Location: Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + a little under 40 min. walking time; or a 1 min. walk from Asuka Shrine
Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"
There's a school on the hill where the sons of dead fathers,
Are led towards tempests and gales.
Where their God-given wings are clipped close to their bodies.
And their eyes are bound round with ships' sails.
And she has come down to condemn that wild ocean.
For the murderous loss of her man.
His boat sailed out on Wednesday morning.
And it's feared she's gone down with all hands.
-Lament for the Fisherman's Wife
Just south of Asuka Shrine is another that symbolizes the town in a most raw and primal fashion. It is essentially a whale shrine, in some ways obvious (the whale bone torii out front) and in some ways more subtle. I had hoped to spend many minutes here in peaceful isolation soaking up the atmosphere, but gathered at the bottom of the shrine along the roadside were rowdy townsfolk cheering on the Tour de Kumano cyclists. With the most dignified air I could muster, I ascended the stone stairway. Getting about halfway I dropped the bottle of tea I was carrying, sending it flying down into the spectators below. I apologized for disturbing the peace that no one but myself was trying to maintain, and this drew some words of encouragement from a grandmother in the crowd. Heartened, I made my way up the steps...
The history of Ebisu Shrine is murky. It perhaps started out in direct worship of the whale, which represented real and potential wealth for the village. Over time, the whale became associated with Ebisu, the god of fisherman and luck. This probably originated from superstition and a healthy respect for the whale itself, not only a creature of great bodily strength but one who had the ability to drive fish into (or away from) shore... an apparent herder or "master" over smaller creatures. As superstitions developed certain taboos emerged, such as the avoidance of orthodox terms to refer to whales. In doing this, the fisherman gave whales a catch-all name by which to refer to them: Ebisu. As this merging of superstitious practice and actual religious observance continued, whales were first seen as messengers of Ebisu, and then as incarnations of Ebisu himself. Enshrined here at Ebisu Shrine in Taiji is Kotoshironushi, a shinto deity who is often associated with Ebisu.
In a small clearing at the top of the stairway also sits a rather ambiguous stone "figure." It's said to resemble a whale, and so is likely another embodiment of Ebisu. According to Taiji lore, it could also be a male phallic deity, but apparently there are no records to support this theory. We do know that Ebisu was thought to take on certain ominous forms that might influence the successful outcome of a catch. Such included not only the whale, but also the shark and even a floating corpse were said to be the deity. Another form that Ebisu was said to take were ordinary stones that either washed up or were brought ashore. Young boys were sometimes made to dive down and collect such stones from the bottom of the ocean at certain times of year. It's very possible that the sacred stone at Ebisu shrine is an especially large example of this phenomenon. I thought this smaller arrangement nearby looked a bit like a penis though.
I've had trouble getting a fix on the age of Ebisu Shrine, but it's probably less than 400 years old. It has a stone lantern that dates back to Hoei 4 (1707), and it was this shrine that perhaps partly inspired the Kujira-Ebisu no Miya (鯨恵比寿の宮) shrine in Ihara Saikaku's 1688 novel Nippon Eitaigura (日本永代蔵, "The Eternal Storehouse of Japan"):
Taiji is a prosperous place, and its people render thanks at a shrine amid a grove of young pines - the shrine of Whale-Ebisu. The gateway, some thirty feet high, is constructed from the skeletons of whales, and if your curiosity should be aroused by this unusual sight, you should question a local inhabitant, he will tell you the story of 'Demon' Gennai, a skilled harpoon-master in the whaling industry of this shore.
I had assumed that this was describing a historical structure, but was shocked to discover that the much smaller whale bone torii that stands in front of the shrine today may be an example of life imitating art. The entry on Ebisu Shrine in the Taiji guidebook I received at the museum reads that, "The Fish Dealers Association, inspired by this fictional story [Nippon Eitaigura], built a gate out of a pair of whale jawbones in 1985." Sargent's footnote in his 1959 translation of the Eternal Storehouse also bubble-burstingly reads, "There is no shrine of Whale-Ebisu (Kujira-ebisu) in present-day Taiji." At the very least this seems to indicate that one shrine was not being directly associated with the other until fairly recently.
Back in 1878, the Taiji whaling fleet sprang into action. The fleet was divided into groups, or kumi, with each kumi containing up to 12 boats and being led by a harpooner known as a ha-zashi. Among them were 15-men seko-bune or "chaser" boats; 26-men ami-bune or net boats, heavier vessels that would lay the double semi-circle of nets used to slow the whale down; moso-bune, boats used to tow the whale to shore; and an array of smaller boats that would collect equipment that was dropped or fell out of the boats during the fracas. Aboard one of the ami-bune was a harpooner by the name of Sawadayu. The three-pennant signal had been raised, so Sawadayu knew there was a whale and calf in the area, but like the other whalers assumed they would be left alone.
As the fleet pursued the whales, it quickly became apparent that it would not be an easy hunt. Though the nets had been set to slow the whales down, they proved less effective against the fierce mother using all her might to protect her calf. The hunt began a little before 2:00 pm on the afternoon of December 24, but it was more than 20 hours later at around 10:30 am on the morning of December 25 that the mother whale and her calf eventually succumbed to the fleet and died. However, by this time the whales had taken the boats more than 12 miles off the Taiji coast. The fleet found themselves fighting the west wind and a strong ocean current, all after spending the night in the dead of winter downing a mother whale fighting to the death. Sawadayu, exhausted after the hunt, felt the heavy pull of the current...
Comments: Ebisu Shrine is the centerpiece of this trip to Taiji. It's uniqueness and cultural significance make it a site almost worth visiting on its own. The simple whale bone torii, coarse and peeling; the sacred stone, amorphous but with just enough shape for you to project some inner impression onto it, both immediately create that perfect other-worldly atmosphere... a "Yokai high."
Getting There
In between the two shrines is the Fish Dealers Association Supermarket (Cooperative). As I mentioned a few posts ago, among the pamphlets that you can pick up at Taiji Station is an undoubtedly excellent restaurant guide. I point that out because I'm a bit useless when it comes to finding (let alone recommending) a good place to eat, so if you're going to have a meal somewhere I suggest you refer to that. In my case, I bought my lunch here at the supermarket and wolfed it down in the little square outside. The sky had gone dark and it looked like rain was on the way.
Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/
The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html
(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝); Ebisu (恵比須/恵比寿/夷/戎)
Site: Ebisu-jinja Shrine (恵比須神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA <-- A different shrine will come up if you search for "Ebisu Shrine."
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
The history of Ebisu Shrine is murky. It perhaps started out in direct worship of the whale, which represented real and potential wealth for the village. Over time, the whale became associated with Ebisu, the god of fisherman and luck. This probably originated from superstition and a healthy respect for the whale itself, not only a creature of great bodily strength but one who had the ability to drive fish into (or away from) shore... an apparent herder or "master" over smaller creatures. As superstitions developed certain taboos emerged, such as the avoidance of orthodox terms to refer to whales. In doing this, the fisherman gave whales a catch-all name by which to refer to them: Ebisu. As this merging of superstitious practice and actual religious observance continued, whales were first seen as messengers of Ebisu, and then as incarnations of Ebisu himself. Enshrined here at Ebisu Shrine in Taiji is Kotoshironushi, a shinto deity who is often associated with Ebisu.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
In a small clearing at the top of the stairway also sits a rather ambiguous stone "figure." It's said to resemble a whale, and so is likely another embodiment of Ebisu. According to Taiji lore, it could also be a male phallic deity, but apparently there are no records to support this theory. We do know that Ebisu was thought to take on certain ominous forms that might influence the successful outcome of a catch. Such included not only the whale, but also the shark and even a floating corpse were said to be the deity. Another form that Ebisu was said to take were ordinary stones that either washed up or were brought ashore. Young boys were sometimes made to dive down and collect such stones from the bottom of the ocean at certain times of year. It's very possible that the sacred stone at Ebisu shrine is an especially large example of this phenomenon. I thought this smaller arrangement nearby looked a bit like a penis though.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
I've had trouble getting a fix on the age of Ebisu Shrine, but it's probably less than 400 years old. It has a stone lantern that dates back to Hoei 4 (1707), and it was this shrine that perhaps partly inspired the Kujira-Ebisu no Miya (鯨恵比寿の宮) shrine in Ihara Saikaku's 1688 novel Nippon Eitaigura (日本永代蔵, "The Eternal Storehouse of Japan"):
Taiji is a prosperous place, and its people render thanks at a shrine amid a grove of young pines - the shrine of Whale-Ebisu. The gateway, some thirty feet high, is constructed from the skeletons of whales, and if your curiosity should be aroused by this unusual sight, you should question a local inhabitant, he will tell you the story of 'Demon' Gennai, a skilled harpoon-master in the whaling industry of this shore.
-The Japanese Family Storehouse [alt. title], G.W. Sargent trans., Cambridge University Press, 1959
Source: Ibid., Cambridge University Press, 1959
I had assumed that this was describing a historical structure, but was shocked to discover that the much smaller whale bone torii that stands in front of the shrine today may be an example of life imitating art. The entry on Ebisu Shrine in the Taiji guidebook I received at the museum reads that, "The Fish Dealers Association, inspired by this fictional story [Nippon Eitaigura], built a gate out of a pair of whale jawbones in 1985." Sargent's footnote in his 1959 translation of the Eternal Storehouse also bubble-burstingly reads, "There is no shrine of Whale-Ebisu (Kujira-ebisu) in present-day Taiji." At the very least this seems to indicate that one shrine was not being directly associated with the other until fairly recently.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
Back in 1878, the Taiji whaling fleet sprang into action. The fleet was divided into groups, or kumi, with each kumi containing up to 12 boats and being led by a harpooner known as a ha-zashi. Among them were 15-men seko-bune or "chaser" boats; 26-men ami-bune or net boats, heavier vessels that would lay the double semi-circle of nets used to slow the whale down; moso-bune, boats used to tow the whale to shore; and an array of smaller boats that would collect equipment that was dropped or fell out of the boats during the fracas. Aboard one of the ami-bune was a harpooner by the name of Sawadayu. The three-pennant signal had been raised, so Sawadayu knew there was a whale and calf in the area, but like the other whalers assumed they would be left alone.
Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus
As the fleet pursued the whales, it quickly became apparent that it would not be an easy hunt. Though the nets had been set to slow the whales down, they proved less effective against the fierce mother using all her might to protect her calf. The hunt began a little before 2:00 pm on the afternoon of December 24, but it was more than 20 hours later at around 10:30 am on the morning of December 25 that the mother whale and her calf eventually succumbed to the fleet and died. However, by this time the whales had taken the boats more than 12 miles off the Taiji coast. The fleet found themselves fighting the west wind and a strong ocean current, all after spending the night in the dead of winter downing a mother whale fighting to the death. Sawadayu, exhausted after the hunt, felt the heavy pull of the current...
Comments: Ebisu Shrine is the centerpiece of this trip to Taiji. It's uniqueness and cultural significance make it a site almost worth visiting on its own. The simple whale bone torii, coarse and peeling; the sacred stone, amorphous but with just enough shape for you to project some inner impression onto it, both immediately create that perfect other-worldly atmosphere... a "Yokai high."
Getting There
Getting to Ebisu Shrine from Asuka Shrine couldn't be easier. Just continue in the direction you were headed and you'll come to it on your right.
Map courtesy of Google Maps
In between the two shrines is the Fish Dealers Association Supermarket (Cooperative). As I mentioned a few posts ago, among the pamphlets that you can pick up at Taiji Station is an undoubtedly excellent restaurant guide. I point that out because I'm a bit useless when it comes to finding (let alone recommending) a good place to eat, so if you're going to have a meal somewhere I suggest you refer to that. In my case, I bought my lunch here at the supermarket and wolfed it down in the little square outside. The sky had gone dark and it looked like rain was on the way.
Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/
The Master List (Wakayama)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html
(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝); Ebisu (恵比須/恵比寿/夷/戎)
Site: Ebisu-jinja Shrine (恵比須神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA <-- A different shrine will come up if you search for "Ebisu Shrine."
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