Virtual Adachi Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Yatsu-Kannon-do Hall

 

     Kaio-ji Temple was founded when Emperor Go-Hanazono (1418-1471) reigned from 1428 to 1464.  Why was its foundation was remembered with the reign of Emperor Go-Hanazono?

     Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439) became the 4th Kanto Deputy Shogun in 1409 at the age of 11.  Uesugi Ujinori (?-1417) became the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate in 1411 in his 40’s.  As Mochiuji entered the rebellious stage, he preferred Uesugi Norimoto (1392-1418).  Mochiuji replaced Ujinori with Norimoto in 1415.  Ujinori was forced to commit suicide on Joanuary 10th, 1417, but the aftermath led to the Eikyo War in 1438

     In 1438, the Eikyo War broke out between Ashikaga Mochiuji (1398-1439) and Uesugi Norizane (1410-1466), who became the Regent of the Kanto Deputy Shogunate after Norimoto, in the Kanto Region.  The central Shogunate in Kyoto supported Norizane, and Emperor Go-Hanazono issued an order to suppress and punish Mochiuji as the enemy of the Imperial Court.  Such an order hadn't been issued for 60 years.  The foundation of Kaio-ji Temple might have had something to do with the order.  It is, however, unknown whether the temple was founded by the suppressed side or the suppressing side.

     Mochiuji was cornered to commit suicide by the central Shogunate and thus the Imperial Court.  His eldest son, Yoshihisa (1423-1439), also killed himself.  Yuki Ujitomo (1402-1441) sheltered 2 of Mochiuji’s younger sons, Shun'o-maru (1430-1441) and Yasuo-maru (1431-1441), in his castle, and rebelled against the central Shogunate in 1440. On April 16th, 1441, his castle fell and he and his son were killed in fighting.  Shun'o-maru and Yasuo-maru were arrested and were to be transferred to Kyoto, but, on their way, at Tarui, Mino Province, they were killed, with their death poems left:

“Summer weeds,

Their flowers blooming in Aono Field

Who knows their future?” (Shun'o-maru)

“Who knows the future?

Our lives are to be limited today

Here away from home.” (Yasuo-maru)

     Either the suppressed samurai or the suppressing samurai had good reason to found a temple or two.

     After the war, the political authority of the Emperor increased, and the Shogunate requested orders to suppress rebellions, regardless of their severity.  The imperial power was restored.  When the Onin War broke out in 1467, however, he refused to issue another order.  That was the start of the Warring States Period.  On December 27th, 1470, he died of palsy.

     Kaio-ji Temple was abolished in November, 1872, with its hidden Buddhist image of Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha left.  A patch on the image is dated 1432, so the image might have been repaired when Kaio-ji Temple was founded.  The image is a 60-centimeters-tall carved plank, with its 11 faces all looking forward.  The hidden image has been displayed every 12 years, in the Year of the Horse.  It will be open to the public in 2026.

Address: 2 Chome-3-23 Yatsu, Ageo, Saitama 362-0042