Sand Sculptures at Aquas

Following the success of last years exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach in front of Aquas it has been done again though this time under cover and in the grounds of Aquas itself. There was a big one of Kakinomoto Hitomaro and his wife Yosami. Surrounded by penguins and Beluga whales, the main attractions at Aquas.

It was nice to see a representation of them that did not descend to "kawaii" manga style.

The other big tableau was of Susano and Yamata no Orochi

There were several smaller sculptures done by teams from local companies. My favorite was this hanya mask.

Masks of Shikoku

During my Shikoku Pilgrimage I actually visited far more shrines than I did temples. One of the things I was hoping to see at the shrines were masks but I was disappointed that compared to shrines in my area or in Kyushu for example there were actually very few masks. These first ones I posted before in the post on Ichibacho Hachimangu, and they remain the strangest looking masks Ive seen in Japan.

On Day 4 at a shrine in Tokushima City I found this Sarutahiko mask.

After my typhoon adventure in the mountains of Tokushima I was invited into a shrine matsuri near temple 22 Byodoji. One of the village men modelled one of the small Sarutahiko masks they had.

On the next day I reached the Tokushima coast at Yuki and found this pair of Oni at a shrine there.

2 weeks later after having walked all the way through Kochi I came across this fine pair of Tengu masks.

Izumo 33 Kannon Temple 1 Hasedera

The first temple on the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is Chokoku-ji, located not far from the beach in Taisha Town. Ive posted on this temple a couple of times before, here, and here.

It is the oldest temple in Taisha, and used to be located about 1k further up in the mountains but was moved to its present location in 1651 following a flood.

It is one of the few temples on the pilgrimage that has a resident priest. It belongs to the Shingon sect. Legend has it that the statue of Kannon was found washed up on the beach by a fisherman,... a not uncommon legend..

I started the pilgrimage in April so it was nice to see some cherry blossoms....

Mara Kannon

Last week I posted photos of the ceramic votive phalli at Mara Kannon Shrine in Yamaguchi. Here are some of the other more individualastic and larger votive phalli at the shrine. Some are carved in stone, some wood, and some steel.

As promised here is the rather gruesome story of the origins of this shrine. It was founded back in the mid 16th Century, a time known as the "Warring States Period" as samurai clans all over the country were fighting each other to gain control of territory. In this part of what is now Yamaguchi two of these clans were the Ochi and the Sue.

In September 1551 in nearby Taineiji, Yoshitaka Ochi was facing imminent defeat and chose the "honorable" solution of committing suicide. Two days later his oldest son was captured and killed. His youngest son, dressed as a girl, fled to the mountains and hid out.

Next spring he was discovered near Tawarayama and killed. As was the custom his head was cut off to be taken back to the victorious leader, and for some unknown reason they also cut off his penis. Some time later the local people constructed the shrine to pray for soul.

Ryusui-an

On the long climb up to Shosanji, temple 12, on the Shikoku pilgrimage there are three sites associated with Kukai, the second being Ryusui-an.

According to the legend, when Kukai was climbing the mountain back in the early ninth Century he stopped here and by tapping the ground with his staff caused a spring to start flowing. According to many legends associated with kukai he did this many, many times all over Shikoku.

There used to be a shokubo, temple lodgings, here but it has long since closed down. There is a really cool looking tree though.

Toyonaka Inari at Taineiji

Taineiji is an old Zen temple in the mountains a little south of Nagato on the north Yamaguchi coast. We drove past the temple but stopped just after when we saw a vermillion bridge crossing the stream and decided to explore...

What we found was a branch temple of Toyonaka Inari, the second of the three great Inari Shrines of Japan, though in reality a temple up in Aichi. The branch temple was established here at Taineiji about 50 years ago,

It enshrines Dakiniten, a "buddhist" correlate of Inari, though it is unclear how much Inari is in Dakiniten or how much Dakiniten is in Inari. Originally a Hindu goddess Dakini became associated with the fox and she is often depicted riding a white fox.

Dakiniten was a powerful deity during the medieval period and this seems to be when the associations with kitsune grew.

Spent a long time chatting with one of the monks at the temple. He had spent a year at a monastery in Ireland and bemoaned the fact that while in Ireland he was treated with respect as a priest but that in japan he received much less respect.

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art revisited

The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art sits on the waterfront in Kobe and was constructed in 2002 as part of the cities post-earthquake revitalization.

Earlier I posted on one of the features of the architecture, the spiral staircase

The museum primarily consists of 3 glass structures each with an overhanging roof. The 3 structures are set on a base of white granite with steps that lead down to the waterfront.

The museum was designed by Tadao Ando and has more than a passing resemblance to his Fort Worth Museum he built a little later.

Shikoku 88 Temple 13, Dainichiji

Temple 13 has the same name as temple 4, Dainichiji. It is the first of the 88 temples located in Tokushima City.

The main deity is kannon, and there is a nice statue of her in the grounds. Legend has it that Kukai had a vision of the Dainichi Nyorai while doing a goma ritual nearby and then founded the temple.

Originally part of a shrine-temple complex it was originally named Ichinomiyaji after the shrine which is just across the road, Ichinomniya. The temple and shrine were officially separated after shinbutsu bunri and the temple buildings date from the late Meiji period.

There is a nice statue of Kurikara, a dragon wrapped around a sword. Associated with Fudo Myo, kurikara statues are often found at ascetic sites, waterfalls etc. The most common association of Kurika and Fudo Myo is in a legend that has Fudo transforming into a dragon to consume the sword which was a manifestation of a heretic.

Fudo Myo o of Shikoku

Of all the Buddhist deities in Japan I think Fudo Myoo is my favorite. Associated strongly with Shingon its not surprising that statues of Fudo Myoo are plentiful on the Shikoku Pilgrimage.

One of the fascinations is with the diversity of representations, from statues executed by artists to cruder images made by "folk". These first two are both found at temple 1, Ryozenji.

This rather unusual one is found at Temple 2, Gokurakuji, and Fudo Myoo is accompanied by a pair of attendants, Kongara and Seitaka.

The flames behind Fudo Myoo in this fairly modern sculpture are carved in an unusual way. It is located at temple 7, Jurakuji. The flames represent the purification of the mind by the burning away of all material desires.

This modern version which stands along the entrance way to temple 12, Shosanji. What is unusual about this one is that both his "fangs" are pointing down. Usually one is up and one is down.

Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

I'm about halfway through walking the Izumo 33 kannon pilgrimage. There are hundreds of 33 Kannon pilgrimages in Japan, though probably the oldest and most well known is the Saigoku Pilgrimage up in Kansai. The Izumo pilgrimage was founded, like many of the others, around the middle of the Edo period, the time pilgrimages really became popular among common folk.

I havent measured it yet but my guess is it is about 300k in length, possibly longer. Many of the temples are uninhabited and in fairly remote locations. Many are mountaintop temples and therefore there is a lot of ascending and descending to do.

There are some stunning views especially across the OkuIzumo region. There is little in the way of pilgrim infrastructure. I have found no signs along the road and there are no rest huts, though I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that temple 9, Mine-Ji, had a tsuyado for pilgrims. Stores are few and far between, though the route does pass through the urban areas of Izumo City and Matsue City. Occasionaly the route follows main roads, but most of the route is along very narrow, mountain roads with very little traffic.

I recently discovered a map of the old Iwami 33 Kannon pilgrimage!!!!! so once I finish the Izumo 33 that is what I will walk next....... and then the Chugoku 33 Kannon.... and then the Shodoshima 88... and then,,,,