Along
the way, we pass several sub-shrines, some of them large and impressive,
set off on their own, but others just humble little groups of rocks like
this. The white paper strips hanging from the enclosing rope are another
sacred symbol, deriving, like the torii, from a reference in the
famous scene of luring Amaterasu from the cave. Simple and perishable,
they must of course be replaced frequently, testimony to the tremendous
amount of attention demanded by a Shinto shrine.