Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Raiko-ji Temple

 

     Raiko-ji Temple was founded by Priest Ryoen (?-1660) in 1631.

     The precincts have a Kannon-do Hall which enshrines the #18 deity of the Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, a 36 centimeters tall sitting statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, which was said to have been carved by Gyoki(668-749).

     A stone monument in the precincts mentions the temple belonged to Ushigome-Baba-Shita-machi, Ebara County, Musashi Province, although it was in Ushigome-Baba-Shita-machi, Toshima County, Musashi Province, according to the demarcation under the Tokugawa Shogunate.  The inscription on the temple bell of Seikan-ji Temple (Address: 61 Kikuicho Shinjuku City Tokyo 162-0044 Phone: 03-3203-2302), which was founded in 1630, also mentions the area belonged to Ebara County.  These descriptions show that even a generation after the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603, some mentioned their hometown as Ebara not Toshima.  By force of habit?  By nostalgia for the good old days?  Or by the hidden disobedience spirits against the shogunate?

Address: 46 Kikuicho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0044

Phone: 03-3203-3215

Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in My Order (7)

     It isn’t clear whether the sixth wave of COVID-19 infections is over or not, but I actually visited some temples of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     I stepped out of Higashi-Umeda Station Exit No.4, and walked through a narrow watering-hole alley east.  I went under an elevated highway.  After a couple of blocks, I found Taiyu-ji Temple on my left.

#1 Taiyu-ji Temple

Kukai (774-835) found a holy tree with fragrance in the forest where Taiyu-ji Temple is located today.  He carved Ksitigarbha and Vaisravana statues out of the wood, built a hermitage, and enshrined the statues in it.  Emperor Saga (786-842) found the story interesting and visited the statues next year.  He presented his own guardian Buddhist image, which is the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, the main deity of Taiyu-ji Temple.

In 843, the emperor's 12th son, Minamoto Toru (822-895), visited the hermitage, presented 8 hectares of land, built a full-scale temple, and named it Taiyu-ji as his name Toru was also pronounced Yu in the Chinese-style pronunciation.

     In the Siege of Osaka in 1615, the temple burned down.  It was revived at the turn of the 18th century.  The temple was reduced to ashes in one of 5 air raids in June, 1945.  The Sahasrabhuja statue, however, had been evacuated to Mt. Koya, and had a narrow escape from danger.

Address: 3-7 Taiyujicho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0051

Phone: 06-6311-5480

     After Taiyu-ji Temple, I made a pilgrimage in numeric order, and kept walking east.  I found Banryu-ji Temple on my left.  As the temple was closed, I made a ding-dong, and asked if I could pray to Avalokitesvara.  The priest kindly opened the door and told me they have no Avalokitesvara statue in their temple.  Where has it gone?  I, however, didn't grumble but quietly left the temple.  Some 33 Kannon Pilgrimages have lost some of their Avalokiteshvara statues in the tide of the times.

#2 Banryu-ji Temple

     Chofuku-ji Temple was founded in 1608 by Priest Jun'o.

     Chofuku-ji Temple was mentioned in a Joruri narrative song of Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725), the Love Suicide at Sonezaki, which was first performed in 1703: "First, the sky grows lighter.  Birds fly to Chofuku-ji second."

     Chofuku-maru was born on January 28, 1716.  His father, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), became the 8th shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1716.  Everybody and everything was supposed to shun using the heir’s name.  Chofuku-ji Temple changed its name to Banryu-ji.  "Banryu" means a coiled-up dragon.  That means a dragon before its flight.

     In 1834, temple buildings burned.  The temple was revived in 1849.  In 1945, the temple was pulled down to make a firebreak.  After World War II, the temple was rebuilt.  In 1966, the temple was moved to its present place.  The Yomiuri Newspaper Osaka Headquarters Building was built.

Address: 4-1 Nozakicho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0055

Phone: 06-6312-1578

     After Banryu-ji Temple, I turned west to find the #3 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which is said to have been moved to Entsu-in Temple after the 1868 Gods and Buddhas Separation Order.  Soon, I found the temple with a beauty salon in its precincts.  I opened the door, which automatically made a ding-dong, but nobody answered.  I found a hairdresser working in the salon, but nobody answered.  I gave up and left westward, trudging and ploding.  I wasn't lucky today.

#3 Entsu-in Temple

     Entsu-in Temple was founded in 1616, a year after the Siege of Osaka in 1615, when the Toyotomi Clan was destroyed by the Tokugawa Clan.

     On July 11th, 1834, a big fire broke out in Dojima Shin-Kita-machi (today's Dojima Naka, Kita Ward).  It burned 30 blocks and 3 villages.  The fire was extinguished next morning, but Entsu-in Temple burned down.

Address: 7-8 Toganocho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0056

Phone: 06-6311-7022

     I kept walking westward, but I knew Hoju-ji Temple, the #4 member temple of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, has moved to Suita City, a suburb of Osaka.  After a while, I found Hokai-ji Temple on my right.

#5 Hokai-ji Temple

     Toyotomi Hideyoshi started building Osaka Castle in 1583 and finished it in 1598.  He also developed its castle town.  In 1593, he gathered the Buddhist temples there in 6 areas.  Hokai-ji Temple was moved to Nishitera-machi, Tenma, when Gonsai was its priest.

If an outsider envies others' romance, that is called "hokai rinki".  The phrase "hokai" was said to have come from Hokai-ji Temple.  Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) used the phrase in his Joruri narrative song, the Love Suicide at Sonezaki: "Hokai-ji is harmful jealousy."  It is unknowable today whether his usage generated the phrase or he just quoted the phrase.  There are at least 11 Hokai-ji Temples in Japan.  If your mind and body circulates and propagates, you are in the world without difficulty or hindrance.  Such a world is called "hokai".

     Its original Avalokitesvara statue was burned down in World War II, and a new stone statue was built in the precincts.

Address: 15-2 Toganocho, Kita Ward, Osaka 530-0056

Phone: 06-6311-9085

     After Hokai-ji Temple, I continued to walk westward to find the site of Shinmei Shrine, where #3 deity was enshrined before the 1868 Gods and Buddhas Separation Order.

#3 Shinmei Shrine

     In the 9th century, where Osaka Castle is located today was the northern end of a peninsula, surrounded by the sea.  In the sea, there were some small islands.  An isle was at Nishitenma today.  Shinmei Shrine was founded on the isle by Minamoto Toru (822-895), the 12th son of Emperor Saga (786-842), enshrining the goddess of the sun.

     Isles grew bigger.  Some of them combined and formed an alluvial peninsula.  The alluvial peninsula cradled an inlet, and the inlet became Watanabe Port, which was a major port at the mouth of the Yodo River.  It means that Watanabe Port was a seaport for Kyoto, and the transshipment between sea ships and river boats was conducted in the port.  Religiously, pilgrims from Kyoto to Kumano sailed down the Yodo River, landed at the port, and took the Kumano Road from the port.

     In February, 1185, Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159-1189) assembled the navies of Watanabe, Kumano, and Iyo in Watanabe Port.  He contributed to Shinmei Shrine and prayed for his victory in the naval battle against the Taira Clan, who had evacuated to Yashima, Sanuki Province.

     Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) visited the shrine several times.  In the Edo Period, the Osaka Castle Deputy and Osaka commissioners visited the shrine annually.

     On July 11th, 1834, the shrine burned down.  In 1909, it burned down again, and was merged to Tsuyu Tenjin Shrine next year.

     I found Tsuyu Tenjin Shrine, which is popular among young couples, but not the site of Shinmei Shrine.  I was unlucky today.

Address: 2 Chome-5-36 Sonezaki, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0057

Phone: 06-6311-0895

The Site of Shinmei Shrine

Address: 1 Chome-6-6 Sonezaki, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0057

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Saiho-ji Temple

     Saiho-ji Temple was founded in 1597 in Yotsuya-Oiwake (Address: 3 Chome Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0022) by Priest Teigi (?-1658).  After the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, precisely in 1617, Tokugawa Tadanaga (1606-1634) financially supported the temple when he became the lord of Kai Province.

     As Tadanaga was ordered to kill himself in 1634, the temple might have declined.  It was revived by Priest Zenmei (?-1801) but was caught in fire in 1829 and 1898.  The precincts had a Kannon-do Hall which enshrined an 8-centimeter tall golden thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, which was said to have been made in India and brought to Japan through China and Korea.  In 1920, the temple was moved to its present place according to the increase of the tracks of the Chuo Line and the expansion of the road.  Finally in May 25th, 1945, 470 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombed uptowns of Tokyo, killed 3651 people, and burned 166 thousand houses.  Saiho-ji Temple was also reduced to ashes.

Address: 1 Chome-4-56 Umezato, Suginami City, Tokyo 166-0011

Phone: 03-3311-6704

Trees In the Town

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Hosho-ji Temple

 

     Hosho-ji Temple was founded in 1641 as the shrine temple of Takada-Hachiman Shrine.

     Back in 1062, on his way back from Mutsu Province after his victory against Abe Sadato (1019-1062), Minamoto Yoshiie (1039-1106) built a small shrine, put away his helmet and sword, and enshrined Yahata God, as he had celebrated his coming of age in front of Yahata God in Iwashimizu-Hachiman Shrine.

     In 1636, Matsudaira Naotsugu, the head of the archery bodyguards of the Shogun, built an archery practice field near the shrine and worshiped Yahata God as the guardian of the practice field.  In 1641, Ryosho, the priest of the shrine, cleared the southern foot of the hill to build a hermitage, and found a cave with a gilded copper Shinto image.  Since then, the shrine came to be called Ana-Hachiman Shrine as “ana” means a cave.  The hermitage became Hosho-ji Temple.  “Hosho” means life release, and the shrine held life release practices every year.

     The shrine was known among Edo townspeople for curing children’s tantrums and convulsions, and even, in 1879, conducted prayers to cure the tantrums and convulsions of the Prince, who became Emperor Taisho later.

Address: 2 Chome-1-14 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0051

Phone: 03-3202-5667

Trees In the Town

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Ryusen-in Temple

     Ryusen-in Temple was founded in Shimo-Totsuka Village in 1669, and stands still in the Waseda student quarter.  The Waseda University’s lot used to be the second residences of the Owari and Matsuyama Domains and the precincts of Hosen-ji Temple.  According to an old map of Edo, Ryusen-in Temple was as small as it is.

     The temple’s main deity is Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, and who was known for curing children’s tantrums and convulsions.

The precincts have a stone monument of Blue-Faced Vajra-Yaksa, with 3 monkeys and 2 cocks at its foot.  The monument was built in April, 1689.

Address: 1 Chome-1-12 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 169-0051

Phone: 03-3203-3203

Trees In the Town

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Kannon-ji Temple

 

     Kannon-ji Temple was founded by Priest Ken'ei in Shomo-Totsuka Village in 1682, 2 years after Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641-1680), the 4th Shogun, died.  The temple's main deity is an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue which is about 60 centimeters tall and which was said to have been carved by Enchin (814-891).  If it is true, it must have been a person of consequence that presented the statue to the temple, however nameless she or he might have been.

Address: 1 Chome-7-1 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 169-0051

Phone: 03-3203-6440

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Tofuku-in Temple

 

     There used to be a Tofuku-in Temple in Shimo-Totsuka Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province.  Even today, we have Shimo-Totsuka Hill in Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0056.  On the hillside, there were several samurai residences, with the Owari Domain's second residence on the top of the hill, and there were several temples at the foot of the hill.  Tofuku-in Temple might have been one of them.  It is unknown when it was founded and when it was abolished, but its foundation and abolishment might have had something to do with why the area was called Totsuka.

     The area had 10 ancient burial mounds, and was called Tosuka, namely Ten Mounds.  The largest mound had its entrance part square and its backward part round.  The area might have been a holy place since ancient times.  In 941, a year after his triumph against Taira Masakado (?-940), Tawara Tota founded an Inari Shrine near the mound.  The shrine was called Totsuka-Inari Shrine.

     In 1501, Uesugi Tomoyoshi (1473-1518), the head of the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Family, dreamed of a fox, which said it came from Totsuka.  He ordered his vassal to search for the shrine, and the vassal found Totsuka-Inari Shrine.  Tomoyoshi revived the shrine, but was defeated by his rival, Uesugi Akisada (1454-1510), the head of Yamanouchi-Uesugi Family, in 1504.

     In 1702, a spring gushed out in the shrine’s precincts.  The spring was believed to be good for eye diseases, and the shrine came to be called Mizu-Inari.  Mizu means water. 

Edo townspeople loved and worshiped Mt. Fuji, and they built many miniatures of the mountain in the city.  In 1780, a miniature of Mt. Fuji was built on the square part of the Totsuka Mound as the oldest and the largest among those built in Edo.

     The temple must have experienced earthquakes, fires, and typhoons in the Edo Period.  Did it survive the movements to abolish Buddhism and destroy Siddhattha after the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate?  If it did, it must have experienced the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. 

     On May 24th, 525 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombed the western part of Tokyo, killed 762 people, and burned 65 thousand houses.  On 25th, another 470 bombed the area, killed 3651, and burned 166 thousand.  Mizu-Inari Shrine was burned down on either day, and the spring stopped. 

     When Waseda University enlarged its campus in 1963, it exchanged the lot of Mizu-Inari Shrine with the lot the university owned, where Mizu-Inari Shrine is located today.

     Tofuku-in Temple could have been abolished in one of these trends of the times.

Mizu-Inari Shrine

Address:  3 Chome−5 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 169-0051

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Sosei-ji Temple

 

     The Salt Wholesaler Munekiyo's wife (?-1658) founded Sosei-ji Temple for her late husband in 1629, inviting Priest Unko (?-1665). Sosei is another pronunciation of Munekiyo.

     In the Edo Period, salt producers were forbidden to sell salt directly to salt consumers. Salt wholesalers were organized both in domains where salt was produced and in cities where salt was consumed.  In Edo, salt wholesalers were organized between 1624 and 1644.  The Edo wholesalers bought salt from salt shippers, who bought their salt from salt producers.  The wholesalers sold salt to salt brokers, who sold salt to retailers and large consumers such as shoyu and miso makers.  Wholesalers got 3 to 5 percent of the selling price.  Each transit trader got their margins likewise, and I’m sure they didn't forget to offer some money under the table to the samurai concerned.  The Japanese trading systems which have been condemned to be trade barriers were built up in the Edo Period.  Munekiyo, anyway, became a salt wholesaler in those days and made his fortune enough to found a temple with his name.

Address: 75 Wasedamachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0042

Phone: 03-3202-5608

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11Sogen-ji Temple

 

     Fujiwara Tamenori fought together with Taira Sadamori (917-989) and Tawara Tota (891-958) to beat Taira Masakado (903-940).  After their victory, Tamemori became an undersecretary of the Woodwork Agency. He created a new family name with Japanese phrases "ku" (work) and "do" (another pronunciation of "fuji"), Kudo.  He also held important positions in Izu, Suruga, Kai, and Totomi Provinces, and his descendants lived there.  The 7th head of the Kudo Family, Suketsugu, had 2 sons, Suketsune (1147-1193) and Sukemochi.  Sukemochi inherited the Usami Manor in Izu Province, and called his family Usami.

     Sukemochi joined Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) in his rebellion against Taira Kiyomori (1118-1181) from the very beginning.  After Yoritomo's victory and the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, Sukemochi's offspring spread to surrounding areas.  One of them lived in Minobu, Koma County, Kai Province.

     Generations later, when the lord of Kai Province, Takeda Katsuyori (1546-1582), lost to Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Usami Hisamoto (?-1631), one of the descendants, fled to Musashi Province, and founded Sogen-ji Temple in Ushigome Village, Toshima County, inviting Priest Shin'yo (?-1628).  The temple presumably burned down in the 1657 Meireki Great Fire, and was moved to its present place in 1659.  In 1739, the supporters of the temple bought additional property, the site of Honju-ji Temple, which moved to Koishikawa-Yotsuya-cho,  for Sogen-ji Temple.  It still has wooden statues of Hisamoto and his wife.

     Sogen-ji Temple has a Kannon-do Hall which enshrines 2 eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statues: one is 24 centimeters tall, which is said to have been carved by Gyoki (668-749), and the other is 97 centimeters tall, which is the #11 deity of the Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 82 Wasedamachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0042

Phone: 03-3203-7289

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Choju-in Temple

     When Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved to Edo in 1590, he expanded Edo Castle.  Those who lived along the castle’s moat, which became an inner moat after the expansion, near today’s Kiji-bashi Bridge, were moved to Ushigome Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province.  The alternate site, however, was transferred to the domicile of foot soldiers of the Tokugawa Shogunate, thus which was called Okachi-machi, literally Foot Soldier Town, in 1654.  The villagers were evicted to a marsh in the village, which was called Kaitai-cho, literally Alternate Town.  As they didn’t have financial means to reclaim bogs, they patiently threw in garbage and waste to the bogs, and built their houses one by one.  Choju-in Temple was presumably founded during the reclamation process.  As the population of Edo increased, 208 houses were there in 1828, and, for some reason, they had many secondhand clothing stores.

     The temple used to enshrine an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue, was abolished, presumably, after the Meiji Restoration, and it is unknown where the statue has gone.

     Kaitaicho has 2 temples alive: Denkyu-ji Temple, which belongs to the Otani School of the True Pure Land Buddhism, and Tanaka-ji Temple, which belongs to the Soto Chan School.  Choju-in Temple might have belonged to another Buddhist school.

Address: Kaitaicho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-0802

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple

 

     From 793 to 803, Kukai (774-835) frequently visited the countryside and faraway temples to practice asceticism.  His footsteps are hardly known, but some believe he visited the Three Mountains in Dewa and that he carved the Acalanatha statue there.  The statue was believed to have been passed to a villager of Sekiguchi, Musashi Province, and was enshrined in a temple there.

     Priest Shusan (1572-1641) was ordered by Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632), the second Shogun, to carve the same eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue with the one in Hase-dera Temple in Nara, and to revived the temple in Sekiguchi Village.  Shusan renamed the temple, Shin-Chokoku-ji.  Chokoku is another pronunciation of Hase.

     In Komai-cho, Sekiguchi, there used to be a Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple, which enshrined an Acalanatha statue. 

     Edo Meisho Zue, or the Guide to Famous Edo Sites, was an illustrated guidebook for famous places in Edo, and was published in 1834.  The guidebook depicted Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple as follows, "At the foot of Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple, there is a weir, from which the stream gurgles and babbles night and day.  The temple commands the view of the stream, hamlets in Waseda, and woods in Takada.  It's impressively  scenic.  The precincts have restaurants and all of them face the stream."

     Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) chose it as one of 5-colored Acalanatha statues: Black-eyed, Yellow-eyed, Red-eyed, Blue-eyed, and White-eyed Acalanatha statues.  The one in Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple was White-eyed, or Mejiro in Japanese.  The place name, Mejiro, was after the statue's name.  Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple burned down in May, 1945, and was merged with Konjo-in Temple after World War II.  The White-Eyed Acalanatha statue is enshrined in Konjo-in Temple today. 

     According to tradition, Priest Tenkai (1536-1643), a religious advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), placed five protective Acalanatha statues at strategic points on the outskirts of Edo in the early 17th century to religiously protect the new capital of the Tokugawa Shogunate, based on the Chinese Wuxing (or Five Phases) philosophy. The Five Phases are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.  Each of them corresponds to the colors of Blue, Red, Yellow, White, and Black respectively.  Accordingly, they had Blue-eyed, Red-eyed, Yellow-eyed, White-eyed, and Black-eyed Acalanatha statues.  They were so popular that White-eyed (Mejiro In Japanese) and Black-eyed (Meguro in Japanese) even became place names.  It's an urban legend, and 2 temples insist they enshrine Yellow-eyed Acalanatha.

Blue-eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Saisho-ji Temple in Taishidol; Red-eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Nankoku-ji Temple; Yellow-eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Eikyu-ji Temple and/or in Saisho-ji Temple in Hirai; White-eyed Acalanatha used to be enshrined in Shin-Chokoku-ji Temple and is now enshrined in Konjo-in Temple; and Black eyed Acalanatha is enshrined in Ryusen-ji Temple.

     Shin Chokoku-ji Temple is also the #16 member temple of the Modeern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Konjo-in Temple

Address: 2 Chome-12-39 Takada, Toshima City, Tokyo 171-0033

Phone: 03-3971-1654

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Yokoku-ji Temple

     Matsudaira Tadatoshi (1582-1632) had a daughter whose name or mother was unrecorded.  She was married to the Oka Family and gave birth to Tadafusa (?-1726).  She and Tadatoshi invited Priest Gentei and supported the foundation of Yokoku-ji Temple in 1624.  Presumably, her mother died in the year or in the previous year.  A stone statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was built in 1671.  Presumably, she died in the year or in the previous year.  However nameless she and her mother might have been, they came from the Matsudaira Family, who were related to a branch family of the Tokugawa Clan, and were important for such a lower-ranking samurai as the Oka Family, who were basically post-less and thus jobless, and whose salary was paid by rice.  Post-less subjects of the Tokugawa Shogunate were so poor that many of them moonlighted to cover living expenses.  In Okinagusa, a collection of essays compiled from 1772 to 1791 and published in 1851, Kanzawa Toko (1710-1795) depicted post-less samurai as being "paid" masterless samurai.  Some even practically sold their samurai ranks by adopting tradesmen.

     In 1735, the influence of lineage became extinct and the Oka Family died out.  The temple buildings burned down in 1879.

Address: 2 Chome-3-19 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0014

Phone: 03-3941-5964

 

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Gokoku-ji Temple

 

     The Tokugawa Shogunate opened 2 herb gardens in Takada and Asabu in 1638.

     Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709),the 5th Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, abolished the Takada Herb Garden and founded Gokoku-ji Temple in the site for his mother, Tama (1627-1705), in 1681.

     The main deity of the temple was Tama's personal guardian Buddhist image, an amber statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.  Kannon-do Hall has another Cintamanicakra statue, which was the personal guardian Buddhist image of the mother of Hotta Masatora (1662-1729).  The 2 mothers must have shared the same interests.  Masatora, however, was demoted from Omiya, Shimotsuke Province, to Fukushima, Mutsu Province, and then further to Yamagata, Dewa Province.  Moms' friendship between the 2 mothers didn't seem to have worked well for Masatora.

     In 1883, the main hall burned down, but the Kannon-do Hall still remains as it was when it was built.

     Gokoku-ji Temple is also the #13 member temple of the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 5 Chome-40-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0012

Phone: 03-3941-0764

Trees In the Town

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Daiji-ji Temple

 

     Daiji-ji Temple was founded at Otsuka, Koishikawa Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province, in the latter half of the 14th century.  It was revived by Nun Shuncho (1570-1661) in the middle of the 17th century, and was abolished at the turn of the 20th century.

     Due to the Koishikawa Buddhist Federation, the stone monuments Daiji-ji Temple had are displayed in the Otsuka Park.

     Gyobukyo (1570-1661) was born as a daughter of Azai Nagamasa (1545-1573).  She became a wetnurse of Princess Sen (1597-1666), a daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632).  When Princess Sen was married to Toyotomi Hideyori (1593-1613) in 1603, Gyobukyo moved to Osaka Castle with the princess.

     In the Siege of Osaka Castle in 1614 and 1615, Sen fled from the castle on the palanquin prepared by Lady Yodo (1567-1615) with Shuncho and other maids.

     After the death of her husband, Hideyori, Honda Tadatoki (1596-1626) was chosen as a new husband for Sen.  To break the marital relationship with Hideyori, Sen perfunctorily became a Buddhist nun in Mantoku-ji Temple (Address: 382-2 Tokugawacho, Ota City, Gunma Prefecture; Phone: 0276-20-7090).  In reality, it was Gyobukyo who became a nun.  She came to be called with her Buddhist posthumous name, Shuncho.

     Sen gave birth to a girl, Katsu, in 1618, and to a boy, Kochiyo, in 1619.  Her happy days, however, didn’t last long.  Kochiyo died in 1621.  Tadatoki died on May 7th, 1626, and his mother, Kuma, died on June 25th.  People were afraid of Hideyori’s curse, and sent Sen back to Edo.  Gyobukyo or Shuncho joined her at Edo Castle.  The Kan'ei Great Famine broke out in 1640 and lasted into 1643.  In 1644, the Ming Dynasty collapsed in China.  Sen left the castle to keep the curse away from it and the Tokugawa Shogunate, and moved to the Takebashi Palace, which was burned down in the 1657 Great Fire of Meireki.  In 1661, Gyobukyo or Shuncho died.  On February 6th, 1666, Sen passed away.  Was she happy?

Address: 4 Chome−46−9 Otsuka, Bunkyo City Tokyo 112-0012

Otsuka Park

Address: 4 Chome-49 Otsuka, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0012

Phone: 03-5803-1252

Trees In the Town

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Kogaku-ji Temple

 

     According to tradition of Denzu-in Temple (the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12):  In Autumn, 1415, Priest Shogei (1341-1420) opened a hermitage in Koishikawa, perhaps for retirement.  He named it Jukyo-ji.  On August 28th, 1602, Odai, the mother of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) died in Fushimi Castle, Kyoto.  He brought his mother’s body to Edo, cremated the body in Chiko-ji Temple at Otsuka, Koishikawa Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province.  He moved Jukyo-ji Temple to the present place (Address: 3 Chome-14-6 Koishikawa, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0002; Phone: 03-3814-3701), buried her ashes in the precincts, and named the temple Denzu-in, after a part of her posthumous Buddhist name.  Odai’s Buddhist memorial tablet was, however, enshrined in Anraku-ji Temple in Mikawa Province, where her second husband, Hisamatsu Toshikatsu (1526-1587) had been buried.

     According to tradition of Kogaku-ji Temple:  Odai died much earlier when the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute was fought between Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1584.  Owari Province was one of its main battle fields, and Odai lived in Mikawa Province, which lay just east to Owari Province.  Ieyasu had Odai evacuate far from the battle line to Shinano Province.  She died in Komoro, Saku County, Shinano Province, and was buried temporarily there.  After Ieyasu moved to Edo in 1590, he cremated her body afresh at Takehaya, Koishikawa Village, Toshima County, Musashi Province.  The 4th priest of Denzu-in Temple, Mon’etsu (?-1645), suggested to the Tokugawa Shogunate that a temple be founded at the site of the crematorium.  The temple was founded in 1645 by his leading disciple, Kakudon (?-1654),  and was named Kogaku-ji after another part of Odai’s posthumous Buddhist name.  If this tradition was the truth, who was the woman who met Kodai-in (?-1624) and Emperor Go-Yozei (1571-1617) in 1602?  Her double?

     The temple burned down in the 1657 Meireki Great Fire and in the 1772 Meiwa Great Fire.  Priest Kanryo revived the temple.  After the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, Tokyo University of Education moved to Otsuka in 1924, and the temple was moved to Tobitakyu, Chofu Town, Tokyo Prefecture.  As the Chofu Flying Field was constructed, the temple was moved to its present place.  As there was nothing but farmlands between the 2 sites, the temple buildings were moved as they were.

     The precincts have Kannon-do Hall, which enshrines an Arya Avalokitesvara statue, which is said to have been carved by Prince Shotoku (574-622).

Address: 1 Chome-36-1 Fujimicho, Chofu, Tokyo 182-0033

Phone: 042-488-5548

Trees In the Town

Virtual Yamanote 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Saigan-ji Temple

 

     Saigan-ji Temple was founded by Priest Chosatsu in 1616, when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) died, supported by Naito Tadashige (1586-1653) and the Odagiri Family.  Tadashige later became the lord of the Toba Domain in Shima Province and his third son, Tadakiyo (1621-1690), became a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Odagiri Yukinaga (?-1564) was subject to Takeda Harunobu (1521-1573) and was killed in the Third Battle of Kawanakajima, which is also known as the Battle of Uenohara, and in which Harunobu and Nagao Kagetora (1530-1578) clashed against each other over the rule of Shinano Province.  One of his offspring became subject to the Tokugawa Clan after the collapse of the Takeda Clan.

     The temple was first founded where the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens are located today.  As the Mito Domain built their residence there, the temple was moved to its present place.

     The temple was revived by Priest Gan’yo at the end of the 18th century.

     Saigan-ji Temple has a Buddhist memorial tablet for Asano Naganori (1667-1701) and his 46 vassals.  Who were they? And who presented it for what reason?

     The mother of Kajikawa Yoriteru (1647-1723) was a granddaughter of Yamaoka Kageyuki, who was based in Seta Castle, Omi Province.  Kageyuki's first son, Kagetaka (1525-1585), fought for Shibata Katsuie (1522-1583) in the Battle of Shizugatake in May 1583, and lost to Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598).  After the battle, Kagetaka lived in seclusion in Koka County, Omi Province.  Kageyuki's second son, Kagesuke (1531-1589), became subject to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) and died in Suruga Province. Kageyuki's third son, Kagenao (?-1599), became a vassal of Ieyasu's second son, Hideyasu (1574-1607).  Kageyuki's fourth son, Kagetomo (1540-1604), became subject to Ieyasu, and died in Fushimi, Kyoto.  Before the Tokugawa and Toyotomi Clans clashed against each other in the Battle of Sekigahara on October 21st, 1600, Kagetomo told his younger brother, Kagemitsu, who is Kageyuki's 6th son, to join the garrison of Fushimi Castle, the Tokugawa Clan’s stronghold near Kyoto, with their 100 Koka ninja.  When the Siege of Fushimi Castle started on July 18th, the number of Koka ninja had increased to 300.  The garrison had 2300 samurai, footsoldiers, and ninja.  They fought well till August 1st. On the day, 40 ninja went over to the Toyotomi Clan and set fire on one of the towers of the castle. More than 800 were killed and the castle fell.  Presumably, Kagemitsu was killed in the siege, and was buried in Shomyo-ji Temple (Address: 1070 Kokachotaki, Koka, Shiga 520-3432) in Koka 15 years after his father’s death.  It wasn't recorded what happened to Kageyuki's 6th son, Kagefuyu.  Kageyuki's 7th son, Kageshige, became a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and his daughter was married to Toki Yorihiro (?-1677), and gave birth to Yoriteru (1647-1723), who was adopted by Kajikawa Wakeshige (?-1664).  She made a Buddhist memorial tablet for Asano Naganori (1667-1701) and his 46 vassals, who were from Ako Domain, Harima Province, and presented it to Saigan-ji Temple.

     What relation did she have with them?  The answer is her love for her son, Yoriteru, and her concern over his reputation.

     Yoriteru received a salary of 126000 liters of rice a year, when a man was supposed to eat 180 liters of rice a year.  When Naganori tried to kill Kira Yoshihisa (1641-1703) in Edo Castle on March 14th, 1701, Yoriteru stopped Naganori’s criminal act, and got a raise of 90000 liters of rice a year for his crime prevention.  Naganori was ordered to kill himself on that day.  On December 15th, 1704, Naganori’s 47 samurai killed Yoshihisa for their late lord.  The “vengeance” brought samurai and ordinary people in Edo in a state of flaming.  The flaming brought Yoriteru under harsh trolling for his “merciless” deed.  We can find a private diary with trolling against Yoriteru’s offspring even at the end of the Tokugawa Period.  The mother’s love and concern were hardly rewarded.

Address: 1 Chome-12-12 Kasuga, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0003

Phone: 03-3811-3715

Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens

Address: 1 Chome-6-6 Koraku, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0004

Phone: 03-3811-3015