STORY1 Mountain Goddess: Don’t make her angry

Since ancient times, it has been said that gods live in the mountains of Japan, and that these gods are goddesses.

Women were forbidden to enter the tunnels, because if they did, goddess would be jealous and the mountain would collapse.

For the same reason, when a tunnel worker’s wife gave birth, he was not allowed to enter the tunnel for a week.

Also, if you whistle in the tunnel, the goddess, who likes to sing and dance, will dance and cause rocks to fall. So you might not want to whistle in the tunnel.
Today, many female engineers are working at tunnel sites.