Omiya Shrine, Udo.

Just a couple of kilometers along the coast from Sagiura is another tiny fishing village with a shrine that was both mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki and listed in the Engi Shiki.

The village Omiya Shrine enshrines a male-female pair of kami, Shinatsuhiko and Shinatsuhime.

According to the ancient creation myths, after Izanagi and Izanami created the Japanese islands they were covered in mist, so Izanagi created Shinatsuhiko to blow the mist away, therefore the pair are known as gods of wind. In the village they are known as gods for safe travel by sea.

This whole section of coast is really quite wild and beautiful with just small fishing settlements in the occasional cove. reminds me of Cornwall in many ways. According to the Kunibiki myth this section of the peninsular was created by taking land from Shiragi, the Korean kingdom known as Sila in English

Teono Shrine

Teono Shrine is situated atop a small hill, Honozan, between Izumo taisha and Inasa Beach. The 2 kami enshrined here are Taokihooi, a god of measuring, and Hikosashiri, a god of carpentry. They are considered to be the ancestors of 2 branches of the Imbe Clan, and in the Kogoshui version of the Iwato myth the 2 were charged with the construction of a "great palace" outside of the cave that Amaterasu was hiding in. Some consider this to be the first kagura den. Most likely this was the shrine for the builders of Izumo Taisha.

Behind the shrine is a sacred tree home to Shirohebi Daijin, I suspect the site of a visit by a white snake, considered particularly portentious.

Next to the shrine is a small park with an observation tower offering views over the surrounding country. The long beach is Nagahama, and according to the Kunibiki myth it is a rope that tethers this peninsular to Mount Sanbe, just visible in the distance.

Much of the land down below would have been water 100 years ago. Lake Shinji has been reduced by over one third and land reclaimed earlier in the twentieth Century. The Hi River once emptied into the sea here but now empties into what is left of lake Shinj. 10,000 years ago this peninsular was an island separated from the mainland.

Downtown Izumo City in the distance. The plastic greenhouses in the forground are for grapes for the Shimane Winery.

Daisen

This is the manhole cover for Daisen Town, situated at the base of Mount Daisen in western Tottori Prefecture. It shows the town flower, sazanka, a type of camelia, and the town tree, kyaraboku, a kind of Yew, against a backdrop of the mountain.

Mount Daisen, at 1729 metres is the highest mountain in the Chugoku region, and is a volcano with 3 peaks. During the winter months climbers who are planning to climb Mt Everest come here to practise. The mountain was important as a center of Shugendo, and modern yamabushi can still be seen here on certain festival days.

Daisen is also mentioned in the ancient Izumo legend of Kunibiki. In the legend the Shimane Peninsular was formed by bringing pieces of land from Korea and other parts of Japan and was attached to the mainland by giant ropes anchored around Mount Daisen and Mount Sanbe in Iwami.