Sayama 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     I have virtually walked through the last 2 temples of the Eastern Edo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the 10th old Kannon Pilgrimage in Edo, quickly as I have virtually visited the temple a couple of times.  It’s often the case that some pilgrimages include the same popular temples to increase the number of their pilgrims.

     The 11th old 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Edo was Asakusa 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  However, few is known about it.  After the 12th old, the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage,  the Sayama 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized by Priest Ryosei of Konjo-in Temple and Priest Banko of Myozen-in Temple in 1788 in the outskirts of Edo, where we can expect something different from those in the urban center.

     The Great Tenmei Famine began in 1782, and lasted until 1788.  In the 1770’s, there was a sharp decline in crop yield in Mutsu Province, which was the north-eastern region of Honshu Island.  To make the situation worse, Mt. Iwaki erupted on March 12, 1783 , and Mt. Asama on July 6th.  Another cause of the famine was the government's economic policies.  In the first half of the 18th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate raised taxes which were paid by rice.  The tax increase exhausted farmers and peasants, and caused rice planting to move northward.  All in all, the farmers and peasants in the northern provinces became vulnerable to cold weather and natural disasters.  In the 1750’s, the shogunate implemented a mercantilist policy to further increase tax revenue.  This was intended to raise taxes from commerce and business, but, as taxes were basically paid in rice, caused rice prices to soar.  Many domains tried to increase their rice-planted acreage and even sold local emergency stores of rice.  The climatic, volcanic and economic factors combined to result in poor harvests and serious famine expanded to a national scale as a result.  Twenty thousand people were estimated to have starved to death, mainly in rural areas of the Tohoku Region.  However, many local authorities were afraid of being accused of economic mismanagement, and did not report the full extent of the damage, so the actual death toll may have been far higher.  The combined impact of famine and outbreaks of disease resulted in a population decline of more than 920,000 people across Japan between 1780 and 1786.  The outcome was particularly severe in Mutsu Province.  The Tsugaru Domain lost almost half of its population, including those who fled the area.  Many refugees fled to Edo, and the public security there deteriorated.