Nutashi Shrine

 

On the shore of Lake Shinji, a substantial torii marks the route to Uchi Shrine, a couple of kilometers away up on the slope of Mount Hongu.

A little past the road heading up to the mountain is the entrance to Nutashi Shrine.

This enshrines Sarutahiko. It is mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki, but not in the Engi Shiki, as it was not under the control of the government shrine dept. It was an "unofficial" shrine.

According to the legend, when Princess Takahime descended to Mount Takano, Sarutahiko took the stern of the boat and guided her. She is now enshrined on the mountain, and Sarutahiko was enshrined here.

Sarutahiko is known as a guide. In the descent of Ninigi and his group from Takamagahara, they came to a complex junction with many routes and didnt know which way to go. Sarutahiko was waiting for them and offered to guide them down to earth. If you see a matsuri procession, you will often see a figure leading the procession wearing a red mask with a long nose. Many people believe it to be a tengu, but in fact it is Sarutahiko.

Because of the "saru" in his name (saru means monkey in Japanese ) monkeys have long been associated with him and so under the shrine are a variety of monkey statues.

The shrine has an unusual layout. It is a largish honden with no haiden or heiden, but a kagura den.

Standing next to the hinden is a shrine to Gozu Tenno, quite unusual, I think, as most shrines to Gozu Tenno are now Susano shrines.

There is also a small Inari shrine, no more than a small, stone hokora.

When I walk around other areas of Japan, I am struck by just how many interesting, ancient shrines there are in the Izumo region. No wonder it is known as the Land of the Gods!

The fact that the Izumo Fudoki was the only provincial gazetteer to survive intact also means we know so much about these shrines...

The previous post in this series on day 43 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk along this north shore of Lake Shinji.

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North Shore of Lake Shinji Part 2

 

Continuing on along the north shore of Lake Shinji, a sign that the lake is used for pleasure and not just commercial fishing.

Up ahead, Shinjiko Onsen and Matsue loom into view.

Matsue English Garden is now closed, but was still open when I passed by. Only Brits of my generation will recognize Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men, a childrens TV puppet show from long ago. 

Not sure that anyone at this place would know the reference, but it may also be a nod to the unique folk-art of Isshiki Kazari from Hirata, just along the lake.

With a few small beaches and shallow, calm water, I would expect swimming to be taking place, but swimming has been banned in the lake since 1959 due to water quality.

There was a plan to desalinate the lake, starting in 1974, but with algae blooms and other issues arising from the process it was abandoned in 1988.

In Winter about 40,000 geese and ducks migrate here and overwinter....

This is the largest source of Japanese Basket Clams in Japan. Corbicula japonica are found from Hokkaido to Kyushu, but Lake Shinji accounts for about 40% of the total catch in Japan.

Overfishing and pollution from agricultural runoff have decreased the catch, and now some days fishing is not allowed.

As I approach Shinjiko Onsen, the terminal of the Ichibata Railway, downtown Matsue id clearly visible.

On the opposite shore, the unique architecture of the Shimane Art Museum.

The previous post in this series was on Onotsu Shrine, where I stopped earlier along the lakefront.

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Onotsu Shrine

 

While walking along the north shore of Lake Shinji, the first shrine of interest I visited was Onotsu Shrine.

This is yet another shrine that is listed in both the Izumo Fudoki and the Engi Shiki, indicating it is very old and important.

It enshrines Susanoo. After he slew the Orochi serpent, some of its bones and horns washed up on the shore here and are enshrined in the honden.

The shrine is known for a rain-making ritual, although it has not been performed since 1939. For three days the priests gather here and pray, and then the bones are taken out by boat to a spot offshore.

One source claims that the spot the boat goes out to is above a sunken torii that marks t where diagonal lines from the 4 sacred mountains around Lake Shinji cross.

Secondary shrines within the grounds include a Konpira, Shingu, Hiyoshi, Aragami, and  Himosaki shrines.

The dragon/serpent statue is the same style as some I have seen in the Izumo area representing Kojin, the land kami usually represented by a straw rope, yet here the statue has no altar in front of it which suggests it is not Kojin. Maybe it is just a nod to Yamata no Orochi.

The previous post was on the walk along the north shore of Shinji.

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North Shore of Lake Shinji Part 1

 

My day 43 walk now heads along the north shore of Lake Shinji.

The 7th largest lake in Japan, Shinjiko was originally the sea between the mainland and the island that became the Shimane Peninsula.

Consequently it is a brackish lake with salinity about 10% of seawater.

It is fed primarily by the Hii River which reaches the sea after passing through Lake Shinji, then the Ohashi River through Matsue, and then into the Nakaumi Lagoon before passing through the narrow strait at Sakaiminato.

An artificial channel, called the Sada River, was dug in the Edo Period between the NW part of the lake, past Sada Shrine, to the Sea of Japan at what is now Kashima.

The lake has shrunk over time due to sedimentation, but land reclamation in the latter hald of the 20th century has reduced it by 10%. Izumo Airport is located on the new land.

A lot of fish and other food is harvested from the lake specifically Shinjiko Shicchin, the Seven Treasures of Shinjiko; Sea Bass, Shrimp, Eel, Smelt, Clams, Carp, & Icefish.

However the main product is a small clam, which makes up 90% of the catch.

The lake is roughly rectangular, and measures about 17k East to West, and 6k North to South. The circumference is about 47k

The south shore has the main San-in Line of JR railway and a very busy road, National Route 9. This northern shore has a very small road and the Ichibata Railway and is much, much quieter and prettier.

The previous post in the series was on Saka Shrine, the origin of sake in Japan.

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Saka Shrine Origin of Sake in Japan

 

Down below Ichibata Yakushi Temple, and not far from Ichibataguchi Station, is Saka Shrine, sometimes called Matsuo Shrine.

October 2nd, 2015, and this is where I start day 43 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

This is an ancient shrine connected to the production of Sake, and the areas around it all have names connected to sake.

The first time sake is mentioned in the ancient myth-histories published in the early 8th century is when Susanoo brews some sake to give to the Orochi serpent, which he then slays when they are in a drunken stupor. As sake is a word used for alcohol in general, it is suggested that the sake he brewed was made from fruit.

However, same books, plus the  Izumo Fudoki, published a few years later, has a legend from this area wherein 180 kami gathered together, built a kitchen and brewed up some sake, and had a 180-day feast.

About ten kilometers away up the Hi River is Mankusen Shrine, where a big group of kami gathers during Kamiarizuki, the annual meeting of almost all of Japan's kami in the Izumo area. The shrine has a unique ritual and ceremony wherein the kami are kind of pushed out of the shrine because they won't leave. The reason they won't leave is that they say the sake here is so good.

The primary kami of Saka Shrine is Kushinokami, believed to be another name for Sukunahikona, the sidekick of Okuninushi who settled and created the land of Izumo. He was also linked with medicine. Also enshrined here are 180 unnamed kami, obviously a nod to the myth-legend.

At some point before the 16th century, the kami of Matsuo Shrine near Kyoto was enshrined here. Oyamakui is also considered the kami of sake, and Matsuo Shrine in Kyoto is considered the main sake-brewers' shrine in Japan. Saka Shrine was known as Matsuo Shrine until the Meiji Period, when it reverted to Saka Shrine.

Researchers and historians believe that sake was introduced into Japan from Korea via Izumo. The Hata Clan created the Matsuo Shrine in Kyoto, and the Hata are known to be an immigrant clan from the mainland; some say China, some say Korea, some say even further west. Many historians suggest that the Hata spent some time in Izumo before moving on to Yamato. All this suggests that the area around Saka Shrine may well be the origin of Sake in Japan...

Sake brewers continue to support and pray at Saka Shrine. At the annual festival in mid October, at which the head priest has brewed sake for it, many sake brewers gather. The shrine has a special license to brew the sake.

In the grounds are numerous secondary shrines, notably an Inari.

There are also an Ekisha, a Takeuchi Shrine, and a Hoden Shrine. The most interesting is a Smallpox Vaccination Shrine.

The previous post in this series was on the 84,000 Yakushi statues at Ichibata Yakushi. Well worth a look!

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