Virtual Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Hashidate-ji Temple

 

     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, was 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.  The western end of the mountain has a 75-meters-high limestone rock face.  Through the cracks and crevices of the rock face, rainwater infiltrated into the rocks, dissolved the limestone, and formed a limestone cave with various forms of stalactites.

     In the Incipient Jomon Period (13,750-8,500 BCE), people lived in the cave.  The cave was used as a domicile till the end of the Kofun Period (250-538).

     The Iwakage Ruins are characteristic of the Chichibu region, which is a mountainous region even in Saitama Prefecture, and is able to withstand even heavy rain and wind.

Excavations at the Hashidate Iwakage Ruins unearthed the oldest types of Jomon pottery, stoneware, Yayoi pottery, and Haji pottery.  In particular, this site has played a major role in promoting research on the Jomon period in Saitama Prefecture.

     After the arrival of Buddhism, people recognized the cave as a holy place.

     Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) compiled the New Topography and Chronology of Musashi Province in 1830.  In it, he depicted the cave:

"There is a cave on the west side of Mt. Buko, and the Pilgrimage into the cave is called 'entering a womb'.  People enter the cave from its west entrance, and exit from the east exit.  Both are extremely narrow.  It's dark inside.  It doesn't let in the light of the sun or moon.  It doesn't let in the sound of wind or thunder.  It's dark everywhere, and it's often dripping water.  As you enter, the descent of the hole is gradually deepened.  Some parts of the cave are high and wide; other parts are low and narrow.  There are 5 precipices with ladders.  There are quite a few places to cross bridges.  During the tour, you can find the shapes of Buddhist images and tools which are actually natural stones.  According to a local guide, after 30 steps from the entrance, you find lotus flowers spread like cloud waves.  There are unnamed stalactites.  The cave forks into 2.  The left branch cave is about 150 meters long.  In it, you can find an old woman who strips clothes by the Sanzu River.  God Shirahige, God Ebisu in Nishinomita, cows and horses, the god of fire, the hearth and the kitchen, Nieh-ching-t'ai (also known as the Mirror of the Wicked, the Mirror of Retribution, and the Mirror of Past Existences), Mahakala, Sarasvati, and the 15 children who serve Sarasvati (Yinyao, Guandai, Biyan, Jincai, Daoni, Jisheng, Fangui, Yishang, Canyang, Jiuquan, Aijing, Shengming, Congzhe, Niuma, and Chuanche) appears one after another.  As you arrive at the end of the branch cave, you go back to the fork.  You take the right branch cave, and climb the ladder.  You go through the Buddhist worlds of Trayastrimsa, Yama, Tusita, Caturmaharaja, Nirmannarati, Para-nirmita-vasa-vartin, and Trayastrimsa.  On your way, you also find flying celestial nymphs and Maitreya-natha.  You climb another ladder.  There is a place called a five-colored waterfall on the left.  You see Brahma, Thousand-Armed Sahasrabhuja, Five Tathagatas, and the crowd of 5 gods: Acalanatha, Trailokyavijaya, Amrta-kundalin, Yamantaka, and Vajrayaksa.  You find a rising dragon and a bottomless valley.  A stalactite wall is called the Lotus Curtain.  Another looks like a canopy of a Buddhist altar.  Climb another ladder, and you will find stalactites which look like rosaries and columns of a Buddhis altar.  500 Arhat.  Kukai's Goma Altar.  Sixteen Dharmapala.  Buddhas in the past, in the present, and in the future.  A Pike of Izanagi and Izanami.  Vajra.  Eight Avalokitesvara.  etc. etc.  You climb another ladder.  The east exit is so narrow that you have to crawl to get out of the cave.  They are the mystery of natural creation, and they show a miraculous Buddhist world."

     The cave used to be a domicile in prehistoric times, and the was a holy place in ancient times.  In medieval times, Hashidate-do Hall was built at the foot of the cave.  In the Edo Period (1603-1867), Hashidatye-ji Temple was founded.

Address: 675 Kamikagemori, Chichibu, Saitama 369-1872

Phone: 0494-24-5399