Virtual Old Akita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Gensho-ji Temple

 

     Hawake Village was one of the nearest villages of northern foreigners when Ideha Fortress was moved to Akita in 733.  The surrounding area was "developed" by farmer-soldiers and was called Oidara.  Later, 2 Chinese characters were assigned to the place name.  The characters' Chinese-style pronunciations were Tai and Hei.

     The Oe Family advanced to Dewa Province in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).  Tradition says that a branch of the family ruled Oidara or Taihei Village.  They founded a temple, whose original name is unknown.  After the 13th century, a branch of the Ando Pirates advanced from Tosa Port to Akita, and the Oe Family was driven away.  The temple was renamed Gensho-ji.  In the Southern and Northern Courts Period, the Ando Pirates ruled the Oga Peninsula.

     It seems when Urabe Yasumasa presented an Avalokitesvara image to Hawake, Oidara, or Taihei Village, Gensho-ji Temple, or even its original one, didn't exist yet.  Anyway, the #21 membership of the Old Akita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was handed down to the temple, whose precincts have a Kannon-do hall which enshrines an image of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  It is unknown whether the image is the original one or not.  All in all, the origin or the history of the #21 membership is very vague.

Address: Motomachi-58 Taiheimenagasaki, Akita, 010-1102

Phone: 018-838-2312