Tomioka Hachiman

Some morning walks are more exciting than others, especially when I find something unexpected. I woke at my normal 5 am time and quickly readied myself for the day. I had decided I wanted to walk back to Fukagawa and explore the area a little more. I was disappointed with the Shinto shrine I had found there. Especially, since a lady I had met recommended I find the Shinto shrine near the Buddhist one. The morning air was cool ,brisk and felt fresh as I made my way back to the Eitabashi. I passed Mc Donalds and I knew I was getting close to the Buddhist temple.  I decided to return to the Buddhist temple since there seemed to be a lot of activity. The monks were busy getting ready for the day, and they had a multitude of knick-knacks available for purchase. I looked around to see if there was anything I wanted to pick up for the kids, but the prices were much higher than a few of the shirnes I had been to, so I decided to hold off on purchasing anything. As I made my way out of the temple, I looked to the right and noticed something I had missed the first time. Down the road, there was a Shinto gate being supported by a large number of ropes.  The gate had been damaged during the earthquake and the Shinto monks were shoring it up with a number of ropes wrapped together like a spider web. I regret that I didn't take a picture of it, but I was happy with what I uncovered.

The Tomioka Hachiman Shrine (富岡八幡宮,)   is dedicated to the god Hachiman. He is the god of war and protector of all of Japan. The original temple was burned to the ground during the bombings of Tokyo in 1945 but rebuilt after the war.

This is the largest shrine that I have been too so far, and it was full of surprises. The main pagoda pictured above  and below was very sizable, the grounds of the shrine were open to the sky.

Tomioka Hachiman Shrine

  I am standing back at the entrance gate when I took this picture, and the buildings to the left and right are far from being in view. In the lower right of the picture is where the Japanese hang their prayers.

Japanese prayer boards

Each prayer is written on a small, bamboo ornament that you can buy from the monks in the shrine. People travel to specific shrines that are dedicated to a god that may help them or because the shrine is attributed to a specific miracle. I looked to the right of the Pagoda and decided to take a small path I noticed. The path led me to the Sumo stones.

Sumo Stones

The Tomioka Hachiman Shrine is considered the birth place of professional Sumo. and The sumo wrestlers etched into the stones are lifesized. Following the path  from the sumo stones, I walked through a series gates or torii  into a Japanese water garden.

Series of Torii in the Hachiman Garden.

Torii usually indicate a temple or shrine in Japan, and I am not sure what the series of torii represent here. The torii were lined with statues of dragon dogs. It's hard to see them from the picture, but you can spot one on the left side if you look closely. Within the garden was a smaller shrine and a large Koi pond.

I took this picture for my mother, who has a Koi pond. The Koi in this pond looked to be between 2 and 2.5 feet long. The area around the pond had beautiful flowering trees, and the fountains in the garden made it an extremely peaceful place. When I met Blaine in the hotel lobby this morning, asked where I've found all the shrines near our hotel since the city can easily consume the building below. I took him a block away to his first shrine and he was amazed at how secluded the shrine was even though is was surrounded by buildings and next to busy streets. This garden was no exception.

There were numerous other statues and memorials at the shrine including a statue of Ino Chukei, Japan's first surveyor. Ino Chukeis spent over twenty years mapping japan.

Ino Chukeis, first surveyor of Japan

Additionally there were a couple portable shrines the monks carry around on festival days. The shrines are made of wood and gold. One of them was so large, it needed to be pulled by a cart. The other smaller shrine is carried by a clan of Shinto monks. The shrines are behind glass, so getting a good shot of them was difficult.

Portable Shrine

I wanted to get one good shot of the Torii at the Hachiman shrine to put things in perspective. I still have a few spots I want to hit in Fukagawa and I can mark it off my list.