Five million years ago, long before any religion was born in Togakushi, this area was a sea. Fossils of marine life such as scallops, abalone, great white sharks, and whales excavated from the surrounding areas provided evidence of that.
For people of older times, it must have been a mystery how fossils of sea creatures emerged from the land of Togakushi, surrounded by mountains. They considered those fossils to be body parts of mystical creatures. For example, what they called a "tengu claw" was a fossil of a shark's tooth, and what they called "dragon bone" was an extinct elephant from ancient times.
The "dragon bone" was thought to have a special medicinal effect if it was shaved and swallowed. In the treasure hall of Chū-sha in Togakushi Shrine, there is an object called "Geshaku", or a scepter made of ivory with a slightly shaved lower part. This is because some people shaved it and took the shavings as medicine. This is another kind of faith all of its own.
