Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Hoshaku-ji Temple

     All the written documents were burned down in the fire during the Edo Period. According to the information based on hearsay, Hoshaku-ji Temple was founded in 1190’s, when the Kamakura Shogunate was established.

     The temple name Hoshaku comes from Ratnakuta Sutra.  The sutra was translated into Chinese by Priest Dharmaraksa.  Ratna meant treasure and kuta accumulation.  The 2 Chinese characters which were allocated for ratna and kuta were pronounced ho and shaku in Japanese.

Address: 7-13 Kamicho, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0001Phone: 045-751-4300 

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Kaisho-ji Temple

     It is unknown when Kaisho-ji Temple was founded, but Sonchin established it as a full-scale temple in 1603.  At the time, the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868) made it compulsory for each citizen to affiliate to a Buddhist temple.  The number of temples, thus, increased.

     In April, 1849, Ohama Munetaka presented a fire bell to the temple.  Who was Munetaka?

     The Ohama Family used to be a pirate family, based in Ohama, Toshi County, Shima Province.  Kagetaka (1540-1597) owned an “atakebune,” a big warship at the time, and held naval hegemony in Ise Bay.  However, his provincial lord, the Kitabatake Clan, lost to Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), and Kagetaka himself was chased out of the bay.

     Kagetaka and his atakebune were employed by Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) in 1571.  Among Takeda’s sea forces, only Kagetaka owned an atakebune.  After the Takeda Clan collapsed in 1582, he was re-employed by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  When Ieyasu moved to Kanto in 1590, Kagetaka followed him, and was stationed in Misaki, Miura County, Sagami Province.  His residence was about today’s Honzui-ji Temple.  His son, Mitsutaka, fought for Ieyasu in the Battle of Sekigahara, the most important decisive battle at the end of Warring States Period.

     Mitsutaka's son, Yoshitaka (1600-1664), became a direct retainer of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  And then there came Hirotaka (1652-1705) and Yukitaka (1684-1753).  Munetaka might have been their descendant.

Address: 4-19 Sakashitacho, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0003Phone: 045-751-7104

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Mitsuzo-in Temple

     Mitsuzo-in Temple is supposed to have been founded after Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) was transferred to Edo in 1590.  It used to be a shrine temple of 10 shrines in the area: Ise Shrine, Inari Shrine, Mishima Shrine, Hikawa Shrine, Ne Shrine, Kifune Shrine, San’o Shrine, Shinmei Shrine, and Sarasvati Shrine.  In 1766, it also became a shrine temple of Yahata Shrine, which had been founded after the statue of Yahata had been washed ashore in August, 543.

     The stone statue of Arya Avalokitesvara was presented in 1792 by the donor from Chishaku Village, Mie County, which belongs to Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture today.  How come?  Who knows?  On September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed all the buildings in the precincts.

Address: 3 Chome-13-5 Takigashira, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0012Phone: 045-751-0968

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Shinsho-ji Temple

     The Tairago Family might have branched out either from Yokoyama Corp, which was one of the Musashi Seven Corps, or from the Miura Clan in the Miura Peninsula in the 10th century.  They were based in Isogo Castle.  #23 Shinsho-ji and #26 Hoshaku-ji Temples used to be their family temples.

     Azuma Kagami (literally, "Mirror of the East") is a Japanese historical chronicle, and Tairago Arinaga is mentioned in it.

     In 1176, the father of Soga Sukenari (1172-1193) was assassinated by Kudo Suketsune (1147-1193).  His mother got remarried to Soga Sukenobu (?-?).  On May 28, 1193, when Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the then shogun, organized a big hunting event, Sukenari assassinated Suketsune.  Arinaga was the first that made a sword fight against Sukenari, who was finally killed by Nitta Tadatsune (1167-1203).  Yoritomo, of course, got furious, losing face, and all the younger brothers of his either were forced to commit suicide or were executed.  Even Sukenari’s lover, Tora, who was a prostitute, was investigated.  She was later found innocent and released.  Sukenari had left her his favorite horse.  With the horse as capital, she retired from prostitution and became a nun.

     Arinaga was seriously injured but made it back to his castle.  He thanked to Vaisravana, made the statue, and presented it to Shinsho-ji Temple.  The statue is still enshrined in the temple although the Tairago Family disappeared from history as the Late Hojo Clan’s power expanded into the area.

     On November 3, 1473, Priest Enchin died.  He might have been powerful.  In 1463, he allocated one third of the annual land tax from Negishi Village to Hosho-ji and Shinsho-ji Temples.  Later in 1626 and in 1649, the Tokugawa Shogunate confirmed the temples’ revenue.

     The Kyotoku War (1455-1483) was in progress.  Ashikaga Shigeuji (1438-1497), the Deputy Shogun in Kamakura, relinquished Kamakura and moved to Koga in 1457.  In 1458, the Muromachi Shogunate sent out another deputy shogun from Kyoto for Kamakura, but he couldn’t enter Kamakura and stayed in Horikoshi, Izu Province.  From then on, there were Koga Deputy Shogun and Horikoshi Deputy Shogun.  On October 14, 1459, the 2 camps had a big battle in Ota Manor, Musashi Province.  How did Enchin have the power to allocate land tax to temples?  Or was it a smokescreen to avoid further deprivation of 2 camps?  I don’t know. If Enchin was a powerful fixer outside the Tairago Family, the one third assured the family of living peacefully.  If Enchin was a member of the family, it means they paid the remaining 2 thirds to live peacefully.  Would you rather use those one third or two thirds as defense expenditure, and be involved in samurai world to succeed in life?  Whatever choice the family had made, later in the 17th century, the lifestyle was guaranteed by the Tokugawa Shogunate as well.

     In the Warring States Period, when the Later Hojo Clan dispatched a large army to Kawagoe to fight a decisive battle against the Uesugi Clan in 1546, they had a few forces left along the sea shores.  The Awa Pirates, based at the southernmost tip of the peninsula across the Edo Bay, took advantage of the military vacuum, intruded into the Isogo area, and plundered everything.  Some even robbed Shinsho-ji Temple of the temple bell.  On their way back across the sea, the bell suddenly started rumbling and the sea got rough and stormy.  Frightened and scared, the pirates threw the bell into the sea, and flew back to Awa.  When you sail across the Tokyo Bay today, listen to the waves.  The bell is still ringing under the sea.  Believe it or not.

Address: 8 Chome-14-12 Isogo, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0016Phone: 045-753-5147

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Konzo-in Temple

     The history of Konzo-in Temple is full of mysteries.

     When Hojo Yasutoki (1183-1242), the third regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, studied Buddhism under Priest Myoe (1173-1232) in Kyoto, he received the Bhaisajyaguru statue, which had been carved by Kaikei (1150-1250).  He built Ryushaku-ji Temple in Okamura Village near Kamakura.  Yasutoki asked Kaikei to carve the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.  Legend has it that Yasutoki was worried about his wife’s infertility.  However, Yasutoki got married with his first wife in 1202, and she gave birth to his first son, Tokiuji (1203-1230), the third regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, next year.  They got divorced, but Yasutoki got remarried with the second wife and got the second son, Tokimi (1212-1227).  She gave birth to 2 sons and 3 daughters in total at least.  Did his first wife become sterile after the first birth?  She got remarried to Sahara Moritsura (?-1233), and gave birth to 3 sons.  It’s a mystery what Yasutoki was actually worried about.  Cintamanicakra is believed to fulfill your wish, especially the wish to success.

     Anyway, he got the Cintamanicakra statue and built a Kannon hall in Yamadaya village.  Later, the statue became the guardian Buddha of his wife.  It is unknown which wife’s.

     The first wife's second husband, Moritsura, deserted from the front line in the face of the enemy in 1221.  In 1226, he got drunk in Kyoto and inflicted bodily injury on someone in Uji.  After the case, he became jobless, was banished from Kyoto, and roamed around provinces for years.  On June 18, 1230, her first son, Tokiuji, died of an illness.  On May 22, 1233, Moritsuna tried forcibly to intrude into Kyoto, only to be killed upon the spot.  Was it the first wife that needed Cintamanicakra?

     The second wife’s first son, Tokimi, was killed by his subject, Takahashi Jiro, on June 18, 1227, just 3 years before Tokiuji’s death.  In July in the same year, her first daughter gave birth to a baby, who died after some 10 days.  And the daughter herself died on August 4 at the age of 25.  After she gave birth to her second son, Kimiyoshi in 1241, Yasutoki died 1242.  Was it the second wife that needed Cintamanicakra?

     When Ryushaku-ji Temple was burned down in 1326, the Bhaisajyaguru statue narrowly escaped from the fire.  At the time, Priest Riku was living in Konzo-in Hermitage.  In 1328, he invited the statue to the hermitage, and named hermitage Gansho-ji.  In 1333, the Hojo Clan was wiped out, and the temple gradually went to ruin, losing a big supporter.  At the end of Warring States Period, in 1576, Priest Reigen rebuilt the temple.  During the Tokugawa Era, the temple doubled as the shrine temple of Shaguchi Shrine.

The belief in Shaguchi is distributed in the Eastern provinces and dates back to the Jomon Period, a kind of the Neolithic Age in Japan.  Shaguchi drops in at stones and trees.  Those types of stones and trees can be found in Shaguchi Shrines today as well as in the Jomon Period sites.

     In some Shaguchi Shrines, a Shinto priest is possessed by Shaguchi, and gives out an oracle.

     All in all, Konzo-in Temple is mysterious. 

Address: 4 Chome-3-6 Isogo, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0016Phone: 045-752-1741

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Daisho-in Temple

     Daisho-in Temple was founded in 1536 by Priest Chigyo, with the Amitabha statue, which is said to have been carved by Kaikei (1150-1250).  In 1670, Priest Seizan put up the statues of Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta.

The main hall has a fanlight, with a dragon carved.  Till the end of the Meiji Era, they used to put the fanlight in the sea to pray for rain.

     Today, in the back of the main hall, there stands Kannon-do Hall, which was merged on November 1, 1917.  The hall used to be located outside the precincts of Daisho-in Temple.  It isn’t recorded when, why, and how the hall was moved to the present place.  The deity of the hall is Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.

     In 1873, Negishi Elementary School was founded in the main hall of the temple with 30 pupils.  The hall was used till 1880.

6-20 Higashicho, Isogo Ward, Yokohama 235-0005045-751-0672

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Tofuku-in Temple

     Priest Seinin moved a small hermitage at Oshimadani along Tenryu River in Totomi Province to the present place on April 7, 1627, named it Tofuku-in, and died in it on July 10 in the same year.

     The second shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Hidetada (1579-1632), and his wife, Oeyo (1573-1626), gave birth to 2 sons, Takechiyo and Kunichiyo.  Takechiyo, the elder brother, used to stutter.  Kunichiyo, the younger brother, was blessed with good looks and gifted with brilliance.  In other words, he was like his granduncle, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), the hero who gave an end to the Warring States Period.  Oeyo preferred Kunichiyo as the heir, or the third shogun.

     In 1624, Kunichiyo, now Hidetada (1606-1634), became the lords of Suruga, Totomi, and Kai Provinces.  As his greatest supporter, Oeyo, died in 1626, he was gradually cornered by Takechiyo, now Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun.  In 1632, When their father, Hidetada, became critical, Tadanaga wasn’t allowed to visit his father.  After Hidetada’s death on January 24, he was confiscated with the 3 provinces. He was ordered to commit hara-kiri on January 5, 1634.

          The temple has the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.  The statue might have witnessed what Priest Seinin had done in the province(s) for his whole life.

64 Honmokuarai, Naka Ward, Yokohama 231-0826045-623-8418

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Tamon-in Temple

     Wakamiya-Hachiman-gu Shrine in Honmoku was founded far before the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     The start of Hachiman-gu Shrine was Usa-Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kyushu.  The shrine has 3 megaliths deep in the precincts.  One day, Hondawake appeared or descended and became the god of the shrine.  Next, Hondawake was invited to Iwashimizu-Hachiman-gu Shrine near Kyoto.  From Iwashimizu-Hachiman-gu Shrine, Hondawake was further invited to Tsurugaoia-Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kamakura.  It is unknown if Hondawake in Honmoku was invited from Tsurugaoka or directly from Iwashimizu.

     In 812, Tamon-in Temple was founded by Kukai (774-835) as a shrine temple of Honmoku Wakamiya-Hachiman-gu Shrine.  In 1263, the statue of Goddess Ohirume and that of Bhaisajyaguru were found in the sea.  The Ohirume statue was enshrined in Honmoku Wakamiya-Hachiman-gu Shrine and the Bhaisajyaguru statue was enshrined in Tamon-in Temple.

Priest Kanyo (?-1585) put Tamon-in Temple on equal status with Honmoku Wakamiya-Hachiman-gu Shrine.  In 1591, when the Tokugawa Clan granted the same amount of rice fields to the temple and the shrine.  When Priest Suden (1569-1633) was busy establishing the religious policy of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Priest Seison (?-1632) established the temple.  In 1639, the temple made the Acalanatha statue and replaced the Bhaisajyaguru statue as the main deity.  With his face expressing extreme wrath, Acala might have appealed more in the samurai world.

     Interestingly enough, the temple has a Dakini hall.  A Dakini is a type of sacred female spirit in Hinduism and Buddhism. The term can also be applied to human women with a certain amount of spiritual development.  the Dakini figure disseminated into Japanese culture from Shingon Buddhism, evolving into the Dakini-ten, becoming linked to the fox iconography.

Address: 2-16 Honmoku Motomachi, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0822

Phone: 045-621-2382

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Senzo-ji Temple

     Senzo-ji Temple started as a hermitage for retired priests of Tamon-in Temple, #19 temple of Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  As Tamon-in Temple used to be the shrine temple of Honmoku Shrine, the hermitage came to take care of dead people and their funerals.

     By the end of the 16th century, Priest Choun (?-1597) made it a real temple.  In 1668, Priest Eiben moved the temple from Minowa Village to the present place.  In 1783, Yonekura Masaharu (1728-1786), the lord of the Kanazawa Domain in Musashi Province, presented the domain’s locker house to the temple as the main hall.  It is not known whether the removal and reconstruction was done before the great eruption of Mt. Asama or after.  The eruption killed 1624 people.  When Sano Masaharu (1757-1784) assassinated Tanuma Okitomo (1749-1784) in Edo Castle on March 24, 1784, Masaharu was placed on suspension in April but was forgiven in May.

Address: 12-16 Honmoku Motomachi, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0822Phone: 045-623-7984

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Tentoku-ji Temple

     Tentoku-ji Temple is on the side of a hill today, but used to be located at the foot of it.  The reason for the relocation in 1700 is unknown.  The temple used to have the Ksitigarbha Hall, which used to be at the foot of the hill till 1925, even after the relocation of the temple.  In 1925, the hall was abolished and the statue was removed to the main hall of the temple.  It is also unknown why it was moved late.

Address: 1-1 Wadayama, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0805Phone: 045-622-7906

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Zoroku-in Temple

     A Bhaisajyaguru statue was found in the sea at the beginning of the 9th century.  They built a hall for it, and that is said to have been the start of Zotoku-in Temple.

     It was such an old historic temple that Ashikaga Ujimitsu (1359-1398), the second Kamakura Deputy Shogun under the Muromachi Shogunate of the Ashikaga Clan, copied Prajnaparamitahrdaya, or the Heart Sutra, on the navy blue paper with gold paint, and presented it to the temple.

     In 1442, the landowner of Heiraku Village presented some field to the Bhaisajyaguru Hall.  Who was the landowner?  In 1439, the grandson of Ujimitsu, Mochiuji (1398-1439), was forced to committe suicide with his eldest son, Yoshihisa (1423-1439).  In 1441, Mochiuji’s second and third sons were killed under the order by the shogun.  The shogun was assassinated by his vassals in the same year.  The execution of Mochiuji’s forth son, Shigeuji (1438-1497) wasn’t carried out because of the assassination, and he was to return to Kamakura in 1445.  It is unknown who was ruling the area in 1442.

     Of course, the temple had a Kannon Hall and, amazingly, 33 Kannon statues.  The hall, however, was abolished in 1874, 3 years after the estates of temples and shrines were nationalized. The 33 statues were removed to the Bhaisajyaguru Hall, but all but one were burned down in the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1, 1923.  It is unknown whether they had just the number 33 of the Kannon statues or the 33 different types of the Kannon statues.

Address: 103 Heiraku, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0035Phone: 045-261-3012

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Soko-ji Temple

     It is unknown when Soko-ji Temple was founded, but, according to a written record on Izu Islands, when they founded Sofuku-ji Temple in 1440 in Hachijo Island, it was from Soko-ji Temple that they invited a priest.

     Soko-ji Temple was built on the site of Kannon Fort, which had been built by Mamiya Shirozaemon.  The fort was along the same ridge with Gongenyama Castle.  Mamiya Hikojiro and his family members fought for the Ueda Family, indirectly for the Later Hojo Clan, against the Yamanouchi-Uesugi and Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Clans in 1510.

     Later, Mamiya Yasutoshi (1518-1590) became a vassal of the Later Hojo Clan and managed the Izu Sea Forces.  His son, Nobutaka (1553-1584), was also the captain of the sea forces, and fought for Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  He was killed in the 1584 Siege of Kanie, which was fought between Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598).  The Kuki Sea Forces was on Hideyoshi’s side and had a large warship called Atakebune.

     As the fort’s name shows, the site might have been Kannon precincts from the older times.  The Kannon statue is about 18-centimeter tall, and is said to have made by Visvakarman.  It means by a foreigner craftsman.

     Mamiya Rinzo (1775-1844), who explored Sakhalin, was their descendant.

Address: 10-6 Kogaya, Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 221-0051Phone: 045-461-5617

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Hongaku-ji Temple

     Legend has it that Eisai (1141-1215) founded Hongaku-ji Temple in 1226.  Simply inconsistent.  Maybe, it was the followers of Eisai who founded the temple.  Eisai studied in China and belonged to Linji Sect of Chan (or Zen in Japanese) Buddhism, and the temple belonged to the sect at first.

     The flames of war struck the temple in 1510.

     Ueda Masatada's ancestors were members of one of the Musashi Seven Corps.  The most part of Musashi Province was plateaus deeply covered with volcanic-ash soil, which was suitable for stock farming, not for rice growing.  In ancient times, many of the naturalized Silla people then were sent to Musashi Province, and engaged in the stock farming.  That stimulated people there, and many stock farms were set up, including 6 imperial stock farms.  The custodians of those farms later formed small-scale samurai families.  By marriage, those samurai families composed 7 corps on the plateaus in the province.

     Masatada had been fighting for the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Clan.  He fought hard in the Chokyo War (1487-1505), won in local fights, and succeeded in occupying the Kanagawa Port, which had been ruled by their opponent, the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Clan.  Unluckily, in the broader war situation, the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Clan surrendered, and Masatada had to return the port to the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Clan.  Luckily, Ise Sozui (1456-1519) was extending his military power into Sagami Province and had occupied the western half of the province already.  In response to Sozui’s tactics, Masatada raised an army in Gongenyama Castle near the border between Sagami and Musashi Provinces.  Unluckily, the castle was near Hongaku-ji Temple, which was badly damaged in the fights.  Masatada?  The Yamanouchi-Uesugi and Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Clans united and defeated Sozui.  Masatada escaped to Sozui’s new stronghold, Odawara Castle, and died of a disease there.

     The Ise Family became the Later Hojo Clan, and occupied almost all the Kanto Region.  But they were defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), and his son, Hideyori (1593-1615), was killed by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  Pax Tokugawa realized, and lasted for 2 centuries.  On one of those peaceful days, Yajirobe and Kitahachi, the 2 main characters in the comic book, Tokaidochu Hizakurige (known as Shank’s Mare in English), had a drink, enjoying the magnificent sea view from a Kanagawa Town near the temple.

     Time flies.  On one of the turbulent last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, on July 4, 1859, Hongaku-ji Temple was requisitioned as the U.S. Consulate in Kanagawa.  They militarily appreciated the magnificent sea view from the temple.  If you want to know the details on the day, please check what Joseph Heco wrote.  He was born in Kansai, and made a sightseeing trip to Edo one day.  On his way back, his boat was wrecked and he was picked up by the American freighter Aukland.  He was sent to San Francisco, and became an interpreter. 

     Let’s get back to the temple.  Even today, you can find some parts of it painted in black, red, green, and white.  The consulate staff might have preferred the colors to the beauty through a sense of austerity and antiquity.  Whether you like the colors or not, that was the first use of paint in Japan.  And, in July, Japan Painting Contractors Association holds a memorial service annually.

Address: 1-2 Takashimadai, Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 221-0833Phone: 045-322-0191

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Kofuku-ji Temple

     Kofuku-ji Temple used to be called Ungai-an Hermitage (literally Cloud Outside Hermitage), whose main deity was the guardian Buddha statue of Kamakura Kagemasa (1069-?).   It is unknown who founded Ungai-an Hermitage.  Someone built a hermitage someday.  What did he see “over the clouds” far beyond the sky?  By the end of the 16th century, it moved to the present place and became Kofuku-ji Temple.

     The Later Three-Year War was fought in the northeastern part of Japan in the late 1080s.  It was a kind of internal strife within the Kiyohara Clan.  First, Kiyohara Iehira (?-1087) and Kiyohira (1056-1128) fought against Sanehira (?-1083).  After Sanehira’s death, Iehira clashed against Kiyohira.  From the central government, Minamoto Yoshiie (1039-1106) intervened in the conflict.  The intervention brought the victory to Kiyohira.  In the war, Kamakura Kagemasa fought for Yoshiie brilliantly at the age of 16.  In a battle, Chokai Yosaburo shot Kagemasa’s right eye.  Not wavering, Kagemasa shot Yosaburo back dead.  In Yoshiie’s camp, Kagemasa was suffering with the arrow in his right eye.  His comrade, Miura Tametsugu, ran up to Kagemasa and stepped on his face to pull out the arrow.  Kagemasa got furious and slashed at Tametsugu, saying, “A samurai would be satisfied if he died with arrow wound.  But it’s humiliation to be stepped on the face.” Later, he developed Oba Manor in Koza County, Sagami Province.  He had the 10-centimeter-tall statue of Bhaisajyaguru, who is the Buddha of healing and medicine.  He might have suffered from the wound even after the war.

     Somehow or other, the statue moved a little eastward.  Someone built a hermitage someday, and kept the Bhaisajyaguru statue in it.

     After Kagemasa, Kagetsugu ruled Oba Manor, and called himself Oba Kagetsugu.  2 generations later, Oba Kageyoshi (1128-1210) joined in the military campaign when Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) raised an army against the Taira Clan in 1180.  After the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, however, he was disgraced in 1193.  His son, Kagekane went missing in 1213 during the military power games between the Hojo and the Wada Families, who had joined in Yoritomo’s military campaign.

     Kagemasa’s cousin, Kamakura Kagehisa, lived in Kajiwara, Kamakura, and called himself Kajiwara Kagehisa.  Kajiwara Kagetoki (1140-1200) suppressed Yoritomo’s first military campaign in 1180, defeating Yoritomo’s army in the Battle of Ishibashiyama on September 14.  On 24, Yoritomo hid himself in the Shitodo Cave.  Kagetoki found him, but let him go out of pity.  Kindness is, and was, never lost.   Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate in the late 1180’s, and appointed Kagetoki to a position of trust.  After Yoritomo’s death, Kagetoki lost in power struggles.  He and his 7 sons were killed in a battle, and 33 heads of his family and relatives were exposed on the street.

     It is unknown who had inherited Kagemasa’s Bhaisajyaguru statue, but somebody too-young-to-kill might have been confined in a hermitage near Kamakura with the statue.  It is also unknown if Bhaisajyaguru could cure the survivor’s trauma, but, thanks to Kagemasa’s anecdote, the villagers believed the statue would answer to prayers for eye problems.

Address: 5 Chome-385-3 Sengencho, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0072Phone: 045-311-4671

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Ganjo-ji Temple

     One day, Gyoki (668-749) was on his way to the Eastern Provinces and felt thirsty.  When he was looking for water, a turtle creeped out.  He dug the roadside, and a spring gushed forth.  He built a hut there.  He also put his walking stick on the wayside, and it rooted as a cherry tree to live till the beginning of the 20th century.  Priest Ganyu lived in the hut, and made it Ganjo-ji Temple in 1538.

Address: 3 Chome-290 Nishitobecho, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0046Phone: 045-231-3722

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Empuku-ji Temple

     In 1430, Priest Shingen found a Jizo statue in a bamboo forest.  He built a hut to enshrine it.  Priest Zenyo (?-1531) made it a real temple, and named it Empuku-ji.  In 1927, it moved to the present place due to the land rezoning in Yokohama.  The statue is about 50 centimeters tall, and it is unknown who buried it in the bamboo forest and why.  The year 1427 had bad harvests due to poor weather, and the year 1428 had an epidemic of three-day disease (likely cholera) as well.  Around Kyoto, the first uprising by peasants broke out.  Even in Kanto, there might have been some unrecorded disturbance, which could have forced someone to hide a Buddhist statue for fear of robbery or arson.

Address: 137 Nishikubocho, Hodogaya Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 240-0022Phone: 045-741-4438

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Komyo-ji Temple

     There used to be Ishikawa Kannon-do Temple with the Arya Avalokitesvara statue at Ishikawa Village along the south bank of Shukan-minato Inlet.  The inlet was reclaimed after 1656, and part of the reclaimed land became a foreign settlement after Yokohama was designated one of treaty ports on July 1, 1859.  Thereafter, the population in Yokohama increased.

     In October, 1878, Priest Genshin in Komyo-ji Temple, Kamakura, took over Ishikawa Kannon-do Temple, had Priestess Myoin administer it, organized a Kannon association, and started propagation.  Being near the international port, the area soon became too noisy.  He moved the temple a little bit uptown to Hatsunecho in March, 1885, sponsored by Yoshida Kenzo (1849-1889).

     Kenzo was born in Echizen Province in 1849 as a son of a samurai.  In 1864, he defected from the Echizen Domain, and studied medicine in Osaka and English in Nagasaki.  In 1866, he stowed away to UK on a British warship.  He returned to Japan in 1868, and worked for Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited in Yokohama.

     In 1871, he started his own business, and became a leading businessman in Yokohama.  He also financially supported the Liberal Party (Japan,1881).  Hatsunechou became lined with stores, looking even rather like an entertainment district.  Priest Genshin moved the temple further uptown to the present place in October, 1888, sponsored by Kenzo and Koro Kohachi (1836-1917).  

     Kohachi was born in Echizen Province in 1836 as a son of a farmer.  He started at the bottom of the social ladder, working for a laundry and as a rickshaw man, he suddenly succeeded in shadow banking.  He also supported Kenzo in his supporting the Liberal Party.

     On March 27, 1899, the temple name officially became Komyo-ji.  On April 25, 1913, it inherited the Amitabha statue as the main deity from Kagaku-in Temple, a branch temple within Zojo-ji Temple at Shiba, Tokyo.  Zojo-ji is a good brand name to push ahead with propagation.  Even after the replacement, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue was kept in the temple.  It even survived the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1, 1923.

Address: 66 Kanoedai, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0008Phone: 045-231-5875

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 New Zenko-ji Temple

     Tendai Sect Buddhism in Japan broke up into the Sanmon School and the Jimon School in the 9th century.  The Shinsei School further split away in 1878.  Under the Religious Corporations Act, the 3 schools were united in 1941, but broke up again after the end of World War II.

     In April, 1880, Nishiyama Chiin opened a missionary hall at Hanasaki-cho, Yokohama.  On June 11, 1883, the hall was officially approved as a temple, and called itself New Zenko-ji.  In March, 1887, it moved to the present place.  The main deity of the temple is the copy of that in Zenko-ji Temple in Shinano Province, or Nagano Prefecture today.

     Zenko-ji Temple is in Nagano and was founded in 644.  The temple enshrines images of the Amida Buddha. According to legend, the image was casted and gilded by Somachatra in Ancient India.  Seong of Baekje (523-554) presented it to King Hironiwa of Japan in 552.  However, it was dumped into a canal due to the Ancient anti-Buddhist policies of Mononobe Clan, who had the hegemony over the Japanese politics in the 5th and 6th centuries. It was rescued by Honda Yoshimitsu on his way to the capital at Horie, Namba, in 600, 601, or 602.  He brought it to his home province, Shinano, and built a temple for it.  The image is said to be the first Buddha statue ever to be brought to Japan.

     Thus, it made multipul fission in Japan. It is estimated that there are not only 443 copies of the image but also 119 Zenko-ji Temples nationwide.

     In New Zenko-ji Temple, the second generation priest, Hoin brought the Arya Avalokitesvara statue of his own into the temple, and built Taiun-an Hall for it.  The temple buildings collapsed on September 1, 1923, in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Address: 133 Miharudai, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0002Phone: 045-231-5754

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Sosen-ji Temple

     Sosen-ji Temple used to be in Kuboyama, Central Ward, Yokohama, but has been abolished.  In the area, they have Yokohama City Kuboyama Funeral Home today.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Toko-ji Temple

      Toko-ji Temple’s main deity is the Bhaisajyaguru statue, which was taken over from Tobe Sugiyama Shrine after the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868.  Tobe Sugiyama Shrine is at 1 Chome-13-1 Central, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, today, and the temple used to be around there since the middle of the 16th century until the relocation on October 13, 1902.  The shrine had been founded in 652, and is one of the candidates for the original Sugiyama Shrine.  The god in the shrine used to be recognized as the local manifestation of Bhaisajyaguru.  However, #12 Ganjo-ji Temple used to be a shrine temple of Tobe Sugiyama Shrine, so Toko-ji Temple couldn’t.  Why the temple inherited the manifestation statue from the shrine is unknown and unknowable today, as the temple was reduced to ashes along with written records due to the Bombing of Yokohama on May 29, 1945. 

Address: 110 Miharudai, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0002Phone: 045-231-5765

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Daiko-ji Temple

     Yokohama City has 35 to 72 Sugiyama Shrines today.  The record of Sugiyama Shrine, which seems to have been pronounced Sogiyama at the time though, dates back to 838 in Shoku Nihon Koki, the fourth volume in the Six National Histories.  The shrine was located in Tsuzuki County, Musashi Province, and was officially admitted to have psychic power.  It is unknown which Sugiyama Shrine out of 72 was original.

     Sugiyama Shrine in Ota is supposed to have branched out from that in Shin-Yoshida, Kohoku Ward, Yokohama today, and to have been founded sometime before 1376.

     Daiko-ji Temple used to be the shrine temple of Sugiyama Shrine in Ota.   The god in the shrine used to be recognized as the local manifestation of Bhaisajyaguru, and the shrine used to have the statue of Bhaisajyaguru accordingly.  After the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, the temple was separated from the shrine with the statue.

     The black temple gate was brought from the rice warehouses of Mutsuura Domain to the temple and reconstructed.  The lords of the domain, the Yonekura Family, used to fight for the Takeda Clan.  After the clan was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) in 1582, they worked for the Tokugawa Clan.

Address: 2 Chome-7-21 Minamiota, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0006Phone: 045-714-2477

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Renge-in Temple

     On May 6, 1522, the head of the village powerful family dreamed Bhaisajyaguru in his dream.  He invited the statue of Bhaisajyaguru from Kamakura as the main deity to found Renge-in Temple.  The Onin War (1467-1478) had thrown Japan into the Warring States Period, and the society went wild.  In Sagami Province, Hojo Soun (1432-1519) overpowered the superiors.  Sakurai Shigemasa moved in Miharu-dai Heights and built a fortress there as a the vassal of the Later Hojo Clan.  His descendants were Shigenobu, Munenobu, and Muneshige, who returned to farming after the Later Hojo Clan surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1590.  It might have been either Shigemasa or Shigenobu who invited Bhaisajyaguru.

     Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541) succeeded Soun in 1518.  After Soun's death in 1519, Ujitsuna built many temples and shrines in 1520’s.  The Sakurai Family might have modeled themselves on the Later Hojo Clan.

     Did Muneshige simply return to farming?  Miharu-dai Heights has Shiokumi-zaka Hill, namely Sea-water Drawing Hill.  At the foot of the hill, they used to manufacture salt by drawing sea water.  If the Sakurai Family moved in the area to manage and rule saltworks, Muneshige rather preferred  being the manager to being a warrior.

     At the turn of the 18th century, Priest Shuchu revived the temple.  He, instead, brought his statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces, and put it as the main deity.  After 1740’s, few priests lived in the templet.  In 1888, Priest Esho in Fumon-in Temple repaired the buildings and doubled the priest in Renge-in Temple.  In 1909, Priest Eshin rebuilt the main hall, and built a new hall for Bhaisajyaguru.  The Great Kanto Earthquake burned down the whole temple in 1923.  They managed to build a new main hall in 1925.  The Bombing of Yokohama reduced all the efforts to ashes in 1945.  They rebuilt the temple after World War II.

     Super Typhoon Kit was born near Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia on June 20, 1966, and reached typhoon status late on June 23.  Its peak intensity was 315 km/h.  On June 26, it recorded a pressure of 912 mbar, the lowest observed in relation to the typhoon.  On June 28, it hit Yokohama, and destroyed all the buildings of Renge-in Temple.  More than 128,000 homes were affected by flooding, of which 433 collapsed.  Throughout the country, 64 people lost their lives, excluding 25 who were killed in the restoration work, while a further 19 were listed missing.  It lost its identity on July 3 near the International Dateline.

     What had Bhaisajyaguru told Shigemasa or Shigenobu in the dream?  Future disasters?  Or the salvation?

Address: 19 Miharudai, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0002
Phone: 045-231-0290

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Yakuo-ji Temple

     Yakuo-ji Temple used to be a hermitage for retired priests of Tofuku-ji Temple.

     The temple was destroyed by the earthquake on November 23, 1703.  Priest Shinyu rebuilt it in 1718.  The Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed and burned the temple on September 1, 1923.  A makeshift main hall was built in 1927, but was burned down by the Bombing of Yokohama on May 29, 1945.  The statue of Sahasrabhuja, who has 1,000 arms, was burned down by the earthquake.

Address: 7 Miharudai, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0002Phone: 045-231-9795

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Fumon-in Temple

     Fumon-in Temple was founded by Priest Yuei, but it is unknown when it was.  The temple used to be a branch temple of Tofuku-ji Temple nearby today.  Sometime between 1716 and 1735, Priest Denei got it independent.

The temple’s main deity is Acalanatha.  It used to have the statues of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces, and Sahasrabhuja, who has 1,000 arms.  On September 1, 1923, whole the temple was burned down due to the great fire caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake.  On May 29, 1945, the temple was burned down again by the Bombing of Yokohama.

Address: 1 Chome-2-6 Nishinakacho, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0003Phone: 045-231-6522

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Tofuku-ji Temple

     Emperor Go-Saga (1220-1272) retired in 1246, and built temples as a kind of a part of pardon.  Tofuku-ji Temple was  founded by Priest  Genshi as one of them.  Ota Dokan (1432-1486) is known to have supported the temple.  It used to be located at the seashore.  In the late 16th century, the area was intruded and robbed by the Awa Pirates many times.  So was the temple.  The temple finally was burned down in 1576.  In 1607, it moved to the present place.

     What were Awa Pirates like?  Who were they?

     Minamoto Yoriyoshi (988-1075) was born in Kawachi Province near Kyoto, fought around the Kanto Plain and even into Tohoku District, and died peacefully in Kawachi Province.  Yoriyoshi’s son, Yoshiie (1039-1106), was born in Kawachi Province, fought around the Kanto Plain, and died in Kawachi Province.  It is not known where Yoshiie’s son, Yoshikuni (1091?-1155), was born.  He fought around the Kanto Plain and died in Ashikaga County, Shimotsuke Province in the plain.  Yoshikuni’s son, Yoshishige (1114-1202), was presumably born somewhere in the plain, called his family Nitta, and died in Nitta County, Kozuke Province in the plain.  Yoshishige’s illegitimate son, Yoshitoshi (?-1170), moved to Satomi Village, Usui County, Kozuke Province in the plain, and called his family Satomi.

     12 generations later, Satomi Yoshimichi (1481?-1521?) unified Awa Province and raided Kazusa Province, which lay north to Awa Province, both in the Boso Peninsula.  It means the Satomi Clan had moved from inland provinces to the coastal one by his time.

      According to a scattering of historical documents, Satomi Yoshimichi (1481?-1521?) built Tsurugaya Hachiman-gu Shrine in Awa Province in 1508, which means that he had gained control over the province as samurai.  In 1514, he re-casted the bell for the affiliated temple of the shrine.  In 1515, he intruded Shimotsuke Province, which lay even north to Kazusa Province..

     Satomi Sanetaka (1484?-1533), Yoshimichi’s brother, attacked Shinagawa and Imazu, port towns of Edo Castle, in 1524 from the sea.  He also landed Mutsura at the root of Miura Peninsula, approached Tamanawa Castle, which lay at the north-west gateway to Kamakura, and had a battle across Tobe River near the castle.  In 1526, he intruded Kamakura again, burnt down Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine, which had been built by Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), and robbed the shrine of the treasure it had kept.  Sanetaka’s son, Yoshitaka (1507?-1574), staged a military coup, forced Yoshitoyo (?-1534), who was Yoshimichi’s son and, that is, Yoshitaka’s cousin, forced Yoshitoyo into a suicide, and usurped the headship of the clan.

      While the Satomi Clan was developing its own history, the Kanto region was plunging into another epoch under the Muromachi Shogunate.  Kanto Deputy Shogun used to be based at Kamakura.  The fourth deputy shogun, Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), turned against the central shogunate in Kyoto in 1423.  He was defeated, and his son, Shigeuji (1434-1497), got based at Koga in Shimousa Province.  The central shogunate sent Ashikaga Masatomo (1435-1491) to Kanto, appointing him as a new deputy shogun in Kanto, but he couldn’t enter Kamakura, obstructed by some powerful Kanto samurais, and got based at Horigoe in Izu Province.  That is, the Kanto deputy shogunate was divided into 2.

     In 1517, when Ashikaga Takamoto (?-1535) was Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun, his younger brother, Yoshiaki(1493?-1538), turned against Takamoto, and got based at Oyumi in Shimousa Province.  That is, the Kanto deputy shogunate got divided into 3.  Meanwhile, the Uesugi Clan, which was hereditary for the butler-ship of the Kanto Deputy Shogun, was keeping its own authority.  In short, Kanto got into a mess.  And, to make the matters worse, Ise Shinkuro (1432-1519) came from Kyoto to make a warring-states-period hero, and joined in the mess.

     In 1523, Ise Ujitsuna (1487-1541), the son of Shinkuro (1432-1519), changed his surname to Hojo.  In 1532, as Ujitsuna was joining forces with Ashikaga Takamoto, Kanto Deputy Shogun in Koga, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Kanto Deputy Shogun in Oyumi, was becoming the only choice for Satomi Yoshitoyo (?-1534) to face the Later Hojo Clan.  In 1534, however, or as a result, Satomi Yoshitaka (1507?-1574), Yoshitoyo’s cousin, launched coup d’etat against Yoshitoyo with the help of Ujitsuna.

     However, Yoshitaka was always under the pressure of Oyumi Kanto Deputy Shogun, and went over to Yoshiaki’s side.  In 1538, Oyumi and Koga Kanto Deputy Shoguns clashed against each other in Konodai.  Yoshiaki was killed in the battle, and Koga’s side won.  The biggest winner in the battle was Ujitsuna.  He made Takamoto his puppet, and grabbed the hegemony over all the southern part of Kanto but Awa Province.  The minor second winner of the battle was, ironically enough, Yoshitaka, who belonged to the loser’s side.  He could secure Awa Province at least, and could get rid of Oyumi Kanto Deputy Shogun, who had been a pain in the neck.  In the aftermath of the battle, the Later Hojo Clan and the Satomi Clan were to fight against each other head-to-head.

     By that time, the Later Hojo Clan had destroyed the Miura Clan, and organized their own sea forces.  Some of the Miura Sea Forces fled to Awa Province, and got hired by the Satomi Clan’s vassals, such as Masaki Michitsuna (1492?-1533).  Or Michitsuna himself might have been a surviving retainer of Miura’s.  Anyway, from that time on, the Izu Sea Forces of the Later Hojo Clan and the Satomi Sea Forces were to face each other head-to-head across the Edo and Sagami Bays.

      In 1539, Satomi Yoshitaka (1507?-1574) attacked Ariyoshi Castle in Kazusa Province, which was on the Later Hojo Clan’s side.  In revenge, in 1540, the Later Hojo Clan started attacking the Satomi Clan’s stronghold domain, Awa Province, with the Izu Sea Forces.  Between 1541 and 1542, Yoshitaka had to move his headquarters from Inamura Castle in Awa Province to Kururi Castle in the inland-most center of Boso Peninsula in Kazusa Province.  Did he advance into another larger province?  Or did he have to retreat his defense line from the seashore?

      In 1574, Yanada Harusuke (1524-1594), a standard-bearer of anti-Later-Hojo forces, surrendered Sekiyado Castle, which Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) had valued, “To occupy the castle is as valuable as to win one province.”  The castle was at the junction of 2 major river systems in the Kanto Plain, Tone-Watarase river system and Kinu river system, and was an important point of the water transportation in the region at that time.

     After the conquest, the Later Hojo Clan started its full-scale invasion of Boso Peninsula.  The Izu Sea Forces of the clan defeated the Satomi Sea Forces, and the Later Hojo Clan gained the naval superiority in Edo Bay.  In 1577, the Satomi Clan had to accept a peace treaty, and substantially retreated from Kazusa Province.

     Tofuku-ji Temple seems to have been caught up in the sea battles between the Later Hojo and Satomi Clans.  The Awa Pirates might have been the Satomi Sea Forces.  Or they could have been gangs of armed fishers, as there were many gangs of armed farmers across inland fields and hills in the Warring States Period.

     Now, let’s get back to the main subject, Tofuku-ji Temple.  By the beginning of the Meiji Period, the temple was deserted.  Fusejima Chikazo (1837-1901) felt sorry for that, and financially supported it.

Chikazo had been born in Yabutsuka Village, Nitta County, Kozuke Province during the Edo Period as a son of a landowner.

     In 1865, he moved to Yokohama and worked for Walsh and Company, which had been founded by American brothers, Thomas Walsh (1827-1900) and John Glia Walsh (1829-1897).  Later, as an independent successful businessman, he strived for the development of Yokohama.  He made a tunnel to get clean water in Hatsune, excavated new canals known as New-Yoshida and New-Fujimi Rivers, cut tunnels, and built bridges.  The memorial monuments for him are in Hiki Shrine in Yokohama City and in Ota City.

Address: 2 Chome-17 Akamoncho, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0034Phone: 045-231-4094

Trees in the town.

Virtual Yokohama City 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Daisho-in Temple

     Daisho-in Temple was founded by Tobe Minbu in the 1240’s in Tobe Village, Kuraki County, Musashi Province.  It used to be often the case the powerful family and the village they lived in had the same name.  At the beginning of the 19th century, Notsuke Village got independent from Tobe Village.  In the local dialect, tobe meant marsh and notsuke tip.  Originally, the temple was located in Notsuke.

In 1544, the temple burned down in a battle.  It is not recorded who fought against whom in the battle.

      In 1523, Ise Ujitsuna (1487-1541), the son of Shinkuro (1432-1519), changed his surname to Hojo.  In 1532, as Ujitsuna was joining forces with Ashikaga Takamoto (1485-1535), Kanto Deputy Shogun in Koga, his brother, Yoshiaki (?-1538), Kanto Deputy Shogun in Oyumi, chose Satomi Yoshitoyo (?-1534) for his ally.

     On July 27, 1533, Yoshitoyo killed Satomi Sanetada (1484-1533), his rival.  Sanetada’s son, Yoshitaka (1507-1574) killed Yoshitoyo next year, allying with Ujitsuna.

     However, Yoshitaka was always under the pressure of Oyumi Kanto Deputy Shogun, and rather went over to Yoshiaki’s side.  In 1538, Oyumi and Koga Kanto Deputy Shoguns clashed against each other in Konodai.  Yoshiaki was killed in the battle, and Koga’s side won.  The biggest winner in the battle was Ujitsuna.  He made Takamoto his puppet, and grabbed the hegemony over all the southern part of Kanto but Awa Province.  The minor second winner of the battle was, ironically enough, Yoshitaka, who belonged to the loser’s side.  He could secure Awa Province at least, and could get rid of Oyumi Kanto Deputy Shogun, who had been a pain in the neck.  In the aftermath of the battle, the Hojo Clan and the Satomi Clan were to fight against each other head-to-head.

     By that time, the Later Hojo Clan had destroyed the Miura Clan, and organized their own sea forces.  Some of the Miura Sea Forces fled to Awa Province, and got hired by the Satomi Clan’s vassals, such as Masaki Michitsuna (1492?-1533).  Or Michitsuna himself might have been a surviving retainer of Miura’s.  Anyway, from that time on, the Izu Sea Forces of the Hojo Clan and the Awa Sea Forces of the Satomi Clan were to face each other head-to-head across the Edo and Sagami Bays.

      In 1539, Satomi Yoshitaka (1507?-1574) attacked Ariyoshi Castle in Kazusa Province, which was on the Hojo Clan’s side.  In revenge, in 1540, the Hojo Clan started attacking the Satomi Clan’s stronghold domain, Awa Province, with the Izu Sea Forces.  Between 1541 and 1542, Yoshitaka had to move his headquarters from Inamura Castle in Awa Province to Kururi Castle in the inland-most center of Boso Peninsula in Kazusa Province.  Did he advance into another larger province?  Or did he have to retreat his defense line from the seashore?

     The battle which burned Daisho-in Temple down might have been one of the battles between the two.

     Rinko-ji Temple gave out a piece of land at the present place, Yamamoto Daizen supported financially, and Priest Shugan rebuilt it by 1555.  It evacuated from the sea shore to avert the attack or the piracy by the Awa Sea Forces.  With the sea forces, the Satomi Clan was known as a pirate warlord.

     Priest Shusei revived it in the middle of the 17th century, when the danka system was being established by the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Under the system, the Tokugawa Clan made the affiliation with a Buddhist temple compulsory to all citizens.

     It was recorded that the temple used to have a bamboo statue of Avalokitesvar, which burned down in the fire.

     A temple usually has a mountain name, a dwelling name, and a temple name, and is usually mentioned with its temple name.   A branch temple in a big temple is usually called with a dwelling name.  Daisho-in is a dwelling name, and Hosen-ji a temple name.  The history of the temple might have had something to do with the twisted naming.

Address: 5-20 Motokubocho, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0063
Phone: 045-231-3207

Virtual Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Yokohama #33 Hosho-ji Temple

     It is unknown when Hosho-ji Temple was founded.  The temple belongs to the Caodong Sect of Chan Buddhism.

     The temple yard has a stone monument which lists the 33 member temples of Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  It was Priest Soun and Priest Choan in Hosho-ji Temple, #33 temple of Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage today, and  Priest Tenyo in Senkoku-ji Temple, #1 temple today, who organized Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1732. 

     The statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces, is located in the cemetery nearby.

     So, I have virtually walked up Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the 4th Kannon pilgrimage ever in my life, including actually going on Fukuhara 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Kobe.

Address: 2035-1 Naracho, Aoba Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0036Phone: 045-961-7735

Trees in the town.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Yokohama #32 Tokai-ji Temple

     In the first half of the 8th century, Gyoki (668-749) visited the area, carved a statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, and built a hermitage to enshrine it.  The temple still keeps the small knife Gyoki used to carve the statue.

     At the turn of the 9th century, Priest Kaien made it Tokan-ji Temple.  Later, it became out of practice once.  Priest Seikai asked for the re-foundation of the temple in 1543, and Kasahara Nobutame (?-1557), the deputy lord of the Kozukue Castle, supported it, with his Buddhist memorial tablet left in the temple.  When Priest Giin (?-1652) revived the temple, Kasahara Nobuyasu and Hasegawa Tamehisa supported it with their own money.  It is unrecorded who Nobuyasu and Tamehisa were.  Probably the descendants of Nobutame.

     Nobutame’s son, Yasukatsu was killed in the battle when Takeda Katsuyori (1546-1582) attacked the Later Hojo Clan in 1569.  Yasukatsu’s son, Terushige was killed in the Battle of the Tokura Castle in 1581.  In the battle, Kasahara Masaharu (?-1590) went over to Takeda Katsuyori, so it is unknown by which side Terushige was killed.  Masaharu went over to the Later Hojo Clan again after Katsuyori was killed by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) in1582.  When Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked the Later Hojo Clan in 1590, Masaharu tried to go over to Hideyoshi but was killed by Hojo Ujinao (1562-1591), with the betrayal uncovered.

     Terushige’s son, Shigemasa was hired by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) after the downfall of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590.  In 1591, his ownership of Dai Village, Tsuzuki County, Musashi Province was approved, and his descendants became a hatamoto, a direct retainer of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  As Nobuyasu’s yasu used the same Chinese character with Ieyasu’s yasu, he might have lived in Ieyasu’s days.

     The main deity of Tokan-ji Temple is the statue of Acalanatha, known as the Immovable Wisdom King in East Asia.  What did the Immovable Wisdom King think, witnessing Masaharu’s moves?

Address: 1 Chome-21-1 Higashihongo, Midori Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-0002Phone: 045-471-9237

Trees in the town.

Virtual Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Yokohama #31 Hoto-in Temple

     Hoto-in Temple is said to have been founded in the Muromachi Period (1336-1573).  They had many wars, battles, and fights during the period.  Some hermitages were built to confine too-young-to-kill boys in them.  In the 17th century, under the Pax Tokugawa, the economy boomed, and some of the hermitages were converted into real temples.  Hoto-in Temple was converted into a real temple in 1710’s by Priest Yuen.  The Kannon-do Hall might have been in the precincts before Yuen built other buildings.  The hall has, interestingly enough, not only the Arya Avalokitesvar statue but also the Bhaisajyaguru statue.  Kozue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is also called Zodical Rat Year 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  The Arya Avalokitesvar statue is displayed to the public every 12 years, in the Year of Rat.   The Bhaisajyaguru statue is displayed to the public every 12 years, in the Year of Tiger. 2020 is the Year of Rat and 2022 is the Year of Tiger.  With the other 24 temples which have Bhaisajyaguru statues, the temple also constitutes Buso 25 Yakushinyorai (=Bhaisajyaguru) Pilgrimage.  The pilgrimage name Buso is the contraction of Bushu and Soshu.  And Bushu is the contraction of Musashi Province, and Soshu is that of Sagami Province.

Address: 2 Chome-35-12 Hakusan, Midori Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-0006Phone: 045-931-2809