Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Japan Trip Day 4: Communing with the Kami 日本旅行6月3日

On Tuesday morning I walked from my hotel about 15 minutes to Matsue Shinji-ko Onsen Station 松江しんじ湖温泉駅, got on the Ichibata Line 一畑電車 and rode the train to Izumo Taisha-mae Station 出雲大社前駅 in order to visit, you guessed it, Izumo Taisha Shrine 出雲大社. Izumo Taisha is Japan's second most important Shintō 神道 shrine after Ise-jingū 伊勢神宮. The approach is marked by two torii 鳥居 gateways, a large concrete one to the left when you exit the station, and a more aesthetically-pleasing wooden one in the opposite direction, which indicates the entrance to the forested grounds of the shrine.


The first prominent building you see upon entering the main grounds of the shrine is the Oracle Hall, noted for its giant shimenawa 注連縄 rope, used for ritual purification purposes.


After seeing the displays in the nearby treasure hall, I walked over to the Honden, or inner shrine, which dates from 1744, and is 24 meters (79 feet) high, making it the tallest such shrine structure in Japan. Most people, myself included, can't walk through the Eight-Legged East Gate entrance to go inside, unless we've paid to take part in a ceremony, which I didn't (but which many others did, judging from the number of groups of formally-dressed people patiently waiting their turns to visit the Honden). It is allowed, however, to look through the fence to the inner courtyard, and unlike at Ise, it's possible to walk around the perimeter of the Honden, and get a good look at the architecture, which is considered to be of a purely Japanese style, untainted by any "continental" (read "Chinese") influences.


 
A tree covered in omikuji おみくじ fortune-telling papers.

The original Honden was supposedly twice as high as the present structure, and was built on high posts to the point that it was allegedly a meter higher than the Tōdai-ji Temple 東大寺 in Nara 奈良, the world's tallest wooden building. There was a small museum across the road from the wooden torii that had a display of what the Honden used to look like:


Though it seems hard to believe, apparently the remains of large wooden posts have been unearthed on the grounds of Izumo Taisha that lend credence to the theory. The next time the Honden is rebuilt, the shrine might want to consider going back to the original design!

After lunch near the shrine, my next plan was to rent a bicycle at the train station, and ride it out to the Hino-misaki cape 日御碕. According to one of the two guidebooks I had with me (and which shall remain anonymous), it was a half-hour ride to the cape. However, when I explained what I wanted to do to the woman at the information counter at the station, both she and the station master strongly discouraged me from doing so, saying it would be both quicker and safer to take a bus. I'm glad I went along with their reasoning, because the road was uphill and narrow, and definitely wouldn't have been much fun on a bike.

 
What one does when waiting for a bus.

The bus trip to Hino-misaki took about 20 minutes, and the two main attractions there are Hinomisaki-jinja 日御碕神社 and a lighthouse. The shrine dates from 1644, and was a lot quieter, while simultaneously less solemn, than Izumo Taisha.


The lighthouse was built in 1903, and stands 44 meters (144 feet) high.


The view from the top of the surroundings and the Sea of Japan 日本海 were worth the walk up the steep spiral staircase inside, but compared to the relatively calm conditions on the ground, the wind was fierce. You can get an idea from this video I shot walking around the top:


After spending about 90 minutes walking around the cape and admiring the ocean scenery, I got another bus back to Izumo Taisha-mae Station, and then the train back to Matsue. Back in the city, I had dinner at a restaurant in the Ichibata Department Store 一畑デパート next to JR Matsue Station 松江駅. I thought about going out for a drink somewhere afterwards, but considering that I was planning to get around 5am the next morning, I decided to return to my hotel and get some sleep.

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