09 September 2016
• Miyajima, Seto Naikai (Seto Inland Sea), Japan
by Jens / fine weather, calm winds
"an Island where People and Gods Live Together"
We put the anchor down in front of the iconic
Miyajima Torii where we spent the night.
A
torii, literally bird abode, is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a
Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. The presence of a torii at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small torii icon represents them on Japanese road maps. They are however a common sight at
Buddhist temples too, where they stand at the entrance of the temple's own shrine, called
chinjusha and are usually very small.
The presence of a
Shinto shrine near or in a
Buddhist temple seems to have its roots in the efforts made by the Japanese to reconcile local
kami worship with imported
Buddhism. It reminds me of the European practice to build new churches on top of old churches or mosques on top of old church sites and vice versa. The Japanese seem to perform the reconciliation peacefully.
Miyajima itself is quite pretty and natural. It is separated from the main island of Honshu by a narrow oyster farm filled channel.
With just 6 miles remaining to Kanon-Marina in Hiroshima we enjoyed a leisurely Saturday morning breakfast courtesy of Jaap while watching the large groups of tourists visiting the shrine.
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