Virtual Hiki Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Iwamuro-Kannon-do Hall

 Virtual Hiki Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Iwamuro-Kannon-do Hall

     Mt. Iwamuro, which is covered with tuff, has a hole.  People have regarded as

a holy birth canal.  People experienced rebirth by crawling through the hole.  A statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was first enshrined in the hole in the 9th century.  Later, a hall was built to enshrine the statue.

     When Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) invaded the Kanto Region in 1590, Maeda Toshiie (1538-1599) and Uesugi Kagekatsu (1555-1623) attacked Matsuyama Castle.  The lord of the castle was Ueda Norisada (1546-1597), and he went to Odawara Castle to fight with the Later Hojo Clan.  The castle was guarded by 2,300-strong samurai headed by Yamada Naoyasu (?-1600), the chief retainer.  When the castle fell, the hall was drawn into the battle and burned down.  After the Later Hojo Clan was destroyed, Naoyasu was hired by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  Norisada is, meanwhile, believed to have retreated to Joren-ji Temple, which has the grave of Norisada's wife (?-1595).

Address: 309 Kitayoshimi, Yoshimi, Hiki District, Saitama 355-0155

Joren-ji Temple

Address: 362 Mido, Higashichichibu, Chichibu District, Saitama 355-0375

Phone: 0493-82-0095