Virtual Kameda Domain 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Kanpaku-ji Temple

 

     The areas around Akita Castle became unstable for some reason or other, and, at last in 780, Abe Yakamaro (?-?), a general in Akita Castle, reported to Emperor Konin (709-781) that the castle should be abandoned, which meant to retreat about 100 kilometers south again.  At the beginning of the 9th century, the Imperial Army fought back, and invaded the Tomita area in 806.  The valley was so dark that the sight of northern foreigners.  As they prayed to Goddess Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the moon goddess, the moon brightly shone and they suppressed northern foreigners.  After the war, they founded Gassan Shrine, namely Monn Mountain Shrine, to worship Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.

     If you don't believe the legend, people from around Mount Gassan migrated to the Tomita area.

     After the assassination of his father in 592, Prince Hachiko (542–641) fled north along the western seacoast of Honshu.  He came ashore in Ideha Province and invested the rest of his life in religious pursuits in The Three Mountains of Ideha: Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan, and Mount Yudono.  There, the prince took good care of people and relieved many of their sufferings.  Gassan as a holy place was first documented in 773.

     Tomita Village became independent from Akotsu Village and was first documented in 1612.

     It is unknown when Kanpaku-ji Temple was founded as its shrine temple.  The temple might have been abolished after the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868.  

Gassan Shrine

Address: Itashiki-145 Iwakitomita, Yurihonjo, Akita 018-1214

Phone: 0184-72-2136