A Stroll Though Omori

 

Omori is a major part of the Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Sites in the mountains of western Shimane. Before it became a World Heritage Site it had been listed as a Preservation District because so many historical buildings were still extant.

It is a 40 minute drive from my home, and for many years a good friend lived in the town so I have spent a lot of time there.

This was the administrative headquarters for the silver mining operation. This is where the samurai who controlled the mine lived and worked. It was also home to the many merchants and other trades, but it was not the home of the actual miners. They lived in hovels up in the mountains at the actual mines.

It is actually one of the better preservation districts because it is so extensive and not marred by aboveground powerlines. There are a couple of shops and places to eat but by and large, it is not so very commercialized.

On this visit I was on the 4th day of my walk along the Iwami Mandala Kannon Pilgrimage and there was a small a cluster of temples here. Historically it was the starting point for the pilgrimage, but the modern version follows a different route and has a little different set of temples. Recently discovered documents at an old samurai home near my house also show another Kannon pilgrimage just covering the territory of the silver mine and not the whole of the Iwami Province.

There are a couple of homes open to the public, and an enormous number of temples, necessary for the many funerals that resulted from the brutal life of a being a miner, though many have closed down now.

The previous post in this series on the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage was Kanzeonji Temple in the lower part of town. Two earlier posts on the preservation district of Omori, and the facades of the preservation district, if you are interested.

This final photo is a great example of kote-e, plaster relief, found on the "treasure house" of one of the temples.

Iwami Mandala Kannon Kanzeonji Temple

 

Kanzeonji Temple is located on top of a rocky outcropping right in the middle of the historic town of Omori and offers great rooftop views over the World Heritage site.

The miners have carved niches into the rock face for several altars holding statues. The hinzon of the temple is a Kannon

It is one of the "extra" temples on the Iwami Mandala Kannon Pilgrimage and I visited on this occasion on day four of my walk along that pilgrimage route. Kannon pilgrimages usually consist of 33 main temples and maybe three "extra" temples, but this pilgrimage has at least a dozen "extra" temples over and above the main 33, which is probably why it is called Mandala.

It is worth the short climb up, not only for the views of the town, but for the rather fine pair of Nio guardians.

The previous post in this series was Iwami Hachimangu.

Iwami Hachimangu

Iwami Hachimangu

Iwami Hachimangu is the largest of a cluster of 4 shrines lined up at the base of the small mountain that used to have a castle on top.

It is located along theGinzan kaido, one of the the roads that lead from the sea up into the former silver mine of Iwami Ginzan.

The castle and shrine are associated with the Mori clan who controlled the area until the Edo period when the Shogunate took over the mine and its environs.

The other shrines are a Wakamiya Shrine, a Konpira Shrine, and one called Ubo-gu. It's not clear if any of these shrines were here before the Hachimangu and castle were established in the 16th century.

Route 31, the main road from Nima up to Omori runs close by and the shrine becomes very visible when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

I was on my way to Omori on day 4 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage.

Disappeared Japan Rural Temple Haikyo

Disappeared Japan Rural Temple Haikyo

Nine years ago while approaching Iwami Ginzan while walking the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage I explored this derelict temple. It has now been demolished and removed.

I have actually come across quite a few derelict temples in the Iwami area. As the countryside has become depopulated at an increasing rate, there simply isn't enough people to support so many temples, whose main income is funerals.

Once a traditional Japanese structure is abandoned it doesn't take long for nature to begin its work of returning everything to the earth. The Japanese word for abandoned building is haikyo, and there is quite a sub-culture of people who like to visit them and document their visits.

I found a list of the original temples that made up the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage during the Edo period , and quite a few of the temples no longer existed which is why the current pilgrimage route is quite a different route.

Ginzan Kaido & Iwami Castle

 

Mid-January, 2013, early morning along the Shio River in Nima and the start of day 4 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage.

The next few temples on the pilgrimage are at  Iwami Ginzan, the World Heritage listed former silver mine in the mountains inland. The road I will take is now the fastest way to visit the mine, though it is not one of the two ginzan kaido, mine roads, that are part of the World Heritage site. There were many ginzan kaido radiating out from the silver mine as it was the most valuable silver mine in Japan in its heyday.

A couple of kilometers up the road and you pass a rocky outcropping with a couple of shrines at the base. On top of the 154 meter "mountain" is where Iwami castle stood.

A natural fortress, the Ouchi Clan built the original fortifications in the early 16th Century and it was taken over by the Mori Clan a few years later when they gained control of the mine.

After 1600 when the Tokugawa Shogunate took control of the mines and the surrounding lands the castle fell into disuse. The site is now one of the numerous sites that are World Heritage listed.

The red label on the map above shows the location of the castle. The grey-blue area is the silver mine, and the two routes are the ginzan kaido that are listed as World heritage sites.

Nima Sand Museum Interior

 

These shots were all taken inside the largest pyramid at the Sand Museum in Nima, Shimane.

Suspended above your head is the largest sand timer in the world, the main attraction of the museum.

The #hourglass" itself is 6 meters tall and one meter wide and contains almost one full ton of fine sand which takes a year to pass through the narrow aperture.

On new years eve every year the sandtime is lowered to the floor and at midnight is rotated so that the sand starts to flow again.

Other artworks connected with sand and a variety of events have been tried over the years to popularize the museum, but most visitors seem more attracted to the architecture.

I suspect the place is not making any money at all and I am sure it will not be able to stay open too much longer, though the proximity to the World Heritage sites of Iwami Ginzan may supply enough viitors to forestall that event.

Nima Sand Museum

Nima Sand Museum Japan

I have posted on the Nima Sand Museum before, but it was a long time ago, and the posts no longer have photos. It is one of the local architectural attractions that hasn't closed down, though I believe it is not making money.

A nearby beach, Kthahama, is famous for having "singing sand", that is to say it squeaks when walked on. The local mayor decided this was a good enough reason to oen a unique museum devoted to sand.

The museum is toed with a series of glass pyramids which make it easy to spot when passing nearby. In fact it is said that the architect made the tallest pyramid tall enough so that it could be seen from his mother's grave.

Shin Takamatsu is one of my favorite Japanese architects, and being a local man Shimane has quite a few of his buildings, which often feature simple geometric forms, though the structure closest to this one is probably Seirei, a Buddhist "chapel" near Osaka.

If you are wondering what a sand museum could display, the answer is "not a lot". Its main feature is the worlds largest sand timer, which I will show next.

I visited at the end of my third day walking the Iwami 33 Kannon pilgrimage. Day 4 would see me heading up from Nima into Iwami Ginzan.

Ema

Kokubunji Byakuraku Shrine

Kokubunji Byakuraku Shrine

Coming into Niima at the end of my third day walking along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage I stopped in at the local shrine.

The name was quite intriguing, as kokubunji were the series of "national" monasteries established in the Nara period, one being established in each of the provinces, and I have visited the site of the Iwami Kokubunji in Shimoko near Hamada.

However, it turns out that the provincial capital was in fact originally here in what is now Niima, before being moved to Hamada. I had never known that before. So it turns out theshrine was built in the grounds of the earlier kokubunji.

The main kami of the shrine is Ikazuchi, a thunder god most well known as the kami of the famous  kamigamo shrine in Kyoto/

The shrine has now been combined with a Hachiman Shrine.

Within the grounds are several smaller shrines including an Imamiya and an Inari.

The shrine is listed in the tenth century Engishiki, which means it received offerings from the cetral government.

Koinobori