3 Shrines Around the Iwami Kokubunji Sites

 

The Iwami Kokubinji and Kokubunniji (nunnery) were located on the high ground just up the coast from Shimoko. Neither still exist, but the area is named Kokubu-cho.

The first shrine I visited was the Otoshi Shrine, which is, I think, the main shrine for Shimoko.

It is up a long flight of steps and on the way up offers views over Shimoko.

The main kami is Otoshi, a son of Susano connected with growing rice and also with immigrant clans from Korea. There are several more Otosshi shrines in the towns further up the coast...

Other than that I can find no history or info on secondary kami.....

A walk east toward the main Route 9 brings me to the guardian shrine of the Kokubunji, Kokubunji Kantake Shrine.

It was moved here when the Kokubunji was moved here. I had always presumed that Shimoko was the capital of Iwami all along, but apparently it was originally further up the coast in the Nima area. It was moved here in the early 9th century I think. I must find out why.

The most striking thing for me at the shrine was the pair of ceramic komainu. Unlike any I have seen before, they are quite cat-like.

The main kami of the shrine is Raijin, the Thunder God. I have always considered Raijin, and Fujin the Wind God, to be primarily Buddhist, as they are often depicted in paintings and sculptures at temples.

However, in Shinto mythology Raijin is equated with Ikazuchi, created out of the rotting corpse of Izanami. Ikazuchi is connected to the Kamo shrines that preceded the establishment of Kyoto.

Due to its importance and connection to the provincial capital, the shrine is listed in the Engi Shiki. Also enshrined is Omoto, the local land-goddess found everywhere in Iwami, and also Ebisu.

After passing the site of the former monastery, I head to Route 9, the old San-in Do that ran from Kyoto to Yamaguchi. The original Sanindo turns off from the new Route 9 and I follow it into Kushiro.

Kushiro Shrine enshrines Kushiroame no Koketsuhiko no mikoto, the son of Ama no Tarashihikokunioshihito no mikoto, the ancestor of the Kushiro Clan who settled the coast of Iwami.

More of that story can be found in this earlier post from down in Masuda.

It is also important enough to be listed in the Engi Shiki.

In the early 20th century with the shrine merger programme, the village Otoshi Shrine was merged with it.

In the grounds are an Omoto Shrine and an Ebisu Shrine.

New growth on a Sago Palm....

The Ebisu Shrine....

I carry on up the coast following the old San-in Do for a while. Abandoned properties are numerous.

The previous post in this series was on two shrines in Shimoko...

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