Virtual Shimokita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Jonen-ji Temple

 

     Jonenji Temple was founded kTanabu Village in 1596.  It belongs to Pure Land Buddhism.

     The temple's main deity, a wooden seated Amidabha statue, was made by Genshin (942-1017).  It was originally in Seijoke-in Temple in Kyoto, one of the main temples of Pure land Buddhism.  It was moved to Jonen-ji Temple by the 4th head priest Ryoho Ben'i in 1686 after the temple was burned down in the 1650's.

     The about-90-centimeters-tall wooden seated Amidabha is made of cypress wood, inlaid with lacquer and gold leaves, and was designated a national treasure in 1915, now a nationally designated important cultural property due to a legal revision.

     The Shimokita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Jigan-ji Mannin-do Hall was abandoned after the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, and was moved to the precincts of Jonen-ji Temple.  The doors of the altar are painted with the Thousand-Armed Sahasrabhuja and Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.  The main deity of Mannin-do is Arya Avalokitesvara.

     The 24th deity of the Shimokita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is the statue of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, which is also known as Kawabata Kannon.  It was dedicated by Kikuchi Denzo in 1700 as a protection against the kappa that was frequently seen in the Tanabu River and harassing children.  Today, it is believed to bring blessings for fertility, safe childbirth, and child-rearing.

     Tanabu Village was first documented in 1325, when Ando Munesue gave Taya and Tanabu Villages to Lady Tora during her lifetime.

     Munesue fought against Ando Suenaga, who is said to have been his cousin or the son of his cousin, for the position of Ezo Magistrate.

     Since the early days of the Kamakura Shogunate, Hokkaido had been a place of exile for serious criminals, and the main role of the Ezo Magistrate was to send the exiles to prison and to monitor them.  It is also believed that they were involved in trade with northern foreigners.

     The position began in 1217, when the then Regent Hojo Yoshitoki (1163-1224) became the governor of Mutsu, and appointed Ando Takahide as Ezo Magistrate.

     This position was a hereditary position of the Ando family, and the magistrate office was located in Tosaminato, Tsugaru.  The Ando family, commissioned by the Hojo Clan, collected taxes on the profits from trading ships and paid them to the head family of the Hojo Clan.

The conflict between Munesue and Suenaga is believed to have been ongoing since before 1318. In 1322, the matter was brought to the official documents' office of the head family of the Hojo Clan for arbitration.  The dispute, however, became complicated when Nagasaki Takasuke (?-1333), the butler of the Hojo Clan, received bribes from both sides and gave orders to both.

     Munesue was given the position of Ezo Magistrate by the head family of the Hojo Clan on June 6th, 1325, and it is believed that this led to Suenaga's rebellion against the head family of the Hojo Clan.

     Suenaga did not submit to the ruling of the head family and the fighting did not subside.  In 1326, Kudo Sadasuke, a vassal of the head family, was sent to pursue Suenaga.  Sadasuke captured Suenaga in July of the year and returned to Kamakura with him, but Suenaga's retainers Ando Suekane and others continued to revolt.  In 1327, Utsunomiya Takasada, Oda Haruhisa (1300-1353), Nanbu Nagatsugu (?-1352) and others were sent as the Shogunate army.  In 1328, a peace agreement was reached regarding the internal conflict within the Ando Family.

     According to letters dated September 11th, 1325, and dated June 14th, 1330, Munesue's territories included Kinuiejima, Shiribiki Village, Katanobe Village in Hanawa County, Usori Village, Nakahama Stock Farm, Minato in Nukanobu County, and Nishihama in Tsugaru County.

     In 1333, the Kamakura Shogunate collapsed.  In 1334, Nanbu Moroyuki (?-1338) sent Akaboshi Goro and Takeda Shuri from Hachinohe to the north.  The Akaboshi Family was based in Tanabu, but was destroyed by Kakizaki Kurodo.  In 1457, Kurodo was driven away to Hokkaido, and Tanabu Village became under the rule of the Nanbu Family.

Address: 4-8 Tanabucho, Mutsu, Aomori 035-0034

Phone: 0175-22-1891

Seijoke-in Temple

Address: 395 Kitanobecho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-0852

Phone: 075-231-2550