Iwanaga Hachimangu

 

A little further along the road to Akiyoshidai after visiting the Hirohata Hachiman Shrine, yet another large hachiman shrine appeared.

Iwanaga Hachimangu had a very long approach with numerous torii....

It is claimed to be the oldest shrine in the area, being founded in 715.

The curious thing is they say it was enshrined from Hyuga, now Miyazaki. All the other Hachiman shrines in western Honshu at around that time are enshrined from Usa. Usa was the original Hachiman shrine and as the cult spread to Honshu due to the association of Hachiman with the founding of the Great Buddha at Nara, it gradually became a national cult.

However, before it spread to Honshu, it had spread somewhat around Kyushu. I came across a couple of Hachiman shrines in southern Fukuoka that had been established very early on. However, I had not found one in Miyazaki. The head priestess of Usa Hachiman had led an army earlier to suppress "revolt" in the southern part of Kyushu, so maybe that explains it.

Like many shrines, this one has been relocated several times, although the exact dates are unknown. It changed its name to Iwanaga in 1922, but it is unclear what it was called before.

Like other hachiman shrines in the area, the kami selection is Ojin, Jingu, and the three Munakata princesses.

Within the grounds is a Tenmangu, and an Arajinja enshrining Susanoo.

In the 1980's a small kofun with an unusual stone-lined coffin chamber was excavated nearby. It was relocated the shrine grounds to keep it safe from the expanding limestone mining.

The final photo shows a quite common feature at many shrines..... a naval artillery shell!!...almost certainly dating to just after the Russo-japanese War at the start of the twentieth century.

The previous post was on another nearby hachiman Shrine, Hirohata Hachimangu.

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Hirohata Hachimangu

 

An hour or so after setting out from my hotel on my walk from Ine to Akiyoshidai I came across the first shrine of the day.

Yet another Hachiman Shrine.

This one was said to be a branch of the original Hachiman Shrine, Usa Hachiman, in what is now Oita. The date given is 732.

The shrine has been at its current site since 1660. It had moved several times before.

In 1221, following the Jokyu War, a new samurai lord took over the area. Unusually, he chose to make this Hachiman shrine his tutelary shrine, rather than establish a new one, which was normal.

The kami are Ojin, Jingu, and the three Munakata Princesses. This seems to be the norm for Hachiman shrines in this area.

In 1752 a Tenmangu Shrine was established within the grounds....

The main shrine was rebuilt in 1769, and in 1770 the shrine grounds were expanded and reforested.

The previous post was on the walk from Mine to Akiyoshidai, during which I stopped in at this shrine.

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Kumano Shrine & Kochi Shrine on the Sanyo-do

 

The first shrine I stopped in at on my walk along the Sanyo-do in Yamaguchi was a Kumano Shrine in Ezaki.

In the back of the grounds was a corner of Autumn colours....

and a pair of small, weathered zuijin....

but other than that, not much to report as there was no signboard and can find no information online...

Further along the way I stopped in at a Kochi Shrine in the Sayama district.

Under the red metal are the original thatched roofs, which give the buildings' proportions an elegance...

Three female kami are listed. Amenomikumari, Mitsuhanome, and Kuninomikumari. Not sure that I have ever encountered these before.

Amenomikumari and Kuninomikumari are obviously a pair, the 5th and 6th kami born of a brother-and-sister pair of water-estuary kami created by Izanami and Izanagi.

Mitsuhanome was born from Izanami's urine after she was burnt given birth to the kami of fire. All three kami seem to be connected to water and are not found outside of Yamato except in Yamaguchi.

Somewhat to the rear of the shrine is a Tsuka, or Zuka. Usually translated as burial mound, they are not graves but where things are buried , like sutras, or needles that have become too old to use. Ths one seems to get offerings still, but I can not find out what is buries here.

The previous post was on my walk along the Sanyo-do, where I found these shrines...

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Tokujihori Kumano Shrine

 

The mist has long since all burned off as I drop down into the Shimaji River valley and come into the biggest settlement since leaving Kanyoji Temple the previous afternoon.

There seems to be quite a few Kumano shrines in this area...

The main kami are listed as Izanagi, Izanami, Hayatamano, and Tagirihime.

The tin covers a thatched roof....

Not much else to report... other than the remains of some old wooden zuijin.....

The previous post was on the early morning walk I took to get here....

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Yama Shrine Jobutsu

 

Many of the shrines scattered around the Kunisaki Peninsula are simply called Yama Shrine,.... Mountain Shrine.

This Yama Shrine is about 5oo meters west of Jobutsuji Temple, one of the temples of Rokugo Manzan, the religious system based on the mountains of the Kunisaki Pennsula and also temple number 3 on the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage I was following on this visit.

It's a fairly substantial local shrine, and fairly typical for the shrines in the Kunisaki Peninsula.

There was no shrine immediately adjacent to Jobutsuji, so I am guessing that is the shrine that is linked to that temple.

Unusually there were no Nio guardians, though there were a pair of wooden zuijin.

What was unusual was the relief carving that appears to show the Three Monkeys at the bottom and then an angry figure over a pair of men apparently engaged in cock fighting.

Cock fighting was common in Japan since ancient times, both among the elite and commoners. A statue showing cock-fighting is at Tokei Shrine in Tanabe on the Kumano Kodo.

The photo below shows an unusual carving on a fan-shaped rock in a wall. I have actually seen that before but am unaware of any meaning.

The previous post was on Jobutsuji Temple.

After leaving Yama Shrine my route was over the mountain ridge towards the next temple, Jinguji. The Kunisaki Hanto Minemichi Long Trail I was following roughly followed the historical shugendo pilgrimage route around the peninsula. In places the trail follows roads, but here it was literally invisible. I was able to guess where the route was through the  sugi tree plantation that now passes for forests in many places in Japan.. At the top it was necessary to use chains to climb over the top of the ridge.