Karube Shrine

Karube Shrine is located a few minutes from Kiyone JR Station on the Hakube line. The shrine is a few kilometers south of the Kibi Bike Path and well worth a detour off the path to visit.

Like so many shrines it is built at the base of the hills, and in the grounds are several small secondary shrines, probably gathered here from the surrounding area in the early 20th Century.

When we get to the main building of the shrine however we see what makes Karube Shrine different and why it has the nickname Oppai (boobs) Shrine.

The kami here is Chichigamisama, the kami of breasts and women come here to pray for plenty of breastmilk and safe delivery of children.

The Ema with breasts on can be purchased locally, and the prayers written on them were split 50/50 between asking for good milk and safe birth and for relief from　breast cancer.

What I found more interesting were the ema that were hand-made rather than being purchased.

The custom of breast ema seems to have spread a little. This last photo is from a sub-shrine at nearby Kibitsu Shrine.

Kezo-Ji

Slippers wait for visitors in front of the main hall of Kezo-Ji. When we visited on a sunny Sunday afternoon we were the only visitors there, due mainly to the temples location at 456 meters above see level on a remote mountain between Matsue and Mihonoseki.

Previously I posted on the giant Fudo Myo o statue and the Nio here as well as the fantastic views.

Above the main doors a fine carving of a Tennyo, a buddhist "celestial maiden" sometimes translated as angel.

The temple was founded about 1200 years ago and was originally of the Tendai sect but in the kamakura period it switched and became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect which it continues to be today.

During the Warring States Period the temple was badly damaged but was rebuilt about 400 years ago when the Lord of the newly built Matsue castle chose it as the temple to protect Matsue. The building date from this period and since the late 19th Century the structures have slowly deteriorated to their present state.

The temple is well worth visiting, but unfortunately you need a car or take a bus from Matsue and then walk up the steep mountain road.

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The seventh kagura matsuri for us this month was at Kakushi in Gotsu. Being in a town there were lots of people there and lots of stalls. There were lots and lots of kids running around. It was a Monday night but because of the all night matsuri all the local schools were closed next morning.

First dance we saw was Shioharae, the purification of the dance space. We came here about 6 years ago and Kakushi had their own kagura group, in the more traditional 6-beat style. Tonight Tsuchi kagura group were playing. Tsuchi pay the faster 8-beat style. Actually Tsuchi were the teachers of my own village kagura group.

Next up was Hachiman. The Kakushi shrine, like many round here, is a Hachiman shrine. Last year when we did the rounds of the matsuris it seemed that everywhere we turned up they were dancing the Iwato dance. This year it seems to be the Hachiman dance.

Hachiman danced alone, and fought a single demon.

Next up was Yamato Takeru. There are a whole series of myths/legends/stories about the exploits of the prince known as Yamato Takeru, mostly concerned with his subjugation of tribes outside Yamato control in Kyushu, Izumo, and the East. On his way east he is given a sacred sword by his aunt who was the Head Priestess as the Ise shrine. This is the sword that Susano found in the tail of the 8-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi, and gave to his sister Amaterasu the Sun Goddess, ancestor of the Yamato imperial line.

In the East he is almost killed when his enemies lure him alone into a grassy plain. They light the dry grass all around him but he uses the sword to cut down the grass around him and he creates a firebreak. Since this episode the sacred sword, one of the three Imperial Regalia, has been known as Kusanagi, the grass-cutting sword.

Kibitsuhiko Shrine

Kibitsuhiko Shrine is at one end of the Kibi Bike path near to Bizen Ichinomiya Station where bikes can be rented or dropped off if coming from the other end. The shrine is about 1k from Kibitsu Shrine which is the Ichinomiya (first-ranked shrine) of the old Bitchu province. Kibitsuhiko Shrine is the Ichinomiya of the old Bizen province.

The shrine is also known as Asahinomiya as the building are lined up with the sunrise and sunset of summer solstice.

The main kami enshrined is once again Kibitsuhiko, one of the sources of the Momotaro story. Also the mythical/legendary 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Emperors are enshrined here though I suspect that they may have been a Meiji era addition.

Traditionally the Japanese did not enshrine emperors as kami. Other than the case of Ojin who became equated with the kami Hachiman through an oracle, and a couple of emperors who died violent deaths and were enshrined in a buddhist procedure, all the emperors now enshrined as kami were done in the modern era of State Shinto/ Emperor worship. Some of the biggest shrines now, Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, Heian Jingu in Kyoto, Kashihara Shrine in Nara, are all modern creations.

In the grounds of the shrine is a stone lanterm 11.5 meters tall. Possibly the biggest stone lantern in Japan.

There is also an old, large sacred tree, but on closer examination it turns out to be mostly concrete. Most of the tree died with some form of rot so to keep it standing the rotten part was filled in and sculpted with concrete.

Liquid breakfast

There are a lot of blogs that focus on the variety of products in Japan that seem strange, unusual, or just plain weird, and I do not intend to become one of those blogs, BUT... I saw this in a vending machine a couple of nights ago and just had to try it.

The food company Morinaga sell one of the most popular pancake mixes in Japan, and this drink is based on that flavor.

The dominant flavor of the drink is maple syrup, followed by butter, though I strongly suspect real butter and maple syrup came nowhere near the product.

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After watching a few dances up at the matsuri in Kanzui, it was time to head back to our own matsuri in Tanijyugo.

The Kakko dance had just started. In this video we see the main character attempt to summon the god Kirime by finding the correct location to place the sacred drum. Not being knowledgeable about such things he is unsuccesful and his dance veers towards a comical jig.

Next up was Yasogami, a tale about Okuninushi, the hero, and his 80 brothers. In this first scene the 80 brothers, represented by 2 of them, attempt to kill Okuninushi but end up beating themselves up. Sections of the dance descend into comedy and pantomime.

The end of the Yasogami dance is the traditional swordfight wherein Okuninushi dispatches the brothers in succession.

Next up was Hachiman, the kami of the local shrine. In our groups version Hachiman has an aide and they fight 2 demons. Being the god of archery, Hachiman hills the demons with arrows rather than swords.

Around 3am the Ebisu dance was performed, but in this instance 2 Ebisus danced. Like all kagura dances it lasted 45 minutes and has many different sections and these 2 little boys did amazingly well. The most important part of the Ebisu dance is when he throws out lucky candy to the audience.

Portraits of Japanese firemen

A lot of manhole covers in Japan provide access to mains water for the fire services.

About 85% of Japanese firefighters are volunteers, like in my villlage, that work at regular jobs and are called out for fires. many are local government officers.

There may be some female firefighters who actually fight fires, but most females members of the fire service do ancillary activities.

What is noticeable about the images of firefighters on these manhole covers is that they are all cartoon characters.

The New Fukuoka Tower

The New Fukuoka Tower stands next to the beach in the Momochi District of Fukuoka City.

At 234 meters in height it is the tallest seaside tower in Japan, though the observation deck is only at 123 meters.

It has an unusual triangular cross-section and was built in 1989 by Nikken Sekkei.

Open from 9:30 am to 8 pm entrance is 800yen and the elevator whisks you to the observation deck in 70 seconds.

It is particularly popular in the evenings for the expansive views over Fukuoka and the surrounding area.

Vacation 2010 Day 10: Wurzburg (morning)

On my second day in Wurzburg I met up with a few other camera buffs and continued exploring.
Churches were of course on the itinerary and again it was the light inside them that contin ued to attract me.

Like the scales of some prehistoric dinosaur, the slate tiles of the roofs sometimes took on organic forms.....

Corridor in the Julius Spital, a 16th Century hospital

The stairwell in a modern section of the Julius Spital.

The churches and cathedrals had some pretty impressive organs, but the most unusual-looking one was in the Augustiner Kirche.

In a small garden around the grave of Walter von der Vogelweide, a 12th Century knight and poet.

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Saturday was the matsuri in our own village, but first we headed up into the mountains to check out a matsuri we hadn't been to before at Kanzui Uehata Shrine.
Kanzui is remote. There is no village as such, just scattered farms up and down the narrow valley.
One of the first walks I took in this area was here and I was amazed that in 15 kilometers there was but one vending machine.

We arrived just as the ceremony was finishing and once inside we were invited to partake of the Omiki.

The first dance was a surprise. Usually the first dance is Shioharae, the dance that purifies the dance space in preparation for the dancing, but here they performed a dance I have never seen before, the Akuma'barai, the Purging Demons dance. It is danced by Sarutahiko. the earthly kami that marries Uzume, and his red face and long nose makes him indistinguishable from Tengu.

The dance seems to be more common in the Bitchu region than around here.

The next dance up, Kami Mukai, the welcoming of the gods, was danced by children, but also unusually it was 2 girls. Until recently Iwami Kagura was an all-male affair. Gradually girls have begun to perform as musicians, and occasionally dance some of the ritual dances, but as yet I have never seen a female dance any of the theatrical pieces.

The last dance we saw before heading off to our home village was Yumi Hachiman, and in this dance Hachiman was played by a young boy.

I got really good vibes at this matsuri, from the shrine, the performers, and the small number of villagers in attendance. Next year I plan to spend much longer here as I suspect there are more surprises in store for me.