Inari Shrine at Ikuta Jinja

 

Ikuta Shrine is a major shrine in Kobe. It was the third ranked shrine of the province and hence the area around it is now called Sannomiya.

In the NE corner of the grounds, near the east gate is a small Inari Shrine.

What struck me was the concrete wall alongside the torii tunnel.

Ikuta shrine claims an ancient history back to Empress Jingu, but I can find no info on this Inari Shrine.

The newness of the shrine suggests to me it was rebuilt when the neighbouring apartment block was constructed.

This visit was at the end of my third day walking the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

The previous post was on the Kobe Maritime Museum and Kawasaki Good Time World.

Atagoyama Kannonji Temple 85 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Kannonji, the 85 the temple on the Kyushu Pilgrimage is located an Atagoyama in Meinohama, Fukuoka.

It is linked physically and historically with the Atago Shrine on top, and shares the approach which is lined with plenty of cherry trees, in full bloom when I visited.

The shrine, and mountain, was originally named Washio, and is said to be the oldest shrine in Fukuoka City with a founding in the 2nd century.

In 859 a Tendai temple, Torin-ji, was established as part of the shrine.

In 1634 the local daimyo Kuroda Tadayuki enshrined the kami of the famous Atago Shrine in Kyoto after having success praying there.

He also established a Shingon temple, Enmanji, at the site.

The original Washio Shrine was merged with the Atago Shrine, and Torinji temple and Enmanji temples were also merged. The mountain was renamed Mount Atago.

With the shinbutsubunri decree the two temples were destroyed although the Kannon Hall remained.

The original statue of the Atago Shrine, a Shogun Jizo, was moved to the Kannon Hall, now Kannoin-ji Temple.

There is a particularly spectacular cherry tree in the main temple compound as well as plenty of statues including a fine Fudo Myoo

The Kannon-do has a very beautiful Thousand-armed Kannon.

The honzon's official name is Atago Daigongen Shogun Jizo. Kannonji also has a Yakushi-do.

I visited on day 77 of my walk along the Kyushu Pilgrimage when I returned to Fukuoka City to finish a ten-kilometer segment I had missed a few days earlier. The previous post was on temple 84 Hozo-in.

Uchihara Oji to Shishigasa Pass Kumano Kodo Kiiji Route

Saturday, March 26th, 2016, and I continue north on day 7 of my walk along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage which at this point still follows the Kumano Kodo, the World Heritage registered pilgrimage routes.

I am following the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo which ran from the imperial capital in Kyoto down to the Kumano Shrines. For the previous two days since I left Tanabe where the Nakahechi Route heads into the mountains The Kiiji route has followed the coast.

Now it heads inland and over the mountains on what was historically considered a difficult part of the route.

Heading north the narrow road passes several monuments to sites of former Oji, the 99 shrines that lay upon the route.

Some are still existant as shrines, and of course there are numerous roadside statues.

The route is pretty well marked and I believe the signage has gotten even more prolific since I walked it 8 years ago.

There are numerous artworks along the way depicting pilgrims, usual high-class, on the route in historical times.

The site of Kutsukake Oji, the 50th Oji, marks a kind of halfway point on the pilgrimage route.

As the road steepens the trail heads off along a section of cobblestone road. Apparently this is the longest section of the old paved route still in existence.

Eventually the trail levels out at Shishigasstoge, the pass at about 350 meters above sea level.

During the Edo Period there was a teahouse for travellers at the pass, and also other teahouses along the way. All have disappeared, mostly the the Meiji Period when trains and modern  roads led to the old paths becoming hardly used.

The plum blossoms were particularly appealing as they were in full bloom at this altitude.

Downhill from here is quite steep but mostly on a narrow asphalt or concrete road.

While not as dramatic as the far more popular Kumano Kodo routes to the south, this section is easily accessible for a shorter walk along the Kumano Kodo without necessitating much planning and expense.

The previous post was on Uchihara Oji Shrine at the start of the climb out of Gobo.

Hozo-in Temple 84 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Temple 84 was hard to find as it is in a built up area and accessible via a narrow lane. It ios located on the old Karatsu Kaido in Meinohama.

It was founded in the early Showa Period, so probably before WWII.

The founder worked as a follower of the abbot of the famous Daikakuji Temple in Kyoto and was apparently "awarded" the chrysanthemum seal carved in the gates.

Interestingly it was the third head priest who envisaged the Kyushu Pilgrimage and did all the work finding the 108 sites around Kyushu connected to Kobo Daishi.

The honzon is an Eleven-faced Kannon, and being only a small place has a wide range of diverse statuary in the small grounds.

This was the final day of my 77 day walk along the pilgrimage and just needed this short ten kilometers section through Mrinohama to finish. The previous post was on temple 108 I visited yesterday.

Sutra Storehouse at Anyoji Temple

 

Anyoji Temple in Iwami Ginzan, the World Heritage silver mine area in Shimane is known as the Crustal Temple, but I will cover that in a later post. For now we are looking at the Sutra Storehouse of the temple.

Originally located on top of the mountain, it was founded as a Tendai temple in the early15th century but converted to Pure Land sect in 1523.

The storehouse, said to be from when it was a Tendai temple, has an excellent piece of kote-e above the door. Kote-e, literally "trowel picture" are plaster reliefs found mostly on temples and storehouses, though sometimes on homes. Further examples can be found in this post on Kitsuki.

The storehouse also houses a statue of Shaka Nyorai, Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha.

Flanked by attendants, it is also said to date from when the temple was Tendai.