Hachiman Shrine & Makio Shrine in Yasaka

 

Day 9 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage and during the morning I stop in at two noteworthy shrines.

Iwami is a remote region, and the area in the mountains now collectively grouped together as Yasaka Town is a remote part of that region. Though I have lived here for decades, this was an exploration for me...

The first shrine I reached was the Hachimangu in the area called Nakayasu after thebfamily that were installed in the area as local  administrators in the mid 14th century.

They served under various different lords until the mid 16th century when the Mori attacked and defeated them, then took over.

This Hachimangu was established as a branch of Usa Hachiman in the mid 15th century to protect the nearby castle. It became the tutelary shrine for ten villages in the area.

There are a pair of huge Sugi trees flanking the stairway, and a third up near the shrine buildings.

They are big enough to be protected and registered as Natural Monunments by the prefecture.

An older Tenmangu shrine was moved into the grounds in early Meiji.

With its Ryobu-style Torii, Makio Shrine, much further south, is quite picturesque. (top photo above)

Said to be founded in the early Heian Period, making it about a thousand years old, it was relocated to its current location in 1582.

 

Unusual is the combination of main kami, Izanagi, and Otoshi. Izanagi, well known as the male of the creator-kami pair with his sister/wife Izanami. Otoshi, one of Susano's sons, with association with rice harvest and Korean clans.

There is a kagura den, but it looks like it has not been used in a while....

The previous post was on the last temple I visited yesterday, and the place I stayed the night.

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