He lives south of Dogo, easterly towards, but not yet at, the mountains. There is a large, steep hill poking out of the great river plain right behind his apato, which I decided to climb.
I walked east along a narrow neighborhood lane, a large onsen on my right, and took the first path heading up the hill. Immediately I found myself in a fairly large 'Kakemori' or bamboo forest. I had not really been in one before; it was a beautiful space. I was reminded of my friend Oliver, whom I had helped plant a number of species of bamboo one year in Vancouver, a while ago now. I felt he would enjoy this place, so I shot a composite photo of it.
Another version:
Continuing upward, past the cemetary (often placed closer to the gods on hills), I found an old, unpaved, muddy path heading up to the top of the hill. Along the path I found this:
...which is a Samurai gravestone. It was just sitting off in the leaves by itself.
At the top of the hill was a beautiful, small jinja, and a large standing stone commemorating the battle of 'Hoshi no Oka Kosenjo' in 1200AD, on the plain below (I assume). In this battle the emperor's forces (the capital of Japan then being in Kyoto) were completely routed by the righteous fury of the combined Shikoku Samurai.
There was another Samurai spirit house, and two New Year's mochi, piled up like a little snowman on the steps of the jinja. The light was magic, the photos were there, and my camera was....dead.
On the second, steep path heading down the opposite side of the hill, which, it turns out, is the normal approach to the jinja, I found more little Samurai houses, keeping company with 39 stone O-Jiso-sama statues. Jiso is the patron god of children, travellers, and pilgrims especially. I love finding odd spots like these. This is just a neighborhood shrine, which happens to commemorate a major episode in the history of Shikoku.
A week earlier I went to another kind of shrine, Freshness Burger, downtown near Kinokunya. Kinokunya is the only bookstore in these parts carrying english language books. Daniel, a kid's teacher for Peppy Kids in Imabari, told me about it. I didn't have a burger, but will, next visit. The fries however were great, the coffee ok, and the atmosphere pleasant; a true cafe.
