Hayashi Kumano Shrine. The First Kumano Shrine?

 

This was a completely unexpected site I visited while heading down towards the next pilgrimage temple, Rendaiji. From the first torii up to the main shrine buildings was quite a distance and around the shrine was a lot of open space.

I now believe this area was until around 1868 filled with many Buddhist structures, the three-storey pagoda remaining.

The arrangement of the shrine was also unusual, with a long line of 13 hondens in 4 structures.

Originally called Kumano Junisha Gongen, and renamed Kumano Shrine in 1868, the junisha refers to the 12 kami enshrined in the line of hondens, the 12 kumano kami plus a local protective kami.

According to the founding legend, in 699 the famed mystic and legendary founder of Shugendo was exiled to Izu. A group of 5 of his disciples carried the spirit of what is now Hongu Taisha shrine in Kumano and eventually, in 701, decided upon this spot to found a new shrine. This is why the shrine now claims to be the very first "Kumano" shrine.

The five disciples also founded 5 temples in the area and this became a major shugendo centre with two other sites in the area for a Shin Kumano.

The shrine temple complex went through cycles of destruction like most major religious centres and the oldest remaining structure is the one called Second Hall. It was rebuilt in 1492 and is a National Important Cultural Property.

The remaining structures date back to a rebuild by the Okayama  Daimyo Ikeda Mitsumasa in 1647.

The  kami are listed as Izanami, Izanagi, Amaterasu, Ninigi, Amenoshihomimi, Hikohohodemi, Ugayafukiaeizu, Haniyamahime, Kagutsuchi, Wakamusubi, and Mizuhanome.

Among the secondary shrines in the grounds are Susanoo and Ichikishima.

In 1868 the shrine was separated from all the temple structures and renamed Kumano Shrine.

In 1872 Shugendo was outlawed until 1945.

The previous post was on the remaining temples in the complex and the three-storey pagoda.

Washio Atago Shrine

 

Washio Atago Shrine sits atop a 68 meter  tall hill overlooking Fukuoka City.

It is considered one of the top 3 of the 900 Atago shrines in Japan, with the other two being the head shrine overlooking Kyoto and the one in Tokyo

Originally called Mount Washio, according to legend a shrine, Washio Shrine, was established here in 72 AD enshrining Izanagi and Amenoshihomimi, the oldest of Amaterasu's five sons. These are the two main kami of Hikosan, the major Shugendo site in northern Kyushu, and one theory is that the kami were moved to Hikosan from here.

Since the 10th century the shrine was under the jurisdiction of a shugendo Tendai temple, Torin-ji, and in fact for a while after a period of warfare only the temple building remained.

In 1634 the new daimyo of the domain established Atago Daigongen at the site and a Shingon temple. He had successfully prayed at the shugendo site atop Mount Atago in Kyoto and brought the kami Izanami and Homusubi from there.

In 1901 the Washio Shrine and Atago Shrine were merged and the temples removed. The Buddhist statue shintai, a Shogun Jizo, was moved to what is now Kannonji Temple a little lower down the hillside.

Within the grounds is an Uga Shrine enshrining Susano, Yamato Takeru, and Ugatama, and as well as the Kannonji Temple there is also a Jizoson shrine.

There is an Inari shrine and I will cover that in the next post.

It is a very popular shrine especially during cherry blossom season when I visited as it has 2,000 cherry trees.

It also has great views over Fukuoka City.

The previous post was on the Kannonji Temple just below.