Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Hongaku-in Temple

 

     Muryoju-ji Temple was founded at Kawagoe, Iruma County, Musashi Province, in 830 by Priest Ennin (794-864) under the orders of Emperor Junna (786-840).  The disturbances caused by Taira Masakado (903-940) and Hiki Yoshikazu (?-1203) put the temple in decline.  In 1296, Emperor Fushimi (1265-1317) ordered to revive the temple as the headquarters of the Tiantai Sect in the Kanto Region.  In the Warring States Period, it declined again due to the battles over Kawagoe Castle between the Uesugi and Later Hojo Clans.  In those days, Ota Dokan (1432-1486) invited one of its gods, San'o (literally Mountain King), to Edo Castle when he built it in 1457.  Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, inherited San'o as the guardian god of the castle.  However, the third Shogun, Iemitsu (1604-1652), apotheosized Ieyasu and made him the guardian god of the castle.  Accordingly, the shrine temple of San'o, Jorin-ji, was moved to the precincts of Kan'ei-ji Temple in 1637, and was renamed Hongaku-in.

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Ishiyama-dera Temple was located near Lake Biwa.  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have compared the Shinobazu Pond to the lake.

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