Virtual Adachi Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Muryo-in Temple

 

     It is unknown when Muryo-in Temple was founded in Kawataya Village, Adachi County, Musashi Province.  It doesn't have its jigo, and it wasn't recorded when Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) compiled the New Topography and Chronology of Musashi Province at the beginning of the 19th century.  The temple seems to be an office of its graveyard.  The temple is located near the Takejo Site and is managed by Sempuku-ji Temple nearby.

     What is the Takejo Site, or what was Take Fortress?

     Fujiwara Tokane was a guard of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto at the end of the ancient times.  He left Kyoto for the Kanto Region for a better job or better income.  He married a daughter of Toshima Yasuie, who gave his daughter part of Adachi County in Musashi Province.  The Toshima Family was a branch of the Kodama Corps.  Tokane's son, Tomoto, who is supposed to have been born in the first half of the 1130's, lived in Adachi County, and called his family Adachi.

     Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) raised his army in Izu Province to put an end to the aristocracy and to realize the age of the samurai in August, 1180.  He lost his first battle and fled to Awa Province.  In September, he struck back through Shimousa Province and advanced to Musashi Province on October 2nd.  Tomoto was one of a few samurai who first welcomed him.  After Yoritomo entered Kamakura on the 8th, Tomoto became the first samurai in the Kanto Region that was authorized the ownership of his own territory.  He was one of a few Eastern samurai who had knowledge of civil service.

     Tomoto is supposed to have built one of his fortresses in Kawataya.  The site is located near Muryo-in Temple, and its graveyard might have functioned as a burial ground for those who lived and died around the fortress.

     Who was the Toshima Family who provided some land to Tokane?

     Arimichi Koreyoshi was a subject of Fijiwara Korechika (974-1010), who lost to his uncle, Fujiwara Michinaga (966-1028), in political strife.  When he 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.

     Kodama Corps had 100 branches including those with different Chinese characters with the same pronunciation: Kodama, Sho, Honjo, Asaba, Asami, Shinjo, Araya, Izumi, Sakaki, Inajima,  Nissai, Iwata, Ise, Imai, Urakami, Kozuke, Okawara, Osawa, Otsuka, Orui, Obuchi, Ohama, Oku, Okudaira, Okutsuka, Okazaki, Obata, Ogawara, Omino, Katayama, Kanesawa, Kashiwajima, Katsura, Kashiwazaki, Kita, Kuroiwa, Kurisu, Aoda, Kuragano, Kugezuka, Gugezuka, Gokan, Shodai,Konakayama, Koma, Shioya, Shimana, Shimakata, Shirakura, Komoda, Omoda, E, Edouchi, Ogose, Shimana, Takao, Takayama, Tako, Takezawa, Tachikawa, Hata, Chichibu, Tomita, Tomino, Toshima, Torikata, Yoshiasano, Naoshita, Nakajo, Nagatsuka, Nagaoka, Naruse, Nagura, Naito, Nishi, Niwa, Fukuda, Yasuo, Horikago, Hirukawa, Makino, Mashimo, Miyata, Mizokami, Mina, Musha, Makishi, Yajima, Yamada, Yamakoshi, Yamana, Hitoyoshi, Yoshizumi, Yoshijima, Yoshida, Yomota, and Shioten Families.

     Sempuku-ji Temple is the oldest religious institution in Kawataya.  It was founded in 829 by Ennin (794-864).

     Ennin was born into the Mibu Family in Shimotsuke Province, which was located just north of Musashi Province.  As many of the displaced Silla people had been moved to the Kanto Region, he might have some connection not only with them but also with those in their homeland through them.  Ennin went to Kyoto to study Buddhism in 808.  When Ennin made his study trip to Tang China from 838 to 847, support from Silla people, including those who were related with Jang Bogo (787-846), was enormous. For example, Ennin was helped by Silla people living in Chishan to keep staying in Tang, half-illegally though. He stayed in Chishan Fahua Temple, which had been founded by Jang Bogo. Ennin had trouble coming back to Japan too, but, somehow or other, got into Silla trader’s ship. He sailed back to Hakata Port on September 19th, 847.  He is believed to have founded 209 temples in the Kanto Region and 331 in the Tohoku Region.  On April 3rd, 854, he was appointed to be the head priest of Enryaku-ji Temple, and died on January 14th, 864.  Is 16 years long enough to found all the 540 temples?

     Legend has it that Ennin founded Sempuku-ji Temple as one of the 540 in 829.  In those days, the Kawataya area was still covered with seawater at large.  There could have been a small sandbar island in which a few people could live.  They might have brought an image of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  Their offspring might have been caught in the battles between the Taira and Minamoto Clans at the end of the ancient times.  The medieval days or samurai's days came, and Priest Shinson came to the Kawataya area, which had become swamps with some levees, from Enryaku-ji Temple to spread Tiantai Buddhism in the Kanto Region.  He heard of hundreds of legends and traditions that these and those temples were founded by Ennin, Shinson's religious forefather, and added another legend to decorate the temple he actually founded on a levee.  From where do you think the story became true-life?

Address: 5842 Kawataya, Okegawa, Saitama 363-0027

The Takejo Site

Address: 5811-30 Kawataya, Okegawa, Saitama 363-0027

Sempuku-ji Temple

Address: 2012 Kawataya, Okegawa, Saitama 363-0027

Phone: 048-787-0206