Kotohira-gu, Izumo bunsha

After visiting Rendaiji, the sixth temple on the Izumo 33 Kannon pilgrimage I headed to the nearest train station in Naoe to head home, stopping in at the Konpira Shrine in the middle of the village.

Its now called a Kotohira-gu, which was the new name given to the kami Konpira in the Meiji era to disassociate it from its Buddhist identity. The main Konpira Shrine on Shikoku was one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations of the Edo period with millions of pilgrims travelling to Shikoku and often bringing back the "spirit" of the kami to enshrine in their local villages. This one in Naoe however was not established until 1880.

At the same time as renaming the kami it was given new identities more suitable for the national shinto that was in the process of being created. Hirata Atsutane had a hand in establishing the "true" identity of Kotohira as a manifestation of Okuninushi (Omononushi) and also the 12th Century Emperor Sutoku.

There are several smaller shrines in the grounds including a Harae-do, a Manasa shrine, a Hachiman shrine and this Inari Shrine.

Rendai-ji. Temple 6 of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

Rendai-ji, the sixth temple of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is located on a hilltop at 100 meters. The final approach is up 160 stone steps.

From the temple there are fine views down on Hikawa with Hirata off in the distance.

Its a Shingon temple, and has a Daishi-do as well as the main hall. There is a priests house but it looks to have been uninhabited for a while.

There was not much in the way of artwork, statues etc but I did like this small set of small, old, wooden statues. According to a sign its possible to walk a mountain path over towards temple number 7 but I decide to head back down the mountain and walk back to the nearest station and head home. Thats enough for this first 2-day leg of the pilgrimage.

Sokinoya Shrine

Sokinoya Jinja

Sokinoya Shrine is listed in the Engi Shiki so it is at least 1,000 years old. It's located at the base of the hills south of Naoe in Hikawa.

Halfway up the steps is the store room holding the rather elegant mikoshi and other valuable equipment.

The main kami enshrined is Kihisakamitakahiko, and there is absolutely no information on him except that this area was once called Kihisa so he was probably the leader of the area. This rock in front of the shrine is reputed to be where he stood and prayed in the direction of Izumo Taisha across the plain below.

Visible behind the rock is a small shrine to Sarutahiko. It was moved here from its original site at a large rock outcropping further up the mountain. There is also a Kumano Shrine in the grounds.

For me, the most interesting secondary shrine in the rounds is the Karakuniidateho shrine. Karakuni means "from Korea", and there are numerous Karakuni shrines around Izumo and Iwami that enshrine Susano and his son Isotake that are manifestations of the legend/myth that Susano and his son arrived here from the Korean peninsula.

Kumu Shrine & Shusai Hachimangu

There are two shrines occupying the same site here, located just east of Izumo City across the river in Hikawa.

The older shrine is Kumu Shrine, though in the Engi Shiki it is called Humuno Shrine. It has been in existence since at least the 7th Century as it is listed in the Izumo Fudoki. It was moved to its present site in the middle of the Edo Period. It enshrines Susano.

The bigger shrine is Shusai Hachimangu and it is not known exactly when it was founded. Unusually it lists Susano and Homuda Wake as the main kamis, Humuda Wake being the name of the emperor who was known posthumously as Ojin

Within the grounds are an Inari Shrine, a Wakamiya, a Miho, and Aragami.

Enya Shrine

Enya Shrine is the tutelary shrine of Izumo and is located south of downtown. It used to be called Yamuya Shrine, and the main kami enshrined is Yamuyahiko and his wife Yamuyahime.

Yamuyahiko was a grandson of Okuninushi, and other than that I can find no information about him.

The shrine is very old, being listed in the Izumo Fudoki of 720, as well as the Engishiki.

Also enshrined in the main shrine is Kotoshironushi, Oyamazumi, and Ojin,.... a strange mix of kami. Enshrining Ojin makes it a hachimangu, though it is not officially named that,  it is considered the number one of Izumo's eight Hachimangu. Hachiman must have been enshrined here much later.

Secondary shrines within the precincts are to Inari, Tenjin, and Aragami, among others...

There was a nice pair of small, wooden komainu in the Zuijinmon.

Kannon-ji, Izumo City temple 4 on the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage

Temple 4 of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is Kannon-ji located in downtown Izumo City just off old Route 9.

It is a Rinzai Zen temple and the main deities are Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha, and the eleven-faced Kannon. I can find very little information about the temple and its history and I was there at the crack of dawn so there was no-one around to ask.

Therewere a couple of shrines in the grounds, and this structure which contains, I believe, statues of the Judges of Hell.

Prayer slips left by pilgrims. I was there in April and the cherries were in full bloom. There is a small bell tower, and possibly an Imperial Messenger gate which would indicate that the temple held some importance in earlier times.

Gakuen-ji

Temple #3 of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is the Tendai mountain temple of Gakuenji, a place I have visited many times and still one of my favorite temples. earlier posts can be found here.

To my great surprise there was for the first time an entrance fee!!!!.... that included a cup of green tea, and once I got over my initial shock I decided that maybe its a good idea. With no parish to provide funerary expenses the temple needs funds to maintain the buildings.

When i first came here many years ago there was a wonderful thatched-roof nunnery. Without maintenance it collapsed and was torn down. Maybe with the income from the thousands who come here in the Fall for the colors and the increasing number of pilgrims who come here can provide some protection for the place.

Before I left the young priest gave me a pamphlet of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. It has a nice map and details of each of the temples, and most useful the temple names are written with furigana so they can be easily read. Gakuen-ji is also part of the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, so I will be back here again when i walk that in 2014.

The Chugoku Nature Trail runs through the temple, and while car pilgrims have to drive back down the mountain and around I can take the trail straight up and over the mountains....

Fall Colors walk: Yaeyama Falls

Down below Yaeyama Shrine the valley leads up to Yaeyama Waterfall, a popular area even though it is remote. There is a big car park and plenty of picnic tables. To get to the waterfall is a 1.5k walk up the valley.

Everywhere I go this woman seems to be following me.....

There are numerous smaller falls along the way including this one in a narrow cleft in the rocks...

Lots of running water....

and some natural fall colors as opposed to the profusion of maple trhat had been planted at the lower end

The trail end at Yaeyama Falls.

Susanoo's Unusual Komainu

Scattered across the remote mountains of Inner izumo are a series of mountain shrines to my favorite kami, Susano. Finally i was able to visit Yaeyama Shrine located on Mount Yaeyama .

I will post more on the shrine at a later date, but for now I just want to show you the rather unusual komainu.

As I wander the backroads of rural japan I am always on the lookout for diversity.... homogenity is such a sickness :). and in the "arts" of local shrines is one place where diversity can be found...

The faces of these komainu are not so unusual, but the stance and body forms are....

The author of a book I have on the komainu of izumo believe these were carved by a man in Yunotsu, but doesnt give any dates. He also believes that originally they were located inside the gate.

Incidentally, a pair of komainu at another Susano shrine, Yaegaki near Matsue, are believed to be among the oldest in japan....

Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

I'm about halfway through walking the Izumo 33 kannon pilgrimage. There are hundreds of 33 Kannon pilgrimages in Japan, though probably the oldest and most well known is the Saigoku Pilgrimage up in Kansai. The Izumo pilgrimage was founded, like many of the others, around the middle of the Edo period, the time pilgrimages really became popular among common folk.

I havent measured it yet but my guess is it is about 300k in length, possibly longer. Many of the temples are uninhabited and in fairly remote locations. Many are mountaintop temples and therefore there is a lot of ascending and descending to do.

There are some stunning views especially across the OkuIzumo region. There is little in the way of pilgrim infrastructure. I have found no signs along the road and there are no rest huts, though I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that temple 9, Mine-Ji, had a tsuyado for pilgrims. Stores are few and far between, though the route does pass through the urban areas of Izumo City and Matsue City. Occasionaly the route follows main roads, but most of the route is along very narrow, mountain roads with very little traffic.

I recently discovered a map of the old Iwami 33 Kannon pilgrimage!!!!! so once I finish the Izumo 33 that is what I will walk next....... and then the Chugoku 33 Kannon.... and then the Shodoshima 88... and then,,,,