Associated with: Nue aka "the Japanese chimera"
Since starting to write these posts about the nue, for some odd reason I've found myself sympathizing with it more and more in the lead up to its demise. This post on Shinmei Shrine marks the final "Live Nue" post, and though it'll technically still be alive at the beginning of the next post, it'll be well and truly dead by the end of it. I suppose now is probably a good time to remind everybody, including myself, that none of this real.
To recap the previous posts, Yorimasa now has both the shaft and the fletchings of his arrow. All the arrow needs is a tip, or arrowhead. Though a little bit anticlimactic, this he received from his mother, who apparently had kept it as an heirloom passed down from Yorimasa's great-great-grandfather Minamoto no Yorimitsu. With the final piece in hand, Yorimasa had now a very potent projectile in which to fire at the great swirling vortex, inside of which the nue had had plenty of time to terrorize Emperor Konoe, pick up its dry-cleaning, and finish watching Season 1 of MacGyver.
Not so fast, hot shot. Surely there's time for one more prayer. How about... Shinmei Shrine? And so it was that at this shrine Yorimasa prayed for the successful outcome for what he was about to attempt. After he proved successful, he later devoted not one, but two arrowheads (a spare?) to the shrine, and they are kept as treasures there to this day. You'd perhaps think he'd hold on to at least one of them after they'd been in his family for five generations. And how about Jizo? A Bodhisattva went to the trouble of actually appearing to Yorimasa in a dream and telling him precisely where to find and what to use for the fletchings, so you think if anything he'd have given at least one to the hall in Kameoka. Shinmei Shrine by comparison appears to be just a random shrine.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
On the placard just outside the shrine it reads:
This site was formally part of the large mansion of Tadamichi Fujiwara, principal figure of the once powerful Fujiwara clan. It is recorded that Emperor Konoe, who reigned from 1141 to 1155, often used the house of Tadamichi, foster father of his consort, as a temporary imperial palace.
So this time the link is with Emperor Konoe. It does make one ask though, if Konoe could hit his father-in-law up for temporary digs, was he actually in the Seiryo-den at the time of the crisis? Or even if he had been, would he have hung around with a screaming nue looming above him? With the palace becoming more and more dilapidated, it makes perfect sense for Konoe to be living here at Shinmei Shrine if things were less than satisfactory (e.g. flying screaming monsters) at home. And I could totally see Yorimasa praying at this shrine if the emperor himself was there. In fact it would be the shortest distance one could travel from the man to a place of worship.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
I realize I already played my hand in a previous post regarding the symbolism of Yorimasa firing his "arrow" into the whirling vortex, but as I followed the tale along, I half played with the idea of the nue being a symbol of the degradation and abandonment of the original Heian Palace. There seems to be too much going on for that to be so, but the nue did appear in the sky over a specific location, and was associated with sickness, foreboding and outright evil. After its death (spoiler alert) it would soon be associated with what very strongly appears to be impurity, not to mention a curse of some kind.
Coming back to the tale, with the arrow in hand, Yorimasa lay in wait at the imperial palace. In the hours following midnight, he sensed the appearance of the swirling black cloud above and heard a piercing cry. Despite its presence being made known, Yorimasa was unable to catch even the slightest glimpse of the creature. In Jedi fashion, he closed his eyes and offered up a prayer to Jizo. Drawing his bow until it was "curved like a full moon" (man-crush: activated), he aimed for the center of the cloud and let fly his arrow...
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1842 (Source: Richard Kruml, www.japaneseprints-london.com/ via http://ukiyo-e.org)
Comments: Usually it's not possible to see the real arrowheads, so Shinmei Shrine is for most of the year just another small nondescript shrine. Unlike the last two arrow entries though, you can't beat the location of downtown Kyoto for ease of access. If you were at Kyoto Station and had just one hour, this site is totally doable (providing you move smartly and don't get lost). It's also on the way to/on the same subway line as the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The Higashiyama district, which you'll remember from previous posts, is also a short trip east from here.
Getting There
The starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Umeda Stn. Our destination is (Kyoto) subway Shijo Stn.
Umeda Stn. lies next to Osaka Stn., a large hub of intersecting JR lines. From subway Umeda, follow the signs directing you to JR Osaka Stn. Unlike Umeda, there is only one "Osaka" station, but south there is another JR station called Kitashinchi. Though you'll likely find Osaka Stn. with your eyes closed, if you are following "JR" signs and you've been walking for longer than 5 minutes or so there is a small possibility you've made a wrong turn. I again want to point out that we're starting at subway Umeda Stn. to keep it in line with our Midosuji Line-centered travel, but if you are staying in the Osaka Stn. area or near a station on the Loop Line, you obviously needn't worry about the subway for this trip.
At Osaka Stn., the longest that you'll wait for a train leaving for Kyoto is 10 minutes, so don't rush and don't stress out. Just take your time to follow the signs and directions to the platform and you will be fine.
As for Kyoto Stn., it's on the Kyoto Line stretch of the Tokaido Main Line. The Tokaido Line continues past Osaka Stn. and Kyoto Stn., but the sections of it are named differently according to its location. The Kyoto Line operates in combination with the Biwako Line (and JR Kobe Line in the opposite direction). This means a train service will likely not terminate at Kyoto Stn. but continue uninterrupted on the next stretch of line. So, for example, trains at Osaka Stn. leaving for Nagahama, Maibara or Yasu, will all stop without fail at Kyoto Stn. as they are all on the Tokaido Main Line past Kyoto. In other words, you need to look for trains going in the direction of Kyoto or trains stopping at Kyoto, as the train services won't necessarily be labeled as "Kyoto Trains" because they almost certainly won't be terminating there.
Take the shinkaisoku, or special rapid service train from Osaka. You can also take the kaisoku, or rapid service train, but it will add more time to your trip. If it's a consideration, the kaisoku is a bit easier to get a seat on compared to the the special rapid service. At Kyoto Station you need to then change to the subway. The subway is a different train company, so what you're doing is going through the ticket gates and moving to a different part of the station complex, rather than just changing platforms. Here, change to the green Karasuma Line. Shijo Stn. is just two stops in the direction of Kokusaikaikan.
Getting Your Bearings at Shijo Station
At Shijo Stn., go out at Exit 3. This will have you facing west at the street level. You need to go a few blocks east, so as you come out turn left and then immediately turn again at the street on the left, essentially doing a 180-degree movement. The shrine is a very short walk from there.
Map courtesy of Google Maps
Image courtesy of Google Maps
Information on Shinmei Shrine
Shinmei Shrine is not all that big and something closer to a large hokora or wayside shrine. I'm going to include a recommended google seach below, but be advised that there are a lot of shrines that go by the name Shinmei. This Shinmei Shrine is known locally as Enoki-Shinmei (榎神明). Enoki refers to the Japanese name of the tree out the front, which clumsily translates into English as "Japanese hackberry." You needn't be battling mythical creatures to pray here; Shinmei also offers protection against fires and "evils."
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
The actual arrowheads, or yajiri (矢尻/鏃), are displayed once a year at the shrine's annual festival. This is held on the second Saturday of September and the Sunday that follows it. Photographs of the arrowheads are displayed at other times of the year.
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: Shinmei Shrine (神明神社), aka Enoki-Shinmei (榎神明)
Nearest Station: Subway Shijo Stn. (四条駅)
Google Map Search: "Shinmei Shrine Shimogyo"
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