500 Rakan of Mount Shirataki

 

The top of 226-meter-high Mount Shirataki on Innoshima Island in the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku is covered with 700 Buddhist statues.

500 of them are of the rakan, or arhats, said to be disciples of the historical Buddha.

With its rocky outcroppings, Mount Shirataki is believed to have been a site favored by Yamabushi, the shugendo ascetics who practised their austerities in the mountains.

Later, the Murakami Clan established a Kannon Hall on the mountaintop and is used it as a lookout over the surrounding waters.

The rakan, however, along with most of the other statues, were put here in the early 19th century.

A man named Hashiwabara Denroku founded a new religion based on elements of Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, and Christianity.

Betwen 1827 and 1830 he and a discile together with stonemasons from Onomichi carved 500 rakan statues.

The vast majority were not complete statues, rather relief carvings.

They were also fairly crude and lacking the refinement of many rakan.

Therefore the idea that you will be able to recognize the face of someone you know within the 500 figures is a little harder to realize.

There are about 200 other statues on the mountaintop and I will cover them in the next post, and also a little more detail on the unusual cult and its founder.

The previous post was on the 360 degree views from the viewpoint above the statuary.

Some posts on 500 rakan at other sites include Sennyoji Temple in Kyushu, and at RakanjiTemple at Iwami Ginzan.

Osake Shrine

 

Osake Shrine is a big, ancient shrine on the coast of Hyogo near to Ako.

The main kami is the spirit of Hata no Kawakatsu, whose grave is on the sacred uninhabited island just offshore.

The Hata were an intriguing immigrant clan who have unknown but variously theorized roots. Some say they were descendants of a Chinese emperor. Others say they were a "lost" tribe of Israel. Some say they came to Japan from paekche in Korea, others say Sila. Some say they spent time in Izumo before moving to Yamato.

Like other immigrant clans at the time they settled near what is now Kyoto and quite a few important sites are attributed to them, including most famously Fushimi Inari Shrine, but also Matsuo Taisha. Kawakatsu no Hata was a known associate of Shotoku Taishi and is said to have had much influence over the founding and construction of Shitennoji Temple.

One noteworthy point about Osake Shrine is that along with the shitno zuijin guardians there is also a pair of Buddhist Nio.

Also noteworthy are the large number of Ema paintings, especially those of boats. One dated to 1722 is considered the oldest and most valuable in Japan.

Not on display, the shrine owns a 1,300 year old mask, said to have been either given to Kawakatsu by Shotoku Taishi or carved by Kawakatsu himself.

Kawakatsu is said to be the founder of sarugaku, and Zeami and many other notable figures from ancient theatre styles claim to be his descendants.

Following the death of Shotoku Taishi Kawakatsu set sail and ended up in this area and spent some time developing the land. Some say he was exiled, some say he left to avoid the political violence that was commonplace in the capital at that time.

When he died a few years later his tomb was made on Ikushima just offshore and the locals built the shrine and enshrined him.

The Sakoshi Boat Festival takes place every October and is considered one of the Three Great Boat Festivals of the Inland Sea along with the Osaka Tenjin Festival and the Kangen Festival at Miyajima.

One of the traditional boats used in the festival is on display in the shrine grounds.

Most of the current buildings at the shrine date back to the 18th century.

Within the shrine grounds are numerous secondary shrines, including a Shingu Shrine to Shotoku Taishi, a Sumiyoshi Shrine and a Kotohira Shrine, both shrines connected with safety at sea.

There is also an Inari Shrine, a Tenmangu, an Ebisu Shrine and an Awashima Shrine.

There are said to be 28 branch shrines of Osake Shrine in the area, indicating its importance locally.

The island is visited by the boast during the festival, but otherwise is still off-limits to everyone, so the woodland on the island is completely natural and is a National Natural Monument.

Though not as grand, I recommend a local sea festival from my local area.

The previous post in this series on the Ako area was on Fumonji Temple and its beautiful Kannon statue.

360 Degree Views from Mount Shirataki

 

Mount Shirataki is a 226 meter high mountain in the north of Innoshima Island in the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

The Murakami, a clan of naval samurai used Innoshima as a base. A fake Murakami pirate castle lies a little further to the south. 

The Murakami erected a Kannon hall on top of the mountain to use as a watchtower overlooking the strait between Innoshima and Mukaijima.

With outcroppings of rock, the site was used by ascetics in their austerities and training and now an observation tower offers 360 degree views over the island and surrounding area

The views truly are 360 degrees and this would be a superb place to spend the night. I have done that several times before on islands in the Inland Sea and it is truly exhilarating to watch the sun set over the islands and then watch the sun rise the next morning.

But this time I was on a schedule and needed to get on to the next pilgrimage temple on the next island.

There are about 700 statues around the mountaintop, and I will cover those in the next two posts....

The previous post was on the Innoshima Sea Festival taking place in the waters below the mountain.

Suijin Shrine Saigo

 

This Suijin Shrine, is located on the waters edge in Saigo, the main port of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan off of Shimane.

Most locals refer to it as Tenjinsan, as since at least the 16th century Sugawara Michizane has been enshrined here.

However, towards the end of the Edo period it was decided that this was a Suijin Shrine that had been recorded in the tenth century, and Tenjin had been added later.

I recently covered a similar situation where the Suwa Shrine in Kobe had become overpowered by the Inari that had been enshrined later.

The main kami is now listed as Mizuhanome, though it is unclear if that was a renaming from the Meiji riod when many kami were renamed to fit with the "national" histories of the Kojiki and Nihonshoki.

The previous ost in this series on the Oki Islands was on Takuhi Shrine, one of the most important shrines in the Oki Islands.

Innoshima Suigun Sea Festival

 

Innoshima, an island in the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku, is one of the places most associated with the Murakami, a warrior clan of feudal Japan either called pirates or navy, depending on who was writing and when.

There are three summer festivals on Innoshima, the first in late July or early August involves a gathering of "samurai" in full regalia and then fireworks. The second, the Fire Festival, takes place towards the end of August and involves the same samurai carrying huge torches, a local dance, and then once again fireworks.

The final festival takes place the day following the Fire Festival, and this is the boat racing. Like the other two festivals, it takes place on Shimanami Beach.

The boats are traditional wooden boats known as Kohayo. Some sources suggest these were high-speed boats used for messengers, but other sources have them used in combat with archers on board.

Up to 50 teams take part and heats are held throughout the day, leading to a grand final.

Each boat has a crew of 16, 14 rowers, a drummer, and the helmsman.

There are races for school teams and women's teams, but the highlight is the men's team final.

I was climbing Mount Shirataki when I saw the festival taking place, so unfortunately, the shots were all taken from far away.

The previous post in this series on day 12 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon pilgrimage was on the walk from Onomichi to Innoshima.