Osake Shrine

 

Osake Shrine is a big, ancient shrine on the coast of Hyogo near to Ako.

The main kami is the spirit of Hata no Kawakatsu, whose grave is on the sacred uninhabited island just offshore.

The Hata were an intriguing immigrant clan who have unknown but variously theorized roots. Some say they were descendants of a Chinese emperor. Others say they were a "lost" tribe of Israel. Some say they came to Japan from paekche in Korea, others say Sila. Some say they spent time in Izumo before moving to Yamato.

Like other immigrant clans at the time they settled near what is now Kyoto and quite a few important sites are attributed to them, including most famously Fushimi Inari Shrine, but also Matsuo Taisha. Kawakatsu no Hata was a known associate of Shotoku Taishi and is said to have had much influence over the founding and construction of Shitennoji Temple.

One noteworthy point about Osake Shrine is that along with the shitno zuijin guardians there is also a pair of Buddhist Nio.

Also noteworthy are the large number of Ema paintings, especially those of boats. One dated to 1722 is considered the oldest and most valuable in Japan.

Not on display, the shrine owns a 1,300 year old mask, said to have been either given to Kawakatsu by Shotoku Taishi or carved by Kawakatsu himself.

Kawakatsu is said to be the founder of sarugaku, and Zeami and many other notable figures from ancient theatre styles claim to be his descendants.

Following the death of Shotoku Taishi Kawakatsu set sail and ended up in this area and spent some time developing the land. Some say he was exiled, some say he left to avoid the political violence that was commonplace in the capital at that time.

When he died a few years later his tomb was made on Ikushima just offshore and the locals built the shrine and enshrined him.

The Sakoshi Boat Festival takes place every October and is considered one of the Three Great Boat Festivals of the Inland Sea along with the Osaka Tenjin Festival and the Kangen Festival at Miyajima.

One of the traditional boats used in the festival is on display in the shrine grounds.

Most of the current buildings at the shrine date back to the 18th century.

Within the shrine grounds are numerous secondary shrines, including a Shingu Shrine to Shotoku Taishi, a Sumiyoshi Shrine and a Kotohira Shrine, both shrines connected with safety at sea.

There is also an Inari Shrine, a Tenmangu, an Ebisu Shrine and an Awashima Shrine.

There are said to be 28 branch shrines of Osake Shrine in the area, indicating its importance locally.

The island is visited by the boast during the festival, but otherwise is still off-limits to everyone, so the woodland on the island is completely natural and is a National Natural Monument.

Though not as grand, I recommend a local sea festival from my local area.

The previous post in this series on the Ako area was on Fumonji Temple and its beautiful Kannon statue.

Innoshima Suigun Sea Festival

 

Innoshima, an island in the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku, is one of the places most associated with the Murakami, a warrior clan of feudal Japan either called pirates or navy, depending on who was writing and when.

There are three summer festivals on Innoshima, the first in late July or early August involves a gathering of "samurai" in full regalia and then fireworks. The second, the Fire Festival, takes place towards the end of August and involves the same samurai carrying huge torches, a local dance, and then once again fireworks.

The final festival takes place the day following the Fire Festival, and this is the boat racing. Like the other two festivals, it takes place on Shimanami Beach.

The boats are traditional wooden boats known as Kohayo. Some sources suggest these were high-speed boats used for messengers, but other sources have them used in combat with archers on board.

Up to 50 teams take part and heats are held throughout the day, leading to a grand final.

Each boat has a crew of 16, 14 rowers, a drummer, and the helmsman.

There are races for school teams and women's teams, but the highlight is the men's team final.

I was climbing Mount Shirataki when I saw the festival taking place, so unfortunately, the shots were all taken from far away.

The previous post in this series on day 12 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon pilgrimage was on the walk from Onomichi to Innoshima.

Along the Gonokawa from Shikaga to Imbara

 

Saturday October 2nd, 2021, and day 2 of my walk along the Gonokawa River to its source winds down.

After my detour to visit the Kannon Waterfall, I backtrack to the river and pass by Shikaga, once a stop on the defunct Sanko Line railway.

Much of the village is on the slopes, and the main road skirts it along the river.

The traditional riverboats, flat-bottomed like punts, were made of cedar, but now aluminum, plywood, and sometimes fiberglass are used.

The next couple of kilometers up to Imbara where the Nigori river joins the Gonokawa and Route 261, the main road along the river across on the other bank, veers away from the river and heads up the Nigori River towards Hiroshima.

In the photo below, the patch of new concrete on the opposite bank marks where the railway bridge crossed over the Nigori. While almost all the track, and the vast majority of the bridges of the rail line are still there, this bridge has been removed. I suspect because it offered a walking shortcut to Imbara.

Nearby is an abandoned hilltop park that had a small Inari Shrine. It was not well maintained twenty years ago when I first visited and now seems completely overgrown.

The Undersea World of the Oki Islands

 

Shimane, on the coast of the Sea  of Japan has some fantastic clear seas and white sand beaches, and none better than around the Oki Islands about 20k-30k off the coast.

Long known as an excellent place for snorkelling and scuba diving, the sea is so clean that oysters caught here can be eaten fresh.

For those who can't snorkel or scuba dive, there is however another option, an undersea viewing boat.

The Amanbow is not a glass-bottomed boat, rather the hull has huge, picture windows, so passengers can sit in the middle and look out as if in an aquarium.

The boat leaves from Hishiura port on Ama Island, and heads out to view the Saburo Iwa Rocks, a group of rock pinnacles rising from the sea just off the coast.

Near the rocks the passengers then head below and look out into a surreal undersea forest of seaweed.

The crew meanwhile throw out food to attract fishes and soon they appear.

It is possible to imagine you are looking at what might be on your dinner table later that night. The seafood on the Oki's is superb.

The previous post in this series exploring the Oki Islands was on the Saburo Iwa Rocks.

Kanko Maru

 

The Kanko Maru was Japan's first modern warship. Following the forced opening of Japan by Perry's Black Ships the Shogunate realized they needed to modernize their defenses and asked their friends the Dutch for help. In 1855 they gave them one of their steamships operating in the Dutch East Indies. It was built in 1853 and was a three-masted schooner with an auxiliary steam engine powering side paddles.

It was scrapped in 1879 but a faithful replica was built from the original plans in 1987. She operated as a tourist boat out of Huis Ten Bosch, the Holland-themed amusement park near Sasebo, Nagasaki. Now she operates out of different ports around Japan. She has a displacement of 400 tons and is 66 meters in length. The original carried 6 cannons.

She was tied up in Nagasaki on the day I visited as part of my walk around Kyushu on the Kyushu Pilgrimage. The previous post was on the nearby  Dragon Promenade.