Susa Shrine

 

May 5th, 2015, day 40 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage. A short walk from my nights campsite I arrive at Susa Shrine.

This is the head shrine of a large network of Susa shrines nationwide. I know I have come across many Susa shrines in my walks around western Japan, but I am not sure how common they are in the east.

There is a small Amaterasu shrine facing the main shrine.

The shrine was originally located a little to the north but was moved to its current location probably in the 9th century.

It ios mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki and so is very ancient. It is also listed in the Engi Shiki.

The main shrine enshrines Susano, but also his wife, Kushinada, and her parents, Ashinazuchi, and Tenazuchi.

Behind the main hall is a Miho Shrine, and to the east and west of the main hall are shrines enshrining various offspring of Susanoo, so the shrine is unusual in being surrounded by shrines in the 4 directions.

The current main hall dates to 1861.

The shrine is said to have 7 special sights, including a huge sugi tree.

Most unusual, perhaps, is the salt well. It is said that when the sea is at high tide the water from the spring is seawater, however, sciebtists have dispelled that story and explin the saltiness by natural causes.

Outside the grounds, but on the approach to the shrine, are another two shrines, an Itsukushima Shrine enshring the three munakata princesses, daughters of Susanoo, and a Suga Shrine, another shrine enshrining Susanoo that has many branches around Japan.

The honden was rebuilt by Harhisa Amago in 1554, and is relatively large, but n 14th cetury documents it was 4 times the size.

The honden has undergone periodic repairs and renovation about every 30 years.

A renovation is currently taking place.

The shrine is considered a "power spot" and is quite popular, though being off the beaten track and not near a railway it is relatively quiet.

The previous post was on the previous afternoons walk.

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Sights Seen Down the Isa River to the Kando River

 

After leaving Izuchi Shrine, I continued on down the Isa River.

After a while I came across a very unusual sight for Japan...... a sheep!!

I have occasionally seen goats, but sheep are very, very rare in the Japanese countryside...

Quite common in the mountains of Izumo are thatched houses....

Yoshikuri Mountain once had a castle on it. It was destroyed during the Amago-Mori fighting of the 16th cetury. The Izumo Fudoki also records that various trees were cut from the mountain and ised to construct Izumo Taisha.

The Isa flows into the Kando River, a bigger river that I did spend three days walking down many years ago. There are more houses and traffic now.

I pass a couple of thatched buildings right next to the road. I looked on Google Street View and couldn't find them so I suspect hat have been demolished.

After a short distance, I turn off from the Kando and head up the Susa River and find a nice spot overlooking the river to spend the night.

The previous post was on the upper part of the Isa River.

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Down the Isa River from Hachimangu to Izuchi Shrine

 

After passing by the entrance to Mount Sanbe, my route continued west down the Isa River.

My first stop, in the village of Yamaguchi, was the village Hachiman Shrine.

It was established in 1095, but I can't find from which "mother" shrine it is from, Usa, or Iwashimizu I think it is a little too early to be a branch of Tsurugaoka.

Curiously it only lists Ojin and Jingu. No mention of Chuai or any consort kami.

The style of architecture with glass doors on three sides of the worship hall is unusual.

Heading down the Isa River, the Yaezakura, the late cherry blossom with thick, pink blossoms appears several times.... I find it much nicer than the Yoshino cherries that dominate...

Of course, lots of other flowers are around at this time..

At some point as I approach Izuchi Shrine I pass from Iwami into Izumo..... it would have been clearly demarcated in earlier times....

Izuchi Shrine is written as Ijitsu Shrine on Googlemaps. It was known as Wakaichi Gongen until 1868.

It enshrines Kunisatsuchi no mikoto, a fairly obscure kami mentioned early in the myths and then disappearing. The honden dates back to 1812.

The previous post was on the delightful scenery of flooded rice paddies around the base of Mount Sanbe.

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Reflecting Paddies Around Mount Sanbe

 

I awake long before the sun at my perch overlooking the reservoir behind Sanbe Dam. I get up, stuff my bag into my pack, visit the public toilets for ablutions, grab a cold drink from the vending machine, and set off.

From here, there is more climbing until I get closer to Mount Sanbe, and I want to do as much of it as possible before the day warms up too much.

I am treated to a lovely surise....

Close to where the road cuts off and heads up to the facilities at the base of the mountain, the road tops out and gratefully, a slow descent begins

Since starting my walk yesterday morning, I have not passed by a single convenience store.

It's May 1st, 2015, around the time that Japanese now call Golden Week for the cluster of national holidays.

It's become one of my favorite times of the year to go walking in the real countryside of Japan, not the rice paddies dotted with factories and criss-crossed by Shinkansen lines and expressways that many see as "rural Japan", rather the mountain valleys that comprise 60% of the country.

It's a good time to sleep out..... hotels are outrageously expensive during Golden Week....

Mostly its for the rice paddies that have all been flooded, and if planted already, the rice seedlings are still small...... wonderful reflections....

The previous post was on yesterday afternoon's walk up to Sanbe Dam

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