Okuizumo Orochi Train

 

Okuizumo is the region of Shimane wherein is set one of the most swell known of the Izumo myths, the slaying of the 8-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi by Susano. The Kisuki Line is a railway line that runs from lake Shinji up into the Chugoku Mountains and pretty much follows the Hi River which is the site of many of the Orochi stories.

The Orochi Train, a scenic, reservation-ony, train runs between Kisuki and Bingo Ochiai and has just two carriages. However the trainis only ever half-full as a reservation gets you two seats, one in the enclosed car, and one in the open car.

The line roughly follows the Hi River and mostly has great views. When it passes through tunnels the interior of the carriages are illuminated. As it approached the Chugoku Mountains they appear impassable, but at Izumo Sakana Station the train goes back and forth up a series of switchbacks, some of the few still remaining in Japan.

The train then follows a 190-degree curve followed by a 170-degree curve in the opposite direction before arriving at Izumo Minari Station, the highest station in the JR West network. You also catch a glimpse of the Orochi Loop, a road that corkscrews down the river below.

At Bingo Ochiai it connect with the Geibi Line which runs between Niimi and Miyoshi.

Ryuko-in Bangai Temple 6 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage

Ryuko-in is the sixth "bangai" temple, one of twenty extra temples on the 88 temple pilgrimage. I arrived there late on the 27th day of my walk.

It is located at the top of an impressive sset of steps and has great views over the town of Uwajima and of the small castle. In fact the temple was constructed to guard the NE direction of the castle, the so-called "demon gate" from where misfortune arrives.

It is a Shingon temple, and of course has a Daishi-do as well as quite a largish Inari shrine. The honzon is an eleven-faced kannon.

There is a miniature 88 statue pilhrimage in the grounds, but the most noteworthy aspect of the temple is the views.

Hitoyoshi Castle Garden

Right next to the ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle, in the grounds of what is now the Sagara Gokoku Shrine, are the remnants of a traditional Japanese garden.

I suspect this was the location of the Daimyo's "Palace", and the gardens are not very well maintained, but are particularly pleasant in the Autumn.

There seems to be very little information about it, but I have seen it referred to as a stroll type garden. There are two bridges over the pond to the island and a waterfall^arrangement of rocks behind the pond.

It is always open, and free to enter.

Hitoyoshi Castle

 

Hitoyoshi Castle, like most castles in Japan, is pretty much a ruin having been dismantled in the early meiji Period. However the remaining stonework is quite impressive, especially in the context of its location.

It is built on the banks of the Kumagawa River and uses it and a tributary as a moat. The form it is in now dates back to the early 17th Century. A gate and a small yagura have been rebuilt in modern times.

The originalcastle on the site was built in the 13th Century. The castle nd the surrounding area is unusual in that it was held by the same clan, the Sagara, from the 13th Century until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

It is free to enter and is particular spectacular in November when the autumn colors are in full swing

Ghost Temple Eikoku-ji

Eikoku-ji temple in Hitoyoshi is located on the opposite bank of the Kuma River to the Aoi Aso Shrine, near the castle. It is also known as Yureidera, literally "Ghost Temple". The temple is a Soto Zen temple and ws founded in 1408 by a monk named Jittei.

He saw a ghost rising from the temple pond and a scroll painting he did of the ghost is still in the temple's possession. The temple is also famous for having been used as a headquarters by Saigo Takamori during the Satsuma Rebellion of the late 19th Century.

The principal statues in the main hall are of Shakyamuni, Monju, and Fugen.

Following Saigo's month long stay here in 1877, the fighting that took place resulted in the temples burning down, It was rebuilt in 1891.

I am fairly sure this statue is of Akiba Daigongen, with flames, fangs, and the rope being associated with Fudo Myo, The beak and wings with Crow Tengu, and standing on a fox. Similar to Izuna Gongen, though there is also a Doryo Daigongen another similar deity that has a Soto connection.

Koya-ji Temple 99 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage

 Koya-ji, or as it is locally known "Oshi-san", or "Koya-san" is a small, fairly modern temple located right across from the famous Aoi Aso Shrine in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto.

It was established in 1918, and Kobo Daishi is the honzon located inside the octagonal main hall. In the grounds are 88 small statues of the Buddhas of the main 88 temple pilgrimage and a largish Mizuko Jizo.

In July 2020 the area was heavily flooded and entered the main building, so plenty of damage has been done and things washed away.

Shrine Chickens & other details at Aoi Aso Shrine

 

Chickens can be found at a few of the bigger shrines, and Aoi Aso is one of them. I have read several theories on the meaning and symbolism of chickens at shrines, but none of them are convincing to me. They sound like things made up in the Meiji and post Meiji periods when Japan was frantically manufacturing "ancient" traditions.

There was also a selection of komainu, something I always seek out hoping to find unique styles rather than the homogenized design that is becoming more commonplace.

In the main gate were more komainu, along with Zuijin. This kind of komainu, smaller and made of wood, were the original kind, with the larger stone ones a later development

Aoi Aso Shrine is quite picturesque and there is lots of decoration to be seen.

Aoi Aso Shrine

 

Unfortunately, the bridge you see here was severely damaged in the devastating floods that hit this area of Kumamoto earlier in 2020. It leads to Aoi Aso Shrine in Hitoyoshi, but fortunately, the buildings of the shrine were not badly damaged.

As I mentioned in my last post on the Okyu Shrine, there seems to be a lot of thatch in this area, and if you were impressed with the Okyu Shrine gate, then the one here is much bigger. In fact, the 5 main buildings of the shrine are National Treasures, the southernmost in all Japan.

All the structures were constructed in the first decades of the 17th Century, though the shrine was established in the early 9th century as a branch of Aso Shrine located further north at the active volcano Mount Aso.

There are a lot of kami enshrined here, but the main three are obviously the same as Aso Shrine and are Takeiwatatsu, grandson of mythical first emperor Jimmu, Asotsuhime, wife of Takeiwatatsu, and the third is their daughter.

Okyu Shrine Taragi

 

Continuing my walk down the Kuma River I next stopped at Okyu Shrine, a small, local shrine on the north bank of the river. It has a quite impressive main gate  which, like more than a few buildings in this area, is thatched.

Inside the gate are a pair of Buddhist Nio guardians. This would have been fairly common in the days before the government artificially separated Buddhism and Shinto, and though almost never seen in most of Japan is still seen here in Kyushu.

Ther was also a pair of Zuijin, the Shinto equivalent to Nio.

The shrine was founded in 807, and the gate dates from 1416, though it underwent renovation in 1907. There was no info on which kami are enshrined here.

Samurai Gardens of Kitsuki

Kitsuki's Samurai Gardens

Kitsuki is a small, historic castle town in Oita. It is claimed to be the smallest castle in Japan. To the west of the castle, on a high bluff overlooking the town, is a former samurai district.

 

About half a dozen of these former samurai homes are open to the public, and as these were fairly high ranking sanurai, their homes were large and included gardens.

For this post I have chosen to focus on views of the garden from inside the houses.

Kitsuki is on the southern edge of the Kunisaki Peninsula, an area I am rather fond of, and these photos were taken on the 4th day of my walk around the peninsula during a November, so the gardens had some good autumn colors.

 

Kabosu Juice From Oita Prefecture