Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage (revised)

 

     The Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized in 1771.  It is unknown who organized the pilgrimage, and yet it was organized in a very unique way.  Its organizers compared each of their member temples to the same-numbered member temple of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the original 33 Kannon pilgrimage.  As for some member temples, they were particular about the scenery or the sight around the temples.  Some other member temples enshrined the same type of Avalokitesvara statue as the same-numbered temples of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage did.  The pilgrimage was organized so that their member temples somewhat resemble the original member temples of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  In other words, each temple should be an allusion to its original temple.

Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Kinrin-ji Temple

     In 1051, Minamoto Yoriyoshi (988-1075) left Kyoto to suppress the Abe Clan in Mutsu Province.  It was in 1062 that he defeated the Abe Clan. In 1063, he returned to Kyoto in triumph.  His 1st son, Yoshiie (1039-1106), took part in the war in 1057 at the latest, and could have returned to Kyoto either in 1062 or in 1063.  On his way back, Yoshiie stopped at Oji Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province, where he built a prayer building to get his armor blessed and to pray for the comfort of the Abe Clan's soldiers in the other world.  The building went into ruin later.

     At the beginning of the Edo Period, Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), the second shogun, ordered Priest Yuyo to revive the temple as the Tokugawa Clan claimed to be the authentic heir of Minamoto Yoshiie.  The temple grew to have 6 accommodations in the precincts: Fujimoto-bo, Hoji-bo, Mida-bo, Yakushi-bo, Ikegami-bo, and Getsuzo-bo Accommodations.

     In 1810, the Academy of the Tokugawa Shogunate started compiling provincial topographies and chronologies.  Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) participated in compiling those about Musashi and Sagami Provinces. In the New Topography and Chronology of Musashi Province, Kotonobu portrayed the view from the temple, "In 1720, when Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) was the 8th Shogun, Kinrin-ji Temple was renovated.  At the edge of the southern precipice, they built a lounge building for the shogun and a stage in front of it.  From the stage, you face Mt. Asuka, overlook the running Oji River, and hear dammed water babbling.  You can see green trees in Spring and red leaves in Autumn.  It is magnificent."  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage identified the view with that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Seiganto-ji Temple, which was built near Nachi Falls in the Kii Mountains.

     In 1860, the main building burned down.  Before it was rebuilt, the temple was abolished after the Meiji Restoration.

Address: 1 Chome-12-22 Kishimachi, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0021

Phone: 03-3908-2605

Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Daiun-ji Temple

     Daiun-ji Temple was founded in 1627 by Yaheita, who claimed to be an offspring of the Shimizu Family.

     Ise Shinkuro (1432-1519) moved from Kyoto to Suruga Province in 1469 to become a warring-states-period hero, and established himself as the lord of Kosokuji Castle in Izu Province in 1487, and formed a small but independent domain around the castle.  In 1491, he unified Izu Province.  The Shimizu Family became his vassal in those days.

     Shimizu Yasuhide (1532-1591) was one of 5 chief retainers under Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571), Shinkuro’s grandson.  The five chief retainers used different banner colors; yellow, red, blue, white, and black.  Yasuhide’s banners were in white.  The Shimizu Family had been based in Kanoyazaki Castle, and Yasuhide was additionally stationed at Shimoda Castle in 1588 or 1589 to build up defenses against Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598).  Shimoda Port was one of the most important ports along the Eastern Sea Region.  Yasuhide was the number 1 among the Izu Naval Forces.

     In 1590, Shimoda Castle was attacked by Hideyoshi’s navy; which was composed of a troop of 2,500 from Chosokabe Motochika (1538-1599), a troop of 1,500 from Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600),  a troop of 1,300 from Wakisaka Yasuharu (1554-1626), and more.  Yasuhide surrendered the castle and gave in on April the 23rd, after holding it for over 50 days with a troop of 600.

     Oral tradition says that the temple's Avalokitesvara statue is what Genshin (942-1017) copied from the eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Kimii-dera Temple.

Address: 2 Chome-18-12 Honkomagome, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0021

Phone: 03-3941-7941

Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Muryo-ji Temple

     It is unknown when Chofuku-ji Temple was founded in Nishigahara Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province.  Its precincts have many itabi dating to the 14th century.

     Nitta Yoshisada (1301-1338) raised his army in Kozuke Province with 150 strong cavalry on May 8th, 1333.  He was to meet the 100,000 strong cavalry of the Kamakura Shogunate somewhere between Kozuke and Sagami Provinces.  The shogunate had been established by the Minamoto Clan, beating down the Taira Clan, but had been controlled by the Hojo Clan, who were the branch clan of the Taira Clan, after the 4th shogun.  The Nitta Family was one of the powerful branch families of the Minamoto Clan.

     Yoshisada had pride in his bloodline and content against the Hojo Clan.  When he arrived at the Tone River, his cavalry increased to 7,000 strong.  After crossing the river, the number jumped to 207,000.  He defeated the garrisons of the Kamakura Shogunate along the Iruma River on May 11th.  The Iruma River was one of the upper streams of the Ara River, along whose midstream, Nishigahara Village was located on the Kamakura side of the river.  It is unknown which side the local samurai in the village belonged to.  Yoshisada finally seized Kamakura on the 22nd.

     The local samurai supported the foundation of Chofuku-ji Temple when samurai society was going through transformation.

     It is unknown who ruled Nishigahara Village before Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved to Edo in 1590, but the village was issued to a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate. 

     Chofuku-maru was born on January 28th, 1716.  His father, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), became the 8th shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1716.  Everyone was supposed to shun using the heir’s name.  Chofuku-ji Temple changed its name into Muryo-ji.  Later, Chofuku-maru became the 9th shogun, Ieshige (1712-1761).

     The precincts have a stone statue which describes Muryoj-ji Temple, which enshrines an Arya Avalokitesvara statue, is the copy temple of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Kokawa-ji Temple, which enshrines a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue.  A guide book claims Muryo-ji Temple's goeika tanka poem, which hasn't been preserved, resembled that of Kokawa-ji Temple’s:

Kokawa-ji's blessings are as great as those of parents

For those who rely on Buddha

Who made an oath to save us all

Address: 1 Chome-34-8 Nishigahara, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0024

Phone: 03-3910-2840

Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Shoju-in Temple

     Shoju-in Temple was founded in the 1550's by Monk Gakusen (?-1557), who had trained by the secret method of realizing that Acalanatha was himself.  One night, he received a divine message to visit Takinogawa, Toshima County, Musashi Province.  After his arrival, there was a flood, which left an Acalanatha statue.

     At the beginning of the 1550's, Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) cornered Uesugi Norimase (1523-1579), the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate.  In 1522, Norimasa went into exile in Echigo Province, counting on Nagao Kagetora (15301578).  In 1554, Ujiyasu confined Ashikaga Haruuji (1508-1560), the 4th Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun.  In 1557, Ujiyasu requested Ashikaga Yoshiuji (1541-1583), the 5th Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun, to send reinforcements to help the Utsunomiya Family.  In short, the Later Hojo Clan gained hegemony in the Kanto Region in the 1550's.

     Gakusen might have been attracted by the fame and reputation of the offspring of Ise Shinkuro (?-1519), who went over from Kyoto to the Kanto Region to become a warring-states-period hero and who founded the Later Hojo Clan.

     The precincts have a Kannon-do Hall, and its Avalokitesvara statue was said to be the copy of the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Ishiyama-dera Temple.

Address: 2 Chome−49−5 Takinogawa, Kita Ward, Tokyo 114-0023

Phone: 03-3910-1778

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Shorin-ji Temple 

     It is unknown when Fudarakuju-in Hermitage was founded.  It was more or less abandoned, but was revived in 1401 by the mother of Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439), the 4th Kanto Deputy Shogun.  She was said to have belonged to the Isshiki Clan, which had been started by Kimifuka (?-1330), who became the lord of the Isshiki Manor in Mikawa Province.  The Isshiki Clan held prominent offices in the bureaucracy of the Ashikaga Shogunate, and were one of four clans with the right to be head of the Board of Retainers, whose role was to guard the shogunate, to pass judgment on criminals in peacetime, and to take the lead the vassals of the shogunate in wartime.

     In 1525, Priest Shusai (?-1544) revived the hermitage and renamed it Shorin-ji Temple.

     It is unknown why Shorin-ji Temple was identified with the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Fujii-dera Temple.   A guide book said that the goeika tanka poem of Shorin-ji Temple resembled that of Fujii-dera Temple:

The more I visit Fujii-dera Temple

The more I count on it.

Violet clouds trail over its lotus stage.

Address: 3 Chome-12-6 Nishigahara, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0024

Phone: 03-3910-2645

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Jokan-ji Temple

     There used to be an Anraku-ji Temple in Dazaifu, Tsukushi Province.  A monk of the temple traveled around Japan, stayed in Takinogawa Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province, built a hermitage, and named it Anraku-in.

     Years later, in the Edo Period, Yamakawa Jokan was a kind of a doctor in general or a practitioner in acupuncture and moxibustion in particular.  When Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) caught a disease, Jokan prayed to Hiratsuka-myojin Shrine.  Iemitsu recovered, and Jokan renewed the shrine and also revived the hermitage as a shrine temple of the shrine in 1634.  In 1640, Iemitsu did falconry in Takinogawa Village and came to know the story.  He was impressed, presented him with the Jokan rice fields, and ordered him to name the temple Jokan-ji.  Anyway, Jokan-ji Temple has something to do with healing and curing. 

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Minami-Hokke-ji Temple, or popularly known as Tsubosaka-dera Temple, was famous for its Sahasrabhuja statue, which was believed to have the power to heal and cure eye diseases.

     The belief spun off a piece of Joruri music:

     Sawaichi became blind due to cataracts.  One day, he realized his wife, Osato, left home at dawn.  He suspected that she had a lover, and pressed her to tell the truth.  She told him that she had been to Tsubosaka-dera Temple to pray for the curing of his eye disease.  He was ashamed of his groundless suspicion, and started visiting the temple with her.  When the term of their vow ended, he, however, realized that he would ruin her life and threw himself in the basin of a waterfall.  Alas, Osato knew of his death, and threw herself into the waterfall too.  Sahasrabhuja realized the depth of their love, saved their lives, and cured Sadaichi's illness.

     The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage focused their attention on the healing power of the 2 temples' deities.

Address: 1 Chome-42-8 Kaminakazato, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0016

Phone: 03-3910-3343

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Saiko-ji Temple

     Saiko-ji Temple was founded by Satake Yoshinobu (1570-1633) at Kanda, Toshima County, Musashi Province, in 1603 with Yugi (1546-1618) as its 1st priest.  Yugi was said to have been the second son of Satake Yoshiatsu (1507-1545), but his birth year contradicts with the death year of Yoshiatus, who was a great grandfather of Yoshinobu.  Anyway, it was clear that the temple was founded for the Satake Clan and by the Satake Clan.

     In 1087, Minamoto Yoshiie (1039-1106) put up a poor fight against Kiyohara Takehira (?-1087) and Iehira (?-1087) in Dewa Province.  Hearing the bad news, his brother, Yoshimitsu (1045-1127), officially requested the Imperial Court to let him enter the war.  As his request was turned down, he resigned and went to the province to attack Kanezawa Fortress, which Kiyohira and Iehira were holding.

     After the triumph, Yoshimitsu returned to Kyoto and was promoted to the third class officer of the Ministry of Justice.  He was later appointed to the vice-governor of Hitachi Province, where he married a daughter of Yoshida Kiyomoto, who belonged to the Taira Clan.  Their first son, Yoshinari (1067-1133), settled down in Satake, Kuji County, Hitachi Province, and married another daughter of Kiyomoto. Their first son, Masayoshi (1081-1147), started calling their family Satake, and became the 1st head of the family.  He expanded the family's power across the northern 7 counties of Hitachi Province, and married a daughter, who was born between Fujiwara Kiyohira (1056-1128) of Mutsu Province and a daughter of an officer of the office of Fujiwara Seishi (1122-1182), who was a consort of Emperor Sutoku (1119-1164).  Yoshinobu was the 19th head of the Satake Family.

      Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Yoshinobu became the first lord of the Kubota Domain in Dewa Province.  The original precincts of Saiko-ji temple were requisitioned by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and its present place was given as an alternate site in 1648.  The next year, Satake Yoshitaka (1609-1672), the second lord of the Kubota Domain, constructed the temple's buildings.  In 1771, the temple buildings burned down, and Yoshikazu (1775-1815), the 8th lord of the Kubota Domain, rebuilt them.  In 1800, the temple burned down again, and Yoshikazu (1775-1815), the 9th lord, rebuilt them.  One day, Yoshikazu boasted in Edo that giant butterburs, known as Akitabuki, in his domain were so big that they could be used as umbrellas.  Of course, nobody believed him in Edo.  His people heard of it, and, to maintain his honor, searched for the 2 biggest giant butterburs and carried them to Edo.  After the episode, giant butterburs became widely known, and even Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) drew them in his Manga.

     The temple's 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue is made of stone, and that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Oka-dera Temple is made of clay.  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have sensed something in common as most of the statues in Japan are made of wood.

Address: 6 Chome-2-20 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001

Phone: 03-3828-0925

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Kogen-ji Temple

     Kogen-ji Temple was founded by Sengoku Hidehisa (1552-1614) at Kanda in 1589.

     Hidehisa's father, Hisamori, worked and fought for the 3 heads of the Saito Family in Mino Province: Dosan (1494-1556), Yoshitasu (1527-1561), and Tatsuoki (1548-1573).  As Hidehisa was the 4th son, he was adopted by Ogiwara Kunimitsu in Echizen Province.  As Saito Yoshitasu and Tatsuoki fought against Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Hidehisa's elder brothers were all killed in battle, and Hidehisa was called back to Mino Province.  In 1567, Tatsuoki was defeated by Nobunaga and went down the Kiso River to Nagashima, Ise Province.  Hidehisa was hired by Nobunaga, who assigned Hidehisa to Kinoshita Hideyoshi (1537-1598), who later changed his family name Hashiba and then Toyotomi.  As Hideyoshi rose to be the ruler of Japan, Hidehisa was also promoted.  After Hideyoshi's death, Hidehisa curried favor with Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  He was particularly liked by Ieyasu's son, Hidetada (1579-1632), who later became the second shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  However, it was in 1590 that Ieyasu moved to Edo.  It's a mystery why Hidehisa founded Kogen-ji Temple in Edo in the previous year.  The temple was moved to its present place in 1648.

     Maruya Kichibe was from Osaka and was a wholesaler of katsuobushi, which is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna.  Today's process of making katsuobushi was established by Kadoya  Jintaro in Kii Province in the 1670's.  Japanese dishes couldn't be what they are without katsuobushi stock and kelp broth.  So, Kichibe made a fortune.  He had the more-than-10-meter-tall eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Hase-dera Temple copied, and presented the 5-meter-tall copied statue to Kogen-ji Temple. 

Address: 2 Chome-38-22 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0023

Phone: 03-3821-1188

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Tenno-ji Temple

     When Nichiren (1222-1282) lived in Kamakura, he sometimes visited Awa Province or Kozuke Province for spa treatments.  On his way to and from the hot springs, he stopped in Yanaka Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province, and stayed with Seki Nagateru.  When he stayed, Nichiren delivered lectures to the locals.  In 1274, Nichiren made up his mind to live in Mt. Minobu, and carved a self-portrait statue for Mr. and Mrs. Seki Nagateru.  After Nichiren's death, Nagateru and other locals founded Kanno-ji Temple.

     Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, all the domain governments were to register their people.  In 1664, the shogunate further ordered the collection of information on people's religions.  In 1665, the shogunate ordered the exclusion of the Nichiren Fuju-Fuse School from the registration.  Those who belonged to the school believed that nothing could be received (Fuju) or given (Fuse) to those of other religions.  Kanno-ji Temple was converted to the Tiantai Sect.  The registration system was completed in 1671.

     Believers in Nichiren kept trying to revive Kanno-ji Temple, and finally founded another Kannon-ji as Nichiren Sect temple in 1834.  The original Kanno-ji as a Tiantai Sect temple was renamed Tenno-ji.

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Kofuku-ji Temple was founded by Princess Kagami (?-683) to pray for the recovery of her second husband, Fujiwara Kamatari (614-669).  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage seemed to have sensed the similarity on health between the 2 temples' foundation stories.

Address: 7 Chome-14-8 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001

Phone: 03-3821-4474

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Chudai-ji Temple

     Chudai-ji Temple was founded by Priest Shonen (?-1554) at Tabata sometime between 1532 and 1555.  In its Kannon-do Hall, a statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was enshrined.

     By its temple gate, there is a stone monument which says that Chudai-ji Temple was chosen as a copy of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Mimuroto-ji Temple.  The monument was dated 1777.

     Prince Shirakabe (709-782) was wondering what was the source of the holy golden beams which reached the depth of the palace every night.  He ordered Fujiwara Inukai to identify the source.  Inukai followed the beams and arrived at the upper stream of the Shizu River, one of the tributary streams of the Uji River.  He thought he saw a 6-meter-tall thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue in the basin of a waterfall.  He dived into water and found a petal of a lotus flower.  It changed into a 36-centimeter-tall 2-armed Avalokiteshvara statue, which could have been an Arya Avalokitesvara statue.  Inukai brought the statue back to the prince, who founded Mimuroto-ji Temple to enshrine the statue.  Prince Shirakabe later became Emperor Amatsumunetakatsugi, and his son, Emperor Kanmu (737-806), built a 6-meter-tall 2-armed Avalokiteshvara statue and enshrined the original 36-centimeter-tall one in it.  Although the statues both had only 2 arms, they were called a Sahasrabhuja statue.

     The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have sensed a certain resemblance between the Avalokitesvara statue in Chudai-ji Temple and that in Mimuroto-ji Temple.

     Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) beat Uesugi Tomooki (1488-1537) along the Tama River, which ran in the southern part of Musashi Province, in 1530.  Ujiyasu advanced northward and captured Kawagoe Castle, which was located in the middle part of Musashi Province, in 1537.  He also advanced eastward and beat Ashikaga Yoshiaki (?-1538), an Oyumi Kanto Deputy Shogun, and the Satomi Clan in Konodai, Shimousa Province, in 1538.  However, Kawagoe Castle was surrounded by a 80,000-strong force of Ashikaga Haruuji (1508-1560), a Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun, Uesugi Norimasa (1523-1579), the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate and the head of the Ymanouchi-Uesugi Family, and Uesugi Tomosada (1525-1546), the head of Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Family, in 1545.  The lord of the castle, Hojo Tsunashige (1515-1587), held the castle with his 3,000-strong garrison for half a year.  Ujiyasu finally arrived near the castle with his 8,000-strong reinforcements, but was inferior in number to the allied forces.  He, however, pretended to make peace, communicated with Tunashige, and made a night raid on April 20th.  Ujiyasu stormed into the camps of the Uesugi Families with his 6,000-strong force at midnight and killed Tomosada.  Norimasa narrowly fled to his base, Hirai Castle in Kozuke Province.  Seizing the opportunity, Tsunashige attacked the camp of Yoshiaki, who retreated to Koga.  Ujiyasu and Tsunashige killed more than 13,000 in one night.

     Ujiyasu's military success, however, brought his finances in critical condition, and imposed a heavy burden on his people.  In 1549, a great earthquake hit the Kanto Region, and many peasants in his domain gave up their fields and abandoned their villages.  Ujiyasu had to reduce taxes.

     Chudai-ji Temple was founded in these years.  It is unknown whether it was built to pray for the comfort of those who were killed in battle or to ease peasants.

     Ujiyasu seized Hirai Castle in 1551, and Norimasa escaped to Echigo Province in 1552, relying on Nagao Kagetora (1530-1578).

Address: 1 Chome-20-1 Asahicho, Nerima City, Tokyo 179-0071

Phone: 03-3930-7421

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Saigyo-an Hermitage

     It is unknown when and why Saigyo-an Hermitage was founded.  It was abolished after the Meiji Restoration, and was merged with the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Togaku-ji Temple.

     It is also unknown why it was listed as the #11 temple of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Daigo-ji Temple enshrines the statue of Cundi, who has 16 arms and appears to be female.  The Shingon Sect Buddhists assert that the last one should be Cundi, while the Tendai Sect Buddhists maintain that it should be Amoghapasa, who usually has 3 eyes and 8 arms.  They all believe that Arya Avalokitesvara can metamorphose into 5, and that they can carve 6 types of Avalokitesvara statues in total.  Saigyo-an Hermitage used to be a branch temple of Togaku-ji Temple, which belongs to the Shingon Sect.  Presumably, the hermitage might have enshrined Cundi, or its founder might have prayed for the comfort of the dead child in the other world.  The tanka poem dedicated to the Cundi statue of Daigo-ji Temple was:

How Cundi is dependable!

Even when we grieve over our child,

Cundi relieves our wailing.

Togaku-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-7-3 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

Phone: 03-3821-1031

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 needles.

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

Address: 4 Chome-22-2 Takinogawa, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0023

Phone: 03-3909-7766

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 the revival of 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 Shinobazu Pond to the lake.

Address: 16 Uenokoen, Taito Ward, Tokyo 110-0007

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Gokoku-in Temple

     Gokoku-in Temple was founded in 1624 by Priest Shojun as the first branch temple of Kan'ei-ji Temple.  At first, it was located on the north side of today's Tokyo National Museum.

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Onjo-ji Temple was located along Lake Biwa.  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have compared the Shinobazu Pond to the lake.

     The temple was moved west when the mausoleum of the 4th shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641-1680), was built, and was moved to its present precincts when the mausoleum of the 5th shogun, Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), was built.  In 1927, when the Tokyo Prefectural Second Middle School, which is today's Ueno High School, was built, more than half of the precincts was transferred to the school and the main hall was moved to its present place.

     As we saw in the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, many temples were moved due to the city planning of Edo or Tokyo.

Address: 10-18 Uenokoen, Taito, Tokyo 110-0007

Phone: 03-3821-3906

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 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.  In 1482, he became the 9th head priest of the temple.  He worked hard not only in teaching but also in propagation.  Seirin-ji Temple was one of those founded by Yuso at the beginning of the 16th century.

     The tanka poem dedicated to Seirin-ji was:

If you wish Avalokitesvara

your peaceful death, 

pledge yourself 10 times.

     The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have found in it something in common with that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Ima-Kumano-Kannon-ji Temple:

Every time I visit

Old Ima-Kumano-Kannon-ji Temple

I renew my pledge to Amitabha

     At first, Seirin-ji Temple was located at 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.  Kanda River was a kind of an artificial canal built in 1620.  Due to the construction, the temple was moved to the present place, Komagome-Shikenji-cho, in 1652.  The area was named so because there were 4 temples there.  Some temples in Edo had to move according to its city planning.

     Seirin-ji Temple was also the #8 temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

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

Phone: 03-3821-2581

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple

     Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple was founded by Priest Tenkai (1536-1643) in 1631, and was moved to its present place in 1694.

     After Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu (1552-1585) was killed by Date Masamune (1567-1636), Funaki Kagemitsu, Yoshitugu’s vassal, became the vassal of Ashina Moriuji (1521-1580), and married a woman of the Ashina Clan, who gave birth to Tenkai in 1536.  He later became one of the brains of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  He was especially influential in shaping the religion policies of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

     Tenkai built some copy temples in Edo like those in Kyoto.  Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple was a copy of Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto.  Kiyomizu-dera Temple's main deity is a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue.  Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple's main deity, which is also a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, is said to have been carved by Genshin (942-1017), and also said to have been moved from Kiyomizu-dera Temple to Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple.  As the matter of course, Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple is a copy of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

      Kiyomizu-Kannon-do Temple is also the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 and the Aduma 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1.  The overlap of its membership indicates how popular the temple was.  Organizers of 33 Kannon pilgrimages wanted to include a popular temple to increase the number of their pilgrims.

Address: 1-29 Uenokoen, Taito, Tokyo 110-0007

Phone: 03-3821-4749

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Joshin-ji Temple

     When Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) was defeated by Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) in the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573, Kuroyanagi Takeshige (?-1603), who was a foot soldier, guarded Ieyasu and helped him retreat to Hamamatsu Castle.  After the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Takeshige became one of the 5 chiefs of its foot soldiers.  When Ieyasu retired and moved to Suruga Province, Takeshige followed him.  In 1612, Takeshige went back to Edo and moved his family temple, Joshin-ji, to Yushima.  After the 1657 Great Fire of Edo, the temple was moved to its present place.  After World War II, it merged with Shonen-ji Temple and became the #17 member temple of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Shonen-ji Temple was founded by Priest San'yo at Hakusan, Teshima County, Musashi Province, in 1598.  It had a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue which had been carved by Prince Shotoku (574-622).  The temple burned down in World War II, and was merged with Joshin-ji Temple.

     Kuya (903-972) built a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue in 951 and enshrined it in Saiko-ji Temple.  In 977, Priest Chushin revived the temple and renamed it Rokuharamitsu-ji after 6 paramita or perfections: Dana, Sila, Ksanti, Virya, Dhyana, and Panna; or generosity, virtue, patience, diligence, contemplation, and wisdom.

     Anyway, both the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Shonen-ji Temple and the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Rokuharamitsu-ji Temple had a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue which had been passed down from ancient times.

Address: 2 Chome-17-4 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0023

Phone: 03-3821-0951

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Joraku-in Temple

     Joraku-in Temple was said to have been founded by Gyoki (668-749) sometime between 749 and 757 near Shinobazunoike Pond, and was revived by Ennin (794-864).  As Gyoki died in Yamato Province in 749, Gyoki's part of the story must have been invented later.

     During the Edo Period, the temple used to be called Chofukuju-ji.

     After the Second World War, it was moved to its present place, where there was Renso-ji Temple, merged with Renso-ji, and changed its name to Joraku-in.  In the Edo Period, the scene around Joraku-ji Temple resembled that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Choho-ji Temple, which was also known as Rokkakudo (the Hexagonal Hall) or Ikenobo (the temple by a pond, in which Prince Shotoku was said to have washed himself clean).  Joraku-in might have had either a hexagonal hall or a pond, which is unknowable today.  

     Joraku-in Temple enshrines the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.  The statue was said to be the copy of that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Choho-ji Temple, whose Cintamanicakra statue was said to have been washed ashore at Iwaya, Awaji Province.  Prince Shotoku made it his own personal guardian Buddhist image.  After he overthrew Mononobe Moriya in 587, Shotoku enshrined the statue in Choho-ji Temple.  Scientifically speaking, the temple was founded after the 10th century though.

     Fujiwara Masashige was a manager of the Adachi Manor.  He didn't have a child and prayed to Kumano God for one.  One night, he had a holy dream and had a girl, Adachihime.  She was married to Toshima Kiyomoto, who was the ruler of Toshima County.  Kiyomoto had 3 sons, Aritsune, Kiyoyasu, and Kiyoshige (1161-1238), who later called himself Kasai Kiyoshige and who became a samurai manager of Mutsu Province under the Kamakura Shogunate.

     Kiyoshige was given birth by Chichibu Shigehiro's daughter.  Aritsune and Kiyoyasu's mother was unrecorded.  Shigehiro seemed to be shrewd.  His sons started the Hatakeyama and Oyamada Families, and his daughter was married to Chiba Tsunetane (1118-1201).  The Hatakeyama, Oyamada, and Chiba Families were all important and significant samurai under the Kamakura Shogunate.

     Adachihime's relationship with her parents-in-law, Yasuie and his wife, became strained.  It is unknown whether the Toshima Family or the Chichibu Family took the lead, but the Toshima Family dumped a daughter of their subordinate and replaced her with that of the powerful family.

     Adachihime threw herself into the Ara River on her way back to her parents' home with her maids.

     Masashige had no guts to fight against his superior, became a monk, and visited sacred places in other provinces.  When he visited Kumano, he had a holy dream and found a radiating tree.  He wrote his name on it and set it out to sea.  When he came back to Adachi, he found the tree washed ashore there.  He followed the holy dream and waited for Gyoki (668-749) to come.  Gyoki came and heard the whole story from Masashige.  Gyoki went on a fast, and carved 6 statues of Amitabha out of the tree and enshrined them in 6 villages nearby.  Joraku-in Temple was one of the six.

     Wait, wait, wait!  Something is inconsistent.  How can Gyoki and others live in the same period?  Strictly speaking, the statues are supposed to have been carved at the end of the Heian Period, so Gyoki's part of the story was made up later in the latter half of the Edo Period, when Adachihime's story became popular.

Address: 4 Chome-9-1 Nishi-Tsutsujigaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182-0006

Phone: 042-484-0900

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Josen-ji Temple

     Josen-ji Temple was founded by Hachiya Yoshito (?-1633).

     Hachiya Yoshinari (?-1616) first worked and fought for Hojo Ujinao (1562-1591).  After the fall of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590, he was hired by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) in 1592.  His son, Yoshito, worked for Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632).

     Ota Dokan (1432-1486) built an archery training center in Hongo.  The Tokugawa Shogunate had samurai of archery platoons reside in the site.  Yoshito built Josen-ji Temple there, and invited Priest Zuiha (1563-1635) in 1621.  After his death, Yoshito was buried in Josen-ji Temple.

     The Avalokitesvara statue was burned down in World War II.

     When the Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was revived as the New Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1976, Josen-ji Temple invited another statue from Goshin-ji Temple at Shirako, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture.

     Why from Mie, or Ise Province at the time?

     After the Honno-ji Incident on June 21, 1582, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) escaped from Sakai, Izumi Province, through Iga Province, to Shirako in Ise Province.  From Shirako, he sailed back to his home province, Mikawa.  Goshin-ji Temple is believed to have provided Ieyasu with boats.

     A tanka poem dedicated to Josen-ji Temple was: 

The spring sun shines over Josen-ji.

In Komagome Village,

It's fine but slightly cloudy.

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Gyogan-ji Temple was founded in 1004 by Priest Gyoen, who was known as a "leather" saint.  Gyoen used to make a living by hunting.  One day, he shot a pregnant deer.  The dying female deer gave birth to a fawn.  He became aware that killing was wrong, and became a Buddhist priest.  He always wore the female deer's leather, and was called a "leather" saint.  Gyogan-ji was also called Leather Hall.  A tanka poem dedicated to the temple was:

Seeing cherry blossoms in Gyogan-ji

My pledge has become leathery

With its garden plants full of energy. 

     The dedicated tanka poems of the 2 temples both praised the spring season, in which the organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage found similarity. We should remember the pilgrimage's second purpose was to go on an outing.

Address: 1 Chome-7-12 Honkomagome, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0021

Phone: 03-3941-7063

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Komyo-in Temple

     It is unknown when Komyo-in Temple was founded, but the temple was already listed in a land register dated July, 1591, which Asaka Chobe (1883-1945) stored.  It could have been founded in the Warring States Period, and was revived by Priest Chokai.

     Asaka Chobe was born in Takinogawa Village, Toshima County, Tokyo Prefecture, graduated from the University of Tokyo, and became a lawyer.  In 1920, he was elected to the House of Representatives.  His wife, Fusa (1894-1986), was a pioneer of medical social workers in Japan.  Chobe's ancestors might have supported the foundation of Komyo-in Temple.

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Yoshimine-dera Temple enshrines a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue which was made of wood, lacquered, and foiled.  A guide book published by Tokyo Municipal Government in 1973 suggested that the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, of Komyo-in Temple and the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue of Yoshimine-dera Temple were produced in a similar way.

Address: 3 Chome-21-5 Tabata, Kita Ward, Tokyo 114-0014

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Yoraku-ji Temple

     According to oral tradition, Kukai (774-835) carved a Ksitigarbha statue and founded Yoraku-ji Temple to enshrine the statue.

     Yoraku-ji Temple's other main deity is an Amitabha statue, which was said to be one of the 6 Amitabha statues which were carved by Gyoki (668-749).

     Fujiwara Masashige was a manager of the Adachi Manor.  He didn't have a child and prayed to the Kumano God for one.  One night, he had a holy dream where he and his wife had a girl, Adachihime.  She was married to Toshima Kiyomoto, who was the ruler of Toshima County.  Kiyomoto had 3 sons, Aritsune, Kiyoyasu, and Kiyoshige (1161-1238), who later called himself Kasai Kiyoshige and who became a samurai manager of Mutsu Province under the Kamakura Shogunate.

     Kiyoshige was given birth by Chichibu Shigehiro's daughter, but the mother(s) of Aritsune and Kiyoyasu was (were) not recorded.  Shigehiro seemed to be shrewd.  His sons started the Hatakeyama and Oyamada Families, and his daughter was married to Chiba Tsunetane (1118-1201).  The Hatakeyama, Oyamada, and Chiba Families were all important and significant samurai under the Kamakura Shogunate.

     Under such a political situation, Adachihime's relationship with her parents-in-law, Yasuie and his wife, became strained.  It is unknown which of the Toshima and Chichibu Families (or both?) took the lead, but the Toshima Family dumped Adachihime, a daughter of their subordinate family, and replaced her with that of the powerful family.

     Adachihime threw herself into the Ara River on her way back to her parents' home with her maids.

     Masashige had no guts to fight against his superior, became a monk, and visited sacred places in provinces.  When he visited Kumano, he had a holy dream and found a radiating tree.  He wrote his name on it and set it out to sea.  When he came back to Adachi, he found the tree washed ashore there.  He followed the holy dream and waited for Gyoki (668-749) to come.  Gyoki came and heard the whole story from Masashige.  Gyoki went on a fast, and carved 6 statues of Amitabha out of the tree and enshrined them in 6 villages nearby.  Yoraku-ji Temple had the 4th of the six.

     Wait, wait, wait!  Something is inconsistent.  How can Gyoki and others live in the same period?  Strictly speaking, the statues are supposed to have been carved at the end of the 12th century, so Gyoki's part of the story was made up later in the latter half of the Edo Period, when Adachihime's story became popular.

     Anyway, no oral tradition talks about an Arya Avalokitesvara statue.  The precincts have a stone one which looks too new to be the #21 deity of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which was organized in 1771.   The precincts have a stone monument which says that Yoraku-ji Temple was a copy of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Anao-ji Temple.

     The precincts also have a 4-faced stone monument with Indra carved in the East, Yama in the South, Varuna in the West, and Vaisravana in the North as guardian Buddhist images according to the dogma of esoteric Buddhism.  Although it is unreadable today, it was dated 1390 with the name of an imperial era name, Koo.  That means the area belonged to the Northern Court in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts (1336-1392).

     The tales of the Konjaku Monogatarishu or the Anthology of Tales from the Past were supposed to have been written down and compiled in the 1120's.  In one of its tales, Anao-ji Temple was mentioned.  According to the tale, its statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was ordered by the governor of Kuwada County in Tanba Province to be built by a sculptor of Buddhist images in Kyoto.  The governor gave his favorite horse to the sculptor, but missed the horse so much that he ordered his vassal to shoot an arrow at the sculptor.  Later, however, the sculptor was found alive, and the arrow was found stuck at the chest of the Arya Avalokitesvara statue.

     An old guide book suggests that the Arya Avalokitesvara statue in Anao-ji Temple and the undetectable Arya Avalokitesvara statue in Yoraku-ji Temple were made in the same style or method.

Address: 1 Chome-25-1 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

Phone: 03-3821-0976

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Choan-ji Temple

     Priest Rozan (?-1724) built Choan Annex in 1696 in the residence of Ando Nobutomo (1671-1732), who became a commissioner of temples and shrines under the Tokugawa Shogunate.  In 1712, it was approved as an official temple and moved to its present place.

     The temple buildings were badly damaged in the 1772 Great Meiwa Fire, which burned 169 daimyo residences, 170 bridges, and 382 temples.  14,700 people were killed and 4,000 went missing.  Priest Yokan (?-1773) repaired the buildings.

     The precincts have old itabi dated 1276, 1285, 1300, and 1396, so it must have been a holy place even at the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate, the first samurai government.  The precincts also have the grave of Kano Hogai (1828-1888), who was one of the last artists who belonged to the Kano School, which lasted from the 15th century to the 19th century and which was the largest school of Japanese painting.

     Choan-ji Temple claims its main deity, the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, to have copied the one the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Soji-ji Temple enshrined.

Address: 5 Chome-2-22 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001

Phone: 03-3828-1094

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Fudo-in Temple

     Fudo-in Temple was founded by Priest Kaizen (?-1620).

     There used to be an Amidabha Hall in the precincts, and the hall used to enshrine an eleven-faced thousand armed Ekadasamukha (or Sahasrabhuja?) statue, which copied that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Katsuo-ji Temple.  An old guide book pointed out what they had in common as follows:  Fudo-in Temple was on the south slope along the Tanida River, and Katsuo-ji Temple was on the south slope along the Katsuoji River.

     The temple has gone through a couple of fires, and the hall is gone.

Address: 3 Chome-23-2 Nishigahara, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0024

Phone: 03-3910-2315

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Daihofuku-ji Temple

     It is unknown when and why Daihofuku-ji Temple was founded.

     When Kanno-ji Temple was revived as a member of the Tiantai Sect with its new name Tenno-ji, Priest Keiun of Daihofuku-ji Temple became the 1st priest.

     Keiun (1664-1729), who was born in Isumi County, Kazusa Province and who was a nephew of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu (1659-1714), first became the priest of Daihofuku-ji Temple, then the priest of Kanno-ji Temple, and then the head priest of Zenko-ji Temple in Shinano Province in December, 1700.  Previously in July in the same year, the main hall of Zenko-ji Temple had burned down, and he was burdened with rebuilding it.  From 1701 to 1706, he visited provinces and raised alms from more than ten thousand people.

     Judging from the Hongo Yushima Ezu (the Map of Hongo and Yushima), Daihofuku-ji Temple was located just next to the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Kogen-ji Temple.  In other 33 Kannon Pilgrimages, it could have been listed as either #7 or #9 to make the pilgrimage route shorter and more convenient.  The organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage emphasized the similarity or closeness of each member temple with the corresponding member temple of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  However, the abolishment of Daihofuku-ji Temple has made it impossible to tell why the temple was listed #24.  The corresponding member temple of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was Nakayama-dera Temple.  Its main deity was an 11-faced Ekadasamukha statue.  Incomparable to other temples, Nakayama-dera Temple's Ekadasamukha statue has 2 more Ekadasamukha statues on each side.  That made the Ekadasamukha statues have 33 faces in total.  The number 33 made the temple the embodiment and realization of the idea of a 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Did Daihofuku-ji Temple have 3 11-faced Ekadasamukha statues?

     A guide book pointed out the similarity between the tanka poems dedicated to the 2 temples.  That of Nakayama-dera Temple was:

Through fields and through villages

We visit Nakayama-dera Temple

To pray for comfort in the other world.

That of Daihofuku-ji Temple hasn't been passed down.

Address: 5 Chome-6-25 Sendagi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0022

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Enjo-ji Temple

     Mitsuzo-in Hermitage was built by Priest En'ei at Hongo, Toshima County, Musashi Province, in 1581.  Monk Hosen (?-1620) changed it to a temple and renamed it Enjo-ji.  After the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, which destroyed more than 60 percent of the city of Edo, the temple was moved to its present place.  Hongo was one of the 3 origins of the great fire.  The precincts have the grave of Oshichi, who was supposed to be an arsonist.

     The Takeda Clan, who ruled Kai and Shinano Provinces, destroyed the Imagawa Clan in 1568 and occupied Suruga Province when the Later Hojo Clan ruled Izu, Sagami, and Musashi Provinces.  The conflict over the border between Suruga and Izu Provinces became tense.  In November, 1579, Hojo Ujimasa (1539-1590) started constructing a naval port, Omosu, in the west coast of the Izu Peninsula.  In March, 1580, the two armies confronted each other across the Kise and Kano Rivers.  On the 15th, the two navies clashed against each other off of Omosu Port.  They fought the largest naval battle ever in Suruga Bay.  Kajiwara Kagemune, who was from Kii Province, led the navy of the Later Hojo Clan, supported by the local samurai: Shimizu Yasuhide (1532-1591), Tominaga Masaie, and Yamamoto Masatsugu.  He made a sortie of 10 atakebune, warships with 50 oars each, and fought in his favor against the Takeda Navy, which had only small or medium-sized sekibune, destroyer boats.  Mukai Masashige (1556-1624), the general of the Takeda Navy, whose father was from Ise Province, maneuvered his boats tactically and brought the battle to a draw at sunset.

     In land battles, the Takeda Clan was superior in Kozuke and Shimotsuke Provinces in the northern part of the Kanto Region.  All in all, Mitsuzo-in Hermitage was built when the endurance of the samurai of the Later Hojo Clan was being put to the test.

     Kajiwara Kagemune was effectively a Fleet Admiral of Hojo Navy, although he was not one of the native Izu sea people.  He was from Arida County, Kii Province, and used to be a sea trader.  In one document, he was even described as a pirate.

     Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) permitted him trading between Kii and Sagami Provinces and virtually hired him as a kind of guest samurai.  Kagemune was said to have brought the first atakebune warship to the Kanto Region.  Only Kii Province, which was abundant in lumber, could supply atakebune in the 16th century.

     The Hojo Clan left some documents and records.  Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) wrote to Kagemune asking him to stay in Izu Province for maritime defense there.  When the Later Hojo Clan fought against the Satomi Clan in Kazusa Province, it was recorded that the Kii people played an active part in the naval battle.  Kagemune also signed many trading documents and contracts published by the Later Hojo Clan along with Ando Ryosei, an old vassal of the clan.

     In Ancient Japan, the term “Eastern Provinces” meant those east of the Suzuka Mountain Range.  The Mukai Family used to live at the east foot of the mountain range.  It is not clear how and when the family moved to the sea shore and mastered naval battles.

     In the 15th century, the family came to work and fight for the Kitabatake Clan, the ruler in Ise Province.  It is privately recorded that, in 1505, Mukai Tadatsuna (1488-1553) fought against Hojo Soun (1432-1519) for the Kitabatake Clan.  He died at an ocean village, Tashigara, Watarai County, Ise Province.  His son, Masashige (1519-1579), moved to Suruga Province to be a vassal of the Imagawa Clan, the ruler of the province, in the late 1550’s while other family members stayed in the southern part of Ise Province.

     In the 1550's, Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-1560) was busy building his navy to support his expedition to Kyoto.  In 1558, he also recruited Itami Yasunao (1522-1596) as a naval samurai, who was born in Itami, Settsu Province, as a son of the lord of Itami Castle, Motosuke (?-1529).  Motosuke was killed while defending his castle, involved in the internal fighting within the Miyoshi Clan.  Yasunao had traveled around the provinces, seeking employment as a samurai, under the protection of Mano Tokiaki, a vassal of his late father and his maternal grandfather.

     Imagawa Yoshimoto (1519-1560) was killed on his expedition to Kyoto, and his son, Ujizane (1538-1614), succeeded him.  Ujizane, however, was defeated by Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) and was driven out of Suruga Province in 1568.  In 1572, Mukai Masashige (1519-1579) was re-employed by the Takeda Clan.

     Almost at the same time, in 1571, Ohama Kagetaka (1540-1597), who had been driven out of Shima Province by Kuki Yoshitaka (1542-1600), was employed by the Takeda Clan, too.  It was under the command of Kagetaka that Masashige operated as a member of the Takeda Navy.

     Masashige’s brilliant naval operation was recorded in 1577.  Kajiwara Kagemune, who was commanding the Izu Navy under the Later Hojo Clan, attacked Kambara Castle and other castles in the eastern part of Suruga Province.  Kambara Castle had been seized by the Later Hojo Clan from the Imagawa Clan in 1568, but, in the same year, had been captured by the Takeda Clan, but had been re-captured by the Later Hojo Clan in the same year.  In 1569, the castle fell to the Takeda Clan again.  Kokokuji Castle was located about 30-kilometers east of Kambara Castle, much closer to the Later Hojo Clan’s domain.  Masashige defended the castle almost at the expense of his family.

     Mukai Masashige (1519-1579) was killed by Hoshino Kakuemon when the Takeda Clan was attacked by the Tokugawa Clan from the west at Mochibune Castle on September the 19th, 1579.  His elder son, Masakatsu (1537?-1579), was also killed in the battle.  His younger son, Masatsuna (1556-1624), escaped from death as he was staying in Fukuro Castle, about 15 kilometers east.  Masatsuna’s succession was admitted by Takeda Katasuyori (1546-1582) on October the 16th in the same year.

     In 1580, Masatsuna fought against the Later Hojo Navy, which was led by Kajiwara Kagemune, in Numazu.  As the naval situation got worse for the Takeda Navy, they were ordered to give up their boats and come up ashore.  However, Masatsuna urged, “You use the word ‘up.’  But naval fighting is different from those on land, and, once my boat is captured by the enemy, my poor reputation will bring eternal disgrace to my family.”  With those words, he kept fighting until the situation got better.

     On March the 11th, 1582,  Takeda Katsuyori (1546-1582) was, however, forced to commit suicide at the foot of Mt. Temmoku, attacked by the allied forces of the Oda and Tokugawa Clans and betrayed by Kiso Yoshimasa (1540-1595), Katsuyori's brother-in-law, Anayama Nobuyuki (1541-1582), a relative of Katsuyuki, Oyamada Nobushige (1539-1582), and others.

     Now that Mukai Masatsuna (1556-1624) lost his lord, he became a masterless samurai.  It was Honda Shigetsuna (1529-1596) who persuaded Masatsuna to be re-employed (re-re-employed, as Mukai Family) by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), whose army killed Masatsuna’s father and elder brother.  Ieyasu was busy building up his own navy to face that of the Later Hojo Clan.

     In 1583, Mukai Masatsuna (1556-1624) successfully attacked Suzuki Danjuro (?-?), a vassal of the Later Hojo Clan’s, and won his head, although Masatusna himself was wounded by an arrow.  This exploit brought him his first certificate of military merit from Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).

     In 1584, when the Battle of Komaki and Nagakune was fought between Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), linking in with the battle, Masatsuna fought against Hideyoshi’s navy, the Kuki Navy.  Amazingly, he won a fight in Ohama Bay, Shima Province, and this victory brought him a nationwide reputation as a pirate.

     A document dated February the 14th, 1590, wrote, “Tokugawa Ieyasu took a ship, Kuni-ichi-maru (literally, the Province First; a kind of Navy Force One), which Mukai Masatsuna was taking care of, from Shimizu Port to Gamahara Port, and stayed in Nakakubo.”  It means he had been appointed as a magistrate of the lordly ship of the Tokugawa Clan.

     In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) was transferred from Mikawa, Totomi, Suruga, Kai and Shinano Provinces in Tokai and Tozan Regions to Musashi, Sagami, Awa, Kazusa, Shimousa, Hitachi, Kozuke and Shimotsuke Provinces in the Kanto Region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598).  Whether it was a promotion or a demotion, Ieyasu had to accept the radical deal and took the risk of moving to an unfamiliar region.  So did his vassals.

     Mukai Masatsuna (1556-1624) moved to Misaki, Miura County, Sagami Province, which lay at the eastern side of the mouth of Edo Bay.

     In 1597, Masatsuna’s son, Tadakatsu (1582-1641), started serving Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), Ieyasu’s son and the second shogun.  Tadakatsu built his own residence at Horie, Katsushika County, Shimousa Province (near today’s Tokyo Disney Land).

     In 1665, Mukai Masaoki (?-?), one of Tadakatsu’s sons, was temporarily working in Sunpu Castle in shifts.  He visited the vestige of Mochibune Castle, recalled his great-grandfather, Masashige (1519-1579), and built a stone monument on September the 19th, the anniversary of Tokugawa’s killing of Masashige.

     A guide book pointed out that the sceneries around the 2 temples were similar.  The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Kiyomizu-dera Temple is located in the hills of Harima Province.  Although Enjo-ji Temple is located in a peaceful, quiet residential area, it is still right in the middle of Tokyo.  The 2 sceneries today are incomparable.

Address: 1 Chome-34-6 Hakusan, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0001

Phone: 03-3812-7865

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Seson-in Temple

     Seson-in Temple was founded in 1695 by Den (1658-1738), who was a daughter of Kotani Masamoto, who was a concubine of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), and who gave birth to Tsuruhime (1677-1704) and Tokumatsu (1679-1683).  Her elder brother, Gontaro, was killed due to a quarrel over gambling in 1682.  In 1683, she lost her young son, Tokumatsu.  She dedicated Seson-in Temple to her parents.  That means she had lost her parents sometime before 1695.

     A guide book claimed Seson-in Temple enshrined a copy of the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Ichijo-ji Temple.  Another guide book claimed the scenes depicted in their "goeika", tanka poems which were dedicated to temples, were similar to each other.  Only goeika for Ichijo-ji Temple is known today:

With cherries in Spring, 

Tachibana in Summer, and chrysanthemums in Autumn

Ichijo-ji Temple is always as beautiful as the Lotus Sutra.

Address: 1 Chome-22-30 Sendagi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0022

Phone: 03-3828-4280

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Yofuku-ji Temple

    Yofuku-ji Temple was founded by Priest Joren (?-1626) in 1620, and was revived by Mokujiki Giko(?-1718).  Presumably, it was destroyed in the 1707 Hoei Earthquake, which was the second largest earthquake in Japanese history just next to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.

    The title Mokujiki was given to those monks who ate only fruits and nuts.  Moku meant wood and jiki meant to eat.

    The precincts used to have a Kannon-do Hall, which enshrined the statue of Cintamanicakra, Ekadasamukha, and Arya Avalokitesvara.

    The statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds a chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, is said to have been carved by Kasuga, a legendary Buddhist sculptor.

     Kasuga is said to have worked in Kawachi Province.  Legend has it that he carved Buddhist images and statues day and night.  One day, the villagers noticed him carving something other than Buddhist images.  It was a big crane statue.  Next morning, the villagers found no one in his house, except a big bird flying to the east in the morning glow, with someone or something on its back.

     It is unknown whether Kasuga carved the statue concerned in Kawachi, which he brought to Musashi Province on the back of the crane, or he carved it in Musashi Province.

    The eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue was said to have been carved by Kukai (774-835).  The statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was said to have been carved by Ennin (794-864).

    The Kannon-do hall was burned down in World War II.

    Nobody has recorded what Yofuku-ji Temple and the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Enkyo-ji Temple had in common.   Enkyo-ji Temple enshrines the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds a chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.

    Yofuku-ji Temple is also the #28 of the Tokyo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 3 Chome-3-8 Nishinippori, Arakawa City, Tokyo 116-0013

Phone: 03-3821-4209

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Entsu-ji Temple

     Entsu-ji Temple was founded by Priest Kaishu (?-1664) at Ochanomizu in 1631, supported by a woman whose posthumous name was Kyusho, who might have been a court lady of the Date Clan.  Kaishu respected Priest Kosai (1530-1611), who was a tutor of Date Masamune (1567-1636), and made him a nominal founder of the temple.  The temple burned down in the 1657 Meireki Fire, and was moved to its present place in 1672.

     The temple enshrines a statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, which was said to be a copy of the Arya Avalokitesvara statue enshrined in the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Nariai-ji Temple.

     Another guide book pointed out another similarity:  Nariai-ji Temple was founded by Priest Shin'o due to an Imperial order.  The founder of Entsu-ji Temple, Priest Kaishu, was given his posthumous name by the Imperial Court.

Address: 2 Chome-19-8 Honkomagome, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0021

Phone: 03-3941-8459

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Tokaku-ji Temple

     Togaku-ji Temple was founded at Kanda in 1491 by Priest Genga.  It moved to Negishi, and moved again to its present place in the 1590's.

     From 1487 to 1505, Uesugi Akisada (1454-1510), who was the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate and who was the head of the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Family, and Uesugi Sadamasa (1443-1494), the head of Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Family, intermittently fought over hegemony of the Kanto Region.  After Sadamasa's death, his nephew, Tomoyoshi (1473-1518), succeeded to the fight.  Curses return upon the heads of those that curse.  Both the families declined.  The temple might have moved to Negishi when the Later Hojo Clan gained supremacy in the Kanto Region, and moved again presumably after the collapse of the clan.  The temple could have moved due to its supporters' peaks and troughs.

     The temple's web page claims it enshrined a copy of the the horse-headed Hayagriva statue of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Matsuo-ji Temple.  However, it enshrines an Avalokitesvara statue surrounded by 50 kinds of animals today.  It's untraceable whether the Avalokitesvara statue was made before the organization of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1771 or it replaced a Hayagriva statue after the organization of the pilgrimage.  Did the organizers of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage recognize a certain similarity, say over their animality or animalism, between the statues?

     On April 13th, 1945, an air raid burned all the temple buildings, Buddhist images, and documents except the main deity and the Avalokitesvara statue.

Address: 2 Chome-7-3 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

Phone: 03-3821-1031

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Shinobazu Pond Benten-do Temple

     Benten-do Temple was founded by Priest Tenkai (1536-1643) around the 1630's.

He planned the development of the Ueno area in the idea of the comparison with Kyoto.  First, he compared Kanei-ji Temple to Enryaku-ji Temple on Mt. Hiei.  Next, he compared the Shinobazu Pond to Lake Biwa and the isle in the pond to Chikubu-jima Island in Lake Biwa.  He asked Mizunoya Katsutaka (1597-1664), the lord of the Shimodate Domain in Hitachi Province, to enlarge the isle to build Benten-do Temple, which was compared to the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Hogon-ji Temple in Chikubu-jima Island.

     In 6672, a bridge was built across Shinobazu Pond for the convenience of the worshipers.

     In 1945, the temple burned down in an air raid, and was rebuilt in 1958.  In 1966, Kodama Kibo (1898-1971) painted a dragon for its ceiling.

     I don't think a copied thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, whose original statue is enshrined in Hogon-ji Temple, is enshrined in the temple.

Address: 2-1 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007

Phone: 03-3821-4638

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Konrei-ji Temple

     Konrei-ji Temple was founded by Priest Tenkai at Kita-Teramachi, Kanda, Edo, in 1640 for smiths and farriers in Edo.  Due to the city planning of Edo, the temple was moved to its present place.  The precincts keep old itabi dated from the 1380's, the 1360's, and 1490's.  The area seems to have belonged to the Northern Court while Japan was divided between the Northern and Southern Courts.  The precincts must have been an old holy place even before the foundation of the temple.  The temple used to enshrine the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds a chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.

     The temple claims that it was listed as the #31 of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage because of the Cintamanicakra statue.  The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Chomei-ji Temple, however, enshrines the statues of the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja, eleven-faced Ekadasamukha, and Arya Avalokitesvara, but not Cintamanicakra.  Chomei literally means longevity.

     A guide book asserts 2 temples have "goeika" tanka poems which share similar meaning.  Goeika is a tanka poem dedicated to a temple.  Chomei-ji's goeika is:

Willow trees in Chomei-ji Temple

Might be signs of longevity

Which is as long as the willow leaves.

The goeika of Konrei-ji Temple hasn't been handed down.

Address: 1 Chome−6−27 Yanaka, Taito Ward, Tokyo 110-0001

Phone: 03-3821-4529

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Kannon-ji Temple

     Chomei-ji Temple was founded at Kanda in 1611 by Priest Son'yu.

     Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to Edo in 1590, and he finally destroyed the Toyotomi Clan on May 8th, 1615.  During those years, the city of Edo expanded, its population grew, and, accordingly, the number of temples there increased.  Son'yu might have seized an opportunity.

     In 1648, the temple moved to Kiyomizu Hill, Yanaka.  In 1680, it moved to its present place.  In 1716, it changed its temple name to Kannon-ji.

     It isn't so clear why the temple was listed as the #32 of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which was organized in 1771.  Kannon-ji Temple enshrines Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds a chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, while the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Kannon-sho-ji Temple enshrines the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja.  It's too conjectural to guess Chomei-ji changed its temple name to be listed in the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which was organized more than half a century later.

     A guide book claimed that the scenery  the goeika of Kannon-ji Temple described and the view that of Kannon-sho-ji Temple expressed resembled each other.

     The goeika tanka poem of Kannon-ji Temple hasn't been handed down.

     Kannon-ji Temple is also a member temple of the Capital 88 Sacred Places.  It used the goeika tanka poem of the Shikoku 88 Sacred Places #42 Butsumoku-ji Temple, literally Wood Buddha Temple, as its goeika tanka poem as the #42 temple of the Capital 88 Sacred Places:

In Butsumoku-ji Temple,

Even weeds and trees can become Buddha

To say nothing of brutes and people.

     If Kannon-ji Temple had used the goeika tanka poem of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Kannon-sho-ji Temple, it goes without saying that the 2 poems are "similar".

     By the way, the goeika tanka poem of Kannon-sho-ji Temple is:

How sacred Kannon-ji Temple is!

It will guide us, 

Who come far from other provinces. 

Address: 5 Chome-8-28 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001

Phone: 03-3821-4053

Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Hoju-ji Temple

     Hoju-ji Temple was founded by Genshin (942-1017) at Ogu, Toshima County, Musashi Province, in 992.  In 1264, it was converted from the Tiantai Sect to Pure Land Buddhism.  Ogu was a newly developed manor in the floodplain of the Ara River.

     When Emperor Go-Fukakusa (1243-1304) retired in 1290, his son, Prince Hisaaki (1276-1328), the 8th shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, presented a stone monument to the temple.  When Go-Fukakusa died in 1304, Hisaaki presented his father's seated image with a vestment on to the temple.

     The temple was revived by Priest Hojun and was supported by Suzuki Hayato (?-1504).

     The Chokyo War was fought in the Kanto Region from 1487 to 1505 between the Yamanouchi-Uesugi and Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Families.

     Hayato might have wanted something to rely on to live through the war, or could have been killed in the Battle of Tachikawanohara on November 13th, 1504, which was the final showdown between Uesugi Akisada (1454-1510), who was the head of the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Family, and Uesugi Tomoyoshi (1473-1518), who was the head of the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Family.  It didn't matter which side won.  The Chokyo War caused the Uesugi Clan to decline, left the Kanto Region further in confusion, and attracted Ise Shinkuro (1432-1519), who wanted to become a warring-states-period hero, and Nagao Yoshikage (1464-1506), who was the Guardian Samurai of Echigo Province and whose grandson, Terutora (1530-1578), became another warring-states-period hero, to the region.

     In 1753, the temple moved to Yanaka.  After the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the temple merged with Hoju-ji Temple in Shitaya and An'yo-ji Temple in Asakusa, and moved to its present place in 1935.

     Its long history and the earthquake left it unknown why Hoju-ji Temple was listed as the #33 of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  It is also unknown whether the temple enshrined any Avalokitesvara or not.  A guide book suggests its goeika tanka poem was similar to that of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Kegon-ji Temple.  However, Hoju-ji Temple's goeika hasn't been handed down and Kegon-ji Temple has 3 goeika.  We are in a fog.

A sign of Buddha 

Still lights the world.

A ray of hope hasn't faded away.

All the hopes in the world

Are left here,

In Tanikumi, where moss trickles drips.

I take off and leave

My satchel and coat

In Tanikumi, Mino Province

     As the last member temple of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, Hoju-ji Temple could have been dedicated to a goeika tanka poem which was somewhat like the last 2 goeika tanka poems of Kegon-ji Temple.

     Hoju-ji Temple is also the East Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10.

Address: 4 Chome-14-8 Higashiiko, Adachi City, Tokyo 121-0801

Phone: 03-3899-1508

Having virtually visited the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, I'm still not sure if each member temple really resembles its corresponding original temple.  Would anyone kindly visit both the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage  to check whether the organizers' intention was successful or not?