“The Cherry may be the prettier of the two; but when once you have seen the red Plum-blossom in the snow at the dawn of a spring morning, you will no longer forget its beauty.”
- Fujiwara no Kinto (996-1075)
Yesterday, while driving around along route 4 in the vicinity of Okugaharachō in Nara-ken, I came across this small rural shinto shrine. In front of the shrine is a small river and there are some sakura trees at the entrance.
There is something different about the Komainu (狛犬) that are guarding the shrine. The left one has its claw on a smaller Komainu. Something else that stands out is the stone Lanterns (Tōrō-燈籠). They are made out of rocks it and have an original look.
Steep steps lead up to the Haiden (拝殿) and some magnificent large trees surround it. The Temizuya (手水舎) is simple and they use a turtle as fountain head. There are three ladles with a kanji inscription that says “ A gift to the Gods”.
Next to the Haiden (拝殿) is the The Kaguraden (神楽殿). It’s a very old building and it has a thatched roof, there was still a bit of snow on it.
There was none there and the whole place had a serene feeling to it!
Temizuya at the Goō Shrine (護王神社) in Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City! Note that instead of the usual dragon shaped fountain head, here it is a boar. The reason for this is found in the Wake no Kiyomaro story and his miraculous protection by a herd of wild boars, while being besieged by his enemies.
鏑木清方 二人づれ 大正８年
http://aishoren.exblog.jp/18735762/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiyokata_Kaburagi
Kiyokata Kaburagi (鏑木 清方 Kaburagi Kiyokata, August 31, 1878 – March 2, 1972) was the pseudonym of a Nihonga artist and the leading master of the bijinga genre in Taishōand Showa period Japan. His real name was Kaburagi Kenichi. Incidentally, although his name is universally transliterated as “Kaburagi” by western sources (and many Japanese sources), Kaburagi himself used the pronunciation “Kaburaki”.
