Hinomisaki Western Cape of Shimane Peninsula

 

10,000 years ago, the Shimane Peninsula was a long narrow island running parallel to the coast of Izumo.

Looking at a map, it is not hard to imagine as the two large bodies of water, Lake Shinji, the 8th biggest lake in Japan, and Nakaumi, a large lagoon, take up much of the space where the sea used to be.

Even 1500 years ago, at the time of the first Izumo myths, much of what is now land was still estuary and marsh. The peninsula is the land at the heart of the Kunibiki Myth, wherein a kami pulls land from three other places to make the peninsula.

In pre-modern Japan, coastal shrines and temples used their lanterns as navigation guides for  ships at sea.

In the Meiji Period, with the opening up of more and more ports to foreign shipping, Japan began building western-style lighthouses.

In 1899, Hamada and Sakaiminato ports were opened to foreign trade, and in response, Hinomisaki Lighthouse was built.

It opened in 1903, and I believe it was the tallest lighthouse in East Asia at that time.

It remains the tallest lighthouse in Japan and was made an Important Cultural Property a few years ago. It is also included in the top 100 lighthouses of the world.

It is 43 metres high and built out of a cut-stone exterior and brick interior.

The light, which has the biggest lense in Japan , is 63 meters above sea level and can be seen from 40 kilometers away.

For a small fee visitors can climb to the top and enjoy the fantastic views.

There is a really nice walk around the cape....

With a major shrine nearby, the two small fishing villages have a collection of ryokan and minshuku and a modern, luxury Onsen

This visit was on mid-summers day, 2020, and I was on day 7 of my walk exploring the details of the Sea of Japan coastline....

The previous post was on the walk up the coast from Taisha Port...

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From Taisha to Hinomisaki

 

The day after the Summer Solstice, and my route now hugs the convoluted coastline up to Hinomisaki.

Hinomisaki is the western cape of the Shimane Peninsula, with Mihonoseki being the eastern cape.

!0,000 years ago the Shimane Peninsula was an island. In Izumo mythology it was formed from the land of three distant countries that were pulled here and attached to Izumo by two giant ropes. Hinomisaki is held to the mainland by the "rope" of the beach that runs from Izumo Taisha to Tagi.

A lot of water still lies between the mainland of Izumo and the Shimane Peninsula, including Lake Shinji and  the Nakaumi lagoon. In  historical times the land between Izumo and Taisha was marshland that has since been reclaimed.

There are no settlements and only a few, scattered habitations along the road from Taisha up to the cape.

The final photo in the post shows an abandoned hotel up near the cape. Probably built in the tourism boom of the 1960's. I have yet to explore it.

The two previous photos to that final one  show a small inlet with a traditional Japanese ryokan.

Very popular with fishermen.....

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Japan Sea Coast was on Taisha Fishing Port.

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Hinomisaki Shrine

Located about 8k north of Izumo Taisha in a small fishing village is Hinomisaki Shrine. Its current architecture was built under orders of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1664, though the shrine is mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki so has been in existence for 1,000 years before that.

Renovations and re-painting have been completed and the buildings, which are classified as Important Cultural Treasures, now shine in their former glory. The best time to visit is in the late afternoon and early evening when the setting sun shows off the vivid vermillion best.

The shrine enshrines Amaterasu and Susano, and there is also an Inari shrine. When Lafcadio Hearn visited here in the late 19th century there was a "floating torii" in the sea, but this no longer exists.

The shrine can be reached by bus from Izumo City or Taisha, and there are several small minshuku (guest house) in the fishing village. Nearby is Hinomisaki Lighthouse, the tallest in East Asia.

See more photos of Hinomisaki