Inari Shrine, Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizudera, like most religious sites in traditional Japan, worshipped buddhas and kami, they were shrine-temple complexes, so its not unusual to find shrines in the grounds of a temple. Kiyomizudera has an Inari shrine.

Of course, wherever you find an Inari shrine you find foxes, the messengers of Inari.

All the kitsune (foxes) at Kiyomizudera wore vermillion scarves on their heads.

Officially, by government decree, Inari is now equated with Ukanomitama, an offspring of Susano and connected with food. The head shrine of Inari is the famous Fushimi Inari near Kyoto founded by the powerful immigrant clan the Hata. Inari shrines are the most common shrines in all of Japan and its identity has many facets, including Dakini, a buddhist deity with Hindu and Tantric roots.

Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizu means "pure, clear water" and refers to the founding legend of the temple and the water found here. There are a lot of Kiyomizuderas in Japan, the most famous being the one in Kyoto, but this one is one of the oldest if not the oldest temple with the name, being founded in 587.

Located in the hills near Yasugi, close to the border with Tottori, the temple disappeared and was refounded in the ninth century, though nothing here now dates from anywhere near that time as the temple and the whole mountain was reduced to ash during a war between the Amago and Mori Clans in the 16th Century.

There is the only 3-story pagoda in the San-in region, and unusually, it is open to the public for a small fee. If one can navigate the steep stairs inside one is rewarded with views across the surrounding countryside.

The temple belongs to the Tendai Sect, and is one of the temples on the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage as well as the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

The view from Kezo-Ji

At almost 450 meters above sea level, the views from Kezo-Ji are quite stunning.

Looking down on Daikon Island in the middle of Nakaumi. Nakaumi means Middle Sea, but technically its a lake. At 86 sq K its the fifth largest lake in japan. Behind Daikon Island is Yonago in Shimane and Yonago in Tottori. If the weather was clearer Daisen would have been visible.

Looking along the Shimane Peninsular towards Mihonoseki. In the middle is Sakaiminato in Tottori on the Yumigahama. In the Kuniyuzri myth this strip of land is a rope that tethers the Shimane Peninsular to Mt. Daisen. Not visible between Sakaiminato and the Shimane Peninsular is the narrow channel that connects Nakaumi to the sea.

The Japan Sea coast of the Shimane Peninsular. This is the area I walked on my Golden Week Walk.

Right down below.... part of Nobara village.

The west shore of the Nakaumi with Honjo.

Vacation 2010 Day 9: Wurzburg

After spending the day in Bamberg, I arrived at night in Wurzburg where I would stay for 3 days and catch up on my sleep. My friends apartment was located right under the hilltop Fortress Marienberg.

Next day we visited some of the 100 churches of Wurzburg. The town was almost completely destroyed in a bombing raid towards the end of the war and everything has been restored to its former glory. Lots of frescoes and gold leaf.....

The centerpiece of Wurzburg is The Residenz, a World Heritage site, and the interior is possibly the gaudiest building I have ever seen......

The Residenz is one of the locations for a new version of The Three Musketeers being filmed right now starring Orlando Bloom and Mila Jovovich.

After the Residenz we visited a few more churches and then walked along the Main River past the old harbour.

Not all is baroque in Wurzburg. Right on the river is the local power station......

Love Hotel Haikyo

Halfway up the side of a mountain, miles from anywhere, literally clinging to the side of the mountain. we came upon an a small abandoned Love hotel.

Literally built into a crevice, a stream passed underneath the building.

Each of the 4 rooms were decorated with different themes, though the building had been stripped and vandalized so it was not clear exactly what the themes were....

This one seemed to have an underwater theme.

Not sure how long this place stayed in business. In this part of the country the love hotels are built between towns, not in towns, so this one would have serviced customers from Matsue and Yonago.

Each of the 4 rooms had floor to ceiling windows with fantastic views over Nakaumi (the Inner Sea) and Daisen, but Love Hotel customers are not usually concerned with the view :)

Fudo Myo & Nio: Mine-Ji

The third and final mountaintop temple we visited a few weeks ago up in Izumo was Mine-Ji, and the Nio were particularly impressive.

I had never seen any painted black with gilded eyes before. The temple was founded in the 7th Century and sits on a mountainside near Kisuki in the Okuizumo area.

 

While not as remote or as high as Kez0-Ji, reaching Mine-Ji involves a very steep, narrow, windy mountain road.

Contemporary yamabushi still perform rituals and undergo training here, and in the area set up for Shugendo rituals there was a small, eroded Fudo Myo.

 

Above the Niomon was a most effective relief of Fudo Myo, done in copper I believe.

Tenmangu Shrine, Tsudera

The Tenmangu Shrine in the village of Tsudera is located a little off the Kibi Bike Path, and is a fairly standard, small, local shrine, but it is my nature to not be able to pass by a Torii without going in to explore.

The honden backs right up to the Sanyo Expressway and the shrine was newly reconstructed using money from the construction project. The honden was decorated as this particular saturday in June was the annual matsuri.

In front of the honden were the offerings laid out for the kami, in this case Tenjin, the deified identity of Sugawara Michizane.

What was unusual, and something I don't remember seeing before is that flowers were used. Thats a Buddhist practise, and though officially "separated" by the government, buddhism and shinto evolved symbiotically and one can still find evidence of the mix. Also unusually this shrine, and others in the area, still had a buddhist bell.

Deep in the shadows of the interior of the honden peeking out from behind a screen was Sugawara himself.

Kibi Bike Path

The Kibi Bike Path is a 15k, well signed, and very popular bike and walking path that crosses part of the Kibi Plain in southern Okayama. Bicycles can be rented at either end of the path, JR Soja Station in the west, or JR Bizen Ichinomiya Station in the east. The bikes can be dropped off at either end.

For those unfortunate enough to live in or be visiting the large cities of Japan the path offers an easy way to experience a semi-rural environment. The rental bikes are gearless, but the path is almost completely flat.

Much of the route is through rice paddies and there are shrines and temples in abundance.

There are also a lot of "kofun", burial mounds, indicating the areas importance in prehistorical times. Some of the tombs are open for entry to see the stone coffins.

If one wants to venture a little off the path itself there is a lot more stuff to see.

I will be posting on various of tye sights during the next few weeks.

Fukuoka City Public Library

The Fukuoka City Public Library, opened in 1995, is another of the many pieces of modern architecture built on the reclaimed land known as the Momochi district.

It was designed by the Yamashita Sekkei Corporation.

As well as books the library is home to an archive of documents relating to the cities history, a film archive of Japanese and Asian films, with cinemas, and a UN depository.

The interior, like the exterior, is a mish-mash of styles and periods that looks a bit "twee" like a wedding chapel or expensive hotel.

Yamaguchi Go Steam Locomotive

One more manhole cover in Yuda Onsen features the white fox, this time in combination with one of the last steam trains in Japan, the Yamaguchi Go.

It stops in Yuda Onsen after starting from Shin Yamaguchi Station. It then runs to Tsuwano up in the mountains of Shimane. It runs most weekends and holidays between March and November.

The locomotive was built in 1936, and each of the carriages is fitted out in the style of different rail eras. The train is very popular so advance bookings are needed.

The train stops in Tsuwano for sebveral hours allowing passengers the chance to explore the town before heading back to Yamaguchi.