Showing posts with label kyushu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kyushu. Show all posts

Monday, April 30, 2018

Kanmon Bridge


The Kanmom Straits, one of the entrances into the Seto Inland Sea, separate Honshu and Kyushu, and at its narrowest is only about 800 meters wide.


The Kanmon Bridge was one of the biggest suspension bridges in the world when it opened in 1973 to carry road traffic across the straits from Shimonoseki to Kitakyushu.


The central span is just over 1,000 meters. Prior to its construction there was a road tunnel beneath the water, as well as a tunnel for trains and even a pedestrian tunnel.


Ferries still connect the two sides as they have for centuries.


Thursday, September 21, 2017

Sasaguri 88 Temple Pilgrimage


Sasaguri, in the mountains just north of the sprawling metropolis of Fukuoka, is home to a miniature version of the famous 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage. It is less than 50 kilometers in length, but took me 4 tough days to walk because it is up and down, up and down.


Some of the temples are quite large complexes, in fact the pilgrimage stops at Nanzoin, home to the largest reclining Buddha in Japan. Many of the temples are small, wayside chapels, unmanned but usually with quite a lot of statuary. Surprisingly, in such a small area, the route also passes by many other temples that are not included in the pilgrimage.


Being in the mountains there is a high percentage of temples with waterfalls that are used for ascetic training, consequently there are many, many statues of Fudo Myo,..... literally hundreds of them.
The highest point reached is 680 meters above sea level, to a cave on top of Mount Wakasugi where Kobo Daishi spent time after he returned from China.


A few kilometers are along busy main roads, but most of the route is either well marked walking trails or narrow mountain roads with no traffic. You pass through a lot of bamboo forest including one on the 3rd day that was the most enchanting bamboo forest I've ever been in....


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Getting to the Kyushu National Museum


The Kyushu National Museum is located in the ancient western capital of Dazaifu in Fukuoka.


It's built on a hill overlooking Dazaifi Tenmangu, the temple built around the last resting place of Sugawara Michizane that became a shrine in the Meiji Period, and probably the most major tourist spot in Dazaifu.


To get between the two there is a series of escalators and moving walkways. The museum was designed by the famous Metabolist architect  Kiyonori Kikutake, and I suspect the escalator and walkway too.


What makes it worthy of note and inclusion in my occasional architecture postings is the light show. A sequence of different colors shoot down the tunnel as you travel along, as well different colored lighting along the wall.


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Taikoiwa Fudoson


k6665

This 7 meter high Fudo Myo is carved directly into the cliff face part way up Mount Kurokami near Arita in Saga.

k6666

At more than 500 meters in height, the mountains have numerous outcroppings and rock formations, the type of place Yamabushi were drawn to. The mountain is home to legends of giant serpents and it is though Kukai stopped here on his way to China.

k6669

Underneath the carving is a large mirror which faces east and reflects back the sunrise to the land below.

k6671

The path leading up to the carving has numerous statues including many Fudo, which I will post later.

k6675

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Torii Tunnels at Yutoku Inari


k4786

Virtual tunnels formed from multiple Torii, shinto gateways, are a feature of many Inari shrines.

k4771

Usually each Torii will be inscribed with the name of the donor who paid for it.

k4782

Usually made of wood and painted vermillion, there are some places where they are made of plastic.

k4777

The most well known and photographed of these torii tunnels is at the Fushima Inari Shrine near Kyoto, but all these photos were taken at Yutoku Inari Shrine in Saga Prefecture in Kyushu.

k4797

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Hachizu Shrine


k9532

After leaving Usa Hachimangu and heading towards the Kunisaki Peninsula I chose to avoid the main road and instead headed through the back roads through the village of Hachizu where I stopped in at Hachizu Shrine.

k9536

There is a very unusual mix of kami enshrined here, the primary being Amenominakanushi, by some accounts the first kami to come into being, yet very little is known or written about him. There were apparently no ancient shrines deicated to him, but in the Meiji era when the buddhas and kami were seperated, many shrines chose to rename Myoken, the deity of the North Star, Amenominakanushi....

k9539

The next is Yaekotoshironushi, another version of the name Kotoshironushi, the son of Okuninushi and now more commonly equated with Ebisu. Then there is the pair of kami Mikahayahi and Hihahayahi who who created out of blood dripping from the sword that Izanagi used to kill the god of fire. Finally there is Uganomitama, the female aspect of Inari.

k9541

I am guessing that the pile of rice straw is to make new shimenawa. Secondary shrines within the grounds include Kibune, Tenjin, Konpira, Gion, Inari, Dosojin, and Wakamiya.

k9542

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Goh Shrine


k9524

Coming down the small hill on which lies Oh Shrine there is a second small shrine, Goh Shrine, which enshrines Wake no Kiyomaro, a government official in the 7th Century.

k9525

He is connected to the famous Dokyo Incident. Usa Shrine, now Usa Hachimangu, rose to power to a certain extent due to its oracles. One oracle in 769 suggested that the monk Dokyo should be the next emperor. Dokyo is often likened to Rasputin. He was very much in favor with Empress Koken after he cured her of an illness in 761. Wake no Kiyomaro was sent to Usa to check the oracle and came back with a second oracle refuting the first by saying that only descendants of Amaterasu, and not commoners could become Emperor.

k9527

Under Dokyos influence the Empress banished Kiyomaro, but after her death he was recalled and promoted. He undertook an investigation and found that more oracles were deemed fraudulent and the head priest of Usa was removed.

k9528

He is also credited with convincing Emperor Kammu to abandon Nagaoka and move to what is now known as Kyoto.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Oh Shrine


k9513

To the east of Usa Hachimangu, just outside the shrine grounds, is a hill with a torii at its base and overgrown steps leading up.

k9516

At the top is a small shrine, O shrine (or Ou or Oh or Oo). It is a sessha of Usa Hachimangu and enshrines Hachiman.

k9517

According to the legend, when Hachiman returned in 765 from his journey to Nara for the unveiling of the Great Buddha at Todai-ji he stayed on this mountaintop for 15 years.

k9520

Very few people seem to make it up here, but obviously some do as attested by the offering left.

k9521

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Delightful Floral Manholes of Beppu


k3109

Some places really make an effort with their manhole designs. Yuda Onsen in Yamaguchi with more than 30 different designs being an obvious choice (click here for some examples). Another place I recently discovered is Beppu, the famous hot-spring resort in Oita.
The first one features Cosmos (kosumosu) and Rose Mallow (Fuyou)

k3108

Crape Myrtle (sarusuberi) and Sunflower (himawari)

k3107

Plum (ume) and Daffodil (suisen)

k3106

Wintersweet (loubai) and Pot Marigold (kinsenka)

k3105

Bush Clover (hagi) and Canna Lily (kanna)

k3104

Peach (momo) and Pansy (panji)

k3057

Hydrangea (ajisai) and Daisy (maagaretto)

Another post later as this is not all the ones I found in Beppu.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Nakatsu Castle


Nakatsu Castle is the main feature of the design on Nakatsu Citys draincover in Oita, Kyushu.


Considered on of the 3 great "water castles" that used river and sea as part of its defences. The other two being Imabari and Takamatsu.


The original was built in 1588 and was burned down in 1877 during the Seinan War, commonly called the Satsuma Rebellion.


The current concrete keep was built in 1964. No-one knew what the original keep looked like so it was modelled instead on Hagi castles keep.