Kyu Sentoji Temple

 

The "kyu" in the name means "former" as it refers to the site where the temple once stood.

Down the mountain on the main road is the new Sentoji Temple, built, I believe after 1968 when a forest fire detroyed the last vestiges of the original temple.

Once the grandest of all the Rokugo Manzan temples in the central Kunisaki Peninsula area, some sources also suggest it was the first to be built.

A Torii tands on the path to the ruins, typical of the syncretic cult that existed here with Nio guardians at shrines, and torii at temples.

A pair of Nio stanf guard at what was the Goma Hall of the temple.

Sento-ji, as well as 27 other temples, are said to have been established in 718 by legendary monk Ninmon. This is of course legend, as records from this time are minimal, but Ninmon was a historal figure and his grave, and also the cave where he is said to have died, is a little higher up the mountain next to the Okunoin.

The temple was mostly detroyed, probably in 1560, when Otomo Sorin fought against and subdued the armed monks of Usa Hachimangu.

The Rokugo Manzan cult had strong connections with Usa Hachiman, being a Tendai-Hachiman cult primarily.

Obviously something continued to function here until the forest fire of 1968.

From the main temple site a path leads through the forest and up the mountain to the Okunoin.

Like most such places here, it is built into a cave. There are other caves with statuary and the cemetery that has Ninmons grave. 

I was here at the start of day 4 of my second walk around Kyushu, this time following the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage. For this first week I was roughly following the Kunisakihanto Minemichi Long Trail which closely follows the ancient yamabushi pilgrimage from Usa Hachimangu and then around the Rokugo manzan sites.

The previous post was on the Rokugo Shrine in Ebisudani.

Shigaku Kojin Shrine Okuizumo

 

Shigaku Kojin Shrine in Sajiro, a small rural settlement in the mountains of Okuizumo is curious indeed, having a modern 8-storey concrete pagoda and a modern footbridge crossing the road.

In 1986 it was rebuilt by Yoshio Tane, a local man who went on to great success as the founder of Paris Miki, a major chain of retail glasses stores with branches all across the country, even, until recently, one here in his home village.

I believe the shrine is now its own "religious corporation" and was visited by Yoshio when he was a child. I am not sure what the pagoda is all about as my understanding is a pagoda is a kind of reliquary and memorial.

The kami is said to be a kami of children's learning and ambition.

A gold-painted bust of him was erected in the shrine ground on the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2005

As well as the shrine he also built a modern community centre on the site of his childhood home and opened a natural history museum that includes a hotel and so offers a genuine "Night In The Museum" experience

Tsukushi Korokan

 

The Tsukushi Korokan was a government lodgings and reception site in ancient Japan for diplomatic visitors from China and Korea that was in operation during the Asuka, Nara, and Heian Periods.

Most official intercourse between Japan and mainland Asia came through northern Kyushu, the closest point between them. Dazaifu, a little further inland from what is now Fukuoka City, was the western "capital" for the central government.

The Korokan was meant to impress visitors and also acted as a kind of immigration control centre. Later when visitors were more for trade than diplomacy the merchants would stay in the Korokan for months. Also, Japanese monks and diplomats heading to Asia would also stay here. During the 11th century, it was abandoned and disappeared from history.

The site of the Korokan was discovered in 1987 during construction work on one of the stadiums in Maizuru Park, the former site of the huge Fukuoka Castle. A museum showing some of the excavations, items discovered, and a partial reconstruction of one of the buildings is open in the park with free entry.

I visited on a rest and recovery day on the 74th day of my walk around Kyushu. The previous post was on the Fukuoka Castle ruins.

Taisanji Temple 56 Shikoku Pilgrimage

 

Taisanji, temple 56 on the Shikoku Ohenro pilgrimage, is located in the rural outskirts of Imabari in Ehime.

I  visited at the end of my 34th day on the pilgrimage. I started the day at another Taisanji Temple, number 52 in Matsuyama, but they are written with different kanji, number 52 roughly means "big mountain", whereas this one means "peace mountain".

Taisanji in Matsuyama was a major temple and I ended up doing two posts on it, one on the architecture, and a second on the art, whereas  the Taisanji here in Imabari is somewhat less interesting and fairly nondescript.

The temple was founded in 815 when Kobo Daishi visited the area. 

The area suffered repeated flooding from the nearby Soja River and so Konoba Daishi performed a ritaul on the banks and helped the villagers to construct a levee.

The honzon of the temple is a Jizo, said to be carved by Kobo Daishi himself.

In earlier times it seems to have been quite large and important, but of course was destroyed many times during conflict.

The current building seem to date back to the mid 19th century.

There is no longer a Niomon, but two fine Nio can be seen in a display structure with windows.

There are a couple of Fudo statues in the grounds and some other statues....

If you look around it is possible to find interesting things, for instance the final photo...

According to one source the temple has a tsuyado, free lodgings, often very minimal, for walking pilgrims.

The previous temple, just 3 kilometers away, was Nankobo Temple.

Fukuoka Castle

 

Fukuoka Castle is said to have been the biggest castle in Kyushu, though I believe that means covering the largest area.

Much of the former castle is now Maizuru Park, a huge park with multiples sports grounds and stadiums within it.

The park is also home to numerous gardens planted with different seasonall plants and trees like a Cherry garden, Plum Garden, Iris Garden, and an Azalea Garden.

I visited a little after the peak of the cherry blossoms around the inner area of the castle ruins and on an overcast day.

Other than extensive walls, the most impressive of the remaining original structures is the Tamon Yagura Turret featured in the first few photos.

The castle was constructed between 1601 and 1607 for Kuroda Nagamasa who had been given the domain and nearby Najima Castle which he decided was too small and inconvenient for the building of a catle town.

One of the men responsible for the construction, Noguchi Kazanari, also worked on Osaka Castle and Edo Castle.

When Kato Kiyomasa, the famous Daimyo from Kumamoto, visited he was so impressed with the extensive stonework he named it Seki Castle, literally stone castle.

Covering 47,000 square meters, and with an impressive 47 yagura, much of the stone was quarried on nearby islands, though stones from the dismantled Najima castle and even stones from the fortifications built in preparation for the Mongol Invasion were also used.

Also impressive was the moat system which included a 600 meter wide section to the west that was mostly mud flats at low tide, now turned into Ohori Park.

There are conficting theories on whether a Tenshu, main tower or keep, was actually built. A base was but there seems to be no evidence that one existed, although that may be because in his hatred of Chrsitianity, Kuroda Nagamasa destroyed all documents with the word "tenshu" because it also meant "Christian God".

Like many castle in Japan, in 1871 when the han system was abandoned most of the buildings of the castle were dismantled or destroyed but a couple have recently been returned to ther original site from temples where they had been reassembled.

Maizuru Park and the Fukuoka Castle Ruins are free to enter

The previous post in this series was on Ohori Park, previously the very wide moat that protected the castle from the wesr.