Meriken Park Kobe

 

Meriken Park is a waterfront park in Kobe that is a major tourist attraction because of the many tourist sites in the vicinity. The BE KOBE logo is apparently what is known as an Instagrammable spot. This was taken quite a few years ago and when I was there last year people were lining up to have their photos taken there.

The harbour around Meriken ark is home to numerous cruises around the bay as well as a cruise ship terminal and a spot for various big visiting ships.

Meriken was the Japanese pronunciation for America back in the Meiji Era when Kobe was one of the main sites of foreign settlement. The Oriental Hotel with its distinctive curved architecture is one of the landmarks.

In front of the Oriental Hotel are a couple of wedding halls, one all glass and reflective pools of water, the other with an overhead lattice that is prime for the kind of photos I like to take.

Long term readers of this blog will have seen different pics of this piece of architecture before....

Perhaps the most iconic sight at Meriken Park is the Kobe Port Tower.

For some time it has been undergoing renovations, but I believe it is once again open to the public.

Another of the architectural marvels that intrigues me at Meriken Park is the Maritime Museum, but I will save that for the next post as I went inside and explored.

This visit was on the 4th day of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage, and after reaching Kobe I spent the rest of the day exploring as a tourist...

The previous post was on Sorakuen Garden.

Sorakuen Garden Kobe

 

As far as I can tell, Kobe only really has one Japanese garden of note, the Sorakuen.

Constructed during the end of the 19th century and the begining of the 20th, it was originally the mansion and garden of a wealthy businessman, Kodera, but was given to the city.in 1941.

The mansion and its buildings were all destroyed in a bombing raid in 1945, except the brick stable building which was built in 1907.

In 1963 the Former Hassan House was moved here from its original site in the  Kitano area.

Designed by Alexander Hansell, who also designed several other Western style residences in the Kitano district, it was built in 1902.

Unfortunately, it is rarely open to the public. The gas lamps in front are among the oldest in Japan.

Another structure moved into the garden is the Funaykata, the two-storey superstructure of a river barge built at the end of the 17th century and used for parties by the Himeji lord.

The hull has long since been lost, but it is registered as an Important Cultural Property.

The garden covers almost 20,000 sq meters and is primarily a pond-stroll type garden.

One of the best times to visit is in late April and early May when the azaleas are in bloom.

An unusual feature is the grove of cycads, not palms, but looking very similar.  There is also a huge camphor tree that has been here since long before the mansion and garden were constructed.

There is a modern reconstruction of a traditional teahouse, and looking out over the garden is a large, modern wedding and banquet facility called the Sorakuen which features a pricey  restaurant and cafe

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage was on Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine.

Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine

 

Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine is certainly the most popular and well-known shrine in the city of Nishinomiya in Hyogo.

Nishinomiya means "West Shrine" and the shrine the city is named after is actually Hirota Shrine.

To the north of Nishinomiya Ebisu, Hirota Shrine was in ancient times a very important shrine, and it is believed that the Ebisu Shrine was sometimes referred to as "Southern Shrine" indicating its branch relationship to Hirota.

There are three hondens behind the main shrine. One enshrines Ebisu, one enshrines Amaterasu and Okuninushi, and the third enshrines Susano.

The enshrinement of Amaterasu and Okuninushi occurred in the early years of Meiji when the shrine officially separated from Hirota. Not sure when the Susano enshrinement happened.

There seems to have been some dispute over the Okuninushi Shrine. It seems at one point the whole shrine was renamed Okuninushi Shrine but then later separated from the Ebisu Shrine. After 1945 the Okuninushi became a sub-shrine of the Ebisu.

The main hall is a post-war reconstruction of the 17th century building. I also believe it underwent further reairs following the Hanshin Earthquake.

There are numerous secondary shrines within the large grounds, including the aforementioned Okuninushi Nishi Shrine which also enshrines Sukunahiko, and a Kojin Shrine (photo 4 )

There is also an Atago Shrine, and an Okiebisu shrine, enshrining the "wild/turbulent" aspect of Ebisu relocated to within the grounds  in early Meiji. (second to last photo)

There is a Benzaiten Shrine and a Rokkosan Shrine, an Inari Shrine, but also an Ugatama Shrine from before Meiji when Inari became equated with Ugatama. There are two shrines connected to sake brewing, a Matsuo Shrine, and an Umemiya Shrine.

The most interesting subsidiary shrine for me was the Hyakudayu Shrine which enshrines a kami connected to puppeteering. It is said that one of the reasons for the widespread adoption of Ebisu nationwide was due to Ebisu stories told in puppet plays.

Nishinomiys Ebisu is considered by some to be the head shrine of all Ebisu shrines nationwide, and the version of Ebisu here is the one based on Hiruko, sometimes called "Leech Child" born of Izanagi and Izanami who failed to follow the correct protocol and so their first child was born without limbs or skeleton. It was placed in a basket and set adrift.

One version of the story has the basket sailing to Hokkaido where the child is raised by Ainu. Another version of Ebisu is equated with Kotoshirunushi, a son of Okuninushi, and so some consider his main shrine of Miho Shrine in Shimane to be the head Ebisu shrine.

Certainly the pairing of Ebisu and Daikoku, another variation of  Okuninushi, as two of the Seven Lucky Gods, explains Ebisu's popularity among businesses and commerce, whereas Ebisu as the patron deity of fishermen suggests a different heritage perhaps.

The Toka Ebisu Festival takes place on January 10th and includes the Lucky Man Race wherein thousands of hopefuls race from the main gate to the main shrine building.

I was here very early on June 10th and preparations were underway for a ceremony at the Okiebisu Shrine.....

This was my first stop on day 3 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo pilgrimage. The previous post was on my last stop of day 2, the Kifune Shrine in Amagasaki.

Kifune Shrine Amagasaki

 

The Kifune Shrine in Amagasaki is sandwiched between the Hanshin Railway Line and the Hanshin Expressway in the Nishihinmachi district. A branch of the famous Kibune Shrine north of Kyoto, it was originally located within Amagasaki Castle but was relocated here when the castle was renovated during the Edo period.

As a branch of Kibune, the main deity enshrined here is Takaokami, however, 2 other Kyoto kami, from the 2 Kamo shrines are also enshrined.

There are half a dozen subsidiary shrines in the grounds, the largest of which is Shimanami Inari. It was also originally within Amagasaki Castle but was not moved here until 1869 when the castle was decommissioned and soon dismantled. 

Symbols of an American Football can be seen at the shrine because of the link to Kwansei Gakuin Fighters, a local university american football team. Since their founding in 1941 the team has been very successful except for one year when they ranked sixth, their worst ever ranking. That year no-one prayed for success at the shrine, so ever since they have not missed a year.

I was visiting at the end of my second day walking the Kinki Fudo Myo pilgrimage. The previous post was on crossing the Yodo River.