Virtual New Mutsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Shodai-ji Temple

 

     Legend has it that Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758-811) visited Hakusan Shrine on his way deep into Mutsu Province in 804.  On his way back, he presented a Kannon-do hall to the shrine.

     Tamuramaro was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians on January 28th, 804, with three vice-commanders, Baekje Kyoun, Saeki Moriya, and Michishima Mitate, as well as eight military inspectors and 24 sergeants.  On May 15rh, it was decided to establish one station between Shiba Fortress and Isawa County, preparing for emergencies, and on November 7th, three stations were installed in Kurihara County.  The Imperial Court made preparations for the expedition to the northern foreigners.  Tamuramaro, who was in Heian-kyo at the time, also assumed the position of Chief Administrator of building Sai-ji Temple in May, and on August 7th, he was dispatched to Izumi and Settsu Provinces as an envoy to determine the location of the temporary palace for the tour of Emperor Yamabe (737-806).  On October 8th, he accompanied the emperor in a hunt in Ikuno, Izumi Province (present-day Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture), and presented the game to the emperor, for which he was given 120 kilograms of cotton.  So, it was impossible for Tamuramaro to visit Mutsu Province in 804.

     Presumably, the Kannon-do hall was presented to the shrine near one of the new stations in Kurihara County.  Over 2,000 Hakusan Shrines are in Japan, and the belief is supposed to have arrived in Mutsu Province at the beginning of the 8th century.

     Presumably after the Meiji Restoration, the hall came to be taken care of by Shodai-ji Temple.

Address: Obasamamishima-45 Kannari, Kurihara, Miyagi 989-5184

Phone: 0228-42-2720

Hakusan Shrine

Address: Obasamayamanokami−77, Kannari, Kurihara, Miyagi, 989-5184

Phone: 0228-42-1823