Takano-Ji inside

Inside Takano-Ji is like stepping into another world. The ceiling is painted with bright murals of dragons.

All the colums and architectural details are also brightly painted.

If this was in Kyoto there would be a hefty entrance fee and crowds of people.

Above the main altar a huge mandala.

There are some amazing statues. I think this must be one of the Shitenno, the four heavenly kings.

There is also a collection of paintings.

One could easily spend hours taking it all in.

Takano-Ji above

Takano-Ji, founded almost 1200 years ago, is also known as Iwami Koyasan, as the kanji for takanoji can also be read that way.

It's one of my favorite temples, partly due to the fact that it is so far off the beaten track that it is always quiet.

There are lots more statues up around the main hall, and a sign commemorating that here was a huge, magnificent bell until it was melted down to make cannons. This bell links Takano-Ji with my own village through the Enko legend.

When I first saw the covered walkway that climbs the hill from the priests quarters to the main hall I thought "wow" the peasants get to climb in the rain but the priests are protected", but of course it is not the priest whi is protected but the sacred things he carries.

There are some wonderful carvings of dragons on the outside of the main hall, with outspread wings, something I've not seen elsewhere.

There are some nice views down from the main hall. Behind it a path goes to the mountaintop where there is a small shrine, and half way up a small building where Kukai supposedly spent time.

The real surprise of Takano-Ji though is to be found inside.

Takano-Ji below

Takano-Ji is a wonderful old mountain temple in the middle of nowhere just north of where I live. Its not on any main roads, and only has a small handpainted sign pointing to it.

The 2 Nio guarding the entrance to the temple are not intricately carved, but quite vivid.

The temple was founded in 814, and legend has it that Kobo Daishi himself spent time at this spot. Of course, according to legends Kobo Daishi managed to be in six places at once performing miracles the length and breadth of Japan, so I havent been able to confirm if he really was here.

Largely due to its isolation, I think, the temple is quite atmospheric.

There are statues dotted around all over the place.

The priests house is quite old and very traditional. Buddhist priests often get to live in some remarkable places.

The main hall of the temple is higher up the mountainside, about 160 steps higher up!

The Atrium at Kunibiki Messe

The Kunibiki Messe is a large convention center and exhibition hall in Matsue, Shimane.

Designed by Shimane-born architect Shin Takamatsu.

The central atrium features the forms common to much of Takamatsu's work... cones, cylinders, spheres, etc.

Running through the space is an elevated walkway that connect the 4th and 5th floors.

Up to the 5th floor

Down to the 4th floor.

Mukade Giant Japanese Centipede

Mukade

Caught this little bugger yesterday crawling across my floor. In japanese it is called Mukade, which means "100 legs", and in english we call it Giant japanese centipede. It was mid-sized, about 12 cms long. They do get bigger, though not as big as the desert centipedes I know from Arizona. It was unusual to see it during the daytime as they are usually active at night. They usual travel in pairs, and sure enough later I caught its mate.

Found a really nice, short video about Mukade on youtube.

Mukade are venomous and a couple of years ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the feeling that someone had put out a cigarette on my face. We found a baby centipede on the inside of the mosquito net. Ive been bitten by poisonous critters many time before,.... I slept outside many hundreds of nights in the desert, but this bite was particularly painful and the pain and swelling stayed for a full 2 weeks.

The centipede in Japan is associated with success in battle, so it was adopted as a symbol by the samurai. The great samurai Takeda Shingen had one on his battle flag, and these ceiling paintings from a small Bishamonten temple had several centipedes.

On of the Shitenno, Bishamonten is known as the god of success in battle, so the connection is obvious.

105 years ago today.

On May 28th 1905 the Russian ship Irtysh ran aground on the Shimane coast just off the fishing village of Waki (now part of Gotsu).

The villagers took to their boats and helped to successfully save and bring to shore the more than 200 crew and officers.

The Russians were given food and shelter and helped in every way by the mostly poor fishermens families.

Every year, this year on June 13th, Waki celebrates a Russian festival and dignitaries come from Russia to thank the village once again for their kindness.

In the small Waki Community Center is a small museum with photos, documents, items salvaged from the Irtysh, and gifts from Russia.

The story of how the Irtysh came to its end is pretty interesting.

In 1904, without a declaration of war, the Japanese attacked the Russian Far East Fleet in Port Arthur (Manchuria). Comparisons with Pearl Harbor are obvious. So began the Russo-Japanese war.

In a bold move the Czar ordered his Baltic Fleet to sail 18,000 miles, half way round the world, to hook up with the remnants of his Far East Fleet at Vladivostock. The Irtysh was a supply ship attached to the Baltic Fleet.

In the straits between Japan and Korea the Japanese navy engaged the Russians in a great naval battle that has been equated with Trafalgar. Known now as the Battle of Tsushima, the Russians were soundly defeated, and the damaged Irtysh was seen limping away from the battle and the next day ran aground off Waki.

A winter walk up Maruyama

Driving from my place to Iwami Ginzan, which I used to do regularly a few years ago, you pass through the village of Mihara, and as one is doing so the 480 meter high Maruyama (Round Mountain) is distinctly visible for quite a ways.

One fine January day the weather was warm and the light was bright so I decided to to find out what the views were like from the top.

I drove up the long, narrow valley that runs up from Tanijyugo, parked and headed up the forest track that climbed over the ridge and dropped down to the base of Maruyama.

Half way up Maruyama there was a clearing in the trees that offered a wonderful view over Mihara to the saddle of the ridge called Oe-Takayama. The highest point is a little over 800 meters, and behind it lies Iwami Ginzan. According to a painted signboard in the village at its base, there is a trail that goes up and along the ridge that I've always hoped to climb one day, though I suspect that the trail, like so many others around here, has long since disappeared by not having been used for decades.

The road up to the top of Maruyama switchbacks up the north side, so there was still unmelted snow.

Just below the highest point are the foundations of what used to be a castle, though fort or watchtower might be a more appropriate english word.

From the top, the view roughly south. Somewhere down in there is the Gonokawa River and my village.

But this is the view I had hoped to find. About 25k away, the snowy peaks of the volcano Mount Sanbe, at 1,126 meters the highest point in Iwami.

Kunibiki Messe

The Kunibiki Messe is a large convention and conference center up in Matsue.

Kunibiki means "land pulling", and refers to an ancient Izumo legend. Messe is the German word for "Fair".

It opened in 1992 and was designed by Shin Takamatsu.

We have a lot of buildings by Takamatsu in Shimane as he is a local man, from Nima.

It doesnt look like much from a distance, but close up one can discern something interesting inside......

Izumo Taisha

The grand torii on the road leading to Izumo Taisha, often called the second most important shrine in Japan, and often claimed to be the oldest shrine in Japan. While the first claim is debateable, the second is pure fantasy.

According to the ancient chronicles, a "palace" was built here by the Yamato to thank Okuninushi for giving Japan to them. As this happened before the Yamato descended from heaven, and as history in Japan begins with the Yamato in the same way that some believe the history of America begins with Columbus, therefore this must be the first shrine in japan.

One legend has it that the shrine was first built in the mid 7th Century. That sounds reasonable to me, as that was when several shrines were built in the Izumo area by the Yamato "emperors".

Though few question that Okuninushi is enshrined here, there is a reasonable doubt. In the sixteenth Century all buddhist buildings and images were removed from the shrine. At that time the records of Gakuen-Ji were consulted. Until this point Gakuen-Ji had administered the shrine, and the temple records go back further than the shrines. The temple records say it was Susano enshrined here. Since the beginning of Yamato hegemony over this part of japan there has been a continuous process of denigrating Susano and elevating Okuninushi.

What is undisputed is that the Honden of Izumo Taisha is the biggest in japan. The current one, constructed in 1744 is 24 meters high, but Heian period documents claim it was double that height, making it the tallest building in Japan at that time. This height was long believed to be exaggerationm but in 2000 excavations revealed the bases of huge pillars made by strapping three pillars together. In front of the entrance to the shrine is a small museum with models of what this original structure may have looked like, and at the nearby Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo there are more models . Apparently the tall structure was not based on sound engineering and it repeatedly collapsed until about the 12th Century when its reduced size was settled on.

Running alongside both sides of the main shrine are two rows of small shrines. These are "motels" for the kami. Once a year, in the Fall it is said that all the kami of Japan meet up here in Izumo. They don't meet at Ise, and they don't meet in Yamato.

Actually all the kami don't come. It is said that Ebisu doesn't come, even though his home shrine is nearby, because he is deaf and doesnt hear the call. Other kami make all kinds of excuses not to come..... too busy, cant afford it etc. I have heard of a shrine in Wakayama that holds a matsuri celebrating that their kami doesnt go.

Next to the main shrine is the Kagura Den, adorned with the biggest shimenawa in the world. If you visit here chances are that you will see a wedding. I've heard it said that Izumo taisha is the most desired location for weddings in japan.

The groom certainly does not seem very happy. Maybe he just got the bill.

In early-modern times Okuninushi became known as a matchmaker, and now lots of young people come to Izumo Taisha to pray for a spouse.

Every time I've been there young women have outnumbered young men by a factor of 3 or 4.

In the main compound, alongside Okuninushi, are enshrined Suserihime (Susanos daughter who Okuninushi married), Tagirihime (another daughter of Susano, one of the 3 Munakata princesses, and Kisagaihime and Umugaihime, 2 female kami who resurrected Okuninushi after he was killed by his 80 brothers. All female kami.

Behind the main compound is the Soganoyashiro, a shrine to Susano.

Oldest Wooden School in Japan?

Following an email conversation about old schools in Japan I dug out this photo.

Its the Fukiya Elementary School in northern Okayama Prefecture, and it is believed to be the oldest wooden school in japan that is still being used.

Construction began in 1900 and was completed in 1909.

One hundred years later the school had the grand total of 6 students enrolled.