Hannya-ji Special Temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

With a beautifully restored thatched Nio gate, Hannya-ji Temple is located on a mountaintop between Yanai and Hirao in Yamaguchi.

When I arrived on the afternoon of the 21st November, the 19th day of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage,  the autumn colours were full on.

The Niomon has a pair of fine Nio said to date to the Kamakura Period, though they have been renovayed multiple times since then. The gate itself dates to 1813.

Hannyaji is one of the extra temples added on to the 33 numbered temples.

It claims to have been founded in 567 and the temple is mentioned in documents from the late 6th century so there seems to be some basis for the date.

The temple is named after a beautiful princess, Hannyahime, and the story has several versions which I will pick and choose from for my version....

A wealthy man in what is now Oita, Manano Choja, had a beautiful daughter whose beauty was known of even in the capital. The prince who would become Emperor Yomei secretly visited the area and the couple fell in love and she became pregnant. The prince had to return to the capital and the princess said that if the child was a boy she would bring him up to the capital as an heir for the prince, but if it was a girl then she would leave her with her parents as an heir.

She gave birth to a daughter, so she left on the journey up to the capital. In the area near where Hannyaji now stands the boat encountered a storm. Some say she was washed up on shore and died shortly after, others that she sacrificed herself to the underwater Dragon King to save the lives of others. Her grave is said to be where the Kannon-do now stands.

Emperor Yomei himself ordered the construction of the temple. It is said that the statue of Kannon resembles the princess.

The view from the temple. Down below is where Princess Hannya is said to have died.

I had come across the story of Princess Hannya and her father before at several sites in Kyushu. 

Manano Choja is said to have been responsible for the founding of Renjoji Temple in Bungo Ono. His grave is said to be there. He is also said to have donated the 1,000 Medicine Buddhas there when his daughter was sick. Near to the temple is a twenty metre tall statue of the princess. I didnt photograph it at that time but have since been back and photographed it. At some point down the line I will post it.

The other site connected to Manano is further south in Usuki. It is said he paid to have the first cliff-carvings done here. Nearby Mangetsji Temple also claims to be his gravesite.

The above structure is the Myoken-do which has since been demolished. In its place a new hexagonal building, the Juo-do, has been built.

The temple was given extensive lands, but by the 14th century it had fallen into disuse and was uninhabited. Above is the Kannon Hall.

It was rebuilt and by the 15th century had grown powerful again with 120 branch temples.

It was supported by the Ouchi and then the Mori clans.

Above is the main hall enshring Dainichi Nyorai.

The bell in the bell tower, which I didnt photograph, is dated to 1255

The statue of Enma is now housed in the new Juo Hall.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was Daisho-in on Miyajima.

The previous post in the series was on Yanai, the historical town at the base of the mountain.

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Takuno Port

 

From the harbour at Nima, it is not far to Takuno port, with just the Nima beach, a small headland, and a small cove in-between.

There are a couple of small islands just offshore and they provide good protection so the harbour became one of the Kitamaebune ports. The next Kitamaebune port down the coast is Yunotsu.

The small town has several warehouses and large merchant homes that would have prospered during the Edo and Meiji periods when the trade route was at its peak.

I have passed through Takuno several times, most recently while walking the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage.

The largest of the offshore islets is called Karashima and according to the myth it was the "stone boat" that brought Susano from the Korean peninsula in a little-known variation on the ancient myths of Japan.

Nowadays there are no tradeships, only inshore fishing boats and a few squid boats use the harbour.

However, like so much of the Shimane coastline, there are plenty of fine views.

The previous post in this series exploring the coastline of the Sea of Japan was on Nima harbour.

Yurahime "Squid" Shrine Oki Islands

 

Yurahime Shrine was the highest-ranked shrine in all of the Oki Islands more than  1,000 years ago.

It is located onNishinoshima Island on Ika Yose No Hama which translates as "squid gathering beach" which explains the figures in the shallow water in front of the shrine.

The main deity enshrined here is Yurahime no mikoto, a female deity of fishing, and she is not enshrined at any other shrine.

According to the story, she was in a small boat and while trailing a hand in the water a squid bit her.

To atone and apologize, the squid decided to gather in the shallow waters of the bay every year and allow the islanders to scoop them up.

Some sources say the shrine was originally on Chiburijima and when the shrine moved here the squid followed. Some sources also say the goddess was returning from having visited Izumo Taisha.

It is said that the catch of squid is very much reduced from what it was in former times. The shrine is a popular spot for viewing cherry blossoms.

The previous post in this series on the Oki Islands was the ferry journey between Chibu and Nishinoshima.

Misetaireiseki Shrine & the Myth of Empress Jingu

Misetaireiseki Shrine & the Myth of Empress Jingu

Heading south from Rikitake I come to the most substantial shrine of the day that is obviously much  more than just a village shrine.

According to the legend, Emperor Chuai, the 14th "emperor", was unusual in several respects. He was the first emperor who was not a son of an emperor. He was also based in Kyushu rather than Yamato in central Japan. According to the Kojiki and Nihongi he reigned in the late 2nd century, but these dates have been known to be out by centuries since the Edo period but are still adhered to in much official literature.

He is said to have had a temporary palace at this spot during his military campaign to subdue the Kumaso tribe. His "wife", later known as Jingu, had a vision and suggested he not attack the Kumaso but rather invade Korea, but he scoffed at the idea.

In the ensuing battle the Kumaso were victorious and Chuai was mortally wounded by a poison arrow. Fearing that news of his death would demoralize the troops, Jingu put on Chuai's armour and led the troops to success. Further north at what is now Kashii Shrine, she announced Chuai's death and then led her troops on an invasion of Sila on the Korean peninsula.

There is absolutely zero historical evidence of such an invasion, but in the 20th century, the Jingu myth was used to justify the occupation of Korea.

According to the myth, she took with her a stone containing the spirit of Chuai, and on her return left it here and founded the shrine to protect Korea.

According to the myth, for the three years of the Korea campaign she was pregnant with Chuai's child and gave birth on her return to a son who became Emperor Ojin. This is where historians divide the Yayoi period from the ensuing Kofun period.

It looks as if the Yayoi period is characterized by immigration and cultural and technological import from southern China, SE Asia, and even the pacific islands, whereas the Kofun period is marked by massive influx of Korean culture and technology......

The third photo is of the rock around which the shrine is based.  The 6th photo is inside the Awashima Shrine in the grounds. Misetaireiseki Shrine is one of only a few shrines in the Chikugo region that were listed in the Engi Shiki, which means it used to be quite important.