Ogamiyama Shrine

 

Ogamiyama Shrine has a long and somewhat unusual history. It is mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki, and is listed in the Engi Shiki, and is the Ninomiya, second-ranked shrine, of Hoki Province.

Mount Daisen has long been a sacred mountain, and the shrine's origins lie in a small shrine built high up on the mountain by ascetic monks.

As the mountain was covered in deep snow during the winter, a second shrine, this shrine, was built down below so people could worship in the winter. The top shrine became known as the summer shrine and this one was the winter shrine.

The kami enshrined here is Okuninushi. In ancient times, when the Fudoki were written, Okuninushi was considered to reside in/on Mount Daisen. All the stories of Okuninushi come from what is now Tottori, and at the northern base of Daisen is a Yayoi settlement that was one of the biggest in all of Japan, a strong possibility for the capital of an Izumo Polity that ceded the country to the Yamato.

As the mountain shifted to a more Buddhist-oriented mountain worship, the main deity of the mountain became Jizo.

The mountain was a huge shugendo centre with at one point 189 sub-temples and a community of 3,000 "warrior monks". The most famous warrior monk was Benkei, and there are stories that he spent time on Daisen.

The current shrine buildings date to the mid-Edo period. The grounds have 1,000 Hydrangea bushes, and this is one of the top hydrangea spots in Tottori.

The Tottori Association of Shrines says that along with Okuninushi, also enshrined here is Oyamatsumi, Susano, & Sukunahikona.

Secondary shrines in the grounds include a Misaki Shrine enshrining Amaterasu and two other kami.

In 1868 with the separation of Buddhas and Kami, Jizo was removed from the shrine at 900m, the summer shrine, and it became the Okumiya, inner shrine; this shrine, the winter shrine, became the main shrine.

Flanked by two foxes is the "worship from afar" shrine, enabling those unable to climb the mountain to the inner shrine to worship from afar.

As well as the hydrangeas, the large shrine grounds also includes one of the biggest Iris gardens in the San-in region.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk into Tottori that ended the previous day.

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Suta Shrine & Iwasaki Shrine

 

While crossing a hilly section between the Ou Plain and the Inashi River Valley, I stopped in at a couple of small shrines.

The first, Suta Shrine, was mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki as a fertility shrine and was also listed in the Engi Shiki.

However, during the Edo Period it became associated with Inari worship, and that is the kami listed now as the main kami.

The secondary kami is Kanayamahiko, a kami of metals and mining, and was brought here in 1911 during the shrine consolidation program when a nearby shrine, Suda Hei Shrine, was transferred here. It too was a shrine mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki. Another shrine, Iu no Mori Shrine, was merged with Suta Shrine in 1874. That kami is Yatsukamizuomizu, a water kami, grandfather of Okuninushi and great, great, grandson of Susano.

A little further and I came to Iwasaki Shrine.

It is actually not much more than a small honden inside a structure to protect it from the weather.

There is no kami listed for the shrine although it was known as Gion-sha locally as it had been effective against plague earlier. Behind the small honden is a large rock and it is quite probable that this was the original objectb of worship.

Right next to the entrance to the shrine is a shrine to Toshitokujin. On the map, I had passed near  quite a few of these on this walk. It seems that Higashi Izumo was a centre of Toshitokujin worship, an Onmyodo deity.

The previous post in this series on day 44 of my Chugoku Pilgrimage was on the walk across the Ou Plain.

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Onbara Hachimangu

 

After walking through the small settlement of Onbara on the bank of the Gonokawa River, I stop in at rhe local shrine.

It's a Hachimangu, not surprising, and appears to be a fairly typical local shrine of the area...

However, with a bit of digging I was able to find a few stories in its history.

The Hachimangu was established in 1603, but prior to that the villagers were parishioners of an Amatsu Shrine which is about 4 kilometers upriver and on the opposite bank. That in itself is quite unusual, though Amatsu Shrine was obviously fairly important as it is ranked as a Sannomiya.

For those villagers that couldn't make the journey to Amatsu Shrine, they would gather on this hill and set up altars and perform rituals to worship it from afar, so it looks like the establishing of the Hachimangu was on a site already with spiritual significnce to the villagers.

In the 18th century someone stole the goshintai of the shrine, the object inside the honden that the kami inhabits when visiting. No info is given on what the goshintai was, though it was often a Buddhist statue or sometimes a rock. Nowadays, we are told that goshintai are supposed to be a mirror, though that is a largely modern "tradition". A new goshintai was enshrined. However, in the 19th century the old goshintai was discovered in the grounds so it was enshrined in a new structure named the Old Hachimangu. It now stands next to another small shrine, a Yama Shrine that used to be located at an old mine nearby that closed down.

The previous post in this series on my walk up the Gonokawa River to its source was on my walk into Onbara.

if you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.

Taikodani Inari Shrine

 

Taikodani Inari Shrine is located in the castle town of Tsuwano in the remote mountains of Shimane.

It is generally considered to be one of the top 5 Inari shrines in Japan, though its exact ranking will vary by whichever part of the country you are in.

Across the valley next to National Route 9, the former San-in Do, a huge vermillion torii is visible.

Founded in the late 18th century, the shrine was used exclusively by the domain lord and his samurai as it was within the castle grounds.

It became public in the late 19th century when the castle was decommisioned.

There is now a road that accesses the shrine, but the original entry was via a tunnel of torii that switchbacks up the hillside.

The shrines location on the mountainside offers some panoramic views down on the town and over the surrounding area....

The shrine occupies the kimon position.... NE of the castle and protecting it from the evil influences that come from that direction

The shrine gets a lot of visitors and is the second most popular shrine in all of Shimane, beaten only by Izumo Taisha.

As an Inari Shrine the eshrined kami is officially Uganokitama.....

When the shrine was opened to the public in the late 19th century, a Kumano Gongensha was relocated to within the shrine and renamed Kumano Shrine, enshrining Izanami. Officially it is a co-shrine, and izanami is enshrined within the main honden.

The name Inari at Taikodani is written with a different kanji than most Inari shrines. with a meaning of granting wishes, rather than the more usual meanin connected to rice harvest.

According to the story, a castle official lost an important key and was ordered to commit suicide. Instead he went to the shrine and prayed for seven days and then found the key. The Daimyo is then said to have changed the kanji in response.

On the lower level of the shrine is a purpose-built area for traffic safety ceremonies.

The tunnel of torii that leads up to the main shrine comprises 263 steps....

It is claimed that almost 1,000 torii line the way, but I think that may be an exaggeration.

There is a Treasure hall at the shrine open to the public, but I have never been inside so can't report.

There are some quite impressive, big, old pine trees ....

The current main hall is concrete and was built in 1969.

The earlier main hall, located opposite, is now called Motomiya Shrine and is operated as a branch of the main hall...

Behind it is a Myobu Shrine, enshrining the white fox considered messenger of Inari

The main offering at the shrine is fried tofu which can be purchased at the main shrine shop or at a small shop halfway up the torii tunnel.

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the big thatched Zen temple down below, Yomeiji.

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