During last summer’s research trip to Japan, I visited Itsukushima Jinja, an important Shinto shrine on Miyajima island in Hiroshima Prefecture. (If you’d like to start from the beginning, you can find part 1 here.) The approach to the shrine follows the island’s shoreline to the natural inlet that protects the shrine from the strait beyond. Today, visitors approach the shrine by land. Visitors enter the shrine itself. Like most Shinto shrines, there is no admission fee (though donations are happily accepted, and freely given by most of the visitors). Here’s the view from the entrance hall, looking out toward the shrine’s main buildings: In
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The Pagodas and Smaller Temples of Miyajima Island
Although Itsukushima Jinja is the most famous of Miyajima’s shrines and temples, the island has several other religious and cultural sites of interest – many of which are nestled among the island’s sleepy back roads: The pagoda’s original statues have been moved to Daiganji temple:
Read moreA Visit to Itsukushima Shrine – Miyajima, Japan (Part 1)
Last summer’s research trip to Japan took me all the way to Miyajima Island (sometimes also known as Itsukushima, after the shrine that sits on its shore), where I spent two memorable days and a wonderful night exploring one of Japan’s most beautiful and iconic islands.
Read moreTōrō: Japan’s Traditional Lanterns
Traditional Japanese stone lanterns, known as tōrō, came to Japan from China as part of Buddhist temple architecture, most likely during or shortly before the Nara Period (8th century A.D.). Many bear inscriptions of poetry or donors’ names: and the hanging form, tsuri-dōrō, most commonly displayed on eaves. Above the base, the post that supports the fire box (normally cylindrical, but sometimes carved with legs or in other geometric shapes) represents the element of water. Not surprisingly, the fire box (commonly square, but in rare cases octagonal or hexagonal) represents fire. Today, some tōrō still burn with traditional flames, while others have been outfitted with electric or battery-powered lights.
Read moreMount Mizen, Biting Flies, and Sacred Deer
During last summer’s research trip to Japan, we spent the night on Miyajima, a sacred island off the coast of Hiroshima. The island is home to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines (specifically, Itsukushima, whose Grand Torii gate is one of Japan’s most iconic images) The deer wander the island unimpeded, many so tame (and used to handouts) that they approach or follow visitors, begging for food or a scratch behind the ears. Signs on the island warn visitors that the deer are wild, and ask people not to feed them, but it’s clear the deer don’t read the signs, and they hope the people don’t read them either.
Read moreA Night in Medieval Japan
I spend a lot of time in medieval Japan. Since I’m not in possession of a time machine (more’s the pity) most of that time gets spent in my head, or in books, but last summer I had the chance to spend a night in a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) that came as close as I may ever get to the life my ninja detective, Hiro, would have lived on a daily basis. During my research trip to Japan, I spent the night at Ryokan Iwaso on Miyajima, a sacred island off the coast of Hiroshima. Constructed in 1854,
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