Virtual Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Dojo-ji Temple

 

     Dojo-ji Temple was founded in 1372 by Toshima Terutoki (?-1375), who invited Priest Taigaku

     Who was the Toshima Family?

     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.

     The Toshima Family was based in Toshima County, Musashi Province.  The county was old and even listed in the Wamyo Ruijusho (namely Japanese Names for Things Classified and Annotated),  which was a Japanese dictionary compiled in 938.  The family might have been a powerful county official who was hired locally.  At the end of the Ancient Japan, the family practically ruled the county.  The family first appeared in documents when the Minamoto Clan started their revengeful wars.  In 1180, Toshima Kiyomoto and Kiyoshige (1161-1238) joined the army of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199).  After the collapse of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1333, the family started ruling Shakujii Village privately.  They built Shakujii Fortress at the end of the 14th century.

     Meanwhile, Toshima Kagemura adopted Hojo Terutoki (?-1375), a grandson of Takatoki (1304-1333), the 14th and last Regent of the Kamakura Shogunate.

     Dojo-ji Temple burned down in battle when the Toshima Family was destroyed by Ota Sukenaga (1432-1486) in 1477.  It was revived under the Later Hojo Clan, but declined after the clan's collapse in 1590.  Priest Tokuo revived the temple again in 1598.  The temple's main deity is Amitabha and it also enshrines the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, which was made by Nakamura Naondo (1905-1981), and which is the 2nd deity of the Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Naondo was born in Nagano Prefecture and studied woodcarving from Yoshida Hakurei (1871-1942) from 1920 to 1926.  Naondo moved to Paris in 1952 and learned painting.  In 1964, he returned to Japan.

     Dojo-ji Temple has the grave of Shibata Joe (1877-1954), who organized the Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 1 Chome-16-7 Shakujiidai, Nerima City, Tokyo 177-0045

Phone: 03-3996-0015

Site of Shakujii Castle

Address: 1 Chome−26−1 Shakujiidai, Nerima City, Tokyo 177-0045

Phone: 03-3996-3950