3 Shrines Around the Iwami Kokubunji Sites

 

The Iwami Kokubinji and Kokubunniji (nunnery) were located on the high ground just up the coast from Shimoko. Neither still exist, but the area is named Kokubu-cho.

The first shrine I visited was the Otoshi Shrine, which is, I think, the main shrine for Shimoko.

It is up a long flight of steps and on the way up offers views over Shimoko.

The main kami is Otoshi, a son of Susano connected with growing rice and also with immigrant clans from Korea. There are several more Otosshi shrines in the towns further up the coast...

Other than that I can find no history or info on secondary kami.....

A walk east toward the main Route 9 brings me to the guardian shrine of the Kokubunji, Kokubunji Kantake Shrine.

It was moved here when the Kokubunji was moved here. I had always presumed that Shimoko was the capital of Iwami all along, but apparently it was originally further up the coast in the Nima area. It was moved here in the early 9th century I think. I must find out why.

The most striking thing for me at the shrine was the pair of ceramic komainu. Unlike any I have seen before, they are quite cat-like.

The main kami of the shrine is Raijin, the Thunder God. I have always considered Raijin, and Fujin the Wind God, to be primarily Buddhist, as they are often depicted in paintings and sculptures at temples.

However, in Shinto mythology Raijin is equated with Ikazuchi, created out of the rotting corpse of Izanami. Ikazuchi is connected to the Kamo shrines that preceded the establishment of Kyoto.

Due to its importance and connection to the provincial capital, the shrine is listed in the Engi Shiki. Also enshrined is Omoto, the local land-goddess found everywhere in Iwami, and also Ebisu.

After passing the site of the former monastery, I head to Route 9, the old San-in Do that ran from Kyoto to Yamaguchi. The original Sanindo turns off from the new Route 9 and I follow it into Kushiro.

Kushiro Shrine enshrines Kushiroame no Koketsuhiko no mikoto, the son of Ama no Tarashihikokunioshihito no mikoto, the ancestor of the Kushiro Clan who settled the coast of Iwami.

More of that story can be found in this earlier post from down in Masuda.

It is also important enough to be listed in the Engi Shiki.

In the early 20th century with the shrine merger programme, the village Otoshi Shrine was merged with it.

In the grounds are an Omoto Shrine and an Ebisu Shrine.

New growth on a Sago Palm....

The Ebisu Shrine....

I carry on up the coast following the old San-in Do for a while. Abandoned properties are numerous.

The previous post in this series was on two shrines in Shimoko...

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Giant Juniper Tree & Temples 51, 52, & 54 on Shodoshima

 

This huge Juniper tree is well deserving of its ranking as a National Natural Monument. It is in the grounds of Hoshoin Temple, number 54 on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage.

It is almost 17 meters tall, with a circumference of more than 20 meters at the base and 17 meters at chest height. It is believed to be about 1600 years old and legend has that it was planted by Emperor Ojin. Using the mythical dates of the Kojiki and Nihongi as historical dates, which many continue to do, made the tree 2,000 years old and therefore the oldest in the world, but no reliable sources do that anymore.

There are two other "temples" of the pilgrimage within the grounds of Hoshoin.

The one closest to the Juniper tree is number 52, officially called Former Hachiman Shrine. It was moved here in 1868 with the separation of Buddhas and Kami, from the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine to the south.

Tomioka Hachiman is a huge hilltop shrine, so what I suspect ths small hall enshrines is what was, before 1868, the goshintai of the shrine. In this case a statue of Amida.

Many shrines had Buddhist statues as shintai, and Hachiman shrines in particular have always been quite Buddhist. Some years ago I was told by a fervent Shintoist that Hachiman was not truly shinto, but Buddhist.

The large temple is Hoshoin, number 54.

It is a Koyasan Shingon sect temple, and the honzon is a Jizo.

The third pilgrimage temple at the site is number 51, Hodobo.

Hodobo was the main temple at Tomioka Hachiman, so it was destroyed in 1868 and the honzon, an 11-faced Kannon, was moved here.

The previous post in this series on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was on the two previous temples, 49 & 50.

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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.

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