Phallic Hokora

Hokora are small roadside shrines found all over Japan.

Often the doors are closed, but sometimes they are open and one can see the shintai which is usually a stone, sometimes a small statue.

This one I found in a village in southern Okayama is obviously a small fertility shrine.

They were much more common in earlier days, though one can still find them in the countryside.

Each carving would have been made by a local person to ask the kami for a baby.

Some views of Kobe in yellow

A series of 4 manhole covers from the city of Kobe.

Located an a narrow strip of land between the sea and the mountains.

The top left design shows the Kobe Port Tower and the Maritime Museum, both of which I have bloogged about previously. The top-right design shows the port of Kobe.

The view from Meriken Park

More views of the tower, one oｆ the ropewaｙｓ up Rokko Mountain, the bridge to Rokko Island, and various other sights I have no idea what...

Inside the Fukuoka Tower

The views looking up inside the Fukuoka Tower are pretty impressive, and I would have liked to spend some time taking photos, but unfortunately I only had a few seconds.

We were kept behind a rope until the elevator was emptied and then herded across the open space by a team of uniformed young ladies in white gloves. I was scolded for pausing for a few seconds to take these shots.

More details on the tower can be found here in an earlier post

Looking down can sometimes have its rewards too.....

Vacation 2010 Day 10: Wurzburg, the afternoon

The old main bridge across the River Main was built in the 15th Century. The statues were added in the 18th Century.

For my last afternoon in Wurzburg we headed back across the river and up to the Fortress Marienberg sitting atop the hillside looking over Wurzburg.

There were fortifications on this hilltop since the 14th Century that have been gradually expanded and added to until its present size.

It was completely burned out in 1945, and reconstruction was only finished in 1990.

Lots of light and shadow, which is what photography is about, right?

There are fantastic views over the River main and the whole of Wurzburg.

OMMMMK 8

The eighth, and what turned out to be the last, matsuri for me in October was at Sano, a village up in the mountains behind Hamada. It was my first time at this matsuri and I accompanied a group of non-Japanese tourists, so the shrine, yet another Hachimangu, was quite crowded.

Because of the foreign guests could only stay a few hours the kagura group chose to play the opening shinji (ritual dances) later and started straight in with the theatrical dances. First up was Tenjin, the deified spirit of Sugawara Michizane a high-ranking courtier and poet who was banished to Kyushu by Fujiwara no Tokihira in 901. Sugawara died shortly thereafter and a series of disasters befell the Fujiwaras and the court and it was decided that Sugawara's vengeful spirit was responsible so he was deified and posthumously elevated in rank.

The dance is primarily a standard fast-paced battle between Sugawara and Tokihira.

The next dance up was everybody's favorite, Orochi, the piece that most typifies what Iwami kagura is all about, color, speed, drama, and excitement. This is usually the finale of a matsuri night of kagura performed at around 5am.

As is typical, only 4 serpents danced instead of the full complement of 8. Space in shrines is usually too small.

Halfway through the serpents gig an old gentlemen walked into the writhing mass and in turn lifted up the head of each dragon and gave the dancer a glass of sake....... no-one seemed to mind.

"I aint afraid of no dragon"

I had hoped to visit at least 12 matsuris this year, but unfortunately scheduling conflicts, the weather, and a trip to Kyushu meant only 8......... still, there is always nect year :)

Karube Shrine

Karube Shrine is located a few minutes from Kiyone JR Station on the Hakube line. The shrine is a few kilometers south of the Kibi Bike Path and well worth a detour off the path to visit.

Like so many shrines it is built at the base of the hills, and in the grounds are several small secondary shrines, probably gathered here from the surrounding area in the early 20th Century.

When we get to the main building of the shrine however we see what makes Karube Shrine different and why it has the nickname Oppai (boobs) Shrine.

The kami here is Chichigamisama, the kami of breasts and women come here to pray for plenty of breastmilk and safe delivery of children.

The Ema with breasts on can be purchased locally, and the prayers written on them were split 50/50 between asking for good milk and safe birth and for relief from　breast cancer.

What I found more interesting were the ema that were hand-made rather than being purchased.

The custom of breast ema seems to have spread a little. This last photo is from a sub-shrine at nearby Kibitsu Shrine.

Kezo-Ji

Slippers wait for visitors in front of the main hall of Kezo-Ji. When we visited on a sunny Sunday afternoon we were the only visitors there, due mainly to the temples location at 456 meters above see level on a remote mountain between Matsue and Mihonoseki.

Previously I posted on the giant Fudo Myo o statue and the Nio here as well as the fantastic views.

Above the main doors a fine carving of a Tennyo, a buddhist "celestial maiden" sometimes translated as angel.

The temple was founded about 1200 years ago and was originally of the Tendai sect but in the kamakura period it switched and became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect which it continues to be today.

During the Warring States Period the temple was badly damaged but was rebuilt about 400 years ago when the Lord of the newly built Matsue castle chose it as the temple to protect Matsue. The building date from this period and since the late 19th Century the structures have slowly deteriorated to their present state.

The temple is well worth visiting, but unfortunately you need a car or take a bus from Matsue and then walk up the steep mountain road.

OMMMMK 7

The seventh kagura matsuri for us this month was at Kakushi in Gotsu. Being in a town there were lots of people there and lots of stalls. There were lots and lots of kids running around. It was a Monday night but because of the all night matsuri all the local schools were closed next morning.

First dance we saw was Shioharae, the purification of the dance space. We came here about 6 years ago and Kakushi had their own kagura group, in the more traditional 6-beat style. Tonight Tsuchi kagura group were playing. Tsuchi pay the faster 8-beat style. Actually Tsuchi were the teachers of my own village kagura group.

Next up was Hachiman. The Kakushi shrine, like many round here, is a Hachiman shrine. Last year when we did the rounds of the matsuris it seemed that everywhere we turned up they were dancing the Iwato dance. This year it seems to be the Hachiman dance.

Hachiman danced alone, and fought a single demon.

Next up was Yamato Takeru. There are a whole series of myths/legends/stories about the exploits of the prince known as Yamato Takeru, mostly concerned with his subjugation of tribes outside Yamato control in Kyushu, Izumo, and the East. On his way east he is given a sacred sword by his aunt who was the Head Priestess as the Ise shrine. This is the sword that Susano found in the tail of the 8-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi, and gave to his sister Amaterasu the Sun Goddess, ancestor of the Yamato imperial line.

In the East he is almost killed when his enemies lure him alone into a grassy plain. They light the dry grass all around him but he uses the sword to cut down the grass around him and he creates a firebreak. Since this episode the sacred sword, one of the three Imperial Regalia, has been known as Kusanagi, the grass-cutting sword.