Tamawakasu Shrine Dogo

 

Tamawakasu Shrine on Dogo Island was the primary shrine for all of the Oki Islands, which until the late 19th century constituted a separate province of Japan.

Little is known about he main kami, Tamawakasu, although he is believed to be the founder and pioneer of the Oki Islands, said to be a descendant of Okuninushi.

Other kami enshrined here are Okuninushi, Susanoo, Inadahime, and Kotoshironushi.

Pretty much the main pantheon of Izumo.

Whoever the chieftan of the islands was, in the late 7th century when the Yamato government attempted to unify Japan, the chieftain was installed  as the governor of the province. Behind the shrine is a group of keyhole tombs, said to be the graves of the rulers of the area.

The family of priests who have controlled the shrine since then, the Oki Family, are descendants of the governor.

Their house is next door and I will cover that in the next post in the series.

The house, the honden of the shrine, and the Zuijinmon gate are all Important Cultural Properties, and are all thatched. The architectural style of the buildings is unique to the Oki Islands.

The honden dates to 1793, the house to 1801, and the zuijinmon to 1852

There is a huge, ancient Sugi tree estimated to be at least a thousand years old. Another fell down fairly recently.

It is called Yao Sugi, because the nun who planted it vowed to return in 800 years.

June 5th is the annual festival and it features horses. 8 horses bring the local kami from 8 different districts and numerous ceremonies are performed including galloping horses and yabusame, horseback archery. In former times horses from 48 districts would arrive.

The previous post in this series was on a scenic boat ride exploring the coast, river and main port of Dogo.