Virtual Kodama Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Fukusho-ji Temple

 

     There used to be over 50 ancient burial mounds in Tatewaki Village, Kodama County, Musashi Province.  They are supposed to have been built from the middle of the 6th century to the beginning of the 7th century.  During the Edo Period (1603-1867), some of them were evened out to develop rice fields, with 24 of them left.

     In 1139, Minamoto Yoshitaka (?-1155) became a head of the guards for Prince Narihito (1139-1155), who became Emperor Konoe later.  The head was usually called Tatehaki, literally, Wearing Sword, and his nickname became Tatehaki.  He was troubled with a crime, and was dismissed in 1140.  In 1153, he moved to the Kanto Region to oppose his elder brother, Yoshitomo (1123-1160).  He married a daughter of Chichibu Shigetaka (?-1155), and lived in Okura, Hiki County, Musashi Province.  Yoshitaka’s advance was a political and economical threat to Yoshitomo, and Yoshitomo's 1st son, Yoshihira (1141-1160), attacked Yoshitaka's residence in Otsuka, and killed Yoshitaka and Shigetaka, who happened to stay in residence, on August 16th, 1155.  The Governor of Musashi Province, Fujiwara Nobuyori (1133-1160), condoned the battle, but the locals felt sorry for his death.  They buried his body under one of the burial mound, and renamed the village Tatehaki, which was later mispronounced Tatewaki.

     Fukusho-ji Temple enshrines Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.

Address: 309-2 Tatewaki, Kamisato, Kodama District, Saitama 369-0312

Phone: 0495-33-3465