Takuno Port

 

From the harbour at Nima, it is not far to Takuno port, with just the Nima beach, a small headland, and a small cove in-between.

There are a couple of small islands just offshore and they provide good protection so the harbour became one of the Kitamaebune ports. The next Kitamaebune port down the coast is Yunotsu.

The small town has several warehouses and large merchant homes that would have prospered during the Edo and Meiji periods when the trade route was at its peak.

I have passed through Takuno several times, most recently while walking the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage.

The largest of the offshore islets is called Karashima and according to the myth it was the "stone boat" that brought Susano from the Korean peninsula in a little-known variation on the ancient myths of Japan.

Nowadays there are no tradeships, only inshore fishing boats and a few squid boats use the harbour.

However, like so much of the Shimane coastline, there are plenty of fine views.

The previous post in this series exploring the coastline of the Sea of Japan was on Nima harbour.

Hateiji Temple 5 on the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Hateiji Temple was rather curious. On the one hand it appeared deserted and unused, but on the other there was a recently maintained gate with some striking Nio statues.

Other than the nio, and a small bell tower there was nothing else in the grounds. It was however home to a bustling kindergarten. I have seen quite a few smaller temples and shrines that have leased or rented some of their grounds to such establishments. In cities, they often become car parks.

The Nio were quite remarkable and suggested that in earlier times the temple was more important and prosperous. Above the entrance to the main hall the signboard displayed the temple's "mountain name", possibly Toraisan, though I am informed it uses an obscure kanji character.

The paper nameslips attached to the building suggest that this was one of the temples on the original Iwami kannon Pilgrimage that started in nearby Iwami Ginzan. A list of the original pilgrimage temples included more than a third that no longer exist, probably destroyed in the anti-Buddhist violence of early Meiji.

This "new" Iwami pilgrimage I am following starts in Oda City and I am getting close to the end of my third day walking it. This newer pilgrimage is called Iwami Mandala Pilgrimage, and though it has 33 main temples, there are a rather large number of "extra" temples.