Ikura-do

The entrance to Ikura cave (Ikura-do) is at the base of a 240 meter high cliff along the Takahashi River.

The cave is 1.2 kilometers long and is mostly narrow.

Its best to wear waterproofs as the roof drips.

The cave climbs mostly, and while there are no caverns as such there are several places where one can peer up to great heights.

If you suffer from claustrophobia you probably wouldnt want to go in.

The cave exits high in the cliff face at the Arisanomiya Shrine from where there are stairs leading back down to the river and waterfall.

The cave, gorge, and waterfall are located in northern Okayama Prefecture, not far from Niimi

Not too far away is Maki Cave, only 400 meters long, but more open and spacious.

Funadama Inari Shrine

The shrine is located in a residential area not far north of the main train station in Matsue, and while it is an Inari shrine there are none of the usual trappings associated with Inari.

In the corner was a Jizo, and I always somehow find it reassuring that the governments attempt to seperate the Buddhas and the Kami was never completely successful.

The main kami is of course Ukanomitama, and the secondary kami are Sokotsutsuno o no mikoto, Nakatsutsuno o no mikoto, and Uwatsutsuno o no mikoto, the triad of kami known mostly as the Sumiyoshi Kami. With strong connections to water and sea travel, the Sumiyoshi Kami are now mostly associated with the Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka, though originally they were from north Kyushu and have strong connections with Korea.

By the side of the shrine was a nicely shaped phallic stone. There was no signboard for it, but as Sarutahiko is listed as enshrined at the shrine the stone may well be a Dosojin.

There were a couple of smaller secondary shrines within the grounds that most likely were gathered here from the surrounding area. Enshrining Okuninushi, Susano, and Amaterasu, there is also a Haniyama Hime listed who is an earth/clay kami created from the feces of Izanami. The final kami listed here is Kan Yamato Iware Hiko no Mikoto which is the long name for Jinmu, the mythical first emperor of Japn

A one hour walk in the morning

Yoko dropped me off about one kilometer upstream at my favorite overlook.

I hung around for about 20 minutes hoping for the sun to break through but I was getting cold so started to head back home.

Yoko gets to drive up the river every morning and often remarks when she gets home how beautiful it was with the mist and sun and snow.

I stopped in at the Zen temple. There is a nice garden behind it and I hoped to get some shots of it in the snow, but the priest wasn't home, so no luck.

Headed down to the riverbank to take photos of the plum blossoms and scared off a heron

And a flock of ducks. I think these might be a species of Eider. I suspect they will be heading north soon.

We have a lovely new set of tetrapods.......

and back to the village about an hour after I left....

Plum blossom viewing

Woke up to a few centimeters of of snow this morning so took the opportunity to go for a short one hour walk......

Tomorrow I will post more of the walk, but for today here are the plum blossoms.

I prefer the plum blossoms to the cherry blossoms..... as do the Chinese apparently.

The harbinger of spring...............

Zuijin of Kunisaki

Zuijin is the common name given to pairs of statues found guarding some shinto shrines, usually in their own gateways called zuijinmon. Zuijin was the term given to Imperial guards.

They are a development from the buddhist Nio guardians found at many temples.

These first two are at Usa Hachimangu and are grand and large as befitting such a major shrine.

Another name for them is Kado mori no kami, and they are most often seen dressed in Heian Period court dress and carrying bows and arrows. They are often associated with Saidaijin and Udaijin, Minister of the Left and Minister of the Right who were the highest ranking ministers in Nara and Heian government below the Chancellor.

Almost all the zuijin I found at shrines on the Kunisaki Peninsular were carved in stone, and it is the only place I have seen them not made of wood, except for one set I saw made of ceramic in Iwami.

Stone plays a significant part in the religious traditions of Kunisaki, with an inordinate number of stone states, cliff carvings etc.

These last pair probably had wooden bows and arrows at some point.

St Francis Xavier Memorial Church, Hirado

The St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church sits on a hill overlooking the town and harbor of Hirado on Hirado Island in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Constructed originally in 1913 it was reconstructed on its present site in 1931.

Originally called simply Hirado Catholic Church it was renamed in 1971

It's open from 6 till 6 and there is no entry fee

Vacation 2010 Day 15: South Devon

My vacation was drawing to a close, so on my way back up to London to catch my flight home to Japan I stopped in to visit family in south Devon. South Devon is mostly rolling hills and while there is some tourism its mostly agricultural.

My nephews and niece live in an old farmhouse not far from Salcombe and Kingsbridge just a few miles inland from the coast.

We all went for a walk down to Soar Mill Cove. One thing that is very noticeable in England is the number of people who go for walks, often with dogs, for pleasure. Walking around Japan it is rare to meet people out walking.

The weather was not great, but added a dramatic touch.

Big ol' spider

There are a lot of these spiders around the end of summer and into autumn. I cant be sure but I think its is a female Nephila clavata, a kind of Golden silk orb weaver.

The female will sometimes eat the male after copulating, so this may well be a Jorogumo, a mythical shape-shifting creature in Japanese folklore that takes on the appearance of a beautiful woman to attract men who are then tied up an eaten.

East Well Shrine

When we came out of the Nagashibina Doll Museum in Mochigase I spied a little splash of autumn colors across the valley and suspected it might be a shrine. I was right.

The name might be Higashii Shrine, or it might be Toi Shrine, so to be on the safe side I use its name translated into English, East Well Shrine.

The main kamis are Susano and Myoken Daimyojin. Daimyojin means "great Shining Deity" and is an appelation applied to many kami, eg Kasuga Daimyojin, Inari Daimyojin, etc. Myoken, like many gods and kami in Japan has a long and complex history, but is a primarily known in its esoteric buddhist form as the god of the Pole Star and Big Dipper. With the seperation of buddhas and kami in the Meiji era most places enshrining Myoken changed its name to Ame no Minakanushi, so the use of the name Myoken here may have been a return to the old name in the postwar period.

There were a couple of secondary shrines within the grounds including this one to Inari.

The priests house was empty and abandoned, and behind it a small untended garden that would have looked good in its prime.