Taimasan the Hemp Shrine

 

Mount Taima, 599 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain on the coast between Hamada and Misumi in Shimane.

About halfway up the narrow mountain road from the sea to the shrine close to the top of the mountain,  a giant torii straddles the road.

The miuntain was originally named Futagoyama, but the name was changed by imperial decree in 888 following a "divine revelation". I cant find out anuthing about the revelation except that since the start of the 8th century monks had been living on the mountain. In 889 the kami from Oasahiko Shrine in Tokushima was transferred here and the branch shrine established.

Oasahiko Shrine was originally established by the Imbe Clan, sent to Shikoku to find good land for growing hemp. The hemp plant motif is all over the shrine here at Taimasan, but cannot be seen at Oasahiko Shrine.

There is a local legend of the Imbe Clan moving into the area of Mount Taima and driving out the Ono Clan. According to the story they moved down the coast to the mountain where Susa is in Yamaguchi, the next landmark high mountain down the coast. On the slopes of Mount Taima is an area of large boulders. They were thrown here by a giant on the mountain near Susa. According to the legend, an agreement was reached between the Imbe and the Ono and they returned to the area, but the Imbe kept Mount Taima. One source suggests that the Yamato sent the Imbe into Iwami to help contain  Izumo.

The original kami of the shrine were Oasahiko, Sarutahiko, Amahiwashi, and Zao Gongen.

Several temples were established around the shrine and in the mid 10th century another series of kami were enshrined here; Kumano Gongen, Sanno Gongen, Hakusan Gongen, and Hashiryu Gongen. As can be inferred by this list, Taimasan became a major Shugendo site.

In the early 16th century the shrine-temple complex was destroyed  during the war between the Amago and Ouchi clans. It was rebuilt, and a scroll painting dated to the late 16th century depicts it as a very large complex of shrines and temples with the nickname of Koyasan of the West, a nickname it shared with numerous other sites in western Japan.

In 1836, a major landslide destroyed the shrine and temple, and only the shrine was rebuilt in 1844, along with part of the temple.

In 1872, everything was again destroyed, this time by the Hamada Earthquake. Due to the anti-Buddhist movement, only the shrine was rebuilt.

Today, the shrine stands alone in the middle of the forest. The old temple garden has been restored and is well worth a visit. On the top of the mountain among all the antennae is an observation tower with fantasticviews.... I will cover that next

Hemp has a long and glorious history in Japan, though since it was banned by MacArthur in 1948 it has become very demonized and many Japanese have no idea of its history.

It has been cultivated here long before the Yamato immigrated here. Its main use was its fibre used for many products but mainly for clothing.

It continues to be used for some Shinto implements and there are dozens of small, licensed farms that legally produce it for this purpose,including use by the Emperor.

It is also used in a herb and spice mix called shichimi. One of my favorite Japanese patterns found on many fabrics and other products is Asa no Ha, a hexagonal pattern associated with good luck.

Some years ago we went to a hemp festival at a farm in Tottori. This post has details, though unfortunately no photos. The farm has since been closed down for growing the smokable version.

I have been unable to find out anything about hemp production in the area around Mount Taima, but since the region was not so well suited for rice production, I would think there would have been a lot of it.

After the introduction of cotton in the late 19th century, hemp production declined somewhat, but it remained an important crop, especially during the war.

The previous post in this series on Mount Taima was on the restored garden of the former Sonshoji Temple.

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Kotohira Shrine, Imbe Shrine, & more Tanuki Shrines

 

The Kotohira Shrine on the hillside overlooking the southern part of Tokushima City was relocated to this spot in 1616 by Hachisuka Iemasa as a tutelary shrine of Tokushima Castle.

At the bottom of the hill by the steps leading up to the shrine is the largest stone lantern in all of Japan. Standing 9.8 meters tall, 10.24 including the base, it was created in 1839.

It was donated  primarily by Indigo merchants.

In the grounds of the shrine are a couple of ceramic lanterns which reminded me of Tozan Shrine in Arita.

Like all Kotohira Shrines, it was called Konpira until Meiji when the name and the kami were changedto fit the new national ideology. All Konpira/Kotohira shrines are branches of the original not too far away in Kagawa.

There are numerous secondary shrines within the grounds, including several shrines to Tanuki, including Oyotsu Daimyojin which seems to be the most well known.

There are dozens of shrines to Tanuki in the Tokushima area, including several I visited earlier in the day at the Hachiman Shrine.

All the structures on the hillside were burned down during bombing raids of WWII and so are fairly recent, concrete, reconstructions.

A little above the Kotohira Shrine is an Imbe Shrine, which has ancient roots but was only located here in the late 19th century.

The Imbe were a powerful clan in ancient Japan and ruled over this part of Shikoku.

They were producers of hemp and nowadays still produce hemp for use in Imperial rituals.

The original shrine was lost in history, but several nearby shrines claimed to be the original.

The government made a decision and established the shrine here, although it was temporarily located within the Kotohira Shrine.

Soem sources claim the kami enshrined is Futodama, but other sources say it is Amenohiwashi. The Imbe wrote the 9th century Kogoshui, which offers an alternative version of some of the history written by the Nakatomi in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki.

The previous post in this series on Tokushima City was on the large Kannonji Temple down below the shrines.

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Oasahiko Shrine

A more than 15 meters tall torii marks the beginning of the 800 meter long approach road to Oasahiko Shrine. The road itself is lined with dozens of stone lanterns.

 

The exact date of the shrines founding is unkown, but it is listed in the Engishiki of the early tenth century, and the shrine grew in importance during the next millenium.

In the middle of the main shrines compound is a huge Camphor tree believed to be over 1,000 years old.

 

The main kami enshrined here are Oasahiko no Okami and Sarutahiko. Oasahiko is the enshrined name of Ame no Tomi, an ancestor of the Imbe clan who was sent by the mythical Emperor Jimmu to find land suitable for hemp cultivation.

Hemp was a very important plant in Japan until Shogun Macarthur outlawed it during the occupation.

Hemp is not mentioned at all at the shrine, and in fact the importance of hemp in Japan has been almost completely removed from history.

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Teono Shrine

Teono Shrine is situated atop a small hill, Honozan, between Izumo taisha and Inasa Beach. The 2 kami enshrined here are Taokihooi, a god of measuring, and Hikosashiri, a god of carpentry. They are considered to be the ancestors of 2 branches of the Imbe Clan, and in the Kogoshui version of the Iwato myth the 2 were charged with the construction of a "great palace" outside of the cave that Amaterasu was hiding in. Some consider this to be the first kagura den. Most likely this was the shrine for the builders of Izumo Taisha.

Behind the shrine is a sacred tree home to Shirohebi Daijin, I suspect the site of a visit by a white snake, considered particularly portentious.

Next to the shrine is a small park with an observation tower offering views over the surrounding country. The long beach is Nagahama, and according to the Kunibiki myth it is a rope that tethers this peninsular to Mount Sanbe, just visible in the distance.

Much of the land down below would have been water 100 years ago. Lake Shinji has been reduced by over one third and land reclaimed earlier in the twentieth Century. The Hi River once emptied into the sea here but now empties into what is left of lake Shinj. 10,000 years ago this peninsular was an island separated from the mainland.

Downtown Izumo City in the distance. The plastic greenhouses in the forground are for grapes for the Shimane Winery.