Neil Duckett

Over the weekend i was lucky enough to attend a Traditional Japanese Wedding in Matsue, Izumo Province, in the Chugoku Region of the Shimane Prefecture …. now that’s a mouthful. It was a short and sharp visit, flying down Saturday morning and back again Sunday. 

With pretty much the whole weekend being consumed by the wedding, there was little of no time to get out and about and take photos. Rest assured, next weekend i will resume my travels on the JR Yamanote Line,  i certainly wasn’t in good enough shape to head down to Ebisu when i landed Sunday afternoon.

As for the wedding, it was an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable affair and one i can say not too many Gaijin are fortunate enough to experience. The actual ceremony was held at Izumo Taisha, which i believe is the oldest and most important Shinto Shrines in Japan. 

Izumo Taisha (出雲大社, Izumo Taisha, also called as Izumo Ōyashiro) is one of the most ancient and important of the Shinto shrines in Japan. Its name means “The Grand Shrine of Izumo.” No record gives the date of establishment. It is dedicated to the god Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto, famous as the shinto deity of marriage.

A style of architecture, Taisha-zukuri, takes its name from the main hall of Izumo Taisha. That hall, and the attached buildings, are National Treasures of Japan. According to tradition, the hall was previously much taller than it presently is. The recent discovery of the remains of enormous pillars has lent credence to this. Several other buildings in the shrine compound are on the list of Important Cultural Assets of Japan.

There  are many other attractions down that way and unfortunately i saw none of them, unless you call the bottom of a glass an attraction. I would have liked to visit Matsue Caslte, i briefly caught a glimpse on the way to the airport on Sunday. I’m sure i’ll have opportunity to get down that way again at some stage so i’ll put it on the to do list.

Matsue (松江市, Matsue-shi^?) is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. It is called the “water city,” as it sits on Lake Shinji, the seventh largest lake in Japan.

Izumo (Japanese: 出雲国; Izumo-no-kuni) was an old province of Japan. The territory of Izumo today is part of Shimane prefecture in the Chūgoku region. The origin of the word “Izumo” is from the name of the goddess Izanami. Legends tell she is the mother of Japan, and that she is buried on Mt. Hiba, at the border of the old provinces of Izumo and Hoki, near modern day Yasugi of Shimane Prefecture. By the tradition of Kojiki, the entrance to Yomi (the Japanese Hell) is also believed to be located in Izumo province.

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