Senyuji Temple 58 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Senyuji Temple, number 58 on the famed Ohenro Pilgrimage on Shikoku, is a mountain temple with stunning views down onto Imabari in Ehime.

For those who visit on foot there is a steep path from the Niomon gate up to the main temple grounds.

The Nio are of a standard design but quite striking.

One thing unusual about Senyuji is that it was said to be founded neither by Gyoki nor Kobo Daishi, the 2 founders of the majority of Ohenro temples.

legend says it was established by the provincial governor under orders from Emperor Tenchi in the mid to late 7th century. The honzon, a Senju Kannon, is said to have been carved by a Dragan woman who came up from the sea.

When Kobo Daishi visited it had fallen into disrepair but he rebuilt it. It again fell into disrepair during the Edo Period but was restored in the early Meiji Period.

It is not a very big temple and the buildings were rebuilt in the 1950's following a major fire, but it has great views. It is known for its shukubo, temple lodgings, quite well known for their delicious shojin ryori vegetarian cuisine.

I did not stay here on this trip, but later when walking the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage I did, and would heartily recommend it.

The statue of Binzaru (below) is said to be the biggest and best on the pilgrimage.

The previous temple was number 57, Eifukuji.

Nariwa Art Museum by Ando Tadao

 

Sometimes known as Takahashi City Nariwa Art Museum as the town of Nariwa was incorporated into Takahashi in 2004

Nariwa lie to the east of the old part of Takahashi, along the Nariwa River before it enters the takahashi River.

The Nariwa Art Museum was established in 1953, but the current building was opened in 1994.

It was designed by the renowned Japanese architect Ando Tadao.

One of the intriguing aspects of Japan, for me, is finding huge, modern, public buildings like museums or auditoriums in small rural towns.

many of these were funded by a program born in the pre-bubble era when, in many senses,  Japan had more mone than it knew what to do with.

What it did was give every single municipality a massive chunk of money which mostly got spent on such projects as this.

By now many of these establishments have gone bust, but this one is still going.

The main focus of the museum is a local-born artist, Kojima Torajiro (1881-1929) generally considered to be primarily an Impressionist.

Also exhibited are a collection of Egyptian artifacts collected by Kojima, and fossils from the Nariwa area.

The museum also stages temporary exhibitions throughout the year. It has a shop and a cafe.

For those without a particular interest in the exhibitions will find the architecture interesting enough by itself.

It is classic Ando, with huge expanses of plain, vertical; concrete. When freshly constructed and almost white it is quite powerful, but I wonder how Ando's buildings will look in another twenty years of built-up grime?

There is also plentiful use of water to bring in the natural environment by reflection.

There is also an inner pool faced by the cafe.

As with many of Ando's structures they are quite labyrinthic leading the visitor in and out of spaces.

The previous post in this series on Takahashi was on the old town architecture.

Other buildings by Ando I have posted on include the Inamori Auditorium in Kagoshima, Komyoji Temple on Shikoku, and the Decorative Tumulus Museum in Kumamoto.

Yabusame in Tsuwano

 

Yabusame, a Japanese form of horseback archery, is, like some other "sports" in Japan considered an entertainment for the gods and is therfore found associated with shrines.

Yabusame can be seen at various places around Japan, but only in Tsuwano is it performed in a traditional yabusame grounds.

Part of Washibara Hachimangu Shrine at the base of the mountain where Tsuwano castle was built, the grounds were constructed about 500 years ago and was modelled on the yabusame grounds that existed then in Kamakura.

The shrine is older and dates back to the 13th century, but it was rebuilt in the mid 16th century by the daimyo Yoshimi Masayori.

The yabusame festival takes place on the first Sunday in April and so is usually during peak Cherry Blossom season.

Photographers arrive early to get the nmosr advantageous spots, but due to the remotemess of Tsuwano the event never gets as crowded as yabusame at other places.

On the Saturday before there are full rehearsals and these are open to the public.

The course is 250 meters long with a stone-lined embankment running down the center so that the riders can return up the opposite side.

The riders are all students of the Ogasawara  School of Yabusame and include females and non-Japanese.

The second school of yabusame is the Takeda School.

Apparently all the horses come from Miyazaki and are not associated with one particular rider or owner.

As well as the riders, there is a massive cast of other participants ranging from young boys and maidens up to quite old men.

Some of the participants are connected to the shrine rituals and other are dressed in samurai costime.

Rituals take place in and in front of the shrine itself and then other rituals take place at the grounds.

Three of the mounted riders are dressed in traditional hunting outfits that include deerskin chaps.

They carry sharp hunting arrows. As I understand it these riders do not take part in the actual galloping and shooting.

Twelve riders wear the yabusame outfit which is much lighter.

Their arrows, used in the ritual, are not sharp but rather have a heavy, rounded, turnip-shaped head.

The target is a small wooden rectangle called a mato. If struck by an arrow they make a distinctive sound easily heard by the spectators who will then cheer.

Because the head of the arrow is quite heavy the target usually breaks.

There are three targets down the length  of the course.

Originally the horses in Japan were much smaller than today, so in ancient times it would take about 30 seconds to complete the course.

Nowadays the time is almost half that.

The archery takes place in the morning and again in the afternoon.

I would reccomend arriving early to experience the full range of rituals and preparations.

Entry is free but you can buy a reservation for a ground cushion seat