Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in My Order (3)

      To add 3 more member temples to my Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, I took off my train at the terminal of the Nankai Koya Line, Namba Station.  I walked east through watering holes, wondering how they looked last night when the number of the omicron-coronavirus-variant-infected people is increasing sharply.  I passed Sennichimae Street and then turned left into Aioibashi Street.  After 2 blocks, I found a graveyard in my left, which is managed by Mitsu-tera Temple, the #30 temple of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  The temple itself is now being rebuilt, so its temple office has been moved to the graveyard office.  As I had expected, the stone monument to show its membership of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimaged was also moved to the graveyard.  If I had visited the rebuilding site first, I should have to walk back to the graveyard for many blocks.

     After taking the picture of the monument, I continued to walk north, crossed the Dotonbori River, walked between watering holes, to get to the rebuilding site of Mitsu-tera Temple.  All I could see were surrounding covers and the roof of the main hall.  Only the posters on the covers gave me a hint that there used to be Mitsu-tera Temple.  One poster suggested we would be able to see a new building in April, 2023.  Another implied it would be Mitsutera Hotel.  The COVID19 epidemic has taught us that the future is unpredictable.

     #30 Mitsu-tera Temple was founded by Gyoki (668-749) in 744 under the order of Emperor Toyosakurahiko (701-756).  Today, Mitsu-gu Shrine is located near Mitsu-tera Temple.  Historically speaking, the shrine was founded in 749, and was named after Mitsu-tera Temple.  Mitsudera Manor in Nishinari County, Settsu Province, was also named after Mitsu-tera Temple.  Then why Mitsu?  A linguist suggests there might have been a Royal Port.

     The oldest document mentioning about Mitsu-tera Temple was a letter dated 1220 written by Zenpoji Yusei to Lady Dan.  The Zenpoji family belonged to the Ki Clan and worked for Iwashimizuhachiman-gu Shrine.

     Presumably, the temple declined during the Warring States Period, and was revived by Priest Kengu in the 1590's, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) destroyed the Later Hojo Clan in the Kanto Region.

     On October 10th, 1791, the Fushimiya Fire broke out.  32 people were killed in fire, 2010 houses burned, and 13380 households were victimized.  277 mud-walled storehouses,24 cellars,  and 9 temples were reduced to ashes.  Mitsu-tera Temple burned down in fire and was rebuilt in 1808.

     After the rebuilding site, I waled north to Nagahori Street, and there I took the Nagahori-Tsurumiryokuchi Line.  I tookd off the metro at Uehonmachi-Rokuchome Station.  I stepped out of the station southward to find Kannon-zaka Hill.  The first steps on my right were nameless.  I kept walking to find the second one to be Kannon-zaka Hill.  On the top of it, there used to be Washo-in Temple, #16 of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     It is unknown when #16 Washo-in Temple was founded.  One day, a child, who loved Japanese wisteria flowers, drowned in its pond.  The parents felt pity and planted wisterias by the pond.  They formed a beautiful wisteria trellis, and the temple's main deity, a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, came to be famous as Wisteria Trellis Avalokitesvara.  The temple burned down in 1863, and moved to today's Shinmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka.  It burned down again in the air raid in World War II.  The temple was abolished, and its thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue was reduced to ashes.  Its Deva statue survived, was moved to Hoshaku-bo Temple (Address: 1-19 Minokoen, Mino, Osaka 562-0002  Phone: 072-721-3438), and was enshrined as a Avalokitesvara statue, which was moved again to Joen-ji Temple.

     A tanka poem was composed for Washo-in Temple:

Wisteria flowers in the Avalokitesvara yard

Were nothing but

A Buddhist neckless of flowers.

     In Tanimachi, there only remains Kannon-zaka Hill, lingering on the Wisteria Trellis Avalokitesvara.

I took the Tanimachi Line to Shitennoji-Yuhigaoka Station.

     After I had visited Shitaderamachi Township for 5 member temples of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, I came to know that the #32 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, which I had believed to be enshrined in Namba Shrine, was move to Zenryu-ji Temple in Shitateramachi after the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order was issued by the Meiji Restoration Government in 1868.

     #32 Zenryu-ji Temple is located at the foot of the Kuchinawa-zaka Hill (Address: 5-3 Yuhigaokacho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0075).  Kuchinawa leterally means a rope with amouth, and is another name for a snake.  If you looked up the hill from Zenryu-ji Temple, the hill street would look like a snake. Zenryu-ji Temple's gate is 2.7 meters wide and employs the Yakuimon form with a gabled roof and with 2 wicket gates and wing walls on both sides.

     The Kuchinawa-zaka Hill is one of the Tenno-ji Seven Hills:  Shingon-zaka Hill, Genshoji-zaka Hill, Kuchinawa-zaka Hill, Aizen-zaka Hill, Kiyomizu-zaka Hill, Tenjin-zaka Hill, and O-saka Hill from the north to the south.  Arisugawa Arisu (1959-) wrote Maboroshizaka, a collection of 7 short stories of the Tenno-ji Seven Hills and 2 historical stories, Kareno and Sekiyoan.  For the titles of the 7 short stories, Aisu used the names of the 7hills.

     As Sunday was the only off day this week, I called it a day.

Mitsu-tera Graveyard

Address: 2 Chome-9-23 Sennichimae, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0074

Mitsu-tera Temple

Address: 2 Chome-7-12 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0085

Phone: 06-6211-1982

Washo-in Temple

Address: 6 Chome-6-11 Tanimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 540-0012

Joen-ji Temple

Address: 3 Chome-10-4 Shinkitano, Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, 532-0025

Phone: 06-6304-0840

Zenryu-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-1-17 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6779-9354