Sasaguri Temples 53 & 55 Kirinokidani Amida-do & Dainichi-do, and Koyasukannon

 

I catch a glimpse of the huge reclining Buddha on the other side of the valley, about 500 meters away.

The small mountain valley I am entering is called Kirinokidani, so the neighbourhood has that name.

The first stop is number 53 on the pilgrimage, an Amida Hall. Sometimes it goes by the name Enmyoji, the 53rd temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage.

Like many of these small "temples" in Sasaguri, the original small, stone honzon is on the altar with a modern, gilded honzon.

As well as a Daishi-do, there is a 13 Buddhas hall, as well as numerous statues in the grounds.

From the Amida Hall a set of metal stairs heads up to a non-pilgrimage temple, Koyasukannon

A branch of Anjoji Temple in southern Nara, Koyasu Kannon is a deity for safe-childbirth and fertility.

Here, the original feature is the hundreds of dolls on display in the main hall. I am guessing these are from mothers who have experienced safe childbirth.

From here it is a very short walk to the Dainichi-do, temple 55 of the pilgrimage...

The honzon here is a Daitsuchisho Nyorai, the Great Penetrating Wisdom Buddha, who, if I understand correctly, taught the historical Buddha.

It is the only temple on the pilgrimage with this Buddha.

I am running out of things to say about this pilgrimage.... there is just so much to see in a short distance.... approaching the end of the second day I have already visited about 50 temples, including some not part of the pilgrimage, but passed along the route. The number of statues is uncountable... must be in the thousands by now.....

Ther are a few Fudo statues at these two temples, but actually fewer than the other...

The previous post was on the previous two temples in the Tanoura area....

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Susa Shrine

 

May 5th, 2015, day 40 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage. A short walk from my nights campsite I arrive at Susa Shrine.

This is the head shrine of a large network of Susa shrines nationwide. I know I have come across many Susa shrines in my walks around western Japan, but I am not sure how common they are in the east.

There is a small Amaterasu shrine facing the main shrine.

The shrine was originally located a little to the north but was moved to its current location probably in the 9th century.

It ios mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki and so is very ancient. It is also listed in the Engi Shiki.

The main shrine enshrines Susano, but also his wife, Kushinada, and her parents, Ashinazuchi, and Tenazuchi.

Behind the main hall is a Miho Shrine, and to the east and west of the main hall are shrines enshrining various offspring of Susanoo, so the shrine is unusual in being surrounded by shrines in the 4 directions.

The current main hall dates to 1861.

The shrine is said to have 7 special sights, including a huge sugi tree.

Most unusual, perhaps, is the salt well. It is said that when the sea is at high tide the water from the spring is seawater, however, sciebtists have dispelled that story and explin the saltiness by natural causes.

Outside the grounds, but on the approach to the shrine, are another two shrines, an Itsukushima Shrine enshring the three munakata princesses, daughters of Susanoo, and a Suga Shrine, another shrine enshrining Susanoo that has many branches around Japan.

The honden was rebuilt by Harhisa Amago in 1554, and is relatively large, but n 14th cetury documents it was 4 times the size.

The honden has undergone periodic repairs and renovation about every 30 years.

A renovation is currently taking place.

The shrine is considered a "power spot" and is quite popular, though being off the beaten track and not near a railway it is relatively quiet.

The previous post was on the previous afternoons walk.

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Koi Pond at Kaburaiji Temple

 

Kaburaiji is said to be an ancient temple founded by Shotoku Taishi.

It is located near Sanda in Hyogo, at the site of his mother's birthplace.

I will cover the temple in the next post, but for now some shots of the pond in front of the main hall filled with koi.

I was here as Kaburaiji is the next temple on the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage I am walking.

I didn't see them, but the temple is known for growing the oldest type of lotus in Japan.

The previous post was on the interior of the nearby excellent Natural History Museum

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Sights Seen Down the Isa River to the Kando River

 

After leaving Izuchi Shrine, I continued on down the Isa River.

After a while I came across a very unusual sight for Japan...... a sheep!!

I have occasionally seen goats, but sheep are very, very rare in the Japanese countryside...

Quite common in the mountains of Izumo are thatched houses....

Yoshikuri Mountain once had a castle on it. It was destroyed during the Amago-Mori fighting of the 16th cetury. The Izumo Fudoki also records that various trees were cut from the mountain and ised to construct Izumo Taisha.

The Isa flows into the Kando River, a bigger river that I did spend three days walking down many years ago. There are more houses and traffic now.

I pass a couple of thatched buildings right next to the road. I looked on Google Street View and couldn't find them so I suspect hat have been demolished.

After a short distance, I turn off from the Kando and head up the Susa River and find a nice spot overlooking the river to spend the night.

The previous post was on the upper part of the Isa River.

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