Tateyama Shrine

Japanese shrines

The torii on Rte 55 in Konan, Kochi, leads to Tateyama Shrine, almost one kilometer distant.

With two pairs of komainu flanking the torii it is obvious that it must have been an important shrine in earlier days.

It was the fifteenth day of my walk along the famous Shikoku pilgrimage commonly known as Ohenro, and I was on the way to Dainichiji Temple, but while the vast majority of pilgrims concentrate only on visiting the 88 temples of the pilgrimage, I tended towards visiting any and every shrine and interesting site along the route between the temples as well.

The most unusual thing about the shrine was the grass-covered mound in the shape of a keyhole tomb in front of the shrine. It seemed too small to actually be a burial mound but what exactly was it? There was no information at the shrine and I have been totally unable to find any info since.

There was almost no information at the shrine except a sign explaining about the annual festival that features a Shishi dance. The primary kami is Tateyamanokami, of whom there is absolutely nothing known, and the secondary kami is Kuninotokotachinokami, one of the earliest kami to be created and of which there are no stories.

These last two photos illustrate one of the reasons why I visit so many "unimportant" local shrines,... to find intriguing bits of "art", and to find suitably interesting subjects for my photos.....

Ramune

Yatsushiro Shrine

Yatsushiro Shrine

Yatsushiro Shrine is the major shrine of Yatsushiro in Kumamoto and was established towards the end of the heian Period. Until 1868 it was known as Myoken Shrine and enshrined Myoken, a Buddhist deity who was a manifestation of the Pole Star and Big Dipper. Myoken Shrine was in the middle of a complex of more than a dozen temples.

The Pole Star and Big Dipper figure in most ancient religions of the northern hemisphere, and in Japan in its earliest form seems to have been primarily Daoist. Myoken, the Buddhist version, seems to have arrived later and one credible source suggest that here in Yatsushiro was where it was introduced from the continent,

There were hundreds of Myoken shrines throughout Japan and in 1868 they were all renamed and 2 obscure shinto kami were enshrined in them, Amenominakanushinokami, and Kuninotokotachino. Like much of the "new" shinto of modern Japan it was Hirata Atsutane who decided this.

The current buildings at yatsushiro Shrine date from early and mid Edo period. It is thye home of the Yatsushiro Myokensai, one of the most important festivals in Kyushu. More info about Myoken can be found on my posts about Nose Myokensan, here and here.