Miyahata Shrine Kunisaki

 

Almost at the end of my 5th day walking around the Kunisaki Peninsula at the start of the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage, my last shrine of the day was Miyahata Shrine.

It seems to be quite a largish shrine with a long approach from the main road, but is totally lacking in any Buddhist elements, like Nio guardian, which suggests it is maybe not so old and maybe only dating back to Edo or a little earlier.

Curiously the second torii was made of some kind of plastic.

There was no signboard, and I can find absolutely no information online. The names on the torii are Tenjingu and Toshijingu.

The ox statue suggests Tenjin, the deified version of Sugawara Michizane. The previous shrine I visited had a Toshidaimyojin which was Otoshi, so maybe this is also Otoshi.

Up on the hillside is a collection of small, local shrines, which means maybe the bTenjin shrine supplanted the earlier shrine.

As can be seen in the first photo, there are some nice carvings on the shrine building.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby Toshi Daimyojin Shrine.

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Toshi Daimyojin & Ryosho Daigongen Shrine

 

Heading south from Futagoji Temple I stopped in at a shrine that seems to have been closely connected to the temple.

Toshi Daimyoji Ryosho Daigingen Shrine is the old name for the shrine, the name written on the torii, but in Meiji when the kami and Buddhas were seperated it became simply Toshi Shrine.

The Toshi refers to Otoshi, one of the sons of Susanoo, a kami associated with agriculture, and also connected to "immigrant" groups.

The Ryosho Daigongen are much more fascinating. According to the legend, Ninmon, the legendary founder of the Rokugo Manzan temples on Kunisaki, established this shrine in 717. Next year he established the temples, including Futagoji.

According to the legend, he was practising austerities in the area and was bothered by a pair of kami who he "tamed" and convinced to become the guardian kami of Futagoji. They are enshrined in the okunoin as Ryosho Daigongen.

The pair are said to be a brother and sister,  twin children of Hachiman, the powerful kami whose head shrine is not far from Kunisaki. Interestingly, this was long before Hachiman became equated with Emperor Ojin.

Other than Futagoji Temple and this shrine, there seems to be little mention of Ryosho Daigongen other than a statue held in the treasure house of Usa Hachimangu.

Nowadays, the official kami listed are Otoshi and Izanagi and Izanami

Until Meiji, the rituals and ceremonies performed at the shrine were done by priests from the Futagoji complex.

Like many shrines on the Kunisaki Peninsula, Buddhist Nio guardians of stone can be found. The ones here are said to be unusual in that their eyes are made of copper plate.

The previous post in this series on the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage was on the Okunoin of Futagoji Temple.

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Yama Shrine Jobutsu

 

Many of the shrines scattered around the Kunisaki Peninsula are simply called Yama Shrine,.... Mountain Shrine.

This Yama Shrine is about 5oo meters west of Jobutsuji Temple, one of the temples of Rokugo Manzan, the religious system based on the mountains of the Kunisaki Pennsula and also temple number 3 on the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage I was following on this visit.

It's a fairly substantial local shrine, and fairly typical for the shrines in the Kunisaki Peninsula.

There was no shrine immediately adjacent to Jobutsuji, so I am guessing that is the shrine that is linked to that temple.

Unusually there were no Nio guardians, though there were a pair of wooden zuijin.

What was unusual was the relief carving that appears to show the Three Monkeys at the bottom and then an angry figure over a pair of men apparently engaged in cock fighting.

Cock fighting was common in Japan since ancient times, both among the elite and commoners. A statue showing cock-fighting is at Tokei Shrine in Tanabe on the Kumano Kodo.

The photo below shows an unusual carving on a fan-shaped rock in a wall. I have actually seen that before but am unaware of any meaning.

The previous post was on Jobutsuji Temple.

After leaving Yama Shrine my route was over the mountain ridge towards the next temple, Jinguji. The Kunisaki Hanto Minemichi Long Trail I was following roughly followed the historical shugendo pilgrimage route around the peninsula. In places the trail follows roads, but here it was literally invisible. I was able to guess where the route was through the  sugi tree plantation that now passes for forests in many places in Japan.. At the top it was necessary to use chains to climb over the top of the ridge.

Itsutsuji Fudo

 

Mount Fudo is only 350 meters high but has some of the best views in the whole of the Kunisaki area.

It is a rocky outcropping like many in the area and is fairly typical of the kind of spot that yamabushi are attracted to.

The main hall enshrines Fudo Myoo, and is also fairly typical of the Kunisaki area in that it is built into a cave.

There is a smaller hall built into another small cave and other statues scattered around the not easily accessible cliff faces .

I can find very little information about it except that it is considered part of the Kyu Sentoji Temple complex lower down the slope, so may date back as far as the 9th century. However, the buildings are in good condition and must have been reconstructed fairly recently.

It is, of course, part of the old Rokugo Manzan Yamabushi Pilgrimage route that is now closely followed by the Kunisakihanto Minemichi Long Trail that I am following on this first section of my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage.

Just below is the statue Another Time by Antony Gormley that I posted about last time.

Bring a little higher than the statue the views are slightly more expansive.

As well as Himejima Island just off the coast, on a clear day Yamaguchi on Honshu is visible.

Mt. Ebisu Reisenji Temple

 

Reisenji Temle was one of the 12 main temples located in the heart of the Kunisaki peninsula in Oita that made up the unique Rokugo Manzan cult and pilgrimage, a form of Shugendo based on Usa Hachiman and  Tendai Buddhism.

Situated high up the Takeda River valley, one of the 28 valleys that radiated out from the volcanic heart of the peninsula.

The main gate was relocated here from neighbouring Rokusho Shrine after the separation of Buddhas and Kami. The shrine, Jisson-in Temple, and Reisenji Temple were all originally the same site.

Reisenji is nowadays number 14 on the Rokugo Manzan pilgrimage which can be followed along a recently renovated long-distance trail, the Kunisaki Hanto Moimemichi Long Trail. It is said the temple was founded in 718. The honzon is a Thousan-Armed Kannon.

The shrines and temples of Kunisaki are known for their stone Nio guardians, and Resenji is home to six, 2 of which are guarding the biggest Jizo statue in all of Kyushu.

Almost 5 meters tall, and made out of a single piece of stone, the Jizo was carved in 1860.

I visited at the start of my second leg walking the Kyushu Fudo pilgrimage during which I walked a large part of the Kunisaki pilgrimage at the start as they somewhat coincided. The previous post in the series was on the large Hachiman Shrine near the mouth of the Takeda River.