Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Hokke-do Temple

 

     Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, enshrined his guardian Buddhist image, the Amitabha statue, in Hokke-do Temple.  After his death on January 13, 1199, his body was buried in the temple, presumably under the temple.  The Buddhist ceremony for the first anniversary of his death was held in the temple.

     On May 2, 1217, when the Wada Family, led by Wada Yoshimori (1147-1213), attacked the palace of Minamoto Sanetomo (1192-1219), the third shogun, Sanetomo escaped to Hokke-do Temple.

     On June 5, 1247, when Miura Yasumura (1184-1247) lost to the Hojo Clan, he and 500 of his family members, relatives, and followers committed suicide in the temple.

     In 1872, the temple was abolished due to the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order of 1868.  The statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, was moved to Raigo-ji Temple nearby.  Whose wished had the chintamani fulfilled?

Address: 2 Chome-5-7 Nishimikado, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0004

Phone: 0467-61-3848  

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Kozo-ji Templ

 

     It is unknown when Kozo-ji Temple was founded, but it was merged with Hoshin-in Temple, which had been founded in 1473, to make Shohei-ji Temple in 1907.  Kozo-ji Temple is supposed to have been founded earlier than Hoshin-in Temple.

     Kotsubo Branch of Horiuchi Elementary School was opened in the precincts in 1871.  The branch got independent as Kotsubo Elementary School in 1875, and moved out of the precincts in 1898.

Shohei-ji Temple

Address: 5 Chome−4−15 Kotsubo, Zushi, Kanagawa 249-0008

Phone: 0467-23-1771

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Hoshin-in Temple

 

     Hoshin-in Temple was founded in 1473, and burned down in 1907.  The fire also burned down Kozo-ji Temple, which had been founded far before the foundation of Hoshin-in Temple.  Priest Gyonen merged the two and named the new temple Shohei-ji.

Shohei-ji Temple has the statue of Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvar with a sea bream in his right hand.

     Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvar is #10 manifestation of Avalokitesvar among the 33 manifestations that Tosa Hidenobu (?-?) listed.

     Tosa Hidenobu published Butsuzo-zui (Illustrated Compendium of Buddhist Images) in 1783.  In the compendium, he listed 33 popular subjects of Buddhism Avalokitesvara drawings and paintings: #1 Holding-Willow-Spray Avalokitesvar, #2 Naga Avalokitesvar, #3 Holding-Buddhism-Scripture Avalokitesvar, #4 Halo Avalokitesvar, #5 Sitting-on-Cloud Avalokitesvar, #6 Pandara Vasini Avalokitesvar, #7 Sitting-on-Lotus-Leaf Avalokitesvar, #8 Looking-at-Cascade Avalokitesvar, #9 Listening-to-Stream Avalokitesvar, #10 Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvar, #11 Brahman (Virtuous-Lord) Avalokitesvar, #12 Looking-at-Reflected-Moon Avalokitesvar, #13 Sitting-on-Leaf Avalokitesvar, #14 Blue-Head Avalokitesvar, #15 Great-Commander Avalokitesvar, #16 Life-Prolonging Avalokitesvar, #17 Relief-from-Ruination Avalokitesvar, #18 In-Cave-with-Venom Avalokitesvar, #19 Wave-Reduction Avalokitesvar, #20 Anavatapta Avalokitesvar, #21 One-Knee-Drawn-Up Avalokitesvar, #22 Leaf-Robe Avalokitesvar, #23 Holding-Lapis-Lazuli-Censer Avalokitesvar, #24 Tara Avalokitesvar, #25 Sit-in-in-Clam Avalokitesvar, #26 Twenty-Four-Hour Avalokitesvar, #27 Universal-Benevolence Avalokitesvar, #28 Celestial Beauty Avalokitesvar, #29 Brahmani Avalokitesvar, who put palms together, #30 Controlling-Thunderbolt Avalokitesvar, #31 Peaceful-Vajrapani Avalokitesvar, #32 Holding-Lotus-Flower Avalokitesvar, and #33 Sprinkling-Purified-Water Avalokitesvar.  Some subjects came directly from Lotus Supra Chapter XXV, some were based on folklore in China, and others were created in Japan.  He put stronger emphasis on the number 33, and might have ramified a couple of subjects to increase the number to 33.  He also might have considered the 33 subjects to be artistically more meaningful manifestations of Avalokitesvara than those from Lotus Sutra, at least in Japan.

Shohei-ji Temple

Address: 5 Chome-4-15 Kotsubo, Zushi, Kanagawa 249-0008

Phone: 0467-23-1771

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Shokaku-ji Temple

 

     Ryochu (1199-1287) started spreading “nembutsu”, chanting the name of Buddha, in 1240, based at Nenna-do Cave in Sumiyoshi-dani Valley, where Shokaku-ji Temple is located today.  After Hojo Tsunetoki (1224-1246) became the 4th Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1242, he supported Ryochu’s propagation.  The temple’s first name used to be Goshin-ji, but it is unknown whether it had been called so before Ryochu’s days, or was named so during his stay there, or after his death, commemorating him.  Anyway, he was cremated in the valley.

     Later, Yuso (1426-1509) stayed in the cave to train himself.  It seems the temple was still called Goshin-ji during his stay.

     Miura Yoshiatsu (1451-1516) used to have Sumiyoshi Castle on the hills behind the temple.  In 1512, Ise Shinkuro (1456-1519) seized the castle, and the temple was burned down in the battle.

     In 1541, Kaiyo rebuilt the temple and renamed it Shokaku-ji.

Address: 5 Chome-12-2 Kotsubo, Zushi, Kanagawa 249-0008

Phone: 0467-22-7204

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Kaizo-ji Temple

     On March 24, 1185, Fujiwara Kagekiyo (?-1196) was fighting in the Battle of Dan-no-ura,belonging to the camp of the Taira Clan.  In the battle, the Taira Clan was destroyed by the Minamoto Clan.

     On March 2nd, 1195, the Buddhist ceremony commemorating the completion of Todai-ji Temple,Nara, was held.  Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, took part in the ceremony from Kamakura.  Kagekiyo seized the opportunity and tried to assassinate Yoritomo.  Kagekiyo was captured and was confined in a cave near Kewai Cutting, Kamakura.  He is said to have starved to death.  His daughter, Hitomaru, built Koyo-an Hermitage by the cave and enshrined his guardian deity, the statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces.

     At the precincts of the hermitage, a temple was built.  The temple declined, and another temple was founded by Fujiwara Nakayoshi in 1253 by the order of Prince Munetaka (1242-1274), the 6th shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate.  The temple burned down when Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338) intruded into Kamakura through Kewai Cutting to overthrow the shogunate.  In 1394, Uesugi Ujisada (1374-1416) founded Kaizo-ji Temple in the precincts by the order of Ashikaga Ujimitsu (1359-1398), the second Kanto Deputy Shogun under the Muromachi Shogunate.

Address: 4 Chome-18-8 Ogigayatsu, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0011

Phone: 0467-22-3175

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Shogan-ji Temple

      Nothing is known about Shogan-ji Temple.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Keko-in Temple

 

     Keko-in Temple was presumably abolished due to the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868 and because of the movement to abolish Buddhism and to destroy Buddhist images at the beginning of Meiji Period.

     It is said that the status as #2 temple of Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was handed over to Jufuku-ji Temple.  But it is unknown whether Jufuku-ji Temple has inherited the Avalokitesvara statue Keko-in Temple had.

Jufuku-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome−17−7 Ogigayatsu, Kamakura, Kanagawa 248-0011

Phone: 0467-22-6607

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Shin-Seisui-ji Temple

     Shin-Seisui-ji Temple, or New Seisui-ji Temple, was founded by Hojo Masako (1157-1225), who embraced Kiyomizu-dera Temple, whose Chinese-style pronunciation can be Seisui-ji.

     On January 12, 1258, a big fire in Kamakura burned down the temple, and its main deity, the iron Arya Avalokitesvara statue, got missing.  Years later, the iron statue was dug out from a well nearby.  Probably, a monk or two threw the statue in the well to shelter the statue from the fire.  They built a shrine for it near the well.  Due to the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, the shrine was abolished, and the iron statue was moved to O-Kannon-ji Temple in Tokyo.

Yukinoshita, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture 248-0005

Okannon-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-18-9 Nihonbashiningyocho, Chuo City, Tokyo 103-0013

Phone: 03-3667-7989

Virtual Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

      Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized in Kamakura County in the Edo Period.  Due to the movement to abolish Buddhism early in the Meiji Period, some member temples were abolished and the old pilgrimage declined during the period.  In the Taisho Period, New Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized within Kamakura City.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #34 Takimoto-Kannon-do Temple

 

     Why the 34th?  Did they copy Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage instead of Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage or Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage?  No information on it has survived the waves of the history.

     There used to be Chotoku-ji Temple in Furuhata.  In 1232, when Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized by Priest Jihi, its statue of Sahasrabhuja, who has 1,000 arms, was included.  The building for the statue came to be called Takimoto-do.  In 1522, Kasuya Iedane revived the temple.

     The Kasuya Family was started by Fujiwara Motokata, one of the sons of Yoshikata, who became Senior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade, the 11th in the Japanese court ranks, in 853.

     Motokata moved to Kasuya Manor, Osumi County, Sagami Province.  The main members of the family were all killed in Jokyu War in 1221.

Address: 1718 Hiratsuka, Kamogawa, Chiba 296-0232

Phone: 04-7098-0178

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Kannon-in Temple

 

     Kannon-in Temple has the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, which is always hidden.  Instead, it has a display statue.  Bothe the statues are supposed to have been carved in the 9-12th century.

Address: 372 Nishinagata, Tateyama, Chiba 294-0027

Phone: 0470-23-7289

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Koami-ji Temple

 

     Tradition has it that Koami-ji Temple was founded in 710 by Gyoki (668-749).  At the age of 12?  Unbelievable.

Many priests and monks, including Roben (689-774), Kukai (774-835), and   Ennin (794-864), practiced Vajrayana in the precincts.  In 1286, Mononobe Kunimitsu casted a Buddhist temple bell for the temple.  The Mononobe Family, whose business was casting and molding, used to be based in Tannan County, Kawachi Province.  When the Great Buddha of Kamakura was made in 1252, they moved to there, and resided in the Mori Manor in Sagami Province after the construction.

     The temple declined once, but was revived in 1475 by Priest Soshu, supported by Satomi Yoshizane (1412-1488), who was the founder of the Satomi Clan in Awa Province.

     In the hill to the north of the temple, there lie 2 caves, which presumably used to be the Cave of the Ancestors, cave graves of the ancient local people.

Address: 859 Idenoo, Tateyama, Chiba 294-0026

Phone: 0470-23-7226

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Chofuku-ji Temple

 

     In 725, Gyoki carved the statue of Sahasrabhuja, who has 1,000 arms, and enshrined it on Bokkedai Hill.  The statue has been Called Tateyama Kannon.

     The building for the statue survived the 1616, 1633, and 1703 Earthquakes.  But the statue was finally moved to Chofuku-ji Temple after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.

     When people outside Awa Province, especially those from Edo, went on Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, they used to visit Chofuku-ji Temple last and sailed out of Numa Port to leave the province.

Address: 928 Tateyama, Chiba 294-0036

Phone: 0470-22-1981

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Kannon-ji Temple

    

     Kannon-ji Temple was founded in 717. Tradition has it that an earthquake hit the area and dried a pond.  The guardian snake of the pond brought a disaster to the area.  The snake was eliminated by En Ozuno (634-701).

     The precincts has a cave in which the stone statue of Ozuno is enshrined.

     In the Eight Dog Chronicles, Tale of Eight Dogs, or Biographies of Eight Dogs by Kyokutei Bakin (1767-1848), it was out of the cave that En Ozuno emerged in front of Fuse Hime, and he gave her a Buddhist rosary with the Chinese characters for Humanity, Justice, Courtesy, Intellect, Loyalty, Trust, Faithfulness, and Observance.  The precincts even has the Vajira Spring, which was gushed by Ozuno with his psychic power.

     The temple used to be the shrine temple of Suzaki Shrine nearby.

     The precincts also has a colony of Japanese silver grass, whose first blade was believed to have been planted by Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) when he escaped from Izu Province after he had raised his first army in failure.

Address: 1331 Sunosaki, Tateyama, Chiba 294-0316

Phone: 0470-29-0833

Trees in the town.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Konren-in Temple

 

     Konren-in Temple has the Hishaku-zuka Mound.  Hishaku literally means flying staff.

     Long time ago, a priest visited the area from Izu Province.  A big black dog appeared in front of him, bit his garb and wouldn’t let him go.  The priest let the dog lead him, and arrived at the mound.  It madly barked with joy and was uncontrollable for the priest.  As he wielded his staff, the 6 rings of it dispersed and the dog disappeared.  The priest built a hermitage and enshrined the statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces.

On the top of the mound, Chinji-ishi Stone had been enshrined, which had been brought from the Palace of Dragon King.

     Konren-in Temple was founded later in 1232.

     Hishaku-zuka Mound became very popular at the beginning of the 18th century, and people drew a Chinese character from a sutra on a stone.  The sutra was accomplished in 2 decades with 19,500 stones and was buried in the middle of the mound. 

Address: 379 Inuishi, Tateyama, Chiba 294-0226

Phone: 0470-28-0159

Trees in the town.

Trees in the town.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Matsunoo-ji Temple

 

     The Kyotoku War lasted for 28 years from 1454 till 1482.  During the war, 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, Ashikaga Masatomo (1435-1491), 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 in the Kanto Region.  On October 14, 1459, the 2 camps had a big battle in Ota Manor, Musashi Province. That was the start of the Warring States Period in the region.

     The Warring States Period was also the world where people once deemed low-ranked take the upper hand of the high-ranked people.  The Kanamari County had been governed by the Kanamari Family.  But, presumably sometime during the Kyotoku War, Kanamari Kagesada was cornered into a suicide by his vassal, Yamamoto Sadakane.  But soon Sadakane was killed by the Maru and Anzai Families.  2 Years after Kagesada’s death, the county people built a hall to chant prayers for him and his family on Iwasaki Terrace, and had the Arya Avalokitesvara statue carved.  The hall was named Manpuku-ji in 1448, and was later renamed Matsunoo-ji.

     Matsunoo-ji Temple fell down along with the other 2 temples, Raigo-in and Anraku-in, in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.  The Buddhist images which survived the earthquake were moved to Jisho-in Temple, which still has the Cave of the Ancestors, the cave grave for the ancestors of the Kanamari Family.

Address: 4612 Kanamari, Tateyama, Chiba, 294-0023

Phone: 0470-28-0644

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Sumiyoshi-dera Temple

 

     The hill on which Sumiyoshi-dera Temple is located used to be an isle, Nakajima Isle.  Worshippers had to sail across the sea.  On December 31, 1703, the Genroku Great Earthquake hit the Kanto area.  As the isle was near the epicenter, the seabed upheaved and the isle became a hill.  Even today, there is still a post to which they used to moor a boat at the foot of the hill to the temple.

     Another unique point of the temple is that it enshrines the mahasthamaprapta statue which was netted by a fisherman in the 19th century.  The modern capture of a Buddhist image demonstrated the ancient emergence of Buddhist images from the sea was not groundless.

     The statue is called Nintosanya-son.  Nintosanya literally means the 23rd night of the month on the lunar calendar.  It used to be believed that all your sins ceased to exist if you worship mahasthamaprapta on the night.

Address: 1353 Chikuracho Minamiasai, Minamiboso, Chiba 295-0012

Phone: 0470-44-1865

Trees in the town.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Komatsu-ji Temple

 

       Mt. Komatsu used to be a holy place for the local mountain worship.  En no Ozuno (634-707) built a hermitage there at the turn of the 8th century.  In 718, a 3.24-square-meter hall was built, and was named Komatsu-ji Temple.  In 831, Ennin  (794-864) rebuilt the hall, added a pagoda, and enshrined the guardian god of the Tiantai School of Buddhism.

In the 8th century, a fire left the temple in ruins for decades.  In 920, Komatsu Masakazu reconstructed the temple.  

     Komatsu-ji Temple has the Seven Wonders: the Rain under the Clear Skies, the Bell under the Ground, the Sutra Recitation on a Dark Night, a Tengu to Fly About, Halved Star Anise Leaves, the Rainbow-Colored Deep Pool, and the Waterfall of Otoo.

     On February 15, 921, the celebration the rebuilding Koamtsu-ji Temple was held, and Masakazu's son, Chiyowaka-maru performed child dances as a part of the celebration.  All fo a sudden, the buildings shook and a tengu emerged.  It grabbed the young boy and flew north.  One of Masakazu’s vassals, Igarashi Saemon, recognized it as a tengu from Mt. Iyo, and rushed to the mountain on his horse, only to find the body of the boy.  Otoo, presumably Chiyowaka-maru’s foster brother, threw himself into the waterfall near Komatsu-ji Temple.

From that day on, every year on February 15, it rained however fine skies there were.

     After the incident, the priest of the temple Invited Izuna Gongen, the manifestation of buddha which is often depicted as the form of crow tengu holding a sword and a rope and riding on a white fox.  After the invitation, tengu in the mountain stopped evil deeds.  However, it is said that we can recognize the shadows and sounds of flying tengu in the woods even today.

Now, we have covered 3 out of 7 wonders, though I don’t know why the Waterfall of Otoo can be a wonder.

     The fourth wonder is about the first Buddhist bell of the temple.  One day, a landslide hit the temple and washed the bell away.  One of the two Deva Kings at the temple gate stretched his arm and grabbed the bell.  But the landslide was more powerful than his muscles and carried the bel down together with his arm.  The bell and the arm was buried under the earth and sand of the lower reaches of Seto River.  Since then, whenever it rained hard and the river overflowed, the bell rang from the depth of the river, “I miss Komatsu.  Ding-dong.  Ding-dong.”  You ask me what the arm said?  I have no idea.

     The fifth wonder is that you can hear the sounds of reading sutra aloud under the floor of the main hall in the middle of the nigh.

     When En Ozuno (634-701) was training himself in the main hall, he had a routine of halving a leaf of a Japanese star anise and putting it in front of Buddha.  Since then, the anise tree in the precincts came to have halved leaves only.  The tree burned down in a fire, and another tree with spotted leaves was planted instead.  That is the sixth wonder.

     The seventh and last wonder is that the river in front of the temple shows seven colors.

     In may, 1790, the grave of Otoo was built by Ando Ikuemon.  In April, 1997, it was actually found on the top of Mt. Komatsuji.

     The Buddhist bell in the temple was donated in 1374 to mourn the death of Chiyowakamaru.

     Yet, it is unknown whether Chiyowakamaru and Otoo actually existed or were legendary.

Address: 1057 Chikuracho Onuki, Minamiboso, Chiba 295-0013

Phone: 0470-44-2502

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Mano-ji Temple

Mano-ji Temple was founded by Gyoki on the top of Mt. Takakura in 725.

     Its main deity, the Avalokitesvara statue, worked wonders seriously at first.  If you had anything little to feel guilty about, you were punished.  All the villagers became afraid of the wonders, and nobody visited the temple.  In 860, Ennin (794-864) visited the temple, heard of the story, saw the villagers having suffered a lot of calamities, felt pity for the people, and carved a mask to cover the face of the statue.  Since then, the Avalokitesvara statue became very merciful and lenient.   Although the statue is exhibited to the public annually on November 23, its face has never become open.

     During Ennin was making prayers in the temple day and night, Mahakala appeared from the cloud in the east on lunar-calendar January 6.  He carved a Mahakala statue promptly.  The temple still hold a festival for Mahakala on solar-calendar February 6.

     The temple burned down in 1206, and was rebuilt by Hojo Yoshitoki (1163-1224) in the present place.

Address: 587 Kubo, Minamiboso, Chiba 299-2524

Phone: 0470-46-2590

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Enmei-ji Temple

 

     Enmei-ji Temple was founded by Satomi Sanetaka (1484-1533) in 1510.  He invited Priest Bontei (?-1558), who was from Kozuke Province.  The hill at the back of the temple has the graves of Satomi Sanetaka, Yoshitaka (1507-1574), and Yoshihiro (1530-1578), whose romance with Priestess Shogaku is famous.

      When the Satomi Clan was building up its hegemony in Awa Province, the Kanto region at large was plunging into another epoch under the Muromachi Shogunate.  Kanto Deputy Shogun used to be based at Kamakura.  The fourth Kanto 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, changed his surname to Hojo (known as Later 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 together.  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 Hojo 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.

     After Ashikaga Yoshiaki and his first son, Yoshizumi (?-1538), were killed in the battle, his younger children flew to Awa Province, counting on the protection of Satomi Yoshitaka.  It was during those days that Yoshitaka’s first son, Yoshihiro (1530-1578), and Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s first daughter met.  Later, however, Yoshiaki's second and third sons were sent to Sekido-ji Temple in Kazusa Province and his 3 daughters were sent to Taihei-ji Temple in Kamakura.  It means they became under the patronage, or the supervision, of the Later Hojo Clan.

     At the age of 8 or 9, Satomi Yoshihiro was determined.

     After coming of age, Yoshihiro kept fighting fiercely and aggressively against the Later Hojo Clan.  He continued fighting for some 18 years.  Finally, in 1556, he succeeded in intruding into Kamakura temporarily.  He saw Ashikaga Yoshiaki’s first daughter, who was Nun Shogaku (?-1576?) at the time.  She had been determined too.  With her noble bloodline as a young lady of the Ashikaga Clan, the shogunate clan, she could have got married with a son of a powerful family as her younger sister did.  The younger sister got married to Uesugi Norihiro (?-1551), the Butler or Regent of Kanto Deputy Shogun.  Instead, Shogaku turned a nun in Taihei-ji Temple, and had waited for nearly 2 decades.  Yoshihiro was 26 years old.  She might have been older than him.  Yoshihiro asked Nun Shogaku to come back to Awa Province, and she accepted his proposal.  Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571), the then head of the Later Hojo Clan, criticized their attempt “incomprehensible” but all he could do was to destroy Taihei-ji Temple.

     Yoshihiro married her as his lawful wife.  You might wonder why his samurais supported his romantic but rather selfish motivation.  He realized the largest territory for them.  Not bad in the Warring States Period.

     Some Yoshihiro’s samurais had their own motivation to advance to Kamakura at the groin of the Miura Peninsula.  By that time Ashikaga Yoshiaki was killed, the 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 Satomi Sea Forces were to face each other head-to-head across the Edo and Sagami Bays.  

It was the Satomi Sea Forces that occupied Jogashima Island at the tip of the Miura Peninsula to make it an advanced base to intrude into Kamakura by sea.  They also let Nun Shogaku sail across the Uraga Channel to Awa Province safely.  Seeing their spectacular performance, all Hojo Ujiyasu could do was complaining and destroying a temple in his own territory for revenge.

     For the descendants of the Miura Sea Forces, fighting back into the Miura Peninsula was not just homesickness.  They showed that they were the most powerful sea forces in Kanto.

     Later, however, presumably after her death, Yoshihiro accepted  a peace treaty with the Later Hojo Clan.  He had lost his fierce and aggressive motivation to fight against the Later Hojo Clan.  Hojo Ujiyasu also might have found the treaty comprehensible.

     Enmei-ji Temple has itabi in its precincts.

     Itabi is a type of a stone monument or a Japanese pagoda.  It has the flattened-shape body with a flat triangular-or-pyramidal-shape top, and is supposed to have been used as a stone grave monument, a pagoda, or a stupa for remembrance.  The pagoda body can include images (tengai decoration, flower vases, censer, candlestick), sanskrit characters in a circle above a lotus decoration, poetic and religious texts, the commemoration date, zodiac signs and information about the builder and the reason for the creation of the itabi.  The itabi is placed directly in the ground or on a platform.

     Itabi were used in medieval Buddhism from the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) to the early Edo Period (1603-1868), or from the early 13th century to the 17th century.  There are many itabi in the Kanto region, and they spread to other parts of Japan as the Kanto samurais were dispatched to those places to strengthen the power of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     The itabi in Enmei-ji Temple is 126 centimeters tall and 32 centimeters wide.  The top has the tengai decoration with the Sanskrit letters Hilih, Sa, and Sah, which imply Amitabha, Arya Avalokitesvara, and Mahasthamaprapta respectively.  It is made of green schist, and is the southernmost green-schist one in the Boso Peninsula.  As that type of itabi were popular in Musashi Province, some samurais might have made their way to Awa Province from there. 

Address: 2014-1 Motoori, Minamiboso, Chiba 294-0822

Phone: 0470-36-2166

Trees in the town.

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Hoju-in Temple

 

     Hoju-in Temple was founded as Jitsujo-in in 1404 by Priest Yukai, who was offered the abhiseka ritual in Shingon Buddhism in 1428.  In February, 1429, Nakayama Sadachika (?-1459) received the information that Yukai wanted to be ranked as risshi, the third highest rank among Buddhist priests and monks.  Sadachika reported the information to Emperor Go-Hanazono (1419-1471), and the conferment letter was issued.

     However, Yukai turned out to be dead.  After the abhiseka ritual, he had visited Musashi Province for the further esoteric practice, and had died there.  After his death, he often appeared in the dreams of his acquaintances, lamenting that he was at a loss at the bank of the Sanzu River, the border river between this and the other worlds, without any Buddhist rank.  People applied for risshi rank by proxy for the late Priest Yukai.

     Later, when Priest Yuden, Yukai’s successor, was going to draw water from a well, the water surface showed the letters “ho", treasure, and “ju", ball. And he renamed the temple Hoju-in.

     The well is still in front of the main hall, and called Akai, or the Aka Well.  Aka in Japanese is Argha in Sanskrit.  Argha is oblation water, which is delivered to the Buddhist images.

     The statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces, had been carved by Jokai in 1307 and was enshrined in Saiko-in Temple, which Yuden’s mother, Priestess Myoko, founded.  Or, finically speaking, both the temples were actually built by Yuden’s father, or Myoko’s husband, whose name wasn’t recorded.  He was very religious, or he might have had a good reason to build a sanatorium for his son.  His dedication worked.  The temple was approved the fields, which brought $8,000-worth income to his son.  How many hallucinations did the son have?

Address: 687 Fuchu, Minamiboso, Chiba 294-0823

Phone: 0470-36-2581  

Trees in the town.

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Kanshu-in Temple

     

     Awa Province was located at the southern tip of the Boso Peninsula, and had mountains and seas with a few flatlands.  Mountain people regarded some mountains holy.  Later, their mountain worship was amalgamated with a newly imported worship, the belief in Avalokitesvar, and the amalgamation was often related with Gyoki (668-749), sometimes even without grounds.

     On Mt. Ryogai, a statue of Sahasrabhuja, who has 1,000 arms, was installed.  The statue came to be believed to have carved by Gyoki, and was enshrined in a hermitage at the top of the mountain.  The temple was named Kanshu-in at the turn of the 18th century, and moved to the present place by Priest Eiga in 1752.

Kanshu-in Temple has enshrined the Sahasrabhuja statue.

Address: 35 Kamihori, Minamiboso, Chiba 294-0825

Phone: 0470-36-2679

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Chiko-ji Temple

     There used to be Komyo-ji Temple on the top of Mt. Migori.  Migori literally means 3 counties.  And Mt. Migori stands at the border of Nagasa, Amaha, and Sue Counties.  The temple was moved to Mt. Kannon at the beginning of the 17th century.  In 1694, Priest Chisetsu moved it again to the precincts of Chiko-ji Temple.

Address: 1370 Yamana, Minamiboso, Chiba 294-0802

Phone: 0470-36-3624

Virtual Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Ishido-ji Temple

      Ashoka collected seven out of the eight relics of Gautama Buddha, and had their portions kept in 84,000 boxes made of gold, silver, cat's eye, and crystal. He ordered the construction of 84,000 stupas throughout the earth, in towns that had a population of 100,000 or more.

Somehow or others, Priests Keimei and Tosho brought one of the 84,000 stupas here in 708, and built a hermitage.  In 726, Gyoki (668-749) visited the hermitage, carved the statue of Ekadasamukha, who has 11 faces, for it, built a hall, and made it a temple.  In 851, Ennin (794-864) visited the temple, and built other temple buildings.

     In 1487, all the temple buildings were burned down due to the fire caused by burglars.  Buildings were rebuilt in 1513, supported by the Maru Family, who were ruling the area,  and the Satomi Clan, who were ruling Awa Province.

     Who were the Maru Family? They developed the Maru Manor at the southeast corner of the Boso Peninsula.

     Since the end of the 8th century till the end of the 12th century, the governance by the central government loosened and local powerful families stretched themselves financially, politically, and, above all, militarily, to become samurais.

     The southernmost tip of Awa Province, or the Boso Peninsula at large, is Cape Nojima.  If you sailed westward from the cape, you would sail into the Edo Bay.  If you sailed eastward, you would sail past the Maru Manor, past a saw-toothed coastline, past a 60-kilometer-long sandy beach, past Cape Inubo, and reached Katori and Kashima Shrines, which had been built as advanced bases in the Ancient Times by the then Royal Family to invade the Kanto Plain and the Tohoku District.  The Maru Manor was located at a good position to control the sea lane.  And those traders sailed past the area need the help of the locals too.  There ran and even today runs the Black Current.

     The widely-known written records of the Black Current can date back only to the 18th century.

     During the Edo Period, with Pax Tokugawa established, the economy grew slowly but almost steadily.  The cultural level of the ordinary people was getting higher.  Even commoners could enjoy traveling.  The enthusiasm coupled with the higher literacy rate of commonalty brought the publication of guidebooks and travel essays flourishing.  We can find a couple of comments on the Black Current there.

     Furukawa Shoken (1726-1807) was a geographer in the latter half of the Edo Period.  He compiled topographies based on his own observation, and also integrated information based on hearsay into memorandums.  “The Memorandum of Hachijo” was a latter case, and was about the Izu Islands including Hachijo Island.  The memorandum was published in 1794, and he mentioned the Black Current in it.

     “The Black Current looks as if an ink stone were rubbed on the surface of the sea.  As hundreds of swirls are mysteriously flowing past, whoever sees the current feels just dazzled.”

     Tachibana Nankei (1753-1805) was a doctor of Chinese medicine in Kyoto, and made rounds of visits to various parts of Japan intermittently from 1782 to 1788.  He published travel essays from 1795 to 1798, which would be collectively called “Journey to the East and to the West” later.  In one of the essays, he recorded a scratch of hearsay information on the Black Current.

     “They say that about 5.5 hundred kilometers off the Izu Peninsula, there are desert islands in the south.  The sea around the islands is called the Black Current.  The current is tens of kilometers wide, and runs like a large river, raging and rolling.

     “Furthermore, if you sail out southeast off Awa and Kazusa Provinces too far, you are washed away east and shall never come back, as the current turns eastward away from our islands.”

     Without the help by the local sea people, those traders who sailed past Awa Province eastward might have got lost wide in the Pacific Ocean, only to wait for their death without water and food.

     The Maru Manor was first recorded to have been “given” to Minamoto Yoriyoshi (988-1075) by the central government for his achievement in the Former Nine Years’ War (1051-1062).  That meant for the Maru Family that the manor was authorized by the central government for tax exemption and immunity.

     When the direct descendant of Yoriyoshi, Yoritomo (1147-1199), was defeated in the Battle of Ishibashiyama, he flew to Awa Province and visited the manor, praying to the god of Ise Shrine for his victory.  After he defeated the Taira Clan, he presented the manor to the shrine.  As a holy manor, the Maru Family kept enjoying tax exemption and immunity.

     Good thing didn’t last for the Maru Family.  During the Warring States Period (1467-1615), other powerful families, or then samurais, such as the Sanada and Masaki Families, broke into the area.  Today, only Maru Yoshihiro (1989- ), a famous slugger, is lingering the fame of the family name.

Address: 302 Ishido, Minamiboso, Chiba 299-2503

Phone: 0470-46-2218