National Treasure Kamosu Shrine
Day 44 of my walk along the Chugoku Pilgrimage began at Kamosu Shrine, SE of Matsue, the castle town and capital of Shimane.
Kamosu Shrine is quite famous for having a National Treasure, the honden, said to be the oldest existing piece of Taisha Zukuri, the style of architecture of Izumo Taisha and only found within Izumo Province.
Photos 9, 15, & 18 shows the honden. It is believed to date back to 1583.
The shrine has an unusual history: it is not mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki or the Engi Shiki because it was originally a private shrine of the Izumo no Kuni Miyatsuko family, the province's governors and head priests of Izumo Taisha, and it enshrined their ancestral deity, Amenohohi.
The first mention of it as a public shrine is in the early 13th century, but it is believed to have been public for some time before that.
The district where the shrine is located, Ou, contained the provincial government offices, in essence the provincial capital, and so, as governors, their family home would have been nearby.
The Six Shrines of Ou, the district where the shrine and government offices were, are Kamosu Shrine,
Kumano Taisha,
Manai Shrine, Yaegaki Shrine,
Iya Shrine, and Rokusho Shrine, all important and interesting shrines.
Now the primary kami is Izanami, with the secondary kami being Izanagi. Not far from here, near Iya Shrine, is the entrance to Yomi, the underworld, where Izanagi fled from after visiting his wife/sister Izanami there.
There are many secondary shrines within the grounds, the largest structure belonging to the Okama Shrine. An Okama is a kind of large cauldron and Amenohohi rode an Okama when he descended here. The Okama ritual is held in December.
Other shrines include a Toshitokujin Shrine. I have found Toshitokujin shrines at several other shrines I have visited in the Izumo region but don't remember coming across them before. They enshrine an Onmyodo deity of prosperity and good fortune. Onmyodo, called Yin-Yang Theory sometimes, was very prevalent in Japan but has now been subsumed into "Shinto", as has a lot of Daoism.
There is also a Kitsuki Shrine enshrining Susanoo & Okuninushi, an Ise Shrine enshrining Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, a Kumano Shrine enshrining the three Kumano kami, an Aragami Shrine, a Toyama Shrine enshrining Ugayafukiaezu, the father of Jimmu, a Buyu Shrine enshrining Futsunushi, & a Hiroku Shrine.
The Kibune Inari Shrine enshrines both the Kibune kami Okaminokami, and the Inari kami, Ukanomitama. The structure is an Important Cultural Property as it dates to 1356, a few years older than the central pillar of the honden (main hall), a survivor of a lightning strike that destroyed the rest of the building.
If you happen to visit on the days of any of the festivals, the doors of the honden are opened and you can glimpse the brightly painted interior murals on the wall and doors.
Nearby Yaegaki Shrine has the oldest shrine murals in Japan.
The area around Kamosu Shrine contains a lot to see if you are interested in ancient history and ancient shrines.
There are a lot of kofun, burial mounds, in the area and quite a nice little museum, the Yakumotatsu Fudoki no Oka Museum with some good exhibits and tombs in the grounds,
Several of the Six Shrines of Ou are within a short walk, although in general the area is not well served with public transport but there are buses from Matsue Station to Kamosu Shrine and the Museum.
If you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.
