Many hands, some feet: Kono Shrine

Where ever I go in Japan I am always on the lookout for shrines to explore. The number I have visited by now numbers in the thousands. My way favorite way to find shrines is by walking, but on car journeys my eyes are always peeled for torii. And so it was as we were driving up Rte 53 heading towards Tottori City passing through Chizu Town.

 

Kono Shrine, known locally as Nyakuichisan, appeared to be a fairly standard village shrine, but the whole point of exploring is to see if there is anything interesting or unusual. And here there certainly was.....

Inside the main shrine building was shelf upon shelf of wooden cutouts of hands and feet. They are a form of ema, votive tablet, and here is where you come if you have any kind of problem with your hands or feet.

 

Many of the ema were made by the local priest, and a stack was left in front of the building for petitioners to take and use. The priest asks for nothing in return, but the I suspect the saisenbako ( the wooden box on the front steps of shrines for donations) contains more money than most do. You write your name and address on the ema and then leave at the shrine. An unusual variation on the custom of leaving ema here is that if your prayers are answered, and you receive relief or healing for whatever ailment you were suffering, then you come back a second time and leave a second ema as thanks to the kami.

 

The origin of this custom lies in a legend from Okayama, south of Chizu. There was a benevolent giant name of Sanbutaro ( or Sanbotaro). He was so large that he could reach Kyoto in only three strides!! His head was buried down in Okayama, but for some reason that I have been unable to find out, his hands and feet were buried here.

 

Kono shrine is an amalgamation of 4 local shrines, so there are seven main kami enshrined here in all. The first, Susano, is well known to anyone who reads this blog. He is my favorite kami and the culture hero who created Izumo culture. According to Yamato mythology he is the brother of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess ancestor of the Imperial clan. The second is Onamuchi, which is another name for Okuninushi, the Izumo kami who "gave" Japan to the descendants of Amaterasu. Okuninushi is either the son of, or the 6th generation descendant of Susano, depending on which version of the myths you read. Most myths associated with Okuninushi take place in Inaba, the old name for Tottori. The third is Oyamazumi, the great Mountain God. He is the older brother of Amaterasu and Susano, and one of his daughters married Ninigi, Amaterasu's grandson who descended from heaven and took over Japan from Okuninushi. The son from this marriage was Jimmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan. The fourth is Uganomitama which is a kami of grains, and seems to be a female aspect of the similar Ukanomitama. Nowadays equated with Inari. A child of Susano and another daughter of Oyamazumi. Confused? There's more.....

 

The fifth is Oshihominomikoto, the father of Ninigi, and therefore the son of Amaterasu. Actually Oshihomi was one of 5 boys created by Susano which he gave to Amaterasu. She created 3 girls that she gave to Susano ( the Munakata sisters). The sixth is Hikohohodeminomikoto, a son of Ninigi. The seventh is Homusubi, the kami of fire, whose birth killed his mother Izanami. A sibling of Amaterasu, Susano, and Oyamazumi. Lots of incest in the genealogy of the kami!!!

Tottori Sand Dunes

This is a draincover from just outside Tottori City in Tottori Prefecture. It shows the major tourist attraction of the area, the Tottori Sand Dunes.

The dunes cover an area of almost 30 sq k, but is decreasing due to several man-made (read bureaucrat-made) factors. Often referred to as desert, this is simply not true as there is too much rainfall.

The dunes were formed by a combination of ocean currents and prevailing winds. The sand was originally the Chugoku Mountains to the south.

The dunes get about 2 million visitors a year, mostly Japanese. Very early in the morning is the best chance of seeing the ripples in the sand before they are wiped out by the hordes of tourist tracks.

The highest dunes are about 90m, and do offer nice views over the coast.

Nagashibina: Origin of Hina Dolls

This is one of the more than 1000 Hina dolls on display at the Nagashibina Doll Museum in Mochigase Town, Tottori



Nagashibina refers to a festival that was once common throughout Japan but is now only celebrated in a handful of places, Mochigase being one of them.




These are some of the dolls used in the festival. Based, like much of Japanese ancient religion, on Taoist rituals, the dolls are akin to scapegoats, bad luck, impurity, sin, etc being carried away by the dolls as they float down river to the sea.




The festival takes place at the end of March, but if you can't attend it the museum has displays showing the festival, including this tableau with dolls.



There are also life-size tableaux showing Hina Matsuri.

With over 1,000 dolls on display it is easy to spend several hours in the museum.



For some reason I was more drawn to the almost two dimensional paper dolls rather than the more intricate (and expensive) dolls.



If you are interested in dolls I would suspect it is well worth a visit, though like many of the more interesting sites in japan it is nowhere near Tokyo or a Shinkansen station. Mochigase is located on a local rail line south of Tottori City. Entrance to the museum is a mere 300yen.

Nagashibina Doll Museum

This is the draincover for Mochigase Town, now part of Tottori City.

It shows the Nagashibina Doll Museum which houses a collection of over 1,000 Hina dolls of the Edo period from all over Japan.

Mochigase Town is one of the few places in Japan that still practises the rituals at the heart of the Hina Matsuri.

There is a nice little garden and pond within the grounds

With the obligatory hungry koi!!!

The building itself is an unusual example of a large wooden building built in the traditional style.

Japanese Camels

Well of course there is no such thing as a Japanese Camel, and as far as I can find out there never has been.

These first two photos are of the Bactrician Camel, now native to Mongolia and part of China, though their prehistoric origin was probably North America.

These live in neighboring Tottori at the prefecture's most well-known tourist site, the Tottori Sand Dunes, where they give tourists short rides in the sand. Before I came to Japan, knowing how much I loved the desert my wife tried to convince me that Japan did in fact have a small desert. Tottori sand dunes is what she meant!

There was also a Dromedary or Arabian Camel. When i was a kid we used to ride camels at the zoo, and one time some years ago I did get up before dawn and ride a camel out into the Sahara to watch sunrise from the top of dunes similar to the ones here in Tottori.

The view from Kezo-Ji

At almost 450 meters above sea level, the views from Kezo-Ji are quite stunning.

Looking down on Daikon Island in the middle of Nakaumi. Nakaumi means Middle Sea, but technically its a lake. At 86 sq K its the fifth largest lake in japan. Behind Daikon Island is Yonago in Shimane and Yonago in Tottori. If the weather was clearer Daisen would have been visible.

Looking along the Shimane Peninsular towards Mihonoseki. In the middle is Sakaiminato in Tottori on the Yumigahama. In the Kuniyuzri myth this strip of land is a rope that tethers the Shimane Peninsular to Mt. Daisen. Not visible between Sakaiminato and the Shimane Peninsular is the narrow channel that connects Nakaumi to the sea.

The Japan Sea coast of the Shimane Peninsular. This is the area I walked on my Golden Week Walk.

Right down below.... part of Nobara village.

The west shore of the Nakaumi with Honjo.

Mizuki Shigeru Road

I really enjoyed our afternoon in Sakaiminato, and as well as the collection of bronze yokai sculptures (a small selection of which you can see here, here, and here ) there are yokai all over the place.

The trains on the JR Sakai Line, which connect Sakaiminato to Yonago, are decorated inside and out with scenes from Shigeru's stories.

The street lamps around the station appear as Medama Oyaji, Daddy Eyeball.

Halfway down the street there is even a faux "shrine" complete with ema.

Paintings and drawings of yokai adorn the walls and even the sidewalks of the street

Lining both sides of the street are shops selling yokai products of every conceivable type, masks, canned drinks, clocks, the usual range of Japanese omiage with yokai packaging. It was hard to find any type of product that wasn't made in a yokai form. When I next visit I intend to see if I can find some yokai condoms.



There is also another large set of "negative space" sculptures on the street and at a nearby seaside park.

Finally, there is the Mizuki Shigeru Museum which has displays of Shigeru related materials, numerous screens showing anime, and yokai material from around the world collected by Shigeru.

Yokai Gallery 3

This is the third post on the yokai sculptures on the Mizuki Shigeru Road. Details in Yokai Gallery 1

Salaryman Yamada is not, as far as I can tell, a yokai, but he is a character in Mizuki Shigeru's work, and is based on a friend of his.

Omotogami is another name for Omotojin, also known as Kojin in neighboring Izumo. I was surprised to see it classified as a yokai as it is in fact a common kami in this part of the world. It is often known as an aragami, which is usuually translated as "rough deity", but I prefer the translation "turbulent deity", as it is a force of nature and quite capable of causing damage. More posts on Omoto here

These are Shigeru's creation, Daruma and guts, and are based on the well-known Daruma, who was the Bodhidharma who brought Zen (Chan in Chinese) from India to China. In his common form he has no arms or legs as they have atrophied from years of sitting in meditation. In Shigeru's daruma, the little creatures are daruma's "guts", and if they are killed Daruma becomes weaker.

Uwan is an invisible Yokai that inhabits old houses and temples. His shouts can only be heard inside the building. In the Edo period artists began painting images of various "invisible" yokai.

Medama Oyaji is the father of Kitaro, Shigeru's most famous character. A ghost reborn as just an eyeball, the character is known as Daddy Eyeball in the english version. He loves to stay clean and is often found bathing in a bowl.

Keukegen is completely covered in hair and is known to cause disease in humans. It inhabits damp, airless spaces, so the solution is to open windows and doors and allow some air circulation.

Yamabiko is a tree spirit living in the mountains that creates the echoes you hear in the mountains.

Syunobon is a yokai originally from Fukushima. When following you he appears human, but will startle you by reverting to his original form.

Aonyoubou (Blue Wife) is a form of Goryu, an "angry ghost". The most famous Goryu is Michizane Sugawara, commonly known as Tennjin. Humans killed for political reasons are particularly prone to be angry ghosts.

Yokai Gallery 1

Yokai Gallery 2

Yokai Gallery 2

Yokai

This is a follow on post from Yokai Gallery 1

This is a Sazaeoni. A sazae is a shellfish known as Turban Snail in English. When a turban snail reaches 30 years of age it turns into a "turban snail ogre", sazaeoni. It can turn itself into a beautiful woman, and, as the story goes, when rescued from the sea by sailors will have sex with all of them but cut off the testicles afterwards.

Housoushi was a kind of exorcist who used his four eyes to watch over the four directions and dispel invisible "pollution". He seems to be developed from a Chinese shaman/magician. There are still ceremonies held in several Kyoto shrines involving Houssoushi, but he somehow dissapeared or fell out of favor in the ninth century.

Hyakume, literally "one hundred eyes", is a yokai that protects shrines from thieves. It is said that if you steal from a shrine then one of hyakume's eyes will chase after you until it attaches itself to you. It is possible that this is related to the symbol that was tattooed on convicted thieves.

Rokurokubi during the daytime look just like normal people, but at night they can stretch their necks to tremendous lengths and seem to delight in scaring people, especially it is said, drunks. There are buddhist versions of Rokurokubi that actually were humans who broke buddhist precepts, and were more bloodthirsty and demonic than other Rokurokubi.

Dorotabo was a hard-working farmer who died. His son who inherited the land was a bit of a wastrel who rather than work the land sold it off. Whenever the new owner tried to work in the paddies Dorotabo would emerge from the mud screaming "this is my land!!!". Interestingly his one eye maybe connected with ancient fertility rites, literally "the one-eyed trouser snake"!

Isogashi is the Japanese word for "busy", and is an invisible spirit that possesses people and drives them to busyness. I know a lot of Japanese possessed by this yokai.

If you've ever been walking down a dark country lane at night and felt as if you are being followed, but turn around and there is no-one there, chances are it is Betobetosan following you. The solution is to say "Betobetosan!... after you!" and he will pass you.

Looking like a Harry Harryhausen creation, Kanibouzu was a giant crab that hid in a temple and took the form of a buddhist monk. Whenever people visited the temple he would kill and eat them.

Hyoutoku is a variation of Kyotoko. In the story, a poor old couple meet a beautiful woman in the forest and she gives them a baby boy. They take him home and notice that the little boy is constantly poking his bellybutton until eventually gold starts coming out of it and the old couple become rich.

Yokai Gallery 1
Yokai Gallery 3