MIYAJIMA AND THE SHRINE ON THE SEA

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Japanese say that the three most beautiful sights in Japan are: the islands of Sendai, the beach of Amanohashidate, and Itsukushima Shinto Shrine on the island of Miyajima, near Hiroshima.

The truth is that the latter harmoniously combines the beauty of its landscape and its rich history, which earned a big point to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.


BASICS CONCEPTS ON SHINTO.


Shinto (神道which means "the way of the gods”) is the native religion of Japan. It differs from most religions in the sense that it has no founder, doctrines, precepts and idols. The practice of animistic Shinto is based on the veneration of the kami or spirits.

Some of the gods are local and are protectors of a particular place, but others have a special veneration, as the sun or Mount Fuji (this type of animism reminds me the apus of Inca Planning .)

The Shinto religion therefore proclaims a love for the elements of nature and architecture has often a relationship with their environment and natural landscape. Having no good accounts about the origin of Shinto in Japan, it has been heavily influenced by Buddhism, and at some point in history the two religions had an interesting fusion. The Shinto was nevertheless declared the state religion before the war and was closely associated with the emperor. After the war, many practices were abandoned, while others, such as New Year's celebration is shared by all Japanese regardless of their creed.

ITSUKUSHIMA SHRINE

Miyajima, which means "Shrine Island”, has been revered since ancient times, where traces of buildings from 593 were found. The unusual idea of constructing a sanctuary on the water is inspired by the devotion to the deity of the sea, and it is believed that the island was an object of worship having a fairly closed bay which is ideal for the location of a sanctuary, as the ancient Chinese geomancy ( Feng Shui).

See location on Google Maps.

During the Heian period around 1148, and thanks to its patron Taira-no-Kiyomori, the sanctuary became an important place of worship, being visited for several times by the emperor and his court, who lived in Kyoto.
The complex consists of several buildings scattered on the mountain. These buildings, which have been rebuilt several times, consist of a main sanctuary and several subsidiary shrines connected by roads or galleries.

Standing in the bay in front of the shrine, the floating torii is the "gate" to Itsukushima. It is a large portico of vermilion which rests on the bottom sea, without being embedded in the sand. It was rebuilt with camphor wood in 1875 (Meiji period), reaching a height of 16 m., with the pillars having a circumference of 9.9 m.

Unlike traditional toriis or porches, which are only consisted of two pillars, the latter have an additional four smaller pillars, giving it more stability and grandeur.


In front of the Otorii is the main sanctuary, the Itsukushima Shrine, which is consisted of three areas: The Holy Hall where the gods live, (Heiden), an inner part where only the priests enter (Haiden), and the external area for worship of the public (Haraiden).

Being suspended on piles of stone, when the tide is high, the sanctuary gives the impression that it was a boat floating in the sea.



Its architecture is simple, and its thatched roof lacks some typical ornaments of the Heian Japanese architecture, such as gold bumps shaped horns.


The photo also shows the 5-story pagoda (27 m high), dated about 1417, and skillfully blends Japanese and Chinese styles. Pagodas always had an odd number of floors, and inside is the image of Buddha colorfully portrayed.

In front of the Otorii is a platform called Otorii Bugaku, flanked by beautiful bronze lanterns where musical performances take place during the festival of Kangensai, reminiscent of the Heian period that still takes place in mid-summer under a full moon.


One minor pagoda is the Tahoto (15.6 m), built by a priest in 1523. Its plan has a square shape at its base and circular in its upper level, a unique combination in this type of architecture.

Another notable building is the Daisho-in, nestled in the woods.



It has a porch that is a long staircase, adorned by hundreds of small images of Buddha, and culminates in a larger sanctuary, accompanied by beautiful gardens and waterfalls, whose subtlety in design and perfect harmony with the landscape is such that first sight is not possible to discern whether it is a garden made by man or beautifully crafted by nature.



The highest peak of the island is Mount Misen (530 m) which is accessible by cable car. At its peak, one can find hungry and sometimes unfriendly monkeys or cute and funny deer.

As in Nara, deer are considered animals of divine properties.

As an ironic counterpart to the horror caused by the explosion of the atomic bomb , a few miles from Hiroshima is situated one of the most beautiful scenery in the world, where the man wisely knew how the harmonious relationship that exist between the built and natural.

It is customary to place coins in the otorii for good luck

Next to the Dominican architect Juan Tineo, at low tide

THE BATHS OF CARACALLA

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Unlike the Japanese onsen baths, where the bathroom was an intimate activity in contact with nature, or the Incas, where the Inca bath was associated with religious ceremonies, in the Roman Empire baths were the social activity per excellence. The baths not only served a hygienic function, but it was a social leveler that congregated men and women, slaves and free citizens. They were also associated with pleasure and in big cities like Rome, bathing often implied promiscuity. Therefore, early Christians and philosophers refused to participate in this activity and went to bathe just twice a month. The relationship with the landscape existed, but insted of locating the baths in a special place in the landscape, as in the cases mentioned above, the landscape was created artificially to the delight of bathers.

In the case of the baths of Caracalla, the larger thermae that survive until today and the second largest ever built, after Diocletian ("thermae" comes from the Greek word "thermos" (θερμός), which means "hot").

Comparative size of some of the Baths built in Rome.

The complex was begun by the emperor Septimius Severus in 206 AD and completed by Caracalla between 212-217 AD. Subsequently, other emperors such as Alessandro Severo and Elagabal completed or repaired the building. The building was destroyed by an earthquake in 847, although from 537 it could not be used anymore as water channels were destroyed by war.

The Baths in ruins in the seventeenth century, buried several meters.
Engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778)

The complex covers an area of 13 hectares and is located at the beginning of the Appian Way. The main building was 228 m long by 166 m wide and 38.5 m tall.

Location of the Baths of Caracalla at the beginning of the Appian Way.

See location on Google Maps

Besides the baths, which could accommodate up to 1700 bathers, it included social spaces, libraries and even a small stadium.

The site was defined by a rectangular fence. The design, as in many other cases in the Roman architecture, followed a symmetrical layout.


The main entrance was located in the northeast, flanked by arcades on two levels containing commercial stands. After passing through the entrance arcade, there were gardens that preceded the main building. Upon entering the visitor reached the dressing room (apodytera), and after taking off his clothes he left them on a shelf. Later he worked out at the gym (palestra) or received a massage in one of the nearby rooms. The thermae had three types of baths: cold, hot and warm.

The first one was the Frigidarium, a large living room containing cold baths that had a huge outdoor pool or natatio. In the middle of the building was the Tepidarium, where the warm baths were located. Then the users went to the caldarium, a kind of saunas, whose walls were heated through terracotta pipes and whose cylindrical shape was covered by a cupola overlooked the whole complex.
On either side were two large semicircular protrusions that were the libraries. In the background the stadium was located, with seats only on one side, hiding behind itself the huge cisterns.


One aspect that caught my attention was the impressive scale of the building. This was not a temple or a palace, was a public facility. However, the impressive monumentality of the scale makes it clear that the architecture was used as a symbolic instrument of imperial power.



The building system combined the use of baked brick with concrete (opus caementicium) which was a mixture of small pebbles and sand and lime mortar. But even more impressive was the elaborated water system which served the baths.
The water was brought from the springs of Subiaco, 100 km from Rome, through the aqueduct Aqua Marcia and from there it was supplied by a special branch called Aqua Antoniniana. The water arrived to a huge tank divided into 18 compartments and a capacity of 80,000 m3. From there it was distributed by tubes and crossed the gardens toward the building.
There were three networks of tunnels, built to facilitate inspection and maintenance of the facilities: water, sewage and provision of wood, which was used in about 50 furnaces to heat the water.


The interior of the thermae was outstanding. The outdoor pool or natatio was decorated with four granite columns. There were also large bronze mirrors to reflect the sunlight. The walls were covered in marble and decorated with frescoes, and hundreds of statues were located in niches at various levels.

Interior of the Baths. 3D Image courtesy of Beaulieu Gordana

Interior of the Baths

3D Image courtesy of Altar4 Multimedia

The floors were covered with black and white mosaics, some of which can still be seen at the site.

The landscape design was remarkable, the gardens surrounding the building followed geometric patterns and included statues, fountains and places for meeting and conversation.


In the twentieth century, in 1911, the baths were replicated in the Pennsylvania Station in New York, giving a more tangible idea of the grandeur of this impressive complex.

Pennsylvania Railway Station, New York, 1911

Today, besides being a major tourist attraction, the thermae is being iused n the last decades as an incomparable venue for cultural performances, theater and musicals .

Documentary on History Channel and the Caracalla Baths

To view a video of our visit, click here

Luciano Pavarotti at the Baths of Caracalla with Dolores O'Riordan, from the Cranberries, singing Ave Maria

SEE ALSO:

ARCHITECTURE AND WATER

• Baths of the Inca, Tambomachay, Cusco, Peru.
• Baths in Kurama, Kyoto, Japan
• Garden of Fine Arts, Kyoto, Japan. Tadao Ando

CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE

• Pantheon, Rome Italy.