Virtual Gyotoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

     Gyotoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized in 1690.  It is believed in this pilgrimage that you should visit the pilgrimage thrice and then visit Fujiwara-Kannon-do Temple (3 Chome−2−18 Fujiwara, Funahashi, Chiba 273-0047) to make its divine blessings maximum.  Accordingly, Fujiwara-Kannon-do Temple is considered as the the #100 of Gyotoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Gyotoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have compactly copied the idea to make it 100 by visiting the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, and the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Takagi Taneyoshi (1501-1565) moved his base from Negiuchi Castle to Kogane Castle, which commanded Edo, Naka, and Ara Rivers.  Accordingly, Taneyoshi controlled the inland waterway between Edo Bay and the northern part of the Kanto Region.

     Taneyoshi also owned Gyotoku Saltern, the largest saltworks in the Kanto Region.

     In 1527, a Buddhist monk who had practiced asceticism in the mountains in Ise Province settled in the estuary of Edo River.  He had brought some sand from Ise Shrine and put it in one of the small islands in the river and founded a shrine there, which was later named Jinmei-Toyouke Shrine.  He taught not only Buddhism to locals but also taught them various skills including how to extract salt from sea water.  Yamada Town in Ise Province had produced good salt for Ise Shrine for a millennium.  His deeds were so virtuous that people called him Gyotoku, namely Deed Virtue, with respect although his real name was Kinkai.  

     The 8th Guardian Samurai of Ise Province, Kitabatake Harutomo (1503-1563), was very aggressive.  He first invaded Shima Province, and then Yoshino and Uda Counties in Yamato Province.  He further advanced to Kumano in Ki Province and occupied the Totsu Valley, which extended over Ki and Yamato Provinces.  He also stepped in the management of Ise Shrine.

     The area around Ise Shrine had been ruled by Shinto priests of the shrine.  People in shrine towns organized 3 communes by the 15th century, formed the union of the three, got rid of the rule by the priests by the middle of the century.  The communes and the union lasted till the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

     In January, 1534, Harutomo sent troops to Yamada Town, defeated mercenary troops of the communes, and ruled them.  Some citizens hated his rule, emigrated from Ise, went east, counted on the relation with Kinkai, and settled in Gyotoku in 1542.

     Takagi Taneyoshi (1501-1565) welcomed them to expand the saltworks business in Gyotoku.

     In 1614, more people immigrated to Gyotoku from Ise Province.  On November 15 in the same year, Tokugawa Ieyasu started seizing Osaka Castle.  As the Seto Inland Sea produced the  largest amount of salt, and Osaka laid just between the Seto Inland Sea and Edo, where Ieyasu was based, he was always worried about increasing the self-sufficiency rate for salt.  To achieve salt independence, he expanded saltworks in Gyotoku.  That meant he had to introduce more salters.

     In 1603, Ieyasu appointed a magistrate in Yamada Town.  As the communes managed the town, the magistrates’ biggest job was to carry on the renewal of shrine buildings in every 20 years.  The 41st renewal was late and was carried out by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1585.  As the Toyotomi Clan was not destroyed yet, Ieyasu had to show better performance.  The 42nd renewal was carried out in 1609.

     The 4th and 5th magistrates in Yamada Town, Mizutani Mitsumasa (?-1631) and Okada Yoshiatsu (1558-1631) respectively, must have been very busy and stressful.  It was after the 8th magistrate, Ishikawa Masatsugu, that the arrival and leaving dates were recorded.  Masatsugu arrived at the post on January, 11, 1641, and left the position on April 19, 1659.