Tanga Daigongen

 

After descending from Shichiga Pass I start to head down a narrow valley towards Yuasa and cannot fail to notice Tanga Daigongen.

Built on a steep slope, the site is a collection of colourful orange metal torii with numerous shrines behind them.

According to the legend, Emperor Shirakawa fell ill at this spot while on a pilgrimage to Kumano and a white-haried old man appeared and helped him, so Shirakawa enshrined him here as Tanga Gongen.

There are several Inari shrines here, and several shrines to Fudo Myo.

The main kami though appears to be Tanga Daigongen which I believe is a manifestation of Kono Zao Gongen, the head deity of Shugendo. Photo 10 is a statue of Kono Zao Gongen.

Photo 9 is of En no Gyoja, the legendary mystic who is said to be the founder of Shugendo and who here is named Shinben Daibosatsu.

Also enshrined here are a Koyasu Daishi, a Tatee Jizo, and an Eleven-Headed Kannon as well as several more kami.

I love these kind of places as they mix so many strands and layers of religious history across all the artificial barriers of sects and schools...

Very "folk" as opposed to so many of the bigger establishments that are overtly political and somewhat sterile.

This was day 7 of my walk on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, said to be the oldest "circuit" pilgrimage in Japan, and still following the Kumano Kodo Kiiji Route at this point.

The previous post was on the route up to the pass. Once I reached Yuasa I jumped ahead by train to Kimiidera Temple.

Cutting-ties Fudo Myo at Anyoji Temple

 

Akuenkiri Fudo Myoo is for cutting bad ties and relationships and is a statue at Anyoji Temple in the mountains between Kurashiki and Soja in Okayama.

The sword carried by Fudo, Kurikara, is generally considered to be used to sever one from the attachments that prevent enlightenment, but perhaps the most famous "cutting" Fudo is the wave-cutting Fudo that quelled the storm carrying Kobo Daishi to China.

As well as the Akuenkiri Fudo there are numerous other Fudo's around the temple including this one near tye entrance.

This very small and unusual one was inside a thatched Teahouse.....

Previously I have posted on the Dragon Hall and the Seven Lucky Gods at Anyoji. More to come.

Shaka-do & Myo-o-ji Temples 36 & 37 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

My final stop on day three of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was a pair of temples sharing the same ground.

Number 36, Shaka-do, was part of another temple but was managed by Myooji temple in the Edo period and then moved here in the Meiji period I believe. The main hall is the only nationally registered Important Cultural Property on Shodoshima.

It is three bays wide and 4 deep and was built in the early 16th century. The honzon, a Shaka Nyorai, the "historical" Buddha is said to have been carved by the famous sculptor Unkei.

 Multiple sources say that Shaka-do is in some way the origin of the Shodoshima pilgrimage, but I can not find details.....

Next door is Myo-O-ji temple, established earlier than the Shaka-do, in the late 13th century and was rebuilt in the late 17th century.

The honzon is a Fudo Myo, said to be carved by Kobo Daishi, although some records suggest Gyoki may have brought it to the island earlier.

Photo 4 is of the Bishamondo attached to Myooji....

Unusually, the statue of Binzaru is inside a shelter and not on the verandah as is more common. It is also much darker than most Binzaru statues.

The previous post in the series was on the large Kameyama Shrine.

The Seven Lucky Gods at Anyoji Temple

 

A giant statue of Bishamonten sits atop the gate into Anyoji Temple near Kurashiki where Bishamonten is the honzon of the temple.

Bishamonten is also one of the Shichifukujin, or Seven Lucky Gods of Japan and so Anyoji has statues of all seven in the grounds as a popular attraction.

Bishamonten is one of three of the 7 Lucky Gods with origins in Hinduism. Benzaiten, photo 5 left, and Daikokuten, photo 4 right, being the other two.

Three of the others have their origins in Taoism, Jurojin and Fukurokuju, photo 3, and Hotei, photos 6, 7, and 8.

The only "native" god is Ebisu, photo 4 left.

The exact origin of this grouping of 7 is murky, though by the Edo period they were a very popular group and a visit to shrines for the Shichifukujin at new year is the origin of the Hatsumode tradition nowadays.

Anyoji was part of a major Shinto-Buddhist complex in ancient times, and there is a lot to see here. The previous post in the series was on the Ryujindo in front of the main entrance.

Meteor Plaza

 

Meteor Plaza is located in the port of Shichirui on the Shimane Peninsuka. Now part ofMihonoseki which itself is now part of nMatsue City.

Its primary function is as a ferry terminal operating car ferries and high-speed ferries to the Oki Islands.

Meteor Plaza was designed by Shimane-born architect Shin Takamatsu and opened in 1995

As well as the ferry terminal the complex also houses a saltwater swimming pool and a museum and performance space, although I am unsure how often the pool opens nowadays.

The museum is devoted to the meteor that struck the earth a few kilometers away in 1992.

The cone of the structure represents the meteor's trajectory, and the weird curved shape is the shape of the meteor itself.

The meteor crashed  through a local house and embedded itself in the earth. The inhabitants, who were home at the time, didn't notice it until next morning as the night was very noisy with a thunderstorm

Inside the big space is a kind of auditorium that puts on a light show and a short movie about the meteor.

When we visited we were the only people there so it was kind of eerie.

The meteor itself is on display inside the cone structure. It weighs 6.8 kilos and is just over 25 cms long.

The architecture appeals to me and I have posted on many other Shin Takamatsu buildings, like his ferry terminal in Nagasaki, his public onsen in Tamatsukuri, a Buddhist Hall on a mountain, and of course, his Sand Museum in his hometown.

The curved interior of the performance space offered me plenty of opportunity for the kind of geometric abstract photos I am partial to...