A Walk Down Mount Raizan

 

March 27th, 2014, and I leave Sennyoji Temple after a couple of hours exploring the unexpected delights of this amazing mountain temple. I head downhill towards the plain of Itoshima, most certainly one of the cradles of ancient Japanese culture.

Along almost all the roads in Japan you will find roadside altars. Sometimes, like this first one, a small structure protects the statues and offering from the weather. As well as the Buddhist statues this one had a collection of stones. Sacred stones have been integral to Japanese religion since the begininng.

The next roadside altar has an even more substantial structure including seats. If this was Shinto it would be classed as a shrine, but with Buddhism it is not a temple. I would call it a chapel.

A series of wooden cutout feet and legs suggest this is a spot to pray for the healing of foot ailments. Not uncommon, I first noticed such things at Kono Shrine in Tottori.

have no idea what this stone memorializes... don't think it is a grave....

Kyushu being a bit warmer than Honshu, the cherry blossoms are out a little earlier....

I continue on down the narrow Rai River valley.....

In postwar Japan land reform distributed the land more equitably, but some quite large farm buildings indicate there were wealthy farmers not too long ago.....

The next roadside chapel was again quite substantial....

I am not sure who tye two statues are.... Jizo are very common roadside statues, but I am only certain about a few identities of Buddhist statues.....

The colorful statue is, I think, a priest, and quite probably Kobo Daishi....

Beginning in Meiji, western-influenced archtecture was a symbol of modernity and used extensively in government buildings like schools, post offices, local government offices, hospitals etc.......

The previous post in this series on the Kyushu Pilgrimage was on the upper part of the big temple complex at Sennyoji.