Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Jutoku-ji Temple

 

     Kajiwara Kagetoki (1140-1200) was an influential figure at the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate, but was purged after the death of the first shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo(1147-1199).  Kagetoki's sons, Kagesue (1162-1200), Kagetaka (1165-1200), and Kageshige (1167-1200) shared his fortune.  Kagetaka's son, Kagetsugu, was invited by the third shogun, Minamoto Sanetomo (1192-1219).

     On May 7th, 1214, Sanetomo permitted Onjo-ji Temple, which had been burned down by Enryaku-ji Temple, to reconstruct its buildings.  Kagetsugu's vassals, the Hayafune and Komiya Families, might have belonged to the sect led by Enryaku-ji Temple, opposed the policy, and were purged by Kagetsugu.  When they escaped from Kamakura, they found a statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, in the Shakujii River.  They put the statue on a hill along the river.  Later, Jutoku-ji Temple was founded on the hill.

     A tanka poem dedicated to the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Shoho-ji Temple express the location of the temple as follows:

I look up to see the upper stream

To find Shoho-ji Temple standing there

The Seta River ripples like pine tree leaves.

     Shoho-ji Temple was located on Mt. Iwama along the Seta River.  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage sensed similarity between locations and the landscapes of the 2 temples.

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