Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26: Shakubu-ji Temple

 

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The Legend of Hermit Hodo and the Geopolitics of the 7th Century

According to temple tradition, Shakubu-ji Temple was founded in 651 by the hermit Hodo at the request of Emperor Kotoku (Emperor Karu, 596–654). The temple’s primary deity is Ksitigarbha. Other traditions state that in 747, the monk Gyoki (668–749) constructed the Bhaisajyaguru-do Hall, and in 823, a three-story pagoda was erected at the behest of Emperor Saga (786–842).

It is striking that many temples in the Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage claim to have been founded by Hermit Hodo in the year 651. To understand why, we must look beyond the legend and toward the great upheaval of East Asia in the mid-7th century.

A Turning Point in East Asia (642–676)

The year 642 marked a shift toward the restructuring of East Asia, culminating in Silla’s unification of the Korean Peninsula in 676. In 642, King Uija (599–660) of Baekje invaded Silla, capturing over 40 fortresses and killing the daughter and son-in-law of Kim Chun-chu (603–661), the future King of Silla.

Domestically, King Uija established an autocratic regime, purging political opponents to solidify his grip. This concentration of power was mirrored across the region: Yeon Gaesomun (d. 666) seized power in a coup in Goguryeo, while in Japan, Soga Emishi (586–645) and his son Iruka (d. 645) tightened their control following the death of Emperor Jomei (593–641) and the ascension of Empress Kogyoku (594–661).

The Exile’s Persona: From "Field" to "Valley"

Just as Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811) was invoked as a symbolic founder of temples in the Tohoku region, "Hermit Hodo" served a specific purpose in Eastern Harima.

During the mid-7th century, high-ranking Baekje nobles fleeing King Uija’s purges likely sought refuge in the Japanese archipelago. Some of these exiles settled in Eastern Harima, moving from the open "Fields" (flat lands) like Kusuhara (Camphor Field) into the deeper, oak-filled "Valleys" like Kashidani (Oak Valley) to reclaim the land. For these immigrant communities, Hodo—a legendary hermit said to have traveled from India through Tang China and Baekje—provided the perfect founding "persona," linking their local religious sites to a prestigious continental lineage of Buddhism.

The Resilience of the Ogo Clan

One prominent example is the Ogo Manor, reportedly reclaimed from Lake Ogo by a Baekje prince and his 250 followers. These continental leaders intermarried with powerful local Japanese families, eventually forming the Ogo Clan. The clan proved remarkably resilient; even after the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate—during which the 4th brother of the Hojo family, Tokiharu (d. 1333), had been adopted into the lineage—the Ogo name endured.

The Ogo family maintained their base at Ogo Fortress for centuries. Though the fortress fell to the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) during the Siege of Miki (1578–1580), the family was tenacious. Branches of the clan survived by serving high-ranking court nobles like Tokudaiji Kinnobu (1606–1684) or working as samurai for the Kurume Domain. Generations later, an Ogo descendant named Masanori returned to his ancestral home in Ogo on behalf of his lord, bridging a history that began with a flight from the Korean Peninsula nearly a millennium before.Address: 110-1 Ogocho, Kita Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-1621

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