Inasa Beach & Izumo Myths

 

Up before the sun on the longest day of the year, I left my beach  campsite and started up towards Taisha.

Looking back up the beach towards where I started yesterday, Mount Sanbe is clearly visible in the predawn light.

I have one more small rivermounth to cross, the Hori, before my way up to Inasa Beach is along the debris-strewn, concrete-protected beach....

At Inasa Beach, sunrise illuminates the most famous landmark,... Benten Island.

Until fairly recently it was still a true island, surrounded by water at low tide, but now the beach has built up and the island is accessible at except at very hight tides...

The small shrine on the island was to Benten,.... otherwise known as Benzaiten, a Hindu deity brought to Japan. with esoteric Buddhism and then adopted as a kami as well as a Buddhist deity.

She is the ony female among Japan's Seven Luck Gods, but in early Meiji she was replaced in the shrine by a "purely Shinto" deity, Toyotamahime.

The beach and Bentenjima have become a "powerspot", and later in the day will be crowded with tourists, but at this time I am alone.

The long beach that sweeps from here to the area of coastline below Mount Sanbe is, for most of its length, known as Nagahama... Long Beach. According to the Kunibiki myth, it was a rope used by the kami to hold the land now known as the Shimane Peninsula to the mainland of Izumo after it was "pulled" from several other sites including the Korean Peninsula. It is believed the myth explains a series of migrations into the Izumo area, or the extension of Izumo influence to those areas.

Inasa beach is also where, every November, "all the kami of Japan" arrive for their annual meeting. Actually it is one of many spots where the kami are said to arrive, but the myth has come to simplified.

The beach is also home to the Kuniyuzuri myth, whereby Izumo hands over rule of Japan to the descendants of Amaterasu, the current lieage of Yamato rulers.

Such a major national myth would you think be a major site, but actually it is a small rock, on private property, tucked away behind the beach.

The previous post in this series on my deep exploration of the Sea of Japan coastline was on the solstice sunset the evening before...

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Rakurakuura Shrine Itsukushima Shrine

 

Floating Torii are the torii gates placed in water marking the approach to a shrine from the water. They are found in lakes and the sea and are not uncommon, with the most famous, and also the biggest, being the one in front of Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima in Hiroshima.

One of my favorites is another quite well known onem at Shirahige Shrine on Lake Biwa, known for its sunsrises.

This one is located in an inlet off the Maruyama River across from Kinosaki Onsen in northern Hyogo.

I think it may have originally been called Ukishima Benten and been a small Benzaiten shrine.

Benzaiten was conflated with the goddess of Itsukushima Shrine, one of the three Munakata kami.

It looks like this island was "rebuilt" at the same time as the land next to it when a large old people home was built and that was when the torii was built and probably when it was renamed.

The previous post in this series on the sights of Toyooka was on the amazing geology of the nearby Genbudo Caves.

Joruriji Temple 46 Shikoku pilgrimage

 

Joruriji is located on the southern edge of Matsuyama City, and is the first of 8 temples around Matsuyama that are on the Shikoku pilgrimage.

The previous two temples, Iwayaji, and Daihoji, are both high in the mountains so it is quite a contrast to drop down into flatter terrain. Matsuyama is also the largest city along the route since Kochi.

According to the legend the temple was founded by the famous monk Gyoki which would make it the early 8th century. I believe a total of 37 of the 88 temples claim Gyoki as their founder.

As with the others, it is said Kukai came to the site about a century later and rebuilt or re-established the temple.

There are several smaller shrines, including this one to Benten.

I visited in the first week of January so the new year offerings were still on the altars.

The grounds are wooded and gardened, with a trio of thousand-year-old Juniper trees being noteworthy.

Sacred Islands

There are thousands of small uninhabited islands and islets  in Japan, many of them sacred and with small shrines on them. One hears often of sacred mountains, the places where the gods descend to, but sacred islands get mentioned much less.

There are many myths and stories of the gods coming from under the sea and from across the sea, the Japanese themselves arrived here by water, so its perhaps not surprising. The most famous sacred island is probably Miyajima, home to the Itsukushima Shrine, and it was for a long time kept uninhabited as an abode of the gods.

On my recent walk along the Japan Sea coast of Yamaguchi I encountered some of these sacred islands. Nowadays many of them are said to enshrine Benten, or Benzaiten, a syncretic deity associated with the sea. Small islands in lakes will often enshrine her. She was also conflated with the Itsukushima goddess.

The first photo is the tiny Megashima, which means Doe island. You can make out the torii on the right under the biggest tree. The next two photos are the larger Ogashima, 200 meters away, which means Stag island. Being a male/female pair they are considered Meoto (married) islands. As you can see in the third photo the shrine has buildings. No-one I asked could tell me which kami were enshrined there or if there was a story....

Further along the coast, the fourth photo is Noshima. You can just make out the torii on the beach to the left and a small honden behind it. Again no-one could tell me which kami is enshrined there. Further along in Susa Bay is Nakashima. A gentleman walking his dog told me Benten is enshrined there. As you can see it has buildings.

Bentenjima Shrine

The small shrine on Bentenjima (Benten Island) enshrines the female kami/goddess Benten, sometimes known as Benzaiten. Associated with water, and sometimes equated with Ichikishimahime, Benzaiten is the only female among the seven lucky gods of Japan.

Originally the Hindu Goddess Saraswati, introduced into Japan through Buddhist sutras, so one can find both shinto shrines and buddhist temples dedicated to her.

Benten Island itself is actually just a big rock on Inasa beach, and in the Kuniyuzuri myth the rock was thrown here by Takemikazuchi while engaged in a competition of strength with one of Okuninushi's sons.