Otaki Shrine

Still within site of Nogi Shrine, yet another shrine with an ancient pedigree, being listed in both the Izumo Fudoki and the Engi Shiki.

I came in through the rear entrance so the way to the buildings was through a nice piece of woodland.

Like all the shrines in the area there was a zuijinmon as well as an altar to Kojin, the rope snake.

Otaki Shrine is a Gosha, 5 shrines collected into one place. The primary kami is Kunitama which seems to be a generic name for the kami of the land. Next up is Otanomikoto, a descendant of Sarutahiko who either gave the land for what became Ise Shrine, or led Yamatohime to the place while she was searching for a new home to enshrine Amaterasu. Also enshrined is Isotakeru and Inari.

Secondary shrines within the grounds are a Tenmangu, Atago, & Hiyoshi.

Sanematsu Hachimangu

Sanematsu Hachimangu

Within sight of Nogi Shrine is the local village shrine Sanematsu Hachimangu. While being a fairly common village shrine in many areas of Japan, there are surprisingly few hachimangus in Izumo.

Like most shrines in Izumo there are a couple of altars to Kojin, the rope serpent. By far the commonest kami in the region, he/she is relatively unknown. I am not sure of the gender. In my area the equivalent kami is Omoto and she is female.

The shrine also has a Zuijinmon with a fine pair of zuijin and wooden komainu. When I first walked this valley many years ago I was struck by the fact that every single shrine had a zuijinmon.

The other thing that struck me is that none of the shrines in the area had a toilet. Most shrines I visit have a simple, pit toilet in the grounds. But in this valley not a single shrine does.

Nogi Shrine

This Nogi Shrine has absolutely no link to the more famous Nogi Shrine in Tokyo. That one is a twentieth century creation enshrining the "patriotic" General Nogi who committed suicide following the death of Emperor Meiji.

This Nogi Shrine is named after the ancient district of Nogi in Izumo, and is much, much older being listed in the Izumo Fudoki and the Engi Shiki. It was one of the top three shrines of Izumo, along with Kumano Taisha and Sada Shrine, up until the 11th Century when Izumo Taisha was promoted.

The main kami is Amenohiho, the first emissary sent from Amaterasu to convince Izumo to cede their land to Yamato. The Yamato say he joined Okuninushi and didn't report back. The Izumo say he did report back and his son came down to pacify the local kami. Amenohiho is considered the ancestor of the high priests/ governors of Izumo.

There are numerous smaller shrines within the grounds as well as a couple of altars to Kojin, the local land kami represented as a straw snake. Also enshrined here is Onamuchi (Okuninushi), Kotoshironushi, Hachiman, Futsunushi ( the tuteary kami of the Mononobe who played a part in subduing the local kami).

Also enshrined are Kuninotokotachi one of the primal kami of creation, Kuninosazuchi, an earth kami, Izanami, Tamayorihime, Juntoku a thirteenth century Emperor, kamusubi, Ayakashikone... a kami produced before Izanami and Izanagi who I had never heard of before, an Atago shrine, and an Inari shrine.

Toda Hachimangu part 1

Toda Hachimangu was the tutelary shrine for Gassan Toda Castle which lay across the river. The approach to the shrine is on a direct line to the castle. Halfway up the steps is a Zuijin Gate.

The shrine was established in the 13th Century when a Katsuhi Shrine on the mountaintop was moved here to make way for the castle. The Katsuhi shrine is now back on top of the mountain.

Off to the side of the Zuijinmon was a small Inari shrine, and next to it a Kojin altar.

Kojin is the Izumo name for the local land kami, an aragami, or "turbulent deity" that is the prime focus of local people as can be surmised by the number of gohei left there....

Further up the steps past the zuijin gate is the main gate, a defensive structure as many battles took place here....

Mokoso Shrine

Mokoso Shrine, located in a grove of trees just south of Yakumo is an ancient shrine listed in the 8th Century Izumo Fudoki where it is called  Momino Yashiro.

The three main kami are listed as Kunitokotachi, Kuninosazuchi, & Amenohohi. Kunitokotachi is one, if not the, primal kami that came into being after the separation of heaven and earth, I first encountered it/him at Ayo Shrine and more info can be had in that post. Kunitokotachi was an important kami in Yoshida Shinto, and also in Tenrikyo. Kuninosazuchi I had not encountered before. As with most kami there are a variety of different versions, but most agree that it is one of two patron kami of hills and passes that came out of a union between Oyamatsumi, a kami of mountains, and Nozuchi, another name of Kayanohime, a kami of grasses. Amenohohi was the first emissary sent from the High Plain of Heaven to negotiate the hand over of the land from Okuninushi to the Yamato, and is considered the ancestor of the Izumo Taisha priestly lineage.

There are numerous secondary shrines in the grounds, including Shiogami, Sagi, Inari, and most interesting of all, Toshitokujin, the kami of the New Year with roots in Onmyodo, the Japanese name for Yin-Yang divination. Toshitokujin has connections with Tondo matsuri,... link here

There was also an altar to Kojin, a rope serpent wrapped around the base of a tree. Like Omoto in my region, Kojin is immensely popular in eastern Izumo, yet is not well known elsewhere or in towns. The land kami represented by a straw serpent can be found the length and breadth of Japan....

The shrine had a small Zuijinmon that typically included a pair of old, wooden komainu. The small wooden komainu found inside gates and sometimes flanking the honden or in the main building are much older than the nowadays more common stone komainu found flanking the pathway into shrines which mostly seem to only date back to the Edo Period.

Unochi Shrine

Unochi Shrine is a small and very old shrine in Kamo Town not far from the Kamo Culture Hall. It is listed in the Izumo Fudoki and must therefore be more than 1300 years old.

The kami enshrined are listed as Unojihiko and Suminenomikoto. The Fudoki describes Unojihiko as a "sea god" but there is no mention of Suminenomikoto, however a few k away is a Sumine Shrine that enshrines Sugane, Unojihikos father, so I suspect that is what is meant.

According to the legend, Unojihiko was very resentful of his father and tried to kill him by raising a very high tide which reached this far inland. there are small shrines in the grounds to Susano, Kushinada, his wife, and Okuninushi.

In the zuijinmon are a pair of fascinating little wooden komainu。。。

Kasuga Shrine, Hagi

The Kasuga Shrine in Hagi is located on the southern edge of the old samurai district and is one of the approximately 3000  branches of the famous Kasuga Taisha in Nara which is the family shrine of the Fujiwara Family, arguably the most powerful family in Japan for many centuries.

Though most common nowadays, stone komainu were a later feature and were preceded by wooden ones inside the shrine building or later in the zuijinmon.

By the side of the shrine building is an old chinowa, a ring used for purification. usually in the spring a new one will be made and erected in front of the shrine and parishioners will pass through it.

The main kami enshrined here are the same 4 as Kasuga Taisha, Amenokoyane, Takemikazuchi, Futsunushi, both of whom took part in kuniyuzuri, and Himegami, which seems to be a generic name for consorts of male kami. According to Izumo records only Futsunushi came to Izumo for the kuniyuzuri.

The signboard also lists another kami that I had not heard of before:- Iwatsutsuno-o, who, like Takemikazuchi was formed from the blood left on the sword Izanagi used to slay the fire god with.

There were some secondary shrines in the grounds but the signboard gave no details....

Kumano Shrine, Awa City

The Kuman shrine in Awa City is located about halfway between Anrakuji and Jurakuji, temples 6 and 7 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. There are about 3,000 Kumano shrines all over Japan and they are branch shrines of the famous Kumano Sanzan, the three shrine complexes in Wakayama. Kumano was a major cultic center in medieval times and the yamabushi from there spread all over Japan. The Kumano deities are linked with many of the temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage and the Kumano yamabushi seem to have created some of what later became the 88 temple pilgrimage.

The shrine had an unusual pair of zuijin. Normally they are represented in a seated position in armor and with bows and arrows, but here they were standing in robes. I have seen this style only once before in Kunisaki.

Also unusual was the walkway to the shrine buildings were covered. I have seen this before in Okayama.

A sessha (sub shrine) in the grounds had an unusual pair of ceramic komainu. The open mouth of one was stuffed full of 1 yen coins.

More zuijin of Kunisaki

Here are a few more zuijin from shrines around the Kunisaki Peninsular.

For an explanation of what zuijin are, see this earlier post.

This is something I had not seen before, paintings of zuijin. Maybe the original zuijin statues had become damaged or destroyed in some way, or maybe the shrine could just not afford to pay for real statues.

Almost all the zuijin in Kunisaki were carved out of stone, the only place I have seen that, but some of them were originally painted.

Zuijin of Kunisaki

Zuijin is the common name given to pairs of statues found guarding some shinto shrines, usually in their own gateways called zuijinmon. Zuijin was the term given to Imperial guards.

They are a development from the buddhist Nio guardians found at many temples.

These first two are at Usa Hachimangu and are grand and large as befitting such a major shrine.

Another name for them is Kado mori no kami, and they are most often seen dressed in Heian Period court dress and carrying bows and arrows. They are often associated with Saidaijin and Udaijin, Minister of the Left and Minister of the Right who were the highest ranking ministers in Nara and Heian government below the Chancellor.

Almost all the zuijin I found at shrines on the Kunisaki Peninsular were carved in stone, and it is the only place I have seen them not made of wood, except for one set I saw made of ceramic in Iwami.

Stone plays a significant part in the religious traditions of Kunisaki, with an inordinate number of stone states, cliff carvings etc.

These last pair probably had wooden bows and arrows at some point.