Virtual Shimousa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Shunzan-ji Temple

 

    Shunzan-ji Temple was founded sometime between 1532 and 1555.

    The Kyotoku War lasted for 28 years from 1454 to 1482.  During the war, Ashikaga Shigeuji (1438-1497), the 5th Kanto Deputy Shogun, relinquished Kamakura and moved to Koga Castle in Shimousa Province in 1457.  In 1458, the Muromachi Shogunate in Kyoto 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 a Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun and a Horikoshi Kanto Deputy Shogun in the Kanto Region.

    Shigeuji, the 1st Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun, was succeeded by Masauji (1462-1531) as the 2nd Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun.  Masauji could have been a poor father, and he conflicted with his 1st son, Takamoto (1485-1535), and was forced to abdicate in 1512 by him.  In 1518, Masauji’s 2nd son, Yoshiaki (?-1538), parted from Masauji and Takamoto, called himself a Kanto Deputy Shogun, and based in Oyumi Castle in Shimousa Province.

    The family breakdown was not just caused by the lack of love, but also had its own geopolitical reason.

    The Kanto Region used to be combined with inland waterways.  The waterways were composed with2 inland seas, Edo Bay and Katori Sea, and 2 river systems, Edo and Kinu River Systems.

    Koga Castle was located at the transport hub between Edo and Kinu River Systems, and Oyumi Castle was located at the end of Edo Bay.

The 3 were struggling for supremacy in water transportation in the Kanto Region.

    In 1524, the Later Hojo Clan occupied Edo Castle, which was located at the western coast of Edo Bay, and entered the struggle over the water-transportation supremacy in the region.

    Shunzan-ji Temple was founded along Edo River when the tension among the 3 or 4 was rising.

    In 1538, Yoshiaki was killed in battle against the Later Hojo Clan.  His daughters once flew to Awa Province, but were captured by the Later Hojo Clan, and confined in Kamakura.  18 years later, the eldest made her spectacular getaway from Kamakura to Awa Province to realize her childhood romance with Satomi Yoshihiro (1530-1578), the lord of Awa Province, paying no attention to the struggles for the Kanto Region hegemony. No wonder Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571), the then head of the Later Hojo Clan, regarded her attempt as “incomprehensible.” 

Address: 1 Chome-398 Nonoshita, Nagareyama, Chiba 270-0135

Phone: 04-7158-2810