Tsuwano Catholic Church

 

I have photographed quite a few churches in Japan, simply because they are rare and therefore exotic.

Of course, none of the churches in Japan are very old as Christianity was outlawed until the late 19th century.

It is thought that in 1601 the daimyo of Tsuwano flirted with Christianity. Missionary records claim him as a convert, but he seemed to have renounced the religion soon after. There are said to be a couple of Christian gravestones at Yomeiji Temple.

In 1870, 153 "Hidden Christians" from Nagasaki were imprisoned in Tsuwano and tortured to recant their faith. 37 died. A lovely chapel has been built on the hillside above Tsuwano... see this post for details.

The Catholic church in Tsuwano  was built in 1934 by a German priest. Built of wood, the Japanese carpenters came from Nagasaki. In 1892 a mission was established in Tsuwano, and so the church dates its foundation to then.

In early November every year a procession goes from the church up to the chapel.

There are said to be about 70 parishioners at the church. There are several other churches now in the Tsuwano area, although official statistics say only 2 per cent of the popukation of Japan are Christian, however, there has been quite a lot of Christian Prime Ministers....

The church is usually open to visitors from 9 to 5, unless services are taking place.

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the childhood homes of Nishi Amane and Mori Ogai.

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Abandoned Love Hotel

 

Right on the beach in front of Iwami Hagi Airport stands an abandoned hotel.

The main building is standard 5-storey structure and was a regular hotel. However, attached to it was also a Love Hotel, I suspect operated by the same company. I believe the Love Hotel stayed in business longer than the main hotel

I dont remember ever seeing it open, suggesting it has been closed for some years.

The 2nd and 3rd photos show inside what appears to be the Love Hotel's managers' living space.

The first of the rooms I explored just seemed like a fairly standar room.... nothing exotic...

The price list suggested there were several classes of room though...

Certainly the next one I explored was larger and with more facilities....

A karaoke machine and specialized furniture were available... Another abandoned Love Hotel I explored near Matsue, and then yet another near Yamaguchi.

The previous post was on the walk here along the Kohama Coast....

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Kohama Coast to Sanrigahama Coast

 

Toda is a fairly large village at the western end of Kohama Beach. Big enough to have a Junior High School, as well as an Elementary school.

It only has a tiny fishing harbour, so I am guessing it is primarily based around agriculture. It is, like everywhere else, on the Japanese coast, well protected against the sea by concrete fortifications.

On my way out of the village, I stopped in at the village shrine, a fairly standard Hachiman Shrine with nothing special to see and no signboard with info. Actually, at some point, I crossed the boundary into Kiami.

The road continues alongside the beach for quite a way....

Kannon Rock is apparently a popular sunset photo spot. There are countless rocks that share the name Kannon Rock. Some have a resemblance to the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon. Many, like this one, do not

The cormorants seem to spend a lot of time here, judging by the amount of guano....

Now Sanrigahama Beach begins....

Sanrigahama Park has this large stone sculpture. Seems to have been influenced by Stonehenge. Up ahead an abandoned resort hotel.....

The previous post in this series on day 33 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the scenic Ebisu Shrine in Todakohama.

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Iinoura Coast

 

The first settlement on the coast in Shimane after entering from Yamaguchi Prefecture is Iinoura.

I started here on day 33 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage. The pilgrimage has taken me through Okayama, Hiroshima, and now Yamaguchi, so only two prefectures to go.... my home prefecture of Shimane, and then Tottori.

First stop was the local shrine, a Hachimangu. Like many shrines along this coast, it was necessary to cross the railway tracks between the entrance and the main building.

The Hachiman triad are Ojin, Jingu, and Tamayorihime. Seconday kami are a pretty complete subset of Izumo kami, including Susano, Okuninushi, Kotoshironushi (Ebisu), Ukanomitama (Inari), and Ichishimahime.

From Iinoura, a narrow road winds around the steep headland known as the Iinoura Coast.

About 1.2 kilometers offshore is Sansho Island. In 1904, locals planted trees on the island to celebrate the victory over Russia in the war. The saplings all died, but locals tried again to no avail.

The small harbour of Iinoura.....

Looking up the coast to where I will be heading......

As with people all over the world, the japanese name rocks and formations after what they look like. The dark rock in the centre-left of the above photo is called Ningyo Iwa, Doll Rock, but I don't see it myself.

Around this small Buddha statue were numerous large signboards. Apparently, there used to be a grave up above the road. It was for a man called Taga Korebe, who died in 1619, and stipulated in his will that he wanted to be buried where he could see the Korean Peninsula in its entirety.

He was a sea captain employed by the Kamei Clan in what is now Tottori, and made many trade journeys to Korea, Okinawa, China, and Taiwan on behalf of the clan. Exports were swords, copper, folding screens, and lacquerware. Imports were Silk fabrics, cotton, ceramics, medicines, and books. When the Kamei took over the Tsuwano Domain, he came with them and was made headman of Iinoura.

The final photo is of Miyaga Island and its Ebisu Shrine, the subject of the next post in the series.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Itsukushima Shrine in Esaki.

if you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.