Mino County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

     Mino County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized by Yasufuku Gen’emon in today’s Hyogo Prefecture in 1707during the Edo Period  under the permission by the acting county administrator of the Akashi Domain.

     Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the oldest 33 Kannon pilgrimage, was organized in the 8th century.  Since then, many Japanese people had longed for the mercy of Kannon, wishing to go on the pilgrimage of the 33 Kannon temples spreading across today’s Kansai or Kinki area once in a lifetime.  For the convenience of ordinary people in Harima Province, Harima 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized at the beginning of Edo Period.  Later, County 33 Kannon Pilgrimages were organized in each county in the province for the convenience of the wider inhabitants. Mino County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was one of them, and is one of the few that have survived the anti-Buddhist movement in the early Meiji era, world wars, and the high-growth economy after the Second World War.