Nioza Historical Road

Nioza Historical Road

Nioza is the old district of the former castle town of Usuki in Oita. One of the narrow lanes is stone paved and winds around a slope.

Sometimes called a samurai district, there are a few samurai homes, but also a lot of temples and merchant quarters.

One of the former temples has been converted into a "rest area" for visitors and puts on seasonal displays. When I as there it was dolls.

If you are in Usuki it is certainly worth a look see, but not worth making a special journey.

Nachi Taisha

Kumano Nachi Taisha is one of the three Kumano shrines that are the focus of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes in the Kii peninsula of Wakayama.

The Nachi Taisha complex is on a hillside overlooking Nachi Waterfall, the highest in Japan, and an object of veneration since ancient times.

It is believed that the shrine was originally closer to the falls. The identity of the kami enshrined is quite complex.

Seiganto-ji temple was part of the complex until being somewhat separated from the shrine.

Kyushu Pilgrimage Temple 28 Kozanji

Kozanji, the 28th temple on the Kyushu pilgrimage is in the hills south of the main town.

It was established here in 1590 but was moved here from Koyasan and is known locally as Koyasan Kozanji. Hideyoshi gave some support to the move.

They brought a lot of statues with them from Koyasan, some dating as far back as the kamakura Period, but I didn't go inside so don't know how many can be seen.

There were a lot of statues in the grounds though......

24 Eyes Movie Village

24 Eyes

On my first morning walking the Shodoshima Pilgrimage I took a short detour to visit the 24 Eyes Movie Village. 24 Eyes ( Nijyushi no Hitomi) was an extremely popular movie made in 1955. A melodrama centered around a teacher and young pupils in a village school.

It was set and filmed on location here on Shodoshima, and thenactual school wgere it was filmed is just up the road. In 1987  they filmed a remake but with the amount of modern development could not find any real locations to film it so built this film set.

It is now open to the public and while the focus is on the movie there are plenty of other displays on Japanese movie history, especially the golden age of the 1950's.

There is very little English information, but if you are interested in japanese movies and or have seen either version of 24 Eyes it would be worth a visit. The cafe serves 1950's school meals.

Buy dokudami tea from Japan

Matsushima Shrine Usuki

Matsushima Shrine

Located on a long, narrow island near the mouth of the Usuki River, Matsushima Shrine was founded in 1707.

The three main kami enshrined here are Sokozutsunoo, Nakazutsunoo, & Uwazutsunoo, three kami that were created when Izanagi was purifying himself in water after fleeing from the Underworld.

There is no agreed upon meaning for their names, though they are the three kami that collectively are enshrined at Sumiyoshi shrines. The inclusion of Jingu as a secondary kami further suggests the connection to Sumiyoshi. Why it is a Matsushima shrine and not a Sumiyoshi shrine is not clear to me.

There are other Matsushima shrines so quite probably this was founded as a branch of the main one. Also enshrined here is Sugawara Michizane, Tenjin.

Yuzukosho is a signature product from Usuki

The Pagoda at Yokei-ji

At the start of my second day walking the Chugoku Kannin Pilgrimage I was at Yokeiji Temple on a hilltop overlooking the Yoshii River.

The temple dates to 749 but the pagoda is much more recent. The lotus were blooming and I posted earlier on that here

There were numerous shrines and temples within the complex which was a site of Shinbutsu Shugo since the Heian Period, that is to say the kami and the buddhas were worshipped together.

Yokeiji is the third name for the temple here, having been renamed twice.

Yasaka Shrine Usuki

Yasaka Shrine

This is  branch of the famous Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto that was known as Gion-sha, and is still referred to by that name locally. As a Gion shrine is enshrines Susano and his "wife" Kushinadahime. I'm not sure exactly when it was founded but when Otom Sorin became a Christian and destroyed the shrines and temples the goshintai of this shrine was moved around various places and hidden.

It seems to be the main shrine of Usuki now, and in the late Meiji and early Taisho eras many subsidiary shrines who moved into the grounds as part of the shrine closure program.

There is a Hachiman Shrine but that was established in 1683 as a branch of Iwashimizu. There is also a Tenmangu with its Ox statue.

There is an Inari shrine and an Awashima Shrine and a cuple of others......

Yuzukosho (yuzu pepper) is a signature product from Usuki

Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum

Located in the capital, Naha, the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum share the same massive structure and have a common lobby.

It opened in 2007 and was designed by Ishimoto Architetcural & Engineering, a company founded in 1927 by Kikuji Ishimoto, a contributor to the New Architectural Secession Movement.

It's made out of local limestone and is modelled on the forms of the gusuku, traditional Okinawan castles. In bright sunshine it appears almost white, but in other conditions looks quite drab.

Both museums are worth a visit if you are in Naha.

Inaba Shimo Yashiki

The Inaba were the feudal lords of the Usuki Domain in present-day Oita for most of the Edo Period. When the domains were abolished in the late 19th Century the famiy were made peers and moved to Tokyo

Shimo Yashiki means "lower samurai residence", bvut what it means in this case is "second home". In the first decade of the twentieth century this large residence wwas built for them to stay in whenever they visited Usuki.

Though built in modern times it is a traditional set of buildings and also has some nice gardens.

It is located not far from the castle ruins in downtown Usuki, and if you enjoy traditional japanese architecture it is worth a visit.

Yuzukosho (yuzu pepper) is a signature product from Usuki

Kumanosha, Kunisaki

As I wander around Japan I notice that some areas seem to have a lot of shrines, and in some areas they are far less common. In the areas with a lot of shrines they usually seem to be well visited. There are plenty of signs of activity, though usually they are empty. In the other areas the shrines seem almost abandoned, with little decoration and grounds not well kept.

The Kunisaki Peninsula is one of the first types of area,... there are a lot of shrines. This one, a Kumanosha, was the fifth one I visited in this morning of my second day walking around the peninsula hunting the fall colors.

According to the signboard it was founded in 725 during the reign of Emperor Shomu. The ony kami listed is Izanami.

The sign also mentioned that in the early Taisho era it was registered as an official village shrine. I suspect this was in response to the governments program of the time that ended up closibg half the shrines in the country. Many more would have been closed but in some areas, like Kunisaki I suspect, the people resisted the governments program and found ways to keep more of their shrines open.