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...

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Upper Saigo Bay

 

The main port of Dogo Island in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane is Saigo.

The mouth of Saigo Bay is less than 300 meters wide, but the bay opens up with a long arms headong West and North.

These shots were taken at the northern edge of the bay where the main road that encircles the island passes.

This was the first day of my 3 day walk around the circumference of the island.

The Sea of Japan coast has some of the best and most dramatic coastline in all of Japan, with Shimane and the Oki Islands ranking near the top.

It was a beautiful, still day, enabling clear views....

The Oki Islands are a favored destination for scuba divers..... or if you dont dive, you can take an underwater viewing boat...

The previous post in this series on the Oki Islands was on one of the mysterious, unique trees on Dogo.

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Chichi Sugi... the Boob Cedar

Chichi Sugi, which translates as Boob Cedar is an 800 year old tree on the slopes of Mount Daimanji on Dogo, the biggest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane.

It is an Urasugi, a species that grows on the Japan Sea side of the main Japanese island of Honshu.

Heavy snowfall causes the trees to produce stronger lateral branches that then grow vertically.

The rounded protuberances growing down from the branches... which is the origin of its nickname "boob", are believed to help absorb moisture from the air.

The other two species of sugi that grow in Japan are the Omotesugi which grows over the rest of Honshu and Shikoku, and the Yakusgi in southern Kyushu.

Cold air rising from the gaps between the big rocks that form the slope meets warm air from the sea, and mean that the area is often misty and foggy which adds to the otherworldly atmosphere.

As with many old, large, or unusual trees in Japan, it is marked as sacred by a shimenawa wrapped around it and a torii gate in front.

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