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On Wednesday night we headed to the Hachimangu shrine in Uyagawa, a village on the coast between Gotsu and Hamada. I'd never been to thye matsuri here before and so didn't know what to expect. What we found was quite a big matsuri with 3 or 4 stalls by vendors from outside the village, so it was more like a town matsuri.

The shrine did have a big kagura-den, but the village has no kagura group so the Otani group from Hamada were invited to play.

The first dance we saw was Yumi Hachiman, starring the kami of all Hachiman shrines, equated with mythical/legendary Emperor Ojin. Some groups have him dancing with an aide, but here he was alone to fight the flying buddhist demon from the sixth level of hell.

Hachiman is associated with archery, and the demon is dispatched by arrows.

In previous posts I have written about all these dances, so if you want to know more just enter the dance title in the search box or click on the tag links to find more info.

The next dance up was Yasogami, the story of Okuninushi and his "80" brothers, who are pissed off that the beautiful Princess Yakami refuses their advances and instead chooses to marry Okuninushi.

In this version the 80 brothers are represented by just one on stage, and are made to appear rather dumb and dorky through comedy and pantomime. At one point the brother spends a good minute or 2 picking his nose and then flicking it into the audience.

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On Sunday we went downriver to the Oihikonomikoto Shrine in Matsukawa Oda. They always have their matsuri on a Sunday during the daytime so there is no problem deciding which matsuri to visit like on a Saturday night when there might be 10 or more going on.

The village doesn't have a kagura group so Iwamishindaikagura Kamiko Syachu from Hamada were paid to perform.

The first dance we saw was Kurozuka, a very popular dance especially with older kids. Based on a couple of Noh plays the story revolves around an evil white fox. I was particularly impressed with this groups fox mask.

In the early part of the story/dance a priest and his guide Goriki, spend the night in a house of a pregnant woman. She is in fact the evil fox in disguise and in the video we see here she bewitches and possesses the guide. In the original story she kills and eats him, but in the dance he survives.

The priest then begins to battle the fox. The Kurozuka dance has many different variations depending on the group that is performing it. Often the dance incorporates pantomime and humor and the dancers speak in modern vernacular and local dialect.

The fox will invariably attack the audience and seek out young children to terrify.

Parents seem to take great delight in their kids being terrified and will call the fox to attack their babies. The Japanese believe that screaming loudly will cause their kids to grow up strong and healthy. I personally find it uncomfortable and believe it is more to instill fear in the kids and keep them close to the family and frightened of "outside".

Next dance up was Shoki, the demon-queller.

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On the way back from the matsuri up in Yamanaka I stopped in at the matsuri at the Futonorito shrine in Kawado.

Kirime was being performed. This is the second half of the dance that begins with Kakko, and sometimes only the Kakko section is performed.

In Kirime, the kami of benevolence (kirime) takes pity on Kakko and descends with an aide to teach the proper etiquette for rituals. In essence it is a primer on shugendo ritual. The dance originates from and is set in the area of Wakayama that was the center of shugendo.

It had beenb raining on and off all night, and that may be why there were not many people in the audience.

The next dance was a shinji, a ritual dance, called a sword dance though no swords are used. It was originally a part of the Kamimukae, welcoming the gods dance, but at some point split off and became a seperate dance.

Around 4;30am I headed home. Walking through a village in the wee hours of the morning while the sound of the drums and flute waft over the rooftops is a defining experience of Japan for me. Quite probably the experience I would miss the most if I lived in a city or outside Japan.

Crossing the bridge over the misty river, the sound still carries one kilometer away.

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October Means Matsuri, Matsuri Means Kagura.

It's that time of the year again......... apologies to any of you who don't like kagura....

Saturday night we headed up into the mountains to the matsuri at the hachimangu shrine in Yamanaka. Never been to this matsuri before so I'm interested to see the kagura. On the 10k drive up to the village we pass 4 shrines all with lanterns blazing..... 4 more all night kagura matsuris....a lot of people in the area will not be sleeping tonight.

We arrived about midnight. Matsuris usually start around 9pm, but the first 2 dances are ritual dances and fairly standard..... not likely to be anything different or unusual. The third dance, the first "theatrical" dance is usually Iwato, and Ive seen that so many times.......

When we walked into the shrine Ebisu was dancing...... and the smaller one was 3 years old. They start young with kagura round here....

We were soon approached by people from the village.... "thank you for coming", "where are you from?" "would you like to eat some Oden?" "would you like some Omiki?".

Bowl after bowl of tasty Oden, cup after cup of Omiki,... 4 or 5 of the village men join us for conversation.

How does our kagura compare to your village? was a question often asked.

The next dance was Jimmu, a tale about the mythical first Emperor. a standard 4 person sword fight, the goodguys.... Jimmu and his aide. The badguys... The Nagasune Brothers, leaders of the people living on the land that the Yamato are invading and taking.

Spent a long time chatting with a man from Izumo. Again, comparisons between Izumo kagura and Iwami kagura were much discussed. He was well-versed in the old stories of Izumo and disdainful of the Kojiki/Yamato version of things..... He knew that Susano was the original kami of Izumo Taisha.... and he told me that most of the kami of Izumo were from Sila (Shiragi). Refreshing.

The next dance was Iwato! It should have been the first dance, but apparently one of the dancers was "tired" (a euphemism for too drunk already I suspect) so it was rescheduled.

It was a very relaxed matsuri. The dancers only dance this one time of the year. They dont play for other shrines nor enter into competitions. Most men in the small audience spent some time relieving musicians who were playing a little too loosely...... around 3a.m. we slipped out and headed down the mountain.....

Koikui Shrine

Koikui is a small shrine just off the Kibi Bike Path.

It has a fine pair of Bizen-style ceramic komainu. It also had a buddhist bell.

Koikui means "carp eating" and refers to the mythical events that took place at this spot.

One of the most well-known folk tales in Japan is Momotaro, the Peach Boy, and it is partly based on a much older story of Kibitsuhiko.

This area was ruled over by a demon, said to be a king from Kudara (Paekche in what is now called Korea). Prince Kibitsuhiko was sent by the Yamato to defeat this demon. During the battle the demon transformed himself into a carp and swam away. Kibitsuhiko turned into a cormorant and caught the carp and killed it at the spot where the shrine now stands.

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.