Virtual Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Myozen-ji Temple

 

     Myozen-in Temple was founded by Sawa Yoshimune, who invited Priest Donken (?-1652), for his late father, Yoshitsuna, in Mikajima Village, Iruma County, Musashi Province. 

     The history of the Miyadera area, the surrounding area of Mikajima Village, goes back to the Stone Age, about 16,500 years ago or more.  The Sunagawa Site of the Stone Age is located in Mikajima.  Naka-Hikawa Shrine is located in Mikajima.  The Naka-Hikawa Shrine is said to have been invited sometime between 97 B.C. and 29 B.C. from Omiya-Hikawa Shrine. 

     What is Hikawa Shrine?

     In Izumo Province, today's Shimane Peninsula used to be an island in the Jomon Period (BC 14000-BC 10th century).  The Hi River filled the shallows between the Old Shimane Island and Honshu, and the Izumo Plain was formed about 10,000 years ago.  Rice growing arrived, and people there accumulated experience to change marshes and swamps into rice fields.  With this experience, Etakehi arrived at Musashi Province.  There, he or his offspring founded Hikawa Shrine, namely Hi River Shrine.  Presumably, he tried to control the floods of the Ara and Iruma Rivers.

     In the Jomon Period, Muashino Plateau's east side faced the sea. and the Ara and Iruma Rivers ran into the sea at the foot of the plateau.  Etakehi , his offspring, his successors, and/or his followers tried to change marshes and swamps in the estuary of the Ara and Iruma Rivers into rice fields, and invited the god of Hikawa Shrine, Opoanamudi, to their new rice fields.  They first invited the god to Naka-Hikawa Shrine, namely Middle Hikawa Shrine, to secure the hilly area and then to Oku-Hikawa Shrine, namely In-the-Depth Hikawa Shrine, along the upstream of the Tama River to secure the source of their water supply.  Anyway, which Naka-Hikawa Shrine is/was the original Naka-Hikawa Shine is disputable.  Sometimes, Omiya-Hikawa, Naka-Hikawa, and Oku-Hikawa Shrines are called Shimo-Hikawa, Naka-Hikawa, and Kami-Hikawa Shrines respectively: namely Lower-Hikawa, Middle-Hikawa, and Upper-Hikawa Shrines.  Was the conflict over water resources severe?

     Curiously enough, the 3 Hikawa Shrines are along a straight line rather than along a single river.  However, the Old Tama River used to run through Musashino Plateau tens of thousands years ago.  From its midstream, the Old Tama River formed a vast alluvial fan with Ome at its top.  The alluvial fan formed the base of the present Musashino Plateau.   In addition, all other hills except Sayama Hills were removed by the river to create a flat area.  Tens of thousands of years ago, due to the uplift of the Musashino Plateau, the middle stream of the Tama River was pushed to the southern edge of the plateau, and came to flow between the plateau and the northern edge of the Tama Hills as it does today.  If the shrines had been founded ten thousand years ago at the latest, they could have been founded along a single river, the Old Tama River.  Could Japanese history be that old?

     Mikajima also has Totoro Fund - Kurosuke’s House.  If you know Totoro, you can make a good guess what the area looks like.

     In medieval days, the Miyadera area was ruled by the Miyadera Family, who was a branch of the Murayama Corps.  Later, Mikajima Village branched out of Miyadera Village.  The Miyadera Family declined.  In the Warring States Period, the Yamaguchi Family, who was another branch of the Murayama Corps, became the ruler of the village.  At the end of the period, the Sawa Family was the local samurai and the head of the village.  It is unknown if the Sawa Family was a branch family of the Yamaguchi Family or an independent local samurai family.

     Sawa literally means a stream.  A couple of streams run through the village from the south-west to the north-east.  Myozen-in Temple is located along one of them, the Suna-gawa River, which runs into the Ara River.  It’s so tiny that the upper stream is considered to be a natural stream but the lower stream is regarded as drainage.  The Sawa Family was a tiny family along a tiny stream.

     At the end of the Warring States Period, the Sawa Family was subject to the Later Hojo Clan.  After the clan collapsed in 1590, Sawa Yoshitsuna became subject to the Tokugawa Shogunate and was the first head of the family under the shogunate.  The 7th head of the family was Yoshizumi.  His third son, Yoshinori, painted the portraits of past heads of the family in 1854.  He painted actual portraits of his father and mother, his elder brother and sister-in-law, and his nephew and niece-in-law, and imaginary portraits of previous 6 heads of the family including Yoshitsuna.  The paintings were presented to the temple by the 10th head of the family, Yoshinaga, and are now conserved by the Tokorozawa City.  However tiny samurai they might have been, they left their footprints in history, thanks to their productive artist.

     Myozen-in Temple is also the #33 member of the Sayama 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 3 Chome-1410 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1164

Phone: 04-2949-2918

Naka-Hikawa Shrine

Address: 5 Chome-1691-1 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1164

Oku-Hikawa Shrine

Address: 185 Hikawa, Okutama, Nishitama District, Tokyo, Tokyo 198-0212

Omiya-Hikawa Shrine

Address: 1-407 Takahanacho, Omiya Ward, Saitama 330-0803

Phone: 048-641-0137

Totoro Fund - Kurosuke’s House

Address: 3-chōme-1169-1 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1164

Phone: 04-2947-6047