The New Fukuoka Tower

The New Fukuoka Tower stands next to the beach in the Momochi District of Fukuoka City.

At 234 meters in height it is the tallest seaside tower in Japan, though the observation deck is only at 123 meters.

It has an unusual triangular cross-section and was built in 1989 by Nikken Sekkei.

Open from 9:30 am to 8 pm entrance is 800yen and the elevator whisks you to the observation deck in 70 seconds.

It is particularly popular in the evenings for the expansive views over Fukuoka and the surrounding area.

Vacation 2010 Day 10: Wurzburg (morning)

On my second day in Wurzburg I met up with a few other camera buffs and continued exploring.
Churches were of course on the itinerary and again it was the light inside them that contin ued to attract me.

Like the scales of some prehistoric dinosaur, the slate tiles of the roofs sometimes took on organic forms.....

Corridor in the Julius Spital, a 16th Century hospital

The stairwell in a modern section of the Julius Spital.

The churches and cathedrals had some pretty impressive organs, but the most unusual-looking one was in the Augustiner Kirche.

In a small garden around the grave of Walter von der Vogelweide, a 12th Century knight and poet.

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Saturday was the matsuri in our own village, but first we headed up into the mountains to check out a matsuri we hadn't been to before at Kanzui Uehata Shrine.
Kanzui is remote. There is no village as such, just scattered farms up and down the narrow valley.
One of the first walks I took in this area was here and I was amazed that in 15 kilometers there was but one vending machine.

We arrived just as the ceremony was finishing and once inside we were invited to partake of the Omiki.

The first dance was a surprise. Usually the first dance is Shioharae, the dance that purifies the dance space in preparation for the dancing, but here they performed a dance I have never seen before, the Akuma'barai, the Purging Demons dance. It is danced by Sarutahiko. the earthly kami that marries Uzume, and his red face and long nose makes him indistinguishable from Tengu.

The dance seems to be more common in the Bitchu region than around here.

The next dance up, Kami Mukai, the welcoming of the gods, was danced by children, but also unusually it was 2 girls. Until recently Iwami Kagura was an all-male affair. Gradually girls have begun to perform as musicians, and occasionally dance some of the ritual dances, but as yet I have never seen a female dance any of the theatrical pieces.

The last dance we saw before heading off to our home village was Yumi Hachiman, and in this dance Hachiman was played by a young boy.

I got really good vibes at this matsuri, from the shrine, the performers, and the small number of villagers in attendance. Next year I plan to spend much longer here as I suspect there are more surprises in store for me.

Kibitsu Shrine

The distinctive roof of Kibitsu Shrine is visible from quite a distance as one approaches on the Kibi Bike Path.

From a sub-shrine there is a 400 meter corridor leading to the main shrine.

Kibitsu Shrine is a major shrine, for a long time the Ichinomiya (top-ranked shrine) of Okayama, so there are numerous secondary shrines within its grounds.

The shrine is a major tourist destination and has a large staff including many miko.

The main building, in its current form built in the early 15th Century, is a National Treasure.

Like Izumo Taisha in Shimane, Kibitsu Shrien was built by the Yamato after their conquest of the region and enshrines Kibitsuhiko (Wakahikotakekibitsuhiko)as well as

Mitomowakenomikoto
Nakatsuhikonomikoto
Chichihayahimenomikoto
Yamatotohimomosohimenomikoto
Hikosasukatawakenomikoto
Yamatotohiwakayahimenomikoto
Hikosamemanomikoto

who all seem to be members of the family of the mythical emperor Korei, linked with the conquest of Kibi.

Nowadays Kibitsuhiko is linked with Peach Boy Momotaro and images of Momotaro are in evidence at the shrine, on Ema etc

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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.