Mononobe Shrine

 

By mid-afternoon, after leaving Omori, I stopped in briefly at Mononobe Shrine, the ichinomiya of Iwami.

The primary kami is Umashimaji, said to be the ancestor of the Mononobe Clan. Behind the shrine is a tomb said to be for Umashimaji. The Mononobe were a martial and ritual clan dominant in the rise of the Yamato in Cetral Japan.

The shrine is said to have been established in 514, which fits with the time that Izumo came under the control of the Yamato. It is believed the Mononobe were established here as a check on Izumo power

The Mononobe are probably best known as the clan that fought against the introduction of Buddhism.

They were also ritualists and one of their rituals, the Chinkonsai, a spirit-pacifying ritual, is still practised today in three locations: the Imperial Palace, Isonokami Shrine in Nara, the Mononobe clan shrine, and here at Mononobe Shrine.

This was just a very quick visit, so I will cover the shrine in more detail in a later post.

However, the huge Tengu masks are worth a look....

The previous post was on the delights of Omori at Iwami Ginzan.

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Iwami Ginzan Omori

 

Omori, like Yunotsu where I started walking today, is both a World Heritage Site and a Historic Preservation District.

One my way through the town I made a quick visit to Anyoji Temple.

The Kote-e dragon is quite magnificent, and I have posted it before, but here is another angle.

I believe this is a sutra repository.

It is a Jodo Shinshu temple and so I suspect this is an Amida....

Many of the old buildings have been restored, and many remain uninhabited...

Toyosaka Shrine was a temple until 1868. It enshrines Mori Motonari. A statue of him was in the castle above the town but moved to the temple later.

Since this visit the shrine has been much renovated....

I have posted on Omori numerous times before, and will certainly be posting more later.

Rather than wasting my time inserting links to previous posts, which almost no one bothers to follow, I simply suggest you click on the omori tag at the bottom of the post.

The final photo in the post is the entrance foyer of the impressive Kumagai Residence, well worth the entry fee.

The previous post in thois series on day 38 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk from Yunotsu on the Ginzan Kaido.

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Iwami Ginzan Kaido Yunotsu Route

 

After crossing over a pass from Shimizu, the footpath once again joins a road and then head roughly East up the Yusato River.

On the opposite side of the valley, a bit too far to be bothered with a detour, is a big, newly rebuilt shrine.

This is Mizukami Shrine and has been important for a long time, being listed in the Engishiki.

The current honden dates to 1761. The shrine enshrines a pair of sea kami, which is quite unusual so far inland. According to the legend, a storm blew them to the nearby coast, and they headed inland attracted to the light of the mountain behind. While here they taught the local people to dry the rice harvest on similar structures used to dry fishing nets, a unique method still practise today.

A little further and I pass by Zuisenji Temple, a large temple with big gatehouse and 350 year old Gingko tree.

A big signboard point out the mountaintops nearby that housed two big castles that straddled the Silver Mine Road, Yahazu Castle and Yataki Castle.

This must have been a bustling valley in the heyday of the mine, as Yunotsu was the biggest port supplying the mine.

Until 1600 the silver would also have been taken out on this route, but after the Tokugawa took over the mines the silver was shipped overland to Onomichi, thereby avoiding the sea route that passed the Mori strongholds of what is now  western Yamaguchi.

After a while, the route turns north, leaves the road, and heads over the mountains.

A big sign in the forest marks Korozaka, Downhill Slope. It is said that battles took place here in the 16th century as warlords vyed for control of the mines.

There is no historical evidence for a battle that supposedly defeated the Mori, who eventually controlled the mine and most of the Chugoku Region, though some believe it refers to an earlier battle at Gassan Toda Castle.

It is now a steep uphill climb through the forest.

I have walked this route, a World Heritage Site, numerous times, and have yet to meet another human along the way....

From the pass there are great views down to where the mine area is.

It is a short, steep downhill walk to what used to be the guard station and then closed-off mineshafts start to appear, and then the one open to the public, the Ryugenji Mabu.

Soon the route reaches Omori, the administrative centre of the mine district.

The previous post was on the curious Ryuukoji Temple.

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