Virtual Okitama 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Hirono Kanon-do Hall

 

     The opposite bank of the Nagai Manor along the Mogami River, or its right bank, used to be the wilderness before the Edo Period (1603-1867).  Numasawa Ise of Asadachi Village (Asadachi, Shirataka, Nishiokitama District, Yamagata 992-0852), which was first documented in 1538, and Niino Izumi of Kurofuji Village (Kurofuji Shirataka, Nishiokitama District, Yamagata 992-0841), which was first documented in 1523, who were both low-ranking samurai who lived in farm villages, thought of a plan to irrigate the wilderness from the Mogami River.  They submitted their plan document in 1603.  They were threatened to be crucified in case they failed, but decided to carry out their plan.  They built the intake in Koide Village and completed the canal in 1605.  The canal was named Suwa-zeki presumably because Suwa was largely believed to be the god of water.

     Hirono Village was developed along the canal in the 1620's and Choraku-ji Temple was founded by Priest Yurin in 1627.  In 1628, an image of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, was presented from Hoon-ji Temple, which was the family temple of the Uesugi Clan, who ruled Okitama County.

     It is unknown when Choraku-ji Temple was abolished, but its abolishment might have been before 1709, when Hirono Kannon-do Hall was built by a certain Norishige, if it's a secular name, or a certain Keiha, if it's a Buddhist or posthumous Buddhist name.  Its precincts have the grave of Niino Izumi.

     The temple could have been abolished because the village became too poor to support an official temple.

     Uesugi Tsunanori (1663-1704) was born as the eldest son of Kira Yoshio (1641-1702).  His childhood name was Sannosuke.  His mother was Tomiko (1643-1704), who was the younger sister of Uesugi Tsunakatsu (1639-1664), and who was Yoshio's legal wife. On Leap May 10th, 1664, Tsunakatsu, the 3rd lord of the Yonezawa Domain, suddenly died without his heir.  The Yonezawa Domai was supposed to be abolished due to the loss of heirs, but through the arrangement of Hoshina Masayuki (1611-1673), who was the lord of the Aizu Domain in Mutsu Province, and who was Tsunakatsu's father-in-law, the Yonezawa Domai continued by adopting Sannosuke, who had just been born to Yoshio and Tomiko, after Tsunakatsu's life.  As compensation for the inheritance by the adopted son after the lord's death, Shinobu and Date Counties were removed, leaving Okitama County alone as the domain of the Uesugi Clan, whose income of 300,000 koku was halved to 150,000 koku.  As a result, the Yonezawa Domain suffered from constant financial strain.

     On March 14th, 1701, Yoshio was almost assassinated by Asano Naganori (1667-1701). Naganori was ordered to kill himself on that day.  On December 15th, 1702, Yoshio was assassinated by the former vassals of Naganori: the Ako Incident, or better known as the revenge of the forty-seven ronin.  That further strained Tsunanori and consequently the domain's government and its finance.

     Samurai talked about samurai's pride and loyalty.  Violence, however, bred violence, and it is weak and oppressed people that got the short end of the stick. 

Address: 2676 Hirono, Shirataka, Nishiokitama District, Yamagata 992-0851

Phone: 0238-85-1594

Hoon-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-5-32 Gobyo, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-0055

Phone: 0238-22-2095