Associated with: Nue aka "the Japanese chimera"
I'm very excited to be introducing some standard yokai fare with a series of posts on the nue, following the famous Kyoto incident of 1153. Readers familiar with the tale know that it begins with the nue being alive, and ends with it being dead. I'm planning several entries, perhaps as many as ten, so I have decided to break them into two categories: "live nue" sites and "dead nue" sites. There are about the same number of each, give or take.
Let's get the tale out of the way.
In 1153, a foreboding creature enveloped in an ominous dark cloud began appearing in the Kyoto night sky, terrifying the citizens. The young Emperor Konoe became subject to its evil presence and fell ill, suffering terrible nightmares. Imperial orders were given to Minamoto no Yorimasa to deal with the creature, which had the head of a monkey, the tail of a snake (or a snake for a tail), possibly the body of a tanuki, and the limbs of a tiger. The creature's voice was like that of the nue bird (either White's thrush or scaly thrush, neither sound pleasant). Yorimasa, renowned for his skill as an archer, fired an arrow into the clouds above the imperial palace. There was a terrible cry as the master archer's arrow struck home, and the monster fell wounded to the ground. Yorimasa's accompanying retainer I no Hayata rushed to where the injured creature had fallen and finished the job. The emperor immediately recovered from his illness, and Yorimasa was rewarded.
I'd like to begin the whole nue fiasco with the origin of the creature. Several sources list its habitat as either "storm clouds" or unknown. However, we do have some evidence that the nue is a forest-dwelling creature, albeit an evil one. The aforementioned dark clouds were said to have appeared out of the forest of Higashi-Sanjo. (I've also seen it written as To-Sanjo, with to being the alternative reading of the same Chinese character.) This is an area to the east of the Sanjo-Ohashi Bridge in Kyoto, where once a dense forest stood that was thought to be the habitat of the nue. It was also known simply as the "Nue Forest."
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1852 (Source: Museum of Fine Arts, https://www.mfa.org/ via http://ukiyo-e.org)
Unfortunately, the forest no longer exists. However, a remnant of it, a single tree, is said to still grow on the grounds of Daishogun Shrine. The specimen is an 800 year-old ginkgo tree, and while it doesn't quite take us all the way back to 1153, it undoubtedly would have shared its surroundings in times past with the trees of the forest that were there. The old surviving ginkgo is now a sacred tree of the shrine. Daishogun Shrine, though built for a different purpose, does acknowledge that the habitat of the mysterious creature once stood behind it, and references to the nue can be found on the grounds.
Comments: Sanjo still has us around the picturesque Higashiyama area, and as I've mentioned in previous posts, this stretch of Kyoto is an essential part of any itinerary. Daishogun Shrine is very accessible from Sanjo Stn., but if you have already been afoot in the general area visiting other sites, there is a good chance you will be approaching the shrine from the east.
Getting There
The starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Yodoyabashi Stn. Our destination is Sanjo Stn. on the Keihan Line.
Subway Yodoyabashi Stn. is one stop south of Umeda. At the north end of subway Yodoyabashi Stn. you'll find the Keihan Line. From Yodoyabashi, the Keihan Main Line runs all the way into Kyoto. To get to Sanjo, you can jump on the fastest service there is: the Limited Express. If your hotel is in the Kyobashi area or anywhere near Osaka Castle Park, then I recommend you make your way to Kyobashi and commence your journey from Kyobashi Stn. (Keihan Line).
From JR Kyoto Stn. you can take the JR Nara line and go one stop to Tofukuji, where there is an adjacent Keihan station. You can also walk from Kyoto Stn. to Shichijo Stn. in about 15 minutes and take the train three stops up from there.
Sanjo is also on the subway network, so you can access it from there too. The name of the subway station there is called Sanjo-Keihan, which is a little confusing (as it neighbors Sanjo Stn. on the Keihan Line).
Getting Your Bearings at Sanjo Station
As you come out of the ticket gates at Sanjo Stn., you will find yourself underground. Instead of going straight up to the street level, follow the signs to subway Keihan-Sanjo Stn. and continue underground until you are in that station (near the ticket machines, ticket gates, etc.). Follow the signs for Exit 2 and come out there. This will put you on a large road called Sanjo-Dori. If you've taken the stairs to exit, you'll be facing north and will need to turn right on Sanjo-Dori. If you take the elevator to exit, you'll come out facing west with the stairs on your left and you will need to turn around 180 degrees so that you are facing the correct direction (east). From there it's an easy walk to the shrine. Please see the map below.
Map courtesy of Google Maps
You'll notice that the exit is marked as Exit 3 on the map. I am not sure why that is, but Keihan-Sanjo Stn. has it labeled as Exit 2, and that's what I've gone with. To help you get your bearings, here is a street view of that station exit.
Image courtesy of Google Maps
As for the shrine itself, if you follow the map, you should begin to see the shrine grounds on your left before you come to the entrance.
Image courtesy of Google Maps
Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/
The Master List (Kyoto)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-c-master-list-kyoto.html
(yokai) Nue (鵺)
Site: Daishogun Shrine (大将軍神社)
Nearest Station: (Keihan Line) Sanjo Stn. (三条駅), though technically subway Keihan-Sanjo Stn. (京阪三条駅) is closer.
Google Map Search: "Daishogun Shrine Higashiyama"
No comments:
Post a Comment