Virtual Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Kannon-ji Temple

 

     Mizuno Nobumoto (?-1576) ruled over the eastern part of Chita County, Owari Province, and the western part of Hekikai County, Mikawa Province.  In short, the Mizuno Family found their niche along the border between the 2 provinces.  Takagi Kiyohide (1526-1610) was from Ogawa along the border and was subject to Nobumoto.  Under Nobumoto, Kiyohide fought for Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).  Kiyohide fought remarkably and outstandingly in the Battle of Anegawa on July 30th, 1570, the First Siege of Nagashima in 1571, the Third Siege of Nagashima in 1574, in which his first son, Mitsuhide, was killed.  He kept on fighting in the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.  When Nobumoto was assassinated by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), Kiyohide became subject to Sakuma Nobumori (1528-1582).  After Nobumori was banished by Nobunaga, Kiyohide became a direct vassal of Nobunaga.

     When Nobunaga decided to invade the territory of Takeda Katsuyori (1546-1582) on February 3rd, 1582, he appointed Takigawa Kazumasu (1525-1586) as its commander.  Kiyohide served in the invasion.  As he had fought so remarkably and outstandingly that Kazumasa gave the first half of his name Kazu- to him, and he gave it to Kiyohide’s second son, Kazuyoshi too.  Kazumasu cornered Katsuyori into suicide on March 11th.  Out of the blue, however, Nobunaga was killed by his vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582), on June 2nd.  Kazumasu flew back to Kyoto with some samurai left in the ex-territory of the Takeda Clan.  Kiyohide got lost in Kai Province for months.  The Takeda Clan was destroyed, but there was no winner in the territory after the death of Nobunaga.  The territory was in a state of anarchy.  Kazuyoshi was killed in the caos.

     It was on October 24th that Kiyohide and other samurai had an audience with Tokugawa Ieyasu in Kai Province.  Kiyohide became subject to Ieyasu, and continued to fight in the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute in 1584 and the Third Siege of Odawara in 1590, in which the Later Hojo Clan was destroyed.  After the siege, Ieyasu was moved to the Kanto Region and Kiyohide and his family moved to Edo too.  Kiyohide never asked Ieyasu to give part of his name, but named his third son Masatsugu, namely Right Successor, and his fourth son Moritsugu, literally Guard Successor.  Both Masatsugu (1563-1631) and Moritsugu became subject to Ieyasu, and Masatsugu even became the lord of the Tannan Domain in Kawachi Province in 1623 and made Raiko-ji Temple (the #11 temple of the Old Kawachi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the #10 member temple of the Kawachi Province 33 Kannon Pilgrimage; Address: 3 Chome-1-22 Tannan, Matsubara, Osaka 580-0013) their family temple.  Masatsugu was succeeded by Masanari (1587-1635).  Moritsugu was succeeded by Morifushi (?-1768), and they kept living in Edo as a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Morifushi died at the age of 30 and was succeeded by Moritomi (1763-1834).

     A Nakamura followed the Takagi Family from the border between Owari and Mikawa Provinces and settled in the estate of the Takagi Family in Edo.  He built a hermitage there and became Monk Kanko, whose offspring died out in the first half of the 17th century.  The Takagi Family changed the hermitage into a real temple and named it Kannon-ji. The foundation of the temple was quite modern for the Edo townspeople.

Address: 3 Chome-37-26 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 169-0075

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