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.

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 It will not be published or made public.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.

More Manhole birds

A unique bird is featured on the manhole for Nankoku in Kochi, the Onaga Dori, or Long tailed Cock has the longest feathers in the world that have been known to reach 10 meters in length. The birds have been bred here since the early Edo Period. The local daimyo used to use the feathers to decorate spears carried in his processions to Edo.

Haruno, also in Kochi features what I believe is a Japanese Wagtail, but I may be mistaken...

Ozu, in Ehime Prefecture, like Miyoshi in Hiroshima, still practise the ancientbart of fishing with cormorants...

In Kurayoshi, Tottori, a type of duck is featured.... I have been unable to find out why

Finally, Yuu in Yamaguchi features a kingfisher, kawasemi. There are numerous species of Kingfisher, but I presume this is the Common Kingfisher.

Manhole Birds

Toyono Town in Kumamoto Prefecture uses an image of the ugusui, Japanese Bush-warbler.

Up in Matsue, Shimane soem of the smaller draincovers around the castle moat feature the swan, hakucho in Japanese.

Saijo City in Ehime on Shikoku features a pair of kingfishers, kawasemi in Japanese.

Susaki in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku also featurtes a kingfisher.

Noichi, also in Kochi, no longer officially exists as it has been merged into a new municipality of Kamita. Among the daffodils flies a Hibari, skylark

Japanese White-eye

This little guy flew straight into our window and dropped like a stone. We put him in the shade up high out of reach of the local cats and an hour later it was gone, so I presume it was OK.

In Japanese it is known as mejiro, which means white eye.

It is common throughout Japan and most of East Asia, It was kept as a caged bird because of its song.

Introduced into Hawaii for pest control in the early twentieth century, it is now a dominant species there.