Virtual Fushimi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Genchu-ji Temple

     At the beginning of the 17th century, Yodogawa Magistrate raised the tolls for boats and ships which came and went through Yodo River.  People in Fushimi suffered from the hike.  Kobayashi Kanji (?-1618), a firewood merchant who came from Tamba Province, made a direct appeal to the Tokugawa Shogunate out of his sense of righteous indignation.  Thanks to his appeal, the shogunate authorities published the order to lower the tolls.  On his way back from Edo, he was assassinated at Mariko-juku Station along the Eastern Ocean Road.  Kanji, however, had foreseen the fatal incident and hidden the order in the body of a fish, which was safely brought to Fushimi by his comrade and became effective.  His grave and the monument in honor of his contribution and wisdom are still silently yet bravely standing in Genchu-ji Temple.