Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Hoon-ji Temple

 

     Nanko-zan Hoon-ji Temple was founded by Priest Keigan in 1429, during the early Muromachi Period (1336-1573), enshrining the 4-inch tall Ksitigarbha image as its main deity.  The temple faced the Miki Road, which branched off from the San’yo Highway and led to Miki.  Along with Toku-ike Pond, which is located behind the temple, and which functioned as one of the inner moats, the temple protected the residence of the lord of Edayoshi Fortress,  which has become Kamimoto Shrine.

     During the Edo Period (1603-1867), Hoon-ji Temple's main hall had a thatched roof.  It became tiled but was damaged during World War II.  It was rebuilt in April, 1971, as the current reinforced concrete structure thanks to donations from parishioners.  Anraku-san Fukuzo-ji Temple, located within the precincts of Hoon-ji Temple, still enshrines its main deity, the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, as the Kannon-do Hall of Hoon-ji Temple.  Anraku literally means Comfort.  It is Fukuzo-ji Temple that is actually #11 member temple on the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Hoon-ji Temple’s gate was built in October, 1808.  It was damaged in the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.  It was dismantled and repaired in April, 1997.

     The Sankai Banrei Jizo statue was built for all spirits in the three realms, in September, 1851, next to the temple's gate.  Traditionally, the three realms refer to the earth, heaven, and hell.  The statue’s pedestal serves as a guidepost, showing: to the north is Shimotsu-bashi Bridge, to the east is Taisan-ji Temple, and to the south is Kanigasaka, today’s Wasaka.  The north-south road in front of the temple is the Miki Road.

     Edayoshi Fortress was built on a low hill where the Innami Plateau jutted out to the east and west.  The Sanyo Highway ran south of the fortress, and the Miki Road, connecting Akashi and Miki, passed through it, making it strategically important.  The Akashi Family, one of the vassals of the Akamatsu Clan, wielded power primarily in Akashi County.  It's said they built Edayoshi Fortress, which was also known as Yoshida Fortress.

     The Akashi Family held power in Akashi County since ancient times, serving as land stewards managing manors in the county.  With the rise of the Akamatsu Clan, the family became one of the clan’s elders.  The name Akashi Owari no Kami appears in 1255, and, in 1458, a man named Akashi Shuri no Jyo fought in the Onin War.  The Akashi Family seems to have expanded their power from Sugano Fortress to Shimotsubashi Fortress and then to Edayoshi Fortress, shifting their base from the mountains to the plains.  The exact date of Edayoshi Fortress's construction is unclear, but since Hoon-ji Temple, located in front of the fortress, was built in 1429, it is believed to have been constructed around that time.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

In the next life,

I will be born on Mount Comfort

And sit on the comfortable lotus flower of the teachings of Buddhism.

Address: 4 Chome-52 Edayoshi, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2133

Phone: 078-928-2815

Edayoshi Castle Site

Address: 4 Chome Edayoshi, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2133

Kamimoto Shrine

Address: 4 Chome Edayoshi, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2133

Sugano Fortress Site

Address: Sugano Hasetanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2238

Soken Shrine (Shimotsubashi Fortress Site)

Address: 736 Tamatsucho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2137