Itokoku History Museum

 

The Itokoku History Museum is somewhat larger than your average local history museum as it is in an area with many, many important, ancient archeological sites.

Being the closest part of the Japanese islands to mainland Asia, where people, culture, and technology were introduced from, northern Kyushu is in many ways the cradle of Japanese culture and history.

Not far from here in Karatsu is the site of the earliest evidence of rice-paddies in Japan, and the earliest records of Japan from China mention northern Kyushu. Close to this museum is the Hirabaru Burial Site, and ancient tomb from where many of the items in the museum has been exacavated.

Bronze mirrors are an important archeological marker in ancient Japan. Originally based in Daoist magic, in Japan they are  seen as important status-markers. The most famous bronze mirrors are a group of 100 given by the Chinese Emperor to the legendary Japanese Queen Himiko. She would then have given on many of these to important figures who supported her, and so on. Eventually these bronze mirrors were also produced in Japan.

In Japanese archeology, the presence of mirrors in grave goods is a marker of the importance of the person buried. The bigger the mirrors, and the quantity of mirrors, indicating the status. At the nearby Hirabaru site they discovered not only the largest number of mirrors at a single site, but also the biggest mirror ever found. In recent years a bigger mirror has been discovered near Nara, but it seems to be most unusual. What is clear is that the "king" who lived here was very, very powerful.

There is some English with the displays, and a lot of the museum is aimed at children, but if you are interested in ancient Japanese history, the museum is worth a visit.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kyushu Pilgrimage was on nearby Sazareishi Shrine.

Bukkosekitei Garden by Mirei Shigemori

 

Komyozenji Temple is a 13th Century Rinzai Zen Temple adjacent to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka.

The temple is famous for its two gardens designed by the great 20th Century master, Mirei Shigemori.

In 2016 photography of the gardens was banned, and a few years later the temple was closed to the public for renovation.

These photos were taken on two visits to the temple long before the banning of photography and visitots.

The Bukkosekitei garden is in front of the temple and is a fairly simple karensansui-style garden of raked pebbles and rocks.

The rocks are arranged in groups of three five, and seven, Shichigosan.

They are meant to represent the Chinese character for "light", hikari.

There seems to be some confusion about whether the garden can be viewed now. I recently saw some photos of this front garden taken in October 2024, but all websites still have the temple as closed.

The rear garden at the temple is spectacular and was one of the gardens that originally piqued my interest in Japanese gardens and will post shots of it in a couple of days....

Sazareishi Shrine

 

Located right in the middle of the Itoshima Plain, Sazareishi Shrine is surrounded by large Yayoi settlements and important tombs dating back 2,000 years.

This seems to have been the "capital" of the oldest "country" of Japan mentioned in the ancient Chinese chronicles. 

In historical times the shrine was very powerful and controlled numerous branch shrines in the area and was destroyed by warfare many times.

In  1587 Hideyoshi confiscated most of the shrines lands, and therefore income, and it declined in power.

The two main kami are Iwanngahime, and her sister Konohanasakuyahime, daughters of Oyamazumi.

They were offered as brides to Ninigi, sent by Amaterasu, but he sent Iwanagahime back to her father as she was ugly. In retaliation, Oyamazumi made the lifespans of the imperial line shorter, like mere mortals. Konohanasakuyahime is generally considered to be the goddess of Mount Fuji.

The previous post in those series on day 75 of my first Kyushu walk was on the nearby Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine.

Shizuma Shrine & Shizunoiwaya Cave

 

Shizuma Shrine is on a small road close to the coast in Shizuma near Oda in Shimane.

In earlier times it was located inside a nearby sea cave, but a storm in 1674 changed the topography of the cave and so the shrine was moved to its current location.

It was founded in the 9th century and enshrines Okuninushi and Sukunahikona and is based on a poem in the second volume of the Manyoshu.

The poem mentions a stone chamber used as a temporary dwelling by Okuninushi and Sukunahiko while they were "creating" the land.

However, a couple of other sites also lay claim to being the "stone chamber", one a shrine in the mountains upriver from me, and the other a place in Hyogo. As all the Okuninushi and Sukunahikona stories are set in the Shimane and Tottori regions, the Hyogo claim seems suspect.

A monument inside the cave memorializes the Manyoshu poem.

The cave has two entrances, although now they are roped off and no-one can enter because of the danger of falling rocks.

The cave is on the beach right next to the small fishing village of Uozu, just west of the mouth of the Shizuma River.

I visited at the start of the fifth day of my deep exploration of the coast of the Sea of Japan. The previous post was on Isotake Beach where I ended the 4th day.

Ibara Sumiyoshi Shrine & Myojoji Temple Ruins

 

According to legend, Empress Jingu stopped here to pray after coming down from Mount Raizan, so for the past hour or two I have been following in her footsteps.

The shrine was controlled by a Shingon temple at the site but in 1868 it was dismantled.

It seems that a long time ago the area around the shrine was an estate of the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Hakata.

I am guessing that the massive trellis supporting wisteria was made on tye site of the former temple.

Three sides of the trellis have Buddhist statues lined up...

Another village shrine was merged with it in the early 20th century, so the main shrine enshrines other kami than the three Sumiyoshi kami.

There are a series of secondary shrines in the grounds including a Suga, Uga, and a Tenmangu.

The previous post was the Takaue Tenmangu Shrine

Akashiji Temple 43 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

An almost ten metre tall Fudo Myoo statue towers over Akashiji Temple and is clearly visible from a distance as you approach the temple.

It is called a Yakuyoke Namiikiri Fudo, a wawe-cutting Fudo against misfortune.

Yakuyoke is the Chinese system of "bad luck years", for men when they are 25, 42, and 61, and for women, 19, 33, 37, and also 61.

Afet entering through the main gate there are a further two gates to reach the main hall, one for women and one for men, with each having a corresponding number of steps to yakuyoke years.

The honzon is a seated Senju Kannon, only open to the public twice a year during festivals.

There is also a Bokefuji Kannon for protection against senility.

There are numerous other statues throughout the grounds including more Fudo's, the Seven Lucky Gods, and Kobo Daishi.

The temple previously had a shukubo, temple lodgings, though now it has been turned into a public ryokan, though offers many of the facilities of a shukubo for those who wish.

Behind the Main hall a path leading up to the Okunoin is lined with the 33 Kannon statues from the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Akashiji is also on the Kyushu Kannon Pilgrimage as well as the Sasaguri Pilgrimage.

I visited coming to the end of my first day walking along the Sasaguri Pilgrimage. The previous post was on Daihoji temple 44 nearby.