Sanematsu Hachimangu
Within sight of Nogi Shrine is the local village shrine Sanematsu Hachimangu. While being a fairly common village shrine in many areas of Japan, there are surprisingly few hachimangus in Izumo.
Like most shrines in Izumo there are a couple of altars to Kojin, the rope serpent. By far the commonest kami in the region, he/she is relatively unknown. I am not sure of the gender. In my area the equivalent kami is Omoto and she is female.
The shrine also has a Zuijinmon with a fine pair of zuijin and wooden komainu. When I first walked this valley many years ago I was struck by the fact that every single shrine had a zuijinmon.
The other thing that struck me is that none of the shrines in the area had a toilet. Most shrines I visit have a simple, pit
toilet in the grounds. But in this valley not a single shrine does.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI’m Laurene, I’m a french short film director and I’m about to travel to Japan this October/November.
I will be in Kyushu mid November and I really fell in love with the Kunisaki Peninsula while I was searching a place to walk, hike, sketch and feel away from all. I really love to lose myself when I can as it is my way to get inspiration and draw peacefuly.
Then I saw your blog, and as it’s difficult to find informations about the peninsula (+ the fact that I’m not Japanese). I was wondering what was your route, and how did you find places to sleep or maybe some advices/tips.
It’s maybe not very humble for a non Japanese girl like me to go around alone (at the beginning I was about to hike the Kumano Kodo wich has more informations for travelers and I’ll be working on a farm nearby), but I’m very interested by the story of this part of Kyushu.
I’m sorry my mail is a little vague and messy but in any case your blog is very interesting and detailed!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Cheers,
Laurene
laurenebraib.tumblr.com