Mascot Manholes

There are more "cute" mascots per capita in Japan than anywhere else on the world by far. Last year a serious culling took place but still they continue to propagate. Among the latest is even one for the campaign to "promote" the cleanup of the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima.

To my mind such infantile mascots belong in the realm of the under 7's, but I seem to be in a minority. Its not surprising then that such mascots appear sometimes on the manhole and drain covers. The first is of one of the pair (male and female) of mascots for Sanda City in Hyogo. I believe it is based on the official city bird, the green pheasant.

The second depicts Ratochan, the official mascot of Oda City where Iwami Ginzan is located. It is based on the shell-candle miners used to take to light their work underground. The third is from Nakatsu. Kurokankun is based on Kuroda Kanbe, the samurai who built Nakatsu castle.

The fourth is Kintakun, the mascot of Kawanishi in Hyogo, and the final one is I think a cat in samurai helmet representing Hikone.

Goganji Temple Nakatsu

I made a start on walking the Kyushu Fudo MyoO Pilgrimage, and the night before I set out I stayed in Nakatsu. That evening I went for a walk in the Teramachi and revisited Goganji Temple.

It is famous for its plaster walls which are red rather than white.

According to the story, there was a fight between two groups of opposing samurai just outside the temple, and the white plaster walls became stained with blood. Every time they tried to replaster the walls the bloodstain seeped through, so in the end they decided to make the walls red so it would not be seen.

The temple was founded in the 16th Century and now belongs to the Pure Land Sect. The Honzon is Enmei Jizo.

Kyushu Pilgrimage Temple 19 Fumon-in

Fumon-in, number 19 of the 108 temples on the Kyushu Pilgrimage I was walking was very hard to find.

Just after sunrise I walked along the street of temples in Nakatsu where it was supposed to be but ended up walking past it several times as from its appearance behind a high wall it looked just like an old house.

At this hour there was no-one around, but the small urban yard was filled with statues. Always nice to find a Fudo.

There was also a small Inari Shrine.

Nakatsu Sunset

At various times in my life I have lived in places where I could view either the sunrise or sunset. For some years before moving to Japan I lived where I could see both.

For the last 14 years I have lived in a narrow valley and so see neither, unless I am off travelling somewhere, so apologies if these pics are boring to you

I approached the castle town of Nakatsu as the sun was setting at the end of my seventh day walking the Kyushu Pilgrimage.

Not outstandingly spectacular, but novel enough for me to enjoy.....

Nakatsu Castle

Nakatsu Castle is the main feature of the design on Nakatsu Citys draincover in Oita, Kyushu.

Considered on of the 3 great "water castles" that used river and sea as part of its defences. The other two being Imabari and Takamatsu.

The original was built in 1588 and was burned down in 1877 during the Seinan War, commonly called the Satsuma Rebellion.

The current concrete keep was built in 1964. No-one knew what the original keep looked like so it was modelled instead on Hagi castles keep.

Yabakei Gorge & Aonodomon

Honyabakei is a small town south of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture. in 2005 the town was merged with Nakatsu.

The draincover depicts Yabakei Gorge and Aonodomon.

The gorge was created by the Yamakuni River cutting through the biggest volcanic plateau in Japan.

The result is some spectacular rock formations and sheer cliffs that are particularly popular in the Fall season.

Aonodomon, which means "blue tunnel" is an almost 200 meter long tunnel carved into the base of the cliffs. According to legend it was carved by a single monk named Zenkai using a hammer and chisel and took him 30 years to complete.

Earlier in his life Zenkai had committed a murder and to atone for his sins her carved the tunnel to make the rout to a local shrine safer for pilgrims.