From Onbara to Kurihara Bridge

 

On the third day of my walk up the Gonokawa River towards its source, I have passed through the boundaries of Gotsu City and Kawamoto Town and have entered Misato Town, a huge area of scattered vullages and uninhabited mountains straddling the river for the next few days.

I leave the small settlement of Onbara after visiting its shrine. A very quiet little place that the "main" road along the river bypasses.

It's mid-October and the Goldenrod is in full bloom. It's originally an American plant but since the mid 20th century and spread across Japan. It occupies the same ecological niche as the native Susuki, often referred to as Japanese Pampas Grass. Goldenrod is an invasive species seemingly taking over. In the US, Susuki is an invasive species seemingly crowding out Goldenrod. Balance of a kind I guess.

A narrow lane leads back to the riverbank. Kurihara Bridge is just ahead.

Several roadside altars have some offerings of coins and fresh flowers, and swept clean, attesting to the care given by at least one of the locals....

The previous post in this series was on Onbara Hachimangu, the local shrine.

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Shinjiteien Garden at Daisho-in

 

Daisho-in, the Rinzai Zen Temple in Hagi that is the 10th temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage has a small pond and stroll garden next to the Shoin.

The front part of the temple consists mostly of a moss garden, though it was not well maintained last time I visited.

The Shinjiteien garden, named after the pond in the shape of the chinese character for "heart" is also not well maintained.

The gardens are not worth making a special trip for, but if you have limited time in Hagi and want to visit one of the big Mori cemetery temples, then I would prefer this one to Tokoji.

I have seen photos taken in the Autumn and they do look much nicer...

The previous post in this series was on Daisho-in temple itself and many of the statues...

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The Views from Hemp Mountain

At 599m, Taima-San (Hemp Mountain) is the highest coastal mountain in the Hamada area. Among the many antennae and towers that bristle from its peak is an observation tower

At the base of the mountain is the town of Sufu, home to the largest kofun (burial mound) in the Iwami area.

The Chugoku Nature Trail passes over Taima-san, and there is an interesting shrine and garden just below the peak which I covered in some earlier posts...

These photos were taken on two different visits.

The 1st, 9th, and 10th photos are of the Misumi Power Station. This is a big coal-fired plant that, since these photos were taken, has doubled in size. As a side note, for those of you that know me from a previous life, the original plan for the power plant was to import coal from Black Mesa in Arizona, but shifted to Australian and Chinese coal.

If you come up the mountain from Sufu on the Nature Trail, you pass right by the biggest kofun in all of Iwami.

Photos 6 and 7 are of Sufu. Photos 8 and 11 are of Hamada, further up the coast. The famous "bridge to nowhere" is clarly visible.

Photos 2, 3, and 12 are of views inland over the Iwami region.

The previous post was on Taimasan Shrine, the large shrine with gardens just below the peak.

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Daisho-in Temple 20 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

First stop on day 29 was Daisho-in, the 20th temple on the pilgrimage.

It is believed that a temple stood here in the 9th century, but nothing is known about it.

Later, it was revived as a Rinzai temple with the name Kanki-ji but it fell inrto disuse and almost disappeared during the16th century.

The temple was revived by Mori Tsunahiro, the second daimyo of the Choshu Domain, in the mid 17th century.

It was renamed after the posthumous name of his father.

On this visit the main hall of the temple was completely enclosed within a building to enable its renovation.

A couple of windows allowed visitors to view the reconstruction process.

In the meantime the Shoin was used as a temporary main hall and many of the temples statues and treasures could be viewed.

The whole temple burned down in the mid 18th century, but was rebuilt in 1750.

The main hall, sutra repository, kuri, shoin, and impressive bell tower gate all date from that time, and are all Important Cultural Properties.

Next to the temple is one of the Mori family cemeteries. The other is on the opposite side of Hagi at Tokoji Temple.

The lords and their families were buried at alternate sites.

Here at Daisho-in there are 47 graves for the families of seven daimyo.

Most impressive are the 605 stone lanterns donated by vassals and samurai of the domain.

Of the two temples with Mori cemeteries, I prefer this one to Tokoji as it is far less crowded.

There is a garden next to the shoin, though it is not so well maintained. I will cover it in the next post in the series.

The previous post in this series was on my walk into Hagi the previous afternoon.

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.