Upper Saga Toriimoto Historic Preservation District

 

Saga Toriimoto is a small district at the very edge of Kyoto, up a narrow road leading to the mountain Atago Shrine.

It is one of the historic architectural preservation districts in Kyoto, though I would wager probably the least visited.

In my last post, I looked at two of the 400-year-old thatched buildings still operating as eateries.

This time, some of the other thatched buildings around the same area.

The area was originally farmhouses, but developed into a "shrine town" serving the growing number of pilgrims heading up to Atago Shrine.

Toriimoto means "around the torii", the vermilion first torii on the path up the mountain.

I became quite fascinated by these preservation districts, of which there are more than 120 scattered around Japan.

Some are well-known and very touristy, but many are off the beaten track and, to my mind, a bit more authentic.

click on the "preservation district" tag at the bottom of this post for more of my posts on them.

I believe the tags don't show in the smartphone version of these pages..... 

The previous post in this series on Arashiyama was on the kaiseki restaurants in two of the thatched former farmhouses.

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Uppurui Bay

 

After coming down from Gakuenji Temple I reach the north coast of the Shimane Peninsula at Uppurui Bay.

My way is around the bay to the mountains on the other side where Ichibata Yakushi, the next temple, is situated.

Tye name Uppurui seems a difficult one for many Japanese to read. The double P is unusual. I have heard that it derives from Ainu or ancient Korean.

I once spent two nights on a yacht in Uppurui Bay, sheltering from a typhoon.

On the cape across the bay is a small wind farm. It is said to be one of the biggest in Japan.

While sailing into the bay that time I saw my first flying fish, the prefectural fish. Every

There are several small fishing harbours and one big fishing port.

Apparently Spanish Mackerel, Yellowtail, Sardine, and Horse Mackerel are all landed here as well as a tyoe of seaweed that is well prized.

I climb out towards the Uppurui Windmill Park where I plan to spend the night.

Not sure why they are called windmills..... they are not milling anything.... look like wind generators or wind turbines to me.....

The previous post was on the delightful Gakuenji Temple

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Kasuga Shrine Fuse

 

Fuse is a small fishing village on the East coast of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane.

I reached it late in the afternoon on my first day walking around the coast of the island.

The shrine in the village is a Kasuga shrine and is said to be older than the mid-16th century. The shrine is most well known for the main path which is directly east and so sunrise can be viewed on the Spring and Autumn equinoxes

Being a branch of Kasuga Shrine, the main kami is Ame no Koyane, seen to be the encestor of the Nakatomi-Fujiwara Clan who pretty much ran Japan for centuries. Curiously, the chigi, clearly visible in the one before last photo, is for a female kami. Also clearly visible is the red oni decorating the end of the roof. A blue one is at the opposite end.

There are numerous other secondary shrines within the grounds with Hachiman and Sumiyoshi being two I could discover the names of.

This is where the rituals and ceremonies for the amazing tree-shrine, Oyama Shrine, nearby take place.

The previous post was on some of the amazing coastline along this section of Dogo.

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Gakuen-ji Temple 25 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Gakuenji has always been one of my favourite temples. Located in fairly remote mountains, it takes some effort to visit.

Unfortunately, even in the twenty or so years I have known it the temple has lost several large structures. As well as being number 25 on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, it is also number 3 on the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage. Some shots from that visit can be seen here.

The temple is very, very old, being founded in the last decade of the 6th century. A monk prayed at the waterfall here and Empress Suiko's eye problem was healed and so she ordered a temple built.

It was a major shugendo centre and later became a Tendai sect temple.

Legend has it that Benkei trained here and carried a bell here from Mount Daisen, an obvious mirror of the famous story of him taking a bell up to Mount Hiei.

The current main hall was built while the Mori controlled much of Chugoku in the late 16th century.

Between its original founding and the current site, the temple was destroyed and moved several times, including having two separate precincts.

Because of this is has two honzons, a Kannon and a Yakushi, both secret.

These are just about the only statues you can see inside the very dark interior...

About twenty years ago the treasure hall was broken into and thieves made off with numerous treasures... an indication of how remote it is.

The grounds become packed with visitors during the autumn colours season.....

Next to the main hall is the Matarajin Shrine. This used to be located at Izumo Taisha and was disassembled and carried up the mountain when Izumo Taisha removed all Buddhist elements in the 16th century. Matarajin is a fairly obscure deity, mostly seen at Tendai temples. Curiously, Matarajin is equated with Susano, and it was Gakuenji that stated that Susano was the primary deity of Izumo Taisha until the 16th century, a fact that is now recognized by historians but ignored by everyone else.

One of the few structures still left at Gakuenji is the magnificent priests quarters and library.

It has an Imperial Gate only used by imperial messengers, and in fact the current Emperor visited here when he was Crown Prince.

The previous post was on the walk over the mountain to get here.

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