Shurakuen Garden Tsuyama

 

Shurakuen is a large, Edo-Period, stroll-type garden built by a daimyo in the former castle town of Tsuyama in the mountains of Okayama.

The garden, as well as Tsuyama itself, is not so well known and is  little off the main tourist routes, but is well worth a visit, especially as the entrance is free.

The garden was built in the mid 17th century under the orders of Nagatsugu Mori, who brought in a gardener from Kyoto to design it. It is said to be modeled on the garden at the Imperial palace in Kyoto.

The Matsudaira clan who took over the domain used it to entertain vassals and visiting dignitaries, and was probably used as a palace by retired daimyo.

The garden is dominated by a very large pond  that by virtue of its shape and its islands seems like three separate areas.

A large part of the surface of the pond is covered with water lilies which in the summer give the garden wide expanses of green.

Reproductions of some of the buildings that stood here have been built including a fine two-storied, thatched building.

There are cherry blossoms in the spring, the water lilies are in bloom in the summer, and being at some elevation a fair bit of snow in the winter, but it is said to be best in the autumn colors.

All these shots were taken in the summer.....

Art of Tanjoji Temple

Japan Guide

Temples are, like churches and cathedrals in the West, repositories of art. One of the delights of visiting them is to explore and find interesting statues, carvings etc. Tanjoji Temple in Okayama was pretty good in this regard, with quite a range of things to see. The statue above is an Amida Buddha, the focus of the school of Buddhism founded by Honen who was born on this spot.

I visited the temple while walking the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and ths is the Kannon statue. It was carved by Jigaku Daishi and enshrined in 1631. It is now called the Oshichi Kannon after Oshichi, a 16 year old girl executed for arson after a major fire in Edo. The subject of many books and play, Oshichi's story can be found here at Gabi Greve's wonderful site....

Onigawara are "demon tiles" found on the roofs of some temples and other buildings. In situ they are hard to see as they are up on the roof, but often you will find older versions from previous versions of the buildings are ondislay, like here. Intriguing is the diversity of designs.

One of the most ubiquitous sights all over Japan are small statues of Jizo with their trademark caps and bibs.

Above the entrance to many temple and shrine buildings can be found relief carvings of dragons. Usually of a quite standard design, this one is somewhat more expressive....

Sometimes..... when I'm lucky,.... powerful compositions simply present themselves to me....

This is said to be the largest Buddha statue in Okayama, and is a Nationally-registered Important Cultural ropert, but have no details on it.

Long time readers of this blog know that I am quite obsessed with Fudo Myo, and this single example at Tanjoji was in the Kannon Hall.

These are , I suspext, statues of rakan, disciples of the Buddha, also in the Kannn Hall.

Green Tea

Kumenan Kamo Shrine

Kumenan

Kamo Shrine is the collective name given to the pair of famous shrines in the north of Kyoto, Kamigamo, and Shimogamo.

This branch shrine in Kumenan Town in the north of Okayama was established in 835 by a notable who moved here from Kyoto.

The shrine enshrines ancestral deities of the Kamo family, one male and one female, but the chigi on the roof indicates that the male is given predominance.

I spent the night here in late July, on the night between my 3rd and 4th days walking the Chugoku Kannon pilgrimage. I would have liked to sleep but the mosquitoes would not allow it.

Tanjoji Temple, my reason for being here, was just a across the valley. The entry to the shrine had a chinowa. A couple of days previously I had been to a shrine in Okayama City that also had one, and in that post you can find a little more detail of what a chinowa is.

Another Japan

Maneki Neko Museum

 

The Maneki Neko Museum is home to more than 700 examples of Maneki-neko, the "beckoning cat" that probably originated in Edo in the mid 19th century, though Kyoto makes a claim for it too.

The Japanese gesture for "come here" looks a lot like the gesture of waving goodbye in western cultures and the maneki-neko has one of its paws raised, either right or left. Some examples are motorized to raise and lower the paw.

They are made out of stone, ceramic, plastic, or papier mache and can be found in a variety of colors. Usually white, which represents general good luck, but red ones symbolize good health, black to ward off evil, and gold or yellow for wealth.

The museum is in a couple of renovated farmhouses up in the mountains north of Okayama City in a village called Kanayamaji, and though there is no public transport to the place the museum is very popular and even gets lots of tour buses.

I visited on my third day of walking along the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle was constructed between 1573 to 1597 by the Ukita Clan. They were on the wrong side of the Battle of Sekigahara and so the castle passed briefly to the Kobayakawa Clan before coming under the control of the Ikeda Clan who held it until the abolition of the domains in 1869.

The castle's nickname was  Crow Castle because of its black exterior. The famous Himeji Castle not far away was likewise nicknamed "White Egret Castle".

The Asahi River was utilized as a moat on two sides of the castle.

Some of the roof decorations are gilded, but for its first few years all the roof tiles were  gilded earning it the nickname Golden Crow Castle.

This last photo is taken from Korakuen Garden which was built by the Ikeda.

Chinowa at Okayama Shrine

A chinowa is a ring made out of a kind of reed/grass that can be found at shrines and is used as a form of purification. You pass through the hoop 3 times to cleanse yourself of sin and pollution.

Traditionally they were set up for the last days of the 6th lunar month, though nowadays they can be found at various times. Their legendary origin is attributed to Susano, the mythical founder of the Izumo culture and polity.

I encountered this one on July 25th at the entrance to Okayama Shrine in downtown Okayama City. Believed to have been founded in the 9th Century, the shrine was located across the river where Okayama Castle now stands and was moved here when the castle was constructed.

Over the years it has accumulated various kami and there are also various sub-shrines in the grounds. Like much of Okayama City it was destroyed by air raids back in the war and is now a modest concrete structure.

Saidaiji Kannon-in

Saidaiji Kannon-in is a large historic temple to the East of Okayama City. It is the first temple on the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, though I visited it on the second day of my walk along that pilgrimage as temple 2 is further East and it made logical sense.

When I visited it was very quiet, which it is for most of the year, but in late February it is filled with thousands  and thousands of near-naked men taking part in the famous Hadaka Festival, commonly known as the Naked Man Festival.

For more details about the festival and also about the legend associated with the temples founding, please see a piece I wrote on another site.

Some of the buildings, like the 17th Century Pagoda, and some of the statuary, like the large Kannon, are quite interesting, and the street leading to the temple from the nearest train station has a few old buildings, but outside of February things here are pretty quiet.....

Yokeiji Temple Shrine Complex

Located on a hilltop overlooking the Yoshii River east of Okayama City, Yokeiji is a Tendai temple complex that I have posted about previously, on the pagoda, and the lotus blossoms.

It was founded in 749 and grew to be quite a large complex with numerous halls, sub-temples, and shrines within its grounds.

As well as the pagoda there are numerous other buildings and statues that are listed as Important Cultural Properties, like this bell tower. In some of the sub temples are nice, but small gardens.

It is quite a pleasant place to wander and explore and is not a major tourist spot so is nice and quiet. Ther are also a number of shrines which i will post about later...