Mineralogical study of stone medicine ‘Ishi-no-hana’: Sulphate minerals from Horagatani, a historic site in Shin-onsen Town, Hyogo Prefecture, Southwest Japan

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  • 民間医療で用いられた鉱物薬「石のハナ」の研究：兵庫県新温泉町新市洞ケ谷霊場の硫酸塩鉱物

Abstract

To find a natural medicine called‘ Ishi-no-hana’ used by residents in the Horagatani historic site, Shin-onsen Town, Hyogo Prefecture, we observed and collected salts on the spalls and rock walls of tuff breccia from the Miocene Toyooka Formation for more than a year. Further, to identify mineral species at the site, the salts were investigated through microscopic observation, X-ray powder diffraction and microlaser Raman spectroscopy analyses. Identified minerals were epsomite (MgSO4・7H2O), hexahydrite (MgSO4・6H2O) and gypsum (CaSO4・2H2O). Epsomite and hexahydrite in the study area were much greater in late autumn and early spring. Stable isotopic studies of the 34S of epsomite and hexahydrite in river water in a valley suggest that the sulphur of these salts might not come from river water. Sulphate ion in gypsum is also likely to occur by the oxidation of pyrite in the rip-up crust of mud. Eventually, we found that these salts are secondary minerals in tuff breccia, including brecciated mudstone. Some residents in the Shin-ichi area near the Horagatani site insist that the epsomite and hexahydrite we collected resemble ‘Ishi-nohana’. Finally, we conclude that some salts can be correlated with epsomite and hexahydrite. This study contributes to advance the understanding of recent mineral ethnomedicine in Japan． Key words：mineral medicine, tafoni, tuff breccia, epsomite, hexahydrite, gypsum

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