Virtual Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Joraku-ji Temple

 

     Sakai Kitasho Manor was developed in the southern end of Enatsu Village, Sumiyoshi County, Settsu Province, in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) and lasted through the Sengoku Period (1467-1568).

     In the late Heian Period(794-1185), a port developed on the coast facing Osaka Bay near the border between Settsu and Izumi Provinces.  The port came to be called Sakai-tsu, namely Border Port.  Markets were formed on both sides of a small alleyway that ran east-west roughly along the border.  Sakai Kitasho Manor was developed in the area north of the alleyway as Royal territory.  It was originally the property of Saishoko-in Temple, which used to be located in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto.  The temple was founded in 1173 by Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192) at the request of his concubine, Taira Shigeko (1142-1176).  It was later ceded to Emperor Go-Toba (1127-1192), but was temporarily confiscated by the Kamakura Shogunate during the Jokyu War in 1221 and later donated to Cloistered Emperor Gotakakura (1179-1223).

     The manor was first documented in the Order for the Construction of the Nenbutsu-ji Temple Repository and Other Facilities, dated February 5th, 1234.  According to the document, the construction of a building in the Kitasho Manor was planned in 1214, and its framework-raising ceremony was held in April, 1215.  According to Saishoko-in Temple Manor's Inventory dated March, 1325, the original annual tax payments consisted of 360 litres of oil, 2 rolls of twill (1 for the Lotus Sutra Lecture in July and 1 for the monthly death anniversary in December), and 7 soldiers.  However, after the middle of the 13th century, the taxes became 1,000 coins.  The lord of the manor was Fujiwara Sadako (1196-1302), whose 2 grandsons and 2 great-grandsons became Emperors.  The manor was later passed down to the Daikakuji Line of the Royal Family.  On April 22nd, 1336, Emperor Godaigo (1288-1393), who belonged to the line, issued an Imperial decree to the chief priest of Sumiyoshi Shrine, confirming the priest's ownership of the manor.  The Southern Court also issued an Imperial edict, granting the Sumiyoshi Shrine Family the stewardship and local ownership of the manor.

     The hegemony of the Southern Court forces in southern Settsu Province and northern Izumi Province remained powerful until around the end of the 1360's.  After Southern Court commander-in-chief Kusunoki Masanori (1333-1389) defected to the Northern Court in 1369, the power of the Northern Court forces strengthened.  In May, 1373, the Retired Emperor Go-Kogon (1338-1374) of the Northern Court attempted to donate 3 years' worth of the taxes from Sakaiura Port in Izumi Province to the repair office of Todaiji Hachiman-gu Shrine.  The attempt was documented in the Retired Emperor Go-Kogon's Imperial Edict, dated May 9th, which is kept in Todaiji documents, but this did not go smoothly.  In June, 1376, the taxes from Sakaiura Port in Settsu Province were donated, and Todai-ji Temple dispatched a chief monk to the port to collect the taxes, according to the entry dated June 11th of the Records of Monk Sotetsu's Conducts.

     It is unknown when Tenjin-sha Shrine was invited to the manor.  It is also unknown when Joraku-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.

     In 1872, Tenjin-sha Shrine was renamed Sugawara Shrine.  The shrine claims it was founded in 997, less than 1 century after Sugawara Michizane (845-903).  After his death by misfortune, the Imperial Court was afraid of his curses and apotheosized him in Kitano-Tenman-gu Shrine in 947.  In 993, he was appointed as Prime Minister.  The invitation of the shrine in 997 seems a little bit too early.

Sugawara Shrine

Address: 2 Chome-1-38 Ebisunochohigashi, Sakai Ward, Sakai, Osaka 590-0945

Saoshoko-in Temple Site

Address: Shimoikedacho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0966

Phone: 072-232-2450

Todai-ji Temple

Address: 406-1 Zoshicho, Nara, 630-8587

Phone: 0742-22-5511