Daihoji Temple 44 on the Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

Daihoji Temple 44

Daihoji Temple 44

I reached Daihoji early in the morning on January 4th, 2012, after a a snow during the night. Being temle 44 of an 88 temle pilgrimage it was in a sense a halfway point, though it was my 32nd day and I guessed about two thirds of the way in actual distance covered.

At 579 meters above sea level it is considered a mountain temple, but doesn't feel such because it is located just on the edge of a town, Kuma Kogen. However, it had been a lot of uphill walking f0r two days since the last temple, the bangai temple, Toyogahashi.

The path through giant trees up to the temple showed footprints of two people who had preceded me that morning. There are very few walking pilgrims in the winter months, for obvious reasons, but walking the pilgrimage in that season has its own rewards.

The Niomon gate was impressive, but the Nio were behind some thick, chicken-wire screening and so I found iit best to shoot out of focus.

According to the founding legend, a monk from Paekche left a statue of Kannon on the mountain in the 7th Century. It is not clear if it was a Korean monk or a Japanese monk who had returned from studying in Paekche. I suspect the former.

In 701 the statue was discovered by a hunter who placed it in a small hut to worship it. When Emperor Minmu heard about it he ordered that a temple be established. Kobo Daishi is said to have visited in 822.

Like most temples, Diahoji burnt down, but in 1156 it was restored as a large monastic complex by Emperor Go-Shirakawa who attributed prayers at the temple to his successful recovery from an illness. It was later burned down by Chosokabe, who destroyed so many Shikoku temples. The last reconstruction from fire was in the late 19th Century.

In 1934 a small statues of Kannon was excavated from under a 1,000 year old tree along with more tan 100 stones inscibed with the Lotus Sutra. Sutra burials such as this were common in the late Heian and earky kakakura periods. This statues is now enshrined in the temple.

Visiting this deserted and snowy temple in the golden light of early morning was a wonderful experience.

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To The Source

Gonokawa River to the source

Due to the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic of recent years I decided to start another walking project locally. My intention is to walk from the mouth of the Gonokawa River to the source, and then back along the opposite bank. The Gonokawa, the longest river in Western Honshu, is 194 kilometers long, yet its source on Mount Oasa is a mere 40 kilometers as the crow flies. It meanders along a great curve passing through Miyoshi, the only inland city in Hiroshima.

The first bridge, carrying Route 9 across the river in Gotsu, was not built until 1950. Earlier they ahd tried a pontoon bridge but it didnt last long. Before that the only way across was ferry. Route 9 is the national highway that starts in Kyoto and roughly follows the old Sanin-do, the ancient imperial highway. The bridge is 488 meters, making it the longest bridge across the Gonokawa.

Sanin Line Railway Bridge

Slightly upstream is the  Sanin Line Railway Bridge. This was opened in 1918 and built of American steel. It is the longest iron bridge on the San-in Line, and the oldest existing bridge on the river.

Heading upriver I will be following the route of the old Sanko Line which follows the river from Gotsu to Miyoshi. This was my local line and was a truly beautiful rail journey but was closed down a few years back.

The third bridge that crosses the river in Gotsu is the New Gonokawa Bridge, a monster double-decker. The lower deck carries a local rad that is very rarely used. The upper deck carries the Gotsu-By-Pass that hooks up with the San0In Expressway, only parts of which have been completed. It is always very busy.

Along my walk I plan to revisit many of the sights that are to be seen, as well as see how things have changed in the last twenty years. The right bank I will be walking is the least inhabited side of the river with mostly very small roads. and I suspect I will find many crumbling, abandoned houses,... and first up is Hoinmachi, the original Gotsu town protected from the sea by hills.

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Gardens at Yakumo Honjin

Yakumo Honjin 八雲本陣

The Yakumo Honjin is a former wealthy merchant's house from the Edo Period located on the south shore of Lake Shinji about halfway between Izumo and Matsue.

The title "honjin" indicates that it was used as a guesthouse by the local lord as he traveled around his domain.

I have previously posted on the house itself, and the artifacts and artworks on display.

I had expected the gardens to be more interesting than they turned out to be, though that may be because it was in the winter and the sun was low and cast big shadows,

Like other Izumo gardens I've visited, there seemed to be a big emphasis on the stones laid out as paths.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure if visited at the right time of day and year the gardens would be more impressive.

On the other side of the lake there is another honjin in Hirata, and it's garden is much better tended to.

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Kumadaniji Temple Revisited

Kumadaniji Temple 熊谷寺

The Tahoto, two-storied pagoda, at Kumadaniji Temple. Built in 1701, it is an Important Cultural property of Tokushima. The Tahoto is usually found at Shingon and sometimes Tendai temples.Kumadaniji is Shungon.

It is temple number 8 on the Shikoku Ohenro pilgrimage, but I was revisiting it on day 2 of my walk along the Shikoku Fudo Myoo pilgrimage which followed a similar route for the first day and a half.

Earlier I posted about the impressive Niomon gate that stands out in the valley. At the Sanmon, Mountain gate, of the temple there were a pair of Shitenno guardians, Jikokuten, I believe, pictured above.

The main hall of the temple burned down in 1928, but the Daishido, pictured above, survived. It was built in 1774.

A statue of Kobo Daishi as a mendicant monk stands in front of the bell tower.

A statue of Bishamointen, another of the Shitenno, at Kumadaniji Templenin Tokushima.

Izushi Castle Town

Izushi 出石町

Izushi is a small town, now part of Toyooka City, in northern Hyogo that was in earlier times home to a castle/ The ruins of the castle and some reconstructed turrets can be visited, and enough of the town's original architecture remains for it to be registered as a reservation District;

One of the icons of the town, appearing on the draincovers for instance, is the Shinkoro Clock Tower, built in 1871 on the former stone base of a castle turret/ At first it housed a large drum used to mark time. but in 1881 a Dutch clock was installed. It is said to be the oldest clock tower in Japan.

A lot of the historical district is given over to tourist-related gift shops and eateries, and I previously posted a series of photos of these shopfronts This time some different views.

There was a really interesting shop, very much Showa nostalgic, with lot of products from the 70's.... more like a museum than a shop....

Away from the main shopping street there was also some nice traditional architecture, like these earthen-walled storehouses connected to the loca lsake brewery.

Izushi is also famous for soba noodles, with a staggering number of soba restaurants for a town its size. Several of the shop windows show the noodle makers plying their trade.

A Brief Guide to Museums of Hita

Museums of Hita 日田市

Whisky Museum

I visited Hita, a small, historic town near the border of Fukuoka in Oita, several times, the first being on day 53 of my walk around Kyushu on pilgrimage. I quite enjoyed the town and there was plenty to see in and around the Historic Preservation District, including a range of museums. The Whisky Museum was closed when I was there but it has a collection of 30,000 whiskeys and paraphernalia that have been collected by the owner since he was 13. If alcohol is your thug then there is a sake museum in the local brewery.

Museum in Hita

In the Mamedamachi historic district, there are half a dozen small museums in the old houses and storehouses, including the Hirose Museum, and the Tenryo Hita Museum.

Exhibits include artifacts from wealthy merchants, the samurai bureaucrats who ran the town, and folk art and such.

Not to be missed is the Hita Gion Museum which houses the huge floats used in the towns Gion Festival, as well as other matsuri-related  objects and artworks.

There is a modern museum housing exhibits connected to the famous private academy, Kangien, and its founder , Hirose Tanso. Adjacent to the museum are two remaining buildings of the academy from the Edo period, Shufuan, and Enshiro.

The most popular museum I suspect is the Hina Doll Museum with its collection of more than 4,000 hina dolls, but it also has a few other historical displays not doll-related.

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Kamano Beach

Kamano Beach

Kamano Beach is immediately adjacent to Fukumitsu Beach, but is separated from it by a rocky promontory.

To get to it the road goes through a small tunnel which I am fairly certain is relatively modern.

Kamanoitself is a very small community with many empty houses and absolutely zero new houses. It would appear deserted except a couple of vegetable gardens that showed signs of life.

There was a large signboard commemorating the most famous son of Kamano, a certain Matsuraya Yohei. During the Edo eriod Kamano was art of the Tokugawa-controlled Iwami Ginzan Territory. The 19th  controller of Ginzan is famous for among other things introducing sweet potatoes into the region to stave off starvation. However, no-one knew how to store the sweet potatoes through the winter for replanting, and so they froze and rotted. Yohei figured out  to bury them deep underground in a large pot, and so became a hero.

From Kamano a narrow lane heads over the hills toward Yunotsu.

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Yakatabune of the Mimuka River

Yakatabune, Mimuka River

The Mikuma River flows through Hita, in the mountains of Oita near the border with Fukuoka, and has been a transportation route since ancient times. It has also been a source of food, with eels and the ayu fish being popular still today.

In the summer months, It is the site for the traditional fishing method using trained cormorants to catch the fish, and visitors head out in pleasure boats to watch the scene.

The boats, called yakatabune, nowadays ply their trade most nights of the year as they have become one of the prime tourist attractions, especially for the many guests of the waterfront hot spring hotels..

Yakatabune have a long history, being used by the elite aristocrats of the Heian court to hold waterborne parties with plenty of sake drinking and poetry composition.

Yakatabune is often translated as "house boat", but in English, that implies people living onboard, whereas they are really like small Japanses restaurants, with tatami floors, low tables etc.

Around sunset each day the lanterns and electric lights on the yakatabune light up, and guests, usually wearing traditional outfits, arrive and are then taken out to the middle of the river for a few hours of fine wining and dining.

The boats are operated by half a dozen of the waterfront hot spring hotels, but I believe it may be possible to book seats without actually staying at the hotel, though I suspect the tickets are not cheap.

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