Sasaki Residence on Dogo

 

The Sasaki Residence on Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands, is a traditional residence of a village headman.

The first noticeable thing was the roof. Whereas tile roofs were common on temples and wealthy properties, thatch was far more common, but required very steep roofs. Strips of overlaid cedar bark weighted down with bamboo with stones on was fairly common, but almost never seen nowadays.

The roof of the Sasaki Residence is the only example of this kind in the Oki Islands.

On my first visit to Dogo and the Sasaki Residence the first thing I noticed was the Kojin altar in the grounds. This was my first time seeing the larger type of straw snake.

In ny region with have Omoto, but the rope snake is better made, but smaller and with a small head. The Kojin on Dogo were much larger, and with larger heads, more like those I would later discover in Higashi Izumo.

It is said to be typical Oki-style residence with three entrances....

I was struck by the fact that it was only one single building, often such places have a cluster of connected buildings....

It was built in 1836, and the Sasaki have been headmen of the village for many generations...

It is an Important Cultural Property of Japan.

There are various artifacts on display, both domestic and agricultural....

There are , of course, plenty of artwork on screens and doors etc...

Entry is only 300 yen and they have a decent leaflet in English explaining about what you are looking at...

It is closed for a few months in Winter...

The previous post was on my walk around the upper reaches of Saigo Bay on my way here...

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Hofukuji Temple & Dainichiji Temple Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Hofukuji Temple is number 23 on the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage. It is a small temple in the old part of Hamada, but I can find little information about it other than is belongs to the Shingon sect.

It is famous for having a monument to, and the grave of, Ohatsu, whose real name was Matsuda Satsu. She was the heroine of the Kagamiyama Incident which occured at the Hamada Domains Edo Mansion.

The story was the basis of several puppet and kabuki plays that were very popular, though much embellished from the original story.

Ohatsu was a maid for one of the ladies-in-waiting at the Edo mansion. Her mistress was struck by a sandal by a higher-ranked lady-in-waiting and such an insult was so great that she killed herself. Ohatsu avenged her mistress by killing the tormentor with the knife her mistress used to kill herself. She was much rewarded for this show of loyalty...

In front of Hofukuji is a new statue of a Bokefuji Kannon for protection against demetntia and alzheimers..... an increasingly popular Kannon....

Dainichiji is one of the many unnumbered temples on the pilgrimage.

It is also Shingon, but other than that I can find no info...

The previous post in this series was on the walk from Sufu, across Hamada, to here.

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Passing by Ago Ohashi Bridge on the Scenic Gonokawa River

I continue upriver towards the source...... 

Carrying on up the right/East bank of the Gonokawa River after leaving the red Kurihara Bridge

The former Sanko Line railway runs on this bank. Whereas some bridges have been dismantled, mostly in urban areas, here the small bridge remains...

Roadside altars are commonplace everywhere in Japan.... this one is quite substantial.... as usual someone locally keeps the  flowers replaced....

Quite a few thatched houses with metal covering the thatch...

The last time I walked by here the little gas station was still in business....

Up ahead, the Ago Ohashi Bridge comes into view....

It is a two-truss type...

Built in 1954, it is one of the oldest existant bridges across the Gonokawa...

for a purely stone type, this altar is quite big....

For the first 40k going up river, the river and landscape is quite similar and it can be hard to differentiate where you are from a photo...

Up ahead the top of Mount Sanbe. The highest point in Shimane and a volcano was last active about 4,000 years ago.

The river continues to head towards it for about 4 more kilometers before doing a 180 turn and heading away from it....

The previous post in this series was on the Kurihara Bridge

if you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.