Hidden Crosses

When Christianity was outlawed in Japan in the early 17th Century many people took their faith underground and are now known by the name kakure kirishitan, "hidden christians". They employed many subterfuges to disguise their faith, perhaps the most well-knoiwn being to equate the Virgin Mary with the Goddess Kannon.

Another was these stone lantern pedestals which originally had a lantern on top to form a cross with truncated horizontals. Hidden Christians are associated most strongly with parts of Kyushu, especially the area around Nagasaki, but these three examples are not from there.

The top photo is from a temple in Ehime, Shikoku, the second from Hagi in Yamaguchi, and the bottom one is in a temple in Tottori.

Kanzui Matsuri 7

The next dance at last years all-night matsuri in Kanzui was Oeyama, a big production with an unusually large cast for a kagura dance so I will split it into two posts. the story is based on a Noh play of the same name which itself was based on a story in the Heike Monogatari. In the first scene the hero, Minamoto Yorimitsu, and an aide leave Kyoto on a mission to destroy demons that have been kidnapping and eating young women.  On the way they meet a tengu/yamabushi who tells them that the demon will not harm yamabushi so they should discard their armor and wear the garb of mountain priests. the tengu also gives them some drugged sake that will disable demons but not affect humans.

The next scene introduces a villager who works in the mountains as a woodsman.

The next scene introduces a princess who is found in the mountains washing bloodstained clothes in a stream. She was captured by the demons but her flesh was too tough and bones too large to be eaten so the demons kept her as a laundry maid.

She promises to guide them, now dressed as yamabushi, to the demons lair on Mount Oeyama.

Yamabikokan

Yamabikokan is the name of Tottori City History Museum.

Its located near Ochidani Park to the south of the castle area.

I didnt have time to go inside and see what they have on display and I have been unable to find out who the architect is, though I found its color scheme quite pleasant.

Its closed on Mondays and entrance is 500yen for adults, though there is a small reduction for foreign visitors.

Aizen-in

The first few miles of the pilgrimage path, from temple 1 to temple 3, are along asphalt, but not long after temple 3 the way follows a small footpath that snakes across ride paddies and then through some bamboo groves before arriving at the small temple of Aizen-in.

Both the main gate and the entrance to the main building are flanked by huge straw sandals, and inside the main building are thousands and thousands of regular-sized sandals in piles.

In a corner is a pile of crutches and leg braces which people have left here after having had lower-body ailments healed. The temple was supposedly founded by Kukai who also carved the statues of the main deity, Fudo Myo-o.

Aizen-in is the Okuin of temple 3, Konsenji. Okuin means "inner hall" and is the building of a temple that is furthest from the entrance gate. This one is about 3k from the main temple.

Ushioni the Cow Demon

Ushioni, demons with the head of a cow, appear in legends and stories all over western Japan.

Probably the most well-known nowadays are the ushioni of Uwajima in Ehime on Shikoku.

In the third week of July the Ushioni Matsuri takes place involving a parade of 5-8 meter long figures with these heads atop tall poles.

In Uwajima they function as protection in a similar way to Shishi.

Steel Hut

The Steel Hut, along with the Silver Hut, make up the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture.

Unsurprisingly it was designed by architect Toyo Ito.

It is located near the small fishing village of Munakata on Omishima in the Seto Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

On the website for the museum you can download the plan of its design and construct one yourself out of paper........ here

The building consists of four different polyhedrons and is constructed in steel.

Construction finished and the museum opened in 2011.

The tallest stone torii in japan

This is the biggest (tallest) torii made of stone in Japan. It is located in front of Warei Shrine in Uwajima, Ehime, on Shikoku. It is 12.5 meters tall. Many sources claim the stone torii at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto as the tallest, but it is a mere 9.5 meters tall.

Shikoku 88 Temple 7 Jurakuji

Only one kilometer from temple 6, Jurakuji is the eighth temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The name means "temple of ten Joys" and refers to the 10 joys awaiting believers after death.

There were many Mizuko Jizo in the grounds, the small Jizo statues erected for the souls of aborted children.

This wonderful statue is of Aizen Myo-o, one of the wrathful, fierce-looking deities originally Hindu but now seen as emanations of the 5 Wisdom Kings. Aizen, known as the King of Sexual Passion,  converts lust into spiritual awakening and saves people from the sufferings associated with love.

Jurakuji was, according to legend, founded by Kukai who also carved the statue of the main deity Amida Nyorai.

The temple complex used to be much larger but was burned down in the late 17th Century and rebuilt later, though the current main hall only dates from the Meiji era.

A day in tunnels

It is impossible to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage without walking through a variety of tunnels.

I haven't sat down and calculated how many kilometers of tunnel you walk through, but it must be at least 20k and more probably double that, and in walking that is more than a day of distance.

It is possible to avoid some tunnels by taking a path up and over the mountain, but if you are carrying 20 kilos and/or the weather is bad then the tunnels makes sense....

Some of the tunnels are new, well lit, and with a decent sidewalk.

Some are old, dark, and narrow with just a painbted line separating you from the roaring traffic.

There are also quite a few traffic-free tunnels for pedestrians and cyclists.

Kanzui Matsuri 6

So, it's about one-thirty in the morning and the sixth dance of the matsuri begins, Daikoku and Ebisu.

There is not really a story, rather the two characters, both members of the 7 Lucky Gods of Japan, engage in pantomime.

Daikoku was originally a Hindu warrior deity, but in Japan by the 15th century he had become the jolly, pudgy character associated with wealth and good fortune. Hitting the people on the head with his magic mallet will bring them good fortune.

When Ebisu dances he often goes through the comedic routine of catching a Sea Bream.

Daikoku and Ebisu are often seen as a father-son pair through the association with Okuninushi (written with the same kanji as daikoku) and Kotoshironushi, seen as Ebisu.

What the kids in the audience have been waiting for is for the lucky candy that Ebisu throws out.....