Baby Sumo & the God of Sweets

 

Kitsumoto, a remote settlement along the Kumano Kodo, turned out to be a delightful surprise. Not only is it a scenic, traditional village in itself, but the two shrines in the village are both home to some unique features.

Located on the Yuasa to Kainan section of the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo, the old Imperial route from the capital down to the Kumano sanzan shrines, I was walking in reverse as the first part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

At the first shrine I came to, Yamaji Oji Shrine, a small sumo ring was just inside the grounds. This was for Naki Sumo, sometimes called Crying Baby Sumo. It is fairly common and found in numerous sites around Japan. a "bout" will involve a pair of infants, with the first infant to cry being declared the winner. If they cry simultaneously, then the louder baby wins. The Japanese believe that a crying baby can ward off demons and that loud crying increases the health of  a baby.

Yamaji Oji shrine is one of the 99 Oji shrines along the imperial route that were resting and stopping places for elite pilgrims.

In earlier times this one was known as Ichitsubo Oji or Kutsukake Oji.

An inscription on the main building is dated to 1680, which suggests that is when it was constructed.

The bell tower has the name of the temple that was part of the site until its removal in 1868.

As a tutelary shrine, Yamaji-oji is listed as an enshrined kami, along with Ojin (Hachiman), and Amaterasu. I would also suspect that the Kumano Sanzan are now enshrined here.

Heading down the long, narrow valley, the next shrine is Kitsumoto Shrine.

It is also the site of an Oji shrine, Tokorozaka Oji, but is most well known for enshrining the "God of Sweets"

The kami enshrined here is Tajimamori. According to the myth-legend, he was sent by Emperor Suinin to a mythical realm to find a magical fruit. What he brought back was Tachibana, said to be the source of all the mikan fruits in Japan.

A tachibana tree in the shrine grounds is said to be the latest of cuttings made from the original tree planted here. The daimyo of the domain in the Edo period made mikan production a priority as the hills were too steep for rice terraces, and so that is why I had been passing through so much orange country the last day.

In ancient times the fruit was considered a sweet, and so Tajimamori became known as the kami of sweets. Confectionery companies of all kinds send offering to the annual festival here, although there are other shrines in the country connected to Tajimamori as well.

The previous post in this series on day 8 of my walk along the Kumano Kodo and Saigoku Pilgrimages was on the walk over the mountain pass to get to Kitsumoto.

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Married Islands & Sugawara Shrine

 

Approaching Abu, 2 small islands lie just offshore.

The smaller island is named Megashima, which means Doe Island. It has a single torii and may have a hokura.

The larger island is named Ogashima, which means Stag Island. It has several torii and some shrine buildings. It is a branch of Kashima Shrine.

Being male and female islands, they are known as Married Couple Islands.

In Abu itself, the main shrine is a Sugawara Shrine.

Obviously Sugawara Michizane is enshried here.... same as in Tenmangu shrines or Tenjin shrines.... though am not sure why they have different names.

These shachi on the roof of a small hokoro were quite unusual...

Many shrines to Sugawara have an ox statue, from the ox that was carrying his coffin in Dazaifu and then stopped. At that spot Dazaifu Tenmangu was built, though until Meiji it was actually a temple.

There was no signboard at the shrine, and I can not find any information about the shrine online in either Japanese or English...

There were some nice paintings on the ceiling and a fairly unusual pair of komainu

The previous post in this series on day 3 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk from Oi to here...

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A Walk from Oi to Abu

 

Oshima Island, about 4 kilometers offshore from Oi on the mainland of Yamaguchi, has only one settlement, but big enough to have a small supermarket and an elementary school.

Oi has quite a large cemetery. In my area, we have no big cemeteries as graves and tombs are scattered throughout the community.

Along the way, a Buddhist statue with Inari fox guardians.....

The Ooi River begins about 10 kilometers away to the NE as the crow flies.

On this side of the river another shrine, this one a little smaller.

Like the previous shrine, Takakura Arahito Shrine, this one is also an Arahito shrine, and also has no informstion on site or on the internet.

The carving above the entrance to the main building perhaps offers a clue. It appears to depict some type of "wild" deity, suppressing a Jyaku, a lind of demon. Usually the Buddhist Shitenno, the four heavenly kings, are depicted this way. The main figure could also be Shoki, a Daoist "demon-queller, often equated with Susano.

My guess would be that Susano is now the kami enshrined in these Arahito shrines.

Up ahead the headland with the settlement of Abu...

More cormorants. I would guess that the differing head appearances would be due to gender or mating season factors...

It's a scenic section of coast, with plenty of rocky outcropping protruding from the sea. Nice to walk, cycle, drive, or take the train along.

This bird is, I believe, a Blue Rock Thrush, called isohirodori. I believe this one is male.

The previous post in this series on day 30 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Takakura Arahito Shrine.

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Takakura Arahito Shrine

 

All decked out for matsuri, The Takakura Arahito Shrine seems to be the main shrine of Oi on the Yamaguchi coast near Hagi.

Just before reaching the banners and steps leading up to the big shrine, I syopped in at a little shrine.

It had a couple of banners flying, but only had a few small roadside-style shrines, and no buildings.

There was no sign and I could find out nothing about the kami enshrined here or any history.

Same goes for the main shrine, Takakura Arahito Shrine.

Arahito literally means "wild man". Arahitogami refers to a kami that is or was a human.

Aragami means a "wild" or "turbulent" or "rough" kami, often equated with Susano as storm deity.

Kami are generally considered to have a dual aspect, a rough, violent side, and a gentle side.

The shrine is obviously important, and it's unusual to see quite so many banners.

There is a good chance that most local people have no idea who the kami is.

I once stopped at a matsuri in a local shrine in the mountains of Hiroshima, and even the priest didn't know the name of the kami.

Still, not knowing bugs me, and I will keep my eyes open in the future for any reference to arahito...

The previous post was on the walk along the coast to here from Koshigahama.

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