Venus Bridge Kobe

 

The Venus Bridge is a unique scenic viewpoint offering panoramic views of Kobe and its surrounding areas.

Opened in 1971, its is a spiral bridge shaped in a figure 8 that connects tow observatorys.

I reached it via a short, but steep, walk from Suwa Shrine.

Apparently it is very popular at night but I was here early in the morning on my way up into the mountains to a temple on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage.

The name comes from 1874 when a frenchman observed the transit of Venus across the sun from a nearby observatory.

With Venus being the Goddess of Love, coupes have been leaving padlocks with their names on at the site for some years.

A special monument has been set up for the purpose now and padlocks left around the main  structure have been removed.

At approximately 150 meters above sea level it is not so high but the views are nonetheless worth the walk.

Suwa Shrine & Mikiinari Shrine Kobe

 

Suwa Shrine is located on the lower slope of the mountains behind Kobe and is reached up a steep slope.

Though ostensibly a Suwa Shrine, as one approaches it appears to be an Inari Shrine, and the local nickname for the shrine is Suwayama Inari.

According to the legend the shrine was founded in the year 400 as protection of the detached palace of Princess Hatta or Yatta. She was the half-sister and consort of Emperor Nintoku.

As a Suwa shrine the main kami is Takeminakata, son of Okuninushi who was exiled to what is now Nagano after the transfer of the land from Onuninushi to Amaterasu.

Suwa Taisha is a major shrine with branches nationwide.

Later the mountain became named Suwayama.

However, in 1778 a branch of Fushimi Inari Shrine was established here, now known as Miki Inari.

For whatever reason the Inari identity overshadows the Suwa identity, with fox guardians guarding the Suwa shrine as well as all the numerous Inari shrines now scattered around the grounds.

One ceramic kitsune was particularly impressive.

Theer are several other shrines in the grounds other than the numerous Inari shrines, and they include a Sarutahiko Shrine.

I visited very early in the morning on day 4 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

From here a trail leads up the mountain to the next temples on the pilgrimage.

The previous post in the series was on Ninomiya Shrine in Kobe that I visited the evening before.

Ninomiya Shrine Kobe

 

Ninomiya Shrine is a small shrine in the heart of Kobe, not too far from Sannomiya Station. Ninomiya and Sannomiya means "Second Shrine" and "Third Shrine", and was a ranking system used in ancient Japan that has held over into modern times. The area around such shrines often were named after them.

According to the shrine legend, Empress Jingu stopped here on her way to what is now Ikuta Shrine, the most important shrine in the area and also said to have been founded by the mythical Empress.

Just inside the grounds is a small shrine, Mukuhakuryusha. It is a modern shrine being founded in 1955 and enshrines a white snake, a common motif in dreams and carrier of oracles from the kami.

There is also a small Inari Shrine. While Inari is well known as a kami of rice, it is also really popular among businesses, but not so well known is that Inari was the tutelary deity of women working in the "pleasure quarters". Until the middle of the twentieth century the area around the shrine was one of the many red light districts of Kobe.

The main building eshnrines Amenoohihomimi, the first of the 5 male kami created when Susanoo spat out after chewing Amaterasu's jewels, and the supposed direct ancestor of the imperial lineage. The shrine is known locally as Masakatsusan which come from a different reading of the kamis name, in that form known for success and victory.

The main building is quite new and I suspect may have been built after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 95. One thing I dislike is the modern chigi on the roof, first photo. Chigi were originally the cross pieces that helped hold down thatched roofs but became architectural decorative details of shrines. When the end pieces were cut horizontally it indicated that the primary kami of the shrine was female, and when cut vertically the shrine was for a male kami. The type of chigi here is somewhat curved and has a diagonal cut.

I visited at the end of my third day walking the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post was on nearby Ikuta Shrine.

Ikuta Shrine Sannomiya

 

Ikuta Shrine is the most important shrine in Sannomiya, part of Kobe in Hyogo. It was the third-ranked shrine in the province, the sannomiya, which is why the area around it took that name.

My room for the night was nearby so I passed through the grounds on my way there.

A "shinto" wedding was taking place. As I have mentioned before, Shinto Weddings are a very modern thing and not at all traditional.

Christian weddings have a much older history in Japan than Shinto weddings. The first shinto wedding was in 1904 for the Crown Prince. It was modelled on royal weddings of Europe and especially the UK.

Later a few elites had Shinto weddings and before the war it became popular with salarymen and army officers who chose it because it was modern and untraditional. Ikuta Shrine is known to have performed shinto weddings in the prewar years.

In 1945 it was suddenly made traditional and has gained in popularity since then.

According to myth, Ikuta Shrine was established by Empress Jingu when her ship was becalmed here.

She was told by the kami Wakahirume that she wished to stay here, so Jingu set up the shrine. Wakhirume is considered to be either  a younger sister of Amaterasu, although sometimes she is thought of as a daughter of Amaterasu or even Amaterasu as a girl.

Over the centuries numerous other shrines have been made inside the grounds, including Sumiyoshi, Hachiman, Suwa, Hiyoshi, Inari, and a Sai shrine. As is evident in the final photo, Ikuta Shrine is one of the increasing number of shrines "specializing" in matchmaking.

This visit was at the end of my third day walking the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post was on one of the Inari shrines at Ikuta.