Virtual Musashino 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Tokurin-ji Temple

 

     Ozawa Tsunekiyo founded Tokurin-ji Temple in Iruma Village, Iruma County, Musashi Province, inviting Priest Sonsho (?-1533).

     Later, Ozawa Takami was a vassal of Hojo Ujiteru (1542-1590).

     When Mamiya Kotonobu (1777-1841) compiled the New Topology and Chronology of Musashi Province in the 19th century, a villager, Saheiji, said that he was a descendant of Tsunekiyo.  Takami's offspring lived in Irisone Village, which was located along the Toshitorazu River.  They kept a letter dated 1586.  Presumably, the Ozawa Family became farmers after the collapse of the Later Hojo Clan in 1590.

     The temple's precincts have several itabi.  3 of them are dated 1297, 1305, and 1343, and the others aren't dated.  Anyway, the Ozawa Family and/or other samurai lived in the area since the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).

     Iriso Village is located in the east of the Musashino Plateau, on the alluvial fan of the Old Tama River, which ran through the area about 70,000 years ago.  The surface layer is chernozem, the next layer is the red loam, which is approximately 1 meter deep, and, below them, there is a sandy gravel layer that is 20 meters in thickness.  The sandy gravel layer allows water to pass down easily, making it extremely difficult to obtain water in this area.

     The only way to obtain water, which is most important for human life, is to collect rainwater, dig wells, or construct irrigation canals.  The locals tried to get water for generations.

     In the Middle Ages, in Iriso Village, Shichimagari Well was used for getting water to drink and other daily needs, but, as the population increased, wells alone were no longer sufficient, so irrigation canals were dug.  The Iriso Irrigation Canal was one of them.  Irrigation water was drawn from the Hayashi River, which flows from Miyadera, and was divided into two canals in the center of Iriso Village.  Its length is approximately 3.3 kilometers, depth is approximately 30 centimeters, and width is approximately 1.8 meters.

     A historical document published in 1578 states, "If there is anyone who breaks the irrigation canal to get water, they will be severely punished."  The canal must have been in use before the year.  The people of Iriso Village refer to the Toshitorazu River as Okawa, namely Big River, and the irrigation canal as Kokawa, namely Small River.  Even the big river, the Toshitorazu River, ran dry in winters, the canal often dried up in the premises of the village head.  Power was and has been unreasonable.

     The Ozawa Family and other locals developed rice fields in the swamps along the Iruma River, and the development supported the foundation and growth of #16 Jigen-ji and #17 Tokurin-ji Temples.  In the Warring States Period, rice was an important munition.  More rice fields meant more power.

Address: 2 Chome-3-11 Irumagawa, Sayama, Saitama 350-1305

Phone: 04-2952-2507

Nanamagari Well

Address: 1366 Kitairiso, Sayama, Saitama 350-1315