Achi Shrine Kurashiki

 

Achi Shrine is located on a hilltop overlooking the Bikan Historic District in Kurashiki, and is now the pre-eminent shrine of the area.

The chinowa, the circular "rope" of grass for purification can be found at different times of the year at diferent shrines. Here it was mid August.

It is believed that in ancient times this was the site of a garden belonging to the local ruling clan and there is supposed to be remnants of a cran and turtle island stone arrangement from that time.

Around tye time the area started to develop as a political and merchant centre, a Myoken Shrine was moved here from a nearby temple.

Until 1868 it was known as Myoken-gu and changed the name to Achi Shrine at the time of Shinbutsu bunri.

The first shrine buildings were built in 1620.

The three main kami are now said to be the Munakata Princesses, Tagirihime, Tagitsuhime, and Ichikishimahime, collectively known for marine safety.

Myoken was a very popular shrine in Japan, dedicated to the Buddhist deity of the North Star. When most Myoken shrines were changed in 1868 they switched to a pair of obscure kami from the Kojiki. Why they chose the Munakata Kami here is a mystery.

There are a wide variety of secondary shrines and kami in the grounds including a Susano shrine that also brought in several other local shrine kami in the so-called shrine mergers of 1910.

A Tenmangu shrine also enshrines Yamato Takeru, Sarutahiko, and Omononushi as well as Sugawara Michizane. Curiously there were lots of Daruma dolls at this shrine.

Another sub-shrine enshrines Okuninushi, Kotoshironushi, and Homusubi.

There is also an Inari shrine brought here from nearby in the early 20th century. The shrine grounds has quite a famous Wisteria, and a Noh stage also.

I visited at the start of day 8 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage as I headed south out of Kurashiki towards the next temple, Rendaiji. The previous post was on Kurashiki Silhouettes the evening before.

Kurokami Shrine

 

I came down Mount Kurokami along a walking trail and as it got closer to the base passed though an old, Hizen-style torii, indicating this was the route used to reach the shrine at the peak.

There was another, slightly smaller torii where the trail emerged from the trees into the countryside. According to the sign it was built in the late 18th century.

Not far away I reached the entrance to Kurokami Shrine. Technically this is Lower Kurokami Shrine, and the one on top of the mountain the Upper Kurokami Shrine.

The approach to the shrine passes over a small bridge. This was the ancient and traditional way of purifying before entering shrine space. passing over running water. If you look at many of the oldest shrines they all have this feature.

There were lots of people in suits and kimonos milling around, and several priests.

A Shinto wedding had just taken place. Shinto weddings are one of the many "traditions" that were either invented in the modern period or moved to within shrines in the modern period. Christian weddings have a much longer history in Japan than Shinto weddings.

The shrine is said to have been founded in ancient times, but the shrine history recognizes the huge impact Kumano Shugendo had on the shrine, including listing the Buddhas connected to it.

The upper shrine enshrines Izanami as well as Hayatama and Kotosaka. The secondary shrine at the top of the mountain is a Hakusan Shrine enshrining Izanagi.

Secondary shrines here at the lower shrine include a Tenjin, Taga, and a Konpira.

At the peak of its power, Kurokami had 50 branch  shrines. It was popular with samurai during the Warring States period and a yabusame event is held here once a year.

There is also a secondary shrine to Amaterasu, though I am certain that is very much a modern addition, as is the Ise-style architecture.

The previous post was on the giant cliff carving of Fudo high up on the mountain.

Yasaka Shrine Arita

 

Yasaka Shrine in Arita is almost certainly much older than the most popular shrine in the town, Tozan Shrine.

According to the shrine's information board, appropriately written upon porcelain tiles, it says that originally the shrine was for the local kami.

However, it changed with the importation of the Gion ritual, here said to be of Indian origin.

Mention is made of Gozu Tenno and then Susano, to whom is attributed the creation  of the chinowa.

It changed names to Yasaka after Meiji when all the semi-Buddhist Gion shrines firmly became Shinto.

There is a small Tenjin shrine in the grounds, another of the kami associated with protection from pestilence and disease.

There were multiple pairs of komainu, with the oldest pair made of sandstone severely weathered..

The previous post in this series exploring Arita on day 70 of my Kyushu pilgrimage was on the nearby Kyushu Ceramics Museum.

Wakaura Tenmangu Shrine

 

The steps up to Wakaura Tenmangu Shrine are steep and rough, but not as long as the stairs up to the neighboring Kishu Toshogu Shrine.

Wakaura Tenmangu is older than the Toshogu by about 7 centuries, although the Tenmangu was rebuilt about ten years before the Toshogu was built in the 17th century.

Enshrining Tenjin, the deified form of Sugawara Michizane, known as a god of poetry and scholarship, Tenmangu shrines are where students head to before taking exams.

It is said that Michizane himself was here in 901 when the ship taking hime to "exile" in Dazaifu dropped anchor here to await favorable winds. He is said to have composed two poems here.

Wakaura, or Wakanoura, literally means Bay of Poetry, and Michizane was adding to a long list of poems composed in the area since ancient times.

It is said that Naoki Tachibana stopped here on his return from Daizaifu, where Michizane's grave was, sometime between 964 and 968, and established the shrine.

The shrine was destroyed in 1585 during the invasion of the area by Hideyoshi. It was rebuilt in 1604 by Yukinaga Asano and employed the leading craftsmen of the day.

The painted carvings of animals around the eaves of the main building are particularly noteworthy. There are several sub-shrines within the grounds, and great views from the shrine over Waknoura.

The previous post in this series on attractions of Wakayama City was the neighbouring Kishu Toshogu Shrine.

Nakayama Shrine

 

It is said that the torii at Nakayama Shrine is unique. At the time of my visit i didn't notice, but now I can see it.

An Ox statue usually signifies Tenjin, the deified spirit of Sugawara Michizane, and he is not one of the main kami enshrined here, but there must be a secondary Tenjin shrine.

Nakayama Shrine is located north of Tsuyama in the area of Ichinomiya, so named because the shrine was the ichinomiya, highest-ranked shrine, in Mimasaka Province.

The Shinmon gate was relocated here from Tsuyama Castle when the castle was dismantled in the early Meiji Period.

Nakayama Shrine was founded in 707. For much of its history it was known as Chuzen Shrine.

The three main kami enshrined are Kagamitsukuri no kami, Ame no nukado no kami, and Ishikori-dome no mikoto, with the first and third of these being associated wit mirrors. In the meiji period the names were changed but then changed back after 1946.

The shrine was destroyed by the Amago Clan in 1533 when they invaded and took over the territory.

Amago Haruhisa rebuilt the shrine in 1559.

The main buildings date from this time and are considered to be nakayama-zukuri, a style unique to the immediate vicinity.

The previous post was Tsuyama Snapshots, photos taken on my way to the shrine.

A large sacred keyaki tree, zelkova in English, is said to be 800 years old. It has a trunk diameter of 8 meters.