Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Gessho-ji Temple

 

     In 811, Kukai (774-835) founded Yoryu-ji Temple on Akamatsuyama Hill, where Akashi Castle was built centuries later.  In 887, Priest Kakusho of the temple enshrined the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue which had been the personal guardian Buddhist image of Kakinomoto Hitomaro (662-710) and changed the name of the temple to Gessho-ji.  In 1574, the temple converted from Shingon Buddhism to Caodong Chan Buddhism.  In 1621, its precincts became part of Akashi Castle, and, in 1622, the new buildings of Gessho-ji Temple were completed at their current locations.  In 1744, the mountain's name was changed to Hitomaro-san after Kakinomoto Hitomaro, presumably to increase the number of its visitors.  In 1871, Hitomaro-sha Shrine was separated from Gessho-ji Temple due to the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order issued in 1868 and it was renamed Kakimoto-jinja Shrine.

     During the Edo Period (1603-1867), peace continued, the art of waka poetry flourished, and faith in Hitomaro grew.  In 1723, at the 1,000th anniversary of Hitomaro's death, Hitomaro-sha Shrine was granted the divine title of Shoichii Kakimoto Daimyojin.  Retired Emperor Reigen (1654-1732) donated large square cards of the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, of which Hitomaro was a member, Emperor Sakuramachi (1720-1750) donated a troupe of short registers (formerly a national treasure and important cultural property) and the strips of paper with his 50 tanka poems, and Empress Go-Sakuramachi (1740-1813) gave the strips of paper with her tanka poems.  Since then, literary figures and artists have continued to visit the temple, and the temple has also received many donations of calligraphy and paintings.  Most of them are preserved at the Akashi Municipal Cultural Museum.  In 1972, a grand celebration was held to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Hitomaro's death, with numerous tanka and haiku poems submitted from all over Japan.  In addition, many books were published, including The Gessho-ji Temple Legend, The Manyo People's View of Nature, and Basho's Haiku Theory.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Namo Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha

Among Akashi Lagoon and the moonlit hills,

May the blessings of Hitomaro be profound.

Address: 1-29 Hitomarucho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0877

Phone: 078-911-4947

Kakinomoto Shrine

Address: 1-26 Hitomarucho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0877

Phone: 078-911-3930

Akashi Municipal Cultural Museum

Address: 2-chome-13-1 Uenomaru, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0846

Phone: 078-918-5400

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Chorin-ji Temple

 

     When Emperor Tohodi (683-707) reigned from 697 to 707, Gyoki (668-749) found 7 Bhaisajyaguru in the tops of a pine tree along the beach.  He carved the 7 statues himself and built a temple, naming it Chorin-ji Temple.

     In Taisan-ji Temple, it is Fujiwara Umakai (694-737) who made the 7 Bhaisajyaguru images (the Akashi Seven Yakushi Buddhas).  Anyway, Chorin-ji Temple is a member of the Akashi Seven Yakushi Buddhas.  

     Chorin-ji Temple was destroyed by fire during the Onin War (1467-1477).  In 1491, fundraising was carried out to construct a main hall.  It was later rebuilt between 1711 and 1716 in the Edo Period (1603-1867).  The main hall and other buildings were destroyed in an air raid on Akashi in July, 1945.  They were rebuilt again in 1949.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

We will always rely on Chorin-ji Temple,

Where the pine trees have been standing for a long time,

Which should have listened to the Buddhism teachings.

Address: 9-4 Zaimokucho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0893

Phone: 078-911-4727

Taisan-ji Temple

Address: Zenkai-224 Ikawadani-chō, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2108

Phone: 078-976-6658

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Horin-ji Temple

 

     Horin-ji Temple was founded in 1705 by Priest Yushin.  Its wooden standing statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, is supposed to have been made in the 12th century.  It is unknown how the temple got such an old statue.

     Yushin is said to have worked for the Settsu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #3 Kanno-ji Temple, which is supposed to have been founded in the 9th century.  He could have brought the statue from Kan'no-ji Temple.

     Horin-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Sin and guilt vanish here

In the temple facing the sea

In the snowy evening.

Address: 14-5 Zaimokucho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0893

Phone: 078-911-4803

Kan'no-ji Temple

Address: 25-1 Kabutoyamacho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 662-0001

Phone: 0798-72-1172

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Komyo-ji Temple

 

     Komyo-ji Temple was founded in Mino County, Harima Province, sometime between 1321 and 1324 by Priest Shin'yo.  Ogasawara Tadazane (1596-1667) started building Akashi Castle and its castle town in 1617 and Komyo-ji Temple was moved to its present place in 1619 to form the castle town.

     However, there is still another Komyo-ji Temple in Miki City.  It is unrecorded when the Komyo-ji Temple was founded in Miki Castle Town, Mino County, Harima Province.

     In 1578, the Bessho Family held Miki Castle against Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598).  By January, 1580, food supplies in the castle had already run out, and the "starvation of Miki" continued.  Meanwhile, Hideyoshi attacked the subsidiary fortress and forts of the castle, capturing Miyanoue Fort, which was defended by Bessho Tomoyuki (1560-1580), on the 6th, and Takaoyama Fortress, which was defended by Bessho Yoshichika (?-1580), on the 11th, leaving only the main castle.  On the 14th, Bessho Shigemune (1529-1591), who sided with Hideyoshi, advised the castle's samurai that the castle lord's family would commit seppuku suicide to spare the lives of the other samurai.  The Bessho Family accepted this, and on the 17th, Nagaharu (1558-1580) and his family committed seppuku suicides, ending the siege that had lasted for one year and ten months.  After the war, when Hideyoshi developed the Miki Castle Town, Komyo-ji Temple was one of the 13 temples he permitted to found, and its founder passed away in 1601.

     The 2 Komyo-ji Temples belong to Pure Land Buddhism, and it is unknown whether the 2 have something to do with each other or not.

     The Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30 Komyo-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

How reliable Komyo-ji Temple is!

The sea of ​​life and death is close,

But the light of the temple clearly tells the boundary.

Address: 5-20 Kajiyacho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0884

Phone: 078-911-3928

Komyo-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-4-5 Fukui, Miki, Hyogo 673-0433

Phone: 0794-82-0781

Miki Castle Ruins

Address: 5 Uenomarucho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0432

Phone: 0794-82-2000

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Tamon-ji Temple

 

     Tradition says that Tamon-ji Temple was founded by Ennin (794-864) at the Imperial Order of Emperor Seiwa (850-881) around 860.  As the emperor reigned from 858 to 876, the foundation date isn't impossible.  120 years after its founding, it was burned down by a natural disaster, and was revived by Priest Myokan (953-1021) at the command of Emperor Kazan (968-1008).

     Tamon-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

All the wishes of the world come here.

The Iris flowers of Tamon-ji Temple

Show the great compassion of Buddha.

Address: 2 Chome-2-75 Tamondai, Tarumi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 655-0007

Phone: 078-782-4445

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #28 Myoo-ji Temple

 

     Myoo-ji Temple was founded in 806 by Priest Genga.

     Why in 806?

     Prince Sawara (750-785) was implicated in the assassination of Fujiwara Tanetsugu (737-785) in 785, and was deposed as crown prince.  He was exiled to Awaji Province, and, on his way there, he either starved himself to death or was starved to death.  His body was forwarded to the province and was buried there.  The whereabouts of his burial site is unknown.

     His tragedy provoked fear against his curse.  The fear became awe, and the awe led to enshrining the prince as a god.

     On October 8th, 785, Emperor Kanmu (737-806) reported to the tombs of Emperor Tenchi (626-672), Prince Shiki (668-716), and Emperor Konin (709-782) that Prince Sawara had been deposed as crown prince, and on November 25th, Prince Ote (774-824) was made crown prince.  After 788, there were a series of unhappy events, including Ote's illness; the deaths of Emperor Kanmu's wives, Fujiwara Tabiko (759-788), Fujiwara Otomuro (760-790), and Sakanoue Matako (?-790); the death of Takano Niigasa (?-790), the mother of Emperor Kanmu and Prince Sawara; epidemics; and famines.  The incidents were all concluded by the Department of Divinities to be the curse of Prince Sawara.  In 792, a household was assigned to guard and clean Sawara's burial site.

     After that, two monks were sent to Awaji Province, where Sawara was buried, on May 20th, 797, to apologize to the prince's spirit.  On February 15th, 799, Otomo Korenari and Priest Taishin were sent to the province to apologize, and other ceremonies were held to appease the prince's spirit.

     On July 23rd, 800, Prince Sawara was posthumously named Emperor Sudo and a mound was made on his burial site.  Korenari was sent to the burial mound with onmyoji, a technical officer in charge of divination and geomorphology, and monks to apologize, and 2 households were assigned to be grave keepers in Tsuna County, Awaji Province.  So, his burial site might have been in the county.  Kanmu's health deteriorated from the end of 804, and he put more effort into appeasement of the prince's spirit.  In April, 805, he ordered provinces to build small warehouses for Sawara and keep 40 bundles of tax rice to cover the cost of reburial of Sawara.  He appointed a reburial official to proceed with the reburial in Yamato Province.  The site is identified as Yashima Mausoleum.  On March 17th, 806, Kanmu, who was critically ill, pardoned those involved in the assassination of Tanetsugu: Otomo Yakamochi (715-785), Otomo Tsuguhito (?-785), and Ki Shiramaro.  He ordered the monks of Provincial Temples to recite the Vajrayana Sutra for 7 days in February and September for Sawara, and passed away on the same day.

     According to Myodani Shi, or Myodani History and Topography, which was published in 1973, the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Tenporin-ji Temple suffered from fires and Myoo-ji Temple was founded, enshrining Acalanatha to prevent further fires.  However, other documents don't support the relation between the 2 temples.  Anyway, Myoo-ji Temple could have been founded because there was something threatening and disquieting in the air of the society.

     Myoo-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Looking out, the moon shines brightly at Myo-oji Temple,

Letting the light of great compassion

Live up to the moon light.

Address: 1900 Myodanicho, Tarumi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 655-0852

Phone: 078-707-0163

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #27 Tenporin-ji Temple

 

     Tenporin-ji Temple is said to have been founded to pray for the recovery of Emperor Heizei (774-824) from the disease in 806 where Iwafune Fudomyo is located.  The Emperor succeeded to the throne on March 17th, 806, and abdicated the throne on April 1st, 809, because of illness.  As he reigned only for 3 years and 14 days, it is hard to tell whether building the temple worked or not.

     It is unknown why the temple was moved to its present place in 1223.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Now the Buddha's past is revealed,

And the moonlight turns

Like the wheel of Buddhism.

Address: 2089 Myodanicho, Tarumi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 655-0852

Phone: 078-791-7885

Iwafune Fudomyoo

Address: 7 Chome-1 Shioyacho, Tarumi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 655-0872

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Taisan-ji Temple

 

     Taisan-ji Temple was founded in 716 by Fujiwara Umakai (694-737), who was appointed to be the vice ambassador of the 9th Japanese Mission to Tang China in the year.

     When Umakai recuperated at Mayadani Hot Springs, he received a revelation in a dream, which led to him making 7 Bhaisajyaguru images (the Akashi Seven Yakushi Buddhas) and enshrining them in 7 locations within Akashi County.  The main deity of Taisan-ji Temple is said to be one of the 7.

      Jinno-ji, Chorin-ji, Koke-ji, and Jurin-ji Temples claim that they belong to the Akashi Seven Yakushi Buddhas.  Taisan-ji Temple doesn’t say it belongs to the Akashi Seven Yakushi Buddhas but it was also founded by Umakai, so it might be a member of the Akashi Seven Yakushi Buddhas.  Nothing is known about the other 2 temples.  Have they been abolished?

     We can’t find Mayadani Hot Springs today.  Was it today’s Arima Hot Springs?

     Tradition says that Taisan-ji Temple was founded in one of the old haunts of Priest Joe (643-666).  Joe studied in Tang China from 653 to 665.

     In May, 653, Joe traveled to Tang China as a monk studying abroad with a Japanese envoy to Tang China.  He resided at the Huiri Daochang Practice Hall of Huaide Temple in Changan and studied under Master Shentai, a disciple of Xuanzang (602-664).

     In September, 665, Joe returned to Japan via Baekje on the Korean Peninsula.  He is said to have returned with a large delegation of over 250 people led by Liu Degao, an envoy from Tang China.  Joe died in December of the same year in Ohara (today's Ohara, Asuka, Takaichi District, Nara 634-0106).

     The temple burned down in 1285, and was revived between 1293 and 1299.

     Taisanji Fudoh Myooh is the Acalanatha image carved out of the cliff along the gorge of I River, and is supposed to be the inner sanctuary of the temple.  On the hill top along the opposite bank, there stands Taishaku-Kannon-do Hall.  Taishaku is the Japanese phrase which refers to Indra, who is believed to live in Trayastrimsa.

     Taisan-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

The white threads of the gorge in Taisan-ji Temple

Reaches all the way to Trayastrimsa

Through the stone Buddhist image.

Address: Zenkai-224 Ikawadani-chō, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2108

Phone: 078-976-6658

Jinno-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-14-18 Hayashi, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0034

Phone: 078-923-4351

Chorin-ji Temple

Address: 9-4 Zaimokucho, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0893

Phone: 078-911-4727

Koke-ji Temple

Address: 2-chome-10-35 Taidera, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0845

Phone: 078-911-3755

Jurin-ji Temple

Address: 1074 Takasagocho Yokomachi, Takasago, Hyogo 676-0051

Phone: 079-442-0242

Taishaku-Kannon-do Hall

Address: Ikawadani-cho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2108

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Taikoku-ji Temple

 

     Taikoku-ji Temple was founded in 727 by Priest Joe.  The most famous Joe, who studied in Tang China from 653 to 665, lived from 643 to 666.  The founder of Taikoku-ji Temple should be another Joe.

     The temple used to have the main hall, the Jogyo-do hall, and a dining hall.

     Jogyo-do hall is also called Jogyo-Zanmai-do hall.  Jogyo Zammai is the Buddhist practice in which monks walk around Amidabha for 90 days while chanting Nianfo and thinking of Amidabha in their hearts.  Therefore, the hall is square with Amidabha enshrined in the center, and often has a tented roof.

     Taikoku-ji Temple also had 22 sub-temples in its precincts.

     The temple was burned down in fire twice and diminished.  The second fire is said to have been caused by Miyoshi Nagayoshi (1522-1564).

     In 1554, in response to a request from Arima Shigenori, Nagayoshi attacked Miki Castle, which belonged to Bessho Nariharu (1502-1563), and captured 7 of its attached forts.  Presumably, Taikoku-ji Temple was burned down in one of the battles.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

As Avalokitesvara shines at the blessings,

The setting sun shines

On the shining mountains.

Address: Kodera-330 Ikawadani-chō, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2107

Phone: 078-974-3693

Miki Castle Ruins

Address: 5 Uenomarucho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0432

Phone: 0794-82-2000

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Chokai-ji Temple

 

     Chokai-ji Temple was founded in 1351 during the Southern and Northern Courts Period (1337-1392) by Akamatsu Ujinori (1330-1386), presumably for his late father, Norimura (1277-1350), the Samurai Guardian of Harima Province.  Ujinori supported the Southern Court.

     The temple's main deity is the standing statue of Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha, which was carved out of sandalwood, and which was brought from Tang China by Ennin (794-864).  The temple had 29 sub-temples in its precincts in its prime.  During the Edo Period (1603-1867), the temple was known for its numerous cherry trees with its nickname Hakuunro, namely White Clouds Building.  Lords Matsudaira of Akashi Domain hosted annual cherry blossom viewing parties in its precincts, and they attracted many literati and artists.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Spring flowers invite storms.

The clouds of falling cherry blossoms

Wave over the garden of the Buddhism teaching.

Address: 9-1 Imadera, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2114

Phone: 078-974-1253

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Fukurin-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Fukurin-ji Temple was founded in Ikegami Village, Akashi County, Harima Province.  It belongs to Tamon-ji Temple as a Kannon-do hall out of the precincts of Tamon-ji Temple, but it is unknown whether the hall belonged to the temple from its origin or Fukurin-ji Temple was an independent temple and was merged to Tamon-ji Temple.

     Ikegami Village, whose current place name is Ikegami 1-5 chome, Ikawadanicho Kamiwaki, Otsuwa 1-3 chome, all in Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo, was located in the midstream of the Ikawa River, to the west was Minamibefu Village.  The village was first documented in The Keicho Kuni-ezu, or the Keicho Maps of the Provinces, which was drawn at the beginning of the 17th century.  The village belonged to the Akashi Domain.

     Fukurin-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

In Fukurin-ji Temple,

Worship grows

Like a waxing moon.

Address: 2 Chome-18-6 Ikegami, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2111

Tamon-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-2-75 Tamondai, Tarumi-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 655-0007

Phone: 078-782-4445

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Nichirin-ji Temple

 

     Nichirin-ji Temple is believed to have been founded by Gyoki (668-749) in 724.

     The temple has a waniguchi, a Japanese flat round hollow metal slit gong which was presented to Shinguhonguryo Shrine in Awa Province in 1509 by Iuchi Norimoto, who could have been a samurai steward of the Myozai Manor, in which the shrine was located.  The manor was first documented in the 1020’s.  A document dated September 4th, 1370, laments that the power of the nobles declined and that of samurai increased in the manor.

     Miyoshi Yoshitaka (1527-1562), who was from Awa Province, invaded Harima Province from 1554 to 1555.  Nichirin-ji Temple is said to have been burned down in battle and was revived by Priest Yukan later.  The gong might have been presented by the Miyoshi Clan when the temple was revived.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

The wishes of all pilgrims

Clear up in the clouds of their hearts

At Nichirin-ji Temple.

Address: Koyama-563 Tamatsucho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2144

Phone: 078-928-7255 

Shinguhonguryo Shrine

Address: Nakashima Takahara, Ishii, Myozai District, Tokushima 779-3208