Hitoyoshi Castle Garden

Right next to the ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle, in the grounds of what is now the Sagara Gokoku Shrine, are the remnants of a traditional Japanese garden.

I suspect this was the location of the Daimyo's "Palace", and the gardens are not very well maintained, but are particularly pleasant in the Autumn.

There seems to be very little information about it, but I have seen it referred to as a stroll type garden. There are two bridges over the pond to the island and a waterfall^arrangement of rocks behind the pond.

It is always open, and free to enter.

Hitoyoshi Castle

 

Hitoyoshi Castle, like most castles in Japan, is pretty much a ruin having been dismantled in the early meiji Period. However the remaining stonework is quite impressive, especially in the context of its location.

It is built on the banks of the Kumagawa River and uses it and a tributary as a moat. The form it is in now dates back to the early 17th Century. A gate and a small yagura have been rebuilt in modern times.

The originalcastle on the site was built in the 13th Century. The castle nd the surrounding area is unusual in that it was held by the same clan, the Sagara, from the 13th Century until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

It is free to enter and is particular spectacular in November when the autumn colors are in full swing

Statues and Fall Colors at Kandaiji Temple

Some of the photos of statues I encountered amoing the autumn colors at Kandaiji Temple, the 51st temple on the Kyushu Pilgrimage. It is located in the upper part of the Kumagawa Valley in southern Kumamoto Prefecture.

I was here in late November on the 40th day of my walk around Kyushu. Not sure who the first statue is, though I would bet it is one of the Buddhas. The second is most obviously Fudo Myo.

Again, not sure about the 3rd photo but in the 4th that is definitely Kobo Daishi on the left and Jizo on the right. This was a Shingon pilgrimage centered on Kobo Daishi.

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This last one has me puzzled. It is on the backside of a Fudo Myo statue, and it is holding a sword, but the hairstyle or headgear does not look like Fudo......

Fall Colors... Sunset... & Illuminations at Sogi Falls

At Sogi Falls in the mountains of Kagoshima around Isa City the fall colors were in full swing. A big park is there and that was where I was planning to sleep out, but I did not forsee that the place was lit up at night so there werelots of security guards to protect the generators and lights and such.

As the sun went down I headed across the old bridge and found a suitable place to lay out my bag and then headed back to the park to take some more photos.....

There were very few people and with the illuminations of the waterfalls and the river gorge as well as the foliage it was unusual and a nice surprise

Sogi Falls is not so well known but certainly worth a visit if you are in the area

2019 Fall Colors Part 4 Ryosokuji Temple & Washibara Hachimangu

Next day we visited Ryosokuiji Temple, a small rural temple in an out of the way valley. However, it has grounds extensively planted with maple trees, and so is popular during the fall colors season.

Though it was overcast it did not disappoint, although in terms of architecture and statuary there was not much to see.

The small garden behind the temple and priests house looked intriguing but was hidden by a big fence.

heading back home we stopped in briefly at Tsuwano. Being the highest point on our trip the colors here were just about at peak. We went to Washibara hachimangu Shrine, famous for having the only genuine Yabusame grounds in Japan. Here ther was the classic mix of golden Gingko and red Maple...

2019 Fall Colors Part 3 Chomonkyo Gorge & Ryuzoji Temple

For the second part of my search for the Fall colors this year we headed to Yamaguchi. First stop was Chomonkyo, a pretty gorge in the mountains, and a section of the Chugoku nature Trail.

It was a glorious day with not a cloud in the sky. At the entrance to the gorge some maples had been planted, but most of the mountainsides were mottled with browns and yellows.

Next we headed to Ryuzoji, a temple at the head of a small valley outside of Yamaguchi City. Here there was a mix of maple and Gingko, though it was not at peak season yet.

The temple is known for a particularly old and large Gingko tree. There is also a waterfall and many statues of Fudo Myo.

2019 Fall Colors Walk Day 2 Saba Kaido

2019 Fall Colors

On the second day I headed up the Saba Kaido, the old road that ran from Obama on the coast down through the mountains to Kyoto. I started in Ohara and first visited Sanzen-in Temple, and for me, this was my first visit.

The temple is known for it's extensive gardens and grounds, and as the sun peeked over the mountains they were truly delightful and at 8:30 in the morning not yet crowded.

Next I made a visit to Hosen-in, one of the smaller temples nearby. This had a garden to be enjoyed while sitting inside drinking tea, but also an unusual, smaller one that was walked through. This one I found more intriguing. There was more to see in Ohara but I had a long way to go so headed north....

After climbing steadily for several hours, by early afternoon I had crossed the pass and started heading downhill into Shiga. On this side of the pass the autumn colors seemed a little more further along than in Kyoto....

By late afternoon I reached Myou-in Temple in Katsurgawa, one of the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage temples and my reason for this walk.

2019 Fall Colors Walk Day 1 Kyoto

2019 Fall Colors Walk Day 1 Kyoto

I missed my traditional autum colors walk last year because of a bout of pneumonia, and this year in my eagerness I started a little early in mid November. Crossing the Katsura River early morning in Arashiyama, western Kyoto, the hillside had started to turn......

At Osawa no Ike Pond next to Daikakuji Temple the clouds started to clear away to reveal some color...

On my first ever visit to Ninna-ji Temple there was not much color to be seen yet except in the eastern part of the temple grounds where there are a couple of shrines.

On my first ever visit to Jisson-in Temple in the northern suburb of Iwakura, the gardens were nice enough, but yet again the colors had only just begun....

I took the Eizan Line train to Kurama, and the famed Maple Tunnel where the train slows down for a couple of hundred meters so passengers can enjoy the colors, yet again it was just beginning....

Shikoku Pilgrimage Temple 37 Iwamotoji

Iwamotoji is the 37th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and is reached, by foot at least, by quite long passage over the mountains. Fall colors were on full display when I arrived on my 20th day of walking.

Just to the NE of the temple is a shrine, and according to legend it was founded by Gyoki. Later Kobo Daishi came here and distributed 5 statues around various sites in the area. Many of these sites must have been shrines but when Shinbutsubunri, the separation of buddhas and kami, was implemented all five were collected here.

Usually a temple will have a single honzon, a main deity enshrined, but here there are five, Fudo Myoo, Kannon, Jizo, Amida, and Yakushi. The temple belongs to the Shingon sect.

Yeat another of the temples burnt down by the warlord Chosokabe, the current main hall was built in 1978. The ceiling is composed of more than 500 small, square paintings collected from all over Japan. The designs are not limted to Buddhist or religious themes.

Hunting the late Fall colors in Omori

Omori

It has become one of my traditions that I spend much of November walking along some pilgrimage trail or other enjoying the color of Fall. Unfortunately this year a bout of ill health followed by a period of hospitalization meant that I missed much of November.

We took off one day and headed up to the village of Omori in Iwami Ginzan in the hope of catching the last remnants of color and was able to find some. The hillsides still had some color to them, and though most of the ginkgo trees were naked there was still somewhat of a carpet at one of the small temples.

A few of the small gardens still had some maples, but the best colors were to be found at shrines.

The big Hachimangu at the northern end of the village still had much to be seen, but the best was at the Ido Shrine on the opposite side of the river, and not usually visited by tourists....

Koinobori