Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in My Order

 

Day 1

      The omicron coronavirus variant casts a shadow over my actually visiting a 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  Today, however, I made up my mind to visit some member temples of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage since I have few chances to actually talk with anyone.

     I stepped out of Tennoji Station and turned north toward Shitenno-ji Temple.  To secure the number 33 with Avalokitesvara deities, the organizer of the Osaka 33 Kannon pilgrimage picked up 4 Avalokitesvara images from Shitenno-ji Temple.  You may think that will save time, but the temple is large enough to wander around.  First, I visited Manto-in Hall,  which has an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue.  However, the hall is more known with its Arhat statue, which wears a paper robe.  Annually on August 10th, it changes its robe, and its followers can put the old robe and their diseased parts to be healed.  If you put the robe on your back 3 times, or for 3 years, you won't have someone attend your personal needs.

     I walked out of the Manto-in Hall, and moved counter clockwise around the Central Temple, which was composed of 2 halls and a tower and was surrounded with its cloisters.  I found Sutra Hall easily surrounded with walls, and realized that I should walk back to Taishiden to enter the enclosure, which is called Shoryo-in.  I did, but was at a loss.  There were 2 buildings, Taishiden and Taishiokuden, between Sutra Hall and me, and sand gardens blocked my way.  Worrying over the omicron coronavirus variant, I asked a lady there what to do to reach Sutra Hall.  "It's open only on October 15th." said she.  I just took pictures of Sutra Hall over Taishido, gardens, and walls.  The hall was strictly guarded in the Shoryo-in Inner Temple.

     The next counter-clockwise walk brought me to Rokuji-do Hall, which was named so because they perform prayers 6 times a day.

     Finally, I moved into the Central Temple.  Of course, I had to pay to get into the innermost center of Shitenno-ji Temple.  The payment boosted its refreshing atmosphere even more.  I visited Kon-do Hall first.  I walked along its cloisters and got into Lecture Hall, which enshrined an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue.

     I could call it a day, but the holy air in Central Temple gave me a push to go on.  I walked out of Shitenno-ji Temple westward and stepped into Reinin-cho.  Those who played music for Shitenno-ji Temple used to be called reinin, and they used to live in the township.  Kiyomizu-dera Temple was located there.  How many Kiyomizu-dera or Seisui-ji Temples does Japan have?  30 or more?  Some have just copied Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, but you can realize Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Reinin-cho doesn't fail to live up to its name.  The precincts have the only waterfall, however tiny it may be, in Osaka City.  The waterfall is equipped with something like those in Kyoto, and the temple, as the matter of course, enshrines an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue.

     To the north of Reinin-cho, Shimo-Tera-machi stretches northward along the foot of the western cliff of Uemachi Plateau, at the northernmost edge of which Osaka Castle stands.  As its place name shows, many temples are located along Matsuyamachi-suji Street.  Some of them are the member temples of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: #33 Saisho-ji Temple, #26 Shinko-ji Temple, #27 Daikaku-ji Temple, #28 Kontai-ji Temple, and #29 Dairen-ji Temple.

     Saisho-ji Temple was founded by Priest Riden in 1596.  On July 15, 1595, Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568-1595) was cornered by his uncle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), and killed himself.  On August 2nd, Hidetsugu's 5 children and 29 wives were killed in the Sanjo Riverbed, Kyoto.  In 1596, Japan's Median Tectonic Line caused great earthquakes one after another.  First, in Iyo Province, Shikoku Island, on September 1, an earthquake caused many temples to collapse.  Second, in Bungo Province, Kyushu Island, on September 4, another earthquake caused 2 small islands to sink and killed more than 800 people.  Third, in Fushimi, Kyoto, on September 5, another earthquake destroyed many temples and even a castle and killed more than 1,000 people.  Either human-made  or natural disasters might have driven Riden to found a temple.

     Shinko-ji Temple was founded by Priest Eigyoku in 1624, a year after Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) became the third shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.  He and his father, Hidetada (1579-1632), dissolved many clans to strengthen the power of the shogunate.  This increased the number of masterless and jobless samurai and destabilized society.  To re-stabilize society, Iemitsu strengthened the danka system.  Every citizen was supposed to belong to a Buddhist temple.  Accordingly, the number of temples increased.  Eigyoku might have grabbed a business opportunity.  Even generations later, the priest of the temple hasn't lost challenging spirit.  The temple organizes yoga and aesthetician classes, runs a cafe, and holds live concerts.

     Daikaku-ji Temple was mentioned in the Joruri narrative song, the Love Suicide at Sonezaki, of Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725): "Even though I'm not enlightened, I rely on Daikaku-ji Temple."

     Just before Kontai-ji Temple, I found a stone monument, which said Shinsen-Gumi had its Osaka Office in Manpuku-ji Temple, which was located just south of Kontai-ji Temple.  Shinsen-gumi was a militia formed to maintain "the public peace of Kyoto" at the end of Edo Period, started their services as militiamen at Mibu, and stayed there for about 3 years.  In those days, some of them went on business to Osaka.

     Kontai-ji Temple's main hall is the oldest Pure Land Buddhism main hall in Osaka.  I entered the precincts of Kontai-ji Temple and found its main hall easily.  However, I found another mysterious building on my left.  The building seemed to be segregated from the Kontai-ji precincts with walls.  The signboard on the wall of the building says its name was Joso-ji Temple and claimed to be the #28 Temple of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage with its "goeika" tanka poem.  The Kannon-do Hall or Joso-ji Temple was said to enshrine 33 Avalokitesvara statues with its own thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja in their center.

     Dairen-ji Temple was founded on March 5th, 1550, by Priest Seiyo, who was said to have been the third son of Ashikaga Yoshiharu (1511-1550), the 12th Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate.  If so, Seiyo founded the temple to pray for the recovery of his father from edema, which he suffered at the end of 1549.  In spite of Seiyo's prayers, Yoshiharu died on May 4th.  When his elder brother, Yoshiteru (1536-1565), the 13th Shogun, was killed by Miyoshi Yoshitsugu (1549-1573), Miyoshi Nagayasu (?-?), Miyoshi Soi (?-1569), Iwanari Tomomichi (?-1573), and Matsunaga Hisamichi (1543-1577), the priest was taken to Kyoto and was killed on the way by a certain Hirata, who was killed by the priest's page on the spot.

     After visiting the temples in Shimo-Tera-machi, I approached Ikutama Shrine, around which there were a couple of more member temples: Bodai-ji Temple and Honsho-ji Temple.

     Bodai-ji Temple was founded in 1597.  In 1596, the Arima-Takatsuki fault zone and the Rokko-Awaji-Island fault zone slipped around Kyoto and caused Magnitude 7.5 earthquakes.  In Fushimi castle alone more than 600 people were crushed to death.  Even in Osaka, many houses were destroyed and soil liquefaction broke out in lowlands along rivers.  Bodai-ji Temple might have been founded to pray for the comfort of the dead in the other world.

     Honsho-ji Temple was founded by Priest Jokyu in 1593.  In 1592, Hideyoshi invaded Korea, and, in 1593, his concubine, Chacha (1569-1615) gave birth to his only son, Hideyori (1593-1615).  The foundation of the temple was sandwiched between the grief over the dead and the joy over the birth, and it is hard to know whether it was founded to grieve or to celebrate.  The temple is still hard to find, sandwiched between modern buildings.

     After visiting 13 temples and Ikutama Shrine, I was limping.  I dragged myself toward Uehonmachi Station.  If I take the Kintetsu Line there, I can get to JR Tsuruhashi Station, and I can enjoy Korean dishes in the Korea Town near the station.  I felt my mouth water.  I stood in front of the station building which was located at Uehonmachi 6 Chome.  #14 Choan-ji and #15 Seian-ji Temples were located just next to Uehonmachi 4 Chome.  I had only 2 blocks to walk.  I felt unwilling but my foot stepped to the north for 2 blocks.  The 2 blocks were a heavy burden.

     For my luck, the 2 temples stood just across the street.  I easily added 2 to my list of the temples I visited in the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Choan-ji Temple was founded sometime between 1573 and 1593 by Priest Hoyo (?-1607), when Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) were still fighting hard to unify Japan.  Hoyo survived the Warring States Period and died 4 years after Ieyasu was appointed as a shogun, 2 years after Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632) was appointed to be the second shogun, and 8 years before Toyotomi Hideyori (1593-1615) was killed by Ieyasu and Hidetada.

     Seian-ji Temple was founded by Priest Seido in 1598, when Hideyoshi died.

     After visiting the 2 temples, I walked east.  At the 3rd traffic light, I didn't hesitate.  #12 Keiden-ji Temple was just 200 meters north.

     Keiden-ji Temple is at the eastern edge of Jonan-cho. Jonan literally means Castle South.  The area used to be located south of Osaka Castle.  To the east of Jonan-cho, Sanadayama-cho is in the back of Keiden-ji Temple.  Sanada Yukimura (1567-1615) constructed Sanada Fortress attached to the southern border of Osaka Castle to raise his standard with 6 coins against Tokugawa Ieyasu and to defend the castle with Hideyori in it from Ieyasu in the Siege of Osaka in 1615.  The 6 coins were supposed to pay for a ferry to cross the Sanzu River to go to the next world.  Yukimura fought so fiercely that he became a legend.  His life spun off a lot of legends and stories.  Spun off heroes included the Sanada Ten Braves.

     Kotoku-ji Temple was just a block north.  It started as Yakushi-in Temple when Prince Shotoku (574-622) was still alive.  It was revived by Gyoki (668-749) sometime between 729 and 749.  By the turn of the 18th century, it was renamed Kotoku-ji, which enshrines a statue of Cundi, who usually has 16 arms and appears to be female.  The Cundi statue in the temple has 3 eyes and 18 arms.  As the statue outdoors looked new and modern, the original one might have been enshrined in the main hall.

     Did I call it a day?  I visited temples in descending order to #11.  I had visited #10 Ryukai-ji Temple almost a week before.  No.  The #10 deity used to be enshrined in Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine before the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order by the Meiji Restoration Government in 1868.  I crossed Nagahori-dori Street to the north and climbed a hill to get to the shrine.  I found a tree standing in the middle of the street.  It must be a holy tree.

     Believe it or not, Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine was said to have been founded in 12 B.C.  Human beings have inhabited the Japanese Archipelago since 30 or 40 thousand years ago, although the archipelago itself was formed some 10 or 20 thousand years ago.  "The shrine" could have been a holy place far before written history.  It was revived in the 6th century.

     After the shrine, I walked down the hill to JR Tamatsukuri Station.  Near the station, I found the Tamatsukuri Shopping Mall, and thought I might be able to find a restaurant to have late lunch.  However, the mall was, as often the case today, deserted.  I turned left into an alley to the station, and found it very interesting.  They called it Sanada Street and displayed the animation characters of Yukimura and the Sanada Ten Braves.  I entered one of the restaurants along the alley, Omasu, and had Sanada Gozen, or Sanada Lunch Set Meal, with its side dishes displayed on a tray so that they looked like Yukimura's standard with 6 coins.  Can I go back to my everyday world with those 6 small dishes instead of the 6 coins?

Shitenno-ji Temple Manto-in Hall

Address: 1 Chome-11-18 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0051

Phone: 06-6771-0066

Shitenno-ji Temple Sutra Hall

Address: 1 Chome-11 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0051

Shitenno-ji Rokujireihai-do Hall

Address: 1 Chome-11-18 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0051

Shitenno-ji Kon-do Hall

Address: 1 Chome-11 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0051

Shitenno-ji Lecture Hall

Address: 1 Chome-11-18 Shitennoji, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0051

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Address: 5-8 Reinincho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0061

Saisho-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-2-45 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6771-9180

Shinko-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-3-68 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6771-0909

Daikaku-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-3-77 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6771-5635

Kontai-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-3-88 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6771-0295

Bodai-ji Temple

Address: 4-10 Ikutamacho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0071

Phone: 06-6771-8691

Honsho-ji Temple

Address: 3-6 Ikutamachō, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0071

Ikutama Shrine

Address: 13-9 Ikutamacho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0071

Phone: 06-6771-0002

Dairen-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-1-30 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6771-0739

Choan-ji Temple

Address: 5-13 Jonanteramachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0017

Phone: 06-6761-4022

Seian-ji Temple

Address: 6-29 Jonanteramachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0017

Keiden-ji Temple

Address: 6-31 Esashimachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0016

Phone: 06-6761-5277

Kotoku-ji Temple

Address: 2-17 Esashimachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0016

Phone: 06-6761-7040

Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine

Address: 2 Chome-3-8 Tamatsukuri, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 540-0004

Phone: 06-6941-3821

Katsushun Omasu

Address: 3-2 Tamatsukuri Motomachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0014

Phone: 050-5486-0632

Day 2

      To add 3 more member temples to my Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, I took off my train at the terminal of the Nankai Koya Line, Namba Station.  I walked east through watering holes, wondering how they looked last night when the number of the omicron-coronavirus-variant-infected people was increasing sharply.  I passed Sennichimae Street and then turned left into Aioibashi Street.  After 2 blocks, I found a graveyard in my left, which is managed by Mitsu-tera Temple, the #30 temple of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  The temple itself is now being rebuilt, so its temple office has been moved to the graveyard office.  As I had expected, the stone monument to show its membership of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was also moved to the graveyard.  If I had visited the rebuilding site first, I should have had to walk back to the graveyard for many blocks.

     After taking the picture of the monument, I continued to walk north, crossed the Dotonbori River, walked between watering holes, to get to the rebuilding site of Mitsu-tera Temple.  All I could see were surrounding covers and the roof of the main hall.  Only the posters on the covers gave me a hint that there used to be Mitsu-tera Temple.  One poster suggested we would be able to see a new building in April, 2023.  Another implied it would be Mitsutera Hotel.  The COVID19 epidemic has taught us that the future is unpredictable.

     #30 Mitsu-tera Temple was founded by Gyoki (668-749) in 744 under the order of Emperor Toyosakurahiko (701-756).  Today, Mitsu-gu Shrine is located near Mitsu-tera Temple.  Historically speaking, the shrine was founded in 749, and was named after Mitsu-tera Temple.  Mitsudera Manor in Nishinari County, Settsu Province, was also named after Mitsu-tera Temple.  Then why Mitsu?  A linguist suggests there might have been a Royal Port.

     The oldest document mentioning Mitsu-tera Temple was a letter dated 1220 written by Zenpoji Yusei to Lady Dan.  The Zenpoji family belonged to the Ki Clan and worked for Iwashimizuhachiman-gu Shrine.

     Presumably, the temple declined during the Warring States Period, and was revived by Priest Kengu in the 1590's, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) destroyed the Later Hojo Clan in the Kanto Region.

     On October 10th, 1791, the Fushimiya Fire broke out.  32 people were killed in fire, 2010 houses burned, and 13380 households were victimized.  277 mud-walled storehouses,24 cellars,  and 9 temples were reduced to ashes.  Mitsu-tera Temple burned down in fire and was rebuilt in 1808.

     After the rebuilding site, I walked north to Nagahori Street, and there I took the Nagahori-Tsurumiryokuchi Line.  I took off the metro at Uehonmachi-Rokuchome Station.  I stepped out of the station southward to find Kannon-zaka Hill.  The first steps on my right were nameless.  I kept walking to find the second one to be Kannon-zaka Hill.  On the top of it, there used to be Washo-in Temple, #16 of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     It is unknown when #16 Washo-in Temple was founded.  One day, a child, who loved Japanese wisteria flowers, drowned in its pond.  The parents felt pity and planted wisterias by the pond.  They formed a beautiful wisteria trellis, and the temple's main deity, a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, came to be famous as Wisteria Trellis Avalokitesvara.  The temple burned down in 1863, and moved to today's Shinmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka.  It burned down again in the air raid in World War II.  The temple was abolished, and its thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue was reduced to ashes.  Its Deva statue survived, was moved to Hoshaku-bo Temple (Address: 1-19 Minokoen, Mino, Osaka 562-0002  Phone: 072-721-3438), and was enshrined as a Avalokitesvara statue, which was moved again to Joen-ji Temple.

     A tanka poem was composed for Washo-in Temple:

Wisteria flowers in the Avalokitesvara yard

Were nothing but

A Buddhist necklace of flowers.

     In Tanimachi, there only remains Kannon-zaka Hill, lingering on the Wisteria Trellis Avalokitesvara.

I took the Tanimachi Line to Shitennoji-Yuhigaoka Station.

     After I had visited Shitaderamachi Township for 5 member temples of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, I came to know that the #32 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, which I had believed to be enshrined in Namba Shrine, was move to Zenryu-ji Temple in Shitateramachi after the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order was issued by the Meiji Restoration Government in 1868.

     #32 Zenryu-ji Temple is located at the foot of the Kuchinawa-zaka Hill (Address: 5-3 Yuhigaokacho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0075).  Kuchinawa literally means a rope with a mouth, and is another name for a snake.  If you looked up the hill from Zenryu-ji Temple, the hill street would look like a snake. Zenryu-ji Temple's gate is 2.7 meters wide and employs the Yakuimon form with a gabled roof and with 2 wicket gates and wing walls on both sides.

     The Kuchinawa-zaka Hill is one of the Tenno-ji Seven Hills:  Shingon-zaka Hill, Genshoji-zaka Hill, Kuchinawa-zaka Hill, Aizen-zaka Hill, Kiyomizu-zaka Hill, Tenjin-zaka Hill, and O-saka Hill from the north to the south.  Arisugawa Arisu (1959-) wrote Maboroshizaka, a collection of 7 short stories of the Tenno-ji Seven Hills and 2 historical stories, Kareno and Sekiyoan.  For the titles of the 7 short stories, Aisu used the names of the 7hills.

     As Sunday was the only off day this week, I called it a day.

Mitsu-tera Graveyard

Address: 2 Chome-9-23 Sennichimae, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0074

Mitsu-tera Temple

Address: 2 Chome-7-12 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0085

Phone: 06-6211-1982

Washo-in Temple

Address: 6 Chome-6-11 Tanimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 540-0012

Joen-ji Temple

Address: 3 Chome-10-4 Shinkitano, Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, 532-0025

Phone: 06-6304-0840

Zenryu-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-1-17 Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0076

Phone: 06-6779-9354

Day 3

     Before the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, the #32 and #33 deities of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage used to be enshrined in Namba and Goryo Shrines respectively.  Although I have visited #32 Zenryu-ji and #33 Saisho-ji Temples already, they didn't have stone monuments to tell their membership of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. Guessing the 2 shrines might have the monuments, I walked out of Shinsaibashi Station along the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line. I strolled along Midosuji Street north for a couple of blocks, and found Namba Shrine on my left. I have driven along the street countless times, noticing the shrine, but this was my first visit to it. There it was. The stone monument was in front of the shrine gate. The precincts were surprisingly quiet despite its being along one of the busiest streets in Osaka.

#32 Namba Shrine

     The main deity is Emperor Osazaki, who is speculated to have reigned at the turn of the 5th century.  He relocated the capital to Namba, and built the Kozu Palace.  It was the first capital outside Yamato Province.  He was known for exempting farmers from taxes for 3 years and for his lechery.  The shrine was founded in Today's Matsubara City first when his 3rd son, Emperor Mitsuhawake reigned.  It was moved to today's Uehonmachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, in 943.  It was moved again to its present place by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1597.

     The shrine used to enshrine a thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue.  Although it is unknown when the statue was enshrined in the shrine, that could have been after the 9th century, when it came to be gradually believed that Indian Budhhist deities had appeared as native gods in Japan to be more easily accepted by the Japanese people.  The donor might have considered Sahasrabhuja to be a suitable Indian Budhhist deity for Osazaki, who tried to relieve farmers, as Sahasrabhuja came to have 1,000 arms to relieve people.  The statue was moved to Zenryu-ji Temple presumably after the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868.

     I stepped out of Namba Shrine west from its back gate. I walked through checkered streets, turning corners at random. At the corner of Naniwa-suji Street and Utsubo Park, I found Kusunaga Shrine, which is located just across the plaza from the Utsubo Tennis Center Court, which I have visited several times, without noticing the shrine.  Or in one eye and out of the other?

Kusunaga Shrine

     After the Tsubura Shrine, or today's Goryo Shrine, moved to its present place, there was no shrine.  Later, the Seafood Market in Kitahama was moved.  They dug the Kaifu Canal and built the Eitai Port around where there had been Tsubura Shrine.  As dealers of salted and dried fish lived around there, it might have been they who renamed the area Utsubo, a moray eel.  There already were 2 camphor trees in those days, which are now holy trees of Kusunaga Shrine.  In December, 1928, when they were repairing the stone walls along the canal, a white snake came out of the root of the trees.  Japanese people used to regard white snakes as messengers of gods, and the locals built a small shrine for the snake.  As there were camphor (Kusu in Japanese) trees and Eitai Port (Ei is pronounced Naga in the native Japanese style reading of the kanji), the shrine was named Kusunaga.  It is unknown whether the white snake still resides there or not.

     After Kusunaga Shrine, I rambled through Utsubo Park.  I found its old center court remodeled into a garden which utilizes its stands as a slope to run a stream.  I thought I saw Goryo Shrine, but I didn't know where its main gate was.  This time, I entered through its back gate, which was no more than a kitchen door.

#33 Goryo Shrine

     Emperors of Japan have celebrated a harvest ritual annually presumably since the 10th to the 3rd Centuries BC.  Empress Takara (594-661) is said to have fixed the ritual procedure.  Emperor Oama (?-686) performed a special large-scale ceremonial offering of rice as a part of his enthronement ceremony in 673.  Since then, newly enthroned Emperors have performed special ceremonial offerings of rice.  Emperor Montoku (827-858) first performed the Yasoshima Ceremony one year after his enthronement in 850 at the Tsubura Inlet along today's Osaka Bay.  The inlet is supposed to have been located near today's Utsubo Kusunaga Shrine (Address: 2 Chome-1 Utsubohonmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0004).  The ceremony site was called Tsubura Shinshi, literally Tsubura God Small-Shrine.  As the ceremony was repeatedly performed by newly enthroned Emperors, the site came to be called Tsubura Shrine, and the area came to be called Tsumura.

     Kamei Korenori (1557-1612) was born in Yatsuka County, Izumo Province, as a son of a vassal of the Amako Clan, which was destroyed by Mori Motonari (1497-1571) in 1566.  He met the remnants of the Amako Clan in Kyoto in 1568.  In 1573, he actually joined fighting for the remnant.  When Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) started attacking the Mori Clan, the remnants became subject to Nobunaga, and Korenori fought for Akechi Mitsuhide (1528-1582), a vassal of Nobunaga, in Tamba Province.  For some reason, he was posted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), another vassal of Nobunaga, in 1581.  When Korenari was fighting for Hideyoshi in Inaba Province, all of a sudden, Mitsuhide killed Nobunaga in 1582.  Mitsuhide, however, was killed by Hideyoshi soon after.  Luckily, Korenori survived.  In 1594, Korenori invited Tsubura Shrine to part of his residence, which was located in the present place of Goryo Shrine.  As he respected Kamakura Kagemasa (1069-?), he enshrined Kagemasa in New Tsubura Shrine as a god.  Kagemasa answered Korenori's faith.  After Hideyoshi's death, Korenori transferred to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).  He successfully survived the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and the Siege of Osaka in 1614 and 1615.  He became the first lord of the Shikano Domain in Inaba Province, which was just east of Izumo Province.  He made a glorious return to his hometown.

     Osaka people were surprised with Korenori's success or Kagemasa's grace, and they commonly called Tsubura Shrine Goro-no-miya Shrine in the Edo Period as Kagemasa's nickname was Gongoro.  Hojo-ji Temple was built in the southern part of its precincts as its shrine temple, with an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue as its main deity.  The shrine officially changed its name to Goryo Shrine in the 1660's.  After the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order was issued by the Meiji Restoration Government in 1868, the Goryo Shrine and Hojo-in Temple were divided.  The temple was abolished later, and the Ekadasamukha statue was moved to Saisho-ji Temple.  The precincts of the temple became a modern building with a shrine gate in front of it as a trace of the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism.

#32 Namba Shrine

Address: 4 Chome-1-3 Bakuromachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 541-0059

Phone: 06-6251-8000

Kusunaga Shrine

Address: 2 Chome-1 Utsubohonmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0004

#33 Goryo Shrine

Address: 4 Chome-4-3 Awajimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 541-0047

Phone: 06-6231-5041

Day 4

#31 Daifuku-in Temple

     Please, guide me. Let me die in peace. Thus, we hang 5-colored strings' one end to the hand of a Buddhist image and grip the other end. One of the 5 colors is white, and the place name Shiraga (White Hair) has that white color in it. Visiting Kannon-do Hall in Shiraga-cho can surely be answered. In addition to that, the main deity of the hall is an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue which was carved by Kasuga, a legendary Buddhist sculptor, out of the same wood of the main deity of Hase-dera Temple by Kasuga. How rewarding visiting the hall with the statue could be! 

     There used to be Shiraga-cho in today's Shinmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka. Even today, there is a stone monument which was built where there used to be Shiraga Bridge (3 Chome-6 Shinmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0013). In ancient times, the ships from Silla were anchored along a sand cape in the area. The cape was called Shiraga-saki. It means Silla's Cape since the Japanese phrase "ga" indicates possessiveness. Years passed, the origin of the place name was forgotten, people were confused, and the Silla's Cape came to be pronounced Shirasuzaki, which literally meant White Sand Dune Cape, and which sounds very common as a place name.

     There used to be an eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue enshrined in Mt. Hiei. One night, the statue said to Monk Ikkaku, "I have a destined place along the seashore in the south-west. I'd like to go there and benefit people there." Ikkaku arrived at Shirasuzaki, realized it the destined place for the statue, and built a hermitage there to enshrine the statue.

     Daifuku-in Temple used to stand on the north bank of Amida-ike Pond (3 Chome-3 Kitahorie, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0014), and kept the hall.

     Sato Norikiyo (1118-1190), whose pen name was Saigyo, composed a poem: 

In the Naniwa tideland,

When the tide is on the ebb,

I go to Shirasuzaki to to gather shellfish.

     It is unknown when the hermitage became Daifuku-in Temple, but it was abolished after the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868 and the statue was moved to Ensho-ji Temple in 2 Chome Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward. Ensho-ji Temple was abolished too, and the statue's whereabouts are unknown. Did it find another destiny or destination?

     I found several car dealers and other shops including a hotel along Shitaderamachi. Ensho-ji Temple might have become one of them.

Day 5

     I visited Wako-ji Temple to look for the site of #31 Daifuku-in Temple, with the idea that Daifuku-in might have been a branch temple or a hall of Wako-ji Temple. I took the Nankai Shiomibashi Line for the first time in my life. It has 2 services an hour, and each service has only 2 cars. In the midst of the third biggest city in Japan, it seems more like a provincial line. I walked north from the terminal, Shiomibashi Station, crossed Shiomi-bashi Bridge across Dotonbori River. After the Shiomi-bashi Bridge, there used to be a Shiraga-bashi Bridge across Nishi-Nagahori River. Wako-ji Temple was just before the bridge.

     In the Edo Period, the precincts of Wako-ji Temple had the main hall, Hoko-kaku Hall, Fumon-do Hall, Aizen-do Hall, Takushi-do Hall, Makko-Jizo-do Hall, Enma-do Hall, Jizo-do Hall, Kompira-Gongen Shrine, Kondo-Jizo Hall, and a bell tower as well as Kannon-do Hall.  The temple held lotteries and garden markets of plants, and offered part of its precincts as theaters for Joruri (a narrative ballad chanted to the accompaniment of shamisen), Koshaku (Japanese storytelling), and Karuwaza (acrobatics).  The precincts also had souvenir shops.  Outside the precincts, there were 47 brothels.  As "iroha", the Japanese syllabary, consisted of 47 characters, the redlight district was called Iroha Brothels. An old guidebook said, "Daifuku-in Temple is located in the north of Amida-ike Pond and in the west of brothels."

     Organizers of any 33 Kannon pilgrimages tended to include popular temples to increase the number of their pilgrims.

     Why was Wako-ji Temple so popular? It had Amida-ike Pond, from which the Amitabha image which is enshrined in Zenko-ji Temple in Nagano Prefecture was salvaged.

     The #31 temple's name Daifuku-in is, strangely enough, the same with the ingo of #30 Mitsu-tera Temple.  The organizer of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have picked up a nameless hall as its #31 and given the ingo of #30 as its name.

     The first Bombing of Osaka took place from the middle of the night on March 13, 1945, to the early morning of the next day.  All the temple buildings of Wako-ji Temple were reduced to ashes.  It is unknown when and why Enkho-ji Temple was abolished.  Its eleven-faced Ekadasamukha statue?  Nobody knows.

     The western edge of Wako-ji Temple could have been a seashore, where the ships from Silla landed. From one of those Sills ships, Mononobe Okoshi and Nakatomi Kamako might have thrown the Amitabha image into Amide-ike Pond in 552. When Honda Yoshimitsu visited Naniwa from 600 to 602, he found the image and brought it back to his hometown, Shinano Province.

     I walked along the western edge of Wako-ji Temple. The busy street had nothing left of what the seashore used to have or what the incident there looked like.

Wako-ji Temple

Address: 3 Chome-7-27 Kitahorie, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0014

Phone: 06-6531-1360

     After the visit to Wako-ji Temple, I walked around in the north of the temple.  There was only a parking area.

Day 6

     It isn’t clear whether the sixth wave of COVID-19 infections is over or not, but I actually visited some temples of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     I stepped out of Higashi-Umeda Station Exit No.4, and walked through a narrow watering-hole alley east.  I went under an elevated highway.  After a couple of blocks, I found Taiyu-ji Temple on my left.

#1 Taiyu-ji Temple

     Kukai (774-835) found a holy tree with fragrance in the forest where Taiyu-ji Temple is located today.  He carved Ksitigarbha and Vaisravana statues out of the wood, built a hermitage, and enshrined the statues in it.  Emperor Saga (786-842) found the story interesting and visited the statues next year.  He presented his own guardian Buddhist image, which is the thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja statue, the main deity of Taiyu-ji Temple.

     In 843, the emperor's 12th son, Minamoto Toru (822-895), visited the hermitage, presented 8 hectares of land, built a full-scale temple, and named it Taiyu-ji as his name Toru was also pronounced Yu in the Chinese-style pronunciation.

     In the Siege of Osaka in 1615, the temple burned down.  It was revived at the turn of the 18th century.  The temple was reduced to ashes in one of 5 air raids in June, 1945.  The Sahasrabhuja statue, however, had been evacuated to Mt. Koya, and had a narrow escape from danger.

Address: 3-7 Taiyujicho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0051

Phone: 06-6311-5480

     After Taiyu-ji Temple, I made a pilgrimage in numeric order, and kept walking east.  I found Banryu-ji Temple on my left.  As the temple was closed, I made a ding-dong, and asked if I could pray to Avalokitesvara.  The priest kindly opened the door and told me they have no Avalokitesvara statue in their temple.  Where has it gone?  I, however, didn't grumble but quietly left the temple.  Some 33 Kannon Pilgrimages have lost some of their Avalokiteshvara statues in the tide of the times.

#2 Banryu-ji Temple

     Chofuku-ji Temple was founded in 1608 by Priest Jun'o.

     Chofuku-ji Temple was mentioned in a Joruri narrative song of Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725), the Love Suicide at Sonezaki, which was first performed in 1703: "First, the sky grows lighter.  Birds fly to Chofuku-ji second."

     Chofuku-maru was born on January 28, 1716.  His father, Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751), became the 8th shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1716.  Everybody and everything was supposed to shun using the heir’s name.  Chofuku-ji Temple changed its name to Banryu-ji.  "Banryu" means a coiled-up dragon.  That means a dragon before its flight.

     In 1834, temple buildings burned.  The temple was revived in 1849.  In 1945, the temple was pulled down to make a firebreak.  After World War II, the temple was rebuilt.  In 1966, the temple was moved to its present place.  The Yomiuri Newspaper Osaka Headquarters Building was built.

Address: 4-1 Nozakicho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0055

Phone: 06-6312-1578

     After Banryu-ji Temple, I turned west to find the #3 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which is said to have been moved to Entsu-in Temple after the 1868 Gods and Buddhas Separation Order.  Soon, I found the temple with a beauty salon in its precincts.  I opened the door, which automatically made a ding-dong, but nobody answered.  I found a hairdresser working in the salon, but nobody answered.  I gave up and left westward, trudging and ploding.  I wasn't lucky today.

#3 Entsu-in Temple

     Entsu-in Temple was founded in 1616, a year after the Siege of Osaka in 1615, when the Toyotomi Clan was destroyed by the Tokugawa Clan.

     On July 11th, 1834, a big fire broke out in Dojima Shin-Kita-machi (today's Dojima Naka, Kita Ward).  It burned 30 blocks and 3 villages.  The fire was extinguished next morning, but Entsu-in Temple burned down.

Address: 7-8 Toganocho, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0056

Phone: 06-6311-7022

     I kept walking westward, but I knew Hoju-ji Temple, the #4 member temple of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, has moved to Suita City, a suburb of Osaka.  After a while, I found Hokai-ji Temple on my right.

#5 Hokai-ji Temple

     Toyotomi Hideyoshi started building Osaka Castle in 1583 and finished it in 1598.  He also developed its castle town.  In 1593, he gathered the Buddhist temples there in 6 areas.  Hokai-ji Temple was moved to Nishitera-machi, Tenma, when Gonsai was its priest.

     If an outsider envies others' romance, that is called "hokai rinki".  The phrase "hokai" was said to have come from Hokai-ji Temple.  Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) used the phrase in his Joruri narrative song, the Love Suicide at Sonezaki: "Hokai-ji is harmful jealousy."  It is unknowable today whether his usage generated the phrase or he just quoted the phrase.  There are at least 11 Hokai-ji Temples in Japan.  If your mind and body circulates and propagates, you are in the world without difficulty or hindrance.  Such a world is called "hokai".

     Its original Avalokitesvara statue was burned down in World War II, and a new stone statue was built in the precincts.

Address: 15-2 Toganocho, Kita Ward, Osaka 530-0056

Phone: 06-6311-9085

     After Hokai-ji Temple, I continued to walk westward to find the site of Shinmei Shrine, where #3 deity was enshrined before the 1868 Gods and Buddhas Separation Order.

#3 Shinmei Shrine

     In the 9th century, where Osaka Castle is located today was the northern end of a peninsula, surrounded by the sea.  In the sea, there were some small islands.  An isle was at Nishitenma today.  Shinmei Shrine was founded on the isle by Minamoto Toru (822-895), the 12th son of Emperor Saga (786-842), enshrining the goddess of the sun.

     Isles grew bigger.  Some of them combined and formed an alluvial peninsula.  The alluvial peninsula cradled an inlet, and the inlet became Watanabe Port, which was a major port at the mouth of the Yodo River.  It means that Watanabe Port was a seaport for Kyoto, and the transshipment between sea ships and river boats was conducted in the port.  Religiously, pilgrims from Kyoto to Kumano sailed down the Yodo River, landed at the port, and took the Kumano Road from the port.

     In February, 1185, Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159-1189) assembled the navies of Watanabe, Kumano, and Iyo in Watanabe Port.  He contributed to Shinmei Shrine and prayed for his victory in the naval battle against the Taira Clan, who had evacuated to Yashima, Sanuki Province.

     Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) visited the shrine several times.  In the Edo Period, the Osaka Castle Deputy and Osaka commissioners visited the shrine annually.

     On July 11th, 1834, the shrine burned down.  In 1909, it burned down again, and was merged to Tsuyu Tenjin Shrine next year.

     I found Tsuyu Tenjin Shrine, which is popular among young couples, but not the site of Shinmei Shrine.  I was unlucky today.

Address: 2 Chome-5-36 Sonezaki, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0057

Phone: 06-6311-0895

The Site of Shinmei Shrine

Address: 1 Chome-6-6 Sonezaki, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0057

Day 7

      This time, I visited 3 member temples of the Osaka 33 Pilgrimage by car, which have evacuated from the City of Osaka.

#4 Hoju-ji Temple

     Hoju-ji Temple was founded by Priest Ryofu in 1599 in Nishi-Teramachi, or in today's Toganocho, Kitaward.  Presumably, it burned down in the Siege of Osaka from 1614 to 1615.  Its temple buildings were rebuilt in 1618.  In 1835, the Great Fire of Tenma burned the temple down, and it was rebuilt in 1838.  The first air raid on Osaka lasted for about three and a half hours from 23:57 on March 13rd, 1945, to 03:25.  A total of 274 B-29 heavy bombers attacked Osaka.  Its third wave of 124 bombers of the 73rd Bombardment Wing from Saipan arrived and attacked the Kita and Nishi wards.  The 3 waves of this bombing raid resulted in 3,987 dead and 678 missing and destroyed 21 square kilometers of the city in total, including Hoju-ji Temple and its Buddhist image of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, #4 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  The temple moved to its present place in 1971.

Address: 2 Chome-19-1 Senriyamahigashi, Suita, Osaka 565-0842

Phone: 06-6389-4876

#6 Daikyo-ji Tempe

     There used to be Myojo-ike Pond near Osaka Tenman-gu Shrine.  Ensho-ji Temple was founded by Priest Denko in 1593 near the pond.  The second priest, Raigan, changed its name to Daikyo-ji.

     On June 1st, 1945, 458 B-29s and 27 P-51s reached Osaka City and the air raid killed 3,960 people and destroyed 8.2 square kilometers of buildings including Daikyo-ji Temple.  The temple moved to its present place in 1963.

Address: 23-1 Satsukigaokaminami, Suita, Osaka 565-0832

Phone: 06-6388-2476

#17 Jugan-ji Temple

     Jugan-ji Temple was founded by Priest Unkai in Tanimachi on May 18th, 1594.  When the Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line was built, the temple moved to its present place in 1962, 5 years before the line began operations.  Its pagoda enshrines the 105-centimeters-tall statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses.

     The temple is located halfway up Mt. Ikoma, and I enjoyed a distant view of the City of Osaka.  Fudo-ji Temple used to be located in the precincts.  It was abolished in 1871.  With the view of Osaka City, my Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage ended.

Address: 12-3 Yamatecho, Higashiosaka, Osaka 579-8022

Phone: 072-981-2545

Day 8

The #16 Deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

     The #16 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage has experienced a checkered history.

     An image of Sakra, who is the ruler of the Trayastrimsa Heaven in Buddhist cosmology, was carved in the 11th century.  It is unknown when Washo-in Temple was founded, but it was after the sculpture of the image, which was brought to the temple after its foundation and was remade into an Avalokitesvara image.　

     The image is enshrined in the main hall of Joen-ji Temple today.  It is believed that it was originally a colored image, but no coloring remains, and its grains are exposed.  Except for the tip of the right wrist, the tip of the left arm, the belongings, and the tip of both ankles, everything is carved from a single tree.  There is no inner cavity.  A high topknot is tied on the head, and a crown base is also carved out.  A streak of hair crosses over each ear. The shape of the earlobe is unknown because the tips of the ear are missing.   Its eyes are also carved out.  The presence or absence of nostrils is also unknown due to wear.  Its uniform is notable for its wearing of armor with a stand-up collar.  The armor is expressed with a pattern of one vertical line and three horizontal lines passing through its chest.  Over the armor, it wears a kimono diagonally from the left shoulder.  The sleeves hang down, representing another kimono worn under the armor.  In addition, the lower half of the body is worn with another kimono.  Currently, it has nothing in its right hand.  Its left hand bends from the tip of its arm to pick up a water vase, which was added when it was transformed into Avalokitesvara.  It wears no shoes on its feet today.

     It is a single piece of wood with no inner mound, and structurally shows an old style. Although it is worn due to decay, it is characterized by a dynamic expression using the wave pattern that remains on the outer part of both sleeves. The face part is worn, but shows a gentle appearance.

     Due to an old-fashioned style in the expression of the wave style clothing, the structure without inner walls, the shallow carving with its gentle face, the image is presumed to have been carved in the 11th century.

     It is currently enshrined as a statue of Avalokitesvara, but since it is a statue in armor, it could have been originally created as a statue of either Sakra or Brahma.  Brahma statues are sometimes depicted wearing armor like the statues of Toshodai-ji Temple, but since most of them are wearing a robe, there is a high possibility that this standing statue is Sakra.

     Sculptures in the 11th century are rare in Osaka City.

     The Sakra statue was not originally handed down to Joen-ji Temple, but was deity of Wako-in Temple, which was the original #16 temple of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  The statue was known as Fujinodana Kannon (near 6-chome Tanimachi), which was mentioned in "Setsuyo Gundan" and "Settsu Meisho Zue Taisei".  Washo-in Temple was destroyed by fire in 1863 and moved to Shinmachi, Nishi Ward.  Presumably, the temple was abolished after the Meiji Restoration in 1868.  The statue moved to Hoshaku-an Temple in Mino City and then returned to Osaka in recent years.

     Having visited the original location of Washo-in Temple before, I visited Joko-ji Temple this time.

     As they detected abnormal noises, my train travel to Tsukamoto Station along JR Tokai Line became somewhat chaotic and my arrival was delayed.  Yet, its station square was very quiet.  It was one of many deserted station roads in Japan today with a deserted shopping street.

     I crossed a couple of traffic signals to find a kindergarten filled with the cheers of children.  It is often the case that a temple has an affiliated kindergarten.  I walked around it and found a Buddhist-temple-like building deep in the schoolyard with children running in front of it.  On the other side of the kindergarten, I found its gate.  In front of the gate, there stood a stone monument with the name of Josei-ji.  I made ding-dong only to be refused to worship in the temple.

     Later, I was walking through Shinmachi to find the trace of the relocated Washo-in Temple.  It was a waste of time.  The expulsion of Buddhism after the Meiji Restoration and the urbanization after World War II wiped out signs of things premodern.  Samuhara Shrine was in the nearby area, but it was founded in 1950 and was moved to Itachibori in 1961.  It’s quite modern.  I found a Presbyterian church in Shinmachi itself.  It was founded in 1879.  It’s quite modern, too.

     As religious institutions have tended to concentrate in an area, Washo-in Temple might have moved in this area.

     Anyway, I walked from Honmachi Station to Ashiharabashi Station.  It means I walked between the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 and #32.  The location could have been convenient for their pilgrims, too.

     As the #16 deity of the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage wandered around Osaka, so did I without finding any fruit.

Washo-in Temple

Address: 6 Chome-6-11 Tanimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 540-0012

Hoshaku-bo Temple

Address: 1-19 Minokoen, Mino, Osaka, 562-0002

Joen-ji Temple

Address: 3 Chome-10-4 Shinkitano, Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, 532-0025

Phone: 06-6304-0840

Samuhara Shrine

Address: 2 Chome-5-26 Itachibori, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0012

Phone: 06-6538-2251

Osakanishi Church

Address: 3 Chome−1−12 Shinmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka

Phone: 06-6531-6680