Rokusho Shrine

 

Not far from Kamosu Shrine is Rokusho Shrine, one of the 6 Shrines of Ou and the main shrine of the Provincial Government Offices in the Nara Period.

For me, however, the most interesting thing here is the 5 different Kojin altars with their serpents made from rice straw. An earlier post on the Kojin here.

The vast majority of shrines in Izumo have at least one Kojin altar. The five here would have been brought in from nearby areas during the "shrine consolidation" program of the late Meiji government.

The Kojin here are not as impressive as some of the ones at Adakaya Shrine, a few kilometers away, but still have the stylistic head and jaws. In Iwami, the similar kami is called Omoto, and our serpents have much smaller heads and narrower bodies.

Rokusho means "six shrines" and refers to the six kami enshrined here: Izanami, Izanagi, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tsukiyomi, & Okuninushi.

There appear to only three secondary shrines other than the Kojin altars, but in ancient times when the provincial government was in operation Rokusho Shrine was the Soja Shrine wherein all the kami from the shrines in the province that the governor should visit are collected together in the Soja Shrine so he didn't have to travel.

Behind the shrine is a historic site where the layout of the government offices can be seen.

The previous post was on Kamosu Shrine with its National Treasure main hall.

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National Treasure Kamosu Shrine

National Treasure Kamosu Shrine

Day 44 of my walk along the Chugoku Pilgrimage began at Kamosu Shrine, SE of Matsue, the castle town and capital of Shimane.

Kamosu Shrine is quite famous for having a National Treasure, the honden, said to be the oldest existing piece of Taisha Zukuri, the style of architecture of Izumo Taisha and only found within Izumo Province.

Photos 9, 15, & 18 shows the honden. It is believed to date back to 1583.

The shrine has an unusual history: it is not mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki or the Engi Shiki because it was originally a private shrine of the Izumo no Kuni Miyatsuko family, the province's governors and head priests of Izumo Taisha, and it enshrined their ancestral deity, Amenohohi.

The first mention of it as a public shrine is in the early 13th century, but it is believed to have been public for some time before that.

The district where the shrine is located, Ou, contained the provincial government offices, in essence the provincial capital, and so, as governors, their family home would have been nearby.

The Six Shrines of Ou, the district where the shrine and government offices were, are Kamosu Shrine, Kumano Taisha, Manai Shrine, Yaegaki Shrine, Iya Shrine, and Rokusho Shrine, all important and interesting shrines.

Now the primary kami is Izanami, with the secondary kami being Izanagi. Not far from here, near Iya Shrine, is the entrance to Yomi, the underworld, where Izanagi fled from after visiting his wife/sister Izanami there.

There are many secondary shrines within the grounds, the largest structure belonging to the Okama Shrine. An Okama is a kind of large cauldron and Amenohohi rode an Okama when he descended here. The Okama ritual is held in December.

Other shrines include a Toshitokujin Shrine. I have found Toshitokujin shrines at several other shrines I have visited in the Izumo region but don't remember coming across them before. They enshrine an Onmyodo deity of prosperity and good fortune. Onmyodo, called Yin-Yang Theory sometimes, was very prevalent in Japan but has now been subsumed into "Shinto", as has a lot of Daoism.

There is also a Kitsuki Shrine enshrining Susanoo & Okuninushi, an Ise Shrine enshrining Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, a Kumano Shrine enshrining the three Kumano kami, an Aragami Shrine, a Toyama Shrine enshrining Ugayafukiaezu, the father of Jimmu, a Buyu Shrine enshrining Futsunushi, & a Hiroku Shrine.

The Kibune Inari Shrine enshrines both the Kibune kami Okaminokami, and the Inari kami, Ukanomitama. The structure is an Important Cultural Property as it dates to 1356, a few years older than the central pillar of the honden (main hall), a survivor of a lightning strike that destroyed the rest of the building.

If you happen to visit on the days of any of the festivals, the doors of the honden are opened and you can glimpse the brightly painted interior murals on the wall and doors.

Nearby Yaegaki Shrine has the oldest shrine murals in Japan.

The area around Kamosu Shrine contains a lot to see if you are interested in ancient history and ancient shrines.

There are a lot of kofun, burial mounds, in the area and quite a nice little museum, the Yakumotatsu Fudoki no Oka Museum with some good exhibits and tombs in the grounds,

Several of the Six Shrines of Ou are within a short walk, although in general the area is not well served with public transport but there are buses from Matsue Station to Kamosu Shrine and the Museum.

The previous posts in this series was on yesterday's walk along the shore of Lake Shinji and a visit to the interesting Nutashi Shrine.

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Takao Gongen to Mitsu Shrine

 

From the fishing village of Shiotsu, the road rises steeply and then heads inland a little.

I stop in at a small wayside shrine called Takao Gongen. It has a torii and gohei in front of the statues, both "shinto" symbols, but the statues are Buddhist. A nice reminder of tradition.

On the very first walk along this coast that I did more than 20 years ago, this was where I spent the night, so I have fond memories of the place.

Down below a tiny fishing village clinging to the steep hillside. I did not venture down the loop road as it looked quite steep.... that would be for a later trip....

A small tunnel cuts through to make a pass to the next valley which runs down to the larger fishing village of Mitsuura.

At the edge of the village I stop in at  Mitsu Shrine,  but during the Edo Period it was called Rokusho Daimyojin.

It used to be located much closer to the sea and has been moved several times, most recently in the early 20th century.

It is listed both in the Izumo Fudoki and the Engi Shiki, so was of some importance in ancient times.

For a while, it was known as Mitsu Kumano Shrine, suggesting that it originally enshrined only Izanagi and Izanami.

The name Rokusho Shrine would be referring to the six kami now enshrined here, with Amaterasu, Ninigi, Susanoo, and Koyane, along with Izanami and Izanagi.

I especially enjoyed the masks here, especially the old, wooden demon mask.

There are quite a few secondary shrines within the grounds, including a Toshitoku Shrine which may enshrine Otoshi, a Wakamiya Shrine enshrining Okuninushi, and a shrine enshrining "5 great kami".

There is also an Inari Shrine, a Ryujin Shrine, and a Gubin Shrine enshrining Tengu no kami?

There is a sumo ring with a roof...

The previous post was on 2 shrines in Shiotsu, the previous fishing village..

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Hachiman Shrine & Makio Shrine in Yasaka

 

Day 9 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage and during the morning I stop in at two noteworthy shrines.

Iwami is a remote region, and the area in the mountains now collectively grouped together as Yasaka Town is a remote part of that region. Though I have lived here for decades, this was an exploration for me...

The first shrine I reached was the Hachimangu in the area called Nakayasu after thebfamily that were installed in the area as local  administrators in the mid 14th century.

They served under various different lords until the mid 16th century when the Mori attacked and defeated them, then took over.

This Hachimangu was established as a branch of Usa Hachiman in the mid 15th century to protect the nearby castle. It became the tutelary shrine for ten villages in the area.

There are a pair of huge Sugi trees flanking the stairway, and a third up near the shrine buildings.

They are big enough to be protected and registered as Natural Monunments by the prefecture.

An older Tenmangu shrine was moved into the grounds in early Meiji.

With its Ryobu-style Torii, Makio Shrine, much further south, is quite picturesque. (top photo above)

Said to be founded in the early Heian Period, making it about a thousand years old, it was relocated to its current location in 1582.

 

Unusual is the combination of main kami, Izanagi, and Otoshi. Izanagi, well known as the male of the creator-kami pair with his sister/wife Izanami. Otoshi, one of Susano's sons, with association with rice harvest and Korean clans.

There is a kagura den, but it looks like it has not been used in a while....

The previous post was on the last temple I visited yesterday, and the place I stayed the night.

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