Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     After Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192) organized Rakuyo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the first copy of Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, the second copy was planned by Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the first Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate and the political rival against Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and was actually organized by Minamoto Sanetomo (1192-1219), the third Shogun, who was unluckily assassinated by his nephew.

     The Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is a series of 33 Buddhist temples in Kanto Region, sacred to Avalokitesvara.  Bando is the old name for what is now the Kanto Region.  The 33 member temples are all in Kanagawa, Saitama, Tokyo, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Chiba Prefectures.

     In 1192, when Yoritomo performed the 49th-day Buddhist memorial service for Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192) at Minami-mido Hall in Kamakura, 100 priests were invited from Musashi and Sagami Provinces.  21 of them were from Sugimoto-ji Temple, Iwadono-ji Temple, Shofuku-ji Temple, Komyo-ji Temple, Jiko-ji Temple, and Senso-ji Temple, which later became member temples of the Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  At this time, there might have been talks about the establishment of the pilgrimage.  It is believed that Priest Jodaibo of Sugimoto-ji Temple, Priest Gan’yo of Jiko-ji Temple, and Choei of Gumyo-ji Temple actively cooperated for the realization of the idea.

     It is believed Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) decided to organize the pilgrimage and his son, Sanetomo (1192-1219), actually did.  As Yoritomo was the first Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, the first samurai administration in Japan, and Sanetomowas the third, they might have wanted to compete with the Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which had been organized around Kyoto.

     A document about the the construction of the Avalokitesvara statue Todokobetsu Shrine in Yatsuki Village, Higashishirakawa County, Fukushima Prefecture, tells us that, just 15 years after the death of Sanetomo, Monk Joben actually visited the Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, stayed in the Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Yamizo Kannon-do Hall in Hitachi Province, and carved the statue for the shrine.

     Why 33?

     According to Lotus Sutra Chapter XXV, Avalokitesvara, to save people, manifest herself/himself/itself: #1 into the form of a buddha, #2 into the form of a pratyekabuddha, #3 into the form of a sravaka, #4 into the form of Brahma, #5 into the form of Sakra, #6 into the form of isvara, #7 into the form of Mahesvara, #8 into the form of the great commander of the devas, #9 into the form of Vaisravana, #10 into the form of a minor king, #11 into the form of a wealthy man, #12 into the form of a householder, #13 into the form of a state official, #14 into the form of a brahman, #15 into the form of a monk, #16 into the form of a nun, #17 into the form of a layman, #18 into the form of a  laywoman, #19 into the form of a wife of a wealthy man, #20 into the form of a wife of a householder, #21 into the form of a wife of a state official, #22 into the form of a wife of a brahman, #23 into the form of a boy, #24 into the form of a girl, #25 into the form of a deva, #26 into the form of naga, #27 into the form of yaksa, #28 into the form of gandharva, #29 into the form of asura, #30 into the form of garuda, #31 into the form of kimnara, #32 into the form of mahoraga, or #33 into the form of Vajrapani. 

     Many of the forms, or manifestations, are an enumeration of occupations at the time of Buddha.  Thus most of the 33 manifestations haven't been carved into Buddhism statues or painted in Buddhism pictures in Japan.  Instead, the number 33 became significant to Avalokitesvara believers in Japan.