Tada-sho 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

     Tada Shrine used to be Tada-in Temple, which became a Shinto shrine after the Meiji Restoration, or more precisely after the Shinbutsu Hanzenrei (namely the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order) in 1868.

     Minamoto Mitsunaka (?-997) started living in Tada, and even came to be called Tada Mitsunaka.  In the famous novel "Botchan" by Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), the main character claimed to be one of the descendants of Mitsunaka, although Mitsunaka was comically pronounced Manju (a Japanese-style bun).

     Tada-sho 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized by Priest Sonko in Tada-in Temple in 1694.  Sonko was mentioned in the diary of Ryuko (1649-1724), a Buddhist bishop.  It was believed that Ryuko advised Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709) to legalize compassion for animals, prohibiting harassment against them.  The entry in Ryuko’s diary was dated April 28, 1700.