Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized by Shibata Joe (1877-1954) along Musashino Railway in 1940.  The railway began operations in 1912.  It merged with Kawagoe Railway in 1945.  The merged railway became Seibu Railway in 1946.  Thus, the member temples of the Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage are located along Seibu Railway.

     Joe was born in 1877 as the third son of the head priest of Zuinin-ji Temple in Ozone Village, Kasugai County, Aichi Prefecture.  He moved to Tokyo in 1897 and entered the Shinshu Tokyo High School, and then studied history at the Shigakukan of the Ikubunkan High School.  In those days, he heard a lecture by Tsuboi Shogoro (1863-1913), an anthropologist, and was interested in archeology.  In 1902, he was hired by the Tokyo Imperial University, and worked for the Department of Anthropology in the Faculty of Science.  In 1906, he became an assistant in the Faculty of Science.  He assisted Tsuboi in editing the Tokyo Anthropological Journal and engaged in researching ruins and artifacts in various locations.  Coming from a Buddhist temple, he was knowledgeable about Buddhist doctrine and scriptures.  Buddhist archeology became his specialty.

     In 1919, the Act on Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments was brought into effect, and the Ministry of the Interior came to have jurisdiction over historic sites, places of scenic beauty, and natural monuments.  Joe became a part-time employee of the ministry.  He lived in Saitama Prefecture and organized the Saitama Local History and Culture Association in 1927.  Afterwards, he became a lecturer at Keio University and was involved in the excavations of the Hiyoshi Yagami Tumulus in 1936 and the Kase Hakusan Tumulus in 1937.  In 1940, he organized the Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, when the Tripartite Pact was signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan in Berlin.  World War II was approaching.

     After the war, he served as a member of the Cultural Properties Specialist Council from 1950.  He died on December 1st, 1954.

     The Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was revived in 1993, 2 years after the economic bubble popped.  People might be interested in a 33 Kannon pilgrimage when they sense the approach of the dark ages.