More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

Oh Shrine

2013-05-19T22:56:00.000+09:00

To the east of Usa Hachimangu, just outside the shrine grounds, is a hill with a torii at its base and overgrown steps leading up. At the top is a small shrine, O shrine (or Ou or Oh or Oo). It is a sessha of Usa Hachimangu and enshrines Hachiman. According to the legend, when Hachiman returned in 765 from his journey to Nara for the unveiling of the Great Buddha at Todai-ji he

Inside Shoto-en

2013-05-10T16:14:00.003+09:00

Shoto-en is a collection of historic buildings and gardens located in Sannose on Shimokamigari Island in the Inland Sea off Hiroshima. I posted some pictures of the outside here. Most of the displays are concerned with the many delegations of official emissaries from Korea on their way to Edo who stopped here and were entertained by the local daimyo. A mock up of the lavish banquets

Ikkyu Shrine, Onomichi

2013-05-04T13:26:00.000+09:00

The Onomichi Temple Walk also passes by some shrines as well as temples, and the first shrine just after Hodou-ji is Ikkyu Shrine. Enshrined here is Kibitsuhiko, the major kami of the Kibi region in southern Okayama. According to legend he was an imperial prince sent from Yamato to defeat a demon troubling the people of Kibi. The story of Momotaro is believed to be based on this legend

Noshiro Shrine

2013-05-02T13:15:00.000+09:00

After leaving Oda the route of the Iwami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage heads along the Sanbe River towards Mount Sanbe. Just below Sanbe Dam is the small settlement of Noshiro with a small shrine. I know these posts on obscure local shrines are not particularly popular, but a large part of the reason why I started this blog was to document the thousands of shrines I've visited, so..... As of this

The Delightful Floral Manholes of Beppu

2013-04-30T14:51:00.000+09:00

Some places really make an effort with their manhole designs. Yuda Onsen in Yamaguchi with more than 30 different designs being an obvious choice (click here for some examples). Another place I recently discovered is Beppu, the famous hot-spring resort in Oita. The first one features Cosmos (kosumosu) and Rose Mallow (Fuyou) Crape Myrtle (sarusuberi) and Sunflower (himawari)

Mysterious Creatures

2013-04-25T21:55:00.003+09:00

I have been unable to find out exactly whet these creatures are. They can be found scuttling about around harbors and the like and seem to live in the intertidal zone.

Ikui Shrine

2013-04-22T12:48:00.000+09:00

Ikui Shrine is a small shrine in Katsuura Town between temples 19 and 20 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. Ikui is another way of reading Ebisu, and this is the kami enshrined here, rather Kotoshironushi, the official identity of Ebisu since the Meiji Period. The shrine is listed in the Engi Shiki, a court document from the early tenth Century that, among other things, lists 2,861

Star Sand Beach

2013-04-18T21:23:00.000+09:00

There are two Hoshizuna (star sand) beaches in the Yaeyama Islands, one on Taketomi, and this one on the north coast of Iriomote. No crowds, no deckchairs, no ice creams..... Warm water..... in midwinter the water temperature drops to 20 degrees celsius... The star sand is actually the skeleton, about 1mm across, of an organism...

The View from Mount Nosoko

2013-04-13T22:11:00.000+09:00

At 282 meters Mount Nosoko is not the highest mountain on Ishigaki Island, but its distinctive shape offers 360 degree views from its summit. To the north the Hirakubo Peninsula. Down below, coral reefs and turquoise seas... Locally the mountain is known as Nosoko Mape after a young woman named mape who climbed to the top so she could see the island where her lover lived

Japanese Umbrellas

2013-04-11T20:26:00.000+09:00

On vacation down in Okinawa right now but its grey and cloudy and rainy so instead of white sand and turquoise water you get umbrellas..... These were at Nachi Taisha down in Kumano, Wakayama. This one was used to protect the taiko during the mikoshi procession at a shrine matsuri in Nakatsu. Of course regular "western" type umbrellas are more common.... The classic red..

Kushida Shrine

2013-04-05T19:33:00.000+09:00

Kushida Shrine is the most important shrine in Hakata. Founded in 757 when Hakata was the main port for official international travel and commerce. Being an urban shrine it is quite compact but there is a lot to see. On display is a "float" from the hakata Gion Yamakasi Matsuri, one of the great festivals of Japan. 10 meters high these floats are no longer used because of overhead

Ohanami

2013-04-02T12:27:00.000+09:00

Time for the obligatory cherry blossom pictures...... I don't have to go far for Ohanami..... after we moved into our house we planted a cherry sapling in front of our front door and its now a decent size.... Actually I much prefer the Yamazakura, the wild cherry trees that grow on the mountainsides..... as I understand it these were the trees that historically were viewed.....

Kasuga Shrine, Hagi

2013-03-31T19:13:00.002+09:00

The Kasuga Shrine in Hagi is located on the southern edge of the old samurai district and is one of the approximately 3000 branches of the famous Kasuga Taisha in Nara which is the family shrine of the Fujiwara Family, arguably the most powerful family in Japan for many centuries. Though most common nowadays, stone komainu were a later feature and were preceded by wooden ones inside

Nakatsu Castle

2013-03-17T12:35:00.000+09:00

Nakatsu Castle is the main feature of the design on Nakatsu Citys draincover in Oita, Kyushu. Considered on of the 3 great "water castles" that used river and sea as part of its defences. The other two being Imabari and Takamatsu. The original was built in 1588 and was burned down in 1877 during the Seinan War, commonly called the Satsuma Rebellion. The current concrete

Once the biggest planetarium in the world

2013-03-15T13:18:00.001+09:00

When it opened in 1994 this was the biggest planetariun in the world. With a diameter of 30 meters this 300-seat planetarium can project up to 25,000 stars. However, a couple of years ago it lost the title to a bigger one constructed in Nagoya. Still impressive, surrounded by a reflective pool of water, this one is part of the Ehime Science Museum complex designed by Kisho

Shikoku 88 Temple 20 Kakurinji

2013-03-13T19:39:00.000+09:00

Statues of cranes are in the Nio gate and at other spots around the temple as cranes feature in the founding legend of the temple and Kakurinji means Crane Forest temple. Located at 550 meters above sea level it is a fine example of a mountain top temple and unlike most other temples in Tokushima on the pilgrimage it has never burnt down. Unfortunately I was there during monsoon rains

Uppurui Bay

2013-03-11T18:53:00.002+09:00

Inome has a wonderful little sheltered cove and beach. Off to the left is a cave that is one of the entrances to Yomi, the Underworld, but I still had a lot of ground to cover on this first day of my Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage so I turned right and headed along the coast. The road and tunnel are modern creations. There were trails up and over the mountains, but in pre-modern times

Fudo Myo O of Shikoku part 2

2013-03-08T14:24:00.001+09:00

More photos of Fudo Myo I encountered while walking around Shikoku on the 88 temple Pilgrimage. This one was by the roadside along the river not far from temple 13 Dainichi-Ji. Often these "folk" images are more evocative than the more expensively produced "high" art of the temples. This other small one was by the roadside on the approach to Temple 18, Onzan-ji This much newer

Hagi Jokamachi details

2013-03-06T12:58:00.000+09:00

I am reluctant to call myself a photographer. Of course in the simplest sense a photographer is someone who takes photos, so obviously I, like almost all of us, are photographers, but if a photographer is someone with technical camera skills then I would not be able to call myself a photographer. I only have the most rudimentary knowledge of such things as f-stops, focal lengths, etc

Hina Matsuri

2013-03-04T14:48:00.001+09:00

The next day after Shujo Onie we set out to explore off the beaten track in the area south of Usa and Nakatsu. As usual with such explorations we were not disappointed and found several surprising and interesting things:- the great Prefectural History Museum near Usa Hachimangu, and a tunnel with statues depicting Heaven and Hell in Ajimu, but the best was yet to come.... We headed

Shujo Onie Fire Festival

2013-03-02T15:50:00.000+09:00

February 10th was the Lunar New Year and on the 16th the Shujo Onie Festival was held to mark the occasion. It was held at 2 temples on the Kunisaki Peninsular and I was lucky enough to visit the one at Iwato-Ji. The action began after dark when to the accompaniment of ringing bells and blown conch shells pairs of accolytes ran down the hillside to where the mountain stream had carved a

Usa Hachimangu Tongu

2013-02-28T19:11:00.000+09:00

The grounds of Usa Hachimangu are like a large open park, but it wasnt always that way. Until 1868 the grounds were packed with dozens and dozens of structures,... in a scale model I counted at least eight pagodas...., for this was a huge shrine-temple complex until the government "seperated" the Buddhas and Kami and the buildings were either torn down or dismantled. The Tongu is a

Shotoen (outside)

2013-02-26T10:55:00.000+09:00

Shotoen is a collection of different styles of traditional buildings surrounded by gardens in Sannose on Shimokamagari Island in the Inland Sea off the coast of Hiroshima. The displays showcase the ports history as a major stopping point for elite travellers on their way to Edo. During the Edo period 11 diplomatic missions from Korea stayed here and the Korean connection features

Onomichi temple walk Houdo-ji

2013-02-15T17:32:00.000+09:00

The path to the second tempel on Onomichis' temple walk is easy to follow and narrow Like the temples and houses of Onomichi, the graveyards are crowded together... Founded in 1387, Houdo-ji now belongs to the Jodo sect (Pure land). The bell in the bell tower dates from the end of the 15th century. The main deity enshrined here is Amida Nyorai.

Iwami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage Temple 1 Enno-ji

2013-02-13T18:29:00.000+09:00

While searching for the first temple of the Iwami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Oda City I thought I had found it when I came across a small, plain, non-descript little buddhist building with a statue of Kannon at the water basin. Behind it was a small cave with an altar, and from the cave a path led up the small hillside... Along the path were a series of small statues. Obviously a