Komo Shrine Revisited

 

Komo Shrine is quite a large, impressive shrine in the countryside near Nakatsu.

This was my third time visiting, and a previous visit was documented in this post.

I was here this time on day 6 of my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

There is much to see, but perhaps the most noticeable thing is the magnificent two-storey gate.

This is a 1622 reconstruction, and is a national Important Cultural Property.

Next is the torii floating in the pond.

Originally a triangular pond, it is actually the inner shrine of Komo Shrine and is the source of shrine itself.

The chief priest of Usa Shrine visited the pond and was instructed by the kami to take some reeds from the pond and construct a sacred pillow with them.

In 720, in response to yet another "rebellion" of the Hayato people of southern Kyushu, the central government sent a punitive force.

It was joined by an army from Buzen and was led by a portable shrine made of the reeds from Sankaku Pond.

Komo Shrine itself is said to have been founded as a branch of Usa Hachiman in the early to mid 9th century.

This roofed bridge was in poor condition.... not sure if it is still standing....

There are numerous huge, ancient camphor trees within the shrine...

As well as the main Hachiman there is also a Wakamiya Shrine which also enshrines Ojin, and a Yasaka Shrine enshrining Susanoo and his "family"

The shrine crest is a single Tomoe, and some link it to the Munakata Princesses who are part of Hachiman.

Interestingly, one version of the Munakata myth in the Nihon Shoki has the princesses descending to this area before moving to their current homes on the coast and islands of Fukuoka...

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Pilgrimage was on the nearby Sanmei-in Temple.

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Sanmei-in Temple 8 Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

The 2nd of March, 2018, and I begin day 6 of my walk around Kyushu on the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage in the rural suburbs of Nakatsu. The first 5 days were spent in the Kunisaki Peninsula.

Sanmei-in is temple number 8 on the pilgrimage, and the Fudo is enshrined within the Goma Hall. I had visited this temple some years ago as it is also temple 20 on the Kyushu 108 Pilgrimage. That post can be viewed here.

It is a pretty new temple, founded after the experience of the priest performing austerities for 50 days on a sacred mountain.

each time I have visited the main hall, the elevated hexagonal building was closed.

It houses an eleven-faced, thousand-armed Kannon.

The Fudo in the Goma Hall is a "stand-in" as the original statue split in half during a ritual for the healing of the priest's father.

It is a Shingon temple and has a miniature Shikoku Pilgrimage in the grounds.

The previous post was on Miyahata Shrine, my last stop on day 5.

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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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