Kawahira

 

Walking up the right bank of the Gonokawa, Kawahira is the first main inlet coming into the river. From Kawahira the road heads into the mountains and then forks with the older road heading into Gotsu from behind, and the newer road heading further inland to Atoichi and onto Arifuku.

One section of Kawahira has been completely re-engineered and raised several metres, ostensibly to prevent flooding. Lots of free, new houses for the few residents remaining, and of course lots for the construction and concrete companies. Kawahira no longer has any shops but it does hve a Post Office and a Koban, a rural police box.

It also had the first proper station on the closed Sanko Line. The other two stops between here and Gotsu, Chigane, and Gotsu Honmachi, were just "halts", platforms with a small shelter, whereas Kawahira has a building, toilets, and what used to be a ticket office.

Kawahira has the first bridge across the Gonokawa after those at its mouth in Gotsu. Though my plan is to walk up the right bank I have to cross the river at this point to the left bank. From here up to Kawado, there is no road on the right bank, the only section along the whole river. The rail line is on the right bank, and back when it ran the trains were so infrequent that I have walked along the line several times in this section, but since the line closed down the tracks have become choked with undergrowth and its no longer possible to walk it.

Ive been to the main shrine in Kawahira several times for matsuri to watch kagura, and one time to watch  Omoto Kagura, the shamanic form that only survives in this area of Japan, but the most common reason to visit Kawahira is for the Tauebayashi, the rice-planting festival.

As my plan is to explore the left bank by walking downstream from the source, I hop on a bus and plan the next leg from Kawado on up. The previous post in this series "To The Source" was To Kawahira

Fumyo-ji Temple Kashima

 

I have to admit that I thought that Fumyoji was an abandoned temple when I passed by the entrance.

It was mid-winter so all the trees and plants were bare, but the paths were overgrown with weeds and there was no sign of any recent maintenance or human activity of any kind.

Fumyoji was established in 1677 as the family temple for the local rulers, the Nabeshima Family. In the woods behind the min hall are the graves of successive lords of the domain, though I did not venture to them.

Kashima Domain was quite a small domain, actually a sub-domain of Saga. They were not big enough to be allowed a castle. Fumyoji was an Obaku sect temple. Obaku being the most recent form of Zen Buddhism introduced into Japan via Nagasaki earlier in the 17th century.

Fumyoji is said to be modeled on Manpuku-ji in Kyoto, the head temple of the sect.

The previous post in this series exploring day 59 of my walk around Kyushu was Tanjo-in Temple.

Meimei-an Teahouse Gardens

 

A Teahouse Garden, called roji or chatei, differs from the other two main types of Japanese garden, the karesansui, dry garden, often called zen garden, and the chisen-teien, or pond garden, and of course shares some features with them.

The Teahouse is meant to represent a rustic mountain hut, and the roji is what is passed through to reach the teahouse and therefore is the first part of the tea ceremony itself.

These photos are from Meimei-an, a  traditional teahouse in Matsue associated with the great Tea Master Fumai Matsudaira.

A fundamental feature of the roji will be the stones that make up the path to the teahouse. Tobiishi are stepping stones, and Nobedan, sometimes called tatami-ishi, are paving stones.

The path will pass by a Tsukubai, a washbasin where the visitor will purify themselves. Usually there will be a lantern behind the tsukubai.

All of the different stones arranged around the tsukubai have different names and functions.

These last two photos are of the garden of the Akayama Tea Ceremony Hall, open to the public where visitors can enjoy a cup of matcha with traditional sweets while enjoying the view of the Meimei-an Teahouse

The previous post has photos and more details about the Meimei-an Teahouse.

Meimei-an Teahouse

 

Meimei-an is an Edo Period teahouse in Matsue, Shimane, with connections to Matsudaira Fumai, the famous Tea Ceremony Master who was Daimyo of the Matsue Domain and whose castle can be seen from the teahouse.

It was built in 1779 and originally stood nearby in the grounds of the Arisawa Family, high-ranking vassals of the domain. Fumai was instrumental in bringing Tea Ceremony culture to his domain and vassals and he was a frequent visitor to Meimei-an.

It was dismantled and rebuilt in Tokyo in the Meiji Period but later came back to Matsue where it moved several times before its current location where it was restored in 1966.

It is the type of teahouse styled after a rustic mountain hut that was popularized by the great Tea Master Sen no Rikyu.

It is not possible to enter Meimei-an, but can be looked into through open doors and screens.

Immediately adjacent to Meomei-an is the Akayama Tea Ceremony Hall used as a site for various Tea Ceremony groups but also open to the public and where you can have a green tea with sweets while enjoying the view of Meimei-an.

I will cover the gardens around Meimei-an in the next post. Fumai Matsudaira made Matsue one of the three main tea ceremony centres of Japan and there are numerous other sites around the town connected to him and the tea ceremony.

In the nearby Matsue History Museum is a reconstruction of another Teahouse favored by Fumai as well as displays on him and the tea ceremony. Not far from the castle is Gesshoji Temple, the Matsudaira family temple where they were buried. It also has a collection of historic tea ceremony utensils owned by Fumai, as well as one of his favorite gardens.

The previous post in this series exploring Matsue was the samurai mansion just below Meimei-an.

The next post is on the roji, the garden of the teahouse.

Tanjo-in Temple 62 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Tanjo means "birth" in Japanese, and Tanjo-in Temple in Kashima, Saga is built on the spot where Kakuban, known posthumously as Kogyo Daishi, was born in 1095.

The temple was founded in 1405 at the request of the Shogun Yoshimitsu. Nearby is Rengon-in, a temple connected to where Kakuban first studied the Dharma as a child.

At the end of the 16th century, the temple was destroyed during the Warring States Period. At the end of the 17th century, the local Daimyo of the Nabeshima clan tried unsuccessfully to revive the temple.

In 1913 a descendant of the Nabeshima and influential local people succeeded in getting the temple rebuilt. The grounds are quite large and planted with a wide variety of flowering shrubs and trees including Cherry, Wisteria, Azalea, etc.

The honzon is a Fudo Myoo and it has a statue of Kakuban in front. The Fudo came from Negoro-ji Temple in Wakayama which is where Kakuban died and has his tomb.

He is credited with being a reformer of Shingon and his disciple officially set up a "new" branch called Shingi. For a while he controlled Koyasan. He also was a cause of conflict which is why he left Koyasan for Negoro-ji.

The Kondo, built in 1929, enshrines a statue of Kakuban. Tanjo-ji has a reputation as a place to pray for safe childbirth.

It is number 62 on the 108 temple Shingon Kyushu Pilgrimage, and I visited on the 59th day of my walk. A few minutes earlier I had visited Rengon-in, number 63.

Wakimachi Historic Preservation District

 

Wakimachi is located on the north bank of the Yoshino River in the interior of Shikoku. It is now part of Mima City in Tokushima, the modern name for what was Sanuki Province.

This part of Shikoku became renowned for producing the highest quality indigo in Japan and the trade in indigo made many merchants rich.

Wakimachi established itself as the main trading centre of the area and the old main street of the town was lined with residences and stores of the wealthiest of the merchants.

Enough of the traditional architecture remains so that it is registered as a traditional architecture preservation district, and unlike many such districts, all the above grounds power lines have been buried to give the visitor a more authentic experience.

One of the architectural features that is commonly mentioned in the literature about Wakimachi is udatsu, which are the extensions protruding out from the side of the houses above the ground floor.

Made of plastered earth, their function is to stop fire from spreading from one structure to the next, a kind of firebreak. Udatsu can be seen in many traditional buildings, but here in Wakimachi the merchants competed with each other to build more and more elaborate and grand udatsu as a kind of ostentatious one-upmanship.

Some of the historic buildings on the street are private homes, and some are empty. There are a few gift shops and cafes, and one, the former Yoshida Family Residence, is open to the public as a local history museum.

Built in 1792, the 5 buildings that make up this former indigo merchants property display a slice of historic life and background information on the indigo trade. A ticket to the Yoshida House includes entry to the nearby wooden theatre Odeonza.

The nearest train station to Wakimachi is Anabuki Station, several miles away on the other side of the river, so Wakimachi is not so easy to get to, consequently, it is in no danger of being overcrowded or over-commercialized like some of the more well-known preservation districts.

As mentioned, a historic theatre is located at one end of the street, and a short walk away is a delightful, restored farmhouse worth a visit.

A few miles upstream is the historic Teramachi district with some nice temples that I will cover in the next post in this series documenting the third day of my walk along the Shikoku Fudo Myo Pilgrimage.

The previous Preservation District I covered was the Joto District of Tsuyama.