Natural features such as mountains, waterfalls, large rocks and large trees have been objects of worship in Japan since ancient times and believed to be places in which invisible Kami (Japanese folk deities) dwell, such as large rocks referred to as iwakura (sacred rocks) in which kami were thought to reside.
日本では太古から山岳、滝、巨岩、巨樹などの自然物が崇拝の対象とされ、巨岩は磐座（いわくら）などと呼ばれて、神の依代（よりしろ）、すなわち目に見えないカミの宿る場所とされていた。