Virtual Edo Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Seirin-ji Temple

 

     Priest Yuso (1426-1509) was born in Kazusa Province.  At the age of 13, he entered priesthood in Komyo-ji Temple, Kamakura, Sagami Province.  He belonged to the Pure Land Buddhism, but he also studied the Taintai and Shingon teachings.  In 1482, he became the 9th head priest in Komyo-ji Temple.  He worked hard not only in teaching but also in propagation.  In March, 1495, he lectured Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado (1442-1500) on the Pure Land Buddhism.  The emperor gave him the Shorter Sukhavativyuha Sutra which the emperor himself copied, and let him lecture in Chion-in Temple for 21 days.  Based on the Longer Sukhavativyuha Sutra, he performed nembutsu for 10 days and nights in the main hall of the Inner Palace.  The 10 Days and Nights Nembutsu is performed even today among the Pure Land Buddhism believers basically from October 5th to 15th.  Seirin-ji Temple was one of those founded by Yuso at the beginning of the 16th century along with Senchaku-ji Temple in Kazusa Province, Gangyo-ji Temple in Musashi Province, and Hodai-in Temple in Suruga Province.

     The tanka poem dedicated to Seirin-ji was:

If you wish Avalokitesvara

your peaceful death,

pledge yourself for 10 times.

     In those days in Kyoto, the Onin War (1467-1477) broke out.  Samurai and aristocrats were split up into 2 groups: the East Camp and the West Camp, and fought for a decade.  During the war, temples, shrines, and mansions of court nobles burned down, and even the emperor had to be sheltered in the residence of Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate.  The Imperial Court's finances dried up, and the Court declined.  In the midst of the trouble, the emperor had illicit intercourse with Kaneko, a lady-in-waiting of Hino Tomiko (1440-1496), who was the wife of Yoshimasa.  Kaneko gave birth to a baby girl.  Yoshimasa and the emperor held parties.

     After the war, the emperor was curious to revive the traditional Imperial councils and ceremonies, among which he only restored the Council on the New Year's Day, the Banquet with a White Horse on January the 7th, and the Dancing Party on January 15th.

     When Ashikaga Yoshitane (1466-1523), the 10th shogun, was ousted by Tomiko and Hosokawa Masamoto (1466-1507) in April 1493, the emperor was so outraged that he made up his mind to abdicate the throne, but gave up the abdication because the Imperial Court didn't have enough money to hold the Abdication Ceremony.  When he passed away, his body was left in his residence for 40 days due to the shortage of the budget for his funeral service.

     In those days in the Kanto Region, Ise Shinkuro (?-1519) was trying hard to become a Warring-States-Period hero.  He started invading Izu Province in 1493.   In 1495, he occupied Odawara Castle in Sagami Province.  In 1498, he occupied Fukane Castle, the southernmost castle in Izu Province.  Until his death in 1519, he kept fighting in Sagami and Musashi Provinces.  So, it is unknown whether it was Shinkuro who financially supported Priest Yuso, or  someone else, presumably those who belonged to the ancien regime.

     At first, Seirin-ji Temple was located in the area which was later called Kanda-Shikencho.  Shiken literally meant 4 houses.  The area was called so because 4 servant priests for the Edo Castle were given their houses there.  To build the houses, the temple had to move out of the place.  At the turn of the 17th century, Priest Tenreki moved it to Kanda-Yanagihara.  In 1620, an artificial canal was built in the area and was named Kanda River.  Due to the construction, the temple was moved to its present place, Komagome-Shikenji-cho, in 1652.  The area was named so because it had 4 temples including Seirin-ji Temple.  Some temples in Edo had to move according to its city planning.

     Seirin-ji Temple is also the #8 member temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and #15 member temple of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 2 Chome-35-3 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0023

Phone: 03-3821-2581