Dokkoishi

Japanese archaeologists conjecture that this stone was used as an axe and an item for witchcraft from the latter half of the Jōmon Period (around 3,500 years ago) until the middle of the Yayoi Period (around 2,000 years ago). The name tokkoishi is derived from its resemblance to a tokkosho, a religious item in Buddhism. Originally, stones like the one pictured here were used as axes with edges on both sides, but stone axes without edges gradually became more prevalent. Stone was carefully polished to create this piece.