6 b. The Master List (Hyogo)

Hyogo

1. (yokai) Ibarakidoji (茨木童子)
Site: Nishi-Tomatsu Susano Shrine (西富松 須佐男神社)
Nearest Station: (Hankyu Line) Mukonoso Stn. (武庫之荘駅)
Google Map Search: NA, even if you try putting in the Japanese, something else will probably come up instead, see entry below
Notes: Ibarakidoji was an oni, or demon, and the most well-known underling (or lover if you follow the Ibarakidoji-as-female-oni theory) of the demon leader Shutendoji (酒呑童子). Ibarakidoji appears in quite a few tales, and interestingly the sites associated with these tales do not come up on map searches: perfect candidates for this site. Nishi-Tomatsu Susano Shrine associates itself with an origin legend of Ibarakidoji.
Entry: http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/i-nishi-tomatsu-susano-shrine.html

2. (yokai) Nue (鵺)
Site: Grave of the Nue, or Nuezuka (鵺塚) in Ashiya
Nearest Station: (Hanshin Line) Ashiya Stn. (芦屋駅)
Google Map Search: NA
Notes: The nue, also known as the Japanese chimera, is part monkey, part tiger, part snake and possibly part tanuki too. It made a famous appearance in the summer of 1153 by terrorizing Kyoto from the sky. Master archer Minamoto no Yorimasa and his retainer killed the beast, then set adrift its accursed body down the river where it eventually washed ashore. This site here in Ashiya, Hyogo contains the "nue mound," a location where the nue was thought to have been retrieved and buried. 
Entry: http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2016/04/xv-grave-of-nue-in-ashiya-or-dead-nue.html

3. (yokai) Nue (鵺)
Site: Chomei-ji Temple (長明時)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Nishiwakishi Stn. (西脇市駅)
Google Map Search: "Chomei-ji Nishiwaki"
Notes: The nue, also known as the Japanese chimera, is part monkey, part tiger, part snake and possibly part tanuki too. It made a famous appearance in the summer of 1153 by terrorizing the capital from the sky. Minamoto no Yorimasa shot the nue with an elaborately constructed arrow, the bamboo shaft of which is said to have come from a grove in Yorimasa's fief. Chomei-ji Temple boasts both this obscure tourist attraction as well as the Nuetaiji-zo, a statue of the face-off between Yorimasa and the nue.
Original Entry: http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/12/ix-arrow-bamboo-grove-of-chomei-ji-or.html
Follow-up Entry: http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2016/11/xxvii-follow-up-report-on-chomei-ji-or.html

4. (yokai) Datsueba (奪衣婆), The Old Hag of Hell
Site: Ichijo-ji Temple (一乗寺); in full "Hokkesan Ichijo-ji Temple" (法華山一乗寺)
Nearest Station: (Hojo Line) Hokkeguchi Stn. (法華口駅) <-- though not particularly "near"
Google Map Search: "Ichijo-ji Kasai"
Notes: The temple has many Jizo statues and piles of stones, as per the telling of how souls of departed children encounter Datsueba at the River Sanzu. This is not an easy one to reach, and would probably require a day trip on its own. The temple receives visitors who are grieving parents, and the atmosphere is melancholy.
Entry (Part 1): https://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2019/07/xxxiv-sai-riverbed-of-ichijo-ji-part-1.html
Entry (Part 2): https://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2019/07/xxxiv-sai-riverbed-of-ichijo-ji-part-2.html
Entry (Part 3): https://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2019/08/xxxiv-sai-riverbed-of-ichijo-ji-part-3.html

5. (wonders) "The Floating Stone" or Uki-ishi (浮石)
Site: Ohshiko Shrine (生石神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Hoden Stn. (宝殿駅)
Google Map Search: "生石神社" <-- The English doesn't seem to come up.
Notes: The Uki-ishi is an enormous stone of religious significance and mysterious origin, and one of the Three Wonders of Japan or Nihon-sanki (日本三奇). The shrine is thought to date back more than two-thousand years to the reign of Emperor Sujin (B.C. 97-30), but for all that this site doesn't appear to get much attention. Legend has it that two deities living in the stone appeared to the emperor in a dream, promising prosperity for their enshrinement. The stone itself is the honored god-body Ishi no Hoden (石の宝殿), or Stone Repository. Surrounded by water, it appears to be floating, hence its other title. The shrine is really getting with the program and boasts other "wonders" (fushigi or 不思議) on its homepage. These include an odd shape left behind after a landslide, three dragons in the side of a rock, and a large outcrop that looks like the head of a gorilla.
Entry: https://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2019/02/xxxiii-stone-treasure-house-of-ohshiko.html

6. (ghost) Okiku's Well (お菊井戸)
Site: Himeji Castle (姫路城)
Nearest Station: (JR) Himeji Stn. (姫路駅)
Google Map Search: "Himeji Castle" (the castle is north of Himeji Stn.)
Notes: The well from the folktale Bancho Sarayashiki (番町皿屋敷) is said, according to one telling, to be located in Himeji Castle.
Entry: https://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2018/08/xxxii-okikus-well.html


Driver Gragma (yokaitourbus "at" mail "dot" com)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokaitourbus/


The Master Lists
Osaka:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-the-master-list-osaka.html
Hyogo:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-b-master-list-hyogo.html
Kyoto:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-c-master-list-kyoto.html
Shiga:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-d-master-list-shiga.html
Nara:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-e-master-list-nara.html
Mie:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-f-master-list-mie.html
Wakayama:  http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.com/2015/08/6-g-master-list-wakayama.html