Sakurai Family Samurai Mansion

 

The Sakurai were a samurai family who controlled iron production in an area of Okuizumo in the Chugoku Mountains of Shimane.

Originally from what is now Hiroshima, the family moved here in 1644 from the Kabe district and so were known locally as Kabeya.

Just below the old manor is a modern museum called Kabeya Shuseikan displaying artifacts from the family history.

The main house was built in 1738. The main residence sometimes served as a honjin, a guesthouse for when the Daimyo was traveling in the area

The most notable feature of the manor is the garden, and that will get a full post next....

There were several other samurai families controlling iron production in the region, probably the most important iron-producing region in Japan.

Down the mountains, the Itohara Family Residence is another big samurai manor with a garden and also a museum devoted to tatara iron making.

Near to the Sakurai Residence is more modern version of a tatara forge, and in the town of Yokota is a big museum devoted to tatara and samurai swords

Yamata no Orochi

 

Yamata no Orochi is a mythical serpent with 8 heads that appears in the Izumo cycle of ancient Japanese myths set in the time before the descent of imperial lineage.

In the myth, Susano defeats the serpent and marries a local princess who was to be sacrificed to the serpent, and so and begins the rise of Izumo culture that predates and later contributed to Yamato culture.

All these photos are of a modern sculpture depicting Orochi outside the Okuizumo Tatara Sword Museum, in Yokota, Shimane. Orochi appears everywhere throughout Izumo, on draincovers and giving its name to many products, including the tourist train I took to get here.

Yokota is on the River Hi which runs through Okuizumo and it is generally held that the 8-headed serpent refers to the 8 tributaries of the river that is at times violent and dangerous. Some commentators suggest that Orochi represents a tribe that fought the Izumo, but so much evidence suggests it was the river. Near here is the shrine for Kushinada, the princess saved from the serpent, and downstream are shrines to her parents. Nearby also is one of the sites said to be where Susano "descended", and spots downstream said to be Orochi's nests are found in narrow gorges where the river would have been particularly dangerous.

The idea of sacrificing humans to a river is fairly widespread around the world as well as here in Japan. I found a riverbank monument to a local lord who was praised by locals when he switched from burying live humans in the river bank to burying clay figures, and stories of human sacrifice to protect new bridges and castle walls are fairly common.

The museum here is on the ancient method of making iron and swords, and Okuizumo was a major centre. In the Orochi myth Susano discovers a sword in the tail of the dead serpent and this went on to be one of the Three Imperial Regalia.

Tatara, a kind of forge used to make iron from iron sand, the method used in Japan, was said to be introduced from mainland Asia, and once again the myths suggest that it was Susano who brought the technology over from Korea. A shrine south of here near Izumo Taisha attest to this.

later I will post on the fascinating history of iron and swordmaking on display in the museum, but in the meantime you may enjoy a wild and dramatic display of Orochi in videos of our local kagura.

The previous post in this series exploring Okuizumo was the Yokota Folk Museum.

Yuminato Harbour

 

Yuminato is a small harbor and fishing village at the mouth of the Yusato River.

Now part of Yusato village, the main village is a little way upstream.

The river starts in the mountains visible in the photo above where Iwami Ginzan and the old silver mines are located.

Though there was a harbour with massive concrete walls, most of the boats were drawn up on the beach.

In fact, with the exception of one small boat with a tiny superstructure and cabin, all the boats were very small "open" types.

Yuminato translates as "hot water harbour". It is part of Yusato which translates as "hot water village", which is part of Yunotsu, which translates as "hot water port'.

On this visit, I was on the third leg of my deep exploration of the Sea of Japan coast. The previous post was the Hiso Natural Arch. 

Lafcadio Hearn's House & Gardens

Lafcadio Hearn's House & Gardens

Lafcadio Hearn was one of the first foreign writers in Japan whose books are still very popular today. Kwaidan, his book of ghost stories, and Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan are two titles that are perhaps the most well-known, and the latter is what I have shamelessly cribbed for the title of my own blog.

He spent about a year living in the castle town of Matsue in Shimane where he gathered much of the material for "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan" and where he married and lived with his wife, the daughter of a local samurai.

The house where he lived for six months is located on Shiomi Nawate, a street of former samurai homes on the north bank of the castle moat.

Hearn, who took Japanese citizenship and the name Koizumi Yakumo, was particularly fond of the gardens in his samurai home.

It is not a very large house, though there is a little furniture and some artwork around. There is almost no infomation, for that you need to go next door.

Immediately adjacent to the former residence is the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum which has a lot of permanent displays on Lafcadio Hearn and his life and works as well as changing temporary exhibitions on related subjects. On a visit, you may meet the curator, a great-grandson of Hearn.

The previous post in the series is the Gesshoji Temple garden.

Kushijima Near Yunotsu

Kushijima

Kushijima is a small uninhabited islet at the mouth of the entrance to the World Heritage Site ports of Yunotsu and Okidomari.

It can be reached on foot at low tide and a small bridge over a deep and narrow channel in the rocks makes this safe and easy.

During the time that the Mori clan controlled the silver mine and the surrounding area they had a small castle on the island to protect the harbours.

Nothing now remains, but it must have been at least a little substantial as it withstood an attack by Amago forces in the Warring States period of the mid 16th century.

There is a small beach and campsite here now and its quite a dramatic bit of coastline.

I am guessing that these man-made excavations in the rock are a fairly modern attempt to make pools for pleasure bathing, but I may be wrong.

Buy Goods From Japan

Gardens at Yakumo Honjin

Yakumo Honjin 八雲本陣

The Yakumo Honjin is a former wealthy merchant's house from the Edo Period located on the south shore of Lake Shinji about halfway between Izumo and Matsue.

The title "honjin" indicates that it was used as a guesthouse by the local lord as he traveled around his domain.

I have previously posted on the house itself, and the artifacts and artworks on display.

I had expected the gardens to be more interesting than they turned out to be, though that may be because it was in the winter and the sun was low and cast big shadows,

Like other Izumo gardens I've visited, there seemed to be a big emphasis on the stones laid out as paths.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure if visited at the right time of day and year the gardens would be more impressive.

On the other side of the lake there is another honjin in Hirata, and it's garden is much better tended to.

Buy Japanese Taketombo

Kingenji Temple

金源寺

Kingenji is a very small temple in a remore location, high up in the Okuizumo area of the Chugoku mountains.

The small main hall is thatched and is quite picturesque. It is said to have been established around 1300, and is currently a Nichiren sect temple.

However, what brings visitors is the large gingko tree in front. Probably about 300 years old, in the Autumn its golden leaves cover the thatched roof and carpets the ground in front of the temple..

A rice paddy immediately in front of the temple is flooded in October, and so the reflection doubles the attractiveness.

In recent years the scene has been illuminated at night.

I visited in late November, and at this elevation, the autumn colors had passed and the paddy had been drained, but there were a few vestiges of color.....

Koinobori