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Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Myoon-in Temple

 

     Myoon-in Temple used to be by Ubaga-ike Pond, which was reclaimed in 1891.

     When Senso-ji Temple was founded in the 6th or 7th century, the area was called Asajiga-hara, and wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see.  The highway to Mutsu Province ran through the wasteland.  A solitary shabby house was by a pond along the highway.   An old woman and her daughter lived in the shack.  When it got dark in Asajiga-hara, travelers had no choice but to ask for a stay in the shank.  The 2 women kindly let them stay.  In the dead of night, the old woman revealed her true character.  She had a traveler sleep with a stone pillow.  When the traveler fell fast asleep, she dropped a big stone on the head of the traveler.  She took away money and goods, and dumped bodies in the pond.  The daughter found the deeds shameful and mean, and tried to stop her mother many times.  The old woman wouldn’t listen to her daughter.

     The old woman had killed 999 travelers.  One evening, a handsome young man asked for a stay.  The old woman led him to bed as usual, and waited for him to fall fast asleep.  At an appropriate time, she dropped a big stone on his head.  When she checked his body, she realized that it was her daughter’s.  She regretted having killed her own daughter, and threw herself into the pond.  Thereafter, the pond came to be called Ubaga-ike, literally Old Woman’s Pond.  Myoon-in Temple still conserves the stone pillow.

     Myoon-in Temple was one of the 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

     Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541, the second head of the Later Hojo Clan, not only revived Senso-ji Temple but also controlled it.  Ujitsuna ordered Daidoji Morimasa (1495-1556) in 1539 to rebuild buildings for Senso-ji Temple.  Ujitsuna also appointed Chugo, a family member of Toyama Naokage (?-1533), to be the head priest of Senso-ji Temple.  The branch temples of Senso-ji Temple had increased to over 100.  Chugo organized them into 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism, and 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

Address: 2 Chome−31-3 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

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Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Kakuzen-in Temple

 

     Kakuzen-in Temple was founded by Tada Noritsuna (?-1234) as a branch temple of Senso-ji Temple with his family member, Nobutsuna, as its priest.

     When Oe Hiromoto(1148-1225), who was married with Noritsuna's daughter, was appointed to be a guardian samurai of Sagae Manor, which was owned by the Fujiwara Clan, the top aristocrats, in Murayama County, Dewa Province, it was Noritsuna who actually went to the manor to rule it as a samurai.

     In that way, powerful samurai founded branch temples of Senso-ji Temple as they liked to contribute their manors, and more than 100 branch temples crowded into the precincts.

     Kakuzen-in Temple was one of the 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

     Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541, the second head of the Later Hojo Clan, not only revived Senso-ji Temple but also controlled it.  Ujitsuna ordered Daidoji Morimasa (1495-1556) in 1539 to rebuild buildings for Senso-ji Temple.  Ujitsuna also appointed Chugo, a family member of Toyama Naokage (?-1533), to be the head priest of Senso-ji Temple.  The branch temples of Senso-ji Temple had increased to over 100.  Chugo organized them into 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism, and 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

     It wasn't recorded when Kakuzen-in Temple was abolished, but it might have been after the Meiji Restoration.

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Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Jisho-in Temple

 

     Jisho-in Temple was one of the 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism.

     Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541), the second head of the Later Hojo Clan, not only revived Senso-ji Temple but also controlled it.  Ujitsuna ordered Daidoji Morimasa (1495-1556) in 1539 to rebuild buildings for Senso-ji Temple.  Ujitsuna also appointed Chugo, a family member of Toyama Naokage (?-1533), to be the head priest of Senso-ji Temple.  The branch temples of Senso-ji Temple had increased to over 100.  Chugo organized them into 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism, and 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

Address: 2 Chome-31-3 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Hozo-in Temple

 

     Historically, we can hardly find Konzo-in Temple as a branch temple of Senso-ji Temple in any stage of its history.  As you may know, Senso-ji Temple has Hozo-mon Gate.  Presumably, they visited the gate as the #6 menber temple of Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Hozo-mon Gate

Address: 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

Phone: 03-3842-0181

Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Konzo-in Temple

 

     Konzo-in Temple was one of the 12 branch temples of Senso-ji Temple for the monks who studied Buddhism.

     Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541), the second head of the Later Hojo Clan, not only revived Senso-ji Temple but also controlled it.  Ujitsuna ordered Daidoji Morimasa (1495-1556) in 1539 to rebuild buildings for Senso-ji Temple.  Ujitsuna also appointed Chugo, a family member of Toyama Naokage (?-1533), to be the head priest of Senso-ji Temple.  The branch temples of Senso-ji Temple had increased over 100.  Chugo organized them into 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism, and 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

Address: 2 Chome-31-7 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

Phone: 03-3842-8956

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Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Kanchi-in Temple

 

     Ensho-in Temple was founded in Kanda-Kita-Teramachi in 1611 by Monk Shoyo.  As its precincts were confiscated by the Tokugawa Shogunate, it moved to Yanaka-Kiyomizuzaka in 1648.  Again, due to the city planning of Edo, it moved to its present place at the end of the 1650’s.  Yucho (?-1720) became the 12th priest of Ensho-in Temple in 1680, and increased the number of its supporting families dramatically.  In 1698, he changed the temple name to Kanchi-in since the old name Ensho sounds like fire.

     The 1703 Genroku Earthquake occurred at 02:00 on December 31st.  The total number of casualties from earthquake, fires, and tsunami was reported as 5,233. Other estimates are higher, with 10,000 in total, or even 200,000.  Thanks to the renaming(?), Kanchi-in Temple survived, and won even more popularity. 

     The Maruyama Family provided good surgeons for generations with Ensho-in as their family temple.  Terauchi Masasada (?-1744) was adopted by the family, was hired by the Tokugawa Shogunate, and called himself Gento.

     However, the new temple name didn’t work well enough against modern arms.  On March 4th, 1945, most part of Tokyo was bombed.  The Great Tokyo Air Raids killed 650 people and burned 4085 houses.  An incediary bomb hit the main hall, and only a hall for the statues of Kukai and Acalanatha survived the fire.

Address: 2 Chome-31 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

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Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Nichion-in Temple

 

     All the 7 temples from #3 to #9 of the Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage seem to be or to have been branch temples of Senso-ji Temple.  Nichion-in Temple was one of the 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism in Senso-ji Temple.

     Hojo Ujitsuna (1487-1541), the second head of the Later Hojo Clan, not only revived Senso-ji Temple but also controlled it.  Ujitsuna ordered Daidoji Morimasa (1495-1556) in 1539 to rebuild buildings for Senso-ji Temple.  Ujitsuna also appointed Chugo, a family member of Toyama Naokage (?-1533), to be the head priest of Senso-ji Temple.  The branch temples of Senso-ji Temple had increased to over 100.  Chugo organized them into 12 branch temples for the monks who studied Buddhism, and 21 branch temples for the monks who prayed.

Address: 2 Chome-31 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

Phone: 03-3841-2444

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Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Komagata-do Temple

     Haji Matsuchi, Hinokuma Yamanari, and Hinokuma Tekenari were netting fishes in Miyato River (nearly Sumida River today) in 589.  They caught an Arya Avalokitesvara statue out of the river.  They wove a small shed with wild spinach canes, and put the statue in it. Komagata-do Temple stands at the very place where the wild-spinach-cane shed was built, or woven.

     But the deity in Komagata-do Temple today is another metamorphosis of Avalokitesvara, horse-headed Hayagriva.  The temple name, Komagata, literally means horse shape. 

     Taira Kinmasa was one of the 8 samurais who defeated Taira Masakado (?-940) in 940.  Soon, he was appointed as the governor of Awa Province, and later as that of Musashi Province in 942.  He revived Senso-ji Temple and built Komagata-do Temple to enshrine a horse-headed Hayagriva statue carved by Ennin (794-864).  It could be more modern than Senso-ji Temple itself.

     Komagata-do Temple is also #2 of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and #4 of the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 2 Chome-2-3 Kaminarimon, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0034

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 Virtual Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Senso-ji Temple

     Haji Matsuchi, Hinokuma Yamanari, and Hinokuma Tekenari were netting fish in the estuary of the Miyato River (nearly Sumida River today) in 589.  They caught an Arya Avalokitesvara statue out of the river.  Matsuchi persuaded Yamanari and Takenari, and they wove a small shed with wild spinach canes, and put the statue in it.

     What persuasion was it like?  In Ancient Japan, things drifted ashore were understood to belong to the sea shore residents.  The statue must have been found in a wrecked boat.  Yamanari and Takenari might have insisted on reselling the statue.  Matsuchi might have persuaded them to keep it from his religious mind.

     By the way, where was the original destination of the Arya Avalokitesvara statue?  In 587, Emperor Hatsusebe ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne.  That means in the political and military dispute between the pro-Shinto Mononobe Clan and the pro-Buddhist Soga Clan, the latter emerged victorious.  Local powerful families such as Kamitsuke Okuma, who drank a bitter cup in the Musashi Disturbance in 534, could have been competing to purchase Buddhist images.

     Then, Yamanari and Takenari might have suggested forwarding the statue to the original destination.  And it was Matsuchi who was blinded by selfish desires.  It is always hard to tell good from evil.

     Anyway, Matsuchi’s persuasion worked.  Senso-ji Temple has been the most popular spot in Edo, and later in Tokyo.  Their descendants have enjoyed the benefits of the statue.  Until the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, though.

     In 645, Priest Shokai built a small hermitage for the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, and Taira Kinmasa, the then governor of Musashi Province, made it a real temple.

     Taira Kinmasa was one of the 8 samurais who defeated Taira Masakado (?-940) in 940.  Soon, he was appointed as the governor of Awa Province, and later as that of Musashi Province in 942.

     On March 18th, 945, Avalokitesvara appeared Kinmasa's dream and said to him, "If you have blue seaweed, red seaweed, and black seaweed off Senso-ji Temple, you will be in perfect health, enjoy better luck, and attain the state of Buddhist enlightenment in your after life."  He followed the divine message, gathered seaweed, and ate them.  They tasted very good, and were good for his health too.  As he followed Avalokiteshvara's "nori" (teachings in Japanese), he named the seaweed "Asakusa (the other pronunciation of "Senso") Nori (Laver)".  Believe it or not.

     The Azuma Kagami, which was compiled after 1266 under the directive of the Hojo Clan, and which was a record in diary form of events occurring in Japan at the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate, recorded that 50 monks were living and training in the temple in 1251.

     However, Fujiwara Seika (1561-1619), a famous Confucian at the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, reputed that, due to the battles and disorders during the Warring States Period, many of the temple buildings were half collapsing and the fences were partially broken, when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved to Edo.

     In 2008, 1.9 million foreign sightseers visited the surrounding area.  The number reached more than 9.5 million in 2018, but decreased to almost nil in the COVID-19 pandemic.

     Even the Arya Avalokitesvara statue has experienced ups and downs.

     Senso-ji Temple is also #1 of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimageand and the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. 

Address: 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032

Phone: 03-3842-0181

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Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

     After the Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1740, the Buso and Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimages were organized in 1753 and in 1754 respectively.

     It is unknown accurately when the Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized as the 10th Kannon Pilgrimage in Edo, but it was supposed to have been organized in 1769.  The pilgrimage was mentioned in Ruiju-Meibutsu-ko, an encyclopedia compiled and edited by Yamaoka Matsuake (1726-1780), who started compiling it in 1755 and finished it in 1779.

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Virtual 33 Kannon Pilgrimages around Edo

 After the Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the Buso and the Hachioji 33 Kannon Pilgrimages were organized in 1753 and 1754 respectively in rhater western outskirts of Edo.  It means the city expanded westward in those days.  As I have visited the 2 pilgrimages virtually, I should move to the 10th oldest (?) next.

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Chokoku-ji Temple

     In the Shibuya Field in Shimo-Shibuya Village, an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue was enshrined in a small temple.  The statue was said to have been carved out of the same tree with the statue which was enshrined in Hase-dera Temple in Yamato Province.  When Yamaguchi Shigemasa (1564-1635) moved to Edo, following Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), he built his second residence in the Shibuya Field and changed the small temple to a real temple, Chokoku-ji, as his family temple.

     In 1716, when the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized, the temple built a 7 meter tall Avalokitesvara statue and put the original statue in it.  The temple was modern enough to update itself constantly.

     Chokoku-ji Temple is also the #23 member temple of the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 2 Chome-21-34 Nishiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0031

Phone: 03-3400-5232

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Sensho-ji Temple

 

     At the end of the Warring-States Period, Tsutsui Junkei (1549-1584) was trying to put Yamato Province under his rule.  He, however, had a narrow view of national politics.  In the 1560’s, Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was already trying to unify the whole country.  Junkei became subject to Nobunaga through the good offices of Akechi Mitsuhide (1516-1582) on October 25th.  On March 23rd, 1574, Junkei handed his mother into Nobunaga as hostage.  On February 27th, 1575, Junkei was given Nobunaga’s daughter to strengthen their alliance.  On May 22nd, Nobunaga approved Junkei’s rule over Yamato Province with Mitsuhide as a messenger.   On May 22nd, 1576, his mother came back to Junkei.  Junkei’s niece, Asahi (?-1663), seemed to be given to Nobunaga as a concubine on either occasion.

     Mitsuhide assasinated Nobunaga on June 2nd, 1582, but was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyashi (1536-1598) soon.  The relationship between Mitsuhide delayed Junkei’s support to Hideyoshi, which led the Tsutsui Clan extinct as a warlord.  Tsusui Junsai (1551-1610), who was an adopted son of Junkei, however, became a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  Asahi was supported by Junsai, and moved to Edo. 

     Asahi lived in Shibuya with her Buddhist name Seishin.  One day, she passed by the woods and noticed something sparkled like dew in the morning sun.  She found an Avalokitesvara statue in a grove, and brought it back.  Priest Denkaku changed her hermitage into a temple and named it Sensho-ji.

Address: 3 Chome-1-37 Motoazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0046

Phone: 03-3408-4810

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Enpuku-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Enpuku-ji Temple was founded, where it was exactly located, and when it was abolished.

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Hensho-ji Temple

     After the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590, a Hirano from Odawara, Sagami Province, became a monk with his Buddhist name Taio, moved to Edo, and studied Buddhism under Jisho (1544-1620, who was the head priest of Zojo-ji Temple.  Taio founded Hensho-ji Temple in Kasumigaseki in 1624 and died in 1658.

     The #30 deity of the Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is the Arya Avalokitesvara statue, which was carved by Genshin (942-1017), and which is 24 centimeters tall and is concealed in a box.  On September 13th, 1745, another Arya Avalokitesvara statue, which was carved by Ennin (794-864), and which is also 24 centimeters tall and is concealed in a box, was presented to the temple.  It seems the main deity was decided not by seniority but in order of arrival

Address: 3 Chome-4-6 Minamiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0047

Phone: 03-3444-3393

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Sho’nen-ji Temple

     Sho'nen-ji Temple was founded as a hermitage with its name Sesshu-in, namely Ingestion Hermitage, in 1615, and was changed into a temple in 1652 by Priest Ryoko.

     Early in the afternoon on February 29th, 1772, Monk Shinshu set fire to Daien-ji Temple (Address: 1 Chome-8-5 Shimomeguro, Meguro City, Tokyo 153-0064).  The fire was fueled by the strong south-western winds, and spread to Azabu, Kyobashi, and Nihonbashi.  The fire burned169 daimyo residences, 170 bridges, and 382 temples.  14,700 people were killed and 4,000 went missing in the fire which was later named the Meiwa Great Fire.  Sho’nen-ji Temple was burnt down in the fire, and the details of its foundation was missed.

     Shinshu was arrested by Hasagawa Nobuo (1719-1773), who was the chief of Hitsuke-Tozoku-Aratame-kata, the police specialized in arresting arsonists and robbers.  The institution is much well known with his son, Nobutame (1745-1795), who is the main character in 135 stories titled Onihei-Hanka-cho written by Ikenami Shotaro (1923-1990).  After his arrest in April, Shinshu was burned at the stake in Kozukahara on June 21st.

     After the fire, the temple was revived by Priest Jissei (?-1774).

     The precincts of Sho'nen-ji Temple have a Kannon-do Hall which enshrines the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.

Address: 3 Chome-9 Minamiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0047

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Senshin-ji Temple

 

     Senshin-ji Temple was founded by Priest Rido (?-1620) in Shirokane Village presumably at the beginning of the Edo Period.  The precincts have an Avalokitesvara hall and a pine tree onto which an old three-leafed pine tree was grafted.

     A three-pronged vajra is called sanko in Japanese.  As the pine tree is three-leafed, it was called a sanko pine tree, and the hill in front of the temple was called Sanko-zaka Hill.  The area was urbalized in the Edo Period and was named Shirokane-Sankocho.

Address: 2 Chome-1-43 Shirokane, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0072

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Shogen-ji Temple

     Shogen-ji Temple was founded by Priest Man’ei (?-1643), who was from Nitta County, Kozuke Province, in Kobikicho in 1603.  In 1618, it was moved to Shiba-Kanesugi due to the Edo city planning.  Again in 1679, it was moved to its present place due to another city planning.  The temple was revived by Priest Shuncho (?-1766).

     In 1742, a super-typhoon made landfall at Osaka and hit Edo.  It started raining on August 26th, and the storm hit the provinces between Osaka and Edo, causing many rivers to flood.  Along the Chikuma River alone, more than 200 tons of water was estimated to have flooded.  On the 30th, the typhoon hit Edo, and not only downtown but even samurai mansions on the heights were flooded.  On September 1st, the Tone, Ara, and Tama Rivers flooded.  On the 6th, another typhoon hit the Kanto Region, and it kept flooding till the 8th.  Presumably, the temple buildings were lost in the flood. 

     Shogen-ji Temple has a 45-centimeter tall Avalokitesvara standing statue which is said to have been carved by Genshin (942-1017).

Address: 2 Chome-7-19 Shirokane, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0072

Phone: 03-3441-3853

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Saisho-ji Temple

 

     According to tradition, a fisher of Hibiya Village picked up an Amitabha sitting statue out of the sea, and built a hermitage for it.  Priest Monryu changed it to a temple and named it Saisho-ji in 1574.

     After Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) moved into Edo, Hibiya became a residential district for high-ranking samurai, and the temple was moved to Shiba-Kanasugi in 1612.

     On the last day of January, 1641, the Okecho Big Fire broke out from Kyobashi-Okecho.  The fire was fueled by the strong northern winds and spread south to Shiba.  It burned 1924 houses including 121 of high-ranking samurai and 56 of middle-ranking samurai, and killed more than 400 people including Kagatsume Tadasumi (1586-1641), who directed firefighting.  In 1643, 16 daimyo were organized into 4 groups of firefighters, and each group was routinely in charge for 10 days.  In the year, Saisho-ji was taken part of its precincts away for a firebreak.

     The precincts became too small, and Okada Yoshimasa (1605-1677) bought a lot in Shiba-Shirokanecho for the temple.  

     Okada Yoshiatsu (1558-1631) was born in Owari Province and was a vassal of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582).  After Nobunaga’s death, he was hired by Sassa Narimasa (1536-1588), who was promoted to be a ruler of Higo Province by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598).  However, Narimasa couldn’t suppress the rebellion of the local samurai in 1587, displeased Hideyoshi, and was ordered to commit hara-kiri suicide in 1588.  Narimasa cut open his belly straight and threw up his guts to the ceiling.

     Yoshiatsu became master-less again.  He was hired by Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611) for the Japanese invasions of Korea of 1592–1598 or Imjin War.  Yoshiatsu was taken notice of by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) and was hired by him.  Yoshiatsu was said to have brought a Korean woman, who gave birth to Yoshimasa in Kani County in today’s Gifu Prefecture.

     Ieyasu appointed Yoshiatsu as the 5th magistrate of Yamada Town, Ise Province.  As the communes managed the town, the magistrates’ biggest job was to carry on the renewal of shrine buildings every 20 years.  The 41st renewal had been carried out by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1585.  After 2 decades, the Toyotomi Clan was still alive, and Ieyasu had to show better performance.  The 42nd renewal was carried out in 1609.  After 1613, Yoshiatsu became a local administrator of the Tokugawa Shogunate in today’s Gifu Prefecture.  He was said to have introduced a new embarkment system to Kiso River.  He built levees in the right angle out of the main banks to weaken the current of the river.

     Anyway, Saisho-ji Temple grew, but, at the end of the Edo Period, it became accommodations for the Imperial army, and was set on fire by oppositional forces.  In 1877, the temple was revived, and, in 1887, Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), who was born in today’s Gifu Prefecture, and who later became a famous novelist, entered Meiji-Gakuin University and boarded at the temple.  The temple worked like the Association of Gifu Locals.  As Tokyo grew, the temple was moved to its present place in 1911 due to the new city planning. 

Address: 2 Chome-29-3 Koenjiminami, Suginami City, Tokyo 166-0003

Phone: 03-3311-7534

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Kogaku-in Temple

     There used to be a Bhaisajyaguru hermitage in Maruyama, today’s Mt. Atago (1 Chome-5 Atago, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0002).  Priest Zenryo changed it to be a temple and named it Soei-ji in 1594.   Sakuma Yasumasa (1555-1627) changed its name to be Kogaku-in after the posthumous name of his last son, Katsumune (1589-1616).  The temple was moved to its present place in 1653.

     Yasumasa was the second son of Sakuma Moritusgu (?-1568), who was a vassal of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and who was killed in the siege of Mitsukuri Castle in Omi Province in November 1568.  Yasumasa was married with a daughter of Yasuda Tomomune (?-1583) and was taken into the Yasuda Family, who were subject to the Hatakeyama Clan, which was one of the distinguished families under the Ashikaga Shogunate and which was based in Kii Province.  The clan was attacked by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) and was destroyed as a warlord.  After the Hatakeyama Clan’s decline, Tomomune and Yasumasa moved to Owari Province, depending on the Sakuma Family, and became subject to Shibata Katsuie (1522-1583).  After Nobunaga’s death, Hideyoshi and Katsuie became hostile against each other, and Katsuie was killed by Hideyoshi.  Tomomune was killed in one of the battles then and Yasumasa moved farther east and became subject to the Later Hojo Clan in the Kanto Region.  Yasumune divorced his wife, who returned to Kii Province.  Unluckily again, the Later Hojo Clan was destroyed by Hideyoshi in 1590.  He was employed by Gamo Ujisato (1556-1595), who was promoted to be a daimyo in Mutsu Province.  In Mutsu Province in the year, local samurai rebelled against another new lord, Kimura Yoshikiyo (?-1598).  Ujisato helped Yoshikiyo and Yasumune fought to suppress the rebellion.  After Ujisato’s death, Yasumune became subject to Hideyoshi.  After Hideyoshi’s death, the Toyotomi Clan was destroyed by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  By that time, however, Yasumune had learned a lesson in his unlucky life, and had dumped the Toyotomi Clan for Ieyasu.  His misfortune, however, continued, his son, Katsumune died young at the age of 28.  Yasumune renamed Soei-ji Temple to Kogaku-in after the posthumous name of his last son, to pray for the comfort of Katsumune in the other world.

     At the end of the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate ended their national isolation policy and opened Japan to the world.  They also prepared legations for the Western countries.  The shogunate chose Kogaku-in, Rosei-ji, Jokyo-ji, and Eiryu-ji Temples as the candidates for the Prussia Legation.  From the largeness of the precincts and the sizes of the buildings, Kogaku-in Temple was selected as their legation.  The shogunate told Maximilian August Scipio von Brandt (1835-1920) to stay there on April 3rd, 1865, but the legation was moved to Shunto-in Temple next year.  The main hall of Kogaku-in Temple is the only building left that was used as a legation at the end of the Edo Period, however short its diversion was.

     The precincts have the grave of Nabeshima Naotaka (1809-1860), who was known as a grower and a scientist of morning glories.

Address: 1 Chome−24−6 Takanawa, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0074

Phone: 03-3441-4335

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Obai-in Temple

     The Suzuki Family in Takawa invited an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue, and The Hamano Family in Shinjuku founded Obai-in Temple with  its beautiful plum garden.

     The Suzuki Family has worshiped an Acalanatha statue for generations, while the Hamano Family deified a stone ball.  Both families have washed coins, praying to the deities.  The customs have guaranteed the wealth to each family.  They teamed up and put the 2 deities in Obai-in Temple so that wider people can enjoy their blessings.

     Obai-in Temple is also the #31 Temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 1 Chome-27-21 Takanawa, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0074

Phone: 03-3441-8701

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Insetsu-in Temple

     Insetsu-in Temple was located in Takanawa.  No history is known about the temple.

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Doon-ji Temple

     Doo-ji Temple was founded sometime between 1661 and 1673, when the family register was accomplished by forcing every family to belong to a Buddhist temple, which, of course, increased the number of temples.  Doon-ji Temple has a Kannon-do Hall, which enshrines the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of other 6 metamorphoses, and a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue.  The Arya Avalokiteshvara statue is the #21 deity of the Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the Sahasrabhuja statue is the #22 deity.  Neither is shown to the public and both are concealed in a black sacred box, in front of which you can find 33 copies of the 33 statues of Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the very original Kannon pilgrimage.

     Doo-ji Temple is the #27 and #28 member temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  It isn’t certain which statue is #27 and which statue is #28.

Address: 2 Chome-16-13 Takanawa, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0074

Phone: 03-3446-7676

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Issho-in Temple

 

      Priest Munen built a hermitage, Issho-in, in 1600, when the Battle of Sekigahara broke out between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa Clans, in which the latter overpowered the former. Accordingly, the Toyotomi Clan went down to one of the great lords from the ruler of Japan.  Munen means regret or mortification, which caused the priest to retreat into the priesthood.  What did he regret or was mortified with?

     The hermitage, which enshrined an Arya Avalokitesvara statue, was merged with Doo-ji Temple, which enshrined a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, and which was founded sometime between 1661 and 1673, when the family register was accomplished by forcing every family to belong to a Buddhist temple, which of course increased the number of temples.

     Doo-ji Temple has a Kannon-do Hall, which enshrines the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of other 6 metamorphoses, and the statue of Sahasrabhuja, who has 1,000 arms.  The Arya Avalokitesvara statue is the #21 Deity of the Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the Sahasrabhuja statue is the #22 deity.

     Issho-in Temple used to be the #27 member temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. 

Address: 2 Chome-16-13 Takanawa, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0074

Phone: 03-3446-7676

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Gyoran-ji Temple

      Priest Shoyo built a hermitage in En'o-ji Temple, Nakatsu, Bungo Province, in 1617 with the Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvara statue.  Previously in 1615, the Toyotomi Clan had been destroyed by the Tokugawa Clan.  The last head of the Toyotomi Clan was Hideyori (1593-1615).  Hideyori’s son, Kunimatsu, was officially beheaded on May 23rd, 1615, with the husband of his wet nurse, Tanaka Rokuzaemon.  Some believed that the decapitated boy was actually Rokuzaemon’s son, and Kunimatsu escaped to Bungo Province.  Hideyori’s daughter became a nun in Kamakura, with her Buddhist name Tenshu-ni.  Priest Guen (?-1688), in his last moments, insisted that he was the second son of Hideyori.  Guen studied in Zojo-ji Temple and died in Fushimi, Yamashiro.

     In 1630, Shoyo moved to Mita, Edo, with the statue, and built another hermitage there.  In 1652, when Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641-1680) was appointed as the 4th shogun, Shoyo made the hermitage a real temple.  As the Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvara image was rather modern at the time, the temple became quite famous or even popular.

     Tosa Hidenobu (?-?) published Butsuzo-zui (Illustrated Compendium of Buddhist Images) in 1783.  In the compendium, he listed 33 popular subjects of Buddhism Avalokiteshvara drawings and paintings: #1 Holding-Willow-Spray Avalokitesvara, #2 Naga Avalokitesvara, #3 Holding-Buddhism-Scripture Avalokitesvara, #4 Halo Avalokitesvara, #5 Sitting-on-Cloud Avalokitesvara, #6 Pandara Vasini Avalokitesvara, #7 Sitting-on-Lotus-Leaf Avalokitesvara, #8 Looking-at-Cascade Avalokitesvara, #9 Listening-to-Stream Avalokitesvara, #10 Holding-Fish-Cage Avalokitesvara, #11 Brahman (Virtuous-Lord) Avalokitesvara, #12 Looking-at-Reflected-Moon Avalokiteshvara, #13 Sitting-on-Leaf Avalokitesvara, #14 Blue-Head Avalokitesvara, #15 Great-Commander Avalokitesvara, #16 Life-Prolonging Avalokitesvara, #17 Relief-from-Ruination Avalokitesvara, #18 In-Cave-with-Venom Avalokitesvara, #19 Wave-Reduction Avalokitesvara, #20 Anavatapta Avalokitesvara, #21 One-Knee-Drawn-Up Avalokitesvara, #22 Leaf-Robe Avalokitesvara, #23 Holding-Lapis-Lazuli-Censer Avalokitesvara, #24 Tara Avalokitesvara, #25 Sit-in-in-Clam Avalokitesvara, #26 Twenty-Four-Hour Avalokitesvara, #27 Universal-Benevolence Avalokitesvara, #28 Celestial Beauty Avalokitesvara, #29 Brahmani Avalokitesvara, who put palms together, #30 Controlling-Thunderbolt Avalokitesvara, #31 Peaceful-Vajrapani Avalokitesvara, #32 Holding-Lotus-Flower Avalokitesvara, and #33 Sprinkling-Purified-Water Avalokitesvara.  Some subjects came directly from Lotus Supra Chapter XXV, some were based on folklore in China, and others were created in Japan.

     In Tang China, there lived a beautiful woman who sold fish for a living.  She looked for a man who could recite Vajracchedika-prajnaparamita Sutra and Lotus Sutra, especially  Chapter 25 "The Universal Gateway of the Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds”.  She successfully got married, but died before long.  After her death, she was believed to be a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, who appeared in this world to propagate Lotus Sutra.  Many young men might have tried hard to recite the sutras to marry her.

     Gyoran-ji Temple is also the #25 member temple of the Old Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the #24 member temple of the Modern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 4 Chome-8-34 Mita, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0073

Phone: 03-3451-5677

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Daishin-ji Temple

 

     Daishin-ji Temple was founded by Priest Ryoko in Hscchobori in 1611, when the Tokugawa Clan's rule was practically established.  In 1635, the temple was moved to Mita.

     Ishimura Omi I was a master craftsperson of shamisen, three-stringed Japanese banjo-like musical instruments played by plucking with a large plectrum, who lived and worked in Kyoto.  Ishimura Omi II (?-1636) moved to Edo.  After his death, he was buried in Daishin-ji Temple.  Since then, the temple came to be known as Shamisen Temple.

Address: 4 Chome-7-20 Mita, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0073

Phone: 03-3441-0664

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Virtual Western Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Rinsen-ji Temple

 

     Sugihara Ietsugu (1530-1584) founded Ritsurin-ji Temple in Fushimi, Kyoto, in the 1560's.

In Medieval Japan, a peddler group were called "ren'jaku".  They originated in the Kamakura Period, when they brought raw materials to big cities such as Kyoto and Kamakura, and hawked handicrafts to other provinces.  They first sold their goods in open-air shops.  Gradually, districts came to hold periodic markets, and peddlers came to tour around those periodic markets.  If a market was held on the 8th day of a month, the market was called Yoka-ichi, namely the Eighth Day Market.  We can still find that type of place names throughout Japan.  A big "ren'-jaku" group was consisted of over 100 laborers, over 60 guards, and countless horses.

     Ietsugu was no more than a peddler at first with his name Shichiro, namely the Seventh Boy.  His younger sister, Okohi, gave birth to Nene (?-1624), who happened to marry Tokichiro, who later unified Japan and changed his name Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598).  On his way to the ruler of Japan, Hideyoshi promoted his relatives, and Shichiro became Hideyoshi's chief retainer with his name Sugihara Ietsugu.

     Hideyoshi became the lord of Nagahama Castle, Omi Province, in 1573, and Ietsugu's first son, Nagafusa (1574-1629), is supposed to have been born in its castle town.

     After Hideyoshi's death, Nagafusa became a vassal of Hideyoshi's son, Hideyori (1593-1615).  In 1598, Nagafusa became the lord of Toyooka Castle in Tajima Province.  In 1600, the Toyotomi Clan and the Tokugawa Clan fought the Battle of Sekigahara, which was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important.  Nagafusa took part in a much minor battle, the siege of Tanabe Castle in Tango Province.  It was so minor that nobody cared who fought against whom in the siege.  Nagafusa silently went over to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) after 1600.  He built his residence in Edo and moved Ritsurin-ji Temple there too.  In 1601, Edo had a great fire, and Ritsurin-ji Temple and 46 other temples were moved to the neighborhood of Rinsen-ji Temple's present location.  

     On January 12th, 1823, a big fire broke out in Mita, and the temple burned down.  Its main hall was rebuilt in 1828, and survived World War II.  In the process of modernization and economic growth, National Route 1 was widened and the precincts were reduced.  Part of the precincts was detached, and was made into the Toyooka-cho Children’s Park.  Now, you can understand why a park in Mita is called Toyooka-cho.

Address: 4 Chome-3-20 Mita, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0073

Phone: 03-3451-3802

Toyooka-cho Children's Park

Address: 5 Chome-11-6 Mita, Minato City, Tokyo 108-0073