Tosa Shimizu Sunrise

 

Christmas Eve, 2011, and just after 7am the sun announces its impending arrival.

It's the 23rd day of my walk along the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and with winter solstice just a few days past, the days are so short I need to be off before light.....

Of course, the reward of getting up before the sun is to be out and about at a magical time...

I was walking down the Tosa Shimizu coast towards the cape and the next pilgrimage temple

The previous post in this series was on the previous days walk down the Shimanto and Shimonokae Rivers

This final photo is of Oki Beach...

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Motoyamaji Temple 70 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Temple 70, Motoyamaji, was a very pleasant surprise. Large, with lots to see, but not overcrowded...

The blue walls surrounding much of the compound was interesting and quite striking.

The 5-storey pagoda was started in the late 19th century and not finished until 1910.

The temple was founded by Kobo Daishi in 807. It is said he carved the honzon, a Bato Kannon, Horse-Head Kannon, the only Bato Kannon as honzon on the whole pilgrimage.

The Bato Kannon has two attendants, an Amida and a Yakushi.

It was a powerful temple in the middle ages with 24 branch temples and a territory of 2,000 koku.

The current main hall was built in 1300 and is very elegant. Not surprisingly, considering its age, it is a National Treasure

It survived the ravages of Chosokabe when most other temples did not. The clan that controlled the temple had a pact with Chosokabe, and that may be the reason, but there is a legend that explains the temple's survival.

Chosokabe's soldiers did attack the temple and cut down the head priest. However, when they opened the inner shrine in the main hall, the Amida statue was bleeding, so the samurai fled in fear.

The bell tower and Niomon also survived from that time.

Most of the current buildings date to the early to mid 18th century.

The Niomon is an Important Cultural Property.

These three photos show the temple's guardian shrine. Built in 1547, it has a bark-and-reed roof and is my second-favorite building after the main hall.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was Kannonji, Temple 69. It occupies the same site as Temple 68, Jinneiin.

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Down the Shimanto & Shimonokae Rivers

 

23rd of December, 2011, and I begin day 22 of my walk around the famous Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage by crossing the Shimanto River on the Shimanto River Bridge that carries Route 56 acrossthe river.

There are numerous possible routes down to the next temple at Cape Ashizuri, and I chose this one, if I remember correctly, as it gave me more shrines to visit.

Vast fields of Susuki, Japanese pampas grass, line the banks in places...

I pass under the New Shimanto River Bridge which carries a new expressaway across the river. It is so new that the pilgrim guidebook doesnt even show it...

I suspect these ducks have come from the far north for the winter...

This is one of my favorite times of the year to go walking in Japan. The winter weathe has not yet arrived and the low sun makes for nice photography light.

The days are very short though. Winter Solstice was two days ago, so when sleeping out you spend a long time in the sleeping bag.

I've seen people repurpose plastic bottles to make these bird-scaring windmills, but never seen them painted so nicely.

A little before reaching the sea the route cuts inland over some hilly country towards the Shimonokae River...

Though still more than a week till New Year, there are still daidai citrus fruits on this altar

The Shimonokae is a much smaller river than the Shimanto and not at all well known

I follow it down to the coast and then head down the coast as the sun starts to get low.

I get as far as the tiny fishing harbour of Kohama before stopping on a grassy verge overlooking the sea.

The previous post was on the unusual architecture of the Ogata Library in Kuroshio.

If you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.