The Shoreline Created by the Gods

In Izumo, if you look at the sky during the sunset hours you will be impressed by the beautiful light of the setting sun shining upon the city. This scenery hasn't changed since ancient times. What were people of ancient Izumo feeling when seeing the sunset at this time? And how has all of this been transmitted to us?

Let us guide you into the sacred land of Izumo and its sunset. 1300 years ago during the Nara period (710-794) the Izumo no Kuni Fudoki was written. This book is a record of the climate of this area and the lifestyle of people in Izumo. The first myth told in the book is the Kunibiki Legend (pulling together the land), where the giant god Yatsukamizuomizunu wanted to extend the narrow land of Izumo and drew lands beyond the sea using a giant rope while saying “Kuniyo, koi” (come here, land). Those new lands are said to be the rising mountains to the north of the Izumo Plain, and it is also said that the rope became the bow shaped beach to the west of the Izumo Plain.

This coastline shaped like a bow is a beautiful smooth and white sandy beach. But if you go north, at the foot of the mountain the dynamic landscape of the coast changes to a bare rock surface. Gazing at these beautiful landscapes, one thinks – indeed this land must have been pulled together by the strength of a god. Called Inasa no Hama and Hinomisaki, these spots are still beloved nowadays by many people as places where you can see beautiful sunsets on the Sea of Japan. Since ancient times the people of Izumo have been praying in awe and celebrating the setting sun in a shrine dedicated to it.

Sunset of Hinomisaki Cape and “Hi Shizumi no Miya (Hinomisaki Shrine)”

The Hinomisaki Cape juts out into the Sea of Japan. It is notable for its rough seashore and all the unusual steep cliffs and stones combining into complicated patterns. Hinomisaki (literally the cape of the sun) has the Chinese character for the sun in its name and is known for being a place related to the sun since ancient times. During the Meiji Era (1868-1912) about 120 years ago, Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse was built, and the white building is still here today giving us this magnificent scenery. If you go to Hinomisaki you will see that behind the lighthouse the setting sun dyes the rough seaside in shades of red. A truly picturesque scenery.

Another famous place nearby is Hinomisaki Shrine, which is painted vermilion red, a rare type of shrine in Izumo. Here, Susanoo, the god who controls the sea is revered at Kami no Miya (the Upper Shrine) and Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun is enshrined in Hi Shizumi no Miya (the Shrine of the Setting Sun, the lower shrine). Generally Amaterasu is a symbol of the rising sun, but here in Izumo she is a symbol of the setting sun, which is very unusual.

In the forest to the southeast of Hinomisaki shrine is Tsukiyomi Shrine. The god enshrined here is Tsukuyomi, the opposite of Amaterasu, as he is the god of the night. When together with Susanoo these three are called the three main Shinto gods, Mihashiranouzunomiko. As his brother and sister do, Tsukuyomi is also here to protect the sunset. On the west side of Hinomisaki is Fumishima Island. It was named like this (“fumi” means sutra and “shima” means island) because the island looks like a piled up collection of Buddhist sutra scrolls. From spring to summer, black-tailed gulls (umineko) can be seen flying over the island, contributing to the beauty of the sunsets.

Every year on the 7th of August, the Miyuki Shinji Ritual is held in the setting sun on this island, which is closed to the public as a sacred place. Only the priests of Hinomisaki Shrine are allowed to go for this ritual.

Sunset of Inasa no Hama Beach and “Ame no Hisumi no Miya (Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine)”

In the twilight of a sunny day, the sky above Inasa no Hama Beach turns crimson, and the silhouette of Bentenjima Island lying on the shore comes sharply into view.From this place and the shore stretching to the south, as far as the eye can see, you can admire the magical panoramic scenery of this deep red light melting into the sea. Inasa no Hama is a famous place in Japanese mythology, as it is said to be the stage of the Kuniyuzuri Myth (Transfer of the Land).

The Kuniyuzuri Myth is written in two of the most ancient Japanese records, the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) and the Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan). The legend tells that Amaterasu, goddess reigning over Takamagahara (heaven) the world of the gods, said that the world ruled by Okuninushi on earth must be ruled by her children. Okuninushi agreed to hand over the land and in exchange for that a palace as high as the heaven of the gods was built.

This palace is said to be Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine, which appears in the Nihon Shoki under the name Ame no Hisumi no Miya (the sunset shrine). From this name we came to understand that Izumo has been considered a “sacred place where the sun sets” since ancient times.

Inasa no Hama is also a sacred place where we welcome the gods. Even now, every year on the 10th day of 10th month of the ancient lunar calendar (around November), Izumo Taisha holds the ritual of the welcoming of the gods, where we wait for the sun to set and the myriad gods from all over Japan to gather for a meeting in order to discuss human matters and bonds (enmusubi). From a long time ago, those thoughts about the sunset have been handed down without ever dying out.

The Sunset in the Sacred Land of Izumo

A long time ago, when the political power was concentrated in Yamato (the current Nara prefecture), where the sun sets in the northwest direction (towards Izumo), it seems that Izumo was thought to be “the faraway place where the sun sinks into the sea, leading to another world”. It may be because Izumo was viewed by people of ancient times as the place where the sun sets that the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, ancient records of Japan, describe Izumo as the place connecting our world to the next.

“Banjimashite” is a dialectal word from Izumo, a greeting for when the evening is coming. It is used between “konnichiwa” (good day) and “konbanwa” (good evening) and you won’t hear it much in any other area of Japan. The spirit of embracing special feelings towards the sunset lives on in Izumo’s people. The coastline and the sunset show us quiet and violent faces. Those faces interweaving, people who lived in Izumo must have felt that the beauty of the landscapes at sunset were created by gods.