There Once Was a Castle Here

 Back on that curved road and what did I see? More stairs and a torii. Would I save my energy for my intended destination or would I go up those stairs?

It's a shrine. Of course I went up the stairs. What I found is Hiratsuka-jinja. A shrine complex with a lot more going on than one sees at first glance.

 For it is a very old shrine by Tokyo standards. Established in the Heian period, 1118 to 1119, some of the buildings escaped damage in WWII. Like the Kagura building. It may date from the Edo period as do others on the complex.

Compared to other well known shrines in Tokyo, there seems to be a mix of very old, as the chozuya water basin, and more utility like using a metal pole to hold up the omikuji fortune papers. 

 The main shrine, Haiden, is very interesting even if you don't know any of the history of the place. It was built in the late Edo period, 1839, and also survived WWII. The main kami here is Hachiman, god of archery and war and protector of Edo. A kami revered by samurai. Remember the kami at the previous shrine, how they were related to samurai? Well, Hiratsuka Shrine was established as part of a samurai's castle.

Hiratsuka Castle was a holding of the Toshima Clan back in the Heian period. This was the clan's chief seat of governance in the Kanto area. Another interesting point is what is behind these buildings. The ropes are there around them because it's not open to the public. One time, three Genji brothers were on their way to conquest Oshu and rested here while traveling there. On their return, they stopped here again and offered their armor as thanks. The armor was buried in a mound behind the buildings as sacred. This mound gives it's name to the shrine complex. Because the mound is flat and has no height. 

The castle was lost near the end of the 1400's and became abandoned when the Toshima clan fell following the Kyōtoku incident, a conflict over control of the Kanto region.

What is left are the shrines.

Besides that really interesting history, the main shrine has really amazing features, like these komainu. 

The shishi styled one has a small komainu!  

And there are komainu carved on the temple also. 

I wish my photos were better but the high humidity and cloudy day made it a little difficult. Still I hope you can see the impressive carving. 

Even more surprising were the two carved elephants, one on each side. These are baku, dream eating supernatural beings. They are protectors along with the komainu. 

There were smaller shrines on the grounds. 

Another with an amazing tiled roof and wood carvings. This is the Sugawara shrine. I do not know the kami enshrined here. 

It has an impressive dragon on the lintel piece.

There are also a couple Inari shrines on the grounds. They looked a little neglected. 

The kitsune statues appeared to be older and worn. 

The sign on this shrine says something about not leaving payments, or something like that. Unfortunately I have not been able to find information about these smaller shrines. In fact, everything I found out has been on a couple Japanese websites, so I am hoping it is accurate. 

Since I came in the back entrance, like I often do, I was walking out to the front of the shrine complex. This chozuya is by the smaller shrines. 

 The entrance torii.

The two stone entrance lanterns. 

I headed towards my planned destination, hoping to find what I didn't see in March. That's the next post.