Friday, March 25, 2011

The view from Asari Fujisan

fuji3143

Sailing down the coast of Shimane approaching Gotsu one can see what looks like a miniature version of Mount Fuji. The proper name of this mountain ( hill in English) is Mount Murokami, but everyone kniws it as Asari Fujisan. On top is a small temple that can only be reached by foot, so recently I went for a walk to revisit it.

On the lower slopes passed this abandoned roadside shrine to Ebisu. Its been a long time since anyone left any offerings here.

fuji3146

Further up are several Jizo statues on the pilgrim path to the mountaintop. According to the story on the signboard, a long time a guy a boat was heading down the coast from Izumo to Hashi and stopped in near here. On board was a young girl who an old childless couple convinced to stay with them. At some later point the girl left and started to walk back towrds Izumo and the old couple chased after her. At this spot the old woman died. The old man died on top of the mountain at the site of the temple.

fuji3150

Asari Fujisan is only 246 meters high, but has 360 degree views around and along the coast. The coastal villages seen here are Gotsu, Kakushi, Tsunozu, Ninomiya, and Waki.

fuji3151

Right below is the village of Watazu.

fuji3152

The Gonokawa River close to where it meets the sea.

fuji3153

The village of Asari with its wind generators, looking up the coast towards Izumo.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Jozan Inari Shrine

m3349

Matsue has a lot of Inari shrines. This one is in the grounds of the Fumon-in temple about 500 meters from the castle in Matsue. Though still in the grounds of the temple it was officially "separated" from the temple with the shinbutsu bunri of Meiji.

m3360

It has the same name as the famous Jozan Inari in the castle grounds, and I would guess was set up as a subsidiary shrine of the former. Incidentally, Jozan can also be read as Shiroyama, and that is the name Lafcadio Hearn used.

m3361

Inari is mostly known as a kami of rice, but according to Hearn in the Matsue area it has stronger links to the cult of Fox witchcraft, and the Lords of Matsue were supposed to be masters of the cult, using foxes to send messages to Edo in hours rather than weeks.

The previous shrine I visited this day was also an Inari shrine, as was the next.

I could actually find very little information about this one, except Hearn has a ghost story from this temple.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Jizo at Togaku-ji

m3471

I was up in Matsue last week and took the opportunity to walk around the area north of the castle and visit some shrines and temples.

m3470

One temple I visited I had not been to before, Togaku-ji, had a big collection of Jizo.

m3472

The main hall oif the temple was being renovated, hence covered in green tarp, so I couldnt see what art may have been inside.

m3463

As well as all the jizo there was also a hall containing 500 statues of the Rakan, which I believe were disciples of the Buddha. Photos of those will come later.

m3461

The raked gravel along the entranceway hinted that this was a zen temple, which it turns out to be. It belongs to the Soto sect.

m3459

I could find no stories or historical personages connected to the temple, so it won't be found in any tourist guides, but like many shrines and temples off the beaten track it was filled with fascinating art.

m3462

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Himosashi Catholic Church

hir101

Himosashi Catholic Church is located in the small village of Himosashi on Hirado Island in Nagasaki Prefecture.

hir106

The island was home to many "hidden christians" who secretly practised a type of Christianity after it was made illegal 1n 1612.

In 1865 some of these hidden christians came out and visited the Oura Church established by the French in Nagasaki. Many of these christians were rounded up and persecuted and tortured.

Finally the persecution ended in 1888 with the Meiji Constitution that guaranteed religious freedom and chuches began to be built.

hir108

Himosashi Church was not built until 1929, but replaced a nearby chapel built much earlier by a missionary.

hir528

It was designed by Yosuke Tetsukawa, a Japanese architect who designed many churches in Kyushu.

hir530

It is a concrete structure in the Romanesque style and has a lot of stained glass.

hir536

It is open every day and there is no entry fee.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Vacation 2010 Day 16: Dartmoor

dvn4747

For the last proper day of my vacation one of my nephews was kind enough to drive me to Exeter via Dartmoor. The lower slopes of Dartmoor are steep, wooded valleys with fast flowing streams.

dvn4776

We stopped in one of the many picturesque villages and found a tea room

dvn4788

and then explored the local churchyard.

dvn4814

Up on top of the moor we stopped by one of the many exposed Tors..... not sure which one it was

dvn4838

I like Dartmoor.... lots of open space and mostly treeless so one can see for miles. It is Britain though so its very wet.

dvn4842

This is probably a neolithic structure of some kind..... lots of stone circles, ley lines etc up on the moors.....

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Miyoshi

miy572

This is the draincover for Miyoshi, a town in the mountains of Hiroshima, and upstream from us on the Gonokawa river. It depicts cormorants as ukai, the traditional method of river fishing using trained cormorants is still practised here in the summer.

soja6616

I don't have any photos of the ukai, but I hope to see it later this year. I do have a few photos of wild cormorants though, this one was along the moat of Okayama castle.

miy571

In front of a house a few meters away from where I took the draincover photo I did find this rice-straw model of what I believe is a cormorant sitting on top of a turtle.

miy567

Miyoshi is not particularly famous, but like a lot of places off the beaten track it is possible to spend a day or two there and find enough to see. Miyoshi dolls are still produced here, made of clay, and there is a nice free museum with a big display and its alos possible to visit workshops where they are made.


miy602

Miyoshi also has a connection with the Chushingura, the story of the 47 Ronin. The wife of the Lord who was avenged by the ronin came from Miyoshi and after they committed ritual suicide she spent the rest of her life caring for the families of the 47. At her burial place in Miyoshi are statues of her and the 47 ronin as well as a cherry tree reputedly planted by the leader of the 47.

Previous posts on Miyoshi, mostly about the shrines, can be found here

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Ikura-do

soja6803

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

soja6741

The cave is 1.2 kilometers long and is mostly narrow.

soja6743

Its best to wear waterproofs as the roof drips.

soja6745

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

soja6772

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

soja6775

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.

soja6776

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

soja6778

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

soja06790

Monday, March 14, 2011

Funadama Inari Shrine

m3337

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.

m3339

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.

m3340

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.

m3342

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.

m3344

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

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Hotel Il Palazzio

fuk507

I really, really like this building, especially the windowless facade.

fuk512

From the side you can see that it is just a regular brick hotel building.

fuk508

It was built in 1987 and designed by Italian architect Aldo Rossi.

fuk509

The facade is marble and steel and I believe the steel is enamelled. I like how it almost perfectly matches the color of the brick.

fuk513