Kamaura Coast

 

By 6:30, the sun was already painting the western sky seen from my night's rest stop on the Uppurui Cape on the Shimane Peninsula.

The road east along the peninsula was narrow and there was no traffic

After a few kilometers I started down some switchbacks into the tiny fishing village of Kamaura.

Up ahead another wind farm.

Route 23 now hugs the waters edge and leaving the tiny settlement I passed a small shrine.

An Inarisha, but the nameplate also says Koshin, a Taoist cult that was very popular in the Edo Period

The road continues to hug the waters edge until the next settlement, Shiotsu.

I am always surprised by how beautiful this section of coastline is.....

The previous post was on the sunset from the windmill park where I spent the night...

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Motoyamaji Temple 70 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Temple 70, Motoyamaji, was a very pleasant surprise. Large, with lots to see, but not overcrowded...

The blue walls surrounding much of the compound was interesting and quite striking.

The 5-storey pagoda was started in the late 19th century and not finished until 1910.

The temple was founded by Kobo Daishi in 807. It is said he carved the honzon, a Bato Kannon, Horse-Head Kannon, the only Bato Kannon as honzon on the whole pilgrimage.

The Bato Kannon has two attendants, an Amida and a Yakushi.

It was a powerful temple in the middle ages with 24 branch temples and a territory of 2,000 koku.

The current main hall was built in 1300 and is very elegant. Not surprisingly, considering its age, it is a National Treasure

It survived the ravages of Chosokabe when most other temples did not. The clan that controlled the temple had a pact with Chosokabe, and that may be the reason, but there is a legend that explains the temple's survival.

Chosokabe's soldiers did attack the temple and cut down the head priest. However, when they opened the inner shrine in the main hall, the Amida statue was bleeding, so the samurai fled in fear.

The bell tower and Niomon also survived from that time.

Most of the current buildings date to the early to mid 18th century.

The Niomon is an Important Cultural Property.

These three photos show the temple's guardian shrine. Built in 1547, it has a bark-and-reed roof and is my second-favorite building after the main hall.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was Kannonji, Temple 69. It occupies the same site as Temple 68, Jinneiin.

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Cape Uppurui Sunset

 

After climbing up on the other side of Uppuriui Bay I came to the Uppurui Windmill Park on Uppurui Peninsula.

This was my resting stop for the night.

Public toilets and covered picnic areas took care of my primitive needs....

The solitude and beauty took care of my spiritual needs....

With no people around to distract me, no phone, and no chores other than eating, I was free to concentrate on what was around me....

This is one of the reasons why I love sleeping out......

It was not a brilliant sunset, but with so many clouds around it kept constantly changing....

Every now and then I come across someone who has never been camping..... kind of hard to imagine, I know, but the number of people I meet and have met who have slept out under the stars without a tent is small indeed..... I cannot imagine living a life without that experience...... I know I now only manage it a couple of nights a year, but!!!!

The previous post in this series on day 41 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk around the bay....

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