Bitchu Kokubunji

The pagoda at Bitchu Kokubunji is a landmark on the Kibi Bike Trail. Its a classic example of a late Edo Period pagoda, being constructed in the middle of the 19th Century.

The original Kokubunji was built in the middle of the 8th Century and the site is near the current Kokubunji.

The Kokubunji were a series of temples built under orders of Emperor Shomu as a way of consolidating control over the provinces, each province had a Kokubunji, and its purpose was to protect the ruling elite in Yamato.

Most of the kokubunji fell into disuse during the Heian period, and none of them became famous.

Bitchu Kokubunji is the only kokubunji that still has a pagoda.

At the time of the kokubunji's establishment, Buddhism was still under the control of the rulers and used for their own protection and safety. It was illegal to teach common people about Buddhism.

TNC Broadcasting Center

The TNC Broadcast Center is located next to the Fukuoka Tower in the Momochi district of Fukuoka.

Built in 1996, it is home to a TV station as well as offices and Robosquare, the worlds biggest robot museum.

The high-rise tower is 100 meters high and has 21 floors.

Himeshima (Princess Island)

This is the draincover for the island of Himeshima, a small island less than seven square kilometers in size with a population around 2,700. It is located just off the coast of the Kunisaki peninsular in Oita, northern Kyushu.

This is what the island looked like a few weeks ago as we passed by on the ferry from Tokuyama to Kunisaki. It is a "stepping stone" on the main sea route that connected the capital in Yamato with Kyushu and then the mainland of Asia. The other "stepping stone" is Iwaishima just visible on the left of the photo.

And this is what the island looked like a few years ago when we visited the island in a small yacht.

The name Himeshima means Princess Island and refers to an ancient legend concerning a princess who transformed from a white stone. To escape the amorous advances of a prince of Kaya (a Korean kingdom) she fled to Japan and arrived at the island where she in now enshrined at the local shrine. Another version of the legend has her arriving at Naniwa (Osaka) where she was enshrined as the kami of Sumiyoshi Shrine. Naniwa and Himeshima are both on the route connecting Yamato with Asia.

The prince, Tsunuga Arashito, came to Japan to find her, passing through Izumo before reaching the court at Yamato where he forged diplomatic relations between Kaya and Yamato.

The island is known for farming Tiger Prawns, though as this pile of pots shows, a lot of octopus are caught.

There is an interesting article on the islands politics here

Inari Shrine, Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizudera, like most religious sites in traditional Japan, worshipped buddhas and kami, they were shrine-temple complexes, so its not unusual to find shrines in the grounds of a temple. Kiyomizudera has an Inari shrine.

Of course, wherever you find an Inari shrine you find foxes, the messengers of Inari.

All the kitsune (foxes) at Kiyomizudera wore vermillion scarves on their heads.

Officially, by government decree, Inari is now equated with Ukanomitama, an offspring of Susano and connected with food. The head shrine of Inari is the famous Fushimi Inari near Kyoto founded by the powerful immigrant clan the Hata. Inari shrines are the most common shrines in all of Japan and its identity has many facets, including Dakini, a buddhist deity with Hindu and Tantric roots.

Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizu means "pure, clear water" and refers to the founding legend of the temple and the water found here. There are a lot of Kiyomizuderas in Japan, the most famous being the one in Kyoto, but this one is one of the oldest if not the oldest temple with the name, being founded in 587.

Located in the hills near Yasugi, close to the border with Tottori, the temple disappeared and was refounded in the ninth century, though nothing here now dates from anywhere near that time as the temple and the whole mountain was reduced to ash during a war between the Amago and Mori Clans in the 16th Century.

There is the only 3-story pagoda in the San-in region, and unusually, it is open to the public for a small fee. If one can navigate the steep stairs inside one is rewarded with views across the surrounding countryside.

The temple belongs to the Tendai Sect, and is one of the temples on the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage as well as the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

The view from Kezo-Ji

At almost 450 meters above sea level, the views from Kezo-Ji are quite stunning.

Looking down on Daikon Island in the middle of Nakaumi. Nakaumi means Middle Sea, but technically its a lake. At 86 sq K its the fifth largest lake in japan. Behind Daikon Island is Yonago in Shimane and Yonago in Tottori. If the weather was clearer Daisen would have been visible.

Looking along the Shimane Peninsular towards Mihonoseki. In the middle is Sakaiminato in Tottori on the Yumigahama. In the Kuniyuzri myth this strip of land is a rope that tethers the Shimane Peninsular to Mt. Daisen. Not visible between Sakaiminato and the Shimane Peninsular is the narrow channel that connects Nakaumi to the sea.

The Japan Sea coast of the Shimane Peninsular. This is the area I walked on my Golden Week Walk.

Right down below.... part of Nobara village.

The west shore of the Nakaumi with Honjo.

Vacation 2010 Day 9: Wurzburg

After spending the day in Bamberg, I arrived at night in Wurzburg where I would stay for 3 days and catch up on my sleep. My friends apartment was located right under the hilltop Fortress Marienberg.

Next day we visited some of the 100 churches of Wurzburg. The town was almost completely destroyed in a bombing raid towards the end of the war and everything has been restored to its former glory. Lots of frescoes and gold leaf.....

The centerpiece of Wurzburg is The Residenz, a World Heritage site, and the interior is possibly the gaudiest building I have ever seen......

The Residenz is one of the locations for a new version of The Three Musketeers being filmed right now starring Orlando Bloom and Mila Jovovich.

After the Residenz we visited a few more churches and then walked along the Main River past the old harbour.

Not all is baroque in Wurzburg. Right on the river is the local power station......

Love Hotel Haikyo

Halfway up the side of a mountain, miles from anywhere, literally clinging to the side of the mountain. we came upon an a small abandoned Love hotel.

Literally built into a crevice, a stream passed underneath the building.

Each of the 4 rooms were decorated with different themes, though the building had been stripped and vandalized so it was not clear exactly what the themes were....

This one seemed to have an underwater theme.

Not sure how long this place stayed in business. In this part of the country the love hotels are built between towns, not in towns, so this one would have serviced customers from Matsue and Yonago.

Each of the 4 rooms had floor to ceiling windows with fantastic views over Nakaumi (the Inner Sea) and Daisen, but Love Hotel customers are not usually concerned with the view :)

Fudo Myo & Nio: Mine-Ji

The third and final mountaintop temple we visited a few weeks ago up in Izumo was Mine-Ji, and the Nio were particularly impressive.

I had never seen any painted black with gilded eyes before. The temple was founded in the 7th Century and sits on a mountainside near Kisuki in the Okuizumo area.

 

While not as remote or as high as Kez0-Ji, reaching Mine-Ji involves a very steep, narrow, windy mountain road.

Contemporary yamabushi still perform rituals and undergo training here, and in the area set up for Shugendo rituals there was a small, eroded Fudo Myo.

 

Above the Niomon was a most effective relief of Fudo Myo, done in copper I believe.

Tenmangu Shrine, Tsudera

The Tenmangu Shrine in the village of Tsudera is located a little off the Kibi Bike Path, and is a fairly standard, small, local shrine, but it is my nature to not be able to pass by a Torii without going in to explore.

The honden backs right up to the Sanyo Expressway and the shrine was newly reconstructed using money from the construction project. The honden was decorated as this particular saturday in June was the annual matsuri.

In front of the honden were the offerings laid out for the kami, in this case Tenjin, the deified identity of Sugawara Michizane.

What was unusual, and something I don't remember seeing before is that flowers were used. Thats a Buddhist practise, and though officially "separated" by the government, buddhism and shinto evolved symbiotically and one can still find evidence of the mix. Also unusually this shrine, and others in the area, still had a buddhist bell.

Deep in the shadows of the interior of the honden peeking out from behind a screen was Sugawara himself.