Tamashima Historic Preservation District

 

Tamashima is an area in the western part of Kurashiki City in Okayama that gets virtually no tourists, but yet is intriguing and with some sights well worth a visit. One of the delights of walking a pilgrimage is encountering surprises, the unexpected. Of course I realize that kind of goes against the grain nowadays when everything is organized and planned with the help of smartphones to avoid the unknown...... but Tamashima was completely unexpected and I only discovered it by walking through on my way to Entsuji Temple.

Three sections of the town are registered as a Preservation District by the prefecture, but not as the Groups of Traditional Buildings like the nearby Bikan District.

In the late 17th century Tamashima became a major port for the Bitchu Matsuyama domain and connected to the castle town via the Takahashi River.

Originally some small islands, the local lord built embankments and gradually reclaimed land until they became part of the mainland.

However, the boom times didn't last forever, and after a few generations the ports fortunes began to decline due to several factors.

Some trade continued, and the area still has some largish merchant properties and warehouses as well as sake breweries etc.

Unlike the nearby Bikan District, you will not find cafes, gift shops, or other tourist infrastructure, rather a more authentic glimpse of a former prosperity. However, the Yunoki Residence is open to the public and with free entry and is well worth a visit.

The area has been included in the Japan Heritage site connected to the kitamaebune and other Inland Sea maritime trade routes.

The previous post was on Entsuji Temple, a delightful, thatched Zen temple with a garden on a hillside overlooking Tamashima. Other sites of interest in the area are the Former Yunoki Residence, a wealthy merchant property with gardens, and Haguro Shrine, with remarkable decorations.

Seisotei the Yunoki Residence & Gardens

 

I discovered the former Yunoki Residence quite by accident as I was walking the streets of Tamashima on my way to Entsu-ji Temple as part of the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

I had not heard of the place and was surprised to find entry was free and so went in to explore.

In the mid 17th century Tamashima grew into an important port serving the Bitchu Matsuyama domain on reclaimed land around several small islands.

Some of the historical warehouses and merchant properties still remain and the area has been made a historical preservation area by the prefecture.

It has also become a Japan Heritage site linked to Kurashiki and the Kitamaebune trade.

The oldest part of the house was built in the late 18th century and was named Seisotei by the Confucian scholar Suga Chazan.

It, along with the gate, gardens, and teahouse, are all registered Tangible Cultural Properties.

The gardens are particularly fine with some garden experts rating them higher than the garden of the Ohashi House in the Bikan District of Kurashiki.

The Yunoki family were owners of trading ships that operated along the Inland Sea

There are two main gardens, both dry, and a small courtyard garden.

The family operated as magistrates for the daimyo and were the village heads.

Many famous guests have stayed here over the years, including domain officials, though I can not find it defined as a honjin.

When I was there the friendly guide pointed to stains on the ceiling of one room and said it was blood from the time when Kumada Ataka, a local samurai, committed ritual suicide so his followers could get clemency. However, no sources now mention the supposed blood stains.

All in all, a very interesting site made all the more pleasant by the complete absence of tourists and a free entry.

Well worth the detour from the overly-gentrified and crowded Bikan District.

The previous post in this series on day 9 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on Haguro Shrine and its amazing art and decorations.

Haguro Shrine Tamashima

 

Adorning the roof of Haguro Shrine in Tamashima, Okayamama, is a ceramic Karasu Tengu, and it has become the symbol of the shrine and also a mascot for the town.

Tamashima was a cluster of small islands that have now become reclaimed land due to the efforts of the local daimyo Mizutani Katsutaka who started with the area immediately around where the shrine is now and spread out building embankments and reclaiming more land.

The area quickly became a major port on the trading route of the Inland Sea.

Mount Haguro is a sacred mountain in Yamagata in northern Japan with a major shrine called Dewa Shrine.

It is one of three sacred mountains  grouped together as Dewa Sanzan, and is and was a major Shugendo centre, hence the Karasu Tengu.

The shrine in Tamashima became the centre of the land reclamation project and was supported by the growing merchant population.

The current buildings date back to the mid 19th century and have a lot of fine decorations.

Within the grounds are numerous secondary shrines including a Sumiyoshi Shrine, and a Tenmangu Shrine, as well as a Mizutani Shrine, Kumada Shrine, and a Warei Shrine.

The Seven Lucky Gods are also enshrined and very popular.

There is a small pine tree that has had its branches woven together and is therefore known as Musubi no Matsu.

The figures on tye roof are particularly nice with dragons as well as the Karasu Tengu.

Photos 16 and 17 show two other figures which I believe to be Daoist Immortals. One is riding a turtle and the other a crane, both important Daoist symbols and prevalent in Japanese art and culture, especially gardens.

The kami listed as enshrined here are Tamayorihime, Susanoo, Okuninushi, and Kotoshironushi.

A little off the main tourist track, Tamashima is worth a visit, not least for the artwork adorning Haguro Shrine.

I visited at the start of day 9 walking the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

The previous post was on the shrine at temple 6 of the pilgrimage that I visited the afternoon previous, Yuga Shrine.