I have virtually walked up Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, and am going eastward to the other side of the Miura Peninsula, to Kanesawa, virtually of course. Kamakura used to be the political capital of the samurai, and Kanesawa used to be a school zone or even somewhat of an academic capital for them. I'm feeling a little bit excited about what I will see there.
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage
The Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage had been organized by 1755. As its name suggests, it might have copied the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage instead of the Saigoku or Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.
In 1748, 1749, and 1750 alone, there were 41 peasant uprisings in 17 provinces. The uprisings had 4 characteristics in common. First, each uprising was organized domain-wide. Second, local administrators were targeted, and some of them committed harakiri suicides or died of illness. Third, village heads were also targeted. Fourth, they broke out not only in daimyo domains but also in shogunate domains. These 4 features suggest that class differentiation was progressing in villages, and that not only the daimyos but also the shogunate were in fiscal crises. That is, the patrimonialism which had been reinforced by Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), who was ironically praised as the restorer of the Tokugawa Shogunate, was in bankruptcy. To cope with the crises and the failure of patrimonialism, mercantilism was going to be introduced in the middle of the 18th century. That kind of social unsteadiness might have had people look to Avalokitesvara.
We also have to talk about the Kanesawa Family and its Kanesawa Bunko, or Kanesawa Library. The family was a branch of the Hojo Clan, and they called themselves Hojo until the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate.
Kanesawa Sanetoki (1224-1276) studied the Myogyo Discipline, one of the disciplines under the ancient Daigaku-ryo system, the ancient Imperial university in Japan. The head of the discipline was succeeded by the head of the Kiyohara Family, traced back to Kiyohara Hirozumi (934-1009). 8 generations after, Noritaka (1199-1265) moved to Kamakura and gave lessons to shoguns and other important samurai, including Sanetoki. Sanetoki was a good student, and collected many classics written in Chinese and Japanese. That is, he started building the Kanesawa Library. His descendants kept building the library, and his grandson, Sadaaki (1278-1333), collected and even copied many classics in Kyoto when he was working for the Rokuhara Tandai, the Kyoto Agency of the Kamakura Shogunate, from 1302 to 1304. Sadaaki had an eye disease in June, 1330, and killed himself when Kamakura fell to Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338), who destroyed the Kamakura Shogunate, cooperating with Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358).
I’m looking to something very cultural in the Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Kaigan-ji Temple
There used to be Kaigan-ji Temple, which was merged into Shomyo-ji Temple. The main deity of Kaigan-ji Temple, the 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue, was moved to Shomyo-ji Temple, and now is preserved in Kanesawa Bunko Museum.
In May, 1314, Kanesawa Sadaaki (1278-1333) got in trouble with the Imahie-jingu Shrine. He dispatched Kashima Suezane to Kamakura to appologize. Suezane met Kenna (1261-1338) at Shomyo-ji Temple, and the two talked behind closed doors to settle the issue.
It was the Kashima Family that founded Kaigan-ji Temple, while Shomyo-ji Temple was the family temple of the Kanesawa Family.
Kaigan-ji Temple was abolished in 1907. Today, Kanesawa Daini Park is located at the site of the temple.
Kanesawacho Daini Park
Address: 184-132 Kanesawacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0015
Phone: 045-781-2511
Kanesawa Bunko Museum
Address: 142 Kanesawacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0015
Phone: 045-701-9069
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Fukujukai-in Temple
Fukujukai-in Temple used to enshrine the Arya Avalokitesvara statue. The temple has been abolished, and there stands a small shrine at the site to commemorate it. The statue has been moved to Shomyo-ji Temple nearby.
Before the modern reclamation, there used to be Nagahama Beach, which was such a successful fishing port that it was said to have a thousand buildings. In 1311, a tsunami hit the beach and washed away all the buildings, but nobody was killed in the disaster, except the Arya Avalokitesvara statue. The villagers believed the statue substituted for them.
37 years later, fishers from Shiba Village, which lay south to Nagahama Village, found something dazzlingly radiating under the sea. They cautiously put a fishing net in the sea to catch the Arya Avalokitesvara statue which had been washed away off Nagahama Village. The statue was covered with oyster shells all over. How then did it radiate?
Shomyoji Shiminnomori Park
Address: Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0015
Phone: 045-671-2624
Shomyo-ji Temple
Address: 212-1 Kanesawacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0015
Phone: 045-701-9573
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Daiho-in Temple
Apparently, Daiho-in Temple used to be a branch temple of Shomyo-ji Temple, but it is unknown when it was founded. The fourth chief priest of Shomyo-ji Temple lived there in retirement. As the temple’s second chief priest was Kennna (1261-1338), Daiho-in Temple might have been built in the 14th century. Its main deity, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue was repaired in 1680. At the beginning of the Meiji Period, it was abolished, but it was rebuilt by Ito Hirobumi (1841-1909) as the book depository and reading room for Kanesawa Bunko.
Address: 203-1 Kanesawacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0015
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Eisen-ji Temple
There used to be an Eisen-ji Temple. The last written record about it was dated in 1775. When Hayashi Jussai (1768-1841), Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) and others compiled the New Chorography on Musashi Province at the beginning of the 19th century, it had already become a hermitage and was called Eisen-in. The main deity, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, is supposed to have been moved to Yakuo-ji Temple nearby.
Yakuo-ji Temple
Address: 2-23-52 Teramae, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0014
Phone: 045-701-8646
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Entsu-an Temple
As is often the case with a small town or a village in Japan, Machiya, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, had a small shrine with its place name, Machiya Shrine, and a Buddhist image. The image was a small Arya Avalokitesvara statue, about 10 centimeters tall. The shrine is still there, but the statue was moved to Tennen-ji Temple nearby in 1965. However, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue in the temple today is about 30 centimeters tall. Has it grown 4 millimeters a year?
Tennen-ji Temple
Address: 5-1 Machiyacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0022
Phone: 045-701-7598
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Noken-do Temple
There used to be an Noken-do Temple.
Kose Kanaoka was a court painter, who established the Yamato-e style of Japanese painting. He worked for Emperor Uda (867-931) and Fujiwara Mototsune (836-891). He also formed friendships with intellectuals such as Sugawara Michizane (845-903) and Ki Haseo (845-912), who is believed to have written the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. One day, Kanaoka visited the Noken area to find the view, which was later known as the Kanesawa Eight Views, too beautiful to draw, and left his brushes at the foot of a pine tree, which was blown down by a typhoon in 1918. After his death, he was enshrined in Kanaoka Shrine, Sakai, Osaka.
Fujiwara Michizane (966-1028) was said to have built a hermitage to enjoy the view. It became a temple sometime In the Muromachi Period, but was abolished by 1486. In 1662, Kuze Hiroyuki (1609-1679) brought the Ksitigarbha statue from Zojo-ji Temple in Edo. Donggao Xinyue (1639-1696), a Chan priest from China, found the view very similar to that of the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, and composed 8 Chinese poems.
The Eight Views of Noken-do
Donggao Xinyue [Naturalized from Ming]
Susaki in the Windstorm
Surging waves gather the afterglow
Billowing waves reach bamboo doors
After the market in the dusk, people are quiet
Flying clouds and running water are heading to nowhere
The Autumn Moon in Seto
Small clear rapids untied a boat
Winds bring hollow sounds in Mid-Autumn
Sweet olives bring aroma to everywhere
Ice wheels float between islands
The Night Rain in Kozumi
Rain in the dusk's so desolate
Gushing spring can be heard clearly
Poor hermitage has difficulties with no compassion
Heartbreaking sound of an iron flute echoed
Like a Returning Boat in Ottomo
The Dynasty dispatched me skies away
I’m still hanging on stars away
What I sing highly reaches clouds away
A few contact me faintly though
The Night Bell from Shomyo-ji Temple
Since old times, Shomyo-ji’s been famous
The night bell sounds like a whale
The gone and the alive all start speaking
I alone leave the precincts
Landing Wild Geese in Hiragata
Flying in the dark, wild geese form an array
Autumn winds sadly blow and wave reeds
Flying, crying and eating, why so late to return?
Who doesn't love a thousand-mile mission?
Nojima in the Sunset
I envy an old fisherman who supports his family
Holding a pole in slush in dusk
Drink wine with netted fish
I drape on a bed, but how dare to boast
Snow and Dusk in Uchikawa
Causeways run in all directions
Rare flowers are paved with snow
The scenery is full of jade
They cover the high peaks with their points uncovered
Donggao Xinyue was born in Pujiang County, Jinhua Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. When he was eight years old, he shaved his hair in Baoen Temple in Suzhou, and traveled around Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces. At the age of 20, he was taught by Juelang Daosheng of the Shouchang Sect of the Caodong Denomination. After Daosheng passed away, he went to Chongguang Temple and learned from Kuotang how to make a good writer. After Kuotang passed away, he stayed in Yongfu Temple, Hangzhou. Although he was a monk, he still participated in the anti-Qing rebellion in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces in 1674, in response to Wu Sangui only to fail.
In 1676, he was invited by Chengyi Daoliang, the master priest of Kofuku-ji Temple in Nagasaki He traveled east from Hangzhou to Japan under the false names of Du Duoquan or Yue Dudu. Although he did not belong to the Linji Sect of Chengyi Daoliang, he had to pay tribute to Chengyi Daoliang and his followers in order to enter the country. He arrived in Zhoushan in December, and got to Kyushu on the 30th of the same month. Finally, he reached Nagasaki on January 10,1677. Due to Japan’s lock-up order, he stayed in Nagasaki, a place reserved for foreigners, from January, 1677, to December, 1679. In the summer of 1679, he met Imai Hirosumi (1652-1689), who was the messenger of Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628-1700) and who was a student of Zhu Shunsui (1600-1682). Mitsukuni intended to invite Xinyue to Mito Leaving Nagasaki. In May, 1680, he went to Manpuku-ji Temple near Kyoto to celebrate the 70th birthday of Mu'an Xingyao (1611-1684), wrote a book to praise and even flatter Mu'an, and asked Mu'an for help. However, it was unsuccessful. Later, he went to Edo under the pretext of visiting Zuikei-ji Temple, but was eventually suspected to be a spy, and forced to return to Nagasaki.
During his years in Nagasaki, Donggao Xinyue was very active in the fields of religion and art. He used Zen and art to make friends with the officers of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Finally, he was helped by Tokugawa Mitsukuni again, and Xinyue moved to Kotai-ji Temple, Nagasaki, in 1682. He left Nagasaki in June of the same year, and then stayed in the villa of Mitsukuni in Mito. During the period, he met celebrities from all walks of life and taught them Guqin. In 1691, he stayed at the Tentoku-ji Temple (now Gion-ji Temple) in Mito, and he officially preached his first sermon in October, 1692. In 1695, he passed away in September and was later regarded as the founder of Gion-ji and Daruma-ji Temples.
Then, who was Chengyi Daoliang, who invited Donggao Xinyue to Japan?
Zhenyuan (1579-1648) was born in Fuliang County, Raozhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. In 1620, he sailed to Nagasaki on board a merchant ship. In 1624, he became the first Chinese Buddhist priest in Nagasaki. He founded Kofuku-ji Temple in the villa of Ouyang Huayu with the donations from other Chinese residents in Nagasaki as well. In 1635, he handed over the status as the head priest of Kofuku-ji Temple to Mozi Ruding (1597-1657).
Mozi Ruding was born in Jianchang County, Nankang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. He became a priest in Xingfu-chanyuan Temple in Yangzhou. In 1632, he came to Japan and resided in Kofuku-ji Temple. Interestingly enough, both “Xingfu” and “Kofuku” employed the same Chinese characters. In 1635, he succeeded Zhenyuan. In 1645, he handed over the status as the head priest of Kofuku-ji Temple to Yiran Xingrong, or Itsunen Shoyu, (1601-1668).
Xingrong was born in Lutang County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. In 1644, he came to Japan. He entered the Buddhist priesthood under the teaching of Mozi Ruding, who was succeeded by Yiran Xingrong in 1645.
He is famous as a Buddhist monk and painter who helped to establish Chan (Zen) in Japan. Itsunen was a talented late Ming style painter of Buddhist figural subjects. In addition to his painting skill, he also practiced the art of seal carving and cemented the popularity of this art in Japan. In 1656, he retired and was succeeded by Chengyi Daoliang.
Chengyi Daoliang (1608-1691) was born in Lutang County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. He was one of those evacuated from China to Japan at the time of the Ming–Qing transition, or Manchu unification of China from 1618 to 1683.
Anyway, the main deity of Noken-do Temple, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, is missing.
Address: 5-3-7-12 Nokendai, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0057
Phone: 045-780-3431
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Kazo-in Temple
Kazo-in Temple used to be a branch temple in the precincts of Ryuge-ji Temple, and used to own the field which provided about 900 liters of rice. After the Meiji Restoration, it had the field seized. In January, 1876, the temple was merged by Ryuge-ji Temple. The temple owns a statue of Arya Avalokitesvara today, which is supposed to be the one enshrined in Kazo-in Temple.
Ryuge-ji Temple
Address: 9-31 Susakicho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0028
Phone: 045-701-6705
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Zenno-ji Temple
In 1382, when Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) was establishing absolute power and authority as the third shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, Nun Ryoi built a hermitage on the top of the Nojima Hill. 10 years later, the Southern Court was merged with the Northern Court, which was backed up by Yoshimitsu. Priest Gien succeeded it in 1405.
In 1546, Ashikaga Haruuji (1508-1560), the 8th Deputy Shogun In Kanto, lost to Hojo Ujiyasu in the Siege of Kawagoe. He was confined by Ujiyasu in 1554.
Priest Gencho (?-1566) turned the hermitage into Zenno-ji Temple.
The temple was built and revived whenever the society was going to be transformed.
What about during peaceful times?
The 4 priests who died between 1688 and 1735 might have organized and managed a school for children of common people well. You can find their graves built by their pupils in the precincts.
Address: 5−1 Nojimacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0025
Phone: 045-781-8838
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Muroki-an Hermitage
Muroki-an Hermitage used to be located where Muronoki Park is located today.
In 1938, the Naval Flying Corps started training maintenance engineers in the Oppama Airfield. As the Pacific War broke out in 1941, the airfield was enlarged in 1943, and Muroki-an Hermitage was abolished and the Arya Avalokitesvara statue was moved to Tennen-ji Temple. After World War II, the airfield was changed into a residential zone and park.
Tennen-ji Temple
Address: 5−1 Machiyacho, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0022
Phone: 045-701-7598
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Koden-ji Temple
Koden-ji Temple was founded in 1573.
Nagano Rokuemon was a man of great strength. In Shirahama, when he was on his travels in Awa Province, he accidentally cut off the head of an Amitabha statue. He brought it home, and built a hermitage to enshrine it. One day, he found a headless Amitabha statue in Nikaido, Kamakura, brought it back, and combined the two.
Koden-ji Temple used to not be a member temple of the Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage. The original #10 temple used to be Tainei-ji Temple, which was removed from Oppama to Katabuki due to the enlargement of the Oppama Airfield in 1943. The temple, however, seemed to have lost its Avalokitesvara statue sometime between 1775 and 1931, when Koden-ji Temple was listed as #10with its Arya Avalokitesvara statue.
Address: 3 Chome-2-11 Mutsuura, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0031
Tainei-ji Temple
Address: 61−5 Katabuki, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0055
Phone: 045-781-0908
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Kinryu-in Temple
Kinryu-in Temple was founded by Priest Genkei (?-1383). Kinryu literally means golden dragon. The temple was named so, as a dragon flew out to the sky from an inkstone there.
The precincts have Tobi-ishi (namely Black Kite Stone), which used to look like a black kite before the earthquake in the early 19th century. Onto the stone flew down the God Oyamazumi from the Seto Inland Sea, according to tradition.
Address: 10-12 Seto, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0027
Phone: 045-701-8823
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Deigyu-an Hermitage
Deigyu-an Hermitage was built by Priest Nanzan Shiun (1254-1335) after the Hojo Clan was destroyed by Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338) at the end of the Kamakura period. Hojo Takatoki (1304-1333) had asked the priest before his death to enshrine his guardian deity, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, and to pray for the comfort of the Hojo Clan in the other world.
In 1438, the Eikyo War broke out between Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439) and Uesugi Norizane (1410-1466) in the Kanto Region today. Monk Ebina was fighting for Mochiuji, who lost. Finally, the monk killed himself in Deigyu-an Hermitage.
Deigyu-an Hermitage was moved to its present location when Yonekura Tadasuke (1706-1735) built his mansion around the precincts.
Tadasuke was the 6th son of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu (1659-1714), a favorite of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), the 5th shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Tsunayoshi is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of "the dog shogun" somewhat in contempt.
In 1710, Tadasuke was adopted by Yonekura Masateru (1683-1712), the lord of Minagawa Domain in Shimotsuke Province, and succeeded to the head of the Yonekura Clan and became the lord of Minagawa Domain in 1712.
After Yoshiyasu died in 1714, Tadasuke’s luck waned. On July 27, 1722, he was transferred to Mutsuura Domain in southern Musashi Province, (Kanesawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, today).
Address: 11-15 Seto, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0027
Phone: 045-701-6831
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Reisho-ji Temple
Chiba Yasutane (?-1251) had 2 daughters. The elder became one of the 2 concubines of Hojo Akitoki (1248-1301). She founded Reisho-ji Temple with Gangyo (?-1362) as its priest.
Reisho-ji Temple was abolished after the Meiji Restoration, with its Arya Avalokitesvara statue moved to Tainei-ji Temple.
Tainei-ji Temple
Address: 61−5 Katabuki, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0055
Phone: 045-781-0908
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Senko-ji Temple
Senko-ji Temple (namely 1,000 lights temple) was founded at the turn of the 15th century, and was named so for its Sahasrabhuja statue, which is supposed to have 1,000 arms.
According to tradition, the Sahasrabhuja statue saved Lady Terute-hime when she got caught up in trouble with Oguri Mitsushige (?-1423). Then who was Oguri Mitsushige?
In the Muromachi Period, whose central government was located at Muromachi in Kyoto, the Kanto area was half-independent and governed by the regional government in Kamakura, which was ruled by the Kanto Deputy Shogun. Both the central shoguns and the Kanto deputy shoguns were from the Ashikaga Clan. They both rather rivaled each other and some Kanto deputy shoguns even tried to become central shoguns.
To check these rivaling attempts, the central shoguns appointed some powerful Kanto samurai to be directly feudatory to them.
Those directly feudal to the central shoguns were called Kyoto Servants. Although they resided within the jurisdiction of the Kanto Deputy Shogun, they neither had to serve the Kamakura office, nor were they supposed to be under the command of the Kanto Deputy Shogun.
The Kyoto Servants in Kanto included the Takeda Family in Kai Province, the Yamairi, Oguri, Makabe and Daijo Families in Hitachi Province, and the Utsunomiya, Nasu, and Onodera Families in Shimotsuke Province. They often made anti-Kanto-Deputy-Shogun movements, and the central shogunate criticized them publicly but was actually pulling strings. That, of course, irritated the Kanto Deputy Shoguns.
In 1423, the 5th Kanto Deputy Shogun, Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), finally destroyed Oguri Mitsushige and his family as a warning to the other Kyoto Servants. That might have aroused sympathy for Mitsushige. The history spun off a tradition:
Mitsushige wasn’t killed in the battle. He escaped to Mikawa Province. On his way, he tried to obtain shelter from Yokoyama Taizen, who pretended to shelter him but was actually trying to betray him to Ujitsuna. Taizen’s daughter, Terutehime, fell in love with Mitsushige, and tried to elope with him. The father got furious, and threw his daughter into a river. However, she was saved by the Sahasrabhuja statue.
Actually, it was Mitsushige’s son, Sukeshige (1413-1481), who survived. He tried to revive his family but finally lost to Mochuuji’s son, Shigeuji (1434-1497), in 1455.
Shigesuke’s drama was after his defeat. He escaped to Kyoto, entered Sokoku-ji Temple, changed his name to a Buddhist one, Sotan, learned drawing from Priest Shubun there, and became a famous painter. Even Kano Motonobu (1476-1559), the founder of the Kano School of Painting, was said to have learned from him. Could he? Presumably, but his indirect influence was too exaggerated.
By the way, Mochiuji and Shigeuji had their own tragedy. Mochiuji, the deputy shogun in Kamakura, was forced to commit suicide by Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394-1441), the then shogun. Yuki Ujitomo (1402-1441) sheltered Mochiuji’s 2 elder sons, Shun'o-maru and Yasuo-maru, in his castle, and rebelled against Yoshinori in 1440. On April 16, 1441, his castle fell and he and his son were killed in the fighting. Shun'o-maru and Yasuo-maru were arrested and were to be transferred to Kyoto, but, on their way, at Tarui, Mino Province, they were killed and with their death poems left:
“Summer weeds,
Their flowers blooming in Aono Field
Who knows their future?” (Shun'o-maru)
“Who knows the future?
Our lives are to be limited today
Here away from home.” (Yasuo-maru)
The youngest brother, Shigeuji, survived. He later became a deputy shogun in Kamakura, succeeding his late father, Mochiuji. It was in one of his revengeful battles that Shigesuke was defeated and gave up reviving his family.
Senko-ji Temple is also known for a cat grave. During the Kamakura Period, some Chinese ships even reached Kanesawa. Those ships kept cats in them to guard their cargos. Some cats settled down in Kanesawa. They had a short tail, and arched their back when stroked. They were loved as exotics, and a stone memorial was built for them.
Address: 1 Chome-37-1 Higashiasahina, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0033
Phone: 045-781-4652
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Jofuku-ji Temple
The written record of Jofuku-ji Temple dates back to 1377. When the main deity, the Amitabha statue, was researched, a letter written by Priest Shinkai in 1283 was found. The letter suggested the deity was made in 1147. The temple might have been founded earlier than that.
The Amitabha statue has an Avalokitesvara statue on its left and a Mahasthamaprapta statue on its right. The temple also keeps an Arya Avalokitesvara statue in a sacred box, which is supposed to be the deity for the Kannon Pilgrimage.
Jofuku-ji Temple was abolished in 1901, and the statues were moved to Hoju-in Temple.
Hoju-in Temple
Address: 2 Chome-7-1 Daido, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0035
Phone: 045-781-0382
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Toko-ji Temple
Toko-ji Temple was founded by Hatakeyama Shigetada (1164-1205) at the turn of the 13th century. The main deity is the Bhaisajyaguru statue, which used to be Shigetada’s personal guardian Buddhist image. The temple also keeps his saddle, stirrups, and the bit for his horse.
On June 19, 1205, Shigetada left his hometown in Obusuma County, Musashi Province, with 130-strong cavalry to answer the emergency call from Kamakura. When he arrived at Futamata River, what he faced was an army of tens of thousands strong. He realized he was trapped. Instead of retreating, he made up his mind to die with good grace. It was his old friend, Adachi Kagemori (?-1248), who charged at him first. As the Tale of the Heike chants, nothing is permanent in this world.
Address: 2 Chome−40−8 Kamariyaminami, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0045
Phone: 045-781-0271
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Zenrin-ji Temple
Zenrin-ji Temple was founded by Ashikaga Shigeuji (1434-1497) in 1493 to hold a service for his late father, Mochiuji (1398-1439). It once declined, but Itami Nagachika (?-1563) revived it. The Itami Family later produced Okiku, whose great-grandfather was Chikaoki (?-1574). Nagachika might have belonged to the same generation as Chikaoki. Okiku was one of the 34 wives of Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568-1595). The wives were all killed with their children by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), the uncle of Hidetsugu, on August 2, 1595.
The line of Chikaoki’s cousin, Masakatsu (1522-1596), survived. Masakatsu’s father, the lord of the Itami Castle in Settsu Province, was killed young in a battle in 1529. After the father’s death, Masakatsu drifted around under the custody of his maternal grandfather, Mano Tokiaki. Through Ise and Kozuke Provinces, they drifted to Suruga Province in 1558. There, he was hired by Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-1560) to do odd jobs around him. Somehow or another, he stood out as a leader of the naval forces.
After the Imagawa Clan was destroyed by Takeda Shingen (1521-1573), Masakatsu transferred to Shingen and helped to organize the Tekeda Sea Forces in 1571. After the Tekeda Clan was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) in 1582, he transferred to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), and was appointed to a magistrate of the naval forces at Shimizu Port, Suruga Province. He who learns an art can receive benefits from it.
Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Masakatsu’s descendants not only survived but also prospered. They were made the lords of the Omura Domain in Kyushu.
Nagachika's line? He was working for the Later Hojo Clan when he revived Zenrin-ji Temple. After Nagachika’s death, Masatomi was still working for the Later Hojo Clan when it was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) in 1590. His son was taken care of by his maternal uncle. They became Buddhist monks; Chugo and Chuson. Chugo became the head priest of Senso-ji Temple, whose position Chuson succeeded. After the two, nothing is known about the other descendants of Nagachika's line. Not all of the Itami Family members knew how to make it in the world. And not all the maternal maternal relatives were helpful.
Address: 6 Chome-40-32 Kamariyahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0042
Phone: 045-781-9814
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Hannya-ji Temple
Hannya-ji Temple was founded by Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758-811) for those killed in the battle against the Emishi people in the northeastern part of Honshu Island. It was named so since it had 600 volumes of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra recited.
The temple was revived by Priest Sonkei (?-1305), and was also renamed Manzo-in.
In 1305, the Kagen Incident broke out. On April 22, the residence of Hojo Sadatoki (1272-1311) was set on fire. He was the head of the mainline family of the Hojo Clan. Next day, his 12 vassals killed Hojo Tokimura (1242-1305), a leader of other minor families of the clan. 11 out of the 12 were beheaded on May 2. On May 4, Hojo Munakata (1278-1305), Sadatoki’s brother-in-law, was killed, framed for everything.
Sadatoki’s doubts and fears might have caused, or at least worsened, the incident. Losing his loyal vassals and blood brother, as well as to evade responsibility, Sadatoki became an alcoholic. The autocracy by the head of the mainline Hojo Clan began rapidly breaking down. The Kamakura Shogunate was destroyed in 1333.
The temple was revived again by Priest Soben (?-1547).
In 1547, Uesugi Norimasa (1523-1579) lost to Takeda Harunobu (1521-1573) in the Battle of Otaihara. The Uesugi Clan had succeeded the hereditary position of the Butler of the Kanto Deputy Shogun, while Harunobu was just the Guardian Samurai of Kai Province. The lower-ranked actually took the upper hand of the higher-ranked.
When the samurai society entered the time of upheaval, some samurai became monks or priests. samurai were not only warriors but also intellectuals.
Manzo-in Temple
Address: 6 Chome-24-10 Kamariyahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0042
Phone: 045-783-3525
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Shoho-in Temple
Tradition says that Kukai (774-835) visited this area when he was touring the Kanto Region. From 793 till 804, we can barely follow Kukai’s footsteps. He was supposed to have visited various holy places and precincts to train himself, but it is doubtful that he had visited the Kanto Region during those days. In 815, he dispatched his disciples to the eastern and northeastern part of Honshu Island. It could have been one of them who visited Kamariya. Whoever he was, he dug a well for the local people who were suffering from droughts. The well gushed out red holy water. He drew the Acalanatha image with the water, and performed the Homa ritual in front of the image. That was the start of Shoho-in Temple.
Address: 3 Chome-4-24 Kamariyahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0042
Phone: 045-781-2484
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Hosho-ji Temple
At the turn of the 15th century, Priest Jusei at Hoshaku-ji Temple had a dream. A young child appeared, saying his name was Banjo. Choked with tears, the child said to Jusei; “I hid a Buddhist image in a cave west of your temple to save it from the ravages of war. Would you please take it out and hold Buddhist services for it?”
Next morning, Jusei walked west in the mountains and found a cave covered with a rock. He removed the rock to find a holy box in the cave. In the box, there was a Sahasrabhuja statue. Jusei built a small shed in the cave and enshrined the statue in it.
More than a century later, Priest Shinku (?-1560) renamed the temple Hosho-ji.
On January 15, 1957, the Sahasrabhuja statue was stolen. Will someone have a dream to find the statue again?
Hosho-ji Temple
Address: 126 Hitorizawacho, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0043
Phone: 045-771-3958
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Amida-ji Temple
After the Heiji Rebellion in 1160, Sasaki Hideyoshi (1112-1184), who belonged to the losers’ side, left Kyoto for Ou Province, falling back to his cousin, Fujiwara Hidehira (1122-1187), with his 3 sons, Sadatsuna (1142-1205), Tsunetaka (?-1221), and Moritsuna (?-?). His youngest son, Takatsuna (1160-1214), was just a baby, and was raised by Takatsuna’s aunt. When Hideyoshi and his sons were passing through Sagami Province, they were stopped by Shibuya Shigekuni, and stayed in his manor for about 20 years.
In 1180, when Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) raised an army to fight the Taira Clan for the position of the master of samurai, Takatsuna joined his father and 3 elder brothers to fight for Yoritomo.
Takatsuna lived near the Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Sanne-ji Temple, which was built by him. The Hayagriva Temple near Sanne-ji Temple was dedicated to his favorite horse, Ikezuki. The horse-headed Hayagriva is one of 6 metamorphoses of Avalokitesvara.
Takatsuna left his guardian deity, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue in Amida-ji Temple. The statue is said to have been carved by a legendary Buddhist sculptor, Kasuga.
Kasuga is said to have worked in Kawachi Province. Legend has it that he carved Buddhist images and statues day and night. One day, the villagers noticed him carving something other than Buddhist images. It was a big crane statue. Next morning, the villagers found no one in his house, but a big bird flying to the east in the morning glow, with something or someone on its back.
So, it is unknown whether Kasuga carved the statue in Kawachi, which Takatsuna got in Kyoto, or if Kasuga carved it for Takatsuna in Sagami Province after his flight on the back of the crane.
Address: 560 Minecho, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0044
Phone: 045-831-8644
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Kinzan-ji Temple
Yabeno Village used to have 2 temples; Raigo-ji and Kinzan-ji. When Hayashi Jussai (1768-1841), Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) and others compiled the New Chorography on Musashi Province at the beginning of the 19th century, the 2 temples already had no priests.
Tradition says that a man from Awa Province was wandering around with the Arya Avalokitesvara statue on his back. He got to Yabeno, settled, built a hermitage, and enshrined the statue. That was the start of Kinzan-ji Temple.
After the Meiji Restoration, in 1868, the 2 temples were abolished, and their 2 deities were kept in the warehouse of Uchida Heikuro, the chief of Yabeno Village. In 1877, cholera raged in and around Yokohama. In Yokohama alone, 635 people died. Avalokitesvara appeared in Heikuro’s dream, and said, “If you let me go out in public, I will save your village.” Heikuro raised contributions from villagers and built a temple at the site of Raigo-ji Temple, put the 2 deities in it, and named the new temple Raiko-ji. The disease repeated spreading for about a decade.
Yakuo-ji Temple shares the precincts with Raiko-ji. Yakuo-ji Temple has 3 origin stories for the history of its Bhaisajyaguru statue. One of the three says that Ennin (794-864) carved the statue to make it his guardian Buddhist image during his stay in China to study Buddhism. The statue was kept in Enryaku-ji Temple in Mt. Hiei. When Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) destroyed and burnt all buildings of Enryaku-ji Temple, killing monks, laymen, women, and children, Monk Baizan escaped from the massacre with the statue on his back. He made his escape through Okamoto, Omi Province, to Ise Province. From Ise, he went to Musashi Province, and reached Yabeno Village.
The 2 traditional stories tell us that Yabeno was a good shelter for fugitives. In 1966, they started building housing complexes and housing estates in and around Yabeno. As construction workers praised the beauty of the sun rising from the sea, the area was renamed Yoko-dai (namely Ocean Light Heights). About 30 thousand residents are living in the area today. Yabeno might have attracted fugitives from strictly-ruled areas.
Raiko-ji Temple
Address: 3-12-3 Yokodai, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0045
Phone: 045-833-2514
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Kinsen-ji Temple
It is unknown when Kinsen-ji Temple was founded and abolished. The Ekadasamukha statue, which had 11 faces, was moved to An’yo-ji Temple by 1931. When Priest Koho came to An’yo-ji Temple in 1935, the statue had already gone though.
An’yo-ji Temple
Address: 2-24-13 Konandai, Konan Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 234-0054
Phone: 045-833-1215
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Manzo-ji Temple
Manzo-ji Temple was founded by the end of the 12th century, and was revived by Priest Genryu (?-1593). In 1590, the Later Hojo Clan, who held hegemony over the Kanto Region for about a century, collapsed.
Many temples in Japan have jigo (temple name), and the others have ingo (cloister name). Some of them even have sango (mountain name). The most complicated name of a temple consists of the three names. When a temple has 3 names, sango (mountain name) comes first, then either the ingo (cloister name) or the jigo (temple name) comes second (not necessarily that ingo comes second, as is sometimes suggested), and then comes the rest.
Sango comes from China. Buddhism first reached China during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) as a mysterious foreign religion. It was accepted by intellectuals during the Eastern Han Dynasty, connecting the Wuwei concept (literally meaning inexertion, inaction, or effortless action) in Taoism with the concept of Sunyata (translated most often as emptiness, vacuity, and sometimes voidness) in Buddhism. After the Six Dynasties (220-589), Buddhism so flourished that they had many temples with the same name, as you may notice even in Japan today. They came to put a place name before the name of a temple. As Buddhist temples flourished, they accumulated wealth. There were about 4,600 monasteries, 40,000 hermitages, 260,500 monks and nuns. In the 840’s, Emperor Wuzong (814-846) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) initiated the Huichang Persecution of Buddhism to confiscate their properties. In 846, the Emperor Wuzong died, and the persecution was over. However, Buddhism never completely recovered except for some Chan temples in mountains which stood aloof from worldly businesses. Under the Kamakura Shogunate, Japan imported Chan Buddhism with the custom to put a place name (= a mountain name) before a temple name. The custom spread to other Buddhism sects and schools.
Ingo literally means a cloister name. The suffix “-in” was an honorific title. After Emperor Saga (786-842) abdicated in 823, he was respectfully called Saga-in. That was the first example of using the suffix “-in” for a retired emperor. In those days, a retired emperor meant a cloistered emperor.
When Fujiwara Senshi (962-1002), the mother of Emperor Ichijo (980-1011), retired as an empress dowager, she was given a honorific title “-in” for the first time as a woman. And then some royal family members were given the honorific title “-in”. And then the temples where those with “-in” titles as the head priests came to be also called with the suffix “-in”. That was the start of ingo (cloister names) for temples.
As the ancient aristocracy collapsed, the naming custom spread to other ruling classes, such as the samurai, as did ingo for temples. Many temples with ingo in the middle of the three, use it to show their high status.
Meanwhile, the suffix “-in” also meant retirement. Sub-temples for retired priests in the precincts of large temples came to be named with it. And then the naming custom spread to other sub-temples and even branch temples. Those temples usually put their ingo at the tail of the three.
Let’s get back to Manzo-ji Temple in Yoshihara Village. The temple used to have the sango “Hino-san” (namely Sun Field) while Tokuon-ji Temple in Miyashita Village used to have “Senryu-zan” (namely Spring Run). Yoshihara Village often had droughts, but when Manzo-ji Temple exchanged its sango with that of Tokuon-ji Temple, droughts in Yoshihara Village stopped.
Manzo-ji Temple was listed as the #24 temple of the Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1775, but was merged with Komyo-ji Temple by 1931. It was Tokuon-ji Temple that replaced its membership.
The #27 deity was said to be the 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue carved by Kasuga, presumably after he flew to Kanto on the back of the crane he had carved. In the 1920’s, Kaneko Takahide visited the Kannon pilgrimages which had been organized in and around Yokohama. He was the priest of Tofuku-ji Temple, the #10 of the Kozukue 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. One day, he visited the deity at Tokuon-ji Temple. The deity is, however, missing today. Did something happen during World War II?
Monk Jinsei came to Miyashita Village, Kuraki County, Sagami Province from Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto, with the Ksitigarbha statue on his back, in 1099, when regency was declining and cloistered rule or monastery administration was about to start. In Ninna-ji Temple, Priest Shoshin became the head priest, which had been hereditary for the descendants of Emperor Uda (867-931). Some change might have caused Jinsei to leave the temple to the east. The Kanesawa area was supplying another good shelter for fugitives, other than Yabeno Village, where #22 Kinzan-ji Temple used to be located.
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Shofuku-ji Temple
Emperor Toyoohodi (683-707) dispatched Someya Tokitada, who was the fourth descendant of Fujiwara Kamatari (614-669), to the Kanto Region to fight against “invaders" in the area and to maintain order there. He stayed there till the 720's, when Emperor Toyosakurahiko was reigning. Tokitada commanded the Imperial armies in the 8 provinces of Kanto; Kozuke, Shimotsuke, Hitachi, Musashi, Kazusa, Shimosa, Awa, and Sagami. He was based in Yuhi, Kamakura, Sagami.
Shofuku-ji Temple used to enshrine Tokitada’s personal guardian Buddhist image, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, which was said to have been carved by Gyoki (668-749).
One day, Tokitada's 3-year-old daughter was kidnapped for vengeance or power struggles. She was torn to bits. He built 7 towers in Kamakura where her bits were found. Her main part was found at the southern foot of Mt. Rokkokuken-zan (literally means 6 Provinces View Mountain), from which 6 provinces(Musashi, Kazusa, Shimosa, Awa, Sagami, and Izu) could be seen, a very profound and significant place to abandon the little body. The reported suspects shared some features with medieval tengu. That might mean they were the ancient ancestors of tengu or mountain people. The tragedy also reminds me of what broke out around Komatsu-ji Temple, the #26 of the Old Awa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, in medieval days.
At the foot of Mt. Rokkokuken-zan, Tokitada enshrined the 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue with her bones in it. Later, it came to be called Okano-Kannon-do Temple.
After the Meiji Restoration, because of the movement to abolish Buddhism and destroy Siddhartha images, the temple was abolished and the statue was moved to Tamon-in Temple, the #14 of the Old Kamakura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which is located across the spine of the hills of the Miura Peninsula.
Shofuku-ji Temple was revived by Priest Yuison (?-1740). In those days, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) raised the tax rate to improve the Tokugawa Shogunate’s finances, squeezing the peasants dry. Peasant uprisings occurred frequently, economic conditions got worse, and cultural activities became stagnant. He, however, revived the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Shofuku-ji Temple was merged to Komyo-ji Temple in 1920’s.
Komyo-ji Temple
Address: 7 Chome-19-19 Hino, Konan Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 234-0051
Phone: 045-842-1313
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Shokaku-ji Temple
The Mamiya Family suffered many casualties in the Battle of Gongen-do. Shokaku-ji Temple was founded in 1428 by the village head, Takanashi Rin'emon, to pray for them. The first priest, Kakugei, died in that year.
Gongen-do Temple used to be located where Kogaya Elementary School (1-1 Kogaya, Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 221-0051) is located today. It was often used as a fort as it was located along the border between Musashi and Sagami Provinces. It is not clear against whom the Mamiya Family fought.
In 1425, the 5th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshikazu (1407-1425), died. In 1428, Ashikaga Yoshimochi (1386-1428), the 4th shogun who had retired in 1423, died. As the shogunate became vacant, Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), the 4th deputy shogun in Kanto, seeked the post of the 6th shogun. That caused countless battles and fights in the Kanto Region. The Battle of Gongen-do might have been one of them.
Yet, it is unknown whom the Mamiya Family was fighting at the time. Those days, anybody could fight against anyone.
Ashikaga Harutora was born on June 13, 1394. At the age of 9, he entered Seiren-in Temple, on June 21, 1403. On March 4, 1408, he became a priest, and was named Gien. Ashikaga Yoshikazu (1407-1425) and Yoshimochi (1386-1428) died of a disease one after another, and the shogunate became vacant. Chief vassals assembled at Iwashimizu-Hachiman-gu Shrine and decided the next shogun by lot on January 17, 1428. Thus Gien became the sixth shogun, Yoshinori (1394-1441).
It was Yoshinori that forced Mochiuji to commit suicide. Yuki Ujitomo (1402-1441) sheltered Mochiuji’s 2 sons, Shuno-maru and Yasuo-maru, in his castle, and rebelled against Yoshinori in 1440. On April 16, 1441, his castle fell and both he and his son were killed in the fighting. Shuno-maru and Yasuo-maru were arrested and were to be transferred to Kyoto. But on their way, at Tarui, Mino Province, they were killed and with their death poems left:
“Summer weeds,
Their flowers blooming in Aono Field
Who knows their future?” (Shuno-maru)
“Who knows the future?
Our lives are to be limited today
Here away from home.” (Yasuo-maru)
Yoshinori also killed his younger brother, Priest Gisho (1404-1441). He also killed his powerful vassals, Isshiki Yoshitsura (1400-1440), Toki Mochiyori (?-1440), and others. Finally he was assassinated by his vassal, Akamatsu Mitsusuke (1381-1441) on June 24, 2 months and 8 days after the execution of the 2 young brothers, Shuno-maru and Yasuo-maru.
The 1420's was the start of the days when anybody could fight against anyone. Japan was plunging into its Warring States Period. The Mamiya Family survived this period. They were based in Hitorizawa, Kuraki County, Musashi Province. They worked and fought for the Later Hojo Clan first. Mamiya Yasutoshi (1518-1590), for example, was appointed to a magistrate when Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541) rebuilt Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kamakura in 1530’s. When the Later Hojo Clan garrisoned part of the Izu Naval Forces in Miura Peninsula, Yasutoshi managed them.
After the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan, the family worked and fought for the Tokugawa Clan. After the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, they worked for the shogunate.
One of their descendants included Kotonobu (1777-1841). In 1810, the Academy of the shogunate started compiling provincial topographies. Kotonobu participated in compiling those of Musashi and Sagami Provinces.
The Takanashi Family, who were fighting and working for the Arai Family under the Mamiya Family, also survived, we can find some Takanashi Rin'emons in some records in the Tokugawa Period. The head of the family could have inherited the first name Rin’emon.
It is unknown, however, what has become of the Arai Family since then.
Address: 2 Chome−11−1 Konan, Konan Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 233-0003
Phone: 045-842-0684
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Fukuju-in Temple
Fukuju-in Temple was said to have been founded by Priest Kanden sometime in the 15th century. In the 15th century in the Kanto Region, the Eikyo War broke out in 1438-1439 and the Kyotoku War in 1455-1483, which started the Warring States Period in the region.
The temple was revived by the 12th head priest, Priest Ryotei (?-1588). What was happening in the Kanto Region in the 1580's?
In 1583, Ahikaga Yoshiuji (1541-1583 ), the then Kanto Deputy Shogun at Koga, died. Koga was located at the adjoining point of the Tone and the Hitachi river systems. Hojo Ujimasa (1538-1590) seized the moment, took command of the two systems, and thus controlled water transportation in the Kanto Region. Any warlord in the region had to choose either to be subordinate to Ujimasa, or to resist to the bitter end.
The foundation and the revival of Fukuju-in Temple seems to have something to do with the social unrest in the Kanto Region.
Address: 1 Chome-3-2 Konan, Konan Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 233-0003
Phone: 0120-829-101
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Nyoirin-do Temple
When Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) started compiling the topology of Musashi Province in 1810, Nyoirin-do Temple was still standing next to Toju-in Temple. When Yokohama City started compiling its history in 1931, the Cintamanicakra statue of Nyoirin-do Temple was enshrined in Toju-in Temple. Today? It’s missing.
After going on a religious tour through the provinces, Monk Jungyoku dropped in at Sasage, and founded Toju-in Temple. The sango and jigo of the temple used to be Sekigu-zan Ondaito-ji. By the middle of the 16th century, the temple fell into ruin.
Years passed, and Monk Shijun dropped in at Sasage during his religious tour through the provinces to find it devastated. He felt very sad. The devastation of the temple seemed to be his own devastation. He repeatedly appealed to the lord of the Sasage Castle, Mamiya Yasutoshi (1518-1590), who finally gave up about 0.3 acre of field to the temple.
However, in 1577 or 1578, the then priest buried the contribution document for some reason or another. Of course, Yasutoshi confiscated the field.
In 1590, when the Later Hojo Clan was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), Yasutoshi was fighting for Hojo Ujikatsu (1559-1611) in the Yamanaka Castle. He fought bitterly and even killed Hitotsuyanagi Naosue (1546-1590), who was a member of the Kiboroishu (a kind of lifeguard military) of Hideyoshi and who was the lord of Karuminishi Castle in Mino Province. However, he was heavily outnumbered and defeated. Finally, he dyed his hair black with ink and dashed into the enemy, saying, “It’s a shame to offer my white-haired head to the enemy.”
Sasage Castle was abolished, and the surrounding area became part of the domain of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). Hideyoshi ordered all the lords of all the domains to carry out the nationwide registration of fields and farmers after the war. Mysteriously, Tsuji Kichiji turned in the copy of the buried document, and leniently Ieyasu approved it. Someone might have maneuvered tactfully.
In 1663, Mamiya Hikojiro asked the Tokugawa Shogunate to add 3 acres of fields to the temple. Locally, the Mamiya Family was still influential.
On October 4, 1671, Toju-in Temple was given new sango and jigo by Priested Prince Joho (?-1678) at Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto; Daien-zan Jakujo-ji. Priest Yuen put a piece of paper with the sango and jigo over the old sango and jigo; Sekigu-zan Ondaito-ji. But the paper partially came off to show the old sango; Sekigu-zan. Consequently, the temple came to be called Sekigo-zan Jakugo-ji Toju-in Temple, believe it or not.
Things were going smoothly, anyway, with the temple. But, in 1694, it was set alight by a fire from a farmer’s house, and was burned to ashes. It was in 1719 that all the buildings were reconstructed. But again, in 1884, it burned down again.
Toju-in Temple
Address: 2 Chome-24-17 Sasage, Konan Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 234-0052
Phone: 045-845-1414
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Senzo-in Temple
Senzo-in Temple was founded by Priest Chikaku (?-1199) in November, 1192.
There used to be 4 Shugendo practice halls in Kamakura: Senzo-in at Yamasaki, Gongen-do in Kamegaya, Aizen-bo and Zoken-do in Nikaido.
Minamoto Yoritomo asked Priest Chikaku of Senzo-in to visit Kumano to pray for the gods there to help Yoritomo govern the country and people. The priest stayed in Kumano for 21 days, and got the Three Buddhist Images of Amitabha, which had Amitabha in the center, Avalokitesvara on the left, and Mahasthamaprapta on the right, one of the most popular styles of main deities in temples in Japan, and 3 other souvenirs: (1) a talisman of Gozu Tenno (literally "Ox-Headed Heavenly King"), who was a syncretic Japanese deity of disease and healing, (2) 2 guidepost stones, and (3) 2 Asian bayberries, a holy plant in the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex in Kii Province, which comprised Kumano Hayatama Taisha, Kumano Hongu Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha.
Strangely enough, Chikaku put those souvenirs on a boat made of a camphor tree, and floated them out of Kumano. After 15 days, mysteriously enough, they arrived at the Nakahara Beach in Kuraki County, Musashi Province, which was located on the other side of the Miura Peninsula.
Impressed with the holy consideration, Yoritomo ordered Chikaku to build a shrine near the beach. Chikaku searched for a good location which overlooked the sea in the east, invited the 3 gods, Ketsumi, Hayatama, and Musubi, from Kumano, and started building a branch shrine of the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex on top of a hill on May 6, completed it on November 15, and founded Kishu-zan Tokoku-ji Temple as the shrine temple.
The strange and mysterious legend implies a possible sea route and even human transfer between Kumano and the Miura Peninsula. Since ancient times, Kumano provided pirates to other places in Japan.
Even during the Warring States Period in Japan, the naval forces under the direct control of the Mori Clan, the largest and strongest clan along the Seto Inland Sea, were no match against Murakami Pirates, who were said to have developed under the strong influence of the Kumano Pirates. Kumano Pirates were said to have commanded the Seto Inland Sea before the written history of Japanese piracy. They exported their personnel even to the Eastern Provinces in the Warring States Period.
The Japanese Archipelago has 34,600 kilometers of shoreline, which is shorter than America’s 56,700 kilometers but longer than Brazil’s 5,760 kilometers. The islands are washed by the Black and Tsushima Currents from the south and by the Kuril Current from the north.
The Black Current starts off near the Philippines, flows northward between Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, and, turning northeastward, passes between the Ryukyu Islands and Kyushu toward the south coast of Shikoku and Honshu, transporting warm, tropical water. The current brings not only tropical water but also fish, corals, seeds of tropical plants such as coconuts, blocks of dead aromatic trees, and even culturally, sometimes even militarily, advanced foreign peoples.
In 840, the third official history book, Nihon Koki, was compiled, which covered the years 792-833. Its 8th volume had an entry about an adrift foreigner:
"In July, Autumn, 799, one man on a small boat drifted ashore in Mikawa Province. He wore full-length cloth, a loincloth, but not trousers. He covered his left shoulder with a piece of dark blue cloth, which looked like a Buddhist priest’s sash. He was about 20 years old, was about 167 centimeters tall, and had 10-centimeter-long ears. We couldn’t understand his language, nor could we identify his nationality. When Chinese people saw him, they said he was a Kunlun man. Later, he mastered Japanese, and said he was from India. He was always playing a one-string harp. His singing voice was always melancholy and sorrowful. When we checked his belongings, we found something like grass seeds. He said they were cotton seeds.”
In those days, Chinese called those from South-East Asia Kunlun peoples. The man might have been blown eastward from somewhere in the South China Sea, and been swept away on the Black Current as far off as Mikawa Province.
Thus, the automatic arrival of Chikaku's souvenirs was not totally impossible, but we should rather think someone carried them by sea.
Senzo-in Temple used to be located in Kamakura. After the Siege of Kamakura, which was fought between the Hojo Clan and Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338), it moved to Tokoku-ji Temple.
After the Meiji Restoration, the temple was abolished, and the building where the deity had been enshrined came to belong to Kumano Shrine. The membership as the #29 of the Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage was transferred to Koshu-ji Temple, and its Cintamanicakra statue is regarded as the #29 member deity of the pilgrimage. Where has the original member deity, the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, gone?
Kumano Shrine
Address: 4 Chome-5-17 Nakahara, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0036
Phone: 045-771-6534
Koshu-ji Temple
Address: 5 Chome-9-6 Mori, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0023
Phone: 045-751-7608
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Tozen-ji Temple
Tozen-ji Temple used to belong to Shingon Buddhism. It was a kind of a school where monks studied the Mahavairocana Sutra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra, and learned how to draw mandala and how to write the siddham script of the Sanskrit language. The temple was located in a scenic spot, and, in 1301, was requisitioned by Hojo Munenaga (?-1309), who concurrently held the positions of samurai governor of Bizen, Aki, Buzen, and Noto Provinces and who was powerful in the Kamakura Shogunate.
He transferred the temple to the Linji School of Chan Buddhism, a popular one among samurai, and left it to Priest Tokugo (1240-1306). But it seems to have already been actually managed and transferred by Priest Sokan (1234-1318), who learned from Priest Lanxi Daolong (1213-1278), who had been born in Shu Province (present-day Sichuan Province), China. Due to the Mongol Conquest of the Song Dynasty in China in 1246, he sailed to Japan to preach Chan Buddhism, and founded Kencho-ji Temple in Kamakura in 1253.
Priest Sokan first was made the 14th head priest of Shofuku-ji Temple in Kyushu, moved to Tozen-ji Temple in 1281, was mentioned in the inscription on the temple bell in 1298, and was made the 18th head priest in Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto. He returned to Shofuku-ji Temple, built Fuko-an Hermitage, and died there.
Address: 1 Chome-9-1 Sugita, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0033
Phone: 045-771-4697
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Tafuku-in Temple
Tafuku-in Temple used to be a sub-temple within the precincts of Tozen-ji Temple. It was founded by Priest Monshin (1275-1342), who was from Awaji Province. He was said to have learned from Lanxi Daolong (1213-1278), but how could that be possible? Monshin went to Song China to study, and came back to Japan in 1279. Quite impossible. Were there 2 Monshins?
Monshin was also said to have learned from Priest Tokugo (1240-1307). Quite possible. Tokugo learned from Lanxi Daolong. Absolutely possible. Monshin’s indirect pupil-hood of Daolong could have been wrongly recorded.
Anyway, Tafuku-in Temple was abolished, and the 1000-armed Sahasrabhuja statue was moved to Rinko-ji Temple.
Rinko-ji Temple
Address: 2 Chome-20-26 Mori, Isogo Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 235-0023
Phone: 045-751-0451
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Keisan-ji Temple
There used to be a Horyu-ji Temple near Tomioka Beach, which suffered gradual erosion, and that caused the temple to move halfway up Tomioka Hill. In 1624, Toshima Nobumitsu (1579-1628) renamed the temple Keisan-ji after his mother’s posthumous Buddhist name, Goson Keisan. She had died on October 6, 1613.
Nobumitsu arranged a match between Inoue Masatoshi (1606-1675), the son of Masanari (1577-1628), the elder statesman of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the daughter of Shimada Naotoki (1570-1628), the Governor of Osaka. However, Lady Kasuga (1579-1643), who was the wet nurse of Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third and then shogun, and who was also an influential politician, stepped in. She introduced the daughter of Torii Naritsugu (1570-1631) to Masatoshi and Masanari. Masanari couldn’t refuse the introduction, and the first match was broken off. Nobumitsu completely lost face.
On August 10, 1628, Nobumitsu came across Masanari in the corridor in the west wing of the Edo Castle. He slashed at Masanari with his short sword, saying, “A samurai must not be a double-dealing liar.” One of the guards, Aoki Yoshikiyo (?-1628), was surprised and tackled Nobumitsu from the back. Nobumitsu thrust the short sword into his own abdomen and killed himself. For Yoshikiyo’s misfortune, the short sword penetrated Nobumitsu and reached Yoshikiyo’s abdomen and left him fatally injured. This was the first bloodshed in the Edo Castle
Under the guilt-by-association system, all the other Toshima Families should have been punished. Sakai Tadakatsu (1587-1662), another elder statesman of the Tokugawa Shogunate, however, praised Nobumitsu’s vengeance, and asked for a lenient sentence. Only Nobumitsu’s eldest son, Yoshitsugu (?-1628), had to commit harakiri at the age of 13 for joint responsibility. Shimada Naotoki (1570-1628) also committed harakiri. What about Masatoshi and the daughter of Naritsugu? They got married, and lived happily ever after with many children. With some casualties, Lady Kasuga proved her great insight to find the best match.
Nobumitsu seems to have had another son. He came under the employment of Tokugawa Yorinobu (1602-1671), who started the Kishu-Tokugawa Family and who also lamented the death of Nobumitsu.
When Yorinobu’s great grandson, Yoshimune (1684-1751), was made the 8th shogun, Nobumitsu’s descendant also came to Edo to work for Yoshimune and the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The temple witnessed the first bloodshed in Edo Castle. 71 years 7 months and 4 days later, Asano Naganori (1667-1701) slashed at Kira Yoshihisa (1641-1703) in the main grand corridor of the castle; the beginning of the Ako Incident. The incident led to another famous incident, the revenge of the forty-seven samurai.
Address: 4 Chome-1-8 Tomiokahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0051
Phone: 045-772-3264
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Jimyo-in Temple
It is unknown when Jimyo-in Temple was founded. It used to be located at Nagahama Beach, which was such a successful fishing port that it was said to have a thousand buildings. In 1311, a tsunami hit the beach and washed away all the buildings. Some fishers took shelter at Tomioka with the Arya Avalokitesvara statue.
The temple was revived by Priest Genryu (?-1545). When the Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized, Jimyo-in Temple was both #33 and #34. Then, there should have been 2 Avalokitesvara statues in the temple at first.
In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed all the temple buildings.
By 1931, the #34 Avalokitesvara statue had been lost.
Today? #33 is also missing.
Address: 5 Chome-8-34 Tomiokahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0051
Phone: 045-771-6977
Virtual Kanesawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #34 Konzo-in Temple
Minamoto Yoritomo invited the God Oyamatsumi of Mishima-taisha Shrine in Izu Province to Seto in 1180. The place name Seto means a strait. In the north of the strait there used to be an inland sea. The place had been regarded as a holy place since earlier times. The local people believed the strait could wash away sins and uncleanness.
In 1473, Itami Sakyonosuke re-invited the god from Seto to Kamariya and built Teko Shrine, which was located far back of the inland sea.
According to an old document, Konzo-in Temple might have been founded about 1 kilometer upstream from Teko Shrine.
Who was the Itami Family? Nothing else is known about Sakyonosuke, but Itami Nagachika (?-1563) worked and fought for the Later Hojo Clan. After Nagachika’s death, Masatomi was still working for the Later Hojo Clan when it was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) in 1590. His son was taken care of by his maternal uncle. They became Buddhist monks; Chugo and Chuson. Chugo became the head priest of Senso-ji Temple, whose position Chuson succeeded. Priest Chuun (1630-1686) succeeded his uncle Chuson in 1648. It was Chuun who rebuilt Teko Shrine in 1679.
Address: 5 Chome−3−22 Kamariyahigashi, Kanesawa Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0042
Phone: 045-781-9330
