xxvii. Follow-up Report on Chomei-ji (長明寺), or "Nue Resurrection"

Location: Nishiwaki City (near Nishiwakishi Stn., JR Line), Hyogo Prefecture; about 1 hour 45 min. from Osaka, 1 hour 20 min. from Kobe, or about 1 hour 5 min. from Himeji + 20 min. walking time

Associated with: Nue aka "the Japanese chimera"

I recently visited Chomei-ji in Hyogo Prefecture and decided my original entry was a bit short on detail. Before referring to this entry, check out the original for directions to the Nishiwaki area:

http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/12/ix-arrow-bamboo-grove-of-chomei-ji-or.html

Getting to the temple proper is easy enough, but the grounds have enough twists and turns that you might find yourself unable to locate what you came to see. Unless you are going to visit Nishiwaki and the temple as your main destination for the day, you'll be pushing yourself to try and fit in whatever else you have planned. The following is a breakdown of where all the yokai-related landmarks are on the temple grounds so that you can check them out first and take in the other sections at your leisure.

So I Got a Bit Lost

You'll recall from the original entry that the things to see are the Nuetaiji-zo, which is a statue of Minamoto no Yorimasa facing off against the fierce nue, and the Arrow Bamboo Grove, or Yatakeyabu next to the Nuenobashi Bridge. Remember that it was from this bamboo grove that Yorimasa supposedly harvested the shaft of the arrow used to bring down the nue. Also on the grounds are graves or memorial markers of Yorimasa and his lover Ayame Gozen. Unfortunately I got turned right around trying to find them and excitedly took pictures of a grave belonging to a no doubt prominent but entirely different person. I'll include an approximate location of the real graves in the maps below and perhaps the dear reader can confirm when they visit the site themselves.

The Approach

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Below is a slightly wider pic of the final approach that appeared in the original entry. This will get you to the temple and the statue without too much trouble, but to find the bamboo grove and anything else you'll need to consult one of the maps on-site. There are at least three of them and they are all in Japanese, each visually unique and oriented differently. Unfortunately if you don't consult the maps and assume that the bamboo grove is up near the temple proper, you'll never find it.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

At the point on the map marked with a yellow circle you'll find yourself in front of a large stone stairway leading to a roofed sanmon gateway housing two kongo rikishi or nio (angry-faced guardians). Google has you taking the road alongside that, but of course you can head up those stairs instead (indicated by the yellow arrow on the left). As you continue past the gate, you'll notice a road going right, which for now I've marked with a red arrow. While straight ahead lies the temple, here off to the right is where the bamboo grove is located. The order you visit each location doesn't really matter, but I'd recommend going to the temple first and the grove on your way back.

The Nuetaiji-zo Statue aka "The Defeat of the Nue"

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Advancing straight you'll come to another stone stairway that will take you up to the temple proper. As you reach the top, the Nuetaiji-zo can be seen diagonally left of where you are, sitting up on a rise toward the back of the open square:

Map courtesy of Google Maps

It's a rather stunning creation. The artist was Junichiro Hanyu (般若純一郎, b. 1931), who also designed the tengu statues at Kencho-ji Temple in Kamakura. Youngsters will also be delighted to find that the nue has a rather splendid set of balls.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The Graves of Yorimasa and Ayame Gozen

If you continue around to the back of the temple on the same side as the Nuetaiji-zo, you'll come to the graves of Yorimasa and Ayame Gozen. These are the ones I missed, so I'll include the location further down.

The Arrow Bamboo Grove and the Nuenobashi Bridge

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Before returning the way you came for a quick visit to the bamboo grove, I very much recommend you explore the mountain paths at the rear of the temple. They are very atmospheric and definitely help to bump Chomei-ji up a few spots on one's to-do list. Despite their circuitous route, they had the wonderful effect of making me feel removed from everything, and even a little bit lost and in awe of my surroundings. Great stuff! If you move along at a good pace they won't add that much time to your trip either, so be sure to check them out.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Once you've done that, you can head back and take the road indicated by the red arrow on the map above. Walking along that road you'll first notice the bamboo grove on your right, consisting of tall, thick bamboo. You can't really access it, but you can get closer to it by walking down a short gravel drive. Returning to the road and continuing along you'll then come to a shrine, also on the right. This is a Hachiman shrine (Hachiman being the god of archery and war, and the guardian deity of the Minamoto clan). Immediately after the shrine is the Nuenobashi Bridge (鵺野橋) where it crosses the Takamatsutanigawa River (高松谷川). On the north bank next to the grounds of the Hachiman Shrine is an outgrowth of vegetation that includes some wispy clumps of thin bamboo. Compared to the thick stalks of the main grove, you could probably use these to make arrow shafts.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The Maps

The maps on-site are a little confusing, but the main thing to remember is that they are of the surrounding area and not just the grounds of Chomei-ji. The two pictorial ones are oriented differently but show some of the same things. The one titled "YORIMASA ILLUST MAP" ("illust" meaning illustration) is the smaller of the two in scope. Their pictorial nature also makes them doubly difficult to interpret for someone who is both unfamiliar with the nature of the architecture and who can't read the labels on the maps or the signposts at the locations themselves.

Their depictions of their surroundings are also a little too imaginative. Take this section from one of the maps:

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

This looks like a family park. There's an excited girl with her hand raised in greeting, as if perhaps she's seen of an old friend just getting off a bus, a couple of happy goosestepping grandmothers, and a pair of bow-legged gents doing a leisurely hoedown around the edge. This is actually a mountain path running through dense forest.

What I'll do is provide the two on-site pictorial maps and a Google map, marking in all three the locations we've mentioned. Below circled in yellow is the sanmon, or traditional gateway housing the kongo rikishi, in orange is the Nuetaiji-zo statue, and in blue are the graves of Yorimasa and Ayame Gozen. The Nuenobashi Bridge is shown in red.

 Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

 Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Information on Chomei-ji

I have Chomei-ji opening at 9:00 and closing at 17:00, but I would aim to get there for 15:00 at the latest with the assumption that things will be winding down around 16:00. If coming from Himeji, aim to leave at 13:00 or earlier.


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

The Master List (Hyogo)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-b-master-list-hyogo.html

(yokai) Nue (鵺)
Site: Chomei-ji (長明時)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Nishiwakishi Stn. (西脇市駅)
Google Map Search: "Chomei-ji Nishiwaki"

10. Host Post, Halloween 2016

Hello again Boils and Ghouls! Gragma here!

Well, we made it another year! A big fat thank you to the thinning few but faithful! Apologies for not having a new detailed entry up these past few months. I've been taking a rest since the series on Taiji and am getting used to the downtime a little too much. Hope to have at least one more up by the end of the year!

Things have been chugging along on the tour bus. Though it's not overwhelming yet, the level of detail for each site has started to bog things down a bit. I wanted to expand the master lists a lot more this year, but I ended up working on longer entries like Omiwa Shrine and the series on Taiji instead. This saw the master lists shunted to one side. I think the topics covered in the posts were interesting ones, but people waiting on more traditional yokai must be wondering where my priorities are at. Don't worry, my intention is to include those as well, and I'm hoping to get back to basics in 2017.

I've also changed my policy in regards to including photos. More and more I'm taking pictures of things so as not to forget certain details, and some of the pics have been good enough to go up on the blog. Still, when there's not much to see, don't be surprised if all you get is a map and a Google street view!

All the best for a spooky yokai-filled Halloween! Still taking requests!

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

xxvi. Taiji Bay (太地湾) or Taiji (太地) Part 5 (Epilogue)

Location (Semi-Nagare Monument): Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 45 min. walking time; or a 10 min. walk from either Ebisu Shrine or the Memorial Tower for Whales

Associated with: Sazae Oni (栄螺鬼) or the "Sea Snail Demon"

If you have followed my suggested route up to the Semi-Nagare Monument, you will have found yourself slowly circling Taiji Bay. It is out there on the ocean where we have a location which is a candidate for a rather squeamish account involving a (gasp) actual yokai.

The marine creature from which this yokai gets its name is the sazae, a type of edible sea snail that lives in a turban-shaped shell. (They sometimes make an appearance at a seaside barbecue, plonked on the grill and cooked in their shells.) It's said that such a sea snail will become a type of demon called a sazae oni once it has lived for thirty years. Another recipe for spawning this yokai is to throw a lusty woman into the ocean, where she will first transform into a sea snail. She will reappear later on a moonlit night, breaching the water as a sea snail demon.

Got that? Well in Namikiri of Kishu Domain (present day Taiji), there is the account of a band of pirates who while sailing across the bay came across a beautiful woman struggling in the water. Though the pirates were quick to rescue her, in their dark hearts they harbored an unchivalrous motive; that night each to a man had their rough way with her. It turned out, however, that they had been tricked, for the woman was a sazae oni. Later that night she transformed into a demon and bit the testicles off every pirate on the ship. The next day she ransomed their balls back to them for a tidy sum of gold.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Beyond Semi-Nagare

After the tragedy, the traumatized town found itself in a state almost beyond recovery. Taiji Kakuemon, the man who had issued the command to hunt, wrote, "Words cannot describe the wretched state of the hundreds of bereaved." In dealing with his own grief, Kakuemon distributed his estate among the families of the deceased. However, without the level of support that whaling had contributed to the economy, many of the town's young men left to look for work elsewhere.

But somehow Taiji managed to survive and piece together a new whaling fleet. Sawadayu and the survivors apprenticed new whalers, including Sawadayu's son Yasoichi, who had been too young to be a member of the fleet caught in the Semi-Nagare tragedy. The boy became a harpooner like his father, and later changed his name to Kimidayu (dayu being a special suffix attached to the names of harpooners). The invention of the whaling gun and other advances in technology made hunting safer, and Kimidayu would pass the trade onto his children. However, never would the next generation have to risk their lives out in the old chasers, setting the giant nets, or locked in the hunt. They would not understand the old saying, "On a boat, one is only an inch or two from a watery grave," in quite the same way their ancestors did. Kimidayu would be the last harpooner.

Kimidayu died at the age of 76 on June 28, 1945 just a few months before the end of World War II. Amazingly, footage exists of the old whaler. Taken in 1932, it shows the Ayaodori, a dance in which young men line up along a board placed across two traditional moso-bune boats. Kimidayu along with his friend, another old harpooner by the name of Uradayu, can be seen sitting on the bows of the boats, singing and banging the taiko.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Closing Thoughts

It has been nearly ten years since the footage for 2009's Cove was shot, but the battle still rages. With the discrimination case against the Taiji Whale Museum and Ric O'Barry's deportation from Japan just this year, there is yet to be a decisive winner. Without choosing a side though, my feeling is that Taiji will find its way much as it has always done. The town is a survivor. And while the dolphin slaughter footage is both compelling and disturbing, the fact of the matter is that the protesters have failed to meaningfully engage the townsfolk. Instead they have resorted to celebrity hype, international pressure and brute force. History has shown that in Taiji, successes as well as hardships forge a complex identity. The protesters would do well to note that the mother whale and its calf, an icon of unimaginable tragedy for the town, are eternalized in a gigantic monument that eyes visitors on their approach. So too now do the protesters play a part in galvanizing this identity.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Having been to Taiji, I do respect the protesters for putting their money where their mouths are and actually traveling and spending time there. It's possible to go straight there from Kansai airport without ever taking in a single major tourist site. Once on the ground it must be homesick-inducing, lonely and heartbreaking work. However, if the protesters really want the people of Taiji to care about their opinion, they first need to show that they understand theirs. That's not easy, but to understand is not to condone. It is the first step toward laying the groundwork for the possibility of change.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Getting Back to Taiji Station

It's a long walk back to the station, but hopefully it's been worth it. A tourist map will point out some other sites that might interest you, so keep having a wander around if you like. When you're ready, head back to the station by more or less retracing your steps. This time you can cut through the town and also take a shortcut through the mountain to save you having to walk all the way around the peninsula.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Some Acknowledgements

Originally all I wanted to do was go see a torii made out of bones. I would have been clueless about it had it not been for Zack Davisson's article on the bakekujira at hyakumonogatari.com. That article can be read here:

https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/05/10/bakekujira-and-japans-whale-cults/

C.W. Nicol is an author I stumbled upon horrendously late in the fifteen years I've been living in Japan. Nicol, one of the living treasures we are lucky to have among us, spent a year in Taiji doing research for his novel Harpoon. Though these days he condemns the cruelty of the dolphin hunt, he has been a defender of sustainable fishing practises, including traditional whaling. He continues to write a weekly column for The Japan Times, and his essay Taiji - Winds of Change can currently be read online here:

http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_taiji.html

A verse and chorus from Lament for the Fisherman's Wife are at the beginning of each main entry of this series. It's neither Japanese nor particularly old, but a tune by Scottish folk greats Silly Wizard. It appeared on their 1981 album Wild and Beautiful and with one listen you can tell that the song is both. You can find it on YouTube.

Artist Unknown, 1800s (Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/ via http://ukiyo-e.org)

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)
Site: Semi-Nagare Monument/Monument to Those Lost at Sea (漂流人紀念碑)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA

xxv. Memorials for Whales (鯨の供養碑) and People (人紀念碑) or Taiji (太地) Part 4

Location (Memorial Tower for Whales): Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + a little under 40 min. walking time; or a 3 min. walk from Ebisu Shrine

Location (Semi-Nagare Monument): Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 45 min. walking time; or a 10 min. walk from either Ebisu Shrine or the Memorial Tower for Whales

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"

What force leads a man to a life filled with danger,

High on seas or a mile underground?

It's when need is his master and poverty's no stranger.

And there's no other work to be found.

But 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

The producers of The Cove commented in the film's final narration that they couldn't understand why the people of Taiji would construct so many monuments to whales. It is perhaps because the pursuit of no other quarry could so mimic the fickleness of the gods in the way the traditional whale hunt symbolized the potential for great prosperity as well as the promise of ruin in the face of failure. What you have then is a people who show gratitude and awe in equal parts.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Taking a right at Ebisu Shrine, I followed the curving road, encountering more spectators and race volunteers. I soon arrived in front of Tomyo-ji Temple, where an excited photographer told me to get out of the way. I did so most obediently, and while we waited for the cyclists to whiz past, I watched as he argued with a spectator and made a woman reverse away in her car. I explained to him in Japanese that I had only really come to Taiji that day as a tourist, to which he replied in booming English: "GOOD TIMING!" Bikes having flown past, I was granted permission to move along and so headed up the stone fortification of Tomyo-ji.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Such fortifications are more appropriate under things that need defending, like castles. As it happens, Tomyo-ji now sits on the old foundation of Taiji Castle, and the graceful sloping stone walls remain. At the top besides the temple itself is some beautiful statuary and also a simple stone marker, which despite its height has been dubbed in English as the memorial "tower" for whales. In Meiwa 5 (1768), right at the height of traditional whaling, Hama Hachibei (a whaler) erected the monument using materials from his family grave plot. That century had been dotted with poor catches, not to mention a tsunami in 1707 that saw most of the buildings in Taiji destroyed and the series of events that led to the construction of the whale bone bridge at Zuikoji in 1756. Here at Tomyo-ji is erected a monument to pacify the souls of departed whales and to pray for their rebirth. The Buddhist monument to the far right of the whale memorial was also erected by descendants of Hachibei.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Far off the coast of Taiji on the morning of December 25, 1878, the exhausted whaling fleet was in trouble. Having finally secured the whales to the moso-bune, they found themselves not making much headway against the west wind. Realizing that their strength would give out before they made it back to shore, in desperation they cut the whales loose and fought the wind with all their remaining might.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Sawadayu and his boat were in much bigger trouble. They were caught in a current they did not have the energy to challenge and were getting further and further away from the fleet. Unable to resist the current, the 26 men aboard Sawadayu's boat battled hunger, dehydration and hypothermia out on the open sea for a week before they finally came upon a chain of islands. As they approached one of the islands' shores, the boat capsized, killing 18 of the 26 exhausted whalers. Only eight survived, Sawadayu being one of them.

I returned to the main road encircling Taiji Bay and made my way up the sloping incline. By this time rain had started to fall and my umbrella was tottering in the wind, doing its best to keep my camera dry. I came to a short flight of stairs along the incline that took me up to the Semi-Nagare Monument, the Hyoryubito-kinenhi (漂流人紀念碑), or "monument for those who drifted away." It honors the whalers who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The island that Sawadayu and the other survivors washed up on was Kozushima, part of the Izu Islands chain, nearly 190 miles (a whopping 300 kilometers) from Taiji and administratively part of Tokyo prefecture. It was well into the new year when Sawadayu finally returned to Taiji with the other survivors of his boat. If they were saddened to report the deaths of their fellows, they were unprepared to learn the extent of the tragedy of the fleet as it had unfolded. One of the other boats landed ashore in Atawa (more than 20 miles north along the coast from Taiji), and the crew of another boat was picked up by a passing ship. The survivors were 13 men in all. Of the remaining 100 or so men, 12 died from starvation, while the others, unable to overcome the wind and current, drifted off into the ocean never to be seen or heard from again. Fathers and sons (including apprentices as young as 10), all the siblings from the same family were known to have been lost together. The culmination of several hundred years of Taiji whaling, the people, the boats, the equipment... nearly all washed away in a single tragedy.

Comments: It's a somber end to our journey, but I'm sucker for stone poles in the ground. Time to finish what we started.

Getting There

Take a right off the main road at Ebisu Shrine. Follow the curve of the road around and Tomyo-ji will appear on your right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

To get to the Semi-Nagare Monument, get back on to the main road and turn right. The monument is a ways up the slope on the right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

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)
Site: Tomyo-ji Temple (東明寺)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: "Tomyoji Taiji"

(religion) Japanese Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Semi-Nagare Monument/Monument to Those Lost at Sea (漂流人紀念碑)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: NA

xxiv. INTERMISSION: The Setsugeikyo (雪鯨橋) or "Whale Bridge" (くじら橋) of Zuikoji (瑞光寺)

Location: Higashiyodogawa Ward (near Hankyu Line Kami-Shinjo Stn.), Osaka City; about 12 min. from Osaka + a little under 10 min. walking time

 

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults"

 

One might be surprised to learn the many ways in which a downed whale could be utilized. C.W. Nicol again lays it out for us:

Meat, for human consumption, was the most valuable portion of the whale, but nothing was wasted. As in the West, blubber was rendered into oil, the uses of which were many indeed. Whale oil lighted the lamps of Japan too, but besides lamps, the oil was mixed with vinegar to make a highly effective pesticide for use in the rice paddies. This oil-vinegar mixture was perfectly biodegradable, and killed off only harmful pests, with no ill effects on the edible loaches and small clams that abounded in the rice paddies of Tokugawa Japan.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Oil-rich bones were sawed up and cooked. After this first cooking they were smashed into pieces by hammers and cooked again. These bones provided excellent fertilizer, and more oil. This fertilizer was of such great value that merchants came from distant parts of Japan to make bids for its purchase.

Sinews were carefully cut out from the bone and meat, and when dried they were sold to instrument makers, armor makers and so forth. The baleen (erroneously called 'whale bone' in the West) found even more uses than it did in fashion-conscious America and Europe. It was used in myriad ways, from the tips of fine fishing rods, to beautifully polished plates, and the springs that worked the mouths of the 'bunraku' puppets [and to birthing aids].

Even the entrails were cut, washed and boiled, and were used in miso soup, or broiled on charcoal. Absolutely nothing was wasted.

-Taiji, Winds of Change, C.W. Nicol

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Clearly a whale carcass has many uses. In the previous entry we saw a set of whale jawbones being used to make a simple torii in front of a shrine. However, much further north in Osaka city there is a temple with a bridge made out of whale bones.

Such a bridge is something you'd expect to cross over on your way to hell, but that would be failing to take into account the religious overtones of traditional whaling in Japan. As we discussed in the first entry, the appearance or arrival of the whale, depending on the circumstances and timing, could be seen as divine intervention.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Tanjuzenji was a traveling priest from an Osaka temple with a long history. Over the years the temple had burned down and undergone a few name changes, but since 1729, or for the last thirty years or so, it has gone by the name Zuikoji, the Temple of Light and Luster (half-assed translation mine). And so it happened that in 1754, Tanjuzenji traveled south and came to a village in Kii Province known as Taiji. The community was in bad shape after a series of poor catches, and the people of Taiji implored Tanjuzenji for his prayers to reverse their fortune. This posed a moral dilemma for the priest; he was compelled to live by the Buddhist precept to refrain from harming living things, which is essentially what he was being asked to pray for. Tanjuzenji refused.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The suffering of the villagers, however, made him reconsider, and despite his turmoil he prayed that their fishing nets be filled. And with the prayers came the whales.

In gratitude, the whalers of Taiji gave 30 ryo of gold to Tenjuzenji's temple along with 18 whale bones (you're welcome). As "a symbol of the value of life" and as a memorial to the whales, the bones were used to construct a bridge. The name of this bridge is Setsugeikyo (雪鯨橋), a Chinese reading of the characters for Snow-Whale-Bridge. It's commonly known though as the Kujira-bashi, a simpler Japanese reading that just means "Whale Bridge."

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

The first bridge was constructed in 1756, or two years after Tenjuzenji's visit to Taiji. Because bones wear out quicker than more sturdier materials, the bridge has been reconstructed every 50 years or so (1829, 1873, 1923, destroyed during WWII, 1974 and 2006). An increase in visitors likely accounts for the shorter time between recent constructions, and though in the past the bridge was mostly skeletal, these days it's more stone than bone. Each time, the whale bones have been sent from Taiji, who continue to honor the life-saving prayers that delivered them from collapse.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Comments: If you don't have a spare day to visit Taiji, or if spending seven hours on the train there and back doesn't appeal to you, a quick trip to Zuikoji will give you a feel for the sites to the south. These days it even has a whale bone torii. If you have a spare couple of hours one morning or afternoon, this site is very doable. It's "Taiji lite" if you will.

Getting There

Our destination is Kami-Shinjo Stn. on the Hankyu Line. If you're in the northern end of the city, the starting point on the Midosuji subway line is Umeda Stn. If you're in the south, it's Dobutsuen-mae Stn.

From Umeda:

Subway Umeda Stn. lies next to other stations, also called Umeda, operated by two train companies: Hankyu and Hanshin. From subway Umeda Stn. (or Osaka Stn. if you've come via JR), follow the signs directing you to the Hankyu Line. There are a few lines that leave from Hankyu Umeda, and Kami-Shinjo is on the Kyoto Line. You need to take a local, semi-express or rapid service bound for either Takatsuki-shi or Kyoto (Kawaramachi). It's only five stops from Umeda, so even a local will get you there in good time.

From Dobutsuen-mae:

Dobutsuen-mae is where the red Midosuji Line and brown Sakaisuji Line intersect. The Sakaisuji Line hasn't been featured all that much, but it's the line you might take to visit the zoo (Dobutsuen-mae) or Nipponbashi (Osaka's "Denden Town," not unlike Tokyo's Akihabara district). It extends up to Tenjimbashisuji Rokuchome, but some services conveniently hook in directly to the Hankyu Line. What you can do is take a train bound for Takatsuki-shi or Kawaramachi on the Sakaisuji Line, and it will take you directly to Kami-Shinjo in about 20 minutes. Be sure to look at the timetable and electronic display to see where the train is headed before boarding, and be careful not to get on a train bound for Kita-Senri, as that will actually switch lines one stop before Kami-Shinjo.

Getting Your Bearings at Kami-Shinjo Station

Kami-Shinjo Stn. is a long platform with exits at the far ends (north and south). Go out the south exit as that is closer to Zuikoji. Refer to the map below.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

The star on the map is where the whale bone torii is, which is basically the entrance to the temple. You can access it via one of two footpaths off the main road. You'll probably find it without too much trouble, but here is a close-up of the area near the temple.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

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

The Master List (Osaka)
http://yokaitourbus.blogspot.jp/2015/08/6-the-master-list-osaka.html

(religion) Japan Whale Cults (鯨崇拝)
Site: Zuiko-ji Temple (瑞光寺)
Nearest Station: (Hankyu Line) Kami-Shinjo Stn. (上新庄駅) or (Subway) Zuiko Yonchome Stn. (瑞光四丁目駅)
Google Map Search: "Zuiko-ji Temple Higashiyodogawa" - then to check you have the right location, "Zuikoji Park" should bring up the lot immediately next to the temple.

xxiii. The Whale Bone Torii (鯨骨鳥居) of Ebisu-jinja Shrine (恵比須神社) or Taiji (太地) Part 3

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...

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."

xxii. Asuka Shrine (飛鳥神社) or Taiji (太地) Part 2

Location: Taiji (near JR Line Taiji Stn.), Wakayama Prefecture; about 3.5 hours from Osaka + 35 min. walking time; or a 20 min. walk from the Taiji Whale Museum

Associated with: Japanese "whale cults" 

Oh and white were the wave caps and wild was their parting.

So fierce is the warring of love.

But she prayed to the gods both of men and of sailors.

Not to cast their cruel nets o'er her love.

Now 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

Asuka Shrine once opened up onto the beach but now sits behind the local Fish Dealers Association. A new placard in English reads:

"Built in 1690 in the Momoyama period style of architecture, this shrine is entirely lacquered in rich colors and covered with detailed sculptures."

Lovely. Having read up on the shrine beforehand, I was surprised at such a perfunctory description. It seemed to purposely belie the shrine's importance in a way that said, "Oh, nothing all that special about it, really. Just a bunch of lacquered buildings. The supermarket next door sells whale you know." And maybe that's fine. Every place needs its own private spiritual hub, and that's what Asuka Shrine appears to be.

The townsfolk call this place "Miya-sama" (宮様). One of the deities enshrined here is a local kami by the name of Yomotsu-koto-saka-no-o-no-kami (予母津事解男神, hyphens mine). Though the shrine building has existed since 1690 (the shrine was actually established in 1624), this local kami has been worshipped in Taiji since at least Tengyo 5 (881). The grounds have auxiliary shrines housing other deities, and there is one to honor the Taiji war dead too. Besides annual festivals, Asuka Shrine is where the families of sailors would gather, those who had failed to return from a hunt or catch. Here they would burn fires through the night to guide their lost family members home.

It was also on the beach in front of this shrine in the early afternoon of December 24, 1878 where two men could be seen arguing. An unprecedentedly large right whale and her calf had been spotted, and the two men, beach master Taiji Kakuemon and advisory head Wada Kinemon, were debating whether or not to signal the hunt. Kakuemon cited their dire need, it had been a terrible season and the town badly needed a catch, while Kinemon cited tradition: to hunt the whale and her calf was not their way. Kakuemon's insistence won over and the order to hunt was issued.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Another interesting side note to this shrine, besides all its lacquering, is a treasure it contains. Inside is a long sword or tachi (太刀). This was thought to have belonged to Taira no Koremori (1157-1184), grandson of Taira no Kiyomori. In an odd series of events, Koremori abandoned his post during the Genpei War and on his way back to the capital visited Mount Koya, there becoming a monk. He embarked on a pilgrimage to Kumano and then in God-knows-what state (perhaps he thought he would sail out to the Fudaraku Pure Land) took a boat out onto the ocean and drowned himself. Fast forward 500 years or so, a Taiji fisherman makes an unexpected discovery hoisting up his shrimp nets. Entangled in the netting is a sword a little under five feet. The theory is that it had been dropped by Koremori as he crossed the Taiji inlet before ending his life. The fisherman presented the sword to Asuka Shrine, where it's housed to this day. 

Comments: It's along our route, so why not stop by and pay a visit? Unfortunately it's not possible to get a clear view of the water anymore, but the shrine still has a lot of charm. If you're lucky, something will be going on when you visit. If not, you can still enjoy the lacquer.

Getting There

The Whale Museum is at the north end of the peninsula, so just about anything else you might care to see in Taiji can be taken in with a leisurely stroll south. Resuming our journey on foot, simply continue along the road we were on before entering the museum. This will first take us right past Hatajiri Bay (畠尻湾), aka "The Cove."

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Oh yes, it's right here just off the main road. Watching the film, it's a bit tricky to get a sense of distance, and while "the killing cove" is not visible from the street or even directly from the beach, it's by no means secluded. It would be irresponsible of me to suggest you try to get a better look at the actual cove (marked with a red arrow on the map above), and in any case that section is fenced off. Is there any real reason then to stop by and check Hatajiri Bay out? Many people will have a number one reason and some people a number two. It has the last public toilet along the route for a while.

Photo Credit: Gragma's Yokai Tourbus

Continue down the road and you'll come to the tail end of Taiji Bay. Follow that around and you'll soon see the much lacquered Asuka Shrine on your right.

Map courtesy of Google Maps

Image courtesy of Google Maps 

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)
Site: Asuka Shrine (飛鳥神社)
Nearest Station: (JR Line) Taiji Stn. (太地駅)
Google Map Search: "Asuka Shrine Taiji"