Shikinoue Suspension Bridge over the Yoshino River

 

The Shikinoue Suspension Bridge is a small pedestrian bridge across the Yoshino River near Ikeda, where the  river turns west towards the coast after passing through the famous Koboke Gorge and then the Iya Valley.

My hotel was on the clifftop above the bridge on the south bank of theriver and I had spent the day visiting a couple of temples on the steep mountainside on the north bank.

I dropped down to the river near the Ikeda Dam,built in 1974 and then headed upstream towards the bridge.

The bridge was built at the same time as the dam and is kind of cool as the floor of the crossing is steel grills so you can see the reservoir/river below.

The bridge seems to be little used.

I had walked upstream on the north bank of the river for the past 4 days on the Shikoku Fudo Pilgrimage, and from here I would be  returning down the river on the south bank.

The bridge is 195 meters long, with 160 meters between the two 18 meters high towers. It was a glorious mid December day in 2016.

The previous post was on Mitsugonji Temple.

Mitsugonji Temple 5 Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Mitsugonji Temple is situated on the steep mountainside, surrounded by rice terraces, overlooking the town of Ikeda where the Yoshino River makes a 90 degree turn to the south.

Though said to be founded by Kobo daishi himself, it it not one of the 88 temples on the famous pilgrimage dedicated to him, nor is it one of the numerous "extra" temples connected to him like the nearby 

The Fudo Hall is a fairly modern, octagonal structure.

The honzon of the temple is a Kannon, but there is a small Fudo statues supposedly carved by Kobo Diashi himself with his fingernails.

It can't be seen but in front of it stands quite a large carving said to be 400 years old.

The Fire Festival held every May on the third Sunday draws visitors from far and wide.

The temple was burned down during the campaign of Chosokabe. It burned down again in the early 19th century.

There is no public transport near the temple. The temple is home to a Youth Hostel.

The previous post in this series was on temple 4, Hashikuraji.

Art of Hashikuraji Temple

 

Hashikuraji is a mountain temple in the mountains that border Tokushima and Kagawa on Shikoku.

It was the "inner temple" of Konpira-san, once a major pilgrimage destination in its own right, and since Meiji Konpira became a shrine.

While not all temples have komainu guardian statues, Kashikuraji has quite a few. It also has several shinto torii gates. The top photo is the older type of komainu, wooden and kept indoors.

There are also plenty of carvings adorning the buildings at Hashikuraji. In fact when I was there I noticed free worksheets for kids available at the temple that encouraged kids to explore and find all the examples of animals, including mythical ones, at the temple.

Hashikuraji was a major centre for Shugendo and yamabushi and so has a pair of big wooden Tengu masks.

As is fairly typical, there was a pair, one of the long-nosed Tengu, and one of the Karasu Tengu with beak;

The honzon of the temple is a Konpira Daigongen, though it is a secret buddha and the last four generations of head priest have not even seen it.

There are a few statues scattered around the rounds though.

One of the newer ones is a Bokefuji Kannon. prayed to for protection from dementia and Alzeimers, this is a new version of Kannon that is becoming very common. Typically the standing Kannon will have a small, elderly couple at its feet.

There is a large outdoor altar to Fudo Myoo, and in fact this was what I had come here for, while walking the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

The previous post was on the temple buildings and the temples history.

Hashikura Temple 4 Shikoku Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

 

While being temple number 4 on the Shikoku Fudo Myo Pilgrimage, Hashikura-ji is probably more well known for being temple 15 of the 20 "extra" bangai temples of the much more famous Shikoku Ohenro pilgrimage. However, it is also a temple of the Shikoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and the Awa Saigoku Pilgrimage.

It is located at 600 meters above sea level looking down on the Yoshino River valley that cuts right throiugh Tokushima.

The temple is accessible by a ropeway which offers a great view of the impressive Niomon gate on the way up.

The ropeway stops at the main level of the temple near the priests residence, and right next to it the Gomaden. Though it had been really sunny for a few days, it was late December and there was snow around the grounds.

According to the temple, Hashikiuraji has performed the goma ceremony twice a day, every day, since the temples founding.

It was founded by Kobo Daishi himself in 828 when he climbed the mountain. Hr had a vision of Konpira Daigongen and carved a statue of him.

Hashikiraji became the okunoin, or inner temple, of Konpira, the complex that since Meiji has been a Shinto Shrine.

Further along is a massive Bell Tower and the Heart Sutra Steps that lead up to the main hall.

With 278 steps, the same number of chracters in the Heart Sutra, when added to the steps from the Niomon up to this first level, in total the climb to the main hall has 769 steps.

This is just a little less than the 785 steps that lead up to the actual Konpira Shrine.

A major fire in 1769, and then another in 1826, destroyed almost all the buildings, so everything standing now dates back to the late Edo period.

It is a large complex with a lot to see, and relatively few visitors. There are a lot of nice carvings and statues and so I will do a post on them next.

The previous post in this series on day 5 of my walk along the Shikoku Fudo Myo Pilgrimage was on the interesting old house and museum across the river that documents the local tobacco industry.

Awa Ikeda Udatsu House & Museum of Tobacco

 

Awa Ikeda was in important transport and trading hub on the Yoshino River in what is now Miyoshi City in Tokushima on Shikoku.

This very large Edo period property belonged to a wealthy tobacco manufacturer and is open to the public.

In the entrance area is a nice display of puppets, as this area of Shikoku, Awa, is home to a long tradition of puppetry.

After sitting in the entrance for a while, trading tobaccos and smoking with the curator, he then took me on a guided tour of the house. It was a huge complex surrounding a nice courtyard  garden.

This first section of the property was formerly the residential area and each room was tastefully arranged with traditional, minimal, decorations...

Incidentally, udatsu are the external architectural features that are found protruding from the second floor of buildings and are meant to prevent the spread of fire from building to building. They are a common feature of a historic town a little further down the river in Mima.

At the rear of the property, which was where the workshops were, is the tobacco museum, spread over about ten rooms with a wide range of displays.

Tobacco was introduced into Japan in the late 16th century, probably by the Portuguese. The government unsuccessfully tried to ban it, but its use became widespread among men and women, and it became a lucrative cash crop throughout Japan.

Tobacco was smoked using a kiseru, a small pipe with a metal bowl and mouthpiece. Kiseru developed into an artform, some with intricate engraving. Another artform that came from tobacco was netsuke, the tiny ivory ornaments used in tobacco pouches.

The type of tobacco for kiseru was called kizami, a very finely chopped form. Kiseru and kizami began to disappear after the Meiji Restoration when cigarettes started to become available.

In 1898, to secure the considerable tax income, the Japanese government established a monopoly on the sale of tobacco leaf. In 1904 they expanded the monopoly to cover all aspects of tobacco production. In 1985 the government sold off Japan Tobacco, but retained a large percentage of shares, and JT has become one of the biggest tobacco companies in the world, buying u foreign companies like the Gallagher Group.

Even if you have no interest in Tobacco, it is a fascinating small museum to visit. The displays are all well made and though there is no English, the very friendly curator does his best to explain things. The traditional house is also worth a visit by itself. I find many museums in Japan to be overpriced and not so interesting, but there are plenty like this one that are excellent value for money but rarely visited.

I visited on the 4th day of my walk along the Shikoku Fudo Myoo pilgrimage. The previous post was Maruyama Shrine.