Virtual Kesen 33 Kannon Pigrimage #22 Chokoku-ji

 

     In 791, Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758-811) was dispatched to the eastern provinces to prepare for the war against northern foreigners.  In 794, he attacked northern foreigners in the north of Mutsu Province, with the military successes of beheading 457 and taking 150 captive.  In 801, Tamuramaro invaded the northeastern region again.  He sent Beppu Hayato to the Kesen area.  Hayato killed Kumai of Yahagi, Hayatora of Otomo, and Kanainu of Ikawa.  He buried their heads in respective places.  Later, Buddhist temples were founded in burials and Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha images were enshrined in 807.  When the Kannon-do hall was rebuilt in 1704, its ground was dug up, and 33 teeth were excavated.  It is unknown who the teeth belonged to.  Human beings have 32 teeth at most, don't they?

     As Hayato died of a disease there, they might have been afraid of the curses of the beheaded.

     They are called Kesen 3 Kannon.

     In 946, Chokoku-ji Temple was founded beside the Kannon-do hall by the Kon Family, who was the governor of Kesen County.  After the Kamakura Period, the temple declined for over 2 centuries.  Esashi Shigetsune, who ruled the surrounding area, is said to have revived the temple in 1572.

     The Kanto samurai didn't come to Kesen County at the beginning of Kamakura Period, and the Kon Family ruled the county under the title of Kesen County Governor, which was the same title their ancestors were given by the Imperial Court in the ancient times.

     The Kon Family fought on the side of the Northern Fujiwara Clan when Yoritomo destroyed the clan in 1189, and Kon Hidetoki was killed in battle.  His son, Tametoshi, hid in the mountains, and, when Okawa Kaneto, who was based along the eastern shore of Hachiro-gata Lagoon, and who was a remnant of the Northern Fujiwara Clan, rebelled against the Kamakura Shogunate from December, 1189, to March of the following year, Tametoshi served on the side of the Kamakura Shogunate, and is said to have been restored to the position of the county governor.

     During the Warring States Period, the Kon Family was encroached upon by the power of the samurai from other counties and declined.

     Esashi County was organized in 804.

     When Minamoto Yoritomo raised his army against the Taira Clan, he was defeated at first and fled to Awa Province.  When he was going to cross the Sumida River to strike back, Kasai Kiyoshige (1161-1238) joined the army.  Kiyoshige kept working and fighting for the first 3 generations of the Kamakura Shoguns.  5 generations later, Nobumitsu was the 2nd son, was based in Iwayado Fortress in Esashi County, and called his family Esashi.  After the Onin War (1467-1477), the Esashi Family started invading surrounding counties. For 3 generations of Takayuki, Takashige, and Shigetsune, the family successfully extended their territories.  It is, however, unknown when they advanced to Ikawa Village, Kesen County.

     In front of Chokokuji Temple, stands the Bannin Reito, a Over-2-meters-tall memorial monument for the victims of the tsunami caused by the 1896 Sanriku Earthquake.  The monument was built by 4 women from the former Ikawa Village.  It was originally erected at Shimo-Gongendo along the Morikawa River, but was moved near the temple after road improvements and extensions.  The names of the victims were engraved, copying beautiful calligraphy of Itagaki Masanori, who was the governor of Kesen County at the time.

Address: Hasedo-127 Ikawacho, Ofunato, Iwate 022-0004

Iwayado Fortress Site

Address: Tateshita Esashiku Iwayado, Oshu, Iwate 023-1101