Virtual New Innami County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Busshin-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Busshin-ji Temple was founded in Kobayashi Village, Innami County, Harima Province.  Its precincts have Gorinto, or five-ringed tower, which is a Japanese type of Buddhist pagoda.  Judging from its style, the pagoda is believed to have been erected in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).  If so, the temple could be as old as the pagoda.  Then, Kobayashi Village didn't exist yet, and the village was first listed in the Keicho Kuni-ezu, the map published in 1611.

     What is the Keicho Kuni-ezu (Provincial Maps of the Keicho Era)?

     Following the precedent set by the Toyotomi administration, Tokugawa Ieyasu—the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate—ordered a nationwide land survey in September 1605. This ambitious project aimed to map the distribution of territories and assess the rice yields (kokudaka) of feudal lords (daimyo), temples, and shrines across Japan. To oversee this, Ieyasu appointed Nishio Yoshitsugu as the magistrate for the Eastern Provinces and Tsuda Hidemasa for the Western Provinces.

     The resulting Keicho Kuni-ezu (Provincial Maps) and Gocho (Village Registers) are believed to have been compiled based on this extensive survey. Unfortunately, it is widely thought that the original documents were lost in fires at Edo Castle; consequently, no original copies survive today. The only remaining duplicates cover just 11 provinces and one island, all of which are notably concentrated in Western Japan.

     Because of this geographical bias, some historians argue that the project may not have been a truly national endeavor. Instead, they suggest it may have been a targeted policy limited to the Western Provinces—a form of administrative pressure designed to monitor and control the "outsider" (tozama) daimyo who remained a potential threat to the fledgling Tokugawa Shogunate.

     As Busshin-ji Temple and Tenman Shrine are located near an irrigation reservoir, they had something with the development of Kobayashi Village.

     It is supposed that Betsunosho was located in the area.  Betsunosho was a household administrative office of court officials and nobles, and is believed to have been a place where other taxes than rice of the feudal lords were managed.  The Iho Manor, which was developed in the latter half of Heian Period (794-1185), could have been extended northwest in the Kamakura Period.

Address: Kobayashi-278 Besshocho, Himeji, Hyogo 671-0222