Gongendo Shrine Ishigaki

Gongendo Shrine is a Shinto shrine on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture. It is claimed that Okinawa is part of Japan, and it is also claimed that "Shinto" is the indigenous religion of Japan that dates back thousands of years into the mists of prehistory.

Gongendo Shrine was established in 1614, though it was destroyed by a tsunami in 1771 and rebuilt in 1786. and as far as I am able to discover was the first Shinto shrine on the island.

The Ryukyu Kingdom was established on the main island of what is now called Okinawa in the 15th Century and later took control of Ishigaki. In 1609 the Japanese Satsuma Clan invaded the Ryukyus and established military domination. Gongendo Shrine was built in 1614.

Like most Japanese shrines of that time Shinto architecture and ornaments and such were heavily Buddhist, and so it is here at Gongendo, though the Chinese influence is evident. Gongendo Shrine is immediately adjacent to Torinji Buddhist temple which I will cover in my next Okinawa post

Ishigaki Sea Salt

Kirishima Jingu

Kirishima Jingu is a large Shinto shrine on the lower slopes of the Kirishima Mountains, a group of volcanoes in northern Kagoshima.

The current buildings date back to 1715, though the shrine used to be located higher up in the mountains where it had been destroyed by volcanic activity multiple times.

The main kami enshrined here is Ninigi, the grandson of the "sun goddess"Amaterasu and ancestor of Jimmu, the mythical first emperor. The shrine was originally located at the foot of nearby Mount Takachiho, according to the ancient myths the site where Noinigi and his heavenly entourage descended.

There is another Takachiho, much further north in the mountains of Miyazaki, that is now considered to be the site where Ninigi descended. When the Meiji government decided that it was a great shock to the people of Sastsuma, present day Kagoshima, home of the "other" Takachiho.

National myths in Japan largely came about by government decree in the late 19th Century. Prior to that the imperial family had a set of myths, but so did the major clans of ancient Japan as well as the myriad tribes that inhabited the Japanese isles. Basically the imperial families versions of the myths are the ones now touted as national.

Pacifying the River Gods

Last week while across the river heading to pick up some firewood I was surprised to see some villagers from the little hamlet in a procession with a large Onusa heading to the riverbank. The next day, the 5th of May, both my village and the small town on the other bank would be having the Suijin Matsuri and would be doing the same thing, but this was the first time I had seen Ushiroyama doing it.

We all live on the banks of the Gonokawa River, the longest river in West Japan,  and like all river here it is prone to flooding and causing damage as well as drowning people. Its for this reason that the priest over in Kawado told me that the Suijin matsuri is the most important ceremony of the year. The end of the ceremony involves placing a large Onusa, most commonly referred to in English as a purification wand, attached to a long length of bamboo and hung over the river at several points to pacify Suijin, the river god.

This is a photo of the largest Onusa, from the biggest of the Suijin festivals held in Kawado. I did not attend this year as I was away but I have posted on it before, here, here, and here.

The biggest Onusa on our side of the river is this one, on a large sacred tree at the point on the river that used to be the main, and dangerous, crossing before the bridge was built. I have posted on the Tanijyugo Suijin Matsuri here and here. The small red arrow in the photo points to where the next photo was taken

As part of the Tanijyugo Suijin Matsuri a second Onusa is placed on the riverbank further downstream where my hamlet reached the river above the spot where legend has it a Kappa lives

Abandoned Mikoshi

Mikoshi are sacred palanquins or portable shrines used for transporting kami most often seen during matsuris when the kami are paraded around the local community once a year.

It is believed their origin lies in when the great kami Hachiman was carried by palanquin from Usa in Kyushu to Todaiji in Nara in the middle of the eighth century.

When not being used the Mikoshi are normally kept in a special storeroom though it is not uncommon for them to be put on display at New Year when many visitors come to the shrine.

In the heavily depopulated rural areas of Japan many shrines are now virtually unused and the mikoshi are no longer used. These photos were taken in a small shrine in the mountains of yamaguchi Prefecture.

More ceremonies at Shunki Taisai

As well as the main ceremony at the Shunki Taisai there were several other ceremonies going on during the day. In one of the secondary shrines Miko Mai was performed several times during the day.

Three priests also took part in the ritual and no-one else was within the shrine.

As is obvious to anyone reading this blog, I am quite fascinated by Miko and their costumes. Lots of previous posts can be found here.

In the main hall of the shrine there was a continuous set of purification ceremonies going on all day for those wishing to pay for the service.

Down below the main shrine was a special shrine just for cars. Most areas will have a shrine or temple that specializes in rituals for car blessing and driving safety, but this was the first time I had seen an area specifically set up for it.

The number of ceremonies and services offered by shrines has increased in the post-war years as shrines do not have access to the lucrative funeral business that funds Buddhism.

Shunki Taisai

Yesterday was the Grand Spring Festival down in Tsuwano at the Taikodani Inari Shrine. Before the main ceremony could begin the miko assisted the participants with water purification, starting with themselves.

As well as the 4 miko there were 8 priests (or 6 priests and 2 trainee priests) and 4 representatives from the town taking part.

After everyone was ready the Guji (head priest) came out and then lead the procession to the ceremonial area.

The ceremony took place in a Himorogi, a sacred enclosure which probably is the form earliest shrines took before buildings were introduced after the introduction of Buddhism. The big umbrella is for the head priest.

The ceremony was short, and as far as I could tell there were no norito (prayers)

The Miko were holding sprigs of cherry blossoms, though as the cherry blossoms had passed 3 or 4 weeks ago these were plastic, fitting perhaps as most of the shrine is concrete.

Then everyone headed inside the main building which was full of paying customers who had paid handsomely for the privilege of a purification ceremony.

More zuijin of Kunisaki

Here are a few more zuijin from shrines around the Kunisaki Peninsular.

For an explanation of what zuijin are, see this earlier post.

This is something I had not seen before, paintings of zuijin. Maybe the original zuijin statues had become damaged or destroyed in some way, or maybe the shrine could just not afford to pay for real statues.

Almost all the zuijin in Kunisaki were carved out of stone, the only place I have seen that, but some of them were originally painted.

Zuijin of Kunisaki

Zuijin is the common name given to pairs of statues found guarding some shinto shrines, usually in their own gateways called zuijinmon. Zuijin was the term given to Imperial guards.

They are a development from the buddhist Nio guardians found at many temples.

These first two are at Usa Hachimangu and are grand and large as befitting such a major shrine.

Another name for them is Kado mori no kami, and they are most often seen dressed in Heian Period court dress and carrying bows and arrows. They are often associated with Saidaijin and Udaijin, Minister of the Left and Minister of the Right who were the highest ranking ministers in Nara and Heian government below the Chancellor.

Almost all the zuijin I found at shrines on the Kunisaki Peninsular were carved in stone, and it is the only place I have seen them not made of wood, except for one set I saw made of ceramic in Iwami.

Stone plays a significant part in the religious traditions of Kunisaki, with an inordinate number of stone states, cliff carvings etc.

These last pair probably had wooden bows and arrows at some point.

A gallery of Miko

Iwashimizu Hachimangu, Kyoto.

Miko, commonly translated as "shrine maiden" in English, can be seen at many shrines in Japan.

Iwashimizu Hachimangu, Kyoto.

At larger shrines they will be full-time employees with duties that include office work, cleaning, sales, and assisting with ceremonies.

Dazaifu Tenmangu.

They are not female priests, or priestesses. There are female priests, though they are  not a large percentage of the priesthood.

Iwaishima, Kanmai Matsuri

At smaller, local shrines, elementary-school girls will fulfill the role of miko in some ceremonies. A common scenario being Miko Mai, a dance performed by a single miko or a group. I have several videos of Miko mai, one performed by 4 village girls at the Tsunozu matsuri, and another of two full-time miko rehearsing for a festival at Kagoshima Jingu. Both posts also have lots of photos.

Takachiho Shrine.

Nagaoka Tenmangu.

The most common time to see miko though will be over the New Year period when shrines are at their busiest in the whole year. Big shrines will hire lots of university students as Miko to handle the influx of visitors.

Nagaoka Tenmangu

The full-time Miko will perform the more ceremonial duties, commonly inculuding purification rituals.