Matsue Gokoku Jinja

Founded in the early 20th century, Matsue Gokoku Jinja, like its siblings in Hiroshima and Shiga, is a shrine dedicated to soldiers from Matsue who gave their lives defending Japan in its wars. The shrine is said to be home to close to 23,000 souls.

For the casual: 3. For the educated: 3.

There really isn’t much to do at this shrine other than pray. I think the sprawling landscape of the shrine mixed with the solidarity of its building makes it a rather boring place to visit. I do think that the shrine itself is lovely and well maintained, but apart from praying there’s not really much else to do. I’m also not sure if they have a goshuin. You have to go to the office building on the right to check, but when I was there it was in the middle of COVID19 and I wasn’t sure anyone was there.

 

Iya Jinja

Iya Jinja is a very old small shrine on the southern edge of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture. Though it’s appearance is rather lacking, the shrine is actually a very widely renowned. Considered one of the six most important shrines of the Nara Period (710-784 C.E.), Iya Jinja is a shrine explicitly for the worship of Izanami-no-Kami, goddess of creation, wife of Izanagi-no-Kami, and goddess of death. She, who died in childbirth to the fire god, was burned alive until she finally passed away and entered the underworld. When Izanagi-no-Kami attempted to bring her back, he was tasked to make his way out and not look at Izanami-no-Kami until he was outside. In his impatience, he turned to look too early and saw the walking decomposing corpse of his sister/wife standing before him. In her rage, she send the agents of the underworld to chase him out. Izanagi-no-Kami placed a boulder over the entrance to the underworld trapping Izanami-no-Kami inside. Her final act was to curse their mortal creations with a limited lifespan. Iya Jinja is therefore a shrine built to honor her for what she created and to apease her endless rage.

For the casual: 4. For the educated: 10.

If you have no interest in Japan’s origin myth, then there’s isn’t much of a reason for visiting outside of just seeing a nice shrine. But if you’re like me and you love this kind of stuff, then you’re in luck. The shrine is a small one, so it only needs to be a stop along your day, but the staff there were amazingly kind and welcoming to everyone there. The main building is build of dark brown wood with an oxidated copper roof and above the front steps hangs a large woven shimenawa, a kind of rope usually made from rice or wheat grasses which demarks a sacred or holy area. There’s not much to say about the shrine besides that it’s a single building with several small shrines in the surrounding area, but for me the highlight was actually down the road.

There is a reason why the primary shrine to Izanami-no-Kami is where it is, because down the road is the Yomotsu Hirasaka, the blocked entrance to the underworld. Genuinly this location is very small, off the beaten path, and is practically devoid of any visitors, but for those who know about the genesis story, this is where the mortality of humans was founded. A small pond and a cluster of stones is all that’s really there to see, but there is a fun feeling knowing that this is the spot. It’s like knowing where some famous person died. Sure there may not be any pomp and circumstance regarding the event, but there’s a fun feeling knowing that you know where you are, that you know what you can see. There is a separate goshuin for Yomotsu Hirasaka but it’s at the building at the base of the street and not at the boulders themselves. The man who was there when I visited was also amazingly kind and seemed so excited that someone would stop by and talk to him.

Yomotsu Hirasaka, the blocked entrance to the underworld.

 

The stop map is for Iya Jinja, with the bottom map being Yomotsu Hirasaka.

 

Matsue Jinja

Matsue Jinja is a shrine dedicated to the protection of the city from it’s home on the grounds of Matsue Castle. I had trouble finding any information regarding the shrine. With a generic name, all search engines turned up lists of shrines in the Matsue area. I will continue to look for information to update here, but until then, there’s not much I can say for now.

For the casual: 8. For the educated: 6.

The main appeal of this shrine is due to its placement along the path leading to the castle keep, so there’s little chance that visitors will miss it. The appearance of the shrine is subtle yet detailed with a cleanly maintained landscape as well as several beautifully decorated buildings.

 

Oyamazumi Jinja

Hidden on Omishima in the Seto Inland Sea, Oyamazumi Jinja is a far more decorated shrine than many might give it credit for. It’s not known exactly when the shrine was first established, but it is a shrine that has been present on the island as long as people have been living there. Its main enshrined deity is Oyamazumi-no-kami, older brother to Amaterasu-Omikami, and a god of mountains, seas, and warfare. Because of that last point, Oyamazumi Jinja had been a favorite shrine for warriors to pray at for vistory in battle, and to pay their respects in gratitude for a victory, these warriors would donate weapons and armor to the shrine. As a result, the shrine is home to a large number of swords, bows, arrows, spears, and armor, many of which are registered as National Treasures by the Japanese government.

For the casual: 10. For the educated: 11.

I need to start this review by pouring my tears into a bowl for you to bare witness. When I visited, it was during the coronavirus pandemic which meant that many of the shrine’s facilities were either closed or reduced in staff. That means that the museum with all the swords and armor that I was dreaming of seeing was closed to the public in an effort to reduce the chance of transmission. So I’m very sad to say that this review of the shrine is going to be limited to the shrine grounds only and I cannot be of any help or guidance when addressing armor from the 10th century, the breastplate of Tsuruhime, or the countless swords encased in lacquer and gold sheaths. Ugh, I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

The shrine itself has a wonderful air of grandeur, largely befitting a shrine of such renown over the course of history. Buildings of import often influence the layout of the city that surrounds it. European cities will have churches in the center, castle towns of olden times in Japan still dictate extremely confusing street systems today which would have been used to confuse invading forces, and some cities are formed on an axis dictated by a single influential structure. Oyamazumi Jinja is the latter with its central axis from torii to prayer hall also indicating the center road through town. Times have changed and the roads with them, but there is still an unmistakable presence established by the shrine.

Walking to the prayer hall there is a massive sacred tree with a little stone fence marking a minimum distance for viewing. This tree is said to be 3,000 years old and is the sacred heart of the complex while the second one, slightly off to the side, is estimated to be around 2,600 years old. The prayer hall itslef is magnificent with a humble layout but austentacious decorations. Silk banners, gold-plated metal fittings, and intricate wood carvings can be found all throughout the complex.

The last part I wish to speak about is a figure named Tsuruhime. Many people hear her story and liken her to Joan of Arc. She was a teenager and the daughter of the head monk at the shrine. During the Sengoku Period in the 16th century, the shrine was under attack from the Ouchi clan and during this conflict Tsuruhime lost both of her elder brothers followed by her father. Faced with the onslaught from the Ouchi clan, she rallied the island’s forces and led the charge. She established herself not only as the head priest of the shrine, but also claimed to be an avatar of Oyamazumi-no-kami. She was able to successfully repel the invasion and when they tried again later, she stabbed general Takakoto Ohara in the chest. The story goes that his insults were sharp, but not as sharp as the blade she thrust into his chest. Unfortunately her time came to an end not long afterwards; when she learned that her fiance fell in battle, she committed ritual suicide by walking into the sea and drowning. There are several accounts of her deeds, and many contradict the other, but what we do know is that Tsuruhime was a real person who saved her island and the shrine and all while only a teenager. Statues of her are not only located throughout the shrine complex, but you can also find her throughout the town.