On top of the Yashima Plateau

A shinto shrine on the Yashima Temple grounds

These Tanuki statues stand on the premises of Yashima Temple located on top of the Yashima Plateau, Takamatsu, Kagawa. Fox statues are often seen but those of Tanuki are rare and look funny.The torii gates in the photo were dedicated by the worshipful. These gates are apt to be associated with Shinto and behind these torii gates is a small Shinto shrine.


It sounds like Buddhism and Shintoism got mixed up but that was a normal practice for hundreds of years until the Meiji Government severed their intimate relationship in 1868. This rather unfortunate situation lasted until religion and politics were separated after the end of WW2. Their relationship is never the same but legacies remain and make people stop and think.


The temple is said to have founded in the middle of the eighth century. It is the 84th of the 88 temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. I saw some people clad in the traditional pilgrimage attire or those in more modern gear. Both seem to be visiting some or all of the pilgrimage temples on Shikoku Island. 


I saw a pair from abroad, two tall men wearing the white authentic pilgrimage clothes and a cone-shaped sedge hat. You don't have to be so religious to visit these temples. Sometimes, we are just so eager to be itinerants, probably because we'd like to go back to basics and think who we are. Visiting temples, either large or small, gives you a good incentive to be away from routines and get refreshed and cleansed.


The views from the Yashima Plateau is spectacular. Below is the photo from the city's official web site.

Yashima Island but not an island anymore