Shigaku Kojin Shrine Okuizumo

 

Shigaku Kojin Shrine in Sajiro, a small rural settlement in the mountains of Okuizumo is curious indeed, having a modern 8-storey concrete pagoda and a modern footbridge crossing the road.

In 1986 it was rebuilt by Yoshio Tane, a local man who went on to great success as the founder of Paris Miki, a major chain of retail glasses stores with branches all across the country, even, until recently, one here in his home village.

I believe the shrine is now its own "religious corporation" and was visited by Yoshio when he was a child. I am not sure what the pagoda is all about as my understanding is a pagoda is a kind of reliquary and memorial.

The kami is said to be a kami of children's learning and ambition.

A gold-painted bust of him was erected in the shrine ground on the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2005

As well as the shrine he also built a modern community centre on the site of his childhood home and opened a natural history museum that includes a hotel and so offers a genuine "Night In The Museum" experience

Sokoji Temple the first Soto Zen Temple in Izumo

 

Sokoji was a delightful surprise for me.

From the main road I spotted a splash of autumn colour among a stand of huge trees behind a traditional wall and headed up to explore....

What I discovered was a fairly large Zen temple....

Sokoji was founded in 1394 by a man who became a monk at an early age and after studying under various sects returned home and founded this Soto sect temple.

After falling into disrepair, the temple was rebuilt in 1652. It was rebuilt again in 1728 and that main hall still stands.

In 1994 to mark the 600th anniversary of the founding most of the structures were renovated, including replacing the thatched roof of the main hall with tile.

At that time a new garden was constructed behind the main buildings, but I was unable to see it.

A smaller garden to the left of the main buildings was however quite delightful.

The honzon is an Amida. The temple holds monthly zazen sessions and is open to the public, to view the garden, twice a week.

The previous post in this series on Okuizumo was on the Oni no Shitaburui Gorge.

Oni no Shitaburui Gorge

 

Oni no Shitaburui Gorge is a narrow gorge in the remote Chugoku mountains in the Okuizumo region of Shimane.

The Omaki River has cut the boulder-strewn gorge over millions of years as it heads downstream to join the Hii River.

For 2 kilometers a boardwalk allows visitors, including those  wheelchairs and baby strollers, to explore the views of this scenic gorge.

There are also other trails for those who want a slightly more rugged hike.

Many of the rock formations seen along the way have names, like Crying Demon, Cows Neck, Whale Rock.

Ancient myths tell of a beautiful princess who lived here and of a crocodile who fell in love with her. Attempting to woo her the crocodile headed up the river and the fearful princess filled the gorge with rocks to stop the crocodile's progress. In some versions told nowadays the crocodile has been changed into a shark.

As the valley widens the trail climbs up to the pedestrian suspension bridge 45 meters above the water from where great views can be head over the surrounding mountains as well as down the valley.

Near the parking lot at the bridge is a small cafe serving local specialties like boar-meat croquettes. From here there is a bus down to the nearest stations. Another parking lot is at the to end of the gorge.

It is possible to reach the gorge from the  Itohara Estate, about 1k from the middle section of the gorge.

The previous post in this series exploring Okuizumo was on the garden at the Sakurai Manor.

Sakurai Samurai Mansion Garden

 

The garden at the Sakurai samurai mansion in Okuizumo, Shimane, has one of the biggest waterfalls of any Edo Period garden in Japan.

Located high up in the remote Chugoku Mountains, the Sakurai were a high-ranking samurai family who moved into the area to control the very lucrative iron and steel production of the area.

Many of the surviving buildings of their estate date back to the mid-Edo period, as does the garden.

The garden's main feature is the waterfall cascading down the rocky hillside into a carp-filled pool.

The garden and the area around the estate is especially popular in Autumn. However, the site has been used as a location in a popular TV drama called Vivant, and so has recently become popular year-round.

The mansion used to host the Matsue Daimyo when he toured the area.

The most famous Matsue Daimyo was known as Fumai and was a renowned master of the Tea Ceremony. He named the waterfall Iwanami and it is registered as a National Scenic Spot.

The rustic teahouse on the edge of the pond was designed by Meiji-era painter Naoiri Tanomura while staying here as a guest of the Sakurai.

The previous post was on the interior and exterior of the mansion.

Sakurai Family Samurai Mansion

 

The Sakurai were a samurai family who controlled iron production in an area of Okuizumo in the Chugoku Mountains of Shimane.

Originally from what is now Hiroshima, the family moved here in 1644 from the Kabe district and so were known locally as Kabeya.

Just below the old manor is a modern museum called Kabeya Shuseikan displaying artifacts from the family history.

The main house was built in 1738. The main residence sometimes served as a honjin, a guesthouse for when the Daimyo was traveling in the area

The most notable feature of the manor is the garden, and that will get a full post next....

There were several other samurai families controlling iron production in the region, probably the most important iron-producing region in Japan.

Down the mountains, the Itohara Family Residence is another big samurai manor with a garden and also a museum devoted to tatara iron making.

Near to the Sakurai Residence is more modern version of a tatara forge, and in the town of Yokota is a big museum devoted to tatara and samurai swords

Tameshigiri Testing a New Samurai Sword

Tameshigiri

Tameshigiri is the art of testing a new sword. In the good old days this would often be done using the body of an executed criminal, but sometimes on a live criminal.

When this no longer became practical a substitute was discovered that mimicked the properties of human bodies. Wet goza, the reed mats that cover tatami flooring, when wrapped around bamboo, was close to a human limb.

Nowadays Tameshigiri is a kind of an exhibition martial art, but the goza is not wet and is not wrapped around bamboo.

There are a variety of different cuts and arrangements in Tamegishiri. One of the more difficult is called Tsubamegaeshi. A vertical roll of goza is first cut with a 45 degree downward cut from left to right. then followed by an upward 45 degree cut from right to left below the first cut. Then before the cut piece can fall it is cut in half horizontally from left to right, and a final cut on the remaining standing piece of roll is cut horizontally from right to left. All in the blink of an eye. see Photo 3

This video and these photos were taken at a demonstration of Tamegishiri at the Okuizumo Tatara and Sword Museum and the sword master is Mr. Yoshihara.

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