Virtual Kodama Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Eimei-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Eimei-ji Temple was founded by Priest Sosan (?-1547).

     The heavy rains, floods, and locust plagues in 1539 caused famines in various places next year.  Heavy rains and floods again occurred in spring, and epidemics spread.  More and more people died.

     In Kyoto, there was a rumor that the statue of Kukai (774-835) in To-ji Temple sweated on New Year's Day in 1540 and that something bad would break out.  The rumor became a reality.  Famine and epidemics broke out.  According to the diary of Priest Genjo at Risho-in Temple of Daigo-ji Temple, about 60 bodies were abandoned every day in Kyoto.  He described the famine as once-in-700-years level, and continued that tens of millions of people died in the city.  Although the death toll of tens of millions is excessive, it speaks to the magnitude of the impact on society at the time.

     At that time, it was difficult for both the Imperial Court and the Muromachi Shogunate to take political and financial measures to relieve the famine in the midst of the Warring States Period.  Therefore, the Imperial Court copied sutras, and the shogunate issued an order to hold prayers at Kitano Shrine and To-ji Temple as a "countermeasure" against famine.

     The situation in Kyoto was documented but that in the Kanto Region wasn't.  Anyway, the foundation of Eimei-ji Temple could have had something to do with the famine.

Address: 987 Shiroishi, Misato, Kodama District, Saitama 367-0117