Dragon Guardians of Yakumo Shrine

Japan Guide

Rather than Komainu, Lion-Dogs, Yakumo Shrine in downtown Izumo City is guarded by a pair of what appear to be dragons.

Yakumo Shrine is a branch of Susa Shrine, dedicated to Susano and with many branches across Japan. This one was established in the Meiji period and is locaed between the main train station and city hall.

The shrine did have standard komainu guardian statues, but they were replaced quite recently with the current ones. Though appearing to be dragons, the sword held in the tail of one suggests they're meant to be Orochi, the 8-headed serpent of Susano fame...

To fill out this post here are some more shots from the area around the shrine....

Horinji Revisited

Horinji

Horinji is temple number 9 on the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage and is unusually situated within a walled compound among rice paddies.

Originally located about 4k north of its current position, it was destroyed by the warlord Chosokabe towards the end of the 16th century and rebuilt in its current location a few decades later.

Unusually the honzon is a reclining Buddha, the only reclining Buddha honzon on the pilgrimage, and it is only shown to the public every 5 years.

The current buildings date from the early Meiji period following a fire that destroyed everything except the belfry in 1859

This was my second visit to Horinji, the first when I walked the 88 temple pilgrimage, and this time when I was walking the Shikoku Fudo Myoo pilgrimage.

The route coincided with the ohenro route for the first day and a half, but after Horinji I headed west upstream towards the next Fudo temple.

Green Tea

Izushi Samurai Mansion

 

Called Izushi Karo yashiki on the tourist maps, this is the only remaining samurai residence in the former castle town of Izushi in northern Hyogo.

Located close to where the castle stood, the area where the highest-ranked samurai resided, it is now open as a museum displaying artifacts connected to the ruling clan of Izushi.

Though it looks like a single storey structure, it actually has a low second floor, a much remarked upon feature in the explanations about the house.

It is located next to the town tourist information office, and close to the castle ruins and the main street, so gets a lot of visitors.

It very much looks and feels like a museum rather than a residence, and architecturally it is nothing noteworthy, but its worth a visit for the displays....

From Kamano Beach into Yunotsu

 

To get from Kamano Beach in Fukumitsu to Yunotsu there is no coast road and so I have to head over a small group of hills. It's only about 2k and doesnt rise very much. No cars pass me. I delight in these little roads that are really more like 3 meter wide asphalt hiking paths with vehicles passing a few times a day.

The road comes into the narrow inlet that Yunotsu lies at the head of through a side-inlet lined with small fishing boats.

Across on the other side of the channel is the official fishing port with ice machine and offices. Behind it is the narrow valley that is home to the historical hot spring resort that Yunotsu is named after and now a World Heritage site connected to the Iwami Ginzan silver mines.

At the actual head of the inlet where the small river enters is the newer part of town where I can catch the train home at the end of this my second day exploring the nooks and crannies of the Japan Sea coast.

On the north side beyond the hots spring town is the old port of Okidomari, one of the two original ports that served the silver mines and that are also part of the World Heritage sites.....

On the way to the station I stop in at Anrakuji, a small temple with a rather nice dragon sculpted in plaster in the eaves. This kind of decoration is called kote-e, " trowel picture" and I have posted more examples.

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do, Temles 49 & 76 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do

After leaving Kannonzaka Kannondo, temple 66 on the Sasaguri pilgrimage, the route heads up the mountain valley for about 3 kilometers before reaching the next temple, actually a cluster of three, in the mountain settlement of Hagio.

What is remarkable about that is that the first three kilometers of the pilgrimage, as far as Kanninzaka, included a full 12 temples.

The route sometimes followed the narrow mountain road, and sometimes a trail through the forest including some decent bamboo groves.

Around Hagio, none of the three temples were large. There was temple 49, Raionji, temple 76, Hagio Yakushido, and temple 47, Hagio Amidado.

There were, however, just like the other small temples so far, a lot of statues, especially of Fudo Myo.

Raionji was the largest, and this is the main statue, a Shaka Nyorai, the "historical Buddha".

Raionji also has this nice thousand-armed Kannon,....

... and several nice Fudo....

The Yakushi-do obviously enshrines Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha...

And the Amida-do's main statue is an Amida....

The Sasaguri pilgrimage is an excellent opportunity to both get a taster of what walking a pilgrimage is like, and also an excellent series of mountain walks close to the big city of Fukuoka.

Ema Votive Plaques

Houonin Temple 5 Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

Houonin Temple

Houoninji was founded in the late 17th century with tee erection of the Kitamukizanfudoson, the North-Facing Fudo.

Located in central Osaka, not far from Ikutama Shrine, it is temple number 5 on the Kinki Fudo Myoo pilgrimage and I visited on the second day of my walk along that pilgrimage.

The statue stands against a camphor tree that was planted at the same time, and when the temple buildings were burned to the ground in WWII, only the tree and statue survived.

On the other side of the tree is now a "south-facing Fudo", though I can nt discover when this dates from.

It is a very compact, urban temple with only a few small buildings, but in one was another Fudo statue.

 

There was also this statue of who I am fairly certain is En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of Shugendo

Ema

Green Tea

Ajijoji Nightlife District Tanabe

Ajijoji Nightlife District

Usually located adjacent to the main train station in Japanese cities and towns can be found "nightlife districts", focused primarily on selling alcohol, food, and female entertainment, and "companionship".

I sometimes pass through such districts, but have neither the money nor inclination to be a customer, however at the end of my 4th day walking the Kumano Kodo trail, I spent the night in Tanabe, and they advertise themselves as having the most densely concentrated of such districts in Japan, so felt compelled to have a look.

The Ajijoji district has over 200 establishments packed into less than one square kilometer. There are a few restaurants, a few izakayas, and some bars, pubs, girl's bars, hostess bars, nightclubs, snack bars... which have nothing to do with snacks.....

I have only a vague notion of what the difference is between all these types of establishment, except they are usually very small, expensive, and have complex etiquettes.

Tanabe is classified as a city but is, in reality, a town, however, it is also the largest city in Kansai, in terms of area, 396 square miles, most of which is uninhabited mountains. With a population of about 70,000 it is also the 2nd biggest city in Wakayama.

Tanabe is the main gateway into the Kumano Kodo area for most visitors, and a big chunk of the Nakahechi trail falls within its boundaries. There are a few noteworthy sights I will cover later.....