Hyogo prefecture. Everyone knows of the Ako of Ako-roshi (Forty-seven Ronin Incident). Now, the production of salt had drastically decreased but in the past, the salts of Ako were a product of first quality, a branded name product.

But not many know that Ako was the major base of the Hata-clan. One of the shrines that Hatas created was Oheki shrine. Its Chinese character slightly differs but there are many Oheki shrines here in Ako probably first within Japan for its numbers I visited each and realized how many Hatas had lived here.

Ako was the kingdom of Hatas, which lead us to believe that those who were producing its specialty, salt, were the Hatas. Hatas were the very men who were producing the branded name salt.

When we contemplate the fact that Hata-clan who played an important role in Shinto had been refining salt, I can't help but realize that they were the very existance that connected Shinto and the Primitive Christian Jewish.

Translated by Rie Ishida