Kasuga Shrine Fuse

 

Fuse is a small fishing village on the East coast of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane.

I reached it late in the afternoon on my first day walking around the coast of the island.

The shrine in the village is a Kasuga shrine and is said to be older than the mid-16th century. The shrine is most well known for the main path which is directly east and so sunrise can be viewed on the Spring and Autumn equinoxes

Being a branch of Kasuga Shrine, the main kami is Ame no Koyane, seen to be the encestor of the Nakatomi-Fujiwara Clan who pretty much ran Japan for centuries. Curiously, the chigi, clearly visible in the one before last photo, is for a female kami. Also clearly visible is the red oni decorating the end of the roof. A blue one is at the opposite end.

There are numerous other secondary shrines within the grounds with Hachiman and Sumiyoshi being two I could discover the names of.

This is where the rituals and ceremonies for the amazing tree-shrine, Oyama Shrine, nearby take place.

The previous post was on some of the amazing coastline along this section of Dogo.

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Picturesque East Coast of Dogo Island

Dogo, the largest of the Oki islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane, remains one of my favourite places in Japan.

Like many places far from the Shinkansen, it has no overtourism.

On the first day of my three-day walk around the coastline of the island, I left the Sasaki Residence and started walking up the east coast.

The Oki Islands are a UNESCO Global Geopark which means there are plenty of signage in English, especially around the numerous sites of geological interest.

I have little knowledge of geology, though I do enjoy seeing land without vegetation.

In Okubo port there are examples of Green Tuff.....

Soft and makes for some nice eroded shapes.....

Then up along what is called the Kuboro Coast....

There are several observation decks with nice views, but walking, to me, makes the best way to view such coastlines....

Very little traffic, so no hazard for gently strolling....

Quite unusual to see a roadside Buddhist statue ........ every single temple on the Oki Islands were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist movement of early Meiji....

I was here in early June, 2016, so not too hot to walk, but with nice, long days....

The staggering quantity of concrete poured on Japanese coasts, building breakwaters for tiny harbours, and installing millions of tetrapods, need huge numbers of these crane-barge types of boats...

Kuroshima Island is the next major sight....

For the geologically-minded, the phrase is Mantle Xenoliths....

It's mid-afternoon as I approach Fuse, the largest of the fishing harbours of my walk today. Not big enough for a convenience store though. In fact I will pass no convenience store for three days. There is a single Yamazaki store on the island. No Lawsons, no Family Mart, no 7-11.....

The previous post was on the delightful, large Sasaki Residence, a traditional village Headmans residence.

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Sasaki Residence on Dogo

 

The Sasaki Residence on Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands, is a traditional residence of a village headman.

The first noticeable thing was the roof. Whereas tile roofs were common on temples and wealthy properties, thatch was far more common, but required very steep roofs. Strips of overlaid cedar bark weighted down with bamboo with stones on was fairly common, but almost never seen nowadays.

The roof of the Sasaki Residence is the only example of this kind in the Oki Islands.

On my first visit to Dogo and the Sasaki Residence the first thing I noticed was the Kojin altar in the grounds. This was my first time seeing the larger type of straw snake.

In ny region with have Omoto, but the rope snake is better made, but smaller and with a small head. The Kojin on Dogo were much larger, and with larger heads, more like those I would later discover in Higashi Izumo.

It is said to be typical Oki-style residence with three entrances....

I was struck by the fact that it was only one single building, often such places have a cluster of connected buildings....

It was built in 1836, and the Sasaki have been headmen of the village for many generations...

It is an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

There are various artifacts on display, both domestic and agricultural....

There are , of course, plenty of artwork on screens and doors etc...

Entry is only 300 yen and they have a decent leaflet in English explaining about what you are looking at...

It is closed for a few months in Winter...

The previous post was on my walk around the upper reaches of Saigo Bay on my way here...

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.