Trees In the Town

Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Entsu-ji Temple

     Entsu-ji Temple was founded in 1534 in Numada Village, which is supposed to have been ruled by the Kataho Family, who were based in Kataho Fortress.  The fortress site is Kujakukan Park.

     Between the temple and the fortress, there used to be the Nishime Lagoon.  As a lagoon is called kata in Japanese, the family name had something to do with the lagoon.  The lagoon was about 1,300 meters wide from north to south and 1,400 meters wide from east to west in 1647.  Rice fields were reclaimed by drainage from the lagoon and it finally disappeared in 1835.  Numada means Wetland Rice-Fields.

Address: Shikimori-27 Nishimemachi Numata, Yurihonjo, Akita 018-0604

Phone: 0184-33-3049

Kujakukan Park

Address: Tatenoushiro-10 Nishimemachi Nishime, Yurihonjo, Akita 018-0603

Trees In the Town

Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Kakuo-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when and where Kakuo-ji Temple was founded.  As the Honjo Domain #14 Tensho-ji Temple is located in Nikaho City and the Honjo Domain #16 Entsu-ji Temple is located in Yurihonjo City, Kakuo-ji Temple might have been located somewhere around the border of the 2 cities.

     After Nikaho Kiyoshige (1560-1624) died, his territory was divided between his 3 sons, Yoshitoshi (?-1631), Nobumasa (1600-1653), and Masatsugu.  Nobumasa and Masatsugu became directly subject to the Tokugawa Shogunate, and lived in Edo.  They built the local administrator office in Hirasawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0402.  Its surrounding area formed a kind of a castle town.  The office site is Nikaho Park.

     Besides Hirasawa, Nikaho City has just Ryozenji, Nikaho, Akita 018-0401.  Nishimemachi Nishime, Yurihonjo, Akita, where Entsu-ji Temple is located is just across the border.

Kakuo-ji Temple might have been located either in the castle town or Ryozenji Village, which was first documented in 1602.

     It is unknown when and how Kakuo-ji Temple was abolished.

Nikaho Park

Address: Shimizu-60 Hirasawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0402

Trees In the Town

Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Tensho-ji Temple

 

     Mitake Shrine was founded, or was invited, in 1616 by Satake Zushonosuke.  Who was he?

     In 1602, Satake Yoshinobu (1570-1633) was demoted from Hitachi Province to Akita County, Dewa Province, with his income more than halved.  Before he left Hitachi to Akita, he declared that his vassals couldn't earn what they had enjoyed and that he wouldn't take lower-class samurai with him.  Zushonosuke could have been a lower-class samurai at the bottom of the Satake Clan.  It is unknown whether he became a farmer or was employed by Rokugo Masanori (1567-1634), who was promoted with his income increased by 4 times in 21 years.

     Anyway, Tensho-ji Temple might have been founded in those days as twin religious institutions with Mitake Shrine in Maekawa Village, which was first documented in 1612.  In those days, the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism was popular.

Address: Mitakemae-137, Kurokawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0302

Phone: 0184-38-4146

Mitake Shrine

Address: Mitakeushiro−12, Kurokawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0302

Phone: 0184-38-2564

Trees In the Town

Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Kannon-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown where Kannon-ji Temple was located in Nikaho City.  The city has Kannonmori Hamlet, which used to have 5 households in 2018.  After the Covid 2019 pandemic, the number of its households has declined.  As Kannonmori means Kannon Woods, there could have been Kannon-ji Temple in the hamlet's golden age.

Kannonmori Kisakatamachi Kosagawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0143

Trees In the Town

Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Kogan-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Kogan-ji Temple was founded in Shiokoshi Village, which was developed at the foot of the sand dunes between Lake Kisakata and the Sea of Japan.

     The village was first documented in 1612, when the area was ruled by Tateoka Mitsushige (1547-1639).  It was then ruled by Honda Masazumi (1565-1637).  He was disfavored by Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), the 2nd Shogun, and was exiled to Yokote.  In 1623, it was ruled by Nikaho Kiyoshige (1560-1624).  In 1631, it was owned by the Tokugawa Shogunate.  In 1640, it became part of Honjo Domain, ruled by Rokugo Masakatsu (1609-1677).  In the same year, the Ikoma Family and the Rokugo Family exchanged their land for the convenience of ruling.

     The Ikoma family gave the Rokugo Family 17 villages: Shiokoshi (Nichome Shiokoshi, KisakatamachiNikaho, Akita 018-0118), Teraishi, Konoura (Konoura, Nikaho, Akita 018-0311), Tobi (Tobi, Nikaho, Akita 018-0301), Kurokawa (Kurokawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0302), Serida (Serida, Nikaho, Akita 018-0404), Mitsumori (Mitsumori, Nikaho, Akita 018-0403), Maekawa (Maekawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0321), Otake (Otake, Nikaho, Akita 018-0322), Nakazato, Iseiji (Iseiji, Nikaho, Akita 018-0431), Misono (Misono Himeno, Nikaho, Akita 018-0436), Hinokuchi (Hinokuchi Himeno, Nikaho, Akita 018-0436), Domeki (Domeki Himeno, Nikaho, Akita 018-0436), Tateiji, and Mikkaichi (Mikkaichi Nakasanchi, Nikaho, Akita 018-0435) Villages.

     The Rokugo family gave the Ikoma Family 16 villages: Gonai (Gonai Yashimamachi Motomachi, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0417), Hirabayashi (Hirabayashi Chokaimachi Shimojinego, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0722), Sakanoshita (Sakanoshita Nishisawa, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0352), Shinjo (Shinjo Yashimamachi Shinjo, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0415), Nakayama (Nakayama Takao, Yurihonjo, Akita 018-0844), Yatsusugi, Yubinabe, Kisara (Kamikisara Yashimamachi Kisara, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0413), Sugisawa (Sugisawa Yashimamachi Kawabe, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0412), Koitado (Koitado Yashimamachi Kawabe, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0412), Kamizato (Kamizato Higashiyurihonai, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0201), Kaminori, Shimosato, Honai (Honai Higashiyurihonai, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0201), Niiwa, Kawachi Village.

     The output of the 17 villages and that of the 16 villages were equivalent.  It is interesting that modern municipal territories inherit those of feudal domains rather than primitive or ancient domains.

     Anyway, without the exchange, Kogan-ji Temple wasn’t included in the Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: Yonchome Shiokoshi-231 Kisakatamachi, Nikaho, Akita 018-0116

Phone: 0184-43-3491

Trees In the Town

 Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Kanman-ji Temple

     There used to be Kisakata Lake around today's Oshiokoshi-73-1 Kisakatamachi, Nikaho, Akita 018-0400.  Kanman-ji Temple was founded on the western bank of the lake.

      In August, 1257, Hojo Tokiyori (1227-1263), the 5th Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, visited the lake.

     The lake's beauty of archipelago and that of Matsushima were equally praised even by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694):

Oh, Kisakata

In the rain

It's as beautiful as Xi Shi.

     The area was, however, hit by the 1804 Kisakata Earthquake and the lake bed was raised by 2 meters.  The lake became wetland and the Honjo Domain started reclaiming rice fields.  The 24th priest Kakurin tried to protect nature from development.  In 1822, he died in the prison of the domain.

     We can only find small hills scattered among rice fields today.

Address: Kisakatajima−2, Kisakatamachi, Nikaho, Akita 018-0122

Phone: 0184-43-3153

Trees In the Town

Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Koden-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Koden-ji Temple was founded in Kunezoe Hamlet, Maekawa Village.  The village was first documented in 1612, when the area was ruled by Tateoka Mitsushige (1547-1639).  It was then ruled by Honda Masazumi (1565-1637).  He was disfavored by Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), the 2nd Shogun, was exiled to Yokote, and was buried in Shohei-ji Temple after his death.  In 1623, it was ruled by Nikaho Kiyoshige (1560-1624).  In 1631, it was owned by the Tokugawa Shogunate.  In 1640, it became part of Honjo Domain, ruled by Rokugo Masakatsu (1609-1677).  It was ruled by the Rokugo Family ever after.  If not, the temple wasn't included in the Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: Kunezoe−49, Maekawa, Nikaho, Akita 018-0321

Phone: 0184-38-2796

Shohei-ji Temple

Address: 3-14 Tanakamachi, Yokote, Akita 013-0024

Phone: 0182-32-3084