Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Daihigan-ji Temple

 

     Daihigan-ji Temple was founded in 1191 by Hirayama Sueshige (1140-1212), who invited Priest Choshu, with Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) as a dana-pati.

     The 4th priest, Chohen, revived the temple, supported by Ashikaga Motouji (1340-1367), the first Kanto Deputy Shogun, and his son, Ujimitsu (1359-1398), the second Kanto Deputy Shogun.  The Ashikaga Family prided themselves on being legitimate successors of Yoritomo, the commander in chief of the samurai clans and families.

     Hirayama Sueshige (1140-1212) fought for Minamoto Yoshitomo (1123-1160) in the Hogen War in 1156, and in the Heiji War in 1159.  Yoshitomo was defeated and killed by the Taira Clan.  Then, he followed the Taira Clan and lived a peaceful life as a local samurai.  However, when Yoshitomo's son, Yoritomo (1147-1199), who had been exiled to Izu Province, raised an army in 1180, Sueshige fought for Yoritomo.  When Yoritomo dispatched his younger brother, Yoshitsune (1159-1189), to Kyoto to hunt down the Taira Clan, Sueshige followed Yoshitsune and achieved outstanding military service in 1184 and 1185.

     After the war, Sueshige was given a government post by the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa (1127-1192) without permission of Yoritomo, who got angry.  Yoritomo criticized Sueshige along with other samurai who were appointed without Yoritomo’s permission, saying, “Hirayama Sueshige has a fluffy face and got an outrageous appointment.”  In spite of giving up his government post, he was appointed by Yoritomo as the steward of Harada Manor, Mikasa County, Chikuzen Province.

     In 1189, Sueshige participated in the Battle of Mutsu with his son, Shigemura.  Sueshige did a distinguished war service there and became a senior statesman of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     In 1366, Hirayama Ujishige copied the Large Prajnaparamita Sutras and presented them to Daihigan-ji Temple.

Address: 134 Yokosawa, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0141

Phone: 042-596-0141

Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Shogan-ji Temple

 

     Shogan-ji Temple was founded by Priest Enso in Ina Village, Tama County, Musashi Province, in 1357, when the Musashi Heiikki or the Musashi Commonwealth was their prime.  The commonwealth supported Ashikaga Motouji (1340-1367), the first Kanto Deputy Shogun, who pitched a camp along the Iruma River from 1353 to 1362 to fight against the Southern Court.

     As the area produced pyroclastic sandstone, which is easy to process, 12 people were said to have immigrated from Ina Valley in Shinano Province in 1152.

     As Enso came from Tokura, which the Komiya Family built, the family might have expanded their rule to the Ina Family in the 14th century as a member of the Musashi Commonwealth.

Address: 376 Ina, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0142

Phone: 042-596-3998

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Hoko-ji Temple

 

     There was a mineral spring in Shiosawa (namely Salt Stream), Hirai Village, Tama County, Musashi Province.  In the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), Bodai-in Temple was founded near the spring, enshrining Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  In the Warring States Period (1467-1568), Priest Bunsai (1457-1547) transferred the temple from Tiantai School to Caodong School and changed its name to Hoko-ji in 1478.  Although Caodong temples usually enshrine Sakya Tathagata, the temple kept the Arya Avalokitesvara statue as its deity.

     Bunsai was born to the Okabe Family in Toshima County, Musashi Province, and studied under Priest Shoetsu at Daichu-ji Temple in Shimotsuke Province.  He became the head priest of Kogon-ji Temple in Kai Province in 1539.  When he stayed in Shiosawa, he rediscovered the effects and benefits of the mineral spring for injuries and wounds and spread the information to locals.  As people lived in the Warring States Period, the spring became popular, and its popularity as a spa continued until the end of the samurai world or the beginning of the Meiji Era.

Address: 3392 Hirai, Hinode, Nishitama District, Tokyo, Tokyo 190-0182

Phone: 042-597-0711

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Hozo-ji Temple

 

     Hozo-ji Temple was founded in 1199 to enshrine Bhaisajyaguru.  It was revived by Priest Keisho (?-1624) at the beginning of the Edo Period (1603-1867), when every citizen was ordered to belong to a temple.

     When Mr. and Mrs. Hiki Tomune had their first girl baby, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) was born.  Mrs. Hiki became Yoritomo's wet nurse.  When Yoritomo's father, Yoshitomo (1123-1160), was defeated by the Taira Clan in the Heiji Rebellion, Yoritomo was exiled to Izu Province.  Mr. and Mrs. Hiki returned to their homeland, Hiki County, Musashi Province.  Since then, Mrs. Hiki kept sending allowances for 20 years till 1180, when Yoritomo raised an army against the Taira Clan.  Although Mr. Hiki was already dead, Mrs. Hiki, Nun Hiki at the time, persuaded the Hiki Family to join Yoritomo's army.

     After Yoritomo's triumph and the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, Nun Hiki's first daughter was called Lady Tango.

     After Lady Tango's death, her personal guardian Buddhist image, Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, was enshrined in Mt. Kannon in western Musashi Province.  The image was brought down to Hozo-ji Temple in 1761.

Address: 263 Sugao, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0801

Phone: 042-558-7506

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Jisho-ji Temple

 

     Hatakeyama Shigetada  (1164-1205) founded Jisho-ji Temple for his aunt, Enjuin, in 1188.

     Hatakeyama Shigehiro's daughter was married to Chiba Tsunetane (1118-1201).  She gave birth to Tanemasa (1137-1203), Morotane (1139-1205), Tanemori (1146-1215), Tanenobu (?-1215), and Tanemichi.  Tsunetane had 2 more sons: Taneyori (1155-1228) and Nichiin (?-1180).

     In October, 1124, Chiba Tsuneshige (1083-1180) became the governor of Soma County.  On June 11th, 1130, he donated Soma Manor to Ise Shrine.  According to its contract, he contributed 27 liters of rice per 100 square meters of paddy field and 9 liters of rice per 100 square meters  of dry field.  Tsuneshige was also allowed, as a matter of course, to raise back taxes.  The reality was that Tsuneshige actually owned the manor, and he evaded paying taxes by accepting the name lending of Ise Shrine and paying commissions to its Shinto priests.  The donation was approved by the provincial governor, Fujiwara Chikamitsu, in August of the same year.

     This world was filled with greedy and acquisitive people, of course including Tsuneshige himself.  Tsuneshige didn’t pay taxes from central-government-owned farm land, and was arrested by Chikamitsu on July 15th, 1136.  Chikamitsu seized Soma and Tachibana Manors, and, quite unexpectedly (or expectedly?), appropriated the manors.  In 1143, Minamoto Yoshitomo (1123-1160), who was behaving like a gangster in the Kanto Region at the time and who happened to stay in Kazusa Province to know the trouble, had a hand in the case.

     Tsuneshige’s son, Tsunetane (1118-1201), fought back.  By paying arrears, he got back Soma Manor in April, 1146.  On August 10th, he successfully "donated” the manor to Ise Shrine.

     Through those days, through thick and thin, Tsunetane's wife, or Shigehiro's daughter, gave birth to Tanemasa (1137-1203), Morotane (1139-1205), Tanemori (1146-1215), Tanenobu (?-1215), and Tanemichi.

     One day, all of a sudden, presumably in the 1150's, Tsunetane's wife, or Shigehiro's daughter, stopped being a wife and a mother, and retired to Nishigayato, Komiya Village, Tama County, Musashi Province.  What happened?  Tsunetane had a lover, who gave birth to Taneyori and Nichiin.

     All of a sudden, in January, 1161, Satake Yoshimune donated Soma Manor to Ise Shrine too.  He had robbed Chikamatsu’s son, Chikamori, of the deed which Chikamatsu had drawn.  On June 14th, 1167, reconciliation was offered in Yoshimune’s favor.

     Tsunetane reached a deadlock, but heaven helped him.  In 1180, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) raised an army to overthrow the central ancient aristocratic government and to become the ruler of Japan as a samurai.  Tsunetane jumped on the bandwagon successfully.

Even after Tsunetane's success in the Kamakura Shogunate, his wife (or ex-wife) kept living in a hermitage in Nishigayato.  One day, Shigehiro's grandson, Shigetada (1164-1205), passed by Nishigayato on his way from his hometown, Hatakeyama Village, Obusuma County, Musashi Province, to Kamakura, and met Tsunetane’s wife (or ex-wife), or Shigetada’s aunt.  He, later, founded Jisho-ji Temple in Higashigayato, the temple's present place, changed her personal guardian Buddhist image, Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, into the temple's main deity, and let her live there.  She died on July 18th, 1194.

     In 1505, Priest Santoku (?-1521) revived the temple.

     When Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) invaded the Kanto Region to destroy the Later Hojo Clan, Maeda Toshiie(1538-1599) and Uesugi Kagekatsu (1555-1623) set fire to the temple, which lost its documents in the fire.

Address: 1811 Kusabana, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0802

Phone: 042-558-1171

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Kezo-in Temple

 

     Kezo-in Temple was founded by Priest Riei in Hananooka Hamlet, Kusabana Village, Tama County, Musashi Province, in 1264.

     In 1256, Hojo Tokiyori (1227-1263), the 5th Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, caught dysentery.  In 1260, Prince Munetaka (1242-1274), the 6th Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, also became infected with dysentery.  In 1264, Hojo Nagatoki (1230-1264), the 6th Regent, died of the disease.

     Kezo-in Temple was revived by Priest Seiman (?-1661), and was moved to its present place after Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) compiled the New Topography and Chronology of Musashi Province in 1830 and before the Tokugawa Shogunate collapsed in 1867.  The temple's facilities were offered for Kezoin Branch School of Kaimei School from 1883 to 1891.

Address: 1740 Kusabana, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0802

Phone: 042-559-3805

Hananooka Bus Stop

Address: Kusabana, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0802

Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Daigyo-ji Temple

 

     Kusabana Village in Tama County, Musashi Province, was first ruled by the Hirayama Family.  Hirayama Sueshige (1140-1212) founded Daigyo-ji Temple, inviting Priest Ryuho.

     At the turn of the 16th century, Komiya Noriaki used Daigyo-ji Temple as his family temple.  The Komiya Family built Tokura Fortress in those days.  Later, the village was ruled by the Oishi Family, and Oishi Sadahisa moved to Tokura Fortress after his retirement.

     The Komiya Family was a member of the South Musashi White-Flag Commonwealth.  Here, the white flag didn't mean surrender but meant their support for the Mitamoto Clan, to which the Ashikaga and Uesugi Clans belonged.  The Minamoto Clan had used white flags against red flags of the Taira Clan at the end of the ancient times.

     Anyway, after the collapse of Musashi Hei-ikki, or the Musashi Commonwealth, Musashi Shirahata-ikki organized left-over low-ranking samurai of Musashi Heiikki.  Gradually, Musashi Shirahata-ikki was split up into 3 groups geographically at the turn of the 15th century: Joshu-ikki in Kozuke Province, North Bushu-ikki in the northern part of Musashi Province, and South Bushu-ikki in the southern part of Musashi Province.

     In 1873, Kaimei School was opened in Daigyo-ji Temple.

Address: 3036 Kusabana, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0802

Phone: 042-559-0853

Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Chosen-ji Temple

 

     Chosen-ji Temple was founded in Kusabana Village, Tama County, Musashi Province, by Sekiguchi Jiemon, who invited Priest Wako (?-1668).  4 priests succeeded the temple.

     Kaimei School was moved from Daigyo-ji Temple in 1883.   Finally, it was merged with Jisho-ji Temple in 1905 due to its financial hardship.

Address: Kusabana, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0802

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Shinjo-ji Temple

 

     Shinjo-ji Temple was founded by Priest Daiko (?-1357) in 1351, supported by Ashikaga Motouji (1340-1346), who had become the first Kanto Deputy Shogun in 1349.  Presumably, his father, Takauji (1305-1358), the first Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573), threw a lot of money around in the Kanto Region to celebrate Motouji's inauguration.

     The temple was revived by Oishi Genko.

     Who was Oishi Genko?

     A powerful local family in Oishi Village, Saku County, Shinano Province, became samurai and called themselves Oishi.

     When the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333) collapsed, Oishi Tameshige moved to the Kanto Region, and became subject to Uesugi Norikai (1306-1368), the first Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate.  As he didn’t have a son, he adopted a younger brother of Kiso Iemura (1292-1339), who was the 7th descendant of Minamoto Yoshinaka (1154-1184) and who was based in Kiso County, Shinano Province, Nobushige (1336-1424), in 1334.

     In 1351, Nobushige took the lead in the Battle of Fuefuki Pass against Nitta Yoshimune (1331-1368), who was the third son of Yoshisada (1301-1338).  Yoshisada had destroyed the Kamakura Shogunate in 1333.  Yoshimune had raised an army on the side of the Southern Court.  As a result of his military exploits, Nobushige acquired 13 villages in Iruma and Tama Counties in Musashi Province in 1356.  He moved to Tama County, and built a residence in Ninomiya (currently Akiruno City).  He also built the Jofukuji Fortress.

     Banri Shuku (1428-?), a monk of the Chan Buddhism, mentioned Oishi Sadashige as the 10th descendant of Minamoto Yoshinaka in the 6th volume of his traveloges to the Eastern Provinces in Chinese, Baika Mujinzo, namely Inexhaustible Apricot Blossoms, which was finished writing in 1506.  Sadashige was described as controlling more than 20 counties of Musashi Province.

     In 1546, Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571) won a big victory in the Kawagoe Battle.  He destroyed the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Family and drove away the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Family out of the Kanto Region.  In short, he destroyed the Uesugi Clan.

     When the Uesugi Clan disappeared from the Kanto Region, Oishi Sadahisa (1491-1549) accepted Ujiyasu’s third son, Ujiteru (1542-1590), to marry his daughter, Hisa (?-1590), and to become his son-in-law.  Actually speaking, the Oishi Family was taken over by the Later Hojo Clan.  In 1569, Ujiteru returned to the Later Hojo Clan, and Sadahisa’s son, Sadanaka (1534-1590), became the head of the Oishi Family, who were subject to the Later Hojo Clan.

Oishi Genko was a member of the Oishi Family and was subject to Ujiteru, who financially supported Genko's revival of Shinjo-ji Temple.

Address: 344 Kamiyotsugi, Akiruno, Tokyo 197-0832

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Zuiun-ji Temple

 

     Hojo Moritoki (1295-1333) was the 16th and last Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate.  Moritoki's sister, Nariko (1306-1365) was married to Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), who later destroyed the Kamakura Shogunate and became the first Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate.  When Takauji's friendly army invaded Kamakura, Nariko escaped with their boy, Yoshiakira (1330-1367), but Moritoki killed himself, and his son, Masutoki (?-1333), was said to have killed himself too.  When Kamakura fell, Moritoki’s wife (?-1371) escaped, built a hermitage to pray for the comfort of her husband and son in the other world, became a nun, and called herself Zuiun, nominally Following Clouds.  She also brought Moritoki's personal guardian Buddhist image of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  The image was said to have been carved by Kukai (774-835).  Later, Priest Fukuan Soki (1280-1358) was nominally invited from Houn-ji Temple (Address: 1890 Takaoka, Tsuchiura, Ibaraki 300-4117) in Hitachi Province.  Soki had studied from Zhongfeng Mingben (1263-1323) in China under the Yuan Dynasty.  Soki engraved the characters Zui Un and An on the nameplate of the hermitage.

     Priest Shoko (1324-1395) became the second priest of Zuiun-ji Temple.  He was said to be a second son of an Ashikaga.  Did Moritoki's wife escape with their second son?  Or was Shoko actually Masutoki, who didn't kill himself and survive?  Was it Nariko that sheltered them and who invited Soki?

     Zuiun-ji Temple enshrines the Buddhist tablets of Ashikaga Takauji, Motouji, and Ujimitsu (1359-1398), the second Kant Deputy Shogun, as if to show off the blood relationship with the Ashikaga Clan, or as if to guard the temple and its residents.

     The hermitage was changed into a temple and renamed Zuiun-ji, with the character An on its name plate chiseled out and the character Ji engraved there.

Address: 496-1 Yamada, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0144

Phone: 042-595-1877

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Myoko-ji Temple

      Myoko-ji Temple was founded by the 9th head priest of the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Kogon-ji Temple, Sei-Kyushu (?-1362), in 1362.

     When Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded the Kanto Region in 1590, the temple was burned down.

     The temple's precincts have the monument for Satsuma Wakatayu IX, whose real name was Kato Kenjiro, who was the master of Sekkyo-bushi.

     Sekkyo-bushi is a storytelling art that arose in Japan at the end of the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).  It is a folk performing art that was established under the influence of Heikyoku, in which oral stories were recited by traveling monks who chanted to the accompaniment of the biwa, an instrument reminiscent of the lute.  It incorporated Buddhism's sabda-vidya from India.  In the Edo Period (1603-1867a9, it was refined with shamisen accompaniment.  It was at its peak from 1661 to 1692,but was performed in farming villages around Tokyo even after the Meiji Restoration.

     Satsuma Wakatayu I appeared in the 18th century, and Satsuma Wakatayu XIII is still active today.

Address: 1463 Ina, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0142

Phone: 042-596-1848

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Fumon-ji Temple

 

     Fumon-ji Temple was founded in the Warring States Period (1467-1568) by the 14th head priest of the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Kogon-ji Temple, Hojun.  The temple was merged by the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Myoko-ji Temple in 1907, with its graveyard and Uemura Hall left in its site.

Address: 1440 Ina, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0142

Uemura Hall

Address: 1440-5 Ina, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0142

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Joju-in Temple

 

     The 7th head priest of the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Daihigan-ji Temple, Juken, retired and founded Joju-in Temple in 1469.

     The Kyotoku War lasted for 28 years from 1454 to 1482.  In the war, Ashikaga Shigeuji (1438-1497), the 5th Kanto Deputy Shogun in Kamakura, fought against the Regents of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate, the hereditary positions of the Uesugi Clan.  Shigeuji relinquished Kamakura and moved to Koga in 1457.  In 1458, the Muromachi Shogunate sent out another deputy shogun, Ashikaga Masatomo (1435-1491), from Kyoto for Kamakura, but he couldn’t enter Kamakura and stayed in Horikoshi, Izu Province.  From then on, there were Koga Kanto Deputy Shogun and Horikoshi Kanto Deputy Shogun in the Kanto Region.  The Warring States Period started in the region.

     In the 1460's, the Uesugi Clan was actually under control of their butler, Nagao Kagenobu (1413-1473).  After the death of Uesugi Fusaaki (1435-1466), the head of the clan, Kagenobu successfully received Uesugi Akisada (1454-1510) from Echigo Province as the head of the Uesugi Clan.  It was Kagenobu who actually ruled Musashi Province those days.  The road to failure could be paved with success.  Kagenobu's son, Kageharu (1443-1514), rebelled against the Uesugi Clan, finally lost, and went into exile in Suruga Province in 1512.

     It wasn't recorded when Juken died.  How far did he see the disorder?

Address: 1568 Ina, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0142

Phone: 042-595-2148

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Daiko-ji Temple

 

     The Hirayama Family advanced from Asa River to Aki River.  When they ruled Takao Village along Aki River, they founded Myoo-in Temple in 1502, enshrining Acalanatha.  After the family was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) in 1590, their offspring enshrined Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha, and renamed the temple Daiko-mitsu-ji.  Mitsu meant that the temple belonged to esoteric Buddhism.  Later, presumably in the Edo Period (1603-1867), it was just called Daiko-ji.

Address: 218 Takao, Akiruno Tokyo 190-0154

Phone: 042-596-0306

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Jizo-in Temple

 

     It is unknown when Gozu Tenno (literally "Ox-Headed Heavenly King") Shrine was founded in Totohara. 

     The Japanese word Gion comes from Jetavana, which was one of the 5 most famous Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India. The five are believed to have already existed while the Buddha was still living. Gion Shrine enshrines the guardian god of Jetavana, who was called Gozu in Japan. The root or the source of the guardian god of Jetavana was Bhaisajyaguru, who one day chose to be born as a son of Mudang as a part of the syncretism of Buddhism. The son had a bull head, and grew up to find no bride to get married with. One day, he set out on a journey to find a bride. In brief, at last, he got married to a daughter of Naga, who lived in the ocean. Gozu might have had the power to control water as a natural process.

     Gozu was first enshrined at Hiromine Shrine in today’s Himeji. Later, he was invited to today’s Kyoto when the Kamo River flooded and plague spread, they wished for the healing and anti-flood power of Gozu. He was made the main deity of Gion Shrine, or Yasaka Shrine today, in Kyoto.

     It is unknowable why the god was invited to Totohara.

     Jizo-in Temple was founded as the shrine temple of Gozu-Tenno Shrine.  After the Meiji Restoration, the shrine was renamed Yasaka Shrine, and the temple was abolished.

YasakaShrine

Address: 320 Totohara, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0152

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Kotoku-ji Temple

 

     Shoo the Rich built a hermitage for his wife, Nun Chiun.  Priest Kitetsu changed it to a temple and named it Kotoku-ji in 1373, 5 years after Ashikaga Ujimitsu (1359-1398), the second Kanto Deputy Shogun, suppressed the revolt of Musashi Hei-ikki, or the Musashi Commonwealth.

     In ancient times, there used to be the Musashi Seven Corps. The most part of Musashi Province was plateaus deeply covered with volcanic-ash soil, which was suitable for stock farming, not for rice growing. In ancient times, many of the naturalized Silla people then were sent to Musashi Province, and engaged in the stock farming. That stimulated local people there, and many stock farms were set up, including 6 imperial stock farms. The custodians of those farms later formed small-scale would-be-samurai families. By marriage, those would-be-samurai families composed 7 corps on the Musashi Plateaus. The Murayama Corps was one of the 7, and Higashimurayama City was named after the Murayama Corps.

     Then there came the medieval days, the days of samurai. The Musashi Seven Corps basically supported the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, the government by samurai, for samurai, and of samurai. Some corps members climbed up the social ladder through the battles to overthrow the ancient establishment, while others remained half-farmer and half-samurai. Through marriage ties, or by blood, those common half-farmer and half-samurai families formed a provincial common ring or mafia, Musashi Hei-ikki, or the Musashi Commonwealth.

Address: 234 Kowada, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0151

Phone: 042-596-0021

Trees In the Town

Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Gyokurin-ji Temple

 

     Gyokurin-ji Temple was founded by Priest Saitetsu (?-1347) in 1339.  It was revived, maintained, and supported by Hirayama Ujishige (?-1590).  Who was Ujishige?

     The most part of Musashi Province was plateaus deeply covered with volcanic-ash soil, which was suitable for stock farming, not for rice growing.  In ancient times, many of the naturalized Silla people then were sent to Musashi Province, and engaged in the stock farming.  That stimulated people there, and many stock farms were set up, including 6 imperial stock farms.  The custodians of those farms later formed small-scale samurai families.  By marriage, those samurai families composed 7 corps on the plateaus in the province: the Musashi Seven Corps.    The Nishi Corps, who were based in the Tama River Valley, was one of the 7.

     In Ancient times, Funakida Manor was developed along Asa River, which is a branch of Tama River.  The manor belonged to the Fujiwara Clan in Kyoto.  A family based around the meeting point of the Asa and Tama Rivers in the manor became powerful, called themselves Hirayama, and came to belong to the Nishi Corps.

     The Hirayama Family advanced to the upper reaches of the river, conquering the mountain people there and developing rice fields on the fluvial terraces along the Asa River.  Gradually, they became samurai as other members of the Musashi Seven Corps did.

     At the end of the ancient times, the Taira Clan, one of samurai clans, overpowered the Fujiwara Clan.  Hirayama Sueshige (1140-1212) fought for Minamoto Yoshitomo (1123-!160) in the Hogen War in 1156, and in the Heiji War in 1159.  After Yoshitomo was defeated and killed by the Taira Clan.  He followed the Taira Clan and lived a peaceful life as a local samurai.  However, when Yoshitomo's son, Yoritomo (1147-1199), who had been exiled to Izu Province, raised an army in 1180, Sueshige fought for Yoritomo.  When Yoritomo dispatched his younger brother, Yoshitsune (1159-1189), to Kyoto to hunt down the Taira Clan, he followed Yoshitsune and achieved outstanding military service in 1184 and 1185.

     After the war, Sueshige was given a government post by the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa (1127-1192).  As Sueshige was appointed without permission of Yoritomo, he got angry.  Yoritomo criticized Sueshige along with other samurai who were appointed without Yoritomo’s permission, saying, “Hirayama Sueshige has a fluffy face and got an outrageous appointment.”  In spite of giving up his government post, he was appointed by Yoritomo as the steward of Harada Manor, Mikasa County, Chikuzen Province.

     In 1189, Sueshige participated in the Battle of Mutsu with his son, Shigemura.  He did a distinguished war service there and became a senior statesman of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     During the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), the Hirayama Family survived the conspiracy of the Hojo Clan, and kept advancing to the upper reaches of the Asa River.  A couple of centuries later, Hirayama Masayasu was ordered by Ashikaga Morouji (1340-1367), the first Kanto Deputy Shogun under the Ashikaga Shogunate, to build Hinohara Fortress where Asa River flows out of a gorge into a valley.  All in all, Ujishige might have been Masayasu’s father.

     With the fortress as their base, the Hirayama Family survived the Warring States Period (1467-1568).  Hirayama Ujishige’s support to Gyokurin-ji Temple suggests that they had advanced even to the basin of Aki River.  Their success was, however, the mother of their failure.  When Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) invaded the Kanto Region in 1590, Ujishige confined his family and his army to Hinohara Fortress, which didn’t hold a day.  He and his son killed themselves in Senzoku, Hinohara Village, on July 12th.  Some family members who survived became farmers.

Address: 926 Itsukaichi, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0164

Phone: 042-596-0532

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Sairen-ji Temple

 

     Sairen-ji Temple is supposed to have been located along Bonbori River, which flows into Aki River.  It was a branch temple of the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Daihigan-ji Temple.

     According to the Soto Nikki or the Soto Chronology, when the Musashi Tama 88 Pilgrimage was organized as a copy of the Shikoku Pilgrimage in 1823, Sairen-ji Temple was its #5 member temple. 

     Shiono Tekisai (1775-1847) compiled the Soto Chronology in 1827.  Soto is a nickname of Hachioji.  The history book is mostly about the Hachioji Corps of the Thousand, which was organized with the ex-vassals of the Takeda Clan by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) when he moved to Edo after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590.

     When Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) invaded the Kanto Region, Hachioji Castle was guarded by a local garrison, with farmers including women and children, about 3,000 in all.  Hideyoshi’s allies from the Hokuriku Region, the armies of the Maeda and Uesugi Clans, flooded to Hachioji Castle with a force 15,000 strong on June 23rd.  The garrison fought back briefly, gave up, and killed themselves. The women and children either committed suicide by the sword or threw themselves into the nearby waterfall, Goshuden Fall.  The stream turned red for 3 days.  The Hokuriku armies beheaded the garrison, women, and children to display their heads in front of Odawara Castle, the stronghold of the Later Hojo Clan, which fell on July 5th.  Ieyasu simply made up for the vacuum of the population in Hachioji with the ex-vassals of the Takeda Clan.

     Tekisai wrote Hachioji's history form 1582 to 1842.  On March 11th, 1582, the Takeda Clan was destroyed.  As he himself was one of the leaders of the Hachioji Corps of the Thousand, he wrote about his ancestors' exodus from Kai Province and their settlement in Hachioji.

     The temple is supposed to have been abolished after the Meiji Restoration.

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Chofuku-an Temple

 

     As Tokura Shiroyama Terrace is located at 325 Tokura, Chofuku-an Temple must have been located somewhere between Kogon-ji Temple and Tokura Shiroyama Terrace, which was Tokura Elementary School for 139 years till Mrach, 2013.

     The #3 deity of Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage was moved to Kogon-ji Temple.

Address: 326 Tokura, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0173

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Kogon-ji Temple

 

     Keiun-ji Temple was founded by Roben (689-774) in Tokura.  More than half a century passed and the temple declined.  Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358), the founder of the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573), repaired the inner sanctuary of Keiun-ji Temple in 1334.  During the North and South Courts Period (1336-1392), his son, Motouji (1340-1367), who became the first Kanto Deputy Shogun, sheltered Prince Iyahito (1338-1374), who later became Emperor Go-Kogon in 1352.  The temple was renamed Kogon-ji after the emperor.

     The temple is located at the foot of Tokura Fortress Site.

     Kogon-ji Temple used to have its branch temples: Keiun-ji (338 Tokura), Shin-ko-in (428 Tokura), Myokei-an (370 Tokura), and Chofuku-an (326 Tokura).  Kogon-ji Temple merged all the branch temples in 1873, 5 years after the Meiji Restoration. 

Address: 328 Tokura, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0173

Phone: 042-596-0363

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Fudo-do Temple

 

     Fudo-do Temple was founded in Tokura Village, Tama County, Musashi Province, but it was supported by the 50 households of Hongo Village in the same county.

     What was Tokura Village like?

     The most part of Musashi Province was plateaus deeply covered with volcanic-ash soil, which was suitable for stock farming, not for rice growing.  In ancient times, many of the naturalized Silla people then were sent to Musashi Province, and engaged in the stock farming.  That stimulated people there, and many stock farms were set up, including 6 imperial stock farms.  The custodians of those farms later formed small-scale samurai families.  By marriage, those samurai families composed 7 corps on the plateaus in the province: the Musashi Seven Corps.    The Nishi Corps, who were based in the Tama River Valley, was one of the 7.  Part of the corps advanced to the upper reaches of the river, conquering the mountain people there and developing rice fields on the fluvial terraces along the Aki River, one of a branch of the Tama River.  Gradually, they formed the Komiya Family.  In the latter half of the 12th century, Komiya Michitsune officially became the ruler of Akiru Village as the first official head of the family.  When Tsuneyuki was the third head of the family, his 4 brothers were dispatched to Kyushu as manor stewards there. 

     The Komiya Family became a member of the Musashi Shirahata-ikki or the Musashi White-Flag Commonwealth.  Here, the white flag didn't mean surrender but meant their support for the Mitamoto Clan, to which the Ashikaga and Uesugi Clans belonged.  The Minamoto Clan used white flags against red flags of the Taira Clan at the end of the ancient times.  Anyway, after the collapse of Musashi Hei-ikki in 1368, Musashi Shirahata-ikki organized left-over low-ranking samurai of Musashi Heiikki.  Gradually, Musashi Shirahata-ikki was split up into 3 groups geographically at the turn of the 15th century: Joshu-ikki in Kozuke Province, North Bushu-ikki in the northern part of Musashi Province, and South Bushu-ikki in the southern part of Musashi Province, to which the Komiya Family belonged.

     It was documented that Komiya Noriaki presented a bell to Komiya Shrine in 1463.  At the beginning of the Warring States Period (1467-1568), Noriaki built the Tokura Fortress on the east ridge of Mt. Usugi (Hinohara, Nishitama District, Tokyo, Tokyo 190-0200), where Aki River runs out of its gorge into a larger valley.  Fudo-do Temple was built at the foot of the ridge and is located in the precincts of Taketama Shrine.

Taketama Shrine

Address: 414 Tokura, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0173

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Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     On December 23rd, the 1854 Tokai Earthquake broke out.  It caused a damaging tsunami.  More than 10,000 buildings were destroyed and at least 2,000 were killed.

On December 24th, the 1854 Nankai Earthquake occurred.  It also caused a damaging tsunami.  More than 30,000 buildings were destroyed and at least 3,000 were killed.

     In February, 1855, Priest Kaigen organized the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage firstly to give locals the sense of peace and security and secondly to financially support their member temples by increasing the number of their visitors, copying the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     However, on November 11th, 1855, the Ansei Edo Earthquake struck Edo and caused 6,641 deaths inside the city alone.  Much of the city was destroyed by fire, leading many people to stay in rural inns and temples including those of the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.  The incident might have left the effectiveness of organizing the pilgrimage questionable.  The pilgrimage didn't become popular, and some member temples were even abolished after the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  The collapse might have been hastened by the earthquakes and their aftermath.

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