Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Muryoko-ji Temple

 

     Matsudaira Tadakuni (1597-1659) assumed that Muryoko-ji Temple to be Hama-no-tachi, or Beach Residence, where Shining Prince, the protagonist of the Tale of Genji, stayed.  The alley which runs in front of the temple is called Tsuta-no-komichi, and it is assumed to be the route through which the Shining Prince went to Oka-no-tachi Residence, where Princess Akashi lived.  Of course, everyone and everything is make-believe.

     Zenraku-ji Temple nearby has not only Monk Akashi Stone Monument and the pine tree which Shining Prince watched, but also other historic landmarks: the five-ringed stupa Taira Kiyomori (1118-1181) built and the garden Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) made.  It's full of tourist resources.  By choosing Jisso-in and Muyoko-ji Temples as its #1 and #2 member temples, the organizer of the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage might have tried to attract literary nerds to the pilgrimage and thus to increase the number of its pilgrims or sightseers.

     Muryoko-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Now, the infinite light appears,

And the retribution is cleared,

In Urayama with the Moon shining.

Address: 10-11 Taikancho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0897

Phone: 078-912-8839

Zenraku-ji Temple

Address: 11 Taikancho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0897