Virtual Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Hozen-ji Temple

      Nothing is known about the Honjo Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Gyokusen-ji, #21 Chosho-in, and #22 Hozen-ji Temples.  As the #23 Jokaku-ji Temple used to be located about 1 kilometer east-north-east from the #19 Yosen-ji Temple, the 3 temples could have been located somewhere between Yosen-ji and Jokaku-ji Temples.  Having 5 temples within a kilometer may sound too overcrowded, but, as is often the case with castletowns, they could have been built to form a defensive line in the north of the castle.

     They might have been abolished either after the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868 or due to the movement to abolish Buddhism and to destroy Buddhist images at the beginning of the Meiji Period.