Virtual Mogami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Shuju-in Temple

 

     Prince Otomo (786-840) succeeded to the throne in 823 and became Emperor Junna.  The Otomo Clan changed their name to Tomo to avoid using the same name with the emperor.

     In 871, Tomo Naomichi, the governor of Murayama County, enshrined a Buddhist image, which was a copy of the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha of Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, in the lowlands along Shiramizu River.

     Usually, a powerful local family was appointed as a county governor.  Why was a member of the Tomo Clan, the central powerful clan, appointed as a county governor?

     The Otenmon Conspiracy broke out in the middle of the 9th century.

     On March 10th, 866, Oten-mon Gate went up in flames.  On the 22nd, great purification prayers were held in front of Kaisho-mon Gate, and the Great Heart Sutra was recited in Sufuku-ji Temple.  On July the 6th, an imperial delegate was sent to Ise Shrine, and oblations were offered to shrines in Nankai-do Region.

     On August 3rd, 866, out of the blue, Oyake Taketori, a substitute for the-rank-and-file officer in Bicchu Province, notified that Tomo Yoshio (811-868), the third vice-premier, and his son, Nakatsune, had set fire to the gate.  On the 29th, a daughter of Oyake Taketori was murdered, and Ikue Tsuneyama, Yoshio’s attendant, was tortured as a suspect.  On the 30th, Tomo Kiyonawa was tortured as an instigator.  On September the 22nd, Yoshio, Nakatsune, Ki Toyoshiro, Tomo Akizane, and Tomo Kiyotsuna were convicted of arson, and sentenced to banishment.  Ki Natsui, Tomo Kawao, Tomo Natsukage, Tomo Fuyumitsu, Ki Harumichi, Tomo Takayoshi, Ki Takeki, and Tomo Harunori were convicted of implication, and also sentenced to exile.  On October 25th, Ikue Tsuneyama and Urabe Tanushi confessed having assaulted Oyake Taketori and having killed his daughter.

     Riho Oki (Prince Shigeakira’s Diary) and Okagami Uragaki (The Collection of Notes on Okagami), however, tell us another story.  It transpired like this:

     Fujiwara Yoshimi, the premier’s younger brother, consulted with Tomo Yoshio to oust Minamoto Makoto (810-869).  They told Fujiwara Mototsune(836-891), the adopted son of Fujiwara Yoshifusa (804-872), to come, and instructed that it was Makoto who set Oten-mon Gate on fire.  Mototsune was surprised to hear that, and asked them if Yoshifusa knew the story, but Yoshimi answered no.  Mototsune reported the story to Yoshifusa in haste.

     Yoshifusa responded that Makoto had rendered meritorious service to the Emperor, and that it was unreasonable to be accused of the crime when it was uncertain whether the story was true, and then reported to Emperor Seiwa (850-881), “It was I who should be punished first if Minamoto Makoto were to be punished.”  As the emperor did not know the story, he was greatly surprised.

     Eventually on August 3rd, 866, Taketori notified that Yoshio and Nakatsune, had set fire to the gate.

     It’s not clear who conspired with whom against whom in the Otenmon Conspiracy.  In Riho Oki and Okagami Uragaki’s story, pecking order No.3 and No.4 tried to oust No.2, maybe to get promoted, but failed.  Maybe, it was pecking No.2 who tried to…..  We have a few more clues:

     Fujiwara Yoshifusa, pecking order No.1, had been seriously ill from the end of the year 864 to September 865.  Mototsune was yet to be in his thirties.  Who would be Fujiwara Clan’s leader if Yoshifusa were to die?

     At the end of the year 864, there was also a whistle-blowing that Makoto was planning to revolt with his younger brothers, Toru and Tsutomu.  Yoshio attacked the Minamoto Clan counting on the letter.  Who on earth composed the letter?

     At the time of Otenmon Conspiracy, Taketori was working for Bicchu Province.  He had been a low-ranked officer in Wu Hyoe Fu, a kind of the office of the guards.  Minamoto Tsutomu supervised the office of the guards before he was later promoted to be the vice-governor in Bicchu Province in January, 866.  What a coincidence!

     In the spring of the year 866, Yoshio surrounded Makoto’s mansion house, claiming that he was just sending messengers.

     On August the 3rd, 866, as you already know, Taketori notified that Yoshio and Nakatsune, had set fire to Oten-mon Gate.  On the 29th, Taketori’s daughter was murdered by Tsuneyama.

     Even if we can’t tell who conspired with whom against who, there is an important lesson to be learned through those incidents; blood will have blood.

     Whether you believe in Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, which is usually regarded to be more reliable than other documents, or in Riho Oki and Okagami Uragaki, or even if we can’t tell who conspired with whom against who in the incidents, we can clearly see the outcomes.

     Who was the biggest winner after all the conspiratorial incidents?  Mototsune was.  He successfully became the premier after Yoshifusa’s death, going over Yoshimi’s head, who had actually died before Yoshifusa’s death, though.  Yoshifusa and Mototsune opened a Fujiwara regency regime.

     Who was the biggest loser then?  Tomo Clan were.  They were almost exterminated.  Naomichi had to be satisfied with getting a job as a local politician.  He also invited the gods of Atago Shrine from Kyoto.  Did he turn to gods and Buddhas in trouble, or did his nostalgia for Kyoto cause him to do so?  However, his career since then is unknown.  It is doubtful that he was back to central politics.

     Since 1820, the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue and its hall have been taken care of by Shuju-in Temple.

Address: 1 Chome-12 Honmaruminami, Higashine, Yamagata 999-3783

Phone: 0237-43-7722

Shuju-in

Address: 36 Ko Higashine, Higashine, Yamagata 999-3783

Phone: 0237-43-7722

Atago Shrine

Address: 1 Sagaatagocho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto 616-8458

Phone: 075-861-0658