Kamiko Hachimangu & Shimoko Ikan Shrine

 

After visiting Ankokuji Temple, I stopped in at the Hachimangu shrine in Kamiko.

It was established by the new governor of Iwami, Fujiwara no Sadamichi in 889.

After being appointed, he fell ill and was unable to travel to his post. He prayed at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura and recovered. In gratitude he established the Hachiman shrine here.

It has quite large, well-maintained grounds...

Interestingly, the hachiman here is listed as Ojin, and his mom, Jingu, and hois dad, Chuai. No mebtion of any Munakata kami. I wonder if that is a thing of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu?

While walking downstream towards Shimoko, I pass a small local shrine....

And, of course, the ubiquitous Buddhist roadside statue...

In Shimoko, I visit Ikan Shrine, with a pair of huge trees, including this Gingko...

Established in 869, the shrine was located a little to the NE. Its current location is the site of the provincial government offices. There is a pond behind the shrine, said to be from that time.

The main kami is Amatarashihikokinioshihito no mikoto. Quite a mouthful. Said to be a son of Emperor Kosho, one of the early emperors that historians have no evidence of. He is claimed as ancenstor of the Wani Clan that later spawned the Ono Clan and the Kakinomoto Clans, among others. The shrine is listed in the Engi Shiki.

The shrine is said to have been merged with Fuchu Shrine, believed to be the Soja Shrine for Iwami. A Soja shrine enshrined all the kami from around the province and was located close to the government offices so that the governor did not have to travel all around the province to execute his duties towards the shrines, but could simply visit the one shrine nearby.

Many sources claim that a female Kami associated with weaving and also related to the ancestors of the Kuroshio Clan who settled the area is also enshrined here. There is a lot of confusion about her exact identity.

As well as the giant trees, the komainu are quite impressive, as is the dragon carving and the elaborate roof decorations.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby small temple Komyoji.

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 It will not be published or made public.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 last ten posts.

National Museum of Art Osaka

 

The National Museum of Art Osaka is unusual in that it is completely underground.

It is located on Nakanoshima, the long island between the Dojima River and the Tosabori River.

The Japanese name translates as National Museum of International Art, although some Japanese works are represented.

The bulk of the collection is post-1945.

It was designed by Cesar Pelli.

The entrance is above ground and is inside a very sculptural structure made out of tubular steel.

Pelli says it represents reeds waving in the wind.

The museum claims it represents bamboo.

The museums origin is in a temporary art museum as part of Expo 70.

It opened in 1977 as the NMAO.

Due to aging facilities it closed down and was moved to the new site at Nakanoshima in 2004.

It is said to be the largest collection of contemporary art in Japan with more than 8,000 pieces.

The collection contains works by Picasso, Cezanne, & Max Ernst.

Mostly paintings, prints, and sculptures, in recent years the musuem has collected workd in other medio including video and Performance art.

The collection is displayed in changing exhibitions and also the msueum hosts special themed exhibitions...

Other Cesar Pelli structures I have covered are the Osaka Museum of History, also in Osaka, and the Seahawk Hotel in Fukuoka with its impressive atrium.

The previous post in this series on architecture in Osaka was on the walk from Namba Yasaka Shrine.

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 last ten posts.

Komyoji Temple 26 Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Komyoji is a small temple downstream from Ankokuji, and almost adjacent to Ikan Shrine.

It is a Shingon temple, and the honzon is an Amida triad. Other than that, I can find no info on its history.

It is known for having a collection of roof tiles and roof ornaments from the old Kokubunji which no longer exists, although I didn't see them.

Not sure what the seashells were about. Also, very unusual to see a kagura mask in a temple. This one looks a lot like Predator, but the mask is much older than the movie...

The previous post was on Ankokuji, temple 25 nearby.

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 last ten posts.

Mountain Bounty

 

Day 9 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage, and I am walking through some remote mountain country I had no been to before.

It's early May, so plenty of flowers..... also industrial waste..... there is a lot of abandoned construction company sites filled with scaffolding and such.... also plenty of dumped vehicles...... but a few times I've seen industrial drums rusting.....

Snakes have been out and about for months already..... not sure what species this guy is, but its not a poisonous mamushi...... wouldnt bother me if it was.....

This gentleman was tending his hives. Don' t remember seeing many hives in Japan, but the honey must come from somewhere..... I suspect most not from Japan....

This couple have been harvesting fuki, a wild plant eaten quite a bit.... I believe it is called butterbur... pieces of the stem re often found in bentos...

The ubiquitous roadside shrine.... with fresh flowers.....

The bamboo shoot harvest was a couple of weeks ago around my village, but I guess up here in the mountains it is a few weeks later..... when trimmed, this barrowload will fetch a pretty penny from city folk.

I start to drop down into the area around Mito Onsen... where a small, civic matsuri is taking place.... the first kagura dances are ritual and not masked, but I decide not to wait around for the later dances....

The previous post in this series was on two interesting shrines I visited earlier in the day.

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