Rokusho Shrine

Rokusho Shrine

Not far from Kamosu Shrine is Rokusho Shrine, one of the 6 Shrines of Ou and the main shrine of the Provincial Government Offices in the Nara Period.

For me, however, the most interesting thing here is the 5 different Kojin altars with their serpents made from rice straw. An earlier post on the Kojin here.

The vast majority of shrines in Izumo have at least one Kojin altar. The five here would have been brought in from nearby areas during the "shrine consolidation" program of the late Meiji government.

The Kojin here are not as impressive as some of the ones at Adakaya Shrine, a few kilometers away, but still have the stylistic head and jaws. In Iwami, the similar kami is called Omoto, and our serpents have much smaller heads and narrower bodies.

Rokusho means "six shrines" and refers to the six kami enshrined here: Izanami, Izanagi, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tsukiyomi, & Okuninushi.

There appear to only three secondary shrines other than the Kojin altars, but in ancient times when the provincial government was in operation Rokusho Shrine was the Soja Shrine wherein all the kami from the shrines in the province that the governor should visit are collected together in the Soja Shrine so he didn't have to travel.

Behind the shrine is a historic site where the layout of the government offices can be seen.

The previous post was on Kamosu Shrine with its National Treasure main hall.

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Tsukiyomi Shrine Sakurajima

Tsukiyomi Shrine is not a big shrine, but it is the largest shrine near Sakurajima, the active volcano and former island across the water from Kagoshima City.

The shrine was moved to its current location after lava flows overran its previous location. It is just a short walk from the ferry port so gets many visitors. From the shrine there are good views of the volcano.

As the name suggests, the main kami at the shrine is Tsukiyomi, common ly known as the kami of the moon. Tsukiyomi came into being when Izanagi purified himself after visiting the underworld. Amaterasu and Susano were created at the same time. Amaterasu and Susano are much more well known. Tsukiyomi barely gets a mention in the ancient chronicles

Also enshrined here is Konohanasakuya Hime, who was the first wife of Ninigi, the grandson of Amaterasu sent to earth to rule over Japan. She is considered the kami of Mount Fuji and all volcanoes.

Rokusho Shrine

Located in a grove of trees surrounded by rice paddies, Rokusho Shrine is, like Iya Shrine and Adakaya Shrine, part of a 6 shrine pilgrimage in the Ou district of eastern Izumo.

Behind the shrine there are posts showing the layout of what was the provincial government buildings during the Nara and early Heian Period.

Rokusho Shrine is called a Soja, a shrine where different kami are gathered together in one place. usually this was to make it easier for district officials to visit the shrines in their area, a case of bringing the mountain to Mohamed, but here it seems to be a collection of the six most important national kami. Collectively enshrined here are Izanagi and Izanami, their "offspring" Amaterasu, Susano, and Tsukiyomi, and Onamuchi, otherwise known as Okuninushi. All six kami are mythologically local to this region as well as being nationally important.

There are three secondary shrines in the grounds, a Tenmangu, Chomei, & Oji, but for me the most interesting are the Kojin altars,

There are a total of 5 of these altars...... next post.

Tsurue Shinmeigu

Tsurue Shinmeigu is located on a small island in the north of Hagi, Yamaguchi. The channel seperating the island from the mainland is only a few meters wide so it doesnt feel like an island.

The shrine was founded around the end of the Heian Period, 5 centuries or so before Hagi became the Mori clans castle town. It is a branch of Ise Shrine.

Amaterasu is therefore the primary kami, but many others are enshrined within the grounds, including Takamusubi, and Kunitokotachi who were among the group of primary kami that created the universe and then disappeared from the mythology.

Another group of kami enshrined here are Omoikane, Futodama, Koyane, and Tajikarao. These kami all played a part in luring Amaterasu out of the Heavenly Rock Cave and also accompanied Ninigi on his descent to Earth. They are considered ancestors of some of the powerful clans of ritualists of the Yamato.

Also enshrined here and connected to Amaterasu and the Yamato is Ninigi and Tsukiyomi.
From the lineage of Susano there are two kami enshrined, Okuninushi, and Otoshi.
Finally there is an Inari shrine.

Tsukigata Shrine

While heading back to the main road after visiting Enko-ji I passed by this small shrine, Tsukigata Shrine.

Tsukigata means "moon-shaped", and I am guessing it refers to the rock outcropping behind the shrine.

According to the sign the main kami enshrined here, not surprisingly perhaps, is Tsukiyomi, the moon kami. There are surprisingly few shrines to Tsukiyomi, Surprising because Tsukiyomi, Susano, and Amaterasu were all created at the same time, but whereas Susano and Amaterasu feature in much of the later mythology, Tsukiyomi is barely mentioned again.

Three Lights Shrine

This is not a mosque, but a shrine. The symbol is of the three kami enshrined at Mihashinoyama Shrine on Sangaisan, at 378 metres the highest mountain overlooking Hamada.

The three kami are Amaterasu, represented as the sun, Tsukiyomi, the kami of the moon, and Susano represented as a star,.... the three lights.

There are actually 3 shrines on the mountaintop, lower, middle, and upper. The middle shrine, shown above, contains the main buildings, and is in the style of the meiji era, so I suspect that the attribution of the 3 kami occurred at that time. Prior to that the 3 kami were known as Gongen, buddhist manifestations of Japanese kami.

The most common version of the story of the creation of the 3 kami is from the Kojiki, when Izanagi fled from visiting his dead wife, Izanami, in the underworld, Yomi. While ritually purifying himself in a stream, Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi, and Susano are expelled from Izanagi's eyes and nose.

In the Kojiki version of the myths, thats the last we hear of Tsukiyomi, and there are very few shrines to him in Japan. I've never come across another shrine where all 3 of the kami are represented in the same way as here.

The mountaintop shrine was known as a place to view sunrise, and a place to pray for safety on sea journeys and for fishing.

There are great views looking down over Hamada as well as down the coast and also inland.

Its possible to drive to within a few hundred meters of the shrine, and there is a footpath up the mountain that starts behind the University.