Shizuoka Sengen Jinja                                                       UC

The combined haiden of Sengen (Asama) and Kanbe Jinja (all photos, Joseph Cali)

Date founded: This shrine complex consists of three shrines, two of which are under the same roof. Kanbe Jinja was founded during the reign of Emperor Sujin (r. 97-30B.C.) according to shrine tradition. Asama Jinja (Sengen) was founded in 901 as a divided spirit of Fujisan Hongu Jinja. The third shrine, Otoshimioya Jinja was founded during the reign of Emperor Ojin (r. 270-310) according to shrine tradition.

Address: 102-1 Miyagasaki-cho, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka 420-0868

Tel/Information: 054-245-1820.

How to get there: JR Shinkansen or local line to Shizuoka Station, then by Shizutetsu Bus to the Akatorii bus stop.

Enshrined kami: Onamuchi no mikoto (Kanbe Jinja), Konohanasakuyahime no mikoto (Asama Jinja), Otoshimioya no mikoto (Otoshimioya Jinja).

Prayers offered: Successful childbirth (Asama Jinja), long life and good marriage (Kanbe Jinja).  

Best time to go: Himachi Festival, 25 September. About 500 hand painted paper lanterns are displayed.

While you're here, any readers who are interested in having a kamidana of their own, or would like to send one to a friend or family member, please check out this post: https://shintoshrinesofjapanblogguide.blogspot.com/2019/06/portable-kamidana-jinja.html

Important physical features: In Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion, I have listed this shrine as a sub-entry under Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, considered the main shrine for Asama (Mt. Fuji) worship. However, in terms of physical properties (other than Fujisan itself) Shizoka Sengen Jinja is at least as magnificent if not more so. For this reason I have recently visited the shrine and decided to go into greater detail on this blog.
           For a person like myself, an artist and designer, Shizuoka Sengen Jinja provides much that is of purely visual interest.Situated on a finger of stone and woods that extends from Mt. Ryuso into the heart of Shizuoka City, Sengen Jinja is actually the name for a group of shrines. Shizuoka was the the nineteenth stop on the old Tokaido rode linking Edo and Kyoto. It was also the home of retired Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu who rebuilt the shrine and resided at nearby Sunpu Castle after 1605. Unfortunately, only the castle grounds still exist, but it was a prosperous and popular city and well endowed by the Tokugawa family. Ieyasu, who had his coming of age ceremony at this shrine in 1555, was himself first laid to rest at nearby Kunozan Toshogu before being relocated to Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. I detail the magnificent Kunozan Toshogu in my book and also have a Photo Tour elsewhere on this blog. That shrine has undergone major renovation as of 2013 so the paintwork is in splendid condition. There is no question that the exterior of the main shrine of Shizuoka Sengen is in need of repainting, which is a major undertaking that will no doubt occur at sometime in the future, nevertheless both the painted and sculptural detailing of the shrines, along with the splendid view of Mt. Fuji and the city itself as well as the sixth-century Shizuhatayama Kofun are all well worth seeing.
          

Roumon of Shizuoka Sengen

           In fact, the shrine grounds contain some twenty-six Important Cultural Properties of the country and the prefecture—an enormous number matched by few other shrines in Japan. Of these, what must be considered the main shrine in terms of size and status is the combined Kanbe and Asama Jinja. While there are many entrances to the shrine grounds, the one at the end of Hase Dori leads under a stone torii, a gate (which may have once held nio), and a large roumon with zuijin figures from 1816. This gate is interesting for its dragon carvings and its interesting agyo and ungyo rikishi sitting on or suppressing the shishibana.The black plaque in the photo contains the names of Sengen and Kanbe shrines. Passing through the roumon leads to a large buden from 1816 which sits in the center of a square formed by the covered walkway (kairo) that connects the roumon in the front to the haiden in the back. Only the honden is outside of this. This buden is one of the only unpainted structures here though the remains of color on the zoubana indicate that at least parts may have been painted at one time. Extensive carvings in the ranma are by the Tachikawa-ryu as are most of the carvings here (though a volunteer guide I met at the shrine mentioned that the dragon on the roumon was carved by the legendary Hidari Jingoro (1596-1644?)—although it would have had to been salvaged from the original gate which burnt down in 1804).
           The next structure, the haiden, has several distinguishing features. First, one notices that there are two staircases and two entrances, one for the worship of each kami. The other thing is the second story structure, found only on this shrine and Fujisan Hongu. That distinction earns for these two shrines the nomenclature sengenzukuri. The second level (pictured above) is built like a smaller shrine however, unlike Fujisan Hongu, there are no chigi or katsuogi and the illusion of a small shrine is less strong. Nevertheless the irimoya-style roof, balcony and railing give the impression of a complete building sitting on top of the first floor. I am told that, like Fujisan Hongu, this room is not used and that to do so would place a worshiper above the level of the honden where the kami resides. If the combined height is in fact twenty-five meters (about eighty-two feet) as is stated, that would make it taller than Izumo Taisha which is often claimed to be the tallest shrine (at almost eighty feet—twenty-four meters) in Japan. Regardless, this beautiful building from around 1814 reflects the tastes and lavish support that the shrine was given by its powerful Tokugawa patrons. The interior ceiling features a dragon painting by Kanno Horinobu.

Left: The rear of the haiden (left) courtyard and honden.  Right: Honden

           The shrine is encompassed by a kairo that begins at the roumon and ends at the haiden forming a courtyard. Completing this shrine is the detached honden which also has two staircases (Asama Jinja to the left), plus a third for the priests, and is built on a raised level about eight meters high, surrounded by a low fence with kawara roof, and two entrance gates topped by karahafu roofs. The entrance is on the eave side of a simple gabled roof. The construction of the honden above an earth and stone platform is reminiscent of such shrines as Yoshino Mikumari Jinja. 

Left: Torii and zuijinmon of Otoshimioya Jinja   Right: Map of the shrine grounds showing the round kofun.

Yachihoko Jinja with beginning of staircase on the left.

           The other main shrine here is Otoshimioya Jinja which has a completely different entrance and faces south where Asama and Kanbe face east. The entrance is at the end of Sengen Dori and starts with a large red torii at the beginning of the shopping street at the Nakacho intersection of the road that comes directly from Shizuoka Station and passes by the south side of Sunpu Castle. After passing the second red torii, you immediately enter through a zuijinmon and the haiden of the shrine stands about three meters from that. It is immediately apparent that this haiden is more simply appointed than the other buildings on the grounds. The copper roof with karahafu is not the classic dobuki-ita of most Tokugawa sponsored shrines but a simple copper shingle, and the elaborate carvings are missing. The honden is however built much like Asama and Kanbe—detached from the haiden and raised on an earth and stone platform. It is a small building (3x2 bays) in a nagare-zukuri style. The honden does feature a dobuki-ita roof and polychromed carvings without chigi or katsuogi. The shrine dates from the same early nineteenth-century period after a fire destroyed the previous structures in 1804. It is built in a direct line and sitting directly below the sixth-century Shizuhatayama Kofun which can be seen (but not entered) by walking up the left side of the shrine.

Shizuhatayama Kofun
(Kofun photos courtesy of M. Kawaguchi)

Large cutaway mockup

The kofun is a thirty-two meter mound of about seven meters height with a large stone sarcophagus inside. First excavated in 1949, the bones and and most valuable goods were long gone by then but the remaining weapons, armor, and other metal work and pottery marks it as that of an influential family of the sixth or early seventh century. Some of these can be seen at the shrine's museum.

Right side of the shrine

Walking to the right of Otoshimioya you come to a long staircase leading up the mountain. To the right of this is Yachihoko Jinja, elaborately carved, painted and gilded. The roof is irimoya-zukuri with chidorihafu and karahafu all in dobuki-ita (also called dogawarabuki). These features, and a primarily black lacquer exterior were favorite features of Tokugawa-sponsored shrine construction. This shrine as well as most of the others on these grounds are the work of the Tachikawa-ryu family of shrine carpenters who were renown also for their carving abilities. Their magnificent works include Nikko Toshogu in Tochigi and Suwa Taisha in Nagano. They were active from 1774 to the beginning of the Meiji period. This building is a honden only with no haiden. the carving here includes the "The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety" a Confucian text from the thirteenth century that was a favorite of Tokugawa Japan. these scenes are depicted in the kaerumata (frog-leg struts) that encircle the building.

Hayama Jinja haiden with zuijin figure

Side view of the honden.

           Climbing those long stairs and then another shorter climb to the right brings you to Hayama Jinja, another magnificent example of decorative shrine architecture in the Buddhist-Shinto combinatory mold. The most unusual feature of this shrine is that the zuijin guardian figures, usually reserved for entrance gates (mon) are here placed directly on the portico of the haiden. This is a highly unusual feature and no other shrine comes to mind that matches it though there are a number of shrines that have komainu sitting on the portico (I would be interested if any readers could site another example). The haiden is decorated and polychromed above the nuki but otherwise simple in appearance. As with most of the shrines on this site, the haiden and honden are separated which is a little unusual for shrines of this period which were built by the Tokugawa. Most such shrines were of the gongen-zukuri type with the haiden and honden attached by an intermediary heiden. The honden is a nagare-zukuri, 3 x 2 bay type painted primarily in black, with elaborate carving and polychrome. Passing beyond the shrine and a bit more climbing brings you to a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji and the city of Shizuoka stretching out to the sea. This view reminds us of why the shrine exists; to venerate the kami of the mountain.

Mt. Fuji and Shizuoka City with the ocean in the far distance.

Finally is Sukunahikona Jinja located back down the hill to the right side of the main shrine. This is also a honden-only shrine of 3x2 bays, primarily in black lacquer, with extensive polychroming and carving above the nuki. The theme here is the twelve signs of the Chinese/Japanese zodiac.

Sukunahikona Jinja (right side)

Important spiritual features: It is not unusual for more than one shrine to exist on the same grounds. There are generally several reasons offered for this phenomena. One is the concept of a mini-pilgrimage which became popular from the medieval period when the idea of visiting more than one shrine or temple, to gain spiritual benefits, became more widespread. However, even during the Edo period, travel was restricted and costly. So the idea of enshrining famous and far-flung kami on the same site became popular. There was also a question of economics, especially when patronage of the Imperial House dried up as it did from time to time. This prompted the creation of the soja, a site that contained a number of the kami of the province. This is the case with Shizuoka Sengen Jinja. The primary difference here is that where most such structures at other shrines would be modest, many splendid buildings were lavished on this site by the Tokugawa who claimed Suruga no kuni (the old name for Shizuoka) as their home province. It is great luck that these buildings have survived.  Of the many shrines, three are considered to be primary. Of these, the kami of Asama or Sengen Jinja (two different readings of the same Chinese characters)—Konohanasakuya—is usually considered to be the kami of Mt. Fuji and is worshiped at all the Sengen Jinja. Onamuchi no mikoto of Kanbe Jinja is considered the ancestor of the Izumo clan and is the deity of Izumo taisha, Omiwa, and Hiyoshi Taisha. Otoshimioya no mikoto is considered a child of Susano-o, father (or grandfather) of Onamuchi and considered a kami of grains and the market place. He is therefore related to Onamuchi and the Izumo line of deities. He was considered the principle kami of Abe River and the area where the shrine is located.
           While the other shrines here are considered sessha and massha of the principle shrines, it seems that Hayama Jinja ranked on the same level prior to the Meiji period when shrines were reorganized and their rankings confirmed or changed. The deity of the shrine is Oyamatsumi, another of the Izumo line, but the great shrine authority R.A.B. Ponsonby-Fane believed it was originally Hayamatsumi one of the five mountain kami created when Izanagi cut off the head of the fire kami, Kagutsuchi. Hayamatsumi was created from his right hand, Oyamatsumi from the head of the fire kami. What is more to the point is that most of the kami here are related to mountains as one might expect.
           Sukunahikona is a kami closely associated with Onamuchi. He is a kami of grains and also of healing and paired with Onamuchi in "building" the land. Yachihoko is another name for Okuninushi no kami who is considered to be the transformed spirit of Onmononushi after he survived a number of trials by his father Susano-o and returned from yomi, the land of the dead. In fact there are so many alternate names for these kami that it is difficult to pin them down exactly. However, as I mentioned above, these kami in their various guises are enshrined at important mountains of the old Yamato polity such as Mt. Hie and Mt. Miwa.

Mt. Fuji

Description: Shizuoka Sengen Jinja is located in the heart of Shizuoka City, a short walk or bus ride from Shizuoka Station which is on the local and the Shinkansen Line. Since this shrine is not part of the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Site, about one hour by train or car from Fujinomia City where Fujisan Hongu Sengen is located, and far from the beginning of any climbing routes up the mountain, it is likely to be overlooked by foreign travelers. That would be a shame. It really is a most important shrine from the point of view of history, architecture and nature and well worth the trip. Located at the base of the small Shizuhatayama, it contains some beautiful old trees, a short hiking course through Shizuhata Park to the north (which also contains a pond), and splendid views of Mt. Fuij.

Festival: Reitaisai, 1~5 April. On the 5th there is a large procession of around one thousand participants and five dashi (called kuruma here) with musicians and pantomime.There is also a performance of bugaku at the buden on the shrine grounds. Other events throughout the week.

Photo Tour of Kunozan Toshogu Jinja
 
In Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion, my focus was on delivering as much information as possible about as many shrines as possible. The original goal was 100 shrines but this would have necessitated a massive book at a massive price (as well as an irate publisher). Since I was unwilling to compromise the information for each shrine, I compromised on the number of photos. In this blog too, I have followed the style of the book and therefore images are again minimal. But in the assumption that readers of the book and of this blog might also be interested in seeing more of the places being written about, I am presenting a series of Photo Tours.  This one, the magnificent Kunozan Toshogu Jinja.

The zuijinmon of Kunozan Toshogu at the top of a lengthy staircase.

            Another of the splendid Toshogu shrines featured in the book this shrine should perhaps have been the first of these photo tours. After all, it is the first place in which the spirit as well as the physical remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu were interred. At that time the rights were conducted under the direction of the Yoshida family and their brand of Yuitsu Shinto (One-and-only Shinto).

The zuijin (guardian) on the right side of the entrance. His mouth is open in the classic "a" gesture, forming a pair with the closed-mouth figure ("un") on the left side. These are the first and last letters of the Sanskrit alphabet and symbolizes the beginning and end. The gesture is common to Buddhist nio guardian figures at the entrance to temples, as well as the komainu used at the entrance to Shinto shrines. These Shinto guardians are usually sitting upon a lion skin and are armed with swords, bow and arrows.

While shrine visitors who are familiar with the typical stone komainu might find this gold and blue version startling, I am told that it is of a very old type. My first encounter with such was at the Kamigamo shrine in Kyoto, where the coloration is silver and blue. The komainu here are located on the back side of the zuijinmon and sport the same open and closed mouth poses.

            However, this was not to be Ieyasu's final resting place. About one year after after his interment, the story goes that he was transferred to Nikko in Tochigi prefecture so that he could guard the country and his beloved Edo. He was supposed to have left a sort of last will and testament to this effect but it is also the case that the Tendai prelate Tenkai, who was a confidant of Ieyasu and of his grandson Iemitsu, was fighting to preserve the position of his sect after it was devastated by Oda Nobunaga. It is likely too that Iemitsu, who by all accounts revered his grandfather, was anxious to secure his own position and that of his clan by having Ieyasu elevated to the level of kami, at the head of his own sect. He and Tenkai worked together to successfully create the cult of Toshogu Daimyojin.

Near the top of Mount Kuno, overlooking Suruga Bay, on the former sight of one of his implacable enemies, stands the first shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The heiden connected to the honden behind is clearly visible in this photo of the splendidly detailed gongen-zukuri shrine. The photo shows the side gate.

The entrance to the heiden showing the rich detailing especially above the tie-beams. The entrance and surrounding fence primarily in cinnabar red and the shrine primarily in black with polychrome and gold details. Notice the three-hollyhock leaf kamon of the Tokugawa on the saisenbako.

The inside of the main entrance, a four-legged mukaikaramon (also called a karamon) with karahafu on all four sides. The side panels are carved in deep relief and the gate connects to the same type of sukashi-bei fence which we saw on the Ueno Toshogu shrine.

A view toward the honden.

A detail of the rich carving and polychroming above the nageshi. Of particular interest is the way in which one corner has been left un-renovated (the pale color area). This was done to preserve an example of the older decoration in order to assist future renovators with an original reference point. The shrine was completely renovated several years ago.

As with Nikko Toshogu, behind the shrine is located the crypt of Ieyasu. Upon questioning a very kind negi of the shrine, I was told that some remnant of the body was left behind when it was transferred to Nikko. Apparently, the body was originally interred in a sitting position inside the stupa-shaped crypt.

The climb up Mount Kuno is more than only the most hardy can endure. The recommended route is to take the cable car to the top and walk back down. The photo shows one small section of the serpentine stairway that winds up the side of the mountain, along with a glimpse of the bay. Even the trip down was grueling and though it was quite difficult in the summer heat, I wouldn't want to attempt it in a strong wind! There are only several buses per day from the train station to the lift so a taxi may be needed to get you that far.

Photo Tour of Ueno Toshogu Jinja
 
In Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion, my focus was on delivering as much information as possible about as many shrines as possible. The original goal was 100 shrines but this would have necessitated a massive book at a massive price (as well as an irate publisher). Since I was unwilling to compromise the information for each shrine, I compromised on the number of photos. In this blog too, I have followed the style of the book and therefore images are again minimal. But on the assumption that readers of the book and of this blog might also be interested in seeing more of the places being written about, I will begin a series of Photo Tours with the recently renovated Ueno Toshogu Jinja.                                                                     

Gate and haiden of Ueno Toshogu

The main gate of the shrine covered in gold leaf, red lacquer, and polychrome under the roof. To the right and left of the door are rising and falling dragons, carved and polychromed. The dragons were carved by the legendary Hidari Jingoro.

            The jinja is one of several magnificent Toshogu shrines detailed in the book. All Toshogu jinja enshrine the spirit of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the progenitor of a line of shoguns who brought some 200 years of relative peace and stability to Japan known as the the Edo period. Ieyasu died in 1616. The shrine was founded in 1627 and the current building from 1651 is one of those miraculous survivors of the earthquakes, fires and wars that otherwise devastated the city of Edo over and over again, even after it became the official capital of the country and was renamed Tokyo (eastern capital) in the late nineteenth century.

The interior side of the classic and highly ornate four-post, karahafu gate.

           As is the case with most Toshogu shrines, Ueno is detailed with elaborate carvings and polychrome. Unlike most shrines its exterior is covered in gold leaf. The renovation of the shrine took six years and an undisclosed amount of money. Even the Huffington Post had a poorly written "gee, golly" blog piece on the reopening in January 2014. Unfortunately, the interior of the shrine is not generally open to the public and so my photos are only of the exterior—but what a magnificent exterior it is. This gongen-zukuri shrine is more correctly considered in the context of its original setting on the grounds of Kaneji Temple. This was a typical situation when shinbutsu shugo, the integration of Buddhism and Shinto, was the mainstay of Japanese religion from the Nara to the late Edo periods. Kaneji was founded by the monk Tenkai to protect the kimon (north-gate) of Tokyo from the entrance of demons. The grounds were arranged to reflect Kyoto's Higashiyama, and its famous cherry trees were planted at that time. Other remnants of the former temple grounds exist in the form of the pagoda, now located in the Ueno Zoo adjoining the sando of the shrine, Kiyomizu Kannon-do (a reflection of Kiyomizudera) overlooking Shinobazu pond (a reflection of Lake Biwa), and the Bentendo temple located in the middle of the pond (a reflection of Chikubushima). It is a fitting tribute to the man, the era and the enlightened (or perhaps mystical) attitude that allowed all the "gods" to live together in a sort of spiritual soup, which tasted miraculously good (and marvelously different) to everyone who partook of it. While no doubt that is an overly optimistic view of the situation, it is equally without doubt that the following era of "nationalistic, Japanese only" gods was part and parcel of the "us vs. them" mentality that culminated in World War 2.

One of the carved panels of the interior gate. The motif uses the rooster, symbol of the rising sun, sitting on a drum that is painted with the tomoe. These are surrounded by plum, pine, and bamboo trees (sho, chiku, bai), the Confucian "Three friends of Winter," a symbol of good fortune and prosperity.

Ueno Park became Japan's first public park in 1873 on the former grounds of Kaneji. As readers are likely aware, Hachiman and Toshogu shrines were the epitome of shinbutsu shugo.

The haiden of the shrine in gold leaf and black lacquer.

            Though no longer the religious center that it once was, Ueno continues to be one of Tokyo's most famous leisure spots combining as it does shrines and temples, historic sites, a zoo, and a large number of museums, as well as playing host to one of Japan's biggest cherry viewing festivals with over 2 million revelers. That wily old 'chairman of the sword', Ieyasu Tokugawa, would be proud.

The doors of the haiden are gold leaf but the interesting thing is the motif. This is the Buddhist "Wheel of the Law" which one would not expect to find on a Shinto shrine until one remembers that the Toshogu branch of Shinto was essentially created by the Buddhist prelate Tenkai and, apparently, no one dared to mess with Ieyasu's shrine even after shinbutsu bunrei.

A side view of the shrine reveals the gongen-zukuri style of haiden connected to honden, the former in black lacquer, the latter completely in gold leaf.

The side of the honden in gold leaf. Notice the intricate carving and polychrome under the eaves. Though the roof line of the haiden and honden are at the same level, the floor of the honden is raised higher.

Detail of the carving and polychrome under the eaves. Elaborate carving and painting is indicative of Toshogu shrines, but only Ueno is so extensively gold leafed.

The sukashi-bei fence in green and red surrounding the grounds is over six hundred feet long and one of only the surviving in Tokyo. The other is at Nezu Jinja. Again, notice the intricate carving and polychrome along the top.

Enoshima Jinja                                                                                                        UC

On the bridge to Enoshima
(all photos: Joseph Cali)

Date founded: Founded in 853 by the Buddhist monk Ennin according to shrine tradition.

Address: 2-3-8, Enoshima, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa 251-0036

Tel/Information: 0466-22-4020 A brief history of the shrine is available in English.

How to get there: Take the Enoden Line to Enoshima Station. Walk about ten minutes across the bridge from near the station exit.

Enshrined kami: The three female Munakata deities, Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagirihime.

Prayers offered: Safety on the sea and on the road.

Best times to go: Summer is the best season. The beach area opposite the island, though rather narrow and sometimes underwater, is one of the main attractions of the area.

Torii and zuishinmon of Enoshima

Important physical features: The most striking physical feature of Enoshima Jinja would probably be the shima of Enoshima, which in Japanese means "island". It is basically a massive rock covered with trees lying about 650 yards off shore. It is connected by a natural causeway that is covered in high tide. However since the 1960's a bridge was built above the causeway that now permanently links the island to the mainland for both pedestrian and automobile traffic.

            The jinja is actually composed of three shrines, one to each deity. After the bridge you arrive in a small town with the typical shops one finds in a monzenmachi purveying food and various goods. Passing under a copper torii a narrow street leads to the shrine. After climbing a number of steep staircases, the first of which passes under a red torii and then an ryugumon-stye gate more usually associated with Buddhist temples (but here called the zuishinmon and associated with the entrance to the undersea palace of the dragon deity), you reach the hetsunomiya where Tagitsuhime is enshrined. The gongen-zukuri structure contains the haiden and heiden with an irimoya-zukuri honden at the back. This shrine is said to have been established in 1206 by order of Minamoto no Sanetomo (though he was only three at the time) and rebuilt in 1675. The present incarnation is from a 1976 rebuilding. Because of its location on the mountain, relative to the other two shrines, it is also referred to as the lower shrine.
            To the left is an octagonal building, called the Hoanden. It is of a type one finds at Buddhist temples. Indeed, this one was modeled after the yumedono of Nara's famous Horyuji. It was built in 1976 to house two famous statues; the Happi (eight-armed) Benzaiten and the Hadaka (naked) Benzaiten. Minamoto Yoritomo supposedly ordered the making of the eight-armed statue. Both statues were only available for viewing once every six years however both can now be viewed most days for an entrance fee of 150 yen.
            Although the next shrine is further up the hill it is actually the oldest one, and today referred to as the middle shrine; nagatsumiya. This shrine's founding in 853 is attributed to Ennin (794-864), the head of the Tendai sect of Buddhism at that time. It is currently also a smaller, gongen-zukuri type, painted in red and constructed in 1689. The shrine is dedicated to Ichikishimahime no mikoto, the second of the Munakata deities.
           Much further along the road to the other side of the island lies the shrine to Tagorihime no mikoto known as the okutsumiya or inner shrine. This is an irimoya-zukuri type built sometime after 1841 when the old shrine, said to be much more magnificent, was destroyed. It sports a famous painting on its ceiling known as the "Turtle Glaring in Eight Directions" with eyes painted such that it seems to be looking at you wherever you stand. Another shrine of some interest here, called Wadatsunomiya, is made like a stone cave with a sculpture of a dragon atop it. This shrine is dedicated to the deity of the sea.

           Continuing on you come to a staircase leading down to the backside of Enoshima where worship was said to begin in the sixth century when Emperor Kinmei enshrined the Munakata deities in one of several caves in the rock face. These caves then became the object of devotion of such famous monks as Kukai, Ennin, Nichiren and Ippen. Today there are a number of statues and other objects and images associated with the history of the island. Here too the dragon deity is found as is a statue of the founder of the Shingon sect, Kukai.
           For any reader interested in further physical details of the island, I recommend "A Guide to Kamakura" at asahi-net.or.jp. This is an excellent website for information on the shrines and temples of Kamakura. I will close this part of the entry with a quote from that website. Lamenting the changes the island has undergone, the website quotes "a reader's complaint on Enoshima in its Letters-to-the-Editor page, in which the reader said she was disappointed with her visit to Enoshima saying it was far from beautiful and did not deserve another visit." This is in relation to the three outdoor escalators, the observation tower, and any number of horrible "innovations" all made in the name of tourism. These kind of grossly ugly "conveniences" are fairly typical in Japan. The country really needs to get a grip on this government sponsored pollution of natural and historical sites. 'Nuff said. 

Haiden of Enoshima Jinja

Important spiritual features: If there are two significant factors to consider in the history of Shinto they would be the great unification of Shinto and Buddhism that occurred from the seventh century and then the great schism that was perpetrated by the Meiji government in the early nineteenth century. I mention this to point out that although Enoshima is one of the preeminent places of Benzaiten worship in Japan, this deity is not enshrined in the jinja. In "Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion" I have detailed entries on two of the other main sites of Benzaiten worship; Chikubushima in Shiga Prefecture and Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture. Both islands were considered sacred from ancient times, as was Enoshima, and both embodied Shinto deities. However both places came also to embody Benzaiten worship from as early as the sixth or seventh century. The book "Chikubushima" by Andrew Watsky quotes the fourteenth century encyclopedia of religion Keiran shuyoshu on Benzaiten, "Within Japan, how many places are there that are Pure Lands of Benzaiten? The answer, according to legend is Tennokawa,... Itsukushima,... Chikubushima,... These three places...are linked together by underground tunnel." Later on in the same document "Six Benzaitens" are listed. To the above three are added Enoshima, Minoo in Osaka Prefecture and Sefurisan in Saga Prefecture. Of the six, Enoshima, Chikubushima and Itsukushima are today considered the most prominent sites. And, not coincidentally, all three are islands. Water is the medium through which the female deity Benzaiten (the Hindu goddess of water and "all things that flow" such as music, also called Benten in Japan and Sarisvati in India) became associated with the female Munakata deities who are kami of the sea. The other three sites are in mountains but mountains are also strongly related to water as the source of rivers that flow down into fields and nourish the land. It is exactly this kind of "easy" association between the Hindu, Buddhist and Shinto gods and mythologies which Buddhism was so good at facilitating. And why not? The concerns for natural phenomena and how to derive its benefits (and avoid its hazards) were the same. From this, Hinduism derived a highly developed textural mythology that was only added to by Buddhism—much as the new testament of the Christians added to the old testament of the Jews. Shinto had almost no textural mythology and so absorbed Buddhism (and with it a selected group of Hinduism) like a sponge.
           That being said, the native religion retained an identity (if not in fact) of a pre-Buddhist religion, which was always yearning to reassert itself. This it did officially in the Meiji period by artificially distinguishing what was Shinto ritual and myth from what was Buddhist. The government then forcibly dividing sacred sites into "yours and mine". So we have the situation today where the three most prominent centers of Benzaiten (a Hindu-Buddhist deity) are islands where the most prominent places of worship are Shinto, and enshrine the Munakata daughters of Amaterasu omikami. In fact, Enoshima comes closest to the old shinbutsu shugyo configuration in that it now enshrines its Benzaiten statues in a Buddhist-style structure on the grounds of the shrine. Whereas in both Chikubushima and Itsukshima, Benzaiten worship is conducted in prominent temples completely separated from the shrines.

A view of the causeway and beach
from Enoshima.

Description: Enoshima Jinja is actually only one part of the religio-amusment complex known more simply as Enoshima. This complex most prominently features the beach opposite the island. More properly called Katase Beach or Shonan, this narrow three-mile stretch of sand, is visited by millions during the summer months. A single fireworks event in August attracts in the neighborhood of 150,000 people. Perhaps as a result of its popularity and government meddling, the water is famously polluted and the island sports all sorts of incredibly unsightly conveniences such as three outdoor escalators and a god-awful observation tower from which you can see Mt. Fuji on a clear day. So long as you are looking out from the tower you may be OK but having to look at the tower is one of the things that has taken Enoshima far from the beautiful scenic spot it once was. The tower is located in the Botanical Gardens that grew from the Samual Cocking Garden. Samual was an English merchant who made a mint by exporting mint (and importing carbolic acid). He was married to a Japanese woman and bought a piece of the island in the 1870's when the government decided to sell off land belonging to Buddhist temples. In fact about half the island is now concrete, sporting such facilities as a yacht harbor and another ugly building called the Kanagawa Woman's Center.
           The other prominent man made structure on the island is the Shingon Buddhist temple Saifukuji, also known as Enoshima Daishi. It occupies a prominent position on top of the rock. It was built in 1993 as a replacement of sorts for the older temples that existed on the island before they were destroyed by the Meiji government. A twenty-foot statue of Fudo-myoo stands outside the temple. Its prominent head monk, Ekan Iguchi, was recently embroiled in a controversy when he fronted for a pro-North Korean group that won a bid to buy that country's former de-facto embassy for 4.5 billion yen. The Japanese government is strictly opposed to the building falling back into the hands of a pro-North Korean group. Iguchi was forced to give up his bid after the government stopped the bank from lending the money to the priest's association.
           Lest I give the impression that its "all bad" a quick glance at comments on the web tells me that many people enjoy their trip to the island. Some mention the Iwamoto-ro Japanese ryokan, which sports spectacular views of Mt. Fuji, as a very pleasant place to stay. It is the former site of a Buddhist structure called Iwamono-in and while it is no substitute for the temples, niomons and pagodas that once added to the islands sense of sacredness, I suppose it will have to do until another "restoration" comes along.

Enoshima by Utagawa Hiroshige

Festivals: Adult Festival (seijin-sai), 13 January. This is a national holiday called Seijin no hi when men and women whose birthday falls within the year, celebrate their coming of age. A mikoshi is carried by men in fundoshi (loin cloths) into the freezing sea.

Reviews

As readers of this blog know I released "Shinto Shrines; A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion", coauthored with John Dougill and published by the University of Hawaii Press, in December of 2012. The desire to continue my research into shrines led me to launch this blog in August of the same year. In addition to ongoing research, the blog contains excerpts from the book and a number of entries that didn't make it through the final edit. I believe the combination of book and blog  presents a comprehensive overview of Japanese shrines in English, unlike that found anywhere else. Whereas much of the blog contents have not been verified with individual shrines—as the contents of the book have—I am rather conservative about including information from less reliable sources. One finds that misinformation is picked up and repeated to such a degree that it becomes perceived as fact. This is especially true in Japanese history/myth and equally true of Internet content. I make every effort not to add to the noise. I have also tried to make available on the blog some of the sources I have consulted in writing the book—particularly where they are readily available on the net—with a summary of each. Please let me know if there is some information related to shrines which you would like to see posted.

Reviews of the book will be posted as they come to my attention. I begin with an interview which is a repost from John Dougill's excellent blog on all things Shinto— Green Shinto.

Joseph Cali on Shinto Shrines

Posted on July 23, 2012 by John D.

Joseph Cali is the main author of the forthcoming title, Shinto Shrines. (Publication date: Nov. 30, 2012.  For further details and pre-orders, please click here.)

1) When and why did you first conceive of the book?
I first began working on The New Zen Garden around 2002. At that time, I met an exceptional  gardener named Yasumoro Sadao who taught me about traditional garden design. Although the theme of the book was modern dry-gardens (karesansui) and especially the influence of Buddhism, Yasumoro sensei (and a number of other gardeners) loved to say that Buddhism had nothing to do with garden design. But a comment he made to me about ‘listening to the kami of the place before starting to work’ stayed with me. I think this and Landon Warner’s Enduring Arts of Japan put Shinto on the playing field for me.


2) How did you go about selecting the 57 shrines included in the book?
Well, the original intention was to have about 100 shrines. I used my basic knowledge of the country and listed up all the major shrines. Then I began area searches focusing on major historic cities such as Nara and Kyoto, and then island by island beginning with Kyushu. I also searched endless lists of ‘favorites’ and ‘top 5′ and any shrine that was mentioned as interesting — the Shinto ML list was helpful here.

3) How did you carry out the research?
Once I had composed a list I set about finding someone to help with the research. When I had as much information about a shrine as I could find, I wrote it up and then began sending out letters to shrines. The letters included information about the book, the contents of the entries, a request for photos that could be used in the book, and then slowly arranging for meetings with an official from the shrine. I spent between one and four hours with priests to verify key points, and another one to three hours wandering the shrine grounds and photographing.

A fascinating and unique zuijin guardian figure in the new romon of Oyamatsumi Jinja in the Seto Inland Sea. An interesting combination of zuijin and nio (Buddhist guardians) sheathed in 13th century armor.

4) What were the main difficulties you encountered?
The only difficulty I encountered was the occasional reluctance to grant me the use of photos or of an interview. However this was not usually very difficult to overcome. In some cases I had to go back again and again before getting an OK. However you come to realize that part of it lies in the layers of organization (particularly in some of the larger shrines) and partly what I perceive as a great fear of creating any sort of controversy or taking responsibility for having said something which may cause damage to the shrine. Once people could see that I had a good grasp of their concerns and were convinced of my non-political intentions, there was little difficulty.

The other problem was one of my own making. My initial goal of one hundred shrines proved impossible in terms of pages. When I had more or less completed eighty-eight shrines, I sent it off to the publisher whose initial reaction was that 50% needed to be cut! With some finessing of the layout, I managed to retain 57 shrines but had to out the remaining ones, not to mention a big chunk of the background material on Shinto. I believe I managed to retain most of the major shrines and several smaller shrines that will be of interest to those involved with Japanese arts such as aikido, bugaku, and Noh.

The other major problem was that my long-time publisher, Kodansha International, decided to close their doors in April of 2012—roughly one month after the Great East Japan Earthquake — just as the book was on the layout table. This set the project back more than a year but in the end enhanced the quality, as the new publisher, University of Hawaii Press, has produced an even better version than the original.

The "golden rock" at the Hachioji Jinja of Hiyoshi Taisha in Shiga Prefecture. Thought to be the place where worship on Mt. Hie began, it is situated between the Sannomiyagu and the Ushiogu on top of the 1,200-foot hill.

5) What impressed you the most in compiling the information?
I would say that while I am a lover of traditional architecture (and there is plenty of that in the book), I am always most impressed by people. Although this was not the focus of the book, I think it was the extraordinary kindness of the priests I met which impressed me the most. For example, I thought I had lost my camera on the way to Kifune Jinja outside Kyoto. I had had a meeting with a priest at Heian Jingu, and as I got off the train at Kurama and reached for my camera it had gone! When I finally got to Kifune shrine and announced my name, I head a voice call from the back, ‘Cali san, your camera is here!’ All the miko and priests in the shrine office began to laugh at the look of confusion on my face. It turned out that I had left my camera at Heian Jingu, and the priest there, knowing I was on my way to Kifune, jumped on a train. Since I had taken the long route, he had already delivered it before I got there. This incredible act of kindness was repeated in different form on more than one occasion.

6) What kind of readership do you think the book will appeal to?
Certainly anyone interested in visiting a Shinto shrine. Shrines are not the most accessible places and it is very easy to come away nonplussed. This book will help to make it a more fulfilling experience. I think people interested in Japanese culture generally will also benefit, for it strikes me how much I have learned about Japan from books like Karen Smyer’s The Fox and the Jewel about Fushimi Inari Shrine, or from John Nelson’s A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine about Nagasaki Suwa Shrine.

I hope my book will also appeal to people planning their itinerary for a visit to Japan, as well as those who may not have the opportunity to visit but are interested in the country’s religion and its places of worship. It may also be a good resource book from which to launch further study. With all the spurious information out there on the internet, I think it will be very helpful to have a single source of reliable information that does not cost hundreds of dollars, as many of the scholarly resources on the subject do.

With Noguchi Guji of Isaniwa Jinja in Matsuyama, which is one of the finest examples of Hachiman style in Japan

The following is a review from the Japan Times by author Stephen Mansfield 

A rainy day at the newly constructed Naiku of Ise Jingu, October 28, 2013
(photo by Joseph Cali)

Irrespective of whatever faith you might hold, or if you count yourself among the growing ranks of the agnostic, shrines can be appreciated as much as a cultural experience as a religious one. For native religions to flourish, an appropriate national character or mind-set has to exist.

Accordingly, the writers of this new and much needed guide, two well-established authors on Japanese culture, examine the fertile socio-psychological ground that made it possible for Shinto to secure a firm purchase in Japan.

With no central book, the religion must be practiced and well supported to thrive. Shrines are generally very well maintained in this country. It is a rare case to come across a truly dilapidated one. It would be like abandoning the gods.

While the book covers well-known places of worship like the Meiji and Ise shrines, there are structures that may not be familiar to all readers, like the modest Aiki Jinja in Yoshioka, Tsubusumu Jinja, a shrine located on a small island in Lake Biwa, and Yukoku Inari Jinja in Kyushu, its main structure built on vermilion-colored scaffolding. The guide provides detailed background information on architecture, customs and rituals, clothing, symbolism and much more. It also gives the reader a rundown of all the major deities, a necessarily short list given that there are a whopping 8 million of them.

I’ve always thought of Shinto as a pantheistic belief, the mother faith in many ways of all people, the religion having its roots in the animism and shamanism that defined the practices of many ancient communities in the world.

And with no founders, prophets, miracles, or divine channeling of messages, Shinto may be one of the more credible of today’s faiths, it’s reverence for nature sitting well with the concerns of a green age. Predicated on the idea of coexisting with the forces of nature, rather than exploiting them, there is much to be learned from this non-doctrinal faith and this fine guide to all its intriguing aspects.

The following is a review from the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan's magazine: Acumen 

Not a Buddha but a zuijin guardian figure
peering from inside the entrance of Kibitsuhiko Jinja
in Okayama (photo by Joseph Cali)

Shinto is the indigenous and older of Japan’s two main belief systems (the other being Buddhism, a 6th-century import). It rests on faith in kami (spirits) – although gods is the usual, though slightly misleading, translation – that are to be found in everything, from people and animals, to places and even inanimate objects such as rocks or trees. Thus. it is a faith that is at the same time polytheistic. pantheistic, animistic, and something that is surely special.  Shinto rites and practices are very much alive in today’s Japan. so much so that most Japanese take them for granted and many would be surprised if reminded that they were practising Shintoism.

For the majority of non-Japanese. the most obvious encounter with Shinto is at the many shrines that are all around us (an estimated 80.000 nationwide). Cali and Dougill’s impressive book, presenting itself as a guide to just a select few of these, is far more than that. The introduction is easily the clearest and most accessible explanation of Shinto that I have read. There is an immense amount of detail about the history of Shinto, the types of kami, and how this most Japanese of faiths interrelates with Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity, among other belief systems.

There are numerous helpful illustrations, including ones of the most important features of a typical shrine, as well as of the clothing worn by priests and shrine attendants. In addition, of great interest is the way that the authors pose the question: “What benefit might there be in visiting a shrine for someone who has grown up in another country with different cultural and religious values?” Their answers are compelling.

The authors’ enthusiasm is infectious and the depth of their knowledge, and obvious love and respect for the subject, is evident on every page. Thoroughly researched, well written and cleverly illustrated, the book should be a must-read for anyone wishing to delve into this most fascinating aspect of Japanese culture.