Vacation 2011 Day1: Sumiyoshi Shrine

The last part of my first day of vacation I was in Hakata and I visited the Sumiyoshi Shrine there.

The head Sumiyoshi Shrine is in Osaka, but the one in Hakata is believed to be the original one.

The main kami are Sokotsutsuo-no-kami, Nakatsutsuo-no-kami and Uwatsutsuo-no-kami, which are kami connected with navigation and safe travel by sea. the mythical "Empress" Jingu is also now enshrined here as the myths say she received oracles from the Sumiyoshi Kami before her mythical "conquest" of Korea.

I recently read that the 3 kami were originally aspects of the undersea Dragon King, a kami long associated with distant lands.

Travellers and emissaries going from Yamato to Korea and China would first stop at the Sumiyoshi Taisha in Naniwa (Osaka) and then visit other Sumiyoshi Shrines along the Inland Sea until finally leaving from Hakata.

Its a nice oasis of green in an otherwise built-up area and has some fine Zuijin and komainu.

There is a secondary shrine to Amaterasu in the grounds, and an Ebisu shrine in front.

As a major shrine it is able to employ Miko.

Behind the main hall are 2 Inari shrines.

Chikumi

This is the draincover for Chikumi, one of many small fishing villages scattered along the north coast of the Shimane Peninsular north of Matsue.

Its actually a very beautiful coastline and not much visited. There are no pachinko parlors, fast food joints, and I didnt see any convenience stores, just fishing villages and a few farms in the mountains.

Earlier I posted about a walk I did last year along the coast. That walk started where this walk ended.

You are never far from the signs of fishing......

Rice Planting Matsuri

Its that time of the year again. In my neighborhood the month of May is spent planting rice. My neighbors dont go on vacation for Golden Week, the time off from their regular job is spent preparing the paddies and planting.

Down in Kawahira half a paddy remains unplanted......

Its waiting for the arrival of the procession from the local community center. Its Tauebayashi time again.

The maidens line up along the paddy and wait.....

While the farmer and his oxen do a ceremonial circuit of the paddy.

Then the drummers and singers begin to perform the rice planting song.

A man and a woman place a bottle of Sake at a sacred sprig in the center of the paddy, plant a few rice seedlings around it and ask the kami of the rice paddy to watch.....

Yuushien

Yuushien is a Japanese garden in the middle of Daikon Island in the Nakaumi between shimane and Tottori.

This is where we went to see the peonies in bloom recently.

While the peonies were certainly the stars of the garden in May, there were other flowers in bloom too including wisteria.

Its a circuit walking garden with a few side paths to explore.

There are different flowers in bloom at different times of the year and for the fall foliage the garden is illuminated and open late.

There are buses to Daikon Island from Matsue and Sakaimoinato.

The garden is open from 8:30 to 17:30. 7 days a week and entrance is 600 yen

More ceremonies at Shunki Taisai

As well as the main ceremony at the Shunki Taisai there were several other ceremonies going on during the day. In one of the secondary shrines Miko Mai was performed several times during the day.

Three priests also took part in the ritual and no-one else was within the shrine.

As is obvious to anyone reading this blog, I am quite fascinated by Miko and their costumes. Lots of previous posts can be found here.

In the main hall of the shrine there was a continuous set of purification ceremonies going on all day for those wishing to pay for the service.

Down below the main shrine was a special shrine just for cars. Most areas will have a shrine or temple that specializes in rituals for car blessing and driving safety, but this was the first time I had seen an area specifically set up for it.

The number of ceremonies and services offered by shrines has increased in the post-war years as shrines do not have access to the lucrative funeral business that funds Buddhism.

Mefu Shrine

Mefu Shrine is yet another shrine in Matsue that is listed in the 8th Century Izumo Fudoki which means it was in existence for about 1,000 years before Matsue was built.

It is located not far from the station, on the south bank of the waterway that connects Lake Shinji with Nakaumi and the sea, so its not surprising that the main kami is Haya Akitsuhi the kami of inlets and straits,created by Izanagi and Izanami.

A secondary group of kami are Isotake and his 2 sisters Oyatsuhime and Tsumatsuhime, the three children of Susano that came to Japan with him from Korea.

Behind the main honden are a couple of shrines to Funadama, the kami of boats, and Konpira the kami of safe journeys

Other smaller shrines include Ebisu, Wadatsumi, the dragon kami of the sea, and an Aragami. The shrine is noted for a fine pair of komainu.

Inside ACROS

Going in through the front entrance of ACROS, one enters a huge atrium lit by by the semi-circular skylight that protrudes through the roof.

ACROS houses a convention center, a symphony Hall, tourist information office, gallery of traditional local arts and crafts, and numerous offices.

The building opened in 1994 and was designed by Emilio Ambasz.

A previous post with shots of the unusual exterior can be found here.

Vacation 2011 Day 1: Kokura

After exploring Yahata it was time to head to Fukuoka, but first I spent a quick hour revisiting Kokura. Around the castle moat the cherry blossoms were out so I was able to have a little ohanami before leaving the country.

Below the castle is a branch of Yasaka shrine, and as I have a keen interest in komainu I couldnt resist taking some snaps.

In front of the castle was a small Inari shrine and several buddhist statues clad in gaily colored bibs with offerings of fresh flowers.... the late afternoon sun and shadows made for good pictures.

The main reason to revisit Kokura was to check out Riverwalk, the complex designed by Jerde. Ive posted about it before, but at a different time of the year and a different time of the day, and a new lens, it was possible to take some new shots.

And finally, walking across the river back towards the station the pleasure boats lined up to have their picture taken....

Mundane Manhole Mandalas

Usually for my ongoing series on Japanese manhole covers I post a design and then show photos of the subject, but sometimes the designs are not particularly interesting, so today just a collection of less than inspiring designs.



Misumi Town, Shimane.



Yasugi. Shimane.



Iwami Town, Shimane.



Hamada City, Shimane



Kamo Town, Shimane,

To see more interesting designs click here