Renge-ji Temple 44 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

At around 250 meters above sea level on Mount Yufune, temple 44, Renge-ji, looks down on the Nakayama Rice Terraces.....

Set in a forest of huge trees and with a sacred spring that feeds the terraces, Renge-ji is quite a small temple.

The temple bell, donated in 1669, is said to be the second oldest on the island.

It is said the temple was founded in the 14th century.

The honzon is a Thousand-armed Kannon.

The tem@le was abandoned in the Meiji Period but revived later.

The small mixed forest around the temple has some huge trees and is a Prefectural Natural Monument.

The spring is one of Japan's Top 100 waters.

The shrine below is a Kumano Gongen Shrine, said to be the only shrine on the island to Kumano Gongen.

The previous post in this series on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was on the Nakayama Rice Terraces.

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Kumano Shrine & Kochi Shrine on the Sanyo-do

 

The first shrine I stopped in at on my walk along the Sanyo-do in Yamaguchi was a Kumano Shrine in Ezaki.

In the back of the grounds was a corner of Autumn colours....

and a pair of small, weathered zuijin....

but other than that, not much to report as there was no signboard and can find no information online...

Further along the way I stopped in at a Kochi Shrine in the Sayama district.

Under the red metal are the original thatched roofs, which give the buildings' proportions an elegance...

Three female kami are listed. Amenomikumari, Mitsuhanome, and Kuninomikumari. Not sure that I have ever encountered these before.

Amenomikumari and Kuninomikumari are obviously a pair, the 5th and 6th kami born of a brother-and-sister pair of water-estuary kami created by Izanami and Izanagi.

Mitsuhanome was born from Izanami's urine after she was burnt given birth to the kami of fire. All three kami seem to be connected to water and are not found outside of Yamato except in Yamaguchi.

Somewhat to the rear of the shrine is a Tsuka, or Zuka. Usually translated as burial mound, they are not graves but where things are buried , like sutras, or needles that have become too old to use. Ths one seems to get offerings still, but I can not find out what is buries here.

The previous post was on my walk along the Sanyo-do, where I found these shrines...

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Kumano Brush-making Museum

 

The small mountain town of Kumano in Hiroshima is the undisputed brush capital of Japan, with about 80% of brushes made here.

Fude no Sato is a museum dedicated to the art of brush-making and is located on the hillside behind Sakakiyama Shrine.

The Kumano area was quite poor and so in the winter season the men would head up to Nara and Wakayama for seasonal work. On their way back they would buy brushes and inskstones and partially fund their journey by selling them.

They started to make the brushes in the early Edo period, but it did not really take off until the mid 19th century when three individuals created the Kumano brush industry by combiing the best elements from different brush styles from around the country.

With the advent of compulsory schooling in the early Meiji years, when every schoolchild had to study calligraphy, the business boomed and employed a large percentage of the population.

In the post-war period there was a decline in demand for calligraphy brushes and so the brushmakers moved into the very lucrative market of high-end makeup brushes.

As well as showing the wide variety of brushes made, there are also demonstrations on brush making.

It is also possible to  take short classes in brush making.

It may have changed since the time I visited, but there was almost no information in English, however, most things are easy enough to figure out.

The previous post was on Sakakiyama Shrine nearby.

Sakakiyama Shrine, The Brush Shrine

 

Sakakiyama Shrine is a large shrine in Kumano, Hiroshima, the brush capital of Japan.

It is said to have been founded in 933 when the spirit of Hachiman was transferred here from Usa Hachimangu.

It was called Omiya Hachiman Shrine, but in 1713 a major fire destroyed the shrine and all its records so little is known of its history before that.

The shrine was rebuilt in 1724 and the current honden dates to that time. It is considered unusually large and is often claimed to be one of the biggest hondens in Japan.

Until 2024 there was a huge Sugi tree in front of the shrine. Said to be about 800 years old.

However, only the stump remains now as it was in danger of falling, so was cut down

The current Haiden (main hall) is also quite large and dates to 1870.

The shrine is most famous nowadays for the Fude Matsuri, the Brush Festival held around the Autumn Equinox.

At this time brushes are hung around the shrine entrance, the women perform a Fude Dance, caligraphers create large works, and old brushes are ceremoniously burned. along with all the other activities normally associated with a matsuri.

The matsuri began in the 1930's when the town was wealthy from the trade of brushes and most of the townsfolk were engaged in the industry. The brush industry is much smaller now, but Kumano is still the Brush Capital of Japan.

There are numerous secondary shrines within the grounds, including a Suwa Shrine and a Sakakidani Shrine.

There is also an Aragami Shrine and an Inari shrine.

The largest secondary shrine in the grounds is a branch of Kumano Hongu. It was established about 800 years ago.

There are quite a lot of intricate carvings on the honden, attributed to the master craftsman Torii Jinbei.

The interior of the Haidan has a lot of large Ema paintings.

The previous post in this series on day 15 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk up the valley to Kumano.