Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage (revised)

     I’m virtually visiting the Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Why 48?

Priest Kenho of Seikyo-ji Temple, the #10 temple of the Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage, started to organize the Buso 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1753, the year of the Rabbit.  He organized 30 temples by the end of the year.  In 1771, the number reached 33.  It, however, didn’t stop there.  The number kept growing until it made 48!  A very unique number as a Kannon Pilgrimage.  I feel excited about what I will see in such a flexible or perhaps sloppy pilgrimage.

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Kannon-ji Temple

     First, Konki-bo Hermitage was built.

     Then, a Ksitigarbha statue was brought in by Priest Raiman (?-1608), and the hermitage became Shingon-in Temple.

     One night in the 1750’s, Priest Yujin dreamed a holy dream in which the 11-faced Ekadasamukha appeared and told him to invite it to the temple.  Ekadasamukha also appeared in the dream of Takahashi Koreemon, whose family had handed down their 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue for generations.  Kobayashi Kyube heard of the story and became a main donor to build a hall for Ekadasamukha in the precincts of Shingon-in Temple.  The Ebara Family ruled the area as a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the family made contributions too.

     Years later, the area was hit by a fire and the temple also burned down.  However, the Ekadasamukha Hall alone survived and the Ekadasamukha statue became the main deity of the temple.  The temple was renamed Kannon-ji Temple.

     The precincts have 2 old itabi, which are dated 1338 and 1357.  In the newer one, the era name Enbun was used, so the area belonged to the Northern Court.

     The Northern and Southern Courts Period lasted from 1337 to 1392.  The Northern Court was led by the Ashikaga Clan.  However, on November 30th, 1351, the battle between Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) and his younger brother, Tadayoshi (1306-1352), broke out around the Satta Pass in Suruga Province.  On January 5th, 1352, Tadayoshi surrendered to Takauji, was confined to Jomyo-ji Temple in Kamakura, and died a sudden death on February 26th.  It is unknown whether Tadayoshi died of a disease or was poisoned as “Taiheiki” (“Chronicle of Great Peace”, a Japanese historical military epic written in the late 14th century) writes.

     The Southern Court took full advantage of the breakup of the Ashikaga Clan, and occupied Kamakura on Leap February 18th.  A series of battles were fought in Musashi and Sagami Provinces, and finally Takauji regained Kamakura on March 12.

     In July, 1353, Takauji returned to Kyoto and left Kamakura up to his 4th son, Motouji (1340-1367).  Motouji became the first Kanto Deputy Shogun.  Motouji pitched camp along the Iruma River, a strategic line to defend Kamakura, and stayed there for 9 years to fight against the Southern Court.

     The builder of the 1357-dated itabi might have been killed in the fighting along the river.

Address: 2240 Shimotsuruma, Yamato, Kanagawa 242-0001

Phone: 046-274-2451

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Zuiryu-in Temple

     Nagatsuka-ji Temple was founded in 1324, when the Kamakura Shogunate was threatened with outside pressure from the Mongol Empire in the Asian Continent.  Some of the Ando Pirates found trading with the empire more profitable.  The Ando Pirates were based in Tosa Port, which flourished from the beginning of the 13th century to the middle of the 15th century, at the northernmost tip of Honshu Island.  To understand who the Ando Pirates were, we should first see what marine transport was like in the Sea of Japan till the 12th Century.

     In 746, over 1,100 Balhae and Tiei people arrived in Ideha Province along the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Northeastern part of Honshu Island.  The number implied it was rather a big migration than just envoys.  After getting some clothes and food as they might have expected, they were deported.

     They left Ideha Province.  But where?  They might have continued to sail north.  First, they might have invaded the estuary of the Yoneshiro River, outnumbered the local Emishi people, and occupied Nushiro Port.  Then, some of them might have continued to sail further north, reached the estuary of the Iwaki River, outnumbered the local Emishi people, and occupied or built Tosa Port there.  Their experience and knowledge enabled Tosa Port to flourish from the beginning of the 13th century to the middle of the 15th century.  With their knowledge of navigation, it might have been Balhae and Tiei people who also built 2 ports to wait for better winds.  One was in Onga between Akita and Nushiro, and the other was in Fukaura between Nushiro and Tosa.  Those ports made the navigation across the Sea of Japan safer and more secure.

     The 12th century witnessed the rise and fall of the Taira Clan in Japan.  In the first half of the century, Taira Tadamori (1096-1153) helped the clan rise to the top.  In the latter half, Taira Kiyomori (1118-1181) presided over the golden age of the clan.  The rise of the clan also meant the rise of trade between Japan and the continent.  After the death of Kiyomori, the clan collapsed rapidly, but the trade didn’t.  The Minamoto Clan, who overtook the Taira Clan, succeeded the trade.

     The trade between Japan and China across the East China Sea was a major route of the trade, but the trade between Japan and Balhae across the Sea of Japan worked as a significant bypass route of the trade.  The Taira Clan improved the Seto Inland Sea route by installing a new waterway with a new canal and by constructing a new port.  The clan also looked north.  Taira Shigemori (1137-1179), Kiyomori’s son, is said to have planned to dig a canal between Shiozu Port at the northernmost tip of Lake Biwa in Omi Province and Tsuruga Port in Echizen Province along the Sea of Japan in 1150.  They start digging at the place where there is Fukasaka Jizo today.  Too many rocks blocked their way, and the jizo statue is said to have been carved out from one of the rocks they excavated.

     Nichiren (1222-1282), a Buddhist priest, wrote an autobiography in 1276 on his travels from 1268 to 1275.  In the autobiography, he mentioned Ando Goro, a legendary founder of the Ando Pirates.  According to Nichiren’s narration, Goro was beheaded by Ezo.  His narration sounded that the case was widely known among the readers.

     Who were Ezo?  And what were happening in the region to the north of Japan, including today’s Hokkaido?

     Archaeologically speaking, the Satsumon Culture spread in the northern part of Honshu, the southern part of Hokkaido, and Sakhalin.  The Okhotsk Culture spread from the Amur River region to Sakhalin, northern Hokkaido and other lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk.  The two cultures were coexisting, maybe in peace or maybe in rivalry.  It was at that time that ironworking started spreading northward from Honshu.  The spread of ironworking meant the spread of iron arms.  And it was at that time that the Mongol Empire was invading the Amur River basin.  The empire had, as a matter of course, the most advanced weapons at the time.  Peoples with iron weapons and the empire were competing against each other for natural resources in the Amur River basin:  mainly for the hides and fur of Amur tigers and Amur leopards and probably feathers of hawks and eagles.

     In 1263, the Mongol Empire took control of the lower reaches of the Amur River, subjugating the Jurchen and other peoples. The empire encountered the iron-culture people in Sakhalin a year later, in 1264.  In 1265, the iron-culture peoples attacked and killed some local people who had allied with the empire.  The two were to clash against each other in Sakhalin.  The empire sent out an expedition to Sakhalin to subjugate the iron-culture peoples in 1273, but they failed to make it across the strait.  In 1284, waiting for the strait freezing over, the empire crossed the strait in the winter.  In 1285, the empire deployed 10,000 troops and attacked the iron-culture people.  In 1286, the empire deployed 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 ships and overwhelmed the iron-culture people.  They reached the southernmost tip of Sakhalin, and built a castle there.  Although they were once defeated, the iron-culture peoples kept trying to advance into the Amur River basin on the continent in 1296, 1297, and 1305.  In 1297, they crossed the sea into the lower reaches of the Amur River, and tried to abduct hawk hunters.  As hawk and eagle feathers used to be typical exports from the north to Japan, they were trying to gain control over exporting the feathers.  They finally became obedient to the empire by paying tribute of hides and fur.  Paying tribute also meant a kind of barter trading for them.

     Who were the iron-culture peoples?  They might have been those who belonged to the Satsumon Culture, the Okhotsk Culture, and probably Japanese, more specifically the Ando Pirates, which might have been formed by the mixture of Balhae, Tiei, Emishi, Ainu, and Japanese people.  Then, what happened around the iron-culture peoples?

     In 1305, the Kagen Rebellion, or the Rebellion of Hojo Munekata (1278-1305), broke out at Kamakura, the samurai capital of Japan.  It was actually infighting within the Hojo Clan, who were actual rulers of the Kamakura Shogunate.  It ceased within 3 months, but shook the foundation of the clan’s authority and power.  The iron-culture peoples in northern Honshu and Hokkaido might have found the Mongol Empire to be a better trading partner.

     If the Ando Pirates were trading bear hides, then they were trading with the people in Hokkaido, and Ando Goro might have been killed by the people there.  If they were trading tiger and leopard hides, then they were trading with some people in the continent, and Goro might have been killed by Mongolians.

     In 1308, when the iron-culture people and the Mongolian Empire compromised with each other, Prince Moriyoshi was born in Japan, who would later be one of the major leaders to end the Kamakura Shogunate.

     In 1263, Kubilai Khan, the fifth ruler of the Mongol Empire, took control of the lower reaches of the Amur River, subjugating the Jurchen and Nanai peoples as well as the Nivkh, who dwelt near the mouth of the Amur and across the strait on Sakhalin. According to the Yuan Shi, the official history of the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty China, Kubilai’s army conquered the Kugi people of Sakhalin a year later, in 1264. The history claims that the Mongols attacked the Kugi when the Gilimi people, who had already submitted to the Mongol armies, complained that the Kugi had invaded their territory.  Kugi might have been either Ainu or Japanese.

     Gilimi was the Sinicized pronunciation of Gillemi, the name that the Nanai people of the lower Amur used to refer to the people who called themselves the Nivkh.  (The Russians who explored the region in the seventeenth century called them the Gilyak.)  Even today there are still approximately 4,500 Nivkh around the mouth of the Amur and in northern Sakhalin.

     Kugi was the Sinicized pronunciation of Kughi, the Nivkh name for the Ainu.  Among the Tungus peoples of the lower Amur, the name was pronounced Kuyi, a pronunciation that was borrowed into Chinese and written Kui during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).  Approximately 2,500 Ainu lived in southern Sakhalin during the second half of the Edo Period (1603–1868).  From 1905 to 1945, when southern Sakhalin was under Japanese control, the Ainu population was about 1,500.

     In the 1320’s, Ando Suenaga was based in Fukaura Port and his cousin, Ando Suehisa, was based in today’s Aomori City.  They were rivals within the Ando Pirates, and it was Suenaga, who controlled Tosa Port, and, accordingly, who was more interested in direct trade with the Mongol Empire.  Suehisa, according to the geographical location of his stronghold, preferred transit trade through Ainu or Kugi people.  To make the matter worse, the Hojo Clan appointed Suehisa local administrator in Ezo.  The rivalry became rebellion.

     It was recorded that Kudo Sadasuke, who was from Suruga Province, was dispatched in 1326 to suppress the revolt of the Ando Pirates.  He arrested Suenaga, but it didn’t solve any problem.  Utsunomiya Takasada, who was from Kozuke Province, and Oda Haruhisa (1300-1352), who was from Hitachi Province, were dispatched in 1327.  That solved no troubles again, and finally in 1328, "reconciliation between Suehisa and Suenaga" was reached.  The Hojo Clan was forced to admit that Hisanaga was ruling Fukaura and the surrounding areas.  The Hojo Clan exposed their incompetence in handling the situation as the Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate.  In 1333, the shogunate collapsed as well as the regency.

Nagatsuka-ji Temple might have been founded either to mourn over the death of those who were dispatched to the north or to relieve the anxiety over the end of their system.

     Priest Chosatsu (?-1632) renamed Nagatsuka-ji Zuiryu-in.

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, dissolved many clans to strengthen the power of the shogunate.  This increased the number of masterless and jobless samurai and destabilized society.  To restabilize society, he strengthened the danka system.  Every citizen was supposed to belong to a Buddhist temple.  That was a business opportunity for Buddhist priests.  Chosatsu took full advantage of the opportunity and also founded Okura-ji, Hotai-ji, and Sosen-ji Temples.

Address: 5 Chome-4-30 Nagatsuta, Midori Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-0027

Phone: 045-983-5720

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Shogaku-in Temple

     According to its official website, Shogaku-in Temple was founded in 1572 by Ishimaru Arisada (1547-1631).  He invited Priest Chotatsu (?-1601) from Tennei-ji Temple.

     Arisada first worked and fought for Kitabatake Tomonori (1528-1576) in Ise Province.  In 1569, Tomonori was defeated by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and adopted Nobunaga’s 2nd son, Nobukatsu (1558-1630).

     On November 25, 1576, Tomomori was killed by some of his vassals who were ordered by Nobunaga and Nobukatsu.  His 2 young children (Tokumatsumaru and Kamematsumaru), 14 important vassals, and 30 others were killed on the spot too.  Tomomori’s second son, Tomofuji (1552-1576), his 3rd son, Chikanari (1560-1576), his son-in-law, Sakauchi Tomofusa, were invited to Nobukatsu’s castle falsely for a party and were killed there.  Tomofusa’s wife and young child, Senmatsumaru were killed on the spot, and 5 other vassals were killed in the castle.  Ishimaru Arisada survived and became a vassal of Nobukatsu, so he might have belonged to the assassins.

     After Nobunaga was assassinated, Nobukatsu was dismissed and banished in 1591 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) to Akita, Dewa Province.  Arisada followed him.

     In 1592, Nobukatsu was pardoned, moved to Yamato Province, and became a lord there.  Arisada didn’t follow him this time, and moved to Nara Village, Tsuzuki County, Musashi Province, with his family.  6 years later, presumably after Hideyoshi’s death, he confined himself in his house for illness.

     Arisada’s son, Sadamasa (1576-1645), became a vassal of Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632) in 1597, and fought in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and in the Siege of Osaka in 1615 against the Toyotomi Clan.

     Have you noticed something contradictory?  Yes, the temple was founded too early for the whole story to be true.  One possibility is that the temple was founded in Ise Province, and Arisada moved it to Musashi Province.

Address: 2 Chome-4-6 Nara, Aoba Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0038

Phone: 045-961-4914

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Kansho-ji Temple

     Kansho-ji Temple was founded in 1658 by Priest Nanmo (?-1600).  He raised money from 3 communities and built the temple.  What moved him so much?

     The Great Fire of Meireki broke out in Edo on January 18, 1657.  The fire lasted for 3 days, destroyed more than 60 percent of Edo, and claimed over 100 thousand lives.  Its smoke covered the whole city, and it was on the 24th that people could start to remove and bury those who were killed in the fire.

     The temple’s main deity is the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, which is said to have been carved by Gyoki (668-749).

Address: 2 Chome-11-8 Nishinaruse, Machida, Tokyo 194-0046

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Youn-ji Temple

     A hermitage was built sometime between 1264 and 1274, when Hojo Masamura was the 7th Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     In 1263, Kubilai Khan, the fifth ruler of the Mongol Empire, took control of the lower reaches of the Amur River, subjugating the Jurchen and Nanai peoples as well as the Nivkh, who dwelt near the mouth of the Amur and across the strait on Sakhalin.

     According to the Yuan Shi, the official history of the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty China, Kubilai’s army conquered the Kugi of Sakhalin a year later, in 1264. The history claims that the Mongols attacked the Kugi when the Gilimi, who had already submitted to the Mongol armies, complained that the Kugi had invaded their territory.  The Kugi were widely, especially outside Japan, believed to have been Ainu.

     Nichiren (1222-1282), a Buddhist priest, wrote an autobiography in 1276 on his religious activities from 1268 to 1275.  In the autobiography, he mentioned Ando Goro, a legendary founder of the Ando Pirates.  According to Nichiren’s narration, Goro was beheaded somewhere in the north.  Who was Ando Goro beheaded by?  What was happening in the region to the north of Japan?

     Archaeologically speaking, the then Ainu people spread from northern Honshu, southern Hokkaido, and Sakhalin.  At the time, ironworking was spreading northward from Honshu.  The spread of the iron culture meant the spread of iron arms.  And it was at that time that the Mongol Empire was invading the Amur river basin.  The empire had, as a matter of course, had the most advanced weapons at the time.  Ainu might have been competing against the empire for natural resources in the Amur River basin.  Was Goro beheaded by Ainu in Hokkaido or in Sakhalin?  Or was he beheaded by Mongols in Sakhalin or in the Amur River basin?

     Goro could have been beheaded by Gilimi.   Gilimi was the Sinicized pronunciation of Gillemi, the name that the Nanai people in the lower Amur used to refer to a people who called themselves the Nivkh.  (The Russians who explored the region in the seventeenth century called them the Gilyak.)  Even today, there are still approximately 4,500 Nivkh around the mouth of the Amur and in northern Sakhalin.

     Goro could have been beheaded by Mongolians.  In 1263, the Mongol Empire took control of the lower reaches of the Amur River, subjugating the Jurchen and other peoples. The empire encountered people with iron arms at Sakhalin a year later, in 1264.  In 1265 the people attacked and killed some local warriors who had allied with the empire.  The two were to clash against each other in Sakhalin.  The empire planned to send out an expedition to Sakhalin to subjugate the people in 1273, but they failed to make it across the strait.  In 1284, waiting for the strait to freeze over, the empire crossed the strait in the winter.  In 1285, the empire deployed 10,000 troops and attacked the people.  In 1286, the empire deployed 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 ships and overwhelmed the people.  They reached the southernmost tip of Sakhalin, and built a castle there.  Despite their defeat, however, the people kept trying to advance into the Amur River basin on the continent in 1296, 1297, and 1305.  In 1297, they crossed the sea into the lower reaches of the Amur River, and tried to abduct hawk hunters.  As hawk and eagle feathers used to be typical exports from the Amur River basin to Japan, they were trying to gain control over exporting the feathers.  They finally became obedient to the empire by paying tribute of hides and fur to the empire.  Paying tribute also meant barter trading.  The people might have been, from north to south, either Nivkh, Ainu, or the Ando Pirates.

     What was happening in Japan?

     In 1305, the Kagen Rebellion, or the Rebellion of Hojo Munekata (1278-1305), broke out at Kamakura, the samurai capital in Japan.  It was armed infighting within the Hojo Clan, who were the virtual rulers of the Kamakura Shogunate.  It ceased within 3 months, but shook the foundation of the clan’s authority and power.  The Ando Pirates, Ainu, or Nivk, from south to north, might have found Mongolians to be better trading partners.

     If the Ando Pirates were trading bear hides, they were trading with Ainu in Hokkaido, and Ando Goro might have been killed by Ainu in Hokkaido.  If they were trading tiger and leopard hides (possibly hawk and eagle feathers too) they were trading first with Nivk and then with the Mongol Empire, and Goro might have been killed by Mongolians either in Sakhalin or in the continent.

     Anyway, the Ando Pirates were not firmly on the “Japanese” side, and those who were dispatched north to suppress the pirates were indirectly fighting against the Mongol Empire.

     The contact led to contraband trade between the Matsumae Domain in Hokkaido and Qing China in the Edo Period, when Japan adopted a national isolation policy.  The silk clothes smuggled from Qing China were called Ezo nishiki, literally Ainu silk.  The Matsumae Clan’s public stance was that they were trading with Ainu, and that Ainu were importing the clothes from the Ulch people, who were living in the lower reaches of the Amur River.  Ulchi got those clothes through the “tribute” trade with the Qing Dynasty, but that was a secret.

     Let’s get back to Youn-ji Temple.  The hermitage first built in the precincts belonged to the Tiantai Sect.  It is unknown why it was founded.  The precincts have some itabi which date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, so the samurai who supported the hermitage and built the itabi might have been dispatched to fight against the Mongol Empire.  The itabi all had Pure-Land designs.  Priest Den’yo transferred the hermitage to the Pure Land Sect in 1567 and founded Youn-ji Temple.  From 1560 to 1568, Uesugi Kagetora (1530-1578) invaded the Kanto Region every year after harvest time.  It is debatable whether Kenshin invaded the region in such a timing to deprive the harvest in the region or with the harvest in his home country, Echigo Province, as military provisions.

Anyway, Youn-ji Temple was founded and revived when people there wanted to rely on divine Buddhist help.

Address: 3654 Honmachida, Machida, Tokyo 194-0032

Phone: 042-722-4545

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Senju-in Temple

     Senju-in Temple was revived by Oyamada Shigeyoshi at the beginning of the Kamakura Period, impressed with the main deity, the 5-centimeter-tall 1000-armed Sahasrabhuja statue.

     Who was Oyamada Shigeyoshi?

     Chichibu Shigehiro belonged to a branch family of the Chichibu Clan.  Shigehiro’s 1st son, Shigeyoshi, lived in Hatakeyama and started calling his family Hatakeyama, and his 2nd son, Arishige, lived in Oyamada in 1171 and started calling his family Oyamada.  Arishige’s 2nd son, Shigeyoshi, lived in Onoji.  Arishige’s 1st son might have died young, and Shigeyoshi succeeded to the head of the Oyamada Family.

     Arishige’s 3rd son, Shigenari (?-1205), lived in Inage and started calling his family Inage.  Shigenari's aunt, Nun Sabukawa (1137-1228), was the wet nurse of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate.  Shigenari's wife was a younger sister of Hojo Masako (1157-1225), Yoritomo's wife.

     Shigenari loved his wife so deeply that he became a Buddhist priest after her death and built a bridge over the River Banyu to pray for the comfort of her in the other world.  Yoritomo attended the commemoration of the completion of the bridge, fell off his horse on the way back, got knocked unconscious, and died a month later.

     The strong relations with the shogunate family caught the Inage Family up in a fatal tragedy.

     Hojo Tokimasa (1138-1215), Yoritomo's father-in-law, was appropriating the shogunate.  Tokimasa cornered Hatakeyama Shigetada (1164-1205) into corner.

     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 grace.  It was his old friend, Adachi Kagemori (?-1248), who charged at him first.

     Shigenari was suspected to be Tokimasa's conspirator and was killed by Okawado Yukimoto (?-?) on June 23, and the  Inage Family was destroyed.

     Arishige’s 4th son, Shigetomo (?-1205), was entrusted with the management of the Hangaya Manor of Ise Shrine and started calling his family Hangaya.  Shigetomo was also suspected to be Tokimasa's conspirator and was killed by Miura Yoshimura (?-1239) on June 23rd, and the Hangaya Family was destroyed.

     Arishige’s 5th son, Yukishige was also killed on the same day by someone somewhere.

     Oyamada Shigeyoshi survived, somehow or another.  He rebuilt Hakusan Shrine in Onoji in 1220, and founded Shinmei Shrine in Oyamada in 1223.  Presumably, he revived Senju-in Temple in 1217, commemorating the 12th anniversary of his late brothers.

     He was succeeded by his son, Kosaburo, became a chief priest of Yagara-Hachiman-gu Shrine, and changed his name to Kakuen-bo.

     Priest Kenryu (?-?) revived the temple again in 1591, 1 year after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan.  He deplored the decline of the temple and made a direct appeal to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) to revive it.  Ieyasu had moved to the Kanto Region on August 1, 1590,.

     Priest Eman (?-1677) renewed the temple bell in 1653, had a 36-centimeter-tall 1000-armed Sahasrabhuja statue carved, put the original Sahasrabhuja statue in it, and enshrined them in the Kannon-do Hall.

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, dissolved many clans to strengthen the power of the shogunate.  This increased the number of masterless and jobless samurai and destabilized society.  To restabilize society, he strengthened the danka system.  Every citizen was supposed to belong to a Buddhist temple.  Eman took full advantage of the business opportunity.

     The precincts have an old itabi dated March 2, 1295.  The itabi was dug up in the middle of the 18th century, was concealed in a sacred box and is enshrined in the main hall today.

     On April 22, 1293, Taira Yoritsuna (1241-1293), the Butler of the Hojo Clan, was killed by his lord, Hojo Sadatoki (1272-1311), in the chaos caused by the Kamakura Earthquake, which itself killed 23,024 people.  Sadatoki replaced Yoritsuna with Hojo Munekata (1278-1305), who belonged to a branch family of the Hojo Clan.  However, Munekata was suspected of having ambitions to become the Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate and was killed by Sadatoki.  Munekata’s child  was put in a cage and was sunk in the sea.

     Was the itabi buried under the ground to conceal something or someone unfavorable for the Sadatoki's regime?

     Senju-in Temple also belongs to the  Tama River 34 Kannon Pilgrimage as its #34.

Address: 2057 Onojimachi, Machida, Tokyo 195-0064

Phone: 042-735-2151

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Kannon-ji Temple

     It is unknown when and by whom Kannon-ji Temple was founded.  In 1844, when the temple needed its building repaired, the villagers formed an association to support the repair.

     Kannon-ji Temple is also the #12 of the Tama River 34 Kannon Pilgrimage. 

Address: 5 Chome−31−12 Sekito, Tama, Tokyo 206-0011

Phone: 042-375-7432

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Shinsho-ji Temple

     Shinsho-ji Temple was founded by Priest Koi (?-1036) in the 1010’s, when the Fujiwara Clan was at the height of their prosperity in Kyoto.  They had plenty of manors around the country.  An archeological excavation showed there used to be a Shinjihi-ji Temple, which was as big as Senso-ji Temple, in the area around Sekido Village at the time and that there was a big village around the temple.

https://www.city.hino.lg.jp/shisei/profile/kokusai/note/nikki/1006606.html

     The temple declined, and was revived by Raiyu (?-1297), who might have not been a priest and who could have sought refuge in religion.

     On April 22, 1293, Taira Yoritsuna (1241-1293), the Butler of the Hojo Clan, was killed by his lord, Hojo Sadatoki (1272-1311), in the chaos caused by the Kamakura Earthquake, which itself killed 23,024 people.  Sadatoki replaced Yoritsuna with Hojo Munekata (1278-1305), who belonged to a branch family of the Hojo Clan.  However, Munekata was suspected of having ambitions to become the Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate and was killed by Sadatoki.  Munekata’s child  was put in a cage and was sunk in the sea.

     Priest Zen’i (?-1606) revived the temple again and transferred it to the Shingon Sect.

     In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo, and he achieved his first major victory over the Toyotomi Clan in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.  What did Zen'i have in his mind in the outskirts of the growing new samurai capital?

     In Japan in 1899, there were 91,077 who had dysentery, and 23,189 died of it.  It started in the Kanto Region in June.  There, the number of people infected increased 9.7 times to 7,400 in July.  It further increased 4.5 times to 33,493 in August.  In September, 27,030, in October, 13,770, in November, 7,144, and finally came to an end in December.  The epidemic repeated every summer.  During those days, the Kannon-do Hall was used as an isolation hospital.  In 1902, the epidemic drew to an end, and the building was burned.

     Shinsho-ji Temple is also the #11 temple of the Tama River 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 1113 Ochikawa, Hino, Tokyo 191-0034

Phone: 042-591-1687

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Shoren-ji Temple

     Minamoto Yoriyoshi (988-1075) presented the clan’s statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of other 6 metamorphoses, to Shin-Jihi-ji Temple and revived the temple presumably either on his way to or back from Mutsu Province to fight the Former Nine Years’ War (1051-1062).

     Shin-Jihi-ji Temple declined again.  The wife of Okuba Tadamasu (1656-1713), the lord of Odawara Domain, presented an 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue to the temple and revived it as Shoren-ji Temple in the first half of the 18th century to commemorate Tokugawa Nobuyasu (1559-1579), who had been forced to kill himself by Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and who was the first son of Ieyasu.  It is unknown why she did it almost a century after Nobuyasu’s death.  Ieyasu’s first daughter was Prince Kame-hime (1560-1625), who survived and was married to Okudaira Nobumasa (1555-1615), whose last son was Tadaaki (1583-1644), who was given the surname Matsudaira from Ieyasu.  Tadaaki’s first son was Tadahiro (1631-1700), whose third daughter became the wife of Okuba Tadamasu.  Was she a history nerd?

     Shoren-ji Temple was abolished after the Meiji Restoration.  The site became Keio Mogusa Garden, and only a hall for Avalokiteshvara statues was left at the foot of the garden.  The restaurant in the garden is named Shoren-an.  There must be another history nerd in the Keio Railway Corporation.

Address: 849-1 Mogusa, Hino, Tokyo 191-0033

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Seikyo-ji Temple

     Oda Tomoharu (1529-1582) used to live in Hitachi Province.  For some reason, he left for Sagami Province with his mother, and was employed by the Later Hojo Clan.  When Tomoharu’s descendant, Sadahisa (?-1616), was working and fighting for the clan in Hachioji Castle, whose castle lord was Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590), he revived a Kannon-do building in Otsuka as Seikyo-ji Temple, whose main deity is the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, which had been carved by Unkei (?-1223).

     After the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590, Sadahisa and his son, Gentazaemon, stayed in Hachioji.  Presumably they had some farmland in Otsuka.  Later, Gentazaemon was employed by Matsudaira Tadayoshi (1580-1607), a younger brother of Tokugawa Hidetada(1579-1632), the second shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Tadayoshi died young, and Gentazaemon was then employed by Tokugawa Yorifusa (1603-1661).  As Yorifusa became the first lord of the Mito Domain in Hitachi Province, Gentazaemon moved with him to the province, his ancestor’s homeland, changing his name to Genzaemon for some reason.

     The precincts have a pond with salty water, where a unique type of shijimi mussels inhabit.  In the back of the temple, there stands a shrine, with its deity, a fragment of an iron pot which was used to produce salt.  That is why the temple’s sango is Shiogama, literally Salt Pot.

     Seikyo-ji Temple is the #10 temple of the Tama River 48 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 378 Otsuka, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0352

Phone: 042-676-8801

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Daisen-ji Temple

     Oyamada Arishige’s 5th son, Yukishige, founded Kosho-ji Temple in 1227 to pray for the comfort of the late Arishige in the other world.

Who was Oyamada Arishige?

     Chichibu Shigehiro belonged to a branch family of the Chichibu Clan.  Shigehiro’s 1st son, Shigeyoshi, lived in Hatakeyama and started calling his family Hatakeyama, and his 2nd son, Arishige, lived in Oyamada in 1171 and started calling his family Oyamada.

Arishige’s 2 elder sons, Shigenari and Shigetomo were assassinated on June 23rd, 1205, and Yukishige alone seemed to survive till the foundation of Kosho-ji Temple.

     Yukishige moved to Kai Province, and one of his offspring, Nobuzumi, married his daughter to Takeda Nobumitsu (?-1417), the Provincial Guardian Samurai.

     When Uesugi Ujinori (?-1417), the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate, rebelled against Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), the 4th Kanto Deputy Shogun, in 1416, Nobumitsu fought for Ujinori, the loser, and killed himself near Mt. Tokusa, Tsuru County, Kai Province.  Nobumitsu’s sister, who was married to Ujinori, killed herself on a certain riverside.  Nobumitsu’s eldest son, Nobushige (1386-1450), who was a grandson of Oyamada Nobuzumi, was staying in Kyoto at the time and survived.  More than 2 decades later, Nobushige finally returned to Kai ProvinceIn 1438.  He, however, was assassinated in 1450.

     Nobumitsu's second son, Nobunaga (?-1477), was with his father but survived.  He led guerrilla fighting in Kai Province against the Kanto Deputy Shogunate and their followers in the province.  After the return of Nobushige, however, he felt uncomfortable and fought for the Koga Kanto Deputy Shogunate in the southern half of the Kanto Region.

     Nobumitsu's third son, Nobuyasu, and fourth son, Nobukage (?-1477), became local samurai in Kai Province and survived.  It is unknown what happened to their mother and their grandfather, Oyamada Nobuzumi.

     Priest Etetsu (1350-1430) moved Kosho-ji Temple to the site of Arishige’s residence, and renamed it Daisen-ji after Arishige’s posthumous Buddhist name, Daisen.  Did Etetsu belong to the Oyamada Family and moved back to Oyamada Village to revive the temple?  What did he have in his mind?

     Tanaka Tomokiyo (1783-1847) was the 2nd son of a high-class farmer in Oyamada Village.  He moved to Edo in 1801 and studied Japanese philology and philosophy.  In 1803, he was adopted by the Takada’s, a wealthy merchant.  After his retirement in 1825, he called himself Oyamada.  One of his pupils, Chiba Tatetane, wrote about why Tomokiyo called himself Oyamada, and mentioned the history of the temple in 1828.

Address: 332 Shimooyamadamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0202

Phone: 042-797-9199

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Hosei-ji Temple

     There used to be Hosei-an Hermitage.  Inoue Yorihide changed it to Hosei-ji Temple in 1590 and invited Priest Shokan (?-1595) to the temple.

     Yorihide first worked and fought for Oishi Sadahisa (1491-1549).  Sadahisa took Hojo Ujiteru into his family, and the Oishi Family had been half taken over by the Later Hojo Clan.  So, Yorihide worked and fought for the Later Hojo Clan.

     Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590) was the lord of Hachioji Castle.  When Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) seized Odawara Castle, Ujiteru was in the castle.  Hachioji Castle was seized by Maeda Toshiie (1539-1599) and Uesugi Kagekatsu (1556-1623). When Hachioji Castle fell, nearly 3,000 people, including women and children, committed mass suicide.  Presumably, Yorihide survived and built a temple to pray for the comfort of those who were killed in the battle.

Address: 547 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0355

Phone: 042-676-9416

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Gyokusen-ji Temple

     Gyokusen-ji Temple was founded by Priest Kenkai (?-1383).

     In the 1370’s, the Kanto Deputy Shogun and the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate were still working together.  Uesugi Noriharu (?-1379), the then regent, worked and fought for Ashikaga Motouji (1340-1367), the first Kanto Deputy Shogun, and for Ujimitsu (1359-1398), the second Kanto Deputy Shogun.

     However, in 1379, infighting within the central shogunate broke out.  Ujimitsu had ambitions to become a central shogun and tried to advance to Kyoto.  Noriharu tried to persuade him not to, and finally killed himself to stop him on March 7th.  Ujimitsu still appointed Noriharu's brother, Norimasa (1335-1394), as the general of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate Army on March 21st.  Norimasa left Kamakura but stopped in Izu Province.  Ujimitsu finally gave up his ambitions for the time being.  Norimasa became the next Regent on April 15th, and returned to Kamakura on the 28th of the same month.  The relationship between the Kanto Deputy Shogun and the Regent became delicate.  Gyokusen-ji Temple might have been founded on one of those delicate days.

     Gyokusen-ji Temple burned down sometime after 1688.  In 1695, Priest Ryoei (?-1695) rebuilt the main hall.  Tsuchiya Masanao (1641-1722), the 2nd lord of the Tsuchiura Domain in Hitachi Province, supported the reconstruction.  In 1695, his 4th son, Nobunao (1695-1734), was born.  As Nobunao's elder brothers died young, he became the 3rd lord of the domain.

Address: 726 Koshino, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0361

Phone: 042-676-8050

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Eisen-ji Temple

     Eisen-an Hermitage was founded in 1555 by Nagano Izumi (?-1559).  Who was Nagano Izumi?

     Takeda Harunobu (1521-1573) banished his father, Nobutora (1494-1574), in 1541.  He invaded Shinano Province castle by castle, and made battles every year.  In 1553, he drove out Murakami Yoshikiyo (1501-1573) from the northern part of Shinano Province.  Now, he was facing Nagao Kagetora (1530-1578) in Echigo Province and Saito Toshimasa (1494-1556) in Mino Province.

     Nagano Izumi was sick of endless battles, and flew from Kai Province to Yarimizu Village in Musashi Province.  He brought a family heirloom, an Arya Avalokitesvara statue, and became a monk under the guidance of the priest in Eirin-ji Temple, the Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #41.

     In 1571, Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590) started constructing Hachioji Castle.  Priest Giken of Eirin-ji Temple changed the hermitage to a temple in 1573 and named it Eisen-ji.

     Its main hall burned down in 1885.  Yagishita Yoemon, a silk merchant, presented his house to the temple, with its sericulture room remodeled and with its thatched roof tiled.

Address: 80 Yarimizu, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0375

Phone: 042-676-8104

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Fukuden-ji Temple

     Fukuden-ji Temple was founded as a shrine temple of Koyasu Shrine by 1533.

     During World War II, the Nakajima Aircraft Company made fighter aircraft in the Musashi Plant.  As the plant was bombed by the U.S. Air Force, they built an underground plant in Hachioji, which was targeted by the air force next.

     At 20:55 on August 1st, 1945, an air-raid alert was issued in Hachioji City.  After 00:00 the following morning, 169 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses raided the city, dropping 1600 tons of incendiary bombs for about 2 hours.  2.9 out of 3.5 square kilometers of urban area was burned.  Fukuden-ji Temple was reduced to ashes.

     Koyasu Shrine was founded in 759 by Tachibana Ukyoshoyu to pray for the safe delivery of the Empress.  Ukyoshoyu was a job title, so it is difficult to tell who Tachibana Ukyoshoyu was right away.

     As Emperor Oi (733-765) had succeeded to the throne in 758, the Empress must have been Awata Morone.  Her last record was in 758, so she might have died of difficult delivery in 759.

     Awata Morone was first married to Fujiwara Mayori, who was alive till 749.  After his death, she kept living in the residence of Fujiwara Nakamaro (706-764), Mayori’s father.  Before long, Oi, who was still one of the princes, started visiting her.  Oi became the Crown Prince on April 4th, 756.  Inscrutable were the ways of Heaven.

     Let’s get back to Tachibana Ukyoshoyu.  Tachibana Yasumaro (739-821), who was the third head of the Tachibana Clan.  Ukyoshoyu was a member of the Tachibana Clan, could have been a contemporary of Yasumaro, and was working temporarily or permanently in Musashi Province at the time.  

     Fukuden-ji Temple is also the #30 temple of the Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 4 Chome-10-6 Myojincho, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0046

Phone: 042-642-4262

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Kongo-in Temple

     Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590) started building Hachioji Castle in 1571, and moved from Takigawa Castle in 1587.  As its castle town developed, Priest Shinsei founded Myoo-in Temple in Uenohara in 1576, and enshrined an Acalanatha statue.  Meanwhile, someone else enshrined the statue of Kukai nearby.

     After the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) moved to Edo in 1591, and ordered Okubo Nagayasu (1545-1613) to rule Hachioji.

     Following the land rezoning by Nagayasu, Priest Kakujo merged the 2 temples,  enshrined the Acalanatha and Kukai statues, and founded Kongo-in Temple in 1631.

     All the buildings were reduced to ashes in World War II.

     The Nakajima Aircraft Company made fighter aircraft in the Musashi Plant.  As the plant was bombed by the U.S. Air Force, they built an underground plant in Hachioji, which was targeted by the air force next.  At 20:55 on August 1st, 1945, an air-raid alert was issued in Hachioji City.  After 00:00 the following morning, 169 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses raided the city, dropping 1600 tons of incendiary bombs for about 2 hours.  2.9 out of 3.5 square kilometers of urban area was burned including Kongo-in Temple.  

    Kongo-in Temple is also the #31 temple of the Virtual Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 3 9-2 Uenomachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0902

Phone: 042-622-9540

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Senryu-ji Temple

     Hojo Takatoki (1304-1333) was the last Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     On May 7th, 1333, Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) went over to Emperor Go-Daigo and captured the Kyoto Office of the Kamakura Shogunate.  On the 8th in the same month, Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338) took up arms in Kozuke Province and advanced to Kamakura.  His army reached Kamakura on May 18th, and broke into the samurai capital on the 22nd.  Takatoki retreated to Tosho-ji Temple and killed himself in a cave there.  His vassals, Ogi Miyauchi and Abe Sanzaemon, brought his personal guardian Siddhattha sitting statue to Tsuruma Village, Koza County, Sagami Province.  They built a hermitage, enshrined the statue in it, and named it  Saiko-an, namely West Ray Hermitage.

     In 1558, the Eiroku Great Famine started and that caused Monk Hakushu (?-1560) to live in the hermitage.  In 1583, Hojo Ujimasa (1538-1590) became a practical ruler of the Kanto Region.  Priest Tozui (?-1586) changed it to a temple and renamed it Senryu-ji.  Tozui died 4 years before the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan.  The Siddhattha statue has witnessed the ends of rulers.

     The precincts have the oldest grave in Sagamihara City that is dated 1449, when Ashikaga Shigeuji (1438-1497) became the 5th Kanto Deputy Shogun.

     Ashikaga Harutora was born on June 13th, 1394.  At the age of 9, he entered Seiren-in Temple, on June 21st, 1403.  On March 4th, 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 17th, 1428.  Gien became the sixth shogun, Yoshinori (1394-1441), who assassinated his political opponents one by one.

     Yoshinori cornered Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), the 4th Kanto Deputy Shogun, into suicide.  Yuki Ujitomo (1402-1441) sheltered Mochiuji’s 2 sons, Shun'o-maru and Yasuo-maru, in his castle, and rebelled against Yoshinori in March, 1440.  On July 29th, Yuki Castle was surrounded by the overwhelming strength of the shogunate army.  The outcome was self-evident from the very beginning.  Yet, the Yuki Family held the castle for nearly a year.  On April 16th, 1441, the castle finally fell.  Ujitomo and his son were killed in the fighting.  Shun'o-maru and Yasuo-maru were arrested and were to be transferred to Kyoto.  On their way, at Tarui, Mino Province, however, they were killed and left their death poems:

“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)

Mochiuji’s youngest son, Eiju-maru, survived, became the 5th Kanto Deputy Shogun, and was given the adult name Shigeuji.

     The person who was buried under the grave witnessed all the chaos and tragedies.

Address: 8 Chome 54-21, Kamitsurumahoncho, Minami Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 52-0318

Phone: 042-742-3495

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Kojo-ji Temple

     Kojo-ji Temple has kept its documents and oral tradition quite well.

      The precincts of Kojo-ji Temple used to be the site of the fort of the Kunugida Family.  The family was started by Yokoyama Tokishige’s 4th son, Shigekane.  Tokishige’s sister was the wife of Kajiwara Kagetoki (1140-1200), and his daughter was married to Wada Yoshimori (1147-1213).  Who were the Yokoyama Family?

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

     Kojo-ji Temple was founded by Priest Reizan in 1394 and was financially supported by Nagai Takanori (?-1402), the lord of Katakura Castle.  In 1505, the temple was transferred from the Linji Chan Sect to the Soto Chan Sect by Priest Kotatsu (?-1518).

     In 1559, the temple burned down.  Komiyayama Minbu presented the main hall in 1575.  Minbu’s son, Kiyoshiro, also called himself Minbu.  Kiyoshiro's daughter was married to Kono Michiharu (1586-1655).  Michiharu was one of the leaders of the Hachioji Corps of the Thousand, which was organized with the ex-vassals of the Takeda Clan by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) when he moved to Edo after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590.  The corps were led by 10 families, and the Kono Family was one of the 10.  The family claimed themselves to be the descendants of the Kono Clan in Iyo Province.

     Centuries later, Imawano Kiyohiro (1951-2009), a rock musician, was buried in Kojo-ji Temple.

     The main deity of Kojo-ji Temple is the Pandara Vasini Avalokitesvara statue, which had been the personal guardian Buddhist image of Fuse Daini, and which was presented to the temple in the 1560’s.

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

     In 1574, Hojo Ujinao (1562-1591) presented a Buddhist string of crystal beads to Kojo-ji Temple.

     When Maeda Toshiie (1538-1599) seized Hachioji Castle in 1590, he stayed at Kojo-ji Temple.  It was recorded that he paid 93,000 coins (=4348 grams of silver) to the temple.

     Kubota Tadakado (?-1613), one of the leaders of the Hachioji Corps of the Thousand, invited Sarasvati to the temple.

     Okubo Nagayasu (1545-1613) purchased 19 logs from the temple in October, 1602.

     Satake Yoshinaga (1655-1741) had 2 daughters and 2 sons.  Kon was the elder sister.  Yoshinaga adopted Yoshimichi (1701-1765) as Kon’s husband.  Kon gave birth to Yoshiharu (1723-1758) and donated to Kojo-ji Temple in 1749, when her first grandson became 1 year old.

     The temple enshrines 33 statues of Avalokitesvara, which aren’t shown to the public usually except every April in the Year of Rabbit.  The next chance will be the year 2023.

     Kojo-ji Temple is also the #19 temple of the Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

 

Address: 1425 Hatsuzawamachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0845

Phone: 042-661-6852

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Fukusho-ji Temple

     Fukusho-ji Temple was founded by Priest Taisan (?-1651), but it wasn’t recorded when the temple was founded.

     Okamoto Gen’ya (1587-1645) healed Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), cured Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) in 1625 and in 1637, and treated Tokugawa Masako (1607-1678) in 1637.  He was given some territory in Tsuzuki County, Musashi Province, including Onda Village in 1638.  After 1638, he presented the Inari Shrine to Fukusho-ji Temple.  Then, it must have been founded, as the matter of course, before 1638. 

Address: 1021-1 Ondacho, Aoba Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 227-0065

Phone: 045-981-9232

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Kifuku-ji Temple

     Kifuku-ji Temple is an independent temple, which belongs to no Buddhist sect or school.  The temple advise following “fujumon” convention.  The convention is performed in a Buddhist ritual to commemorate the dead.  The dead’s relatives are supposed to write a short essay about the dead’s personality and contributions.  A priest recites it in the ritual.  The convention is widely performed along the Pacific coast in Chiba Prefecture.

http://www.kifukuji.com/index.html

     Kifuku-ji Temple is also the #11 temple of the  Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 2 Chome-11-11 Nakanosanno, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0042

Phone: 042-622-6712

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Choan-ji Temple

     Choan-ji Temple was founded in 1626 by Priest Ryoton.  There used to be a tram line in Hachioji City, and the Line's slabs are reused in Choan-ji Temple for the approach from its temple gate to its main hall. 

     The tram line, Musashi Central Electric Railway, started its service in 1929 and ended in 1939.

     The precincts have a graveyard, and there is a grave for the Ito Family, one of the leaders of the Hachioji Corps of the Thousand, which was organized with the ex-vassals of the Takeda Clan by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) when he moved to Edo after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590.  The corps were led by 10 families, and the Ito Family was one of the 10. 

Address: 7-1 Namikicho, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0831

Phone: 042-661-6975

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Shinkaku-ji Temple

     Shinkaku-ji Temple was founded in 1234.

     In 1230 and 1231, the Great Kanki Famine hit Japan.  On June 7th, 1230, it snowed in Musashi Province.  On July 16th, there was frost.  By the spring in 1231, people had eaten up all their food, and one third of the population had died.  It was on one of those days that Jogyo died.  Did he kill himself, in despair?  In 1232, Hojo Yasutoki (1183-1242), the third Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, promulgated the Formulary of Adjudications, the legal code of the Kamakura Shogunate, to stabilize samurai society.

     Shinkaku-ji Temple might have been founded to mourn for those who died in the famine.

     The precincts have Takasai Shrine, namely the Prime Minister Shrine.  Sometime in the Northern and Southern Courts Period (1336-1392), a noble man escaped from Kyoto and settled in Goshomizu, Hachioji.  Goshomizu literally means Palace Water.

     Some say the refugee was Madenokoji Nobufusa (1258-1348), who became a kind of a Supreme Court Judge under the Kenmu Restoration (1333-1336) after the collapse of the Kamakura Shogunate. However, he carried the whole discontent with the restoration on his shoulder, and resigned.

     After the collapse of the Kenmu Regime, he didn’t go to Mt. Yoshino with Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) and Nobufusa's grandchildren stayed in Kyoto.  His whereabouts became unknown.  His great grandson held a 99th anniversary ceremony on October 18th, 1447.  Then, Nobufusa might have died in 1348.

     Nagayama Tadayoshi, who was the lord of Tsukui Castle from 1394 to 1428, revived the temple in 1411 and invited Priest Ryugen from Daigo-ji Temple in Kyoto. 

     Shinkaku-ji Temple is also the #22 of the Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

 

Address: 5 Chome-36-10 Sandamachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0832

Phone: 042-661-5921

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #23  Kofuku-ji Temple

     Kofuku-ji Temple was founded by Amamiya Hidenori in 1580.  In 1579, the alliance between the Later Hojo Clan and the Takeda Clan broke up.  Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590), the lord of Hachioji Castle, sent Amamiya Tsunanobu (1536-1609) to Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) to ally with him.  The people in the Kanto Region were getting involved in the national situation.

     The temple was revived by Priest Juson in 1597, when Japan invaded Korea again.

     In 1619, the head of the Amamiya Family was given a Buddhist posthumous name Senko-in, and his wife Jurin-in.  The temple was renamed Jurin-san Senko-in Temple after them.

     Kofuku-ji Temple is also the #23 of Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 754 Higashiasakawamachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0834

Phone: 050-3542-5115 

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Oto-Kannon-do Temple

     When Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590) constructed Hachioji Castle in 1571, he built the first gate at the upper side of Aihara Village.  Since then, the place came to be called Oto, namely Big Gate.  Beside the guardhouse, there was a hermitage, called Ryoshin-an.  

     When Ujiteru selected the Eight Views of Hachioji, he picked Oto.   Choosing the 8 most beautiful scenes in a certain area originated from the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) in China.  Xiaoxiang was in Hunan Province.  That is to say, Ujiteru was highly cultured, or well-educated in Chinese classics.  The Eight Views of Hachioji were as follows:

The Autumn Moon in Hachioji Castle

The Spring Storm in Hachioji Village

The Mist in Mt. Takao

The Landing Wild Geese in Koon-ji Temple

The Night Rain in Ryusen-ji Temple

The Returning Fishers in Asa River

The Twilight Snow in Todori Village

The Night Bell in Oto Kannon-do Temple

     Ujiteru composed a tanka poem for each of the eight views, and the one for Oto Kannon-do is as follows:

The Big Gate stands in the dusk

In the sound waves of the temple bell

Villagers go home with firewood on their backs.

     The hermitage later came to be called Yusho-an, and a hall for the Arya Avalokitesvara statue was rebuilt in its precincts in 1596, 6 years after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan and the death of Ujiteru.

     Oto-Kannon-do Temple is also the #20 of the Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 4643 Aiharamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0211

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Fumon-ji Temple

     Fumon-ji Temple was founded sometime between 729 and 748 by Gyoki (668-749).

https://kawai24.sakura.ne.jp/saitama-kazo-humonji-2.html

     The precincts have 6 old itabi.  The oldest is dated 1260, when Hojo Tokiyori (1227-1263) was the 5th Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     Tokiyori was a very popular statesman who built a welfare-warfare shogunate.  He shortened regal proceedings and ensured fairness.  Ordinary samurai were to guard either Kyoto or Kamakura for half a year, but he shortened the term to 3 months.  He also protected ordinary people’s livelihood.

     Tokiyori's popularity helped inspire the Noh play, Hachinoki:

  At dusk with snow falling heavily, a traveling monk appeared at the hermitage on the outskirts of Sano Village and asked for a night’s lodging. The resident samurai refused at first.  He was too poor to entertain him.  But he let the monk in, who was suffering from the snowy road.  He served a small meal. His name was Sano Genzaemon.  He said that he formerly owned more than 30 villages, but that he was deprived of everything by the embezzlement of his relatives and fell to his current condition. As he talked, the fire was about to go out, but there was no more firewood to add. Genzaemon brought three pots of pine, plum, and cherry, which were his proudest possessions that had been collected in the old days when he had prospered.  He found them useless now, and used them as firewood.  He broke them and put the pieces on the fire. Although he had lost everything, he still kept his armor, naginata (a Japanese halberd) and an old horse.  He said that once he was summoned from Kamakura, he would ride on his horse and rush to Kamakura with his naginata as soon as possible and fight for his life.

  In the New Year, spring came, and suddenly Kamakura made an emergency call. Genzaemon put on his old armor, carried a rusty naginata on his back, and rushed on a thin horse.  When he arrived in Kamakura, he was summoned before Hojo Tokiyori. While the generals were lined up, Tokiyori said to Genzaemon who prostrated in torn armor, "Do you remember the monk traveling in the snowy night? That was actually me.  I'm glad that you've come so early."  Tokiyori not only returned Genzaemon his former territories, but also gave him three territories (the territory of Umeda Manor in Kaga Province, Sakurai Manor in Ecchu Province, and Matsuida Manor in Kozuke Province) as new prizes. Genzaemon gratefully withdrew and returned to Sano Village cheerfully.

     On September 15th, 1256, Tokiyori caught measles.  He recovered on the 25th in the same month, but his daughter died of the disease on October 13th.  On November 3rd in the same year, he was affected by dysentery.  In 1263, he got another serious illness, became worse in November, and finally passed away at around 8 on the evening of the 22nd of the month.

     The samurai buried under the itabi might have lived and died contemporary with Tokiyori.

     Others are dated 1267, 1270, 1272, and 1292.  The last is unreadable.

     The temple was revived by Priest Raishin (?-1707) in 1698.  What happened in the Pax Tokugawa?  In those days, Edo had 3 big fires.  On October 17th, 1697, 363 samurai residences burned down.  On September 6th, 1698, 308 samurai residences, 232 temples and shrines, and 18700 houses burned down.  On November 29th, 1704, 275 samurai residences, 75 temples and shrines, and 20 thousand houses burned down.  There must have been droughts those days, and Fumon-ji Temple might have had a fire.

Address: 200 Nakazawa, Midori Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0117

Phone: 042-782-2100

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Chotoku-ji Temple

     In the 1520's, Nakazato Heijuro and Hozan Ryocho were living in Shinano Province, which was located to the west of Kai Province.  In Kai Province, Takeda Nobutora (1494-1574) unified the Takeda Family in 1508.  He unified Kai Province in 1522, and started invading Shinano Province, which was still in the age of rival chiefs.  Heijuro and Ryocho had to make the ultimate choice between one of Shinano local chiefs and Nobutora, who was not so popular even among Kai local samurai and who was later dismissed by his own son.  Anyway, to the east of Kai Province, in Sagami Province, Ise Shinkuro (1456-1519) was realizing his Warring-States-Period dream.

     Shinkuro moved from Kyoto to Suruga Province to become a Warring-States-Period hero.  In 1493, he invaded Izu Province and made it his own territory, gaining independence from the Imagawa Clan in Suruga Province. From then, he moved eastward and seized Sagami Province by the end of 1510’s.  Even before the unification of the province, Shinkuro was capturing Musashi Province castle by castle.  His son, Ujitsuma (1487-1541), was based in Odawara Castle.  In 1518, Ujitsuna succeeded Shinkuro.

     In 1523, Ujitsuna changed his family name to Hojo, a brand name in the Kanto Region.  To the eyes of Heijuro and Ryocho, the Later Hojo Clan looked dazzling.

     In 1524, Nobutora committed an act of aggression on the Okumimata area in Aiko County, Sagami Province.  The area was one of the mountainous areas along the border between the 2 provinces.  In 1525, Nobutora tried to seize Tsukui Castle there.  From then, the two armies confronted each other along the border.

     Heijuro and Ryocho took a chance, escaped to the territory of the Later Hojo Clan, and excused themselves for switching sides to pray for the comfort of the dead in the other world.

     Ryocho built a hermitage at the foot of a cliff, and Heijuro cultivated the wilderness around the hermitage.  Ryocho’ son, Kogan, and grandson, Zenryo, kept the hermitage.  Heijuro’s offsprings kept calling themselves Heijuro and pursued their Warring-States-Period dream, which ultimately didn’t come true.

     In the meantime, the Later Hojo Clan was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1590.  The Toyotomi Clan was destroyed by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) in 1615.  The Warring-States-Period frenzy was gone, and the Pax Tokugawa came.

     The Nakayama Family became a village head from generation to generation throughout the Edo Period and their descendants still live in the area.  The hermitage was buried by a landslide, and was rebuilt in its present place.  

     2 centuries later, the Kanto Region had another frenzy, whose evidence Chotoku-ji Temple still keeps:  The precincts have a stone statue, one of the Tokuhon Nianfo Statues.

     Monk Tokuhon (1758-1818) was born in Hidaka County, Kii Province.  At the age of 18, he stopped lying even at night.  At the age of 27, he became a monk and practiced Mokujiki or grain avoidance.  In 1814, he visited Edo, and then carried out enlightenment activities around the Kanto Region.  He alternately struck a gong and a wooden gong alternately and chanted very loud.  His chanting style became a fad.  Building a stone statue carved with his handwriting became trendy.  Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture alone has 73 of them.  Nagano Prefecture has 181 in total.  In Kanagawa prefecture, Hiratsuka City has 28, and Sagamihara City has 14.  Kanagawa Prefecture may have more than 150 in total.  In the 1820’s, the Bakumatsu (the-end-of-the-Tokugawa-Shogunate) heroes were born one after another.  People might have been waiting for the next frenzy, modernization.

Address: 756 Oshima, Midori Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0135

Phone: 042-761-9594

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Seisui-ji Temple

     It is unknown when Seisui-ji Temple was founded.  Its main deity, the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was said to have been carved by Gyoki (668-749).  The statue was partially destroyed by the fire which was caused by Takeda Harunobu (1521-1573).

     In the 1560’s, Harunobu had a burning ambition to rule the whole country.  That meant he had to advance west.  To secure the troubles behind him, he dealt with Uesugi Kagetora (1530-1578) in the north and Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) in the east.

     Harunobu incited rebellious or autonomous groups, who believed in True Land Buddhism, in Ecchu Province to revolt against Kagetora.  Against Ujiyasu, Harunobu invaded their territory through the Usui Pass, which was located in the northern Kanto Region, and surrounded their stronghold, Odawara Castle, to threaten them in 1569.

     So, Seisui-ji Temple was set on fire in 1569, presumably on Harunobu’s way to Odawara.

     The temple has a Yakshas statue, which was examined by Maruo Shozaburo (1892-1980).  He supposed the statue was carved sometime between 894 and 1185.  The Arya Avalokitesvara statue may be as old as the Yakshas statue.

Address: 701 Aiharamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0211

Phone: 042-772-0750

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Fukusho-ji Temple

     Fukusho-ji Temple is listed as #28 and #29, the deity of its Kannon-do Hall is an Arya Avalokiteshvara statue, which is supposed to have been carved sometime in the 11th or 12th century.

     According to the oral history of Fukusho-ji Temple, the Arya Avalokiteshvara statue is #29.  The Kannon-do Hall enshrines another Avalokitesvara statue, the 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue, which is said to be the #28 deity of the Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     There used to be an Aragayatsu- Kannon-ji Temple in Tabata, Machida City.  The temple’s existence can be traced back to 1779, when influenza raged in Sagami Province.  Priest Chikai made up his mind to sacrifice himself.  He had villagers dig a grave, make a coffin, cover the coffin with Chikai in it, and bury it.  Chikai himself kept striking a gong until his death.  He asked to make an offering of tea after his death.  Since then, till the abolishment of the temple at the beginning of the Meiji Period, villagers offered tea in a chipped teapot.

     In the Edo Period alone, from 1707 to 1868, there were 23 epidemics of influenza.  Most of them started from Nagasaki, which was the only port open to the world, spread eastward, reached Edo, and sometimes spread to the countryside.  In 1776, Okoma Flu was prevalent in Edo.

Address: 2524 Oyamamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0212

Phone: 042-797-7034

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Fukusho-ji Temple

     The New Chorography on Musashi Province, which was compiled by Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) at the beginning of the 19th century, said that Fukusho-ji Temple was founded by Priest Keie (?-1683).

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, dissolved many clans to strengthen the power of the shogunate.  This increased the number of masterless and jobless samurai and destabilized society.  To restabilize society, he strengthened the danka system.  Every citizen was supposed to belong to a Buddhist temple.  That was a business opportunity for would-be priests.  Keie might have taken full advantage of the opportunity.

     When Kotonobu compiled the chorography, he carried out detailed field surveys, made careful interviews, and read old documents in detail.  However, he wasn’t lucky enough to find a document which Suzuki Magobe had at home in Sagamihara City.  According to the document which was found in October, 1937, Fukusho-ji Temple was founded in 1233 by Priest Genryo, and was financially supported by Amano Kiyohiko.

     Kiyohiko often heard the auditory hallucinations of cicadas chirping.  He prayed to an Avalokitesvara statue, and asked the Kamakura Shogunate, on July 15th, 1233, to let him found a temple.  Hojo Yasutoki (1183-1242) ordered the supervisor of temples, Tajimi Kaiki, to approve the foundation and to let Kiyohiko use the latter half of the era name, Tenfuku, in the first half of the temple’s name.  The temple’s sango is Semi-san or Mount Semi, literally Mount Cicada, which somewhat sounds like Shumi-sen, or Mount Sumeru, which is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Buddhist cosmology and which is considered to be the center of all the universes.  Yasutoki might have been a witty person.

     Anyway, Priest Keie might have revived Fukusho-ji Temple in the 17th century.

Address: 2524 Oyamamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0212

Phone: 042-797-7034

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Kogan-ji Temple

     Kogan-ji Temple used to be located at Dogayatsu, Kamimizo Village, Koza County, Sagami Province.  It was abolished by the end of the Meiji Era, and its Arya Avalokitesvara statue was moved to its present place.  It is enshrined in Kamimizo-Motomachi Community Center.

Address: 6 Chome−18−4 Kamimizo, Chuo Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0243

Phone: 042-761-5926

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Kanshin-ji Temple

     Endo Kagemune was said to have fought for the Southern Court.  In 1358, Nitta Yoshioki (1331-1358), the main samurai of the Southern Court in the Kanto Region, was killed in battle.  Kagemune gave up being a samurai and became a fisher in Taima Village in 1361.  One day, he set a net in the Sagami River and caught an Arya Avalokitesvara statue.  He enshrined it at home along the riverbank.

     In the 1570’s, Kagemune’s offsprings cultivated the area, and moved to the river terrace. They invited Priest Kanshin, and founded Kanshin-in Temple in 1586.

     After the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Nakajima and Ochiai Families kept cultivating the area, and moved the temple to its present place.  Presumably, the temple was renamed Kanshin-ji then.

Address: 774 Taima, Minami Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0336

Phone: 042-778-0284

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Seisui-ji Temple

     In 791, Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758-811) was dispatched to the eastern provinces to prepare for the war against the foreign peoples in the northeastern part of Honshu.  In 794, he invaded the region, with the military successes of beheading 457 and taking 150 captive.  During the war, he recognized Vaisravana and Ksitigarbha as effective.  It is unknown where he met the two.  In or around the capital?  In the eastern provinces on his way to the northeastern region?  For example, in Musashi Province?  Or in the northeastern region itself?

     In 798, he built Kiyomizu-dera Temple for a 1000-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, and put the statues of Vaisravana and Ksitigarbha on sides.  The two side deities were supposed to guard the main deity.

     In 801, he invaded the northeastern region again.  When Tamuramaro brought back two enemy chiefs, Aterui and More, to the capital in 802, the two were killed against Tamuramaro’s intention to have them keep working in a unified Japan as chiefs in the northeastern region.  

     Tamuramaro might have passed by Koza County, Sagami Province, on those round trips, and recognized the area as the best location to invite Avalokitesvara.

     Almost 8 centuries later, in 1596, Priest Zonsetsu (?-1610) found an 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue in a well, believed that it was the one Tamuramaro had made, and made up his mind to found a copy temple of Kiyomizu-dera Temple, which Tamuramaro had founded, and he named the temple Seisui-ji after Kiyomizu-dera.  Seisui-ji is the Chinese-style pronunciation of Kiyomizu-dera.

     Priest Sotetsu installed temple buildings from 1624 to 1644.

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, dissolved many clans to strengthen the power of the shogunate.  This increased the number of masterless and jobless samurai and destabilized society.  To restabilize society, he strengthened the danka system.  Every citizen was supposed to belong to a Buddhist temple.  That was a business opportunity for priests and temples.  Sotetsu took full advantage of the opportunity.

     Every year on October 19th, Seisui-ji Temple organizes a 2-gong-and 1-drum nenbutsu ceremony, a special style.

Address: 1457 Shimomizo, Minami Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0335

Phone: 042-778-0644

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Kakuen-bo Temple

     Kakuen-bo Temple was founded by Priest Kakuen in 1063 as one of 621 branch temples in Onjo-ji Temple in Omi Province.  Its main deity was an Arya Avalokitesvara statue.

     In Medieval days, the followers of Enryaku-ji Temple burned Onjo-ji Temple 50 times.  In 1141, Kakuen-bo Temple was burned as one of the 50 incidents.  Monk Daishin escaped with the statue to Mt. Hando in Koka County in the same province.

     In 1351, Monk Ginen moved the statue to Gichu-ji Temple (1 Chome-5-12 Banba, Otsu, Shiga 520-0802).  By Chance, it had the grave of Minamoto Yoshinaka (1154-1184), who was killed in battle against his cousin, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199).  Yoshinaka’s son, Yoshitaka (1173-1184), had been sent to Kamakura as a hostage, and stayed in the area where Kakuen-bo Temple is located today.  A few months after Yoshinaka’s death, Yoshitaka was killed on the bank of the Iruma River in Musashi Province.

     Monk Gensho moved the Arya Avalokitesvara statue in Gichu-ji Temple to its present place in 1351, founded a temple, and named it Kakuen-bo in the middle of the Kanno Disturbance, which lasted from October 26th, 1350, to February 26th, 1352.

     On August 4th, 1351, Ashikaga Naoyoshi (1307-1352) escaped from Kyoto to Kamakura.  On November 4th, Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) left Kyoto and got to Suruga Province on December 3rd to fight against his brother, Naoyoshi, as a part of the Kanno Disturbance.  It is unknown why Gensho moved from Omi Province to Musashi Province during the disturbance.

     At the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate, Minamoto Yoritomo forced Minamoto Yoshinaka into death.  At the beginning of the Muromachi Shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji cornered Ashikaga Naoyoshi.  Did Gensho’s move have something to do with the similarity?  We have to note that the Chinese character for Gensho’s gen is the same as the Chinese character for Minamoto of the Minamoto Clan and that the Ashikaga Clan was a branch clan of the Minamoto Clan.

     If the simultaneity wasn’t just a coincidence, there could have been 3 possibilities.  First, Gensho was rather pro-Naoyoshi and followed him to the Kanto Region.  Second, Gensho was rather pro-Takauji and joined in his establishing a new shogunate.  Third, Gensho was worried over the split of Takauji and Naoyoshi as a member of the Minamoto Clan in its broad sense, and was trying to stop the historic tragic decline of the clan by showing the Arya Avalokitesvara statue of the temple associated with Minamoto Yoshinaka, without knowing the statue itself had nothing to do with Yoshinaka.  Gensho might have been blinded by the prejudice that Genchu-ji Temple’s deity must have something to do with Yoshinaka.

     Kakuen-bo Temple claims to be the last member temple of the Buso “33" Kannon Pilgrimage, but the pilgrimage has 15 more member temples.

Address: 4 Chome-7-33 Kisonishi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0037

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #34 Senzo-ji Temple

     Senzo-ji Temple was founded in the first half of the 1710’s by Priest Tenkai and was supported by Yanagisawa Nobutada (1659-1724).

     2 families used to live where Senzo-ji Temple is located.  In 1707, influenza spread around Edo, and the 2 families died out.  Nobutada, who was the lord of the area, felt sorry to hear that, donated their fields as the precincts of a temple, and named it Senzo-ji.

     Even copies of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage ended with the #34.  Yet, Buso Kannon Pilgrimage continued on.

Address: 1391 Shimooyamadamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0202

Phone: 042-797-1848

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #35 Kannon-do Temple

     Nothing is known about Kannon-do Temple in Kamiyugi.  It enshrines the statue of Cundi, who has 16 arms and appears to be female.  As it is located at the foot of Jinmei-Shrine, the temple might have been its shrine temple.  The precincts have a washbasin which is dated to the Bunka Era (1804-1818).

Address: 402-2 Kamiyugi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0373

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #36 Yoju-in Temple

     Entsu-an Hermitage is located in the precincts of Yoju-in Temple, which was founded by Priest Sonshuku (?-1630).

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, dissolved many clans to strengthen the power of the shogunate.  This increased the number of masterless and jobless samurai and destabilized society.  To restabilize society, he strengthened the danka system.  Every citizen was supposed to belong to a Buddhist temple.  That was a business opportunity for would-be priests.  Sonshuku took full advantage of the opportunity, and might have changed the hermitage to a temple.

Address: 2536 Kamioyamadamachi, Machida, Tokyo 194-0201

Phone: 042-797-3067

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #37 Shoun-ji Temple

     Shoun-ji Temple was founded in 1526 by Priest Shukaku.

     In 1523, Ise Ujitsuna (1487-1541) changed his family name to Hojo, which was a brand name in the Kanto Region.  That was a proclamation of war against the Uesugi Clan over hegemony in the region.  Ujitsuna also built shrines and temples to demonstrate authority.  Shoun-ji Temple might have been one of them.

Address: 7 Chome-15-1 Kogasaka, Machida, Tokyo 194-0014

Phone: 042-728-5641

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #38 Jigen-ji Temple

     Jigen-ji Temple was said to have been founded in 1860 by Priest Takusan.  The foundation in 1860 is too late for ordinary Japanese temples.

     The 1855 Edo Earthquake hit the Kanto Region with a death toll of 10,000 in Edo alone.  It destroyed 14,000 buildings in the city.

     On August 25, 1856, a big typhoon hit the Kanto Region with the death toll of 100,000.

     Jigen-ji Temple might have been destroyed in one of the 2 natural disasters, and could have been reconstructed in 1860.  Until 2013, the community center was in front of the temple, so the temple might have worked as an assembly hall for villagers till the modernization of Japan.

Address: 4 Chome ShiroyamaMidori Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0116

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #39 Soho-in Temple

     Soho-in Temple was founded in 1542 by Priest Donjo and was supported by Okawa Iyo (?-1570).  Its temple name comes from the posthumous Buddhist name of Iyo.

     The temple history claims that Iyo’s wife (?-1575) was a younger sister of Takagi Kiyohide (1526-1610).

     In 1542, Kiyohide was still fighting for Oda Nobuhide (1511-1552) along the border between Owari and Mikawa Provinces.  After 1548, he fought for Mizuno Nobumoto (?-1576).  After 1576, he fought for Sakuma Nobumori (1528-1582).  After 1582, he fought for Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616).

     When Ieyasu moved to the Kanto Region in 1590 after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan, Kiyohide followed him and finally got a territory in Tama County, Musashi Province.

     If Okawa Iyo moved with Kiyohide, it was impossible for Iyo to found a temple in Musashi Province in 1542.  If Iyo lived and fought for the Later Hojo Clan in Musashi Province, his marriage with Kiyohide’s sister was impossible.

Presumably, Iyo founded the temple in Mikawa Province in 1542, and his offspring moved the temple to Haramachida Village after 1590.

Address: 1 Chome-8-13 Haramachida, Machida, Tokyo 194-0013

Phone: 042-722-3133

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #40 Eisho-in Temple

     Eisho-in Temple was founded by Priest Gakuo (?-1587) and was supported by Kuzusawa Buzennokami.  The Precincts have a Kannon-do hall which had been founded in 1447 by Priest Rin’an.

     Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), the 4th Kanto Deputy Shogun, was forced to commit suicide by Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394-1441), the 6th Shogun.  Yuki Ujitomo (1402-1441) sheltered Mochiuji’s 2 sons, Shun'o-maru and Yasuo-maru, in his castle, and rebelled against Yoshinori in 1440. On April 16th, 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, 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 2 young brothers’ younger brother, Shigeuji (1438-1497), survived, and he later became the 5th Kanto Deputy Shogun in 1449.  Did Rin’an enshrine an 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue to pray for the comfort of those who were killed in the disturbances?

Address: 452 Nakayama, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0374

Phone: 042-676-8693

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #41 Eirin-ji Temple

     Oishi Sadahisa (1491-1549) used to be based at Yugi Castle.  When he moved to Takigawa Castle, he handed the site over to his uncle, Priest Chojun, and let him found Eirin-ji Temple in 1532.  By 1546, all of the temple buildings were completed with the aid of Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590), to whom Sadahisa’s daughter, Hisa (?-1590), was married.  The temple was approved as a Royal temple by Emperor Go-Yozei (1571-1617) in 1532.

     On August 7th, 1825, the 8th-generation descendants of Oishi Sadahisa built a stone monument.  They were Katano Yoshinori, Katano Yoshiaki, Katano Yoshitatsu, Katano Yoshitada, and Nomura Katsufusa.  It is unknown why no one inherited the family name Oishi.

Address: 4 Shimoyugi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0372

Phone: 042-676-8410

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #42 Jigen-ji Temple

     An Amitabha Hall was built in Katakura Village in 1445.  Jigen-ji Temple was founded by Priest Giken (?-1578) as the hall's temple and was supported by Hatanaka Totomi.  Its statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was said to have been carved by Unegi.

Address: 944 Katakuramachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0914

Phone: 042-636-6930

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #43 Shinsho-in Temple

     Matsuhime (1561-1616) was born as the 5th daughter of Takeda Shingen (1521-1573).

     Shingen allied with Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), and engaged Matsuhime to Nobutada (1557-1582), Nobunaga’s eldest son, when she was 7 years old and the boy was 11 years old.

     In 1572, Shingen started advancing to Kyoto, and the engagement was cancelled.

     In 1573, Shingen died, and her elder brother, Katsuyori (1546-1582), succeeded as the head of the clan.  Matsuhime moved to Takato, Ina County, Shinano Province, to be mentored by another elder brother, Nishina Morinobu (1557-1582).

     In 1579, Matsuhime's sister, Kikuhime (1558-1604), was married to Uesugi Kagekatsu (1555-1623), so that the Takeda and Uesugi Clans allied.

     When the Takeda Clan was destroyed by Nobunaga in 1582, Matsuhime flew with 4 young relatives; Tokuhime (Morinobu’s daughter) (?-1608), Sadahime (Katsuyori’s daughter) (?-1659), Kaguhime (?-1673), who was a daughter of Oyamada Nobushige (1539-1582), and Nobumoto (Morinobu’s son) (1574-1623).

     On February 2nd, 1582, Oda Nobunaga started attacking the Takeda Clan.  Through Kiso, Oda Nobutada intruded into the Takeda Clan’s territory, from Suruga Province Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616),  from Sagami Province Hojo Ujimasa (1538-1590), and through Hida Province Kanamori Nagachika (1524-1608).

     Matsuhime evacuated to Kai Province with Tokuhime, guarded by Ishiguro Hachibe, Shimura Daizen, Baba Gyoubu, Monk Kaami, and some foot soldiers.  In Kai Province, Sadahime, Kaguhime, and Nobumoto joined the party.  On February 5th, they arrived at Kaito-ji Temple.  After several days, they moved to Kogaku-ji Temple.  On the 28th in the same month, Takato Castle fell and Morinobu was killed in battle.  On March 11th, Katsuyori was betrayed by Oyamada Nobushige and killed himself with his sword.  Hearing of the rumor the Oda army started “hunting” the remnants of the Takeda Clan, Matsuhime and the children left Kogaku-ji Temple on March 23 to get out of Kai Province almost aimlessly.  The 3 small girls were no more than 4 years old.  They took a mountain byroad so as not to be found, crossed 3 mountain passes, and, on the 27th in the same month, they finally crossed the Ange Pass from Kai Province to Sagami Province and reached Hachioji.

    On April 16th, Nobushige and his son (Kaguhime’s elder brother) were executed in Kai Province by Nobutada for betraying Katsuyori.  Nobutada valued loyalty and fidelity.  All of the 4 children became fatherless.  As Katsuyori’s second wife was the 6th daughter of Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571), they had a slight hope that Ujiteru, who was their uncle and who was the lord of Hachioji Castle, would protect them.

     They were lucky that Ujiteru was a faithful person.  They stayed in Kinsho-an Hermitage (3 Chome-18-28 Daimachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0931) under his protection.

     It was Nobunaga and Nobutada who destroyed the Takeda Clan, but, on April 3rd, Nobutada invited Matsuhime to come to Kyoto to realize the cancelled-engagement. He valued loyalty and fidelity.   However, on June 2nd, he and his father were killed by Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582).

     In the autumn of the year, Matsuhime became a Buddhist nun in Shingen-in Temple under the guidance of Priest Shun'etsu.  She was renamed Shinshoin.  The suffix “in” showed that she was a nun, the middle “sho” was the other pronunciation for “matsu” and the head “shin” was the other pronunciation for “nobu."

     In 1590, the Later Hojo Clan collapsed and Ujiteru killed himself with his sword.  When Hachioji Castle fell, most of Hachioji samurai, their families, and many locals killed themselves by the sword or by throwing themselves into the nearby waterfall, Goshuden Fall.  The stream turned red for 3 days.

     Shinshoin was lucky that the attackers included Uesugi Kagekatsu (1555-1623), her brother-in-law.  They didn't kill her or the 4 children, but how did Shinshoni witness the communal suicide?  Whatever she might have felt, she had to live on with the 4 children entrusted to her.

     Losing Ujiteru, their patron, Shinshoin moved to a shabby house in Hachioji.  She taught neighborhood children how to read and write, raised silkworms, and wove silk fabric.  With what little money she got by selling the fabric, she took care of the 4 children.  Although Oyamada Nobushige’s betrayal had been the indirect cause of Katsuyori’s suicide, she kept raising Kaguhime.

     When Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo in 1590, he organized the Hachioji Corps of the Thousand with the ex-vassals of the Takeda Clan.  In other words, Ieyasu fulfilled the void which had lost its 3,000 inhabitants with them.  Hachioji became something like a colony of the remnants of the Takeda Clan.

     Between 1600 and 1606, Nobumoto became a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Sadahime was married to Miyahara Yoshihisa (1577-1631), and Kaguhime became a concubine of Naito Tadaoki (1592-1674) and later gave birth to his only 2 sons.  In 1608, Tokuhime died in Horen-ji Temple as Nun Shoni.  Shinshoin died in the hermitage on April 16th, 1616, one day before Ieyasu’s death.  The hermitage came to be called Shinsho-in Temple after her.  

Address: 3 Chome-18-28 Daimachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0931

Phone: 042-622-6978

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #44 Soin-ji Temple

    Soin-ji temple was founded by Priest Ten'ju (?-1653) and was supported by Nakayama Terumori (1570-1634).

    Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590) was the lord of Hachioji Castle.  When Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) seized Odawara Castle, Ujiteru held it.  It was Nakayama Ienori who held Hachioji Castle, which was seized by Maeda Toshiie (1539-1599) and Uesugi Kagekatsu (1556-1623).  Toshiie proposed the exchange of the surrender of the castle and for sparing Ienori’s life.  Ienori refused and was killed in battle.  His principles and bravery paid.  His sons, Terumori and Nobuyoshi (1577-1642) were employed by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  However, Ienori's principles and bravery also took a heavy toll of human lives, about 3,000 of them.

Address: 6 Chome-15-11 Hirayama, Hino, Tokyo 191-0043

Phone: 042-592-6699

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #45 Kansen-ji Temple

    Kansen-ji Temple was founded by Ida Jiroemon by inviting Priest Son’yu (?-1630) to pray for the comfort of his late father, Masaari, who was killed in the Siege of Osaka Castle in 1615.  So, the temple must have been founded sometime between 1615 and 1630.  Jiroemon’s descendants still lived in Shinkoji Village as farmers when Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) was compiling the New Chorography on Musashi Province at the beginning of the 19th century.

Address: 1210 Shinkojimachi, Machida, Tokyo 195-0051

Phone: 042-735-1575

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #46 Kichijo-in Temple

    Kichijo-in Temple was founded by Monk Raigen with the religious support of Priest Kensei sometime between 1394 and 1427, when either Ashikaga Mitsukane (1378-1409) or Mochiuji (1398-1439) was the Kanto Deputy Shogun.  The phantom menace of the Warring States Period was approaching.

    Priest Seiho revived the temple in 1602, when the Kanto Region was ruled by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) stablly and steadily.

    Kichijo-in Temple, which used to be located in 28 Hiyoshicho, Hachioji, burned down in the Hachioji Air Raid.  After 00:00 on August 2, 169 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses raided Hachioji City, dropping 1600 tons of incendiary bombs for about 2 hours.  2.9 out of 3.5 square kilometers of urban area was burned, including Kichijo-in Temple, which was moved to its present place in 1955.

    The temple must have witnessed human lives full of ups and downs.

Address: 58-3 Nagabusamachi, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0824

Phone: 042-661-5448

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #47 Joho-ji Temple

    It is unknown when Joho-ji Temple was founded.  It was revived by Monk Chikuho, but it is unknown when and how it was revived.

    The precincts enshrine Kasamori Inari.  Kasamori literally means Unti-Rash.  In the Edo Period, many prostitutes visited the shrine to pray to protect themselves from venereal diseases, especially syphilis.

Address: 145 Shimotsuruma, Yamato, Kanagawa 242-0001

Phone: 046-274-0421

Virtual Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage #48 Ryuzo-ji Temple

    Ryuzo-ji Temple was founded by Priest Kyokai (?-1557).

    Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) confined Prince Moriyoshi (1308-1335) in a dungeon in Kamakura, suspecting Moriyoshi of usurping the throne.  It was Fuchibe Yoshihiro (?-1335) who was ordered to kill Moriyoshi.  Moriyoshi died with a look too frantic to show his head to Yoshihiro’s lord, Ashikaga Tadayoshi (1307-1352).  The fact that Yoshihiro didn’t show Moriyoshi’s head to Tadayoshi derived from various spin-off legends.

    First, Moriyoshi’s frantic look reminded Yoshihiro of a Chinese story:  Gan Chi was an avenger who wanted to kill the king. As he was known to the king, he found an assassin. The assassin then suggested that Chi surrender his head and sword, and the assassin himself will avenge the king in Chi's place.  The assassin severed Chi's head for the king. The king was uncomfortable with Chi's head staring at him, and the assassin advised the king to have Chi's head boiled.  After boiling it for 40 days, Chi's head was still staring at the king.  The assassin told the king to stare back in order for the head to decompose. The king bent over the cauldron and stared back at the head.  The assassin seized the opportunity to decapitate the king.  The king's head fell into the cauldron.  The assassin then cut off his own head, which also fell into the boiling water. The flesh on the 3 heads was boiled away as the assassin suggested.  However, none could tell which head belonged to whom. They decided to bury the 3 heads together at Yichun County, Runan, Henan, and the grave was called "Tomb of Three Kings”.

    Second, Yoshihiro threw away Moriyoshi’s head in a bamboo grove.

    Third, Yoshihiro felt pity for Moriyoshi and let him flee to Ishinomaki, Mutsu Province.  Yoshihiro was afraid that his wife and children would be punished with him, and divorced his wife at the Sakai River.

    Fourth, Yoshihiro killed a dragon with an arrow.  The dragon split into 3.  Yoshihiro built Ryuto-ji Temple, literally Dragon-Head Temple, where the head fell, Ryudo-ji Temple, literally Dragon-Body Temple, where the body fell, and Ryubi-ji Temple, literally Dragon-Tail Temple, where the tail fell.  Later, Ryudo-ji became Ryuzo-ji, and the other 2 temples declined.  Ryuzo-ji Temple still keeps a bone of the dragon and the arrowhead which killed the dragon.

    On November 30th, 1351, the battle between Tadayoshi and his elder brother, Takauji (1305-1358) , broke out around the Satta Pass in Suruga Province.  Yoshihiro charged into Takauji’s camp, and was killed in the fighting.

    This is the end of the Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Some say there used to be even a #49, but who cares when the number already far exceeds the usual 33 or 34?

Address: 3-25-1 Higashifuchinobe, Chuo Ward, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0203

Phone: 042-752-2366

I have virtually visited all the member temples of the Buso 48 Kannon Pilgrimage.  As I have virtually visited several 33 Kannon pilgrimages in the Mushashino Plateau, I feel like breathing salty sea breezes.  I will cross Edo Bay and go in Shimousa Province, virtually of course.