Scenes From Rural Oita

 

Oita is a large prefecture in northern Kyushu with quite a varied set of landscapes, these scenes are from my walk on the 6th day of my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

My route was roughly southeast from Nakatsu to Ajimu. I have no idea what the Easter Island heads are about.....

Compared to much of Japan, it was fairly wide open with a lot of agriculture... I do realize lots of Japan has coastal plains, especially around the cities, but not where I live.... my area is all narrow valleys..

I've lost count of the number of Statues of Liberty I have come across in Japan..... I believe this one was at a car dealership....

This is a recently built branch temple of Nenpo Shinkyo, a Buddhist sect started in the 1920's....

Not sure if it os classed as a "New New Religion", a "New Religion", or simply a Buddhist sect.

Love hotels are often located in between towns..... Sky Dix is now a chain of at least 5 love hotels, so I am guessing this is the original....

Pretty sure this metal sign is of an ear of wheat...... seems that this is a wheat-growing area....

The previous post was on some of the shrines I stopped in at on this morning walk...

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Funamori Shrine to Ishigami Shrine

 

Coming into Shiotsu Funamori Shrine is enclosed within high concrete walls to protect it from storms.

Until Meiji it was called Hachioji Daigongen and enshrined Hachioji Daimyojin but was renamed Funamori Shrine and the deity renamed Sonosazuchi no mikoto, but I can not find such a kami anywhere.

Little history is kniown but an old timber was dated to 1536.

The Aragami Shrine in the grounds enshrines Susano.

Shiotsu has a small fishing port with ample concrete protections...

At the eastern end of the village is Ishigami Shrine.

Plenty is known about this shrine as it is mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki and listed in the Engi Shiki.

Originally called Umi Shrine and believed to enshrine Wadatsumi, the sea kami.

In the 11th century, the shrine and much of the village were destroyed by a storm.]

Later, following a vision, the shintai of the shrine, the sacred object with the Honden, in this case a large stone, was brought up from the sea.

It now sits behind the shrine, without a Honden. It is surrounded by a stoen fence and the stone is wrapped in numerous layers of heigushi. There is an Inari shrine in the grounds, and an Aragami shrine, enshrining Susanoo.

The previous post was on the walk along the coast to get to Shiotsu.

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Momen Kaido Hirata Cotton Road

 

Hirata lies close to the north shore of Lake Shinji, Japan's 8th biggest lake, and for a while it was a bustling trading port exporting Hirata Cotton up to Osaka and beyond.

A small secrtion of the old town along the navigable river that fed into Lake Shinji has now been renamed Momen Kaido, "Cotton Road".

There is a large merchant house and garden open to the public which I will cover in the next post in the series.

For me, the most interesting thing about Hirata is the unique folk art called Isshiki Kazari, which I need to do some more posts on.....

Hirata is served by the scenic Ichibata Railway that follows the lakeshore between Matsu and Izumo Taisha.

On a hillside overlooking the town is a really good folk-art museum as well as mansion and garden that is REALLY worth visiting.

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The previous post in this series on the sights of Matsue and Izumo was on the observation deck overlooking Matsue and Lake Shinji.

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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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