Virtual New Innami County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Fukuen-ji Temple

 

     Monk Shindo trained himself at Shosha-zan Engyo-ji Temple for 15 years from the 1580's to the 1590's.  The monk founded Fukuen-ji Temple at the foot of Mount Akasaka in the 1590s as a Linji Chan temple, and also built Zenju-an Hermitage, which became Zenju-ji Temple in 1948.  The hermitage was a convent for 122 years.

     Akamatsu Sukehisa (?-1441) built Aga Castle in the 1430's.  The Aga-Miki Family became the lords of the castle in the Warring States Period (1467-1568).  Aga Castle was known as one of the 3 great castles in Harima Province, along with Miki Castle of the Bessho Family and Gochaku Castle of the Kodera Family.  When Chikashige was the lord of Aga Castle, his son, Tomoshige, became the leader of the garrison of Fukudomari Fort.  He called his family Nagao and settled the area.  His nephew, Shigetomo, built Matogata and Akasaka-yama Fortresses.  The family might have ruled Fukudomari Port and the Matogata Salt Pans.  As Aga Castle fell in 1580, the Nagao Family could have been destroyed about the same time.

     Shindo could have been a descendant of the Nagao Family, could have been sheltered in Engyo-ji Temple, and could have built a hermitage for his mother, who had become a war widow.

Address: Fukudomari-260 Matogatacho, Himeji, Hyogo 671-0112

Mount Akasaka

Address: Fukudomari-116-4 Matogatacho, Himeji, Hyogo 672-8016

Engyo-ji Temple

Address: 2968 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671-2201

Phone: 079-266-3327

Zenjuji Temple

Address: Mikage-326 Toyotomicho, Himeji, Hyogo 679-2122

Phone: 079-264-0350

Akasaka-yama Fortress Site

Address: 277 Matogatacho, Himeji, Hyogo 671-0112

Matogata Fortress Site

Address: 1399 Matogatacho, Himeji, Hyogo 671-0111

Fukudomari Fort Site

Address: 346 Matogatacho, Himeji, Hyogo 671-0112

Aga Castle Main Enclosure Site Stone Monument

Address: 2 Chome−42 Nakahamacho, Shikama Ward, Himeji, Hyogo 672-8085

Aga Castle's Port Site

Address: 2 Chome Shikamaku Nakahamacho, Himeji, Hyogo 672-8085

Aga Castle Okashiba Gate Site

Address: 2 Chome Shikamaku Agamiyacho, Himeji, Hyogo 672-8080

Gochaku Castle Site Park

Address: Mikuninocho, Himeji, Hyogo 671-0232