Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Gyokuen-ji Temple

 

     Gyokuen-ji Temple was founded in 1576 by Monk Yutoku, who died in 1586 at the age of 69.  The present priest is the 28th generation.  Yutoku's secular name was Sanada Hachiro, which is the same with the original name of Ishikawa Goemon (1558-1594), a legendary outlaw hero.

Address: 5 Chome-2-10 Kainochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0953

Phone: 072-221-1934

Sanuki no Suke’s Daiary (18)

 

     In the meantime, I received word from my sister, Fujiwara Kensi.  She heard that the Emperor had fallen critically ill.  She sent a maid to inquire about the details.

     "Even if you thought it's ominous for me to visit the Imperial Palace while I'm ill, I would like to come to the Imperial Palace and inquire about his condition even in my office.  I'd be worried if I stayed outside the palace."

     Then, Fujiwara Ieko sent me a message, "The Emperor is in great pain.  Please come back to his bedroom."

     So, I went in with the messenger.

     I saw that Ieko took the Emperor's back, and that Fujiwara Shishi was still groveling beside him, as before.  I knelt at his feet, and Ieko said,

"I called you here because the Emperor is in great pain.  Please hold his legs."

So I held them firmly.  She wiped the sweat from his face.

     Shishi said,

"You're here and the Emperor’s condition is stabilized like this.  I have something I would like to take care of.  I will go and do it."

     "Please, stay by his side," she said, and I groveled down beside him.

     After a while, as usual, the Emperor called Acharya Jokai over to the side of the folding screen and asked him to "recite Lotus Sutra Chapter 25: The Universal Gateway Or The Universal Door of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva for me," and Jokai recited with great dignity.  I wondered what the Emperor meant, but

"Recite the verse at the end of the chapter again," he ordered.  I thought he must have had some idea in mind, but I didn’t know what it was like.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Kensei-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Kensei-ji Temple was founded in Shinzaike-tera-machi Township, Sakai Town, Izumi Province.

     According to the Great Sakai Map in 1689, there were Chokei-ji Temple, Enmyo-ji Temple, Enryu-ji Temple, Hosen-ji Temple, Amida-ji Temple, and Enmyo-ji Temple to the north of Juman-koji Alley, which divides the township in 2, and Chosen-ji Temple, Shioana-ji Temple, Go'nen-ji Temple, Kensei-ji Temple, Koutoku-ji Temple, Sensho-ji Temple, Kotaku-ji Temple, and Shomyo-ji Temple to the south.  It isn’t recorded where Juman-koji Alley ran, but, due to the distribution of the temples, the alley must have been the one between 4 Chome-3 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964, and 4 Chome-4 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964.

     Why is the alley called Juman-koji Alley?

     Monk Onkei copied the Amitabha Sutra.  It is unknown how he counted the sutra, but, according to him, the sutra had 100,000 volumes.  100,000 is juman in Japanese, and he was called Juman-shonin, or Monk Juman.  When he founded a temple in 1490, the temple was called Juman-ji Temple, which was originally located along the beach of Yanaginocho Township (today's 2 Chome Yanaginochonishi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0930), Sakai Town, Izumi Province.  The temple was approved by Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado (1442-1500), who gave the temple the name plate Hiden-in in 1501.

     Why was Juman-ji Temple given the name Hiden-in?

     Usually, Hiden-in is supposed to be the Buddhist temple in Kyoto.  Originally, Hiden-in were facilities established to help the poor and orphans based on the Buddhist concept of compassion.

     Tradition has it that the first Hiden-in in Japan was established by Prince Shotoku (574-622) as one of the 4 houses at Shitenno-ji Temple in Osaka, following the example of the Sui Dynasty in China.  The 4 houses were Hiden-in, Keiden-in, Seyaku-in, and Ryobyo-in Houses.

     According to the Fuso Ryakuki, a Japanese historical text compiled at the end of the 12th century by Priest Koen (1074-1169), Empress Komyo (701-760), then Crown Princess, established Seyaku-in and Hiden-in Houses at Kofuku-ji Temple in 723.

     During the Heian Period (794-1185), Seyaku-in and Hiden-in Houses were established in the east and west of Heian-kyo Capital, and were placed under the management of the Hidenin and Seyakuin Bureaus, which were also established by Empress Komyo as part of the Imperial Household Agency.

     During the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), Ninsho (1217-1303), who founded 83 temples,  established 5 Hiden-in-like houses and gave 33,000 items of clothing to medieval outcasts.  The houses subsequently became bases for medieval outcasts.

     Hiden-in Temple, currently one of the sub-temples of Sennyu-ji Temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, is said to be the successor of the Hiden-in Houses of Heian-kyo Capital.  The place name Hiden-in-cho remains as Hidenincho, Tennoji Ward, Osaka, 543-0055.  Hiden-in-cho is near JR and subway Tennoji Station, located at the southern end of Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, where Shitenno-ji Temple is located.

     The fact that Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado (1442-1500) gave the temple the name plate Hiden-in might have shown that the Imperial Court approved Juman-ji Temple as one of Hiden-in Houses.

     Sakai Town was burned in 1615 in the Siege of Osaka, and the temple was revived later, divided into 2: Kita-Juman-ji Temple, namely North Juman-ji Temple; and Minami-Juman-ji Temple, namely South Juman-ji Temple.  As Emperor Go-Mizuno (1596-1680) presented Kita-juman-ji Temple the name plate Kitajuman, Juman-ji Temple should have been divided before 1680.  Anyway, Kita-Juman-ji Temple became an official Buddhism temple under the Tokugawa Shogunate, approved by the Imperial Court.  Later, Kita-juman-ji Temple became Hiden-in Temple, and Minami-Juman-ji Temple became Chosen-ji Temple.

     Onkei had pity on wifeless old men, husbandless old women, orphans, and childless old people.  He housed them within the temple precincts.  Their descendants continued to live within the precincts, but in 1811 they were forced to move north outside the precincts of Kita-Juman-ji Temple to the west of Inari-sha Shrine, and the place was called Juman Nagaya, or Juman Row House.

     Juman-koji Alley could have run within Minami-Juman-ji Temple.  It is unknown if Kensei-ji Temple was a branch of Minami-Juman-ji Temple.  It is also unknown  if Kensei-ji Temple had something to do with housing the poor and orphans.

Address: 4 Chome-2-14 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-222-2332

Hiden-in Temple

Address: 35 Sennyuji Yamanouchicho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0977

Phone: 075-561-8781

Sen'yu-ji Temple

Address: 27 Sennyuji Yamanouchicho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0977

Phone: 075-561-1551

Shitenno-ji Temple

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

Phone: 06-6771-0066

Enmei-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-1-6 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-233-2435

Enryu-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-1-5 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-238-8297

Amida-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-1-22 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-222-1316

Enmei-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-1-16 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-238-1076

Chosen-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome−2−25, Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-233-2162

Sensho-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-3-17 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-233-6393

Kotaku-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-3-4 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-238-0457

Shomyo-ji Temple

Address: 4 Chome-3-15 Shinzaikechohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0964

Phone: 072-223-1905

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Jomyo-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Hokoku-san Jomyo-ji Temple was founded in No'nin-machi Township, Sakai Town, Izumi Province.  The temple belonged to Pure Land Buddhism and was a branch of Seijoke-in Temple.

     It is also unknown when it was abolished.

     No'nin-machi was inside the moat surrounding Sakai Town along the eastern moat.

This narrow, north-south stretch of township was the domicile of ​​farmers from Kitasho, Nakasuji, Henomatsu, and Minato Villages, which were located in the east and south of Sakai Town.

     In 1615, the flames of the Siege of Osaka led to the peasants around Sakai fleeing.  The Tokugawa Shogunate ordered the peasants to return to their homes when the shogunate rehabilitated the town.  The Town Plan expanded the city, incorporating some land of the villages into the moat, resulting in a land reclamation of over 216,000 litters of rice worth.  To replace these losses, No'nin-machi Town was allocated inside the moat.

     Jomyo-ji Temple could have been founded for the peasants living in No'nin-machi Township.  As the township was long and narrow, whereabout of the temple is unknown but it was located somewhere in today’s 6 Chome Ichinochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0952, when the History of Sakai City was published in 1930.

No'nin-machi Well  Site

Address: 2 Chome-3 Yanaginochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0933

Seijoke-in Temple

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

Phone: 075-231-2550

Trees In the Town

 

Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Hase-dera Temple

 

      Hase-dera Temple was in the old part of Sakai.  There were streets in plaid.  One day, I drove from street to street, turning at a right angle.  The temple was at the corner of Shukuin Dori, one of the widest streets in Sakai, and a one-way street.

     You know Hase-dera Temple in Nara, don’t you?  It's very famous.  It was established in 727.  Emperor Shomu (701-756) is known for building a Kokubun-ji Temple in each province.  He had such strong faith in Buddhism that he built New Hase-dera Temples in provinces too.  The Hase-dera Temple in Sakai is said to have been built in 753 as the first one.  Although tradition says that Tokudo (656-?) founded the temple, the year 753 seems too late for him to found it.  It is recorded that he retired in Yamato Province in 735.

     The temple used to have a big main hall and 6 sub-temples in its precincts.  In the Medieval days, however, Sakai became an international port, and the temple had to give way to the commercial use of the land.  In 1945 during World War II, the bombing of Osaka burnt down the temple buildings.  The evacuation beforehand saved the deity from flames.  Today, a small ferroconcrete building stands as a relic of the golden age, with the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue in it as the token of prosperity.

     The temple still keeps a copy of the Origin of Hasedera Temple.  The oldest copy, that is kept in the Tokugawa Art Museum, is said to have been made in the 14th century. The copy in Sakai is supposed to have been made in the 16th century, when Sakai Port flourished.

     Hase-dera Temple is also the #10 member temple of the Izumi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 3 Chome-2-5 Shukuinchohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0955

Phone: 072-232-6577

Hase-dera Temple

Address: 731-1 Hase, Sakurai, Nara 633-0112

Phone: 0744-47-7001

The Tokugawa Art Museum

Address: 1017 Tokugawacho, Higashi Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 461-0023

Phone: 052-935-6262

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Choraku-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Choraku-ji Temple was founded.  It is sandwiched between Joan-ji and Chozen-ji Temples, with its 6-meter-wide precincts and without its own graveyard.   It could have been built as no more than a hermitage.

     Futai-san Choraku-ji Temple belongs to the Omuro School of the Shingon Sect and is a branch of Ninna-ji Temple.

Address: 5 Chome-1-14 Kumanochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0946

Phone: 072-233-5384

Joan-ji Temple

Address: 5 Chome−1−12 Kumanochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0946

Phone: 072-222-1387

Chozen-ji Temple

Address: 5 Chome-1-18 Kumanochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0946

Phone: 072-232-2671

Ninna-ji Temple

Address: 33 Omuroouchi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8092

Phone: 075-461-1155

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Saifuku-ji Temple

 

     Saifuku-ji Temple was founded in 1615 by Priest Koshu, who was born to the Kihara Family in Izumi Province and studied the Pure Land Buddhism under Priest Kokaku (1539-1593), who had been born to the Iida Family in Kai Province, of Daigan-ji Temple in Shimousa Province.  The Iida Family used to be subject to the Takeda Clan, and moved to today's Nakajima, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0008 in Kazusa Province when Takeda Nobutora (1494-1574) was banished from Kai Province by his son, Harunobu (1521-1573), in 1541.

Address: 5 Chome-1-23 Ebisunochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0945

Daigan-ji Temple

Address: Daiganji-cho 180, Chuo Ward, Chiba 260-0812

Phone: 043-261-2917

Sanuki no Suke’s Daiary (17)

 

     After the precepts were administered and Priest Kensen left, the Emperor summoned Acharya Jokai (1074-1149), who had served the Emperor for a long time, and who was his mother’s brother by a different mother, to his bedside and the Emperor said,

"Read the sutra to me.  This will be the last time I hear Jokai's voice."

     The Emperor seemed extremely distressed, and no longer had even the energy to shed tears.  Who could remain calm when hearing such words?  No one could contain themselves.  Jokai didn't reply for quite a while, nor was his voice chanting the sutra.  I thought, "Perhaps, he is trying to hold back tears, too."

     After a while, I heard Jokai chanting in a scarcely audible voice.  He was reading the prose leading to the Bhikkhu Verse in Lotus Sutra Chapter 2: Expedient Means.  The Emperor listened attentively, and from the line, "The Buddha's mighty virtue has passed away from the people," he joined his voice in Jokai’s reading slowly but smoothly.  His voice was so noble, as if Jokai's voice was being drowned out.  Jokai read the part to the Emperor in particular.  It was probably because he had heard that the Emperor recited volumes one and two by heart in the morning and evening.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Joan-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Shinko-zan Kannon-ji Temple was founded.  It was ruined with only its main hall as Kannon-ji Temple and a branch named Hakutei-an Hermitage left at the turn of the 17th century.  The hermitage enshrined the Amitabha Triad with Amitabha in its center, Avalokitesvara on its left, and Mahasthamaprapta on its right.  In 1607, Priest Joen revived the temple, supported by the Kaneda Family, who was a business tycoon in Sakai, renaming the temple Shinko-zan Joan-ji after the Buddhist name of the then head of the family.

     Sakai was burned down in 1615 during the Siege of Osaka.  In 1616, the temple was rebuilt by Joan's son, Masamori.  The Amitabha Triad of Hakutei-an Hermitage is Joan-ji Temple's main deity.

     The temple has a Kannon-do Hall.  The Amidabha standing statue mentioned above was repaired in 1342.  That means the statue dates back much earlier.  It is unknown if the Avalokitesvara image in the Kannon-do hall is that of Ex-Kannon-ji Temple.  The image is known as Haraobi-Kannon, or the Belly Band Avalokitesvara.  Although it is unknown why it is called so, it is worshipped for its childcare support.

Address: 5 Chome−1−12 Kumanochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0946

Phone: 072-222-1387

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Kiun-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Kiun-ji Temple was founded and when and why it was abolished, but it was located somewhere around the Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Senzo-in Temple and the #5 Joan-ji Temple.

     As the posthumous Buddhist name of Miyoshi Yukinaga (1458-1520), was Kiun, the temple could have had something to do with him.

     For your information, in 1467, Miyoshi Yukinaga (1458-1520) was only 9 years old.  Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430-1473) and Yamana Mochitoyo (1404-1473) started the Onin War, which lasted till 1477.  In the war, Hosokawa Shigeyuki (1434-1511) advanced to Kyoto to support Katsumoto in 1467.  Yukinaga was sent to Kyoto to work for Shigeyuki's camp.  At the age of 9?  Presumably, he functioned as a partner of male homosexuality.  After coming into his adolescence, he might have become rebellious.  He abruptly fled and came back to Awa Province in 1471.  He even shut himself in the hills of the Iya Valley.  Finally, he was brought back by Shigeyuki's son, Masayuki (1455-1488).

     After the Onin War, Yukinaga showed his talent.  Shigemoto stayed in Kyoto and so did Yukinaga.  After the war, the shogunate lost its authority.  Not only local samurai but even peasants became rebellious.  Yukinaga was good at enticing and organizing those with rebellious minds.  Soon, he was suspected to be a wirepuller of frequent uprisings of peasants, carriers, and other townspeople around Kyoto.

     On June 11th, 1485, Yukinaga tried to rescue his man who was captured as a robber.  The attempt was stopped by Hosokawa Masamoto (1466-1507), Katsumoto's son.  In August in the same year, an uprising broke out in Kyoto.  Yukinaga was suspected to be the ringleader of it, and his lodging was surrounded by Masamoto and Taga Takatada (1425-1486), a chief of the Police Department, on August 8th.  The information of the domiciliary visit, however, had been leaked to Yukinaga, and he had asked Masayuki for his protection the previous night.  Masamoto and Takatada then surrounded the residence of Masayuki.  He dodged their accusation, and Masamoto and Takatada withdrew.  Unbelievably, Yukinaga started provoking people just the following day, and robbed pawn shops of pledge on 14th.

     Masayuki's favor to Yukinaga made even some of Masayuki's vassals jealous, and they pulled out back to Awa Province.  In October, Masayuki and Yukinaga, far from regretting what they had done, went back to Awa Province and suppressed them.  After these incidents, Yukinaga became a man in the news in Kyoto.

     When Masayuki died young in 1488, his brother, Yoshiharu (1468-1495), succeeded to the Guardian Samurai of Awa Province, and Yukinaga became a vassal of him.  Meanwhile, Masamoto didn't have a son and adopted Yoshiharu's second son, Sumimoto (1489-1520), as the Awa-Hosokawa Family was second to Keicho-Hosokawa Family.  On February 19th, 1506, Yukinaga was dispatched to Kyoto as Sumimoto's butler to command an advance party.  Accordingly, he became a vassal of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.  In August, he advanced to Yamato Province under Masamoto's order.  Yukinaga was as shrewd as ever.  He embarked on the conflicts over taxation powers as a butler of Sumimoto.  It meant he took risks for Sumimoto in power struggles among central powerful families, and that gave him important lessons.  Those experiences and his own potential to organize rebellious moods brought him up to be an important figure even in the central political circles.  His up-and-coming emergence, however, raised jealousies and envy among conventional central samurai of his peers, such as Hosokawa Hisaharu (?-1519), the head of Awaji-Hosokawa Family, and Kozai Motonaga (?-1507), who was dispatched from Masamoto to Sumimoto as another butler.

     Hosokawa Masamoto (1466-1507) brought the height of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family, but, absorbed in Shugen-do, Japanese mountain asceticism, neither married nor had his biological child.  He adopted 2 sons, and that brought about infighting within the Keicho-Hosokawa Family and their vassals, and, geopolitically speaking, the war around Kyoto.  In the meanwhile, Yukinaga grew up to be broad-minded and appealed even to local samurai not only around Kyoto in Yamashiro Province and Sakai in Izumi Province, but also in surrounding provinces, such as Settsu, Kawachi, and Omi Provinces.

     Masamoto first adopted Sumiyuki (1489-1507) on February 13th, 1491, the second son of Kujo Masamoto (1445-1516), the Prime Minister of the Imperial Court.  As Sumiyuki reached his puberty, the relationship between the two became strained, and Masamoto adopted Sumimoto (1489-1520) in May, 1503.  Sumimoto's father, Yoshiharu (1468-1495), was the head of the Awa-Hosokawa Family and the Guardian Samurai of Awa Province.

     The adoption of 2 boys caused distraction among the vassals of Masamoto.  His old vassals, such as Kozai Motonaga (?-1507) and Yakushiji Nagatada (?-1507), had believed Sumiyuki would become the next head of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.  Yukinaga, on the other hand, supported Sumimoto as a matter of course.  On May 29th, 1507, Motonaga and Nagatada tempted Masamoto's secretary to assassinate him.  Sumimoto and Yukinaga were staying in Budha-ji Temple in Kyoto.  On 24th, Motonaga and Nagatada attacked the temple.  Yukinaga guarded Sumimoto, and fled to Aochi Castle in Omi Province.  Aochi Nagatsuna sent them further east, counting on Yamanaka Tametoshi in Koga County, Omi Province.

     Motonaga and Nagatada put Sumiyuki forward as the new head of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.  Sumiyuki blatantly and unashamedly held the funeral of the late Masamoto, and was accepted as the head of Keicho-Hosokawa Family by Ashikaga Yoshizumi (1481-1511), the 11th Shogun.  However, other branch-Hosokawa Families were discontented with the situation.  Hosokawa Takakuni (1484-1531) from the Yashu-Hosokawa Family, who were based in Bicchu Province, successfully put those families together, and killed Motonaga and Nagatada on August 1st.  The following day, Yukinaga and Sumimoto returned to Kyoto.  Sumimoto met with Yoshizumi, and was approved of his inauguration to the head of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.

     Takakuni, however, wasn't a simple person.  He claimed that he had been adopted by Masamoto, and looked for a chance to be the head of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.

     A chance came along with the form of a pinch for Takakuni.  The 10th Shogun, Yoshitane (1466-1523), lived in exile in Suo Province under Ouchi Yoshioki (1477-1529).  The assassination of Masamoto and the disorder in the aftermath seemed a chance for Yoshitane and Yoshioki. On November 25th, they left Suo Province.  In December, they reached Bingo Province, which lay just west to Bicchu Province, where Takakuni was based.  For those in Kyoto, the advance of Yoshitane and Yoshioki should have looked like a pinch.  Actually, Sumimoto dispatched Takakuni to negotiate with Yoshioki over peace.  Takakuni, however, saw a chance in the pinch.  On March 17th, 1508, Takakuni abruptly insisted that he should visit Ise Shrine to pray for peace, and he actually did visit Ise Province, counting on his cousin, Niki Takanaga, there.  Accordingly, the peace negotiations collapsed.  Takakuni got a consensus with powerful and influential local samurai around Kyoto, such as Itami Motosuke (?-1529), Naito Sadamasa (?-1525), Kagawa Mototsuna, and Kozai Kunitada, that Yoshitane should take over Yoshizumi's shogunate.  They entered Kyoto on April 9th.  Under their pressure, Sumimoto and Yukinaga escaped to Koga County again, and Yoshizumi fled to Omi Province.  They joined Yoshitane and Yoshioki, and seized power together.  Takakuni was appointed to be the head of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.

     On April 27th, 1508, Ashikaga Yoshitane (1466-1523) and Ouchi Yoshioki (1477-1529) landed on Sakai, Izumi Province.  On May 5th, Yoshitane approved Hosokawa Takakuni to be the head of the Keicho-Hosokawa Family.  On June 8th, Yoshitane and Yoshioki entered Kyoto.  On July 1st, Yoshitane became the Shogun, and rewarded Yoshioki for his military contribution with the Sakai-Minami Manor in Izumi Province.  Then Yoshioki revealed his nature, or the Ouchi Clan's character.

     The Ouchi Clan was a kind of a transit trader.  They had benefited from importing advanced and sophisticated products from the continent and selling them to the Royal Families, aristocratic families, temples, and shrines.  As the head of the clan, Yoshioki wasn't interested in a manor around Kyoto or Sakai.  He returned the manor, which had been misappropriated by samurai, to the original owner, Sokoku-ji Temple.  That, despite Yoshioki's intentions, opened Pandora's box.  For example, Todai-ji Temple demanded Yoshioki to give back their original manor in Suo Province.  Yoshioki's "goodwill" was favored by temples but provoked dissatisfaction among his local samurai.

     In a seesaw battle against Miyoshi Yukinaga, Yoshioki fought rather advantageously for 4 years.  His efforts paid.  The Ashikaga Shogunate authorized him to trade with the Ming Dynasty.  The authorization didn't satisfy Yoshioki's local samurai at all, but provoked Takakuni's hostility toward Yoshioki.  The hostility led to the Nimbo Incident in 1523.

     In 1513, Yoshioki's dissatisfied samurai withdrew from the battlefront in Kyoto and revolted against him especially in Aki Province, which was located along the Seto Inland Sea between Suo Province and Kyoto.  The resistance meant the instability of the sea lane in the Seto Inland Sea.  In the same year, along the Sea of Japan, Amago Tsunehisa (1458-1541) started invading Yoshioki's territory to capture silver mines.  In 1518, Yoshioki returned to Suo Province, and died in 1528.  His son, Yoshitaka (1507-1551), was cornered by his vassal, Sue Harukata (1521-1555), and killed himself along with his family.  The Ouchi Clan collapsed.

     Let's get back to the Miyoshi Family.  Seesaw battles went on between the 2 camps, yet Yukinaga gradually lagged behind.  On August 27th, 1509, Yukinaga's 2 elder sons, Nagahide and Yorizumi, were cornered and committed suicide.  On May 11th, 1520, Yukinaga and his 2 younger sons were killed.

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary (16)

 

     As usual, I went up to the Emperor's side and offered him ice and other things.

     The ministers arrived, and said, "Now, bring in Priest Kensen."  They placed the chimes and other items from the prayer room and prepared for the precepts.  When the priest arrived, they set up a folding screen between the Emperor and the priest.  The Chancellor ordered, "Bring the Emperor’s robe here."  So I did.  I was supposed to wash the Emperor’s hands with water, but there seemed no way for him to get up, so I wetted some paper and wiped his hands, which was truly sad.  I brought his crown and other things.  He barely placed the crown on him, and I draped the robe over his shoulders.  He seemed to want to insert the string into the loop, and tried repeatedly.  His hands were so swollen that he couldn't insert the string.  My eyes were blinded by tears as I gazed upon him.  I could barely see clearly.

     Priest Kensen rang the bell and explained the purpose of the precepts.

     "Because Your Majesty received the Ten Good Precepts in your previous life and never broke them, you have long maintained the rank proper to the Ten Good Precepts in this life.  Your Majesty respects Buddhism, and has compassion for all people.  No emperor, from ancient times to the present, has ever lived like this.  Now, as a sign of your receiving the precepts tonight, may your illness be quickly eliminated and your life be extended to one hundred years."

     Hearing this, it sounded as if the Emperor’s illness would be cured in an instant, and it was truly a blessing.

     The Emperor received precepts, and said, "I will certainly maintain them.  I will certainly maintain them."  The ministers asked,

     "Does Your Majesty say you will maintain them?"

     The Emperor nodded.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Senzo-in Temple

 

     It is unknown when Uho-zan Senzo-in Temple was founded.  It belongs to the Shingon Sect and is a branch of Kongobu-ji Temple.  It has a main hall, a kitchen, and a guest hall.  Its precincts are 370 square meters in size.  It has a wooden statue of the Eleven-Faced Thousand-armed Sahasrabhuja, and a letter by Konoe Nobutada (1565–1614), a noble man known as a poet, calligrapher, painter and diarist.

Address: 4 Chome-3-15 Kumanochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0946

Phone: 072-232-0805

Kongobu-ji Temple

Address: 132 Koyasan, Koya, Ito District, Wakayama 648-0211

Phone: 0736-56-2011

Trees In the Town