Autumn in Omori

 

After leaving Chokoji Temple it was just half an hours drive u to Omori In Iwami Ginzan. On arrival we were treated to a classic Autimn scene,.... harvested rice in front of a thatched farmhouse.

Omori is the most visited of the haf dozen sites that make u the Iwami Ginzan UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is the settlement below the mine where the merchants, samurai, and bureaucrats lived.

Omori is primarily a long, single street alongside a small stream. We started at the top of the village and walked down to the bottom where the most important people lived.

There are a couple of side lanes that usually lead to temples, and its here that you find a kittle autumn color.

However, at the bottom of the village is the main shrine, and here we found an abundance of Autumn colr, so that will be next up.....

Tenryuji Sogenchi Garden in Autumn

 

Though I usually try to post about less familiar sights in Japan, sometimes I go to the very popular places, especia;y when I have overseas visitors who want to see cliche Japan.

Sp here are some photos from one of the most photographed sites in Japan, the garden at Tenryuji Temple in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

If you like your zen moment to be shared with thousands of like-minded people, then Kyoto is the place to go;;;;

Tenryiji Temple is one of the World heritage sites in Kyoto.

The Sogenchi Garden is apparenty little changed from when it was created in the mid 14th cetury by Muso Soseki, the monk who founded the temple.

There are numerous gardens within the temples grounds, but the Sogenchi garden is the biggest and most well known.

Based around a large pond, the garden uses the "borrowed scenery" of the mountains behind.

Kurume Naritasan Mahabodhi Temple

 

Readers of my recent post on the Giant Kannon Statue in Kurume will have noticed the appearance of a distinctly Indian-looking building. 

This is a representation of the Mahabodhi Temple in India, built on the site of where the historical Buddha reached enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Often claimed to be a copy or replica of the original, it is in fact a stylized representation of the original. It stands 38 meters tall, whereas the original is much taller, and the architectural details are somewhat different..

There are numerous similar representations of the original tower in other countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, etc and these copies have also altered the appearance to fit in with their own architectural heritage.

Hosshinmon Oji

 

Day three of my walk along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage and I leave Hongu and start to head west towards the coast. It was very misty. The first week or so of the Saigoku pilgrimage follows the same route as the Kumano Kodo, though in the opposite direction.

The next section of the route is by far the most popular of the various Kumano Kodo routes, and I expect to pass lots more people heading in the opposite direction to me.

A few kilometers outside of Hongu and I arrive at Hosshinmon Oji. The 99  shrines along the route are called oji, and on the first few days I passed very few, but the next few days there should be dozens.

Hosshinmon Oji is considered to be one of the gates into the sacred area of Hongu, though for me it signifies i am leaving Hongu. It was known as "the gate of  awakening of the aspiration to enlightenment" and formerly pilgrims would change their staffs at this point. All very Buddhist on what is nowadays touted as a shinto pilgrimage.

Kikuya Residence Garden in Fall

The Kikuya Family were the wealthiest family in the castle town of Hagi. Though merchants were ostensibly almost the lowest class in the Edo Period social system, many became very wealthy and financed the upper samurai class and daimyos, as was the case here.

The former residence of the Kikuya family is located in one of the Preservation Districts in Hagi, and is open to the public.

It is considered to be one of the oldest large townhouses left in Japan and is registered as an Important Cultural Property.

An earlier post showed some of the interior views.

I also have an earlier post of some views of the garden in Spring.

The Dry Landscape garden is built to be enjoyed from the shoin study of the house.

Several Japanese garden experts suggest an Izumo-style influence.

If so, that would mean the garden had been altered later in the Edo Period after the Izumo-style became quite well known.

After the Meiji Restoration the family built a large, new mansion with western influences behind the original property.

It has a much larger stroll-type garden surrounding it, though it is only open to the public in the Spring and Autumn.

The next post is of this stroll-type garden, known as the South Garden in the Fall.

Kumano Hongu Taisha

 

Kumano Hongu Taisha is one of the three shrines that form the Kumano Sanzan, the focus of the famous Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage routes that are now a World Heritage Site.

Though now a purely "shinto" site the Kumano region was home to the Shugendo cult which incorporated daoist and Buddhist elements with mountain worship and kami. 

I was here as the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, probably the oldest pilgrimage route in Japan, now follows the same route s the Kumano Kodo in this section.

Hongu Taisha was moved to its current location on a hill overlooking the river in 1891 following a major flood 2 years previously that destroyed much of the shrine as it was located on a sandbank.

The original site of the shrine nearby is now marked by the tallest torii in the world.

Kumano Hongu Heritage Center

Hongu is kind of the central site of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes and shrines. I arrived there late on the second day of my walk along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, ostensibky the oldest pilgrimage in Japan, and which follows parts of the Kumano Kodo for the first week.

Hongu is part of the World Heritage Sites, and so a brand new center has been constructed that offers all kind of information for visitors.

It was made out of local timber and for me was actually more interesting than all the historical and visitor information.

After here I headed to Hoingu Taishi for a quick visit before finding my lodgings for the night.

Okidomari World Heritage Site

Okidomari, near Yunotsu, is one of the sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage site connected to the Iwami Ginzan silver mine. It is one of two harbors that serviced the mines at the end of the 16th Century when the Mori Clan had control.

When the Tokugawa central government took over control of the mines in the early 17th Century they shipped most of the silver overland to Onomichi on the Inland Sea coast but Okiomari was still used a little.

The small settlement at the port is still in existence though many of the houses are now empty. At the head of the little valley is a grove of bamboo through which a path still passes.

This is the start of the Ginzan Kaido, the "road" that leads inland to the mines. It is about 12k long and is also one of the World Heritage sites. It is a very pleasant walk and I recommend it anyone who wants to get off the beaten track.

At the mouth of the harbor is a small island that once was topped with  fortifications guarding the harbor entrance. The Mori used the harbor as a kind of naval base long before the mines were discovered, and it is said it was earlier the hideout of pirates, though the distinction between pirates and navy at that time was flexible.