Monday, August 6, 2012

Sand Sculptures at Aquas


l1434

Following the success of last years exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach in front of Aquas it has been done again though this time under cover and in the grounds of Aquas itself. There was a big one of Kakinomoto Hitomaro and his wife Yosami. Surrounded by penguins and Beluga whales, the main attractions at Aquas.

l1436

It was nice to see a representation of them that did not descend to "kawaii" manga style.

l1435

The other big tableau was of Susano and Yamata no Orochi

l1433

There were several smaller sculptures done by teams from local companies. My favorite was this hanya mask.

l1437

l1438

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Masks of Shikoku


h205

During my Shikoku Pilgrimage I actually visited far more shrines than I did temples. One of the things I was hoping to see at the shrines were masks but I was disappointed that compared to shrines in my area or in Kyushu for example there were actually very few masks. These first ones I posted before in the post on Ichibacho Hachimangu, and they remain the strangest looking masks Ive seen in Japan.

h404

On Day 4 at a shrine in Tokushima City I found this Sarutahiko mask.

h817

After my typhoon adventure in the mountains of Tokushima I was invited into a shrine matsuri near temple 22 Byodoji. One of the village men modelled one of the small Sarutahiko masks they had.

h1027

On the next day I reached the Tokushima coast at Yuki and found this pair of Oni at a shrine there.

h5354

2 weeks later after having walked all the way through Kochi I came across this fine pair of Tengu masks.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Izumo 33 Kannon Temple 1 Hasedera



The first temple on the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is Chokoku-ji, located not far from the beach in Taisha Town. Ive posted on this temple a couple of times before, here, and here.


It is the oldest temple in Taisha, and used to be located about 1k further up in the mountains but was moved to its present location in 1651 following a flood.


It is one of the few temples on the pilgrimage that has a resident priest. It belongs to the Shingon sect. Legend has it that the statue of Kannon was found washed up on the beach by a fisherman,... a not uncommon legend..


I started the pilgrimage in April so it was nice to see some cherry blossoms....



Thursday, August 2, 2012

Mara Kannon


hagi3525

Last week I posted photos of the ceramic votive phalli at Mara Kannon Shrine in Yamaguchi. Here are some of the other more individualastic and larger votive phalli at the shrine. Some are carved in stone, some wood, and some steel.

hagi3524

As promised here is the rather gruesome story of the origins of this shrine. It was founded back in the mid 16th Century, a time known as the "Warring States Period" as samurai clans all over the country were fighting each other to gain control of territory. In this part of what is now Yamaguchi two of these clans were the Ochi and the Sue.

hagi3526

In September 1551 in nearby Taineiji, Yoshitaka Ochi was facing imminent defeat and chose the "honorable" solution of committing suicide. Two days later his oldest son was captured and killed. His youngest son, dressed as a girl, fled to the mountains and hid out.

hagi3527

Next spring he was discovered near Tawarayama and killed. As was the custom his head was cut off to be taken back to the victorious leader, and for some unknown reason they also cut off his penis. Some time later the local people constructed the shrine to pray for soul.

hagi3528

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Ryusui-an


h266

On the long climb up to Shosanji, temple 12, on the Shikoku pilgrimage there are three sites associated with Kukai, the second being Ryusui-an.

h267

According to the legend, when Kukai was climbing the mountain back in the early ninth Century he stopped here and by tapping the ground with his staff caused a spring to start flowing. According to many legends associated with kukai he did this many, many times all over Shikoku.

h268

There used to be a shokubo, temple lodgings, here but it has long since closed down. There is a really cool looking tree though.

h269

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Toyonaka Inari at Taineiji


hagi3495

Taineiji is an old Zen temple in the mountains a little south of Nagato on the north Yamaguchi coast. We drove past the temple but stopped just after when we saw a vermillion bridge crossing the stream and decided to explore...

hagi3507

What we found was a branch temple of Toyonaka Inari, the second of the three great Inari Shrines of Japan, though in reality a temple up in Aichi. The branch temple was established here at Taineiji about 50 years ago,

hagi3517

It enshrines Dakiniten, a "buddhist" correlate of Inari, though it is unclear how much Inari is in Dakiniten or how much Dakiniten is in Inari. Originally a Hindu goddess Dakini became associated with the fox and she is often depicted riding a white fox.

hagi3520

Dakiniten was a powerful deity during the medieval period and this seems to be when the associations with kitsune grew.

hagi3521

Spent a long time chatting with one of the monks at the temple. He had spent a year at a monastery in Ireland and bemoaned the fact that while in Ireland he was treated with respect as a priest but that in japan he received much less respect.

hagi3523

Friday, July 27, 2012

Orochi Manholes


iz1214

Known as the Land of Myth, Izumo has many myths recorded in the earliest chronicles, and probably the most well known is the story of Susano slaying the Yamata no Orochi, a fearsome dragon with 8 heads and 8 tails.

iz1183

There are many different explanations of what exactly this great serpent was, but the most common one is that it refers to the 8 tributaries that drain the Okuizumo area and combine to form the Hi River.

iz1072

The route of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage passes through the watershed of the Hi River for about 100k, so its not surprising that the towns in the area incorporate the Orochi in their manhole designs.

h3202

The first one I found near Hinobori, The second In Kisuki also features the local bridge. The third from Mitoya includes Susano and the princess Inada who he saves from the Orochi. The fourth, from Yokota is in the heart of the myth country. Near here is where Inada and her family lived. The final photo is the main design found in Izumo City itself.

k8069

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Vacation 2011 Day 17 to Essouira


e5324

We left Marrakesh in the early afternoon and headed 200k almost directly west until we hit the Atlantic and Essouira. It was my first time here and I was very impressed. Instead of the red of marrakesh, here everything was white.

e5325

Like in Marrakesh, fresh squeezed orange juice was abundant and cheap.

e5337

Essouira is one of the best anchorages on the Moroccan Atlantic coast.... Phoenician, Carthaginians and Romans all had settlements here in ancient times. The harbor is filled with funky wooden fishing boats of all sizes.

e5348

Essouira is now a very popular tourist resort so the narrow, traffic-free alleys were filled with art and craft shops.

e5355

The huge stone wall of the Portugese fort still surrounds the old town

e5366

The old town has a main plaza but mostly consists of a maze of narrow alleys and lanes...

Monday, July 23, 2012

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art revisited


kobe8326

The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art sits on the waterfront in Kobe and was constructed in 2002 as part of the cities post-earthquake revitalization.

kobe8327

Earlier I posted on one of the features of the architecture, the spiral staircase

kobe8329

The museum primarily consists of 3 glass structures each with an overhanging roof. The 3 structures are set on a base of white granite with steps that lead down to the waterfront.

kobe8333


The museum was designed by Tadao Ando and has more than a passing resemblance to his Fort Worth Museum he built a little later.

kobe8334

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Shikoku 88 Temple 13, Dainichiji


h334

Temple 13 has the same name as temple 4, Dainichiji. It is the first of the 88 temples located in Tokushima City.

h335

The main deity is kannon, and there is a nice statue of her in the grounds. Legend has it that Kukai had a vision of the Dainichi Nyorai while doing a goma ritual nearby and then founded the temple.

h337

Originally part of a shrine-temple complex it was originally named Ichinomiyaji after the shrine which is just across the road, Ichinomniya. The temple and shrine were officially separated after shinbutsu bunri and the temple buildings date from the late Meiji period.

h338

There is a nice statue of Kurikara, a dragon wrapped around a sword. Associated with Fudo Myo, kurikara statues are often found at ascetic sites, waterfalls etc. The most common association of Kurika and Fudo Myo is in a legend that has Fudo transforming into a dragon to consume the sword which was a manifestation of a heretic.

h340