Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Saiko-ji Temple

 

     A solitary old woman was living alone and dying alone.  She visited Nun En and asked the nun to be present at her death and to pray for the comfort of her in the other world in exchange for her thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja image.  The nun accepted her proposal.

It is unknown when Saiko-ji Temple was founded, but it was largely reorganized after the Tenmei eruption in 1783.  The eruption of Mt. Asama killed about 1,500–1,624 people and destroyed almost all the crops in Shinano and Kozuke Provinces.  Volcanic ashes even covered Edo.  Chichibu County must have been damaged largely. 

     Presumably, the Thousand-Armed Sahasrabhuja statue was brought to the temple then.

Address: 4 Chome-8-21 Nakamuramachi,  Chichibu, Saitama 368-0051

Phone: 0494-22-4444

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Shorin-ji Temple

 

     When a merchant was crossing the Yunoo Pass in Echizen Province, he heard some mystery persons talking, "I was going to spread a plague in Omi Province, but an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue carved by Jocho interrupted me.  Instead, I will spread a plague in eastern provinces."  The merchant found them to be evil demons.  He got an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue carved by Jocho (?-1057), a famous Buddhist sculptor, and brought it to Chichibu. He built a hermitage near Chichibu Shrine to enshrine the statue in it.  In the Edo Period (1603-1867), the hermitage became a temple, Zofuku-ji.  After the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, the temple was abolished.

     Many locals and pilgrims requested the revival of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #15, and Shorin-ji Temple was moved to its present place in 1917 from Yanashima, Chichibu.  It is unknown when Shorin-ji Temple was founded.

Address: 7-9 Banbamachi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0041

Phone: 0494-22-3541

Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Imamiya-bo Lodge

 

     People around Lake Suwa believed in a water god.  Some of them moved to Chichibu at the turn of the second century, and worshiped a spring in Mt. Buko, regarding it as their water god.  They accepted God Izanagi, He-who-invites, and Goddess Izanami, She-who-invites, as the power of the Yamato Imperial Court expanded eastward.  When Prince Oama fought for the throne against Prince Otomo in 672, Chichibu people took the side of Oama as many in eastern land did. In the course of the power struggle, they accepted 8 Naga as Buddhist icons; Ananda, Upananda, Sagara, Vasuki, Taksaka, Anavatapta, Manasvin, and Utpalaka.  Later the 8 syncretized with the 7 Shinto gods and 1 goddess; Kamimusubi, Takamimusubi, Ikumusubi, Tarumusubi, Omiyanome, Mitsuke, and Kotoshironushi.  In 825, they accepted esoteric Buddhism.  In 984, Manko-ji Temple was founded in Omiya.  In 1038, Kongo-ji Temple was founded there.  When a plague spread in 1535, they invited God Susano from Imamiya Shrine in Kyoto.  In the course of syncretism, they owned an Avalokitesvara Lodge.  After the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, their Shinto institutions and Buddhist institutions were separated.  The Shinto institutions became the Imamiya Shrine.  The Avalokitesvara Lodge became Imamiya-bo Lodge, and the other Buddhist institutions became independent.

Address: 25-12 Nakamachi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0043

Phone: 0494-22-4772

Chichibu Imamiya Shrine

Address: 16-10 Nakamachi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0043

Phone: 0494-22-3386

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Jigen-ji Temple

 

     When Yamato Takeru (72-114) invaded the eastern land, he camped in today's Higashimachi.

     Jigen-ji Temple was founded by Priest Toyu Sakuho, supported by the Takano Family.  Sakuho built up the Buddhist network of over 34 temples in the end of the Warring States Period.  As the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage had been organized in 1234, Jigen-ji Temple might have merged an Avalokitesvara hall which had been built before 1234.

     The temple also enshrines Bhaisajyaguru.

     In 1688, Takano Masashige succeeded to the medicine of the Watanabe Family by adoption.

Address: 26-7 Higashimachi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0042

Phone: 0494-23-6813

Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Nosaka-ji Temple

 

     Long, long ago, a merchant in Kai Province traded in Chichibu County, crossing the Karisaka Pass.  He prayed to the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, when he was at home.  One day, he saw bandits in the mountains but narrowly escaped danger.  He realized he was safe thanks to the divine protection of Arya Avalokitesvara.  Since Chichibu County was an Avalokitesvara area, he thought he should bring the statue there.  He built a hermitage in Nosaka Village and enshrined the statue in it.

     In 1651, Priest Shitsutatsu (?-1682) founded Nosaka-ji Temple.  In 1741, the hermitage and the temple were merged.

Address: 2 Chome-12-25 Nosakamachi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0033

Phone: 0494-22-1608

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Joraku-ji Temple

 

     Gyoki (668-749) toured remote provinces and built bridges and reservoirs.  In Chichibu, he stayed in Omiya Village.  One night, he saw  Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha on a rock.  He copied the image, carved a statue, put up a podium, and enshrined the statue on it.

     Priest Sokai (?-1643) changed it to a temple and named it Joraku-ji.  The temple was moved to its present place in the 1730's.

Address: 43-28 Kumagimachi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0032

Phone: 0494-26-6051

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Daiji-ji Temple

 

     It seems a statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was enshrined at the foot of Mt. Hinata (340 Ashigakubo, Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0071).

     A man became down and out in Settsu Province.  He sought refuge in Chichibu, and stayed in Yokoze Village.  He brought the statue to its present place in 1490.  Priest Toyu changed it to Daiji-ji Temple in 1493.

     After the Onin War (1467-1477), the authority of the Ashikaga Shogunate declined greatly and inferiors started overpowering superiors. Ashikaga Yoshihisa (1465-1489) tried hard to reestablish the power of the shogunate, and, in order to subjugate Rokkaku Takayori (?-1520), the guardian samurai of Omi Province, who had seized the territories of nobles, temples, and shrines, led an army of 20,000 and marched to Omi Province on September 12th, 1487.  Chokyo-Entoku War started.  Takayori abandoned Kannonji Castle and fled to Koga County, but continued guerrilla fighting.  Yoshihisa was held in Magari, Kurita County, Omi Province for one year and five months until his death.

     The man in Settsu Province might have been overpowered by his inferiors, but he was rather lucky.  He was lucky enough to bring large enough fortune to be called a millionaire.  Even when Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) compiled the New Topography and Chronology of Musashi Province at the beginning of the 19th century, there was a place name Choja-yashiki, namely Millionaire Residence.  He was also lucky enough to drift to such a religious area as Chichibu with his Buddhist knowledge and images.

Address: 5151 Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0072

Phone: 0494-23-4124

Clouds Over the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Akechi-ji Temple

  

     Akechi-ji Temple was founded by Priest Akechi in 1191, at the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate.  The temple enshrines Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six.  The statue had been carved by Genshin (942-1017).

     In the Warring States Period, a Kato, who was subject to the Yokose Family, which was a branch family of the Tan Corps.

     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 Tan Corps was one of the 7.

     Kato ruled Mochiyama.  He embraced the Cintamanicakra statue, and moved the temple to Mochiyama.  Then, people in Yokoze suffered from diseases.  The people wished the statue to come back.  One night, Cintamanicakra appeared in Kato's dream and told him to give the statue back to its original place.  Finally, the temple was back to its present place.

Address: 2160 Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0072

Phone: 0494-24-3125

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Saizen-ji Temple

 

     A pilgriming monk built a hermitage at the foot of Mt. Buko and enshrined Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha in it.  Later, it was called Negishi-do Hall.

     It is unknown when Saizen-ji Temple was founded, but it was one of the 33 original member temples of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage in 1234.  The temple was revived by Priest Shogan (?-1465) in 1460.  Shogan was said to have belonged to the Hojo Clan, which had been destroyed in 1333.

     Saizen-ji Temple was revived again by Uesugi Norifusa (1467-1525), the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate, sometime between 1504 and 1521.  Negishi-do Hall was moved to the temple's precincts then.

Address: 598 Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0072

Phone: 0494-23-3413

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Hocho-ji Temple

 

     Hocho-ji Temple was founded by Uchida Shigekata, with Priest Seiwa (?-1606) as its priest.  The Uchida Family was a branch family of the Fujita Family.  When the Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was reorganized into the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage in the second half of the 16th century, Ushibuse-do Temple was moved to the precincts of Hocho-ji Temple as its Kannon-do Hall, which burned down in 1782. 

     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 Inomata Corps was one of the 7.

     Inomata Masayuki gained a foothold in Fujita Village, Hanzawa County, Musashi Province, which was located at the gateway of the Chichibu Valley.  He called his family Fujita, and built Hanazono Castle in 1155.  Later, the Fujita Family also built Hanazono-Mitake Fortress.

     Gyoki (668-749) was believed to have visited eastern provinces in the 710's with the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue which he carved.  When he passed Chichibu County, the statue suddenly became heavier.  He thought the statue wanted to be left there, and he did so.

     In 932, a vassal of the Fujita Family had been reincarnated as a bull due to  his evil deeds and vice.  He or it lived and died as a bull for generations.  When Fujita Saemon-no-kami was the lord of the fortress, the bull or he was put out to pasture, and it or he found the Ekadasamukha statue Gyoki had left, and it or he lay down on the spot.  Its or his ranchers noticed the statue too.  Locals gathered and founded Ushibuse-do Temple, namely Bull Lying Temple, on the spot.  The bull or he left the world of animals, Tiryagyoni.

Address: 1508 Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0072

Phone: 0494-22-1921

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Bokuun-ji Temple

 

     Zaogongen Shrine on the top of Mt. Buko used to enshrine the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  It was moved to Ogino-do Hall in Yokoze Village, and was moved to Bokuun-ji Temple in 1760.

Bokuun-ji Temple itself was founded by Monk Shundo (?-1638), supported by Shimada Yozaemon.

     A volcanic island in the south around today's Hawaii ceased its activity and was eroded and covered with coral reefs.  The seamount, laden with coral-formed limestone, were pushed north by plate movements and dragged deep into a trench.  It was pressed against the continental plate, was peeled off from the ocean plate, and eventually rose and appeared on the surface of the earth.  It was called Mt. Buko.  As it top had a cave and a flat ground surrounded with limestones, it became a holy place for mountain worship, and Zao-gongen Shrine was founded there in unknown date before the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333).

     The limestone of Mt. Buko is one of the largest deposits of high quality in Japan, with an estimated reserve of 400 million tons.  Since the northern slope of the mountain exposes limestone, it has long been mined as a raw material for plaster and other products.  Modern mining began in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) as a raw material for cement.  After the Chichibu Lime Industry started its operations in 1940, large-scale mining has progressed and the mountain has lost its old appearance.

     In 1900, the mountain's altitude was recorded as 1,336 meters.  The area around the original summit was even blasted for mining.  In 1977, the altitude was reported as 1,295 meters.

Address: 1430 Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0072

Phone: 0494-24-6236

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Goka-do Temple

 

     Honma Magohachi was a rich farmer in Chichibu, and had a taste of composing tanka poems.  He felt sorry for living in such a remote countryside without mastering the composition.  He invited traveling tanka poets to his annex and named it Goshi-do, namely Talking-on Poetry Workshop.  Later, he changed it to a temple.

     After the foundation of the temple, many decades passed, and the temple fell into ruin.

There was an old woman in a remote countryside of Shinano Province.  She had a girl to raise.  She didn’t mind taking any trouble to raise the girl.  One day, the girl was missing.  The old woman was very surprised, and would search for the girl here and there, but heard no news about the girl.  The old woman’s strength was gone.  She would always lie on her bed.  She heard of the miraculous power of the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage, and left her house with tears in her eyes.  When she arrived at Goka-do Temple, it was dark and there was no place to stay for the night.  She fell down in the bushes, and slept for a while.  She heard a voice calling out to her repeatedly.  She wondered if it could be her lost child, and woke up.  Then, the light shone, someone who wore a Buddhist robe suddenly appeared and revealed the lost child in question out of the robe, saying, “Your child had been kidnapped by a tengu.  As you prayed, I commanded my 28 vassals to search for the girl.  I will give back the girl to you.  You should not forget your faith.”  Listening to the story, seeing such a wonder, the villagers praised the mercifulness of Avalokitesvara. Then, with the old woman as the principal, they restored the temple.  The statue of Cundi, who has 16 arms and appears to be female, of the temple is known as Childcare Avalokitesvara.

     If the 28 vassals were Narayana, Nanda, Mahoraga, Kimnara, Garuda, Gandharva, Pisaca, Pancika, Purnaka-chagalapada, Manibhadra, Vaisravana, Dhrtarastra, Vasistha, Sarasvati-sri-mahadevi, Sakro-devanam-indrah, Brahma, Virudhaka, Virupaksa, Prthivi, Suddhavasa, Mahamayuri‐vidya‐rajni, Hariti, Kumbhira, Vikarala, Asura, Ihatsula, Naga, and Vajrapani, the someone could have been Thousand-Armed Sahasrabhuja.  Cundi doesn’t have the 28 vassals.

Address: 6119 Yokoze, Chichibu District, Saitama 368-0072

Phone: 0494-23-4701

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Kinsho-ji Temple

 

     Araki Tange was a bad drunk.  One day, a young female pilgrim came to him and begged for something to eat.  She mended his ways and he built an Avalokitesvara hall, which was said to have been the start of Kinsho-ji Temple.  Believe it or not, its temple town still has Araki Mineral Spring.

     Yoshinoya Hanzaemon and his wife lived in Tori-Abura-cho in Edo, today's Nihonbashi-odenma-cho Chuo City, Tokyo 103-0011.  They didn't have a child and visited the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Later, they had a baby.  In 1789, the priest of Kinsho-ji Temple appealed to the pilgrims for presenting 1,000 Buddhist stone images.  Hearing of the appeal, Hanzaemon first had a famous painter draw his wife and baby.  Then, he had a local stone engraver in Chichibu carve an Avalokitesvara stone image with a baby held in its arms after the painting of his wife and baby.  He presented the image to the temple on August 12th, 1791.

     Presenting Buddhist stone images to the temple came into fashion.  Stones were dug out in the west of Chichibu Valley, carried to the east of the valley where Kinsho-ji Temple was located, and carved there.  It was believed that carrying stones even for a mile or two would be good deeds.  The number was achieved in 7 years, but more and more stone images were presented.  The temple had more than 3,000 of them in their golden age.  Even today, you can count over 1,300 of them.

     The Sanbagawa metamorphic belt is a metamorphic rock belt that borders the outer zone of the Median Tectonic Line. The belt is considered to be the largest wide-area metamorphic belt in Japan, and has low-temperature and high-pressure type metamorphic rocks.  In the back of Kinsho-ji Temple, a cave yawns with hard metamorphic rocks as ceiling and with weak sedimentary rocks weathered away.

     It seems the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage temples had something to do with caves as their origins.

Address: 1803 Yamada, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0004

Phone: 0494-23-1758

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Josen-ji Temple

 

     Mt. Maru, which used to be called Mt. Takashino, had a cave in its north-west.  Priest Kakuryo enshrined the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, in it on March 18th, 1234.

     In 1230 and 1231, the Great Kanki Famine hit Japan.  On June 7th, 1230, it snowed in Musashi Province.  On July 16th, there was frost.  By the spring, 1231, people had eaten up food, and one third of people had died.  In 1232, Hojo Yasutoki (1183-1242), the third Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, promulgated the Formulary of Adjudications, the legal code of the Kamakura Shogunate, to stabilize the samurai society.  In the summer of 1233, it didn't rain for almost one month.  It was burning hot even in September.  The same dry weather and drought repeated in the next summer too.  It is under dispute whether there was a Nankai Megathrust Earthquake on February 5th, 1234, but the era name was changed from Tenpuku to Bunryaku.

     Centuries later, the Horiuchi Family in Yamada Village invited the statue to its present place.

Address: 1392-1392 Yamada, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0004

Phone: 0494-23-2050

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Shinpuku-ji Temple

 

     When Priest Daiho was practicing Buddhist asceticism in a cave, an old woman visited him.  She confessed her old sins to the priest, and started visiting him every morning and evening.  One day, she disappeared with only her bamboo cane left.  Daiho had pity on her, and founded Shinpuku-ji Temple.

     The temple was hit by floods in the 1480's, and lost its membership of the Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage then.  In the second half of the 16th century, its membership was revived, and the number of the member temples increased to 34.

Address: 3095 Yamada, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0004

Phone: 0494-22-1832

Trees In the Town

Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Shimabu-ji Temple

 

     Tachibana Yoshiyuki (910-1007) was born in Kyoto as a son of a high-ranking aristocrat.  At the age of 36, he became a monk under Ryogen (912-985) in Enryaku-ji Temple and got his Buddhist name Shoku. After training at Mt. Kirishima in Hyuga Province and Mt. Sefuri in Chikuzen Province, he entered Mt. Shosha in Harima Province in 966 and founded Engyo-ji      Temple (the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24), supported by the Provincial Governor, Fujiwara Suetaka.  Since his young days, he was known with his background in mountain ascetic Buddhism.

     He told his student, Gentsu, to visit Chichibu County, Musashi Province, and to enlighten the locals there.  Gentsu visited the county and chanted 40,000 volumes of sutras day and night, and built a sutra mound.  He founded Shimabu-ji Temple, namely 40,000 Volumes Temple in 1007.

Address: 418 Tochiya, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0002

Phone: 0494-22-4525

Trees In the Town

Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     About 2 decades after the organization of Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized on March the 18th, 1234.  Although some of the Kannon statues of the 34 temples were normally hidden from public view, all the Kannon statues were to be displayed to the public every 12 years since 1234.  The last simultaneous display was performed in 2014, and, accordingly, the next one will be carried out in 2026.

     Why 34?

     Originally, the pilgrimage had only 33 member temples.  In the second half of the 16th century, the number was manipulated to make it 100 together with Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Chichibu Miyatsuko governed the eastern half of Saitama Prefecture in the early ancient times.  In the 6th century, the area was merged into Musashi Province, and became Chichibu County.  In 708, the county produced copper, and the era name was changed to Wado, namely Japanese Copper.  In 903, Chichibu Stock Farm provided horses to the Imperial Court.  In 933, it became an imperial stock farm to provide military horses for the Imperial armies.  In 951, 2 stallions were given to the stock farm.

     In medieval Japan, Chichibu is known for the Chichibu Clan.

     Taira Masakado (903-940)was born in Shimousa Province: specifically and presumably either in Toyoda or Sashima County, which were both along the Kinu River.  Later, he left for Kyoto at the age of either 15 or 16 to be hired by Fujiwara Tadahira (880-949), who was the 2nd Prime Minister at the time and who became the Prime Minister in 924, to climb up the social ladder.  After 12 years or so, he returned to the Kanto Region, without achieving anything in the central political circles.  In 939, Masakado tried to be independent from Japan in the Kanto Region.  After his death, his second daughter, Haru (namely Spring), hid in Iwai Village, Soma County, Shimousa Province.  She became a nun and called herself Nyoshun (namely Like Spring).  However, Masakado's cousin, Tadayori (930-1019), asked Nyoshun to return to secular life.  They were married and gave birth to 3 sons.  Their second son, Masatsune (1007-1057), lived in Chichibu County and called his family Chichibu.  He married the daughter of Musashi Takeshiba, who gave birth to Takemoto.  Masatsune was killed in the Former Nine Years' War.  Takemoto is supposed to have married with a daughter of a county official, and became the manager of Ishida Stock Farm in Chichibu County.  The Stock Farm had been an Imperial Stock Farm, which had provided military horses for the Imperial Army.  He laid the foundation of the growth of Chichibu Clan.  His son Taketsuna, fought in the Later Three-Year War in the 1080's, and was given Tanimori Manor in Toshima County, Musashi Province.  He built a residence in Tsurugakubo Heights in Yoshida Village, Chichibu County.  He practically controlled the Musashi Provincial Government.  His sons branched out into the Hatekeyama, Kawagoe, Takayama, and Edo Families.  However, the head family didn't do well after him and became a local family in a valley enclosed with mountains.

     The history of Chichibu County and Omiya Village from the Northern and Southern Courts Period (1336-1392) to the Warring States Period (1467-1568) is not clear due to the lack of written documents. When Ashikaga Motouji (1398-1439), the 4th Kanto Deputy Shogun, attacked Takeda Nobunaga in Kai Province in 1426, the Musashi 7 Corps advanced to Kai Province crossing Karisaka Pass.

     In 1476, Nagao Kageharu (1443-1514) started his rebellion against his master, Uesugi Akisada (1454-1510), who was the head of the Yamanouchi-Uesugi Family and who was the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate.  The area around Omiya Village, Chichibu County, became a strong base for Kageharu in his rebellion.  In Kishitani (today’s Kurotani, Chichibu City) and Hino (today’s Kanhino, Arakawa) near Omiya Village, there are fortress ruins that are said to have been the strongholds of Nagao Kageharu.  In addition, in Yamada (today’s Yamada, Chichibu City), which is located next to Omiya Village, there is the site of the residence of Yamada Shimanokami, who is said to have been subject to Kageharu.  In Kagemori (today’s Kagemori, Chichibu City), which is located to the south of Omiya Village, there is the place name Choja Yashiki, namely Millionaire Residence, where Shigeno Gyobu, who was also subject to Kageharu, resided.  Tradition says that Gyobu’s son, Tatewaki, became a farmer and moved to Omiya Village.  The Shigeno Family later moved out of Chichibu.  What is more, in Misawadani (today’s Misawa, Minano Town), the family that is thought to have been a village headman in the Middle Ages, has a small shrine called 'Nagao-sama', or Sir Nagao.  All in all, we can infer that the area around Omiya Village was under Kageharu's political and military influence. As a result, Chichibu was invaded by Ota Mochisuke (1432-1486), a vassal of the Ogigayatsu-Uesugi Family in 1480.

     At the end of the Warring States Period (1467-1568), Chichibu County turned into a battlefield between the Later Hojo Clan in Sagami Province and the Takeda Clan in Kai Province.  The Later Hojo Clan took advantage of their victory in the Battle of Kawagoe in 1546, and advanced into northern Musashi Province.  The Takeda Clan, who actively attempted to advance into the Kanto Region, mainly used the Usui Pass between Shinano and Kozuke Provinces, but their troops also used Karisaka Pass between Kai Province and Chichibu County.  At the beginning of the 16th century, the Takeda Clan advanced, crossed the pass, and built a checkpoint in Tochimoto, Otaki Village, Chichibu County.  In March, 1524, Takeda Nobutora (1494-1574) invaded Chichibu County.  The Battle of Omiya in 1560 was fiercely fought between the 2 powers.  Temples and shrines in Omiya Village were burned down by the Takeda Clan.  A legend called it Takeda-yaki, namely Takeda Fire.   Those battles also influenced the demography in the county.  In Omiya Village and its surrounding villages, some families are said to have migrated from Kai Province when the Takeda Clan invaded, and some other families are said to have been vassals of the Later Hojo Clan.  These examples show the active migration of people from outside.  After the fall of the Takeda Clan in 1582, the Later Hojo Clan's rule over this area was established and a certain political and military stability was brought to the area.  However, most samurai in Kai Province were conciliated by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), but some along the border between Kai Province and Chichibu County preferred the Later Hojo Clan.  Chichibu County was in the front line between the 2 powers.  Chichibu Magojiro was subject to Hojo Ujikuni (1548-1597).  After the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590, the family became farmers.  The site of their residence became Yoshida Elementary School, with an 800-year-old ginkgo tree standing in its school yard.

     In 1590, the Tokugawa Clan took over the county, and it entered the early modern period, in which commerce and pilgrimage were more important.

     At the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867), the Japanese class system was shaken. The ruling samurai and noble classes were shuffled. During the shuffle, even during the Meiji Restoration, nobody seemed to be leading. Everyone was just trying to dominate the nation, and, after accomplishing the domination, the parvenus carried out a counterrevolution. The poor were more exploited to supply capital to the upstart capitalist and to finance the military expansion. Taxes were increased and their debts were accumulated.

     In the first half of the 19th century, when industrialization began in Lyon, it became Europe's largest silk fabric and textile manufacturing city.  In 1855, however, silkworm disease broke out in Spain and spread throughout Europe, devastating the silk industry in Lyon and increasing unemployment there.  They heard that raw silk is also produced in Japan and silkworms there were resistant to the disease.  People from Lyon rushed to Yokohama to buy raw silk and silkworms.

     Chichibu County in Saitama Prefecture had long had a thriving sericulture industry and the ties between Lyon and Chichibu became strong.  For example, the first elementary school in Chichibu County was established with French aid.  The secretary of the French legation in Japan visited Chichibu.  The economy in the county became too dependent on the production of raw silk.  Many sericulture farmers borrowed money from loan sharks, counting on the annual sales of raw silk, and bought rice, wheat, and other daily necessities.

     The Great Depression in Europe lasted from 1873 to 1896.  The Lyon Raw Silk Exchange crashed in 1882.  The domestic price of raw silk in Japan also plunged.  As a matter of course, the influence of the above-mentioned crash was stronger in Chichibu County.  The loan sharks took advantage of their plight and made their lives even more miserable.  Some were forced to sell their daughters to brothels.

     In August, 1884, the Poverty Party was organized in Chichibu. They repeatedly submitted petitions for 10-year grace periods of their debts and 40-year yearly installment of their debts as well as tax reductions. Finally, on October 31st, they gathered with their farm tools and hunting rifles in Muku Shrine. Their uprisings were suppressed in 5 days by the modern armies which had been financed with their heavy taxes.

Yoshida Elementary School

Address: 3833 Shimoyoshida, Chichibu, Saitama 369-1503

Phone: 0494-22-2481

Muku Shrine

Address: 7377 Shimoyoshida, Chichibu, Saitama 369-1503

Phone: 0494-77-1293

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Which Kannon Pilgrimage should I vist next?

      I live in the Kansai Region, and I have naturally visited most of the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage temples. I have visited some temples of minor Kannon Pilgrimages in the region. The coronavirus pandemic engulfed the world, and I started vertually visiting minor Kannon Pilgrimages in the Kanto Region, in hopes of visiting the major Kannon Pilgrimages there someday. However, the coronavirus pandemic goes on, and I get older. I think I should virtually visit the Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage now.

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #34 Kichijo-ji Temple

 

     Kichijo-ji Temple was founded by Priest Ingen in 1373. As the Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Ryushu-in Temple was founded in 1363, the upper reaches of Aki River was developed in the middle of the 14th century, and its population increased.

     The temple's precincts have the grave of 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 Motouji (1340-1367), the first Kanto Deputy Shogun under the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573), to build Hinohara Fortress where Asa River flows out of a gorge into a valley.

     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.

     Presumably, the temple used to be supported by the Komiya Family first, and the Hirayama Family replaced them later, although it is unknown when and how the replacement happened.

     As you climb the hill behind the temple, you can get to Hinohara Fortress.

Address: 485, Hinohara, Nishitama District, Tokyo, Tokyo 190-0200

Phone: 042-598-0051

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Ryushu-in Temple

 

     Ryushu-in Temple was founded in 1363.

     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.

     As it was documented that Komiya Noriaki presented a bell to Komiya Shrine in 1463, the family ruled the upper reaches of Aki River relatively steadily in the 1360's.  However, 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, presumably to protect the Aki River Valley against the forces in the Kanto Plain.

     The temple burned down in 1723 and 1790, and lost almost all the documents about its history.  The main hall was rebuilt in 1792.

Address: 1422 Otsu, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0174

Phone: 042-596-4647

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Virtual Akigawa 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Tokei-in Temple

 

     Tokei-in Temple, namely East Gorge Temple, was located on the western bank of Yozawa River.  Nothing is known about the temple, including whether anything is left at the site.

     If you walk up the hill, you can find Itsuhashira Shrine, which enshrines Kukunochi, the god of trees; Kagutsuchi, the god of fire; Haniyasuhime, the goddess of of earth, clay, and pottery; Kanayahiko, the god of mines; and Mizuhanome, the goddess of water.  They tell us what sort of people immigrated to Yozawa and what profession they had.  Tokei-in Temple might have had something to do with the shrine.

Address: 1430 Yozawa, Akiruno, Tokyo 190-0171