Arabito Jinja, part 2

 There are three things here. On the left is a stele. In the center is a list of donors to the shrine that is covered by a small roof. On the right is the place to purify yourself before approaching the other parts of the shrine.

 I was surprised to find an old hand pump here. It had a chain on it but it looked like it might still work. The water for purification arrives through four pipes that are supported by a large, interestingly shaped rock.

 In another part of the grounds I saw a roof with nothing under it. When I got nearer, I realized that it was a sumo dohyo, the circular in which sumo bouts take place. Apparently sumo started as a religious activity to provide amusement to the gods. Only recently has it become a professional sport. However, it retains much of its religious origins. For example, the professional tournaments are conducted on an earthen dohyo that is built, used and then removed at the end. In addition to the bundles of straw that mark the various areas of importance, a symbol of a goddess who is asked to protect the wrestlers is buried in the center. Women are not allowed to set foot on the dohyo, even the national Minister of Sports was refused. The reason is that the goddess might get jealous and allow the wrestlers to be injured.

 Near the main entrance, remember I entered at the rear, I found a sign that gives the names of all the various parts of a torii. The two complicated kanji on the right are the written form of torii. This kanji name is interesting. The first kanji means bird and the second means live or be present. So the name is essentially saying that this is a place where birds live or are present.

 About this time I noticed that two people, a man and a woman, had entered the grounds from the same place that I had. The approached the main building and performed the ceremony of clapping, bowing, and ringing the bell followed by an additional bow. I do not think that they noticed me.

Near the entrance I found this rock with the traditional straw rope and folded white paper streamers. Some one had left an offering of a cup of sake.

Arabito Jinja

 The roof I saw yesterday was the shrine's. However, I was entering from the back so there was no torii. The statue inside this little building appears to be Amida, who is part of Buddhism, not Shinto, but the paper streamers hanging from the straw rope are definitely Shinto. Historically in Japan, there has been a merging of Buddhism and Shinto so it is never surprising to find evidence of both religions at a single site.

The shrine is called Arabito Jinja, a special reading of the kanji. The first kanji is usually pronounced gen and means actual or real and the second it hito or jin meaning person. So a normal reading of the name would be genjin jinja. However, the map that I had picked up at Mirigaroden Nakagawa had the correct pronunciation written over the kanji - Arabito Jinja.

 The previous picture showed a wall on the right. When I looked around it, I found a Buddhist altar. It is possible but I could not determine it without talking to the priest of this site, that this Buddhist section has a completely different name.

 Large old trees have a particularly strong presence in Shinto and are often treated as representations of the gods.

 This was the largest building and obviously the main shrine. The statue of the lion guards against evil influences.

 Walking out into the main area in front of the above building, I noticed a torii off to the side with a small building behind it.

Actually it turned out that there were two small buildings and a stele. The doors on the altars were closed and there were no signs so I do not know what they are celebrating.

Mirikarodan Nakagawa and onward

 As with most public buildings in Japan, I found stone sculptures in the garden in front of the entrance. This was the most interesting.

 Inside the building I found a huge, two-story entrance hall with tables and chairs plus vending machines. I had brought my lunch so I bought a bottle of tea and ate at one of the tables. When I finished, I went to the counter (in the center of the picture) and enrolled in an art class which meets twice a week from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays. My first class will be on May 17th.

 After leaving Mirikaroden Nakagawa, I decided to visit a nearby shrine. I was no longer walking on the new, wide roads, but on the old narrow lanes.

 You can see that the oncoming car is taking up almost the entire width of the road, and it is actually a minicar.

 This mon, or gate, is apparently the old entrance to a private home.

Finally between the trees I could see the roof of a building that looked like a shrine.

Nearing my goal

 This large building, actually a group of buildings, was my goal. This is called Mirikaroden Nakagawa. I  have no idea what the first word means. It is written in katakana so there are no kanji to help with the meaning. It is actually a culture center with a library, a gym, a swimming pool, a hall for concerts and shows, and a lot of small rooms for classes. This is where I will take my art classes and my goal for  the day is to sign up for the program.

 As I went down the hill, I notice a number of people, both men and woman, with farm tools, milling around a garden. In the distance, just above this picture, there was a parked bus. I assume that they came in it and are probably getting some sort of lessons in raising plants. A look in the local stores makes it obvious that gardening is very popular here. Many stores carry seeds, vegetables and flowers, as well as seedlings.

 This strange looking building was very long and appear to contain workshops of some kind and storage areas. It may be related to the large area of rice paddies and farm land that is nearby.

 This is the entrance to the gym, pool, and exercise rooms.

 As you can see the building is quite large. It is separated from the rest of the complex by a new road. In fact it appears that the whole complex is quite new. I will have to remember to ask when it was built.

This building contains the library, hall, and classrooms. The entrance is on the opposite side from the gym so I had to walk around the building and it was a long way.