Virtual Old Akita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Fujikura Shrine

 

     Sannai Village was first documented in 1349 at the foot of Mt. Taihei along the Asahi River.  As Taihei Village used to be called Oidara, Mt. Taihei used to be called Oidara.  Some suggest the name had something to do with Daidarabocchi.

     Mount Oidara was recognized as a holy place in 673, 35 years before Ideha Fortress was built in the estuary of Mogami River.  Mount Oidara was amalgamated into Shinto and Miyoshi Shrine was built in 801, 3 years before Akita County was established.

     Urabe Yasumasa might have tried to syncretize Mount Oidara with Buddhism, and presented an Avalokitesvara image to Fujikura Shrine, which is supposed to have been founded sometime between 782 and 806.  The shrine used to be located on the opposite bank of the Asahi River.  When rice fields were developed there, it was moved to its present place in 1654.  It is unknown when Chomei-ji Temple was founded as its shrine temple.  When the rituals in the Akita area were recorded at the beginning of the 19th century, the temple existed.  The temple was abolished presumably after the Meiji Restoration.

Address: Fujikura-8 Sannai, Akita, 010-0823

Phone: 018-838-2301