Yasaka Shrine Ebie

 

Ebie is a neighborhood on the bank of the Yodo River in Osaka, west of Umeda. Route 2 crosses the river here and this was the route I was walking west.

The local shrine is a branch of the famous Yasaka Shrine. I visited in 2017 and so a large ema of a Rooster was on display.

There seem to be quite a few Yasaka shrines in this part of Osaka, though I have no idea why. There is no info on the shrine's history, though it is believed to be quite old.

There are several sub-shrines in the grounds including the Ebisu Shrine pictured above, and an Inari Shrine.

The previous post was on some of the interesting architecture I passed by walking through Umeda.

Reikyu Shrine Shimabara

 

Reikyu Shrine is located in Reikyu Park in the  Bentenmachi district of Shimabara City in Nagasaki.

The park also contains a small Inari Shrine, a Steam locomotive, and a nice pond garden.

It was originally founded in the mid 17th century by Koriki Tadafusa  who had been given control of the domain following the Shimabara Rebellion.

In the grounds is a Senryosono Shrine, pictured above, but there is no information on the shrines history or the kami.

Initially Reikyu Shrine was a Toshogu, a branch of the Tokugawa mausoleum at Nikko that enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In the late 19th century the shrine name was changed to Reikyu and the seven generations of Matsudaira lords who ruled the domain following the Koriki, were enshrined here.

Also enshrined at the same time was the Munakata kami and Inari.

The previous post in this series on Day 61 of my Kyushu walk was on the Nabeshima Mansion Garden, further north on the peninsula.

Kojiro Shrine

 

Kojiro is located on the north coast of the Shimbara Peninsula in Nagasaki, and I visited after crossing Isahaya Bay on the modern dyke.

On the hilltop overlooking the small town are a pair of shrines, Kojiro Shrine and an Inari Shrine.

The Inari shrine was founded in 1757. The Kojiro shrine was probably founded in the early 17th century as it stands at the spot where Tsurukame Castle's main tower stood.

Tsurukame Csstle measured 350 meters by 450 meters and was considered impregnable by attacking forces.

It was demolished when the daimyo were forced to have only one castle per domain.

I believe Kojiro shrine enshrines a member of the Nabeshima Clan who were given the domain, and also Sugawara Michizane. There is not one single piece of the castle to be seen, though there is a samurai district down below where I was headed next.

The previous post was on the Isahaya Bay Dyke.

Tsuyama Snapshots

 

Early August, 2014, and I set off from my hotel and start the fifth day of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage. I will walk north out of Tsuyama and then head west. I had celebrated my 60th birthday recently, and while walking with a heavy backpack in the hot and humid weather was not exactly fun, it was certainly bearable,  now nine years later I cannot imagine doing it today. Near the hotel I passed a small roadside Inari Shrine.

The Yoshii River runs along the southern edge of Tsuyama.

With the early morning light, the impressive ruins of Tsuyama castle were clearer.

Near the station is the Tsuyama Manabi Railway Museum hosed in an old Roundhouse with turntable. I believe the museum has been somewhat improved since I was there, and there is a single steam locomotive and about a dozen other trains most dating back to the 1960's and 70's. Quite nostalgic as I was a trainspotter myself till I became a teenager.

My guess would be that this abandoned building was once a ryokan.

This area, formerly Mimasaka Province, has many legends and stories of Kappa, the mythical water sprite, and the main street of Tsuyama has a series of small statues depicting them.

The previous post was the historic Kajimura Residence I visited at the end of the previous day.

Yutoku Inari Shrine Part 2 Up Above

 

This is the second half of a piece on the famous Yutoku Inari Shrine in Kashima Saga. The first part, Yutoku Inari Shrine Part 1 Down Below,  looked at the shrine and its buildings at ground level.

The main hall of the shrine is on top of an 18-meter-high platform extending out from the hillside. Steps lead up but there is also a recently installed elevator.

Like the Romon and Kaguraden down below, the main hall is unusually decorative and colorful.

On the hillside across the river is Yutoku Inari Park, sometimes called the Outer Garden. In mid-February, it's not very colorful but in the Spring and Autumn, it is. From the park, there are numerous observatories to view the shrine

Above the main hall is the Okunoin, the inner shrine, and leading up to it are several paths lined with the corridors of red torii, a  typical feature of Inari shrines.

Each torii is usually, but not always, donated by a business, and their name is painted on it. Inari is a very popular kami for businesses with many private shrines erected on business premises.

Inari is, by one method of counting, the most popular shrine in Japan, though it did not become so popular until the Edo Period.

There is no mention of Inari in the ancient texts, though in Meiji the government established it within the imperial pantheon by deciding that it was, in fact, Ukanomitama, though in reality, like most deities in Japan, Inari has a multitude of identities, origins, and forms.

On the way to the inner shrine you pass numerous smaller shrines and altars, all to different manifestations of Inari.

The original Inari Shrine, and now the head shrine for all Inari shrines, is Fushimi Inari in the south of Kyoto, founded by the mysterious Hata Clan.

Yutoku Inari was established by the wife of one of the Nabeshima lords, rulers of the Kashima area.

Yutoku Inari was considered the family shrine of the Nabeshima, and nearby is the family temple of the Nabeshima, Fumyoji, and while Yutoku Inari is very popular, Fumyoji is almost derelict.

Yutoku Inari Shrine Part 1 Down Below

 

Yutoku Inari Shrine near Kashima in Saga is considered one of the three great Inari shrines of Japan.

Though not so easy to access it still gets more than three million visitors a year.

The approach road to the shrine is flanked by a pair of giant lanterns and then a large torii straddles the street of souvenir shops that line the entrance.

The shrine was founded in 1687 by the wife of the Nabeshima Lord who ruled the area, and was operated as their family shrine.

The Romon, main gate, is particularly colorful and decorative and so the shrine has earned the nickname of " The Nikko of Kyushu".

The main hall of the shrine is built upon an 18 meter high platform exending from the hillside, similar to the famous Kiyimziudera temple in Kyoto.

Iwasaki Shrine at the base of the platform is dedicated to those seeking love.

Steps lead up to the main hall, though on a more recent visit I noticed a new elevator in a glass structure.

There is a formal Japanese garden outside the main entrance, and across the valley is the park-like outer garden with many observation points to view the shrine complex. When the azaleas are in bloom in the spring it is very colorful.

The shrine also has a museum containing armour and other historical artifacts from the Nabeshima.

I have visited twice and on both occasions there were few visitors. When the azaleas bloom and when the shrine holds festivals I suspect it gets busier.

In part two I show details of the main hall and the "tunnels" of torii that lead up to the okunoin.

I took a small detour to visit Yutoku Inari while walking day 59 of the Kyushu Pilgrimage.

Part 2 Yutoku Inari Up Above. 14 more photos....