Those Trees

Thankfully the weather was beautiful following that tumultuous rainy day. I decided to revisit a place I had not planned on going to again. Because something was happening there. So I said hello again to the Seven Lucky Gods at Kuro Nakazato Shrine.

And I thanked them for the beautiful weather and these glorious trees. 

I'm glad these photos turned out decently to share a bit of the wonderful autumn colors. 

Which I found with my favorite pair of komainu at Hiratsuka-jinja Shrine.

Since I've posted information about Hiratsuka-jinja before, I will just share photos of a few details and these trees. 

Visiting Hiratsuka-jinja Again

After Kyu Furukawa, I headed back to the train station. But I did take a few photos along the way. 

And I decided my path to the station would include seeing Hiratsuka-jinja again. Here is my previous blog post about this shrine. 

I paused at the old Inari Shrine. I still do not know how old these kitsune are, but since the main shrine was established in the Heian period and parts escaped damage in WWII, they have been around for a while. Of course they could have also suffered damage in an earthquake or two. It happens. 

Since I had more knowledge about the place since my last visit, I thought I would see if there was more I could view. I attempted to take a photo of the area behind the Haiden, since this is the area where the armor of the three Genji Brothers was buried back in the day. The mound that isn't really a mound. It is pretty much impossible to view anything back there.

Although you can view the great carvings on the outer Haiden. 

Komainu guarding the god Hachiman, god of archery and war. 

I think this pair is still my favorite of all the komainu I have seen. 

This is actually a lot of bell or suzu pulls for a shrine of this size. The place does get it's share of worshipers. 

A covered hallway or wall connects the Haiden to the Kagura-den building. 

And behind it all is the Honden. I do not know if this is for Hachiman or if it the shrine for the Genji Brothers armor. It is all still a little mysterious.

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.