An Autumn Walk to Yasaka Shrine & Ishinokuchi Hachimangu

 

I begin day 20 in Tabuse and today's walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage will take me into the countryside of southern Yamaguchi.

First stop, walking out of Tabuse, was a Yasaka Shrine.

Enshrining Susanoo and Kushinadahime, like all Yasaka Shrines it was known as a Gion Shrine until the Meiji Period when the separation of Buddhas and Kami meant Gozu Tenno was replaced by Susanoo.

Like many Gion shrines, it was established to protect against plague and disease.

The exact date of its founding I cannot find out, but it was certainly here in 1559.

It is a glorious late Autumn day as I head out on Prefectural Route 63.

As usual in Japan, you can't go far without passing a roadside Buddhist altar.

I have never been in this area before, and I have no idea what I will find along the road.

Exploring seems to be out of fashion nowadays. Most people seem to want to go to places they have seen on the internet.

The landscape I walked through I would describe as typical Japan....

River valleys with forested mountains....

Farms scattered around, and when the valley is wide enough, larger settlements...

At the base of Iwakisan, a sacred mountain with a cluster of ancient shrines on top, a big shrine of a "new" religion, and the remains of a "korean-style" castle of the late 7th century. I came across the entrance to Ishinokuchi Hachimangu.

It is said to have originally stood higher up the mountain but was relocated to its current site in the late 14th century.

Not far up the approach was a small shrine with no name....

Though it did have a lovely ceiling....

Further in, a second torii and more steps...

and then more steps....

To be so far from the road is quite unusual....

I had left my backpack at the first torii so I didn't mind the walk and the forest was quite atmospheric with shafts of sunlight piercing the mist...

In a small storage shed I found an unusual mikoshi shaped like a sea bream....

I finally reached the quite substantial main shrine... I would say about 400 meters from the first torii...

As a Hachiman it enshrines primarily Ojin....

There are several sub- shrines nearby, but I can find no details....

There is also a huge stump of what must have been a sacred tree....

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the ancient mountain temple of Hannya-ji

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Kumano Shrine, Honjo

Honjo is a large village on the north shore of the Nakaumi and the main village shrine was a branch of Kumano Shrine. I think this was the first shrine I had come to in the last 2 days of walking that was not either in the Izumo Fudoki nor the Engi Shiki.

The three main kami are Izanami, Hayatamano, and Kotosakano, though usually it is Izanagi associated with the other two rather than Izanami. The shrine had a small but in good condition mikoshi, fairly simple.

In the grounds was a Tenjin shrine, an Inari shrine, and an small shrine with no name.

The Inari shrine had a lot of small kitsune figures, usually white ceramic or plain stone, but also this pair of golden ones. There was also a small pair of figures, Daikoku and Ebisu.

Autumn Matsuri 2014 part 3

On the sunday morning all signs of the previous night had disappeared and ceremonies were held. The first took place in front of a side altar. There was no musical accompaniment. After reading out a norito, the priest then read out the names of the handful of us who were taking part. We were then purified with an onusa and one by one called up and given a drink of omiki and a part of the mochi that had been used as offerings to the kami. The folded paper also contained some grains of the rice that had also been on the altar.

The next ceremony was a much grander affair with taiko and flute accompaniment. The village elders set offering upon the elder and norito were read, Once again there was purification. At the end of the ceremony the kami was transfered into the mikoshi which had been brought into the shrine.

When I first moved to the village I asked about the mikoshi and was told that there were not enough men nowadays to be able to carry the mikoshi. A recent survey of villagers showed that the villagers wanted the mikoshi procession to be revived. This was the first time in 14 years.

The mikoshi was really heavy as we carefully manhandled it down the steep steps. From the shrine it was then carried around the village. The roads where we passed were lined with a simple shimenawa. In the middle of the village another short ceremony was performed. The priests and musicians followed along.

Many of the older people who came out of their houses as the mikoshi passed were really pleased to see the mikoshi again. Once acrried back up the shrine steps and deposited back in the shrine we all shared some more omiki.

Sokinoya Shrine

Sokinoya Jinja

Sokinoya Shrine is listed in the Engi Shiki so it is at least 1,000 years old. It's located at the base of the hills south of Naoe in Hikawa.

Halfway up the steps is the store room holding the rather elegant mikoshi and other valuable equipment.

The main kami enshrined is Kihisakamitakahiko, and there is absolutely no information on him except that this area was once called Kihisa so he was probably the leader of the area. This rock in front of the shrine is reputed to be where he stood and prayed in the direction of Izumo Taisha across the plain below.

Visible behind the rock is a small shrine to Sarutahiko. It was moved here from its original site at a large rock outcropping further up the mountain. There is also a Kumano Shrine in the grounds.

For me, the most interesting secondary shrine in the rounds is the Karakuniidateho shrine. Karakuni means "from Korea", and there are numerous Karakuni shrines around Izumo and Iwami that enshrine Susano and his son Isotake that are manifestations of the legend/myth that Susano and his son arrived here from the Korean peninsula.

Abandoned Mikoshi

Mikoshi are sacred palanquins or portable shrines used for transporting kami most often seen during matsuris when the kami are paraded around the local community once a year.

It is believed their origin lies in when the great kami Hachiman was carried by palanquin from Usa in Kyushu to Todaiji in Nara in the middle of the eighth century.

When not being used the Mikoshi are normally kept in a special storeroom though it is not uncommon for them to be put on display at New Year when many visitors come to the shrine.

In the heavily depopulated rural areas of Japan many shrines are now virtually unused and the mikoshi are no longer used. These photos were taken in a small shrine in the mountains of yamaguchi Prefecture.

Hiyoshi Taisha part 2

The first shrine building to be built here was probably built around the latter part of the seventh Century. For a brief period the “ emperor” known as Tenji moved his court from the Yamato Plain to Otsu a few miles south of Hie, and he brought with him and enshrined in what is now the western compound of Hiyoshi Taisha the kami of Miwa, Onamuchi, the Yamato aspect of Okuninushi. So both of the first kami enshrined here trace their roots to Izumo.

The Mikoshi of Hie are quite famous, and a special storeroom/museum exists to display examples of older ones. Enryaku-ji had become a powerful economic and political force by the 12^th Century, and the monks used the mikoshi to “attack” Kyoto to coerce the government to accede to demands. The mikoshi were taken up and over Hiezan and the monks marched on Kyoto and left the mikoshi at various points around the city. Kami were feared as well as revered, and fear of the anger of the kami in the mikoshi put pressure on the government.

Under the control of the Tendai monastery Enryaku-ji there developed the cult of Sanno at Hie. Known as the Mountain King, developed from the center of Tendai in China, the messenger of Sanno is the monkey.

In all a total of 108 upper and 108 lower shrines were constructed here. 108 is a significant number in Buddhism. many of the shrines have long gone, but many remain. Some of the shrines are Usa, enshrining hachiman, Shirayama, enshrining Izanagi and Izanami, Otoshi, the father of Oyamakui, the shrines main kami , and a Suga, enshrining Susano, Oyamakuis grandfather.

The frounds of Hiyoshi are very large and many visitors come for the Fall foliage. There is even a restaurant and tea room within the forest.

Hiyoshi has a unique torii. Often referred to as　symbolizing the mountain, the triangle actually symbolizes the unity of buddhas and kami. It was removed in 1869 with shinbutsubunri, but reinstated after WWII.