Baby Sumo & the God of Sweets

 

Kitsumoto, a remote settlement along the Kumano Kodo, turned out to be a delightful surprise. Not only is it a scenic, traditional village in itself, but the two shrines in the village are both home to some unique features.

Located on the Yuasa to Kainan section of the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo, the old Imperial route from the capital down to the Kumano sanzan shrines, I was walking in reverse as the first part of the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

At the first shrine I came to, Yamaji Oji Shrine, a small sumo ring was just inside the grounds. This was for Naki Sumo, sometimes called Crying Baby Sumo. It is fairly common and found in numerous sites around Japan. a "bout" will involve a pair of infants, with the first infant to cry being declared the winner. If they cry simultaneously, then the louder baby wins. The Japanese believe that a crying baby can ward off demons and that loud crying increases the health of  a baby.

Yamaji Oji shrine is one of the 99 Oji shrines along the imperial route that were resting and stopping places for elite pilgrims.

In earlier times this one was known as Ichitsubo Oji or Kutsukake Oji.

An inscription on the main building is dated to 1680, which suggests that is when it was constructed.

The bell tower has the name of the temple that was part of the site until its removal in 1868.

As a tutelary shrine, Yamaji-oji is listed as an enshrined kami, along with Ojin (Hachiman), and Amaterasu. I would also suspect that the Kumano Sanzan are now enshrined here.

Heading down the long, narrow valley, the next shrine is Kitsumoto Shrine.

It is also the site of an Oji shrine, Tokorozaka Oji, but is most well known for enshrining the "God of Sweets"

The kami enshrined here is Tajimamori. According to the myth-legend, he was sent by Emperor Suinin to a mythical realm to find a magical fruit. What he brought back was Tachibana, said to be the source of all the mikan fruits in Japan.

A tachibana tree in the shrine grounds is said to be the latest of cuttings made from the original tree planted here. The daimyo of the domain in the Edo period made mikan production a priority as the hills were too steep for rice terraces, and so that is why I had been passing through so much orange country the last day.

In ancient times the fruit was considered a sweet, and so Tajimamori became known as the kami of sweets. Confectionery companies of all kinds send offering to the annual festival here, although there are other shrines in the country connected to Tajimamori as well.

The previous post in this series on day 8 of my walk along the Kumano Kodo and Saigoku Pilgrimages was on the walk over the mountain pass to get to Kitsumoto.

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.

Married Islands & Sugawara Shrine

 

Approaching Abu, 2 small islands lie just offshore.

The smaller island is named Megashima, which means Doe Island. It has a single torii and may have a hokura.

The larger island is named Ogashima, which means Stag Island. It has several torii and some shrine buildings. It is a branch of Kashima Shrine.

Being male and female islands, they are known as Married Couple Islands.

In Abu itself, the main shrine is a Sugawara Shrine.

Obviously Sugawara Michizane is enshried here.... same as in Tenmangu shrines or Tenjin shrines.... though am not sure why they have different names.

These shachi on the roof of a small hokoro were quite unusual...

Many shrines to Sugawara have an ox statue, from the ox that was carrying his coffin in Dazaifu and then stopped. At that spot Dazaifu Tenmangu was built, though until Meiji it was actually a temple.

There was no signboard at the shrine, and I can not find any information about the shrine online in either Japanese or English...

There were some nice paintings on the ceiling and a fairly unusual pair of komainu

The previous post in this series on day 3 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the walk from Oi to here...

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

Tamonji Temple 46 & Enmanji Temple 74 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Day 4 of my walk along the 88 temple Shodoshima Pilgrimage was fast coming to a close, and I needed to head across the narrow valley to the main road to catch a bus back into Tonosho to my room for the night.

In the distance is the Giant Kannon I would be visiting the next day.

Tamonji was founded in the late 12th century as a shrine-temple named Torinbo. Shrine temples performed ceremonies for thr enshrined kami but also looked after the funerals of the Shinto priests.

A groupof modern rakan statues were quite striking. Not sure what the mound is.

The temple changed it's name to Tamon-ji in the late 17th century, and in 1744 moved to the current location.

The honzon is a Yakushi Nyorai, attributed to Gyoki, but with no information where the statue was before this temple. It is a "secret Buddha" that has a reputation for healing eyesight problems.

I didn't notice it, but there is an underground Fudo Hall..... would have liked to se that.

There is a huge Yamamomo tree in the grounds that is listed as some kind of important natural property. Known as Japanese Bayberry, the small red fruits are much prized in many traditional dishes...

I climb up to the main road and check the bus timetable and see I have time to visit temple number 74 nearby.

Enmanji claims to have been founded by Gyoki, which would be around the turn of the 8th century. it was restored in the 10th century and was named Jionji. In the late 12th century it moved to its current location and was renamed Jufukuin.

In the mid Edo Period it was renamed Enmanji. After WWII it converted to Shingon, and the current buildings date to 1992.

The honzon is an eleven-faced Kannon. It is a secret Buddha, but in 1992 a new "stand in" statue was carved.

The temple also has an Amida triad, said to date to the Fujiwara Period.

The second oldest Juniper tree on the island stands in the grounds...

The previous post in this series on the delightful Shodoshima Pilgrimage was on temples 47 and 48 in the mountains.

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

A Walk from Oi to Abu

 

Oshima Island, about 4 kilometers offshore from Oi on the mainland of Yamaguchi, has only one settlement, but big enough to have a small supermarket and an elementary school.

Oi has quite a large cemetery. In my area, we have no big cemeteries as graves and tombs are scattered throughout the community.

Along the way, a Buddhist statue with Inari fox guardians.....

The Ooi River begins about 10 kilometers away to the NE as the crow flies.

On this side of the river another shrine, this one a little smaller.

Like the previous shrine, Takakura Arahito Shrine, this one is also an Arahito shrine, and also has no informstion on site or on the internet.

The carving above the entrance to the main building perhaps offers a clue. It appears to depict some type of "wild" deity, suppressing a Jyaku, a lind of demon. Usually the Buddhist Shitenno, the four heavenly kings, are depicted this way. The main figure could also be Shoki, a Daoist "demon-queller, often equated with Susano.

My guess would be that Susano is now the kami enshrined in these Arahito shrines.

Up ahead the headland with the settlement of Abu...

More cormorants. I would guess that the differing head appearances would be due to gender or mating season factors...

It's a scenic section of coast, with plenty of rocky outcropping protruding from the sea. Nice to walk, cycle, drive, or take the train along.

This bird is, I believe, a Blue Rock Thrush, called isohirodori. I believe this one is male.

The previous post in this series on day 30 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Takakura Arahito Shrine.

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