Showing posts with label ema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ema. Show all posts

Monday, February 5, 2024

Kochi Daijingu & Yosakoi Inari Shrine

 


Kochi Daijingu is located just outside the main gate of Kochi Castle, and within the grounds is Yosakoi Inari Shrine.


Kochi Daijingu, with its unique golden torii, is a branch of Ise Shrine, but I can not find much info on it beyond that it was established in 1873. The Inari shrine is far more popular and has more info.


There were a lot of chickens wandering around the grounds, something I have seen before at shrines, but not so very often....


The Inari Shrine was renamed Yosakoi Inari quite recently in honor of Kochi being the origin of the Yosakoi dance.


The shrine originally was in the property of the Yamauchi Clan, and was moved to Kochi when the clan sold their property in early Meiji. I believe it was originally in Kyoto as a few of the enshrined kami are specifically local Kyoto kami.


As a branch of Ise, the Daijingu enshrines Amaterasu. The chicken has been considered the messenger of Amaterasu in the same way that the fox is considered the messenger of Inari.


Consequently, there are no komainu at the shrine, just a pair of recently added chicken statues and the usual foxes.


The previous post from day 16 of my walk along the Shikoku Ohenro pilgrimage was Kochi Castle.


Saturday, January 27, 2024

The Art of Taisanji Temple

 


Like most of the temples on major pilgrimages, Taisanji, temple 52 on the Shikoku pilgrimage has plenty of art adorning the buildings and grounds.


The Nio Gate is about 600 meters from the temple grounds. Rebuilt in 1305,at  the same time as the main hall, it contains 2 striking Nio guardians.


At the next gate, at the entrance to the main temple complex, there are 4 statues of the Shitenno, the four heavenly kings.


It is not uncommon to find temple gates with the four shitenno


Inside the bell tower are paintings depicting Enma and the other judges of hell and scenes of the tortures and sufferings awaiting those going to hell...


Ema, votive plaques, are a religious practice common to both shrines and temples. There were a variety of different designs at Taisanji, but I was attracted to theFudo.....


traces of pigment can still be seen in this example of relief carving....


Not sure who this statue is, but to my untrained eye it seems to be almost an Indian-style statue...


Small statues of Daikoku, one of the Seven Lucky Gods, can often be found at the ends of roof ridges, or, like here, on a wall toed with kawara.


To me, this final statue aears to be done in Korean style.


Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Hasami Shrine

 


Hasami Shrine is located in its namesake, Hasami, so is probably considered the ujigami of the area.


It is located adjacent to Tozenji Temple where I was heading to, which suggests that in the past the shrine and temple were the same institution.


The shrine records say that it was established about 650 years ago, but the temple claims a much older history.


The kami enshrined here are listed as Amaterasu and Susano. A little unusual as they would often be found as a triad with Tsukiyomi, but not here.


The previous post was on Sumiyoshi Shrine in Haiki.






Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Glimpses of Futagoji Temple

 


Futagoji Temple is a large Tendai temple on the Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita, Kyushu. Pictured above are the steps leading up to the Okunoin.


Situated in the centre of the peninsula and on the lower slopes of its namesake, the highest point, 720 meters high Mount Futago.


Since the Edo Period, it has been the head temple of the Rokugo Manzan, the unique mountain-worshipping religion that is a syncretic mix of Tendai Buddhism and Usa Hachimangu shinto.


The honzon is a Thousand-armed Kannon and the temple has many other superb statues and paintings.


The Okunoin, further up the mountainside is set against a cliff and is well worth the extra climb.


On this trip I passed through the temple grounds fairly quickly as I was pressed for time and had to climb to the top of the mountain.


A few years later I returned and spent much longer here and took many more photos, so that will come in a later post on the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage.


Saturday, December 2, 2023

Ishiteji Temple Part 4

 


This is the last of four posts on the colorful and chaotic Ishiteji Temple in Matsuyama, Ehime.


The first post looked at the entrance and main part of the temple. The second looked at the tunnel leading to the okunoin, the "inner temple".


The third looked at the tunnel coming back from the Okunoin, and this post looks at some of the other halls and the area around the Treasure Hall.


The honzon of Ishiteji is a Yakushi Nyorai, a so-called Medicine Buddha, but there were numerous halls and altars to a variety of Kannons.


There were also a few of the kind of wooden carvings that populated the tunnels and okunoin.


While paintings can be seen at some temples, there seemed to be a lot more here...


The Treasure Hall is open as a museum with an entrance fee and is worth a visit.


It is located in a quieter part of the temple with some vegetation and much fewer people.


There are several walls with relief carving done in Indian style.....


Though a major temple on the 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage, Ishiteji does not have a Shukubo, paid temple lodgings, though when I visited ten years ago there was a tsuyado, a free place to stay for walking pilgrims, but I have no idea if that still exists.


For information on the temple's history and about the various historical buildings, see Part 1.


For those with an interest in actual history, rather than legend, I did read that it is believed Ishiteji was te center of a local yamabushi pilgrimage that later became joined up with several others and eventually became the 88 temple pilgrimage of later..




The previous post in this series was Ishiteji Temple Part 3. The previous temple on the pilgrimage was temple 50, Hanta-ji.