Virtual Iruhi Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Chotoku-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Chotoku-ji Temple was founded.  It was abolished with the Five Wisdom Kings, or 5 Vidya-raja, left.  The 5 are Acalanatha, Trailokyavijaya, Kundali, Yamantaka, and Vajrayaksa.  Its surrounding area has become Go-daison Azalea Park.  Let’s make a guess who built the 5 statues.

     Arimichi Koreyoshi was a subject of Fijiwara Korechika (974-1010), who lost to his uncle, Fujiwara Michinaga (966-1028), in political strife.  When Korechika died on January 28th in despair, he said to his son, Michimasa (992-1054), "You should become a priest rather than follow others."  He also told his 2 daughters never to humiliate him by serving in the Imperial Court.

     Koreyoshi might have eavesdropped on their conversation and kind of followed Korechika's advice.  Or did he exercise his frontier spirit?  After Korechika's downfall, Koreyoshi left Kyoto down to Musashi Province.

     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 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 corps on the plateaus in the province: Yokoyama, Inomata, Murayama, Noyo, Tan, and Nishi Corps.  Somehow or other, Koreyoshi's son, Koreyuki (?-1069), succeeded in organizing another corp, Kodama Corps.  He seems to have been involved in the management of the Aguhara Stock Farm.  In 933, the Aguhara Stock Farm was nationalized.  It is unknown whether Koreyoshi or Koreyuki was dispatched to the stock farm as a local administrator or married into a local powerful family who actually ran the farm.

     The number of Royal Stock Farms in Musashi Province increased from 4 to 6, and the number of annual tax horses increased from 50 to 110 accordingly.  Judging from the mean value, the Aguhara Stock Farm provided 30 horses to Kyoto every year.  Anyway, Koreyoshi and/or Koreyuki developed paddy fields in Kodama County, and became their owner.

     Koreyuki's son, Hiroyuki, had 2 sons: Tsuneyuki and Sukeyuki, who moved to Iruma County, developed paddy fields there, and became independent.  Sukeyuki's 4th son, Ariyuki, moved to Ogose, Hiki County, and developed another paddy fields.  He called his family Ogose.

     According to the family tree of the Kodama Corps, the Kuroiwa Family was founded by Arimitsu, the grandson of Ogose Ariyuki, the founder of the Ogose Family, during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).  Arimitsu's elder brother, Aritoshi, started the Naruse Family, and his younger brother, Arimoto, started the Okazaki Family.  The area might have been developed in those days.  It was documented that Kuroiwa Akisue helped build Umezono Shrine in Kosugi in 1515.

     In Kuroiwa today, houses line up along the prefectural road.  The residential area was formed after the Oppe River had moved to the east in the Edo Period (1603-1867).  Houses used to be on a higher river terrace where the statues of the Five Wisdom Kings are.  The statues are presumed to have been made in the Heian Period (794-1185).  Their precincts have Buddhist pagodas and itabi, which were erected from the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) to the Muromachi Period (1336-1573). 　

Go-daison Azalea Park

Address: 328-2 Kuroiwa, Ogose, Iruma District, Saitama 350-0411

Phone: 049-292-3121