Kishigawa Line

 

The Kishigawa Line is the only line of the Wakayama Electric Railway. It runs 14.3 kilometers from Wakayama Station to Kishi Station. Japan has some delightful small railway lines, and not far south from here is the Kishu Railway, the shortest in Japan.

Some cars of the Kishigawa Line have interiors designed by Eiji Mitooka. I have ridden several of his trains in Kyushu, and find them quite interesting and satisfying. A few trains are still in the livery of Nankai  Railway who owned the line until 2006.

On day 9 of my walk along the Saigoku Pilgrimage, which at this point is still the Kumano Kodo, I take a slight detour to 3 famous shrines that can be reached on the line.

The railway's fortunes have vastly improved since they started having cat "stationmasters". This has brought in huge numbers of tourists.

The original cat was called Tama and he was based at the terminal station in Kishi.

Several more cats have been added, and some have passed on.

The photos at the bottom are of Idakiso Station, where I rejoined my walk along the Kumano Kodo.

The cat here was named Nitama, literally Tama 2, but when he is unavailable for duty, a stuffed cat is placed in his glass case... When Tama died, Tama 2 was promoted and moved to Kishi Station, and a new cat added here.

The previous post was on Fujishiro Oji Shrine, considered the start of the Kumano Kodo and the last stop on yesterday's walk.

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Fujishiro Toge... the Final Pass

 

The final leg of the day's walk along the Kiiji route of the Kumano Kodo from Yuasa to Kainan was over the Fujishirotoge Pass.

It had been a thoroughly enjoyable day, and one of my favorite sections of the numerous Kumano Kodo trails I had walked in the previous week or so....

After leaving Fukusho-ji temple and its glorious display of cherry blossoms, the route heads uphill and offers a view back down on Shimotsu.

Jizobu-ji temple is located at the foot of the steepest part of the trail over the pass. The current building dates to the early 16th century.

The trail now enters a bamboo forest.....

Not exactly sure what this is.... I think it is a rock that the local daimyo thought looked like a giant inkstone and so had a stonecarver "enhance" it....

The bamboo forest was delightful....

Not manicured like the famous bamboo forest in Arashiyama, but better for not being so....

After the pass Kainan comes into view.....

Quite an industrial port, ENEOS has an oil terminal here...

Kainan is the start of the large urban area that spreads out from Wakayama City...

The previous post was on Fukushoji Temple.....

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Fukushoji Temple Cherry Blossoms, Sacred Waterfall, & Tengu Legend

 

After crossing over the small Kamo River in  Kitsumoto, the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo starts to head uphill towards the next pass, but a huge swath of cherry trees in full bloom beackon to take a small detour.

The climb up to Fukushoji Temple was well worth it, as evidenced by the large group of day-walkers also there...

Not only a ton of sakura, but great views, and a sacred waterfall....

I have to say that this section of the route, from Yuasa to Kainan, was one of the best sections of the Kumano Kodo for me....

The falls are named Urami no Taki, given that name by Yorinobu Tokugawa, the first daimyo of the Kishu Domain.

It is possible to walk behind the 20 metre high falls.....

It is said to be a bit more spectacular after a period of heavy rain, when it can be up to 30 meters wide.

Not sure when the temple was founded, but it is recorded that Kobo Daishi visited the temple in 804 and performed rituals in preparation of his upcoming trip to China.

The honzon is a Thousan-armed Kannon, but there are also a a Kokuzo and a Fudo Myoo.

The main hall dates to at least 1512, maybe earlier. The Gumonji Hall dates to 1650 as does the Bell Tower. All three are Important Cultural Properties.

The legend about the tengu is as follows..... One lived in one of the huge sacred trees behind the temple, but as it was cold in winter a local family allowed him to stay in their storehouse.

The daughter-in-law of the family would bring the tengu food, and he would respond with requests to be able to offer something in return as it was driving him crazy just taking and not being able to repay the kindness...

Eventually the daughter-in-law suggested that the uncle of the family was old and now bedridden but had always wanted to visit the Kumano Sanzan, and so the tengu carried the old man on his back down the pilgrimage trail to Kumano.

There is the imprint of a tengu foot in the floor of the veranda of the temple, though I didn't notice it...

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Saigoku and Kumano Kodo Pilgrimages was on a couple of nearby shrines connected to the introduction of mandarins into Japan.

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Tokujoji Princess Chujo Temple

 

Tokujoji, a Jodo sect temple on the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo is commonly known as Chujohime Temple.

Sometimes referred to as the Japanese Cinderella, the folktale of Chujohime, Princess Chujo, has some connection with historical legends and numerous versions exist. I will give the version based here at Tokujoji.

The princess was born in 747, to a court noble, Fujiwara Toyonari. her mother died when she was three and her father remarried. Her stepmother disliked her and when she was 13 had the princess abandoned in the mountains near here. The stepmothers servant was supposed to hill the prinvess but took pity on her and built her a hut for shelter.

While in the hut the princess copied a thousand copies of a sutra over three years. her hut was named Anyo-in. Centuries later it was renamed Tokujoji. It was moved several times until 1628 when it ws moved to its current location.

The main hall dates to 1752. There is also the Kaisan-do housing statues of Chujohime and her husband.

The metal walkway in photo 3 is used for a ceremony, unique to the temple,  with a parade of Bodhisattvas, young women wearing golden masks....

The temple owns several artworks said to have been created by Chujohime. They were donated by Taimadera, a temple connected to another version of the Princess Chujo story.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Saigoku Pilgrimage and Kumano Kodo was on the nearby Itoga Inari Shrine.

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.