Miyajidake Shrine

 

Like Kashii Shrine which I had visited a few hours earlier, Miyajidake Shrine is yet another major shrine in Fukuoka connected to the mythical Empress Jingu.

The long approach road runs from the shrine to the sea and is known as the Path of Light as twice a year it aligns with the setting sun.

According to the myth, Jingu prayed at the top of the mountain for success in her upcoming invasion of Korea, so she is the primary Kami enshrined here along with Katsumura no Okami and Katsuyori no Okami, said to be two brothers of the powerful ruling family of the area.

The shrine is famous for Japan's Best Three, the three being a giant taiko drum, a giant copper lantern, and the huge shimenawa.

Many sources claim this to be the biggest shimenawa in Japan, but by every metric I can figure the one at Izumo Taisha is bigger.

Behind the main shrine is the Inner Shrine area which has a group of eight other shrines.

The most interesting is the Fudo Shrine, not least because Fudo Myoo is a Buddhist deity with Hindu roots.

It is located within the stone burial chamber of an ancient kofun. While the mound itself is not particularly large, the stone burial chamber was claimed to be the biggest in Japan, though nowadays "among" the biggest is more common.

Dated to the end of the 6th or start of the 7th century, many grave goods have been found nd now registered as National Treasures.

It is not known for sure who was buried here but some historians suggest it was a notable of the Munakata Clan who is said to have ruled the area.

The Munakata were involved in trade with mainland Asia and the Munakata Shrines were links to the mainland by sea. Incidentally the Munakata Ptncesses, the name given to the three female kami of the Munakata Shrines, were "daughters" of Susanoo which has led some historians to suggest that Northern Kyushu was within the control of the Izumo polity.

Mitajidake Shrine has many festivals throughout the year, but one of the most popular is the Tsuitachi Mairi, held every month. Previously held on the new moon, since switching to the solar calendar it has shifted to the first day of each month.

The previous post was on Kaishinji Temple a short distance away on the Path of Light.

Kumano Shrine Yokohama Fukuoka

 

This Kumano Shrine is located on an 80 meter high hill on the south side of the river mouth that was home to Imazu Port, a port linked with trade with Asia in ancient times.

The area is named after the long beach nearby, Yokohama, not the now famous Yokohama up near Tokyo.

Beside the steps leading up to the shrine is a small Inari shrine, and then near the top a Yakushi-do.

Other than this being a branch of the famous Kumano Sanzan in Wakayama, I can find on information about its history.

The site of tye shrine used to be a manufacturing site of stone axes in te early Yayoi Period, and axes from this site have been found around northern Kyushu, indicating early trade.

The previous post was on the Shisho Shrine across on the other side of the river mouth.

Shisho Shrine Imazu

 

Shisho Shrine is located on the waters edge on the protected side of a headland in Imazu Bay.

The komainu, lanterns etc all seem to be of very recent origin.

One particularly huge tree stands in from of it.

Imazu was a port used in trade with mainland Asia in ancient times, for a while supplanting nearby Hakata in this role.

It is said that the shrine was established to protect the foreign ships and sailors who arrived in Imazu, though it would seem more likely to spiritually protect from such visitors, as disease and disaster was thought to come from "outside".

As the name suggests, four kami are enshrined here: Amaterasu, Hachiman, Sumiyoshi, and Kasuga. Hachiman and Sumiyoshi were originally cults from northern Kyushu but were very much "national" kami by this time.

The previous post was on the Bishamondo and viewpoint on the nearby Bishamonyama.

Koraiji Oimatsu Shrine

 

Koraiji is a village on the edge of the Itoshima Plain at the base of Mount Takaso.

Oimatsu Shrine was ranked as a village shrine in Meiji, but other than that I can find no history of it.

Like several other Oimatsu shrines I've come across in this part of Kyushu it enshrines Sugawara Michizane, and I have been intrigued by why they are not called Tenjin shrines or Tenmangu. One source I recently read suggested that many of the Oimatsu shrines are located on what were land under the control of Daizaifu Tenmangu. Shrines and temples were awarded lands as income and larger shrines and temples had huge estates in Japan.

The hall of the shrine had lots of ema paintings....

The area around the shrine is dotted with historical markers as the mountain was home to an 8th century "castle". Whereas ancient castles in Japan, which in English would be classed as forts, were said to be korean-style, this one was Chinese-style.

The previous post in those series on day 75 of my walk around Kyushu was on the nearby Itokoku History Museum which showcases the rich, ancient history of this region...

Rakurakuura Shrine Itsukushima Shrine

 

Floating Torii are the torii gates placed in water marking the approach to a shrine from the water. They are found in lakes and the sea and are not uncommon, with the most famous, and also the biggest, being the one in front of Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima in Hiroshima.

One of my favorites is another quite well known onem at Shirahige Shrine on Lake Biwa, known for its sunsrises.

This one is located in an inlet off the Maruyama River across from Kinosaki Onsen in northern Hyogo.

I think it may have originally been called Ukishima Benten and been a small Benzaiten shrine.

Benzaiten was conflated with the goddess of Itsukushima Shrine, one of the three Munakata kami.

It looks like this island was "rebuilt" at the same time as the land next to it when a large old people home was built and that was when the torii was built and probably when it was renamed.

The previous post in this series on the sights of Toyooka was on the amazing geology of the nearby Genbudo Caves.

Sazareishi Shrine

 

Located right in the middle of the Itoshima Plain, Sazareishi Shrine is surrounded by large Yayoi settlements and important tombs dating back 2,000 years.

This seems to have been the "capital" of the oldest "country" of Japan mentioned in the ancient Chinese chronicles. 

In historical times the shrine was very powerful and controlled numerous branch shrines in the area and was destroyed by warfare many times.

In  1587 Hideyoshi confiscated most of the shrines lands, and therefore income, and it declined in power.

The two main kami are Iwanngahime, and her sister Konohanasakuyahime, daughters of Oyamazumi.

They were offered as brides to Ninigi, sent by Amaterasu, but he sent Iwanagahime back to her father as she was ugly. In retaliation, Oyamazumi made the lifespans of the imperial line shorter, like mere mortals. Konohanasakuyahime is generally considered to be the goddess of Mount Fuji.

The previous post in those series on day 75 of my first Kyushu walk was on the nearby Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine.