...a visit to Ichinomiya, Chiba
I've been out to Ichinomiya in Chiba, a few times, several times, I suppose, since returning to Japan in 2016. I had a plan, a side-project if you like, that would take me away from the day-to-day of my usual teaching and research and 'get me out of the house'...I had this plan to just take in the history of surfing and surf culture in Japan, as a bit of a 'hobby project' but something I was interested in. (I still remember my introduction to Japanese surf back in the 1980s--we went to Shonan, no waves and a million people (so it seemed) in the water.)
Not long after arriving though, there was an announcement that surfing would be introduced as a sport to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics--interesting I thought. Anyway, that upped the ante as it were...how did Tokyo, which has no beaches, get this much sought-after event?
Ichinomiya was the chosen spot, out on the Pacific coast, with a bit of history in itself in competitive surfing. Elsewhere I will write a bit more about this, suffice to say, for research purposes, I decided to acquaint myself with the area--and a nice area it is too. (Wave size was always going to be an issue, and Shonan had specific advantages over Ichinomiya, but I digress.) I've given two presentations at international surfing conferences (both times on the Gold Coast, as it happens) about surfing and the Olympics and in the end, it was beyond disappointing that a) I missed out on the ballot for tickets to watch and b) spectators weren't allowed in the end when the 2020 Olympics got underway, eventually, in 2021...
But I still go out there, about two and a half hours travelling by train, because I just thrive being near the beach--which was the whole point of having this little side-project in the first place...
Anyway, last Sunday, I decided to make my way out there again to check out the post-Olympics blues, and also because, I still hadn't visited the shrine devoted to surfers and ocean safety (or, as it has come to be so). It is the one place you can get an omamori for surfing. It is kind of on the opposite direction from the beach, on the other side of the train station, about a ten minute walk.
Some of the pics of the day.
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| Apparently there is a line of shrines across the archipelago where the sun shines on the equinoxes. Fascinating |
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| Intrigued by this torii and its similarity to the one at Miyajima |
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| A surfer's Mamori |
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| Lovely renovation |
Lots of interesting things about this shrine and the grounds in general. Besides being a place for surfers, it is also dedicated to women's health and wellbeing (albeit mostly the ability to have children, which is the function of the purple omamori in the pic above), and ensuring couples can get together. There was also a record of a visit to the area by renowned poet Basho, and a 'barefoot circle', inviting people to take off their shoes and socks and walk barefoot around a small garden, on specially placed white stones--achieving the walk around once was good but the goal was to walk three times to gain complete happiness. I'll try it next time.
Nice little renovated cafe just outside the gates serving some of the best oden I've eaten... I didn't make it beachside this time (limited timetable) but I'll be back. Ichinomiya and Chigasaki in Kanagawa, battle it out in my heart for the place I'd like to retire to should I return to Japan to do so...I still really can't choose between the two.
