Hitsu Shrine

Usually when I am walking a pilgrimage I have studied the maps and have a pretty good idea of what shrines I will be passing, but Hitsu Shrine was a surprise as it was not marked on the maps, though it most obviously is a shrine.

The main kami is Futsunushi, a martial kami connected with swords. here in Izumo it is most strongly connected to the Mononobe Clan, though it was taken over by the Nakatomi-Fujiwara when they wiped out the Mononobe. In Izumo it was Futsunushi who arranged the handover of Japan to the Yamato in the Kuniyuzuri myth.

Within the grounds was a Wakamiya Shrine, though it did not indicate which kami was enshrined in it, possibly hachiman. There was also a small Inari Shrine.

Behind the main shrine was a Kojin altar with the rope serpent wrapped around a tree.

Hachizu Shrine

After leaving Usa Hachimangu and heading towards the Kunisaki Peninsula I chose to avoid the main road and instead headed through the back roads through the village of Hachizu where I stopped in at Hachizu Shrine.

There is a very unusual mix of kami enshrined here, the primary being Amenominakanushi, by some accounts the first kami to come into being, yet very little is known or written about him. There were apparently no ancient shrines deicated to him, but in the Meiji era when the buddhas and kami were seperated, many shrines chose to rename Myoken, the deity of the North Star, Amenominakanushi....

The next is Yaekotoshironushi, another version of the name Kotoshironushi, the son of Okuninushi and now more commonly equated with Ebisu. Then there is the pair of kami Mikahayahi and Hihahayahi who who created out of blood dripping from the sword that Izanagi used to kill the god of fire. Finally there is Uganomitama, the female aspect of Inari.

I am guessing that the pile of rice straw is to make new shimenawa. Secondary shrines within the grounds include Kibune, Tenjin, Konpira, Gion, Inari, Dosojin, and Wakamiya.