Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized in Akashi County, Harima Province, in 1685.  It isn’t recorded why and by whom the pilgrimage was organized.  If you don’t mind my speculating why and by whom as I please, the organization could have had something to do with when it was organized.

     To begin with, the 5th lord of the Akashi Domain, Matsudaira Tadakuni (1597-1659), arrived at Akashi in 1649.  He was a literature nerd.  As you may know, Japanese people love to carry out Seichi-Junrei, namely Religious Pilgrimage, but actually to visit the location sites of literature works, movies, and even anime.  In anime’s cases, we even assume that this and that real places are actually related to this and that scenes in certain anime, and we make pilgrimages according to those assumptions.  Tadakuni did what we do today.

     Tadakuni assumed that certain places were the places where the stories of Tale of Genji took place.  In the Tale of Genji, Monk Akashi and Princess Akashi lived in Oka-no-tachi, or Hill Residence.  They are all imaginary, but Tadakuni built even a five-ringed tower grave for Monk Akashi and identified the pine tree which the Shining Prince, who stayed at Hama-no-tachi, or Beach Residence, looked at and the alley through which he visited the princess.  Tadakuni even composed tanka poems for the places and built stone monuments there with his tanka poems inscribed.  Some of them became “holy places” for literature nerds like him.  Some temples became popular enough to attract more worshipers, and accordingly increase their income.

     Tadakuni and his son, Nobuyuki (1631-1686), were good owners and managers of the domain.  After Nobuyuki moved out, however, Honda Masatoshi (1641-1707) came.  During his reign, the people of the domain complained to the inspector, pointing out that the domain administration was "inhumane."  Masatoshi was dismissed on February 2nd, 1682, and Matsudaira Tadanao (1656-1721) arrived.

     The domain needed to be put back on track.  Organizing a 33 Kannon pilgrimage could decrease the number of outbound pilgrims or tourists, and, if the pilgrimage could attract some nerds, increase the number of inbound tourists.  It even increased the income of 33 temples and that could help stabilize public morals.