Washio Atago Shrine

 

Washio Atago Shrine sits atop a 68 meter  tall hill overlooking Fukuoka City.

It is considered one of the top 3 of the 900 Atago shrines in Japan, with the other two being the head shrine overlooking Kyoto and the one in Tokyo

Originally called Mount Washio, according to legend a shrine, Washio Shrine, was established here in 72 AD enshrining Izanagi and Amenoshihomimi, the oldest of Amaterasu's five sons. These are the two main kami of Hikosan, the major Shugendo site in northern Kyushu, and one theory is that the kami were moved to Hikosan from here.

Since the 10th century the shrine was under the jurisdiction of a shugendo Tendai temple, Torin-ji, and in fact for a while after a period of warfare only the temple building remained.

In 1634 the new daimyo of the domain established Atago Daigongen at the site and a Shingon temple. He had successfully prayed at the shugendo site atop Mount Atago in Kyoto and brought the kami Izanami and Homusubi from there.

In 1901 the Washio Shrine and Atago Shrine were merged and the temples removed. The Buddhist statue shintai, a Shogun Jizo, was moved to what is now Kannonji Temple a little lower down the hillside.

Within the grounds is an Uga Shrine enshrining Susano, Yamato Takeru, and Ugatama, and as well as the Kannonji Temple there is also a Jizoson shrine.

There is an Inari shrine and I will cover that in the next post.

It is a very popular shrine especially during cherry blossom season when I visited as it has 2,000 cherry trees.

It also has great views over Fukuoka City.

The previous post was on the Kannonji Temple just below.

Inari Shrine at Ikuta Jinja

 

Ikuta Shrine is a major shrine in Kobe. It was the third ranked shrine of the province and hence the area around it is now called Sannomiya.

In the NE corner of the grounds, near the east gate is a small Inari Shrine.

What struck me was the concrete wall alongside the torii tunnel.

Ikuta shrine claims an ancient history back to Empress Jingu, but I can find no info on this Inari Shrine.

The newness of the shrine suggests to me it was rebuilt when the neighbouring apartment block was constructed.

This visit was at the end of my third day walking the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

The previous post was on the Kobe Maritime Museum and Kawasaki Good Time World.

Atagoyama Kannonji Temple 85 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Kannonji, the 85 the temple on the Kyushu Pilgrimage is located an Atagoyama in Meinohama, Fukuoka.

It is linked physically and historically with the Atago Shrine on top, and shares the approach which is lined with plenty of cherry trees, in full bloom when I visited.

The shrine, and mountain, was originally named Washio, and is said to be the oldest shrine in Fukuoka City with a founding in the 2nd century.

In 859 a Tendai temple, Torin-ji, was established as part of the shrine.

In 1634 the local daimyo Kuroda Tadayuki enshrined the kami of the famous Atago Shrine in Kyoto after having success praying there.

He also established a Shingon temple, Enmanji, at the site.

The original Washio Shrine was merged with the Atago Shrine, and Torinji temple and Enmanji temples were also merged. The mountain was renamed Mount Atago.

With the shinbutsubunri decree the two temples were destroyed although the Kannon Hall remained.

The original statue of the Atago Shrine, a Shogun Jizo, was moved to the Kannon Hall, now Kannoin-ji Temple.

There is a particularly spectacular cherry tree in the main temple compound as well as plenty of statues including a fine Fudo Myoo

The Kannon-do has a very beautiful Thousand-armed Kannon.

The honzon's official name is Atago Daigongen Shogun Jizo. Kannonji also has a Yakushi-do.

I visited on day 77 of my walk along the Kyushu Pilgrimage when I returned to Fukuoka City to finish a ten-kilometer segment I had missed a few days earlier. The previous post was on temple 84 Hozo-in.

Kameyama Hachimangu Shrine Ikeda

 

Kameyama Hachimangu shrine in Ikeda Port on Shodoshima is the town's main shrine and one of the major shrines on the island.

I can find no date for its founding, but neighbouring Choshoji Temple now houses three statues that were the shintai for Kameyama Hachimangu until 1868.

These statues depicting Hachiman in Buddhist form are dated to the late Heian Period, which suggests that the shrine is at least that old and  it is also registered in the Engi Shiki of the early 10th century

Down below I earlier visited the Ikeda Saijiki, a kind of seated area area where the shrines annual festival takes place.

Taking place in mid October, the festival features a parade and the main attraction of giant drum floats from each of the villages that make up the town.

However, it used to be a much bigger affair. A painting dated to 1812 showed boat races, kagura or kabuki performances, and horseback archery as well as the drum floats.

Being a Hachiman shrine, the main deity is Homuda Wake, otherwise known as Emperor Ojin, his mother, Okinagahime, otherwise known as Jingu, and Nakatsuhime, his wife/consort.

There didn't seem to be many secondary shrines in the grounds, though there is a small Gokoku Shrine. The priest was very kind and helpful. He brought me some tourist literature in English and offered to give me a ride back to my room, but on this third day of walking the Shodoshima Pilgrimage, I still had a few more temples to visit.

The previous post was on Choshoji Temple next door.

Mishima Shrine Takaoka Tosa

 

Mishima Shrine is located in Takaokacho, Tosa, at the base of the hill on which Ohenro temple 35, Kiyotakiji is found.

It shares space with an Itsukushima Shrine, though they each have their own steps.

The only history I can find is that it was rebuilt in the early 17th century.

There are numerous smaller shrines within the grounds, including a Yasaka Shrine enshrining Susano, and a Shinmei Shrine enshrining Amaterasu.

There are half a dozen komainu including several with the "Princess leia" hairstyle.

There are a lot of largish ema paintings, including one, not shown as it is too faded, registered as an Important Cultural Property.

The Mishima shrine enshrines Oyamazumi.

The Itsukushima Shrine enshrines the three Munakata Princesses, daughters of Susano.

The previous post in this series documenting the space between the temples on the Ohenro Pilgrimage was on the nearby Omirokusama Shrine.