Akashi Castle

 

Akashi castle is an Edo Period castle built to protect the approaches to Osaka from the west.

Most of the Tozama Lords, the daimyo that had fought against the Tokugawa and were therefore still considered a possible threat, lived in the west, and so the Tokugawa placed allies in strategic positions around the country.

At the entrance to what is now a huge park in front of the castle is a statue of Ikujiro Nakabe, a local politician from the Meiji era who had nothing to do with the castle. The statue was erected in 1928 but was subsequently melted down for weapons during WWII and then remade later. As well as being involved in national politics he also founded fishing companies and whaling companies that operated in the Antarctic.

The castle was constructed between 1615 and 1617 and took about a year to build. Thanks to the One Domain One Castle decree of 1615 many castles were dismantled and come of the materials and structures were recycled in the construction of Akashi Castle

It was quite a large castle with a total of twenty yagura, towers, and 27 gates.

Within the park are several gardens that are now named the Musashi Gardens after the famed samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. He was involved in the design of the castle and the surrounding area, and several gardens in nearby temples are attributed to him, but these gardens in the park were named after him after a very successful TV drama series on Musashi.

A base for a Tenshu, keep, was  constructed but no keep was built.

The main structures were 4 3-storey towers on each corner of the inner bailey.

The castle was built by Ogasawara Tadazane, but the Ogasawara were transferred to the Kokura Domain in 1632.

A succession of Fudai Daimyo, vassals of the Tokugawara before Sekigahara, or relatives of the Tokugawa, were given the Akashi Domain after the Ogasawara.

The castle was mostly demolished in 1874, but the two corner turrets on the south remained and are now Important Cultural Properties.

A large park and sports facilities now occupy most of the site. The stadium is built over what was probably a garden by Miyamoto Musashi.

Many events and festivals take place in the park.

It is a popular spot both for Cherry Blossom and Autumn Leaves viewing.

It is free to enter and a ten alk from JR Akashi Station.

Goryu Sonryuin Temple

 

Heading south towards Rendaiji Temple and Yuga Shrine I was surprised by this big torii and major approach to what was called Kumano Shrine, however the right hand side of the approach was filled with a variety of temple buildings that stretched about 400 meters.

There was an area with many Mizuko Jizo, very much a postwar thing, but apparently there were originally five temples here.

It was very much a shugendo site that included the Kumano Shrine and of the five, Sonyuin seems to have been the main temple.

According to the story, when En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of Shugendo, was exiled to Izu by the government, 5 of his disciples wandered around various areas carrying the divided spirits of the Kumano Sanzan shrines and in 701 after divine revelations set up the shrine here.

Each of the five founded a temple but Sonryuin became the main temple. Later in the 8th century the emperor gave all the land in the surrounding district to the shrine complex and around this time Yuga Shrine and Rendaiji Temple to the south were established so the area became a "new" Kumano Sanzan.

Fortunes deteriorated after the Heian Period but one of the sons of Emperor Gotoba, who had been exiled to the Oki Islands, was exiled here and revived the temples until they again fell into disrepair in the 14th century, all except Sonryuin.

In the 15th century during the Onin War the whole shrine temple complex was almost completely destroyed but revived during the Edo Period.

The three-storey pagoda was built in 1820 and now is within the grounds of the Kumano Shrine.

In 1868 when the Buddhas and Kami were separated the shrine and temple separated, and a few years later when Shugendo was outlawed the temple joined the Tendai sect. In 1945 it once again reverted to Shugendo, with a connection to Tendai Shugendo.

The previous post was on the Susanoo Shrine  few kilometers north.

Iyo Kokubunji Temple 59 Shikoku Pilgrimage

 

After visiting Senyuji, temple 58 of the pilgrimage, the route comes back down from the mountains towards the sea and temple 59, Kokubunji, among the rice paddies outside Imabari City.

It is one of the "Nation Protecting" temples established in every province in the early 8th century usually adjacent to the government administrative centres established under the new Ritsuryo system.

The other three Kokubunji on Shikoku are also part of the pilgrimage, number 15, Awa Kokubunji, number 29, Tosa Kokubunji, and number 80, Sanuki Kokubunji.

It was officially established in 741, and it was certainly built by 756. Founded by Gyoki, as so many of the pilgrimage temples are, the honzon is a Yakushi, Medicine Buddha, said to have been carved by Gyoki himself.

Worth looking for when visiting is the lovely "topless" Benzaiten statue in the Benten Shrine. Also noticeable is the Hand-Shaking Daishi statue below.

The temple was destroyed by war on numerous occasions, in 939 during a rebellion by Fujiwara Sumitomo, in 1184 during the Genpei War, in 1364 during the Northern Court-Southern Court warfare, and like so many of the pilgrimage temples, by Chosokabe Motochika in the late 16th century. A fire in 1689 once again destroyed most of the temple. It is said the hoinzon and other btresures survived each time.

The current main hall was rebuilt in 1789. Kobo Daishi is said to have spent some time here and donatede paintings pf the Five Wisdom Kings. It is a Shingon temple now.

The current site is believed to have been where the government offices were originally. The original site of the temple was about 150 meters  away. Immediately adjacent to the temple is a Kasuga Shrine which was part of the same complex until the sepeartion of Buddhas and Kami in 1868.

The previous temple was number 58, Senyuji.

Susanoo Shrine Fujito

 

After another couple of kilometers walking down the Kurashiki River from the Misaki Shrine I crossed the river to head south and came upon this substantial village shrine.

It was originally called Gyoeki Shrine but changed its name to Susanoo Shrine in 1868.

It was founded in 888.

Architecturally it was simple and uninteresting.

A male-female pairing of Bitchu Kagura masks probably represent Susano and Kushinada.

There were multiple secondary shrines in the grounds including an Inari Shrine and an Akiba Shrine.

The previous post in this series on day 8 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on nearby Misaki Shrine.

Washibara Hachimangu in Autumn

 

Washibara Hachimangu Shrine is located at the base of the mountain that has Tsuwano Castle on top.

It was established in the 13th Century by the warrior ancestor of the Yoshimi Clan who moved to what is now the Tsuwano area and established this branch of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine of Kamakura.

In 1387 the third head of the family moved it to its current location.

A Yabusame training ground was built at this time and it remains the only original Yabusame grounds in all of Japan. Yabusame takes place here on the first Sunday in April and can be viewed in this earlier post.

During the Yabusame festival the shrine grounds are filled with blooming cherry trees, but in the Autumn, the combination of Maple and Ginko trees make for a splendid sight.

There are numerous secondary shrines in the grounds, the most interesting being a branch of Awashima Shrine.

The head Awashima Shrine in Wakayama is famous for its collection of dolls that have been left at the shrine, and many Jaoanese find it quite eery.

The Awashima Shrine here at Washibara Hachimangu also has quite a collection of traditional dolls that have been left.

The Washibara Hachimangu was established at the same time as the first castle on top of the mountain, and when the castle was attacked in 1554 the shrine and all the other temples and shrines in the immediate vicinity were burned down.

In 1568, Yoshimi Masayori rebuilt the shrine. The current thatched tower gate dates from this time.

In 1711 Kamei Tsunechika did major renovations, and the current main hall dates from this time.

The Tower Gate, Worship Hall, and Main Hall are all National Important Cultural Properties and are fine examples of late Muromachi Period shrine architecture. They are all currently undergoing refurbishment.

Between the tower gate and the worship hall is a small pond with a kiyosaibashi bridge across it.

Outside of the yabusame festival in April, the shrine gets very few visitors as it is somewhat out of town, but well worth a visit in the autumn.

These last seven photos were taken on a later visit to the shrine....

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the Yabusame here.