Bentenjima Shrine

The small shrine on Bentenjima (Benten Island) enshrines the female kami/goddess Benten, sometimes known as Benzaiten. Associated with water, and sometimes equated with Ichikishimahime, Benzaiten is the only female among the seven lucky gods of Japan.

Originally the Hindu Goddess Saraswati, introduced into Japan through Buddhist sutras, so one can find both shinto shrines and buddhist temples dedicated to her.

Benten Island itself is actually just a big rock on Inasa beach, and in the Kuniyuzuri myth the rock was thrown here by Takemikazuchi while engaged in a competition of strength with one of Okuninushi's sons.

Hamada Childrens Museum of Art (outside)

The Hamada Childrens Museum of Art (without 53,00 hankies) opened 1n 1998.

Its located right next to Shimane University on the hillside overlooking Hamada.

Like many public buildings in Shimane it was designed by Shimane-born architect Shin Takamatsu.

The space is divided up into 3 zones, an exhibition space, a practical/workshop space, and a non-functional space.

Various exhibitions, workshops, and events take place throughout the year.

Nanafushi: Stick Insect

Displaying one of the best examples of the art of camouflage, the Stick Insect, known as nanafushi in Japanese, are usually difficult to spot.

However, when they are crawling up your door they are much easier to see.

There are 18 species of Stick Insect in Japan, and I have no idea which one this is.

Kawamoto Summer Matsuri

On saturday evening we went upriver for the annual summer festival in Kawamoto. One street is blocked off to traffic and a stage erected. Along the street stalls selling food and drink.

The opening event was a rather poor performance of Yosakoi.

Next up was a performance by the local school brass band. Not exactly my cup of tea, but the performance was technically flawless. As it should be considering the amount of practising the poor kids have to do on weekends and during so-called school vacations.

And then some kagura. I noticed that Iwami kagura music now has the same effect upon me as Celtic music or Reggae..... my feet start tapping involuntarily.

Not sure how to describe the next performance. Yoko called it a play.

Next up the local taiko group. I always enjoy Taiko. This group was formed 40 years ago to cheer up the locals who had just suffered a devastating flood.

Thousands of floating candle lanterns were then set off to drift down the river. I would have liked to get closer to get some better shots but the river was fenced off and patrolled by dozens of security guards..... aahh!... safety Japan.

The finale was the obligatory firework display.

Kawamoto is a small town, but it services a large rural area, and the matsuri was well attended.

The Bridge over the River Go

I've already posted on our very own candy colored bridge that crosses the Gonokawa. Between it and the sea 20k downstream there are 4 more bridges over the river. This first one is about halfway down the river and crosses over to Kawahira.

The next 3 all cross the river at Gotsu. The first is the most recent, a doubledecker built 17 years ago. The upper level carries the Gotsu bypass, and the lower level is for local traffic between Watazu and Gotsu Honmachi. It is used on the local manhole cover design.

The next one is the bridge that carries the single railway track of the Sanin JR line. It was built in 1920.

The last bridge before the sea is the one that carries Route 9 through Gotsu.



From there its just a few hundred meters to the mouth of the river and the open sea beyond. The east bank is very sandy.

The west bank has the huge factory and of course tetrapods.

Garden report

The garden takes a lot of my time. I am usually always behind schedule, but this year the weather was behind schedule so I was actually caught up. June is mostly spent weeding in preparation for the rainy season. Now Im doin a lot of hand watering... carrying watering cans 150 meters... and of course harvesting and storing.

This year has been the best zucchini harvest ever. Usually by July the zucchini plants have been destroyed by little orange bugs. I have tried everything to get rid of them, bar using chemicals, but nothing has worked. This year the cool weather has meant no orange bugs, so I pick about a kilo of succhini every day.

Breakfast is always a skillet of potatoes, zuccini, egg, topped with salsa. This year its store bought salsa.

Cucumbers are also very prolific. I dont usually plant them, but the missus nagged, so I put 3 plants in that have produced about 30 cucumbers so far. Because of the cool year the lettuce kept going until July, but now I have "liquid salad" for lunch,... chilled gazpacho.... cucumber, tomato, green pepper, red pepper, onion.... all from the garden. The olive oil is store bought.

For supper last night.... zucchini au gratin, with sweetcorn picked an hour before dinner. Apparently sweetcorn can handle being under a meter and a half of water. This weekend will have to pick the rest of the corn and start harvesting the edamame.

Beets is another crop that has done really well with the unseasonably cool year. Pickled beetroot is impossible to get here so thats how I use it.

Was a terrible lima bean crop this year, though green beans did well. Tomatoes are in full swing and the peppers have picked up, though eggplant is still lagging.

Vacation 2010 Day 5 Stuttgart

I used to live in Germany, but I never made it down south, so this was my first visit to Stuttgart.

The Hauptbahnhof is huge, but there were'nt that many people around.

Out on the streets though it was a wonderful warm sunny spring day so the crowds were out.

Lots of old baroque buildings with statues of famous people looking down.

I was really taken with the big, steep rooves with their dormer windows.

The Sclosskirche (Castle Church) was only open to visitors for a few hours a week and I happened by at an opportune moment so could enjoy the deliciously decorative baroque interior.

In the afternoon I met up with a friend and enjoyed a few beers sitting outside the new Art Museum.

Then it was time to wander over to the Liederhalle (concert hall), continuing to snap pictures as I went.

The main reason for my visit to Stuttgart was to hook up with some old friends who were on the last leg of their European Tour.

Inasa Shrine

Inasa Shrine, also known as Hayatama Shrine, is located in a shady cliffside grove on the path to Kofukuji Temple near Inasa Beach.

It enshrines Takemikazuchi, who, according to the Yamato record of events, was one of 2 kami sent down from the high plain of heaven by Amaterasu to arrange the transfer of Japan to her descendants from Okuninushi, a story known as Kuniyuzuri, and which took place a few hundred meters from this site.

Izumo records however make no mention of Takemikazuchi, rather they say that Futsunushi was the sole emissary. Futsunishi is considered the ancestor of the Mononobe clan, and Takemikazuchi is the ancestor of the Nakatomi, later renamed Fujiwara. As the Fujiwara increased their power at the expense of other clans, notably the Mononobe and the Soga, it seems that Takemikazuchi took on attributes and roles formerly held by Futsunushi.

I will write a more detailed post on the Kuniyuzuri myth as soon as I have posted on one more shrine in the area.

Sagi Mai in Tsuwano

This is a follow-up to the videos I posted yesterday.

Every year on July 20th and 27th the Sagi Mai is performed as part of Tsuwano's Gion Matsuri.

Though known as the Heron Dance, the birds being imitated are in fact Egrets.

The dance, like the Gion Matsuri itself, was originally from Kyoto, but during the time that Kyoto was a burned out, war-destroyed, ghost town many aristocratic refugees fled to Yamaguchi, and it was from here that the dance was introduced into Tsuwano.

The people of Tsuwano faithfully kept the dance in its original form and in 1953 they went to Kyoto to teach the dance and it is now performed there again.

As well as the 2 dancers dressed as egrets, there is a full complement of other dancers, musicians, singers etc all dressed in period costume. The music accompanying the dance seems to be based on ancient Chinese-derived court music rather than any folk tradition.

On both days the dancers perform at various sites around the center of the town, starting in the afternoon.

Also performed is the Egret Chick dance, a recent invention of the town. The young girls didnt smile much, which may be due to the solemnity of the dance, or the summer afternoon heat.

As the dates for the festival are fixed they often fall on weekdays which means that the events are not too crowded.

Heron Dance (Sagimai)

Just got back from Tsuwano where I watched the Sagimai, the Heron Dance. Tomorrow I will post details and photos, but for now here is a short video.

There was also the Heron Chick Dance, of much more recent vintage.

What was intriguing was just before the dances were to begin a real heron landed and strutted around seemingly quite immune to the dozens of photographers taking its photo.