Sakakiyama Shrine, The Brush Shrine

 

Sakakiyama Shrine is a large shrine in Kumano, Hiroshima, the brush capital of Japan.

It is said to have been founded in 933 when the spirit of Hachiman was transferred here from Usa Hachimangu.

It was called Omiya Hachiman Shrine, but in 1713 a major fire destroyed the shrine and all its records so little is known of its history before that.

The shrine was rebuilt in 1724 and the current honden dates to that time. It is considered unusually large and is often claimed to be one of the biggest hondens in Japan.

Until 2024 there was a huge Sugi tree in front of the shrine. Said to be about 800 years old.

However, only the stump remains now as it was in danger of falling, so was cut down

The current Haiden (main hall) is also quite large and dates to 1870.

The shrine is most famous nowadays for the Fude Matsuri, the Brush Festival held around the Autumn Equinox.

At this time brushes are hung around the shrine entrance, the women perform a Fude Dance, caligraphers create large works, and old brushes are ceremoniously burned. along with all the other activities normally associated with a matsuri.

The matsuri began in the 1930's when the town was wealthy from the trade of brushes and most of the townsfolk were engaged in the industry. The brush industry is much smaller now, but Kumano is still the Brush Capital of Japan.

There are numerous secondary shrines within the grounds, including a Suwa Shrine and a Sakakidani Shrine.

There is also an Aragami Shrine and an Inari shrine.

The largest secondary shrine in the grounds is a branch of Kumano Hongu. It was established about 800 years ago.

There are quite a lot of intricate carvings on the honden, attributed to the master craftsman Torii Jinbei.

The interior of the Haidan has a lot of large Ema paintings.

The previous post in this series on day 15 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk up the valley to Kumano.

Along the Yato River, Up the Nagatani Valley, & Over to Arifuku

 

The next temple on the Iwami kannon Pilgrimage is in Arifuku, up in the mountains, and so for a few kilometers I follow the very windy Yato River upstream.

It's a long and fairly steep climb up the valley, passing a small local shrine without any of the external trappings of a shrine other than a very small shimenawa

Not exactly sure what this barn/storehouse is used for but I find the small windows and two little doors quite intriguing.

I think this may have been the local Japan Agriculture Offices in the settlement of Nagatani.... official buildings, like police stations, schools, post offices etc in the early Taisho and Showa periods were built in this "western style". Since I took this photo, it has been demolished.

From Nagatani I head over the mountains to the next valley. This little shrine has always intrigued me as it is far from any settlements....

Dropping into the Uyagawa River drainage, abandoned farms are in the process of being reclaimed by nature...

About twenty years ago on my first walk here I noticed an old, rusty bus stop, so I am guessing that in the 50's, 60's, and maybe even the 70's there was a bus service here, but with a population that is now just a fraction of what it was then the area still survives but is in serious decline...

I believe this is called Hebiyama Falls, "Snake Mountain Waterfall"

I stopped in at one of the many abandoned houses....

This one has now probably conpletely collapsed and returned to the earth....

It is said that once abandoned a Japanese house will completely collapse in 25 years or less.... I have seen it happen to many since I have been here.....

Last typhoon season the Uyagawa River flooded seriously.... This was a new bridge from upstream....

These are a very common kind of commercial building from the early 20th century.... in Atoichi, which, like so many villages, used to have a wide range of shops... now the nearest convenience store is 6 kilometers away.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Zen temple Fukuoji.

A Walk up the Kumano River Valley

 

This kind of small torii, cut out of a sheet of plywood, can be found along the roadside in may parts of rural Japan. They are basically a "Don't Dump Trash" sign and don't mark a shrine. Smaller ones can be found in some of the narrow alleys of Kyoto. They are "Don't Urinate Here" signs.

I dropped down into the Kumano River valley just west of Hiroshima City and headed upstream towards the town of Kumano/ Evidence of Autumn could be seen.

This is the brush capital of Japan..... not hair brushes or floor brushes or even tooth brushes...

80% of caligraphy brushes in Japan are made here, and increasingly make-up brushes...

In a small shrine I found this strange creature. I see this a lot at shrines, where someone has found a gnarly piece of wood that looks like something, and with a little bit of work looks even more like it..... I suspect there is a name for this process in Japanese, but I don't know it....

For some reason I passed by an awful lot of small, thatched houses. many such places in the countryside have had the thatch enclosed in metal or even tile, but these were left thatched...

I doubt they are still there now, ten years later.... I know I have seen many thatched houses in my area disappear since moving here.

The main road becomes increasingly built-up with chain drug-stores and fast food restaurants.

So I stick with a smaller road that runs roughly parallel and remains mostly rural....

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on a shrine I visited a litlle earlier.

Daizenji Bangai Temple 5 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Daizenji is a small Shingon temple in Susaki, Kochi Prefecture, and is the 5th of the bangai or bekkaku "extra" temples on the Ohenro pilgrimage.

In earlier times this location was a cape jutting out into the sea with two large rocks. The sea is now a kittle further away and the rocks have been buried under sediment, but in the old days when people passed around the cape at low tide they would sometimes be swept away.

The cape was also considered to be the southermost tip of Mount Ishizuchi and therefore, has some potential spiritual danger for some.

The Daishi Hall is at the base, and steep steps lead up to the bell tower and main hall.

Further up the hill is a small Ishizuchi Shrine.

When Kobo Daishi visited the spot in 815 he prayed for those travelling and a hall was built which became known as Futatsuishi Daishi.

The temple is very close to the main pilgrimage route so most pilgrims stop as no detour is needed as with some of the bangai temples.

The previous temple is Shoryuji Temple, number 36.

The previous post in this series was on my early morning walk through Susaki to get to Daizenji.