Virtual Kako County Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Ozo-ji Temple

 

     Ozo-ji Temple was founded in 653 by Hermit Hodo, who is believed to have traveled from India through Tang China and the Korean kingdom of Baekje to Japan during the late 6th to early 7th centuries. Hodo, who is supposed to have originally borne the Sanskrit name Dharmapatha, might have been called Puap-dauh in China, Papp-do in Korea, and [ɸapotaɯ] (an archaic bilateral sound akin to 'Fa-po-tau') when he arrived in Japan.

     On August 4th, 897, Emperor Uda (867-931) suddenly proclaimed the coming-of-age of his Crown Prince, Atsuhito (885-930), abdicated the throne on the very same day, and became the retired emperor. In 899, ex-Emperor Uda took the tonsure at To-ji Temple and entered Ninna-ji Temple as a monk, thus becoming a Cloistered Emperor. He is believed to have donated a tract of land to Ozo-ji Temple sometime between 898 and 901, and the surrounding areas subsequently evolved into the private manor (shoen) of the Cloistered Emperor.

     At its peak, the temple boasted immense prestige in Harima Province, encompassing a grand main complex and numerous sub-temples. Historical records from 1235, during the reign of Emperor Shijo (1231-1242) and the regency of Fujiwara Yoritsune (1218-1256), confirm a deed of donation granting the temple a precinct of approximately 50.5 hectares (about 11 Tokyo Domes) and surrounding woods and fields of 79.4 hectares (about 17 Tokyo Domes). This domain also included Kanpei Pond, originally constructed around 893 during the Kanpei era (889-898) and later renamed Terada Pond during the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

     However, this era of grandeur came to a violent end in 1578. During Hashiba Hideyoshi’s brutal siege of Miki Castle, the temple complexes and sub-temples were completely destroyed by fire, leaving only a single hall and one sub-temple standing.

     Sometime during the Genroku era (1688–1704), Priest Senkaku, a prominent monk from Keifuku-ji Temple in the Himeji castle town, revived the temple, converting its affiliation from Shingon Buddhism to the Caodong Chan (Soto Zen) sect.

     And they lived happily ever after... or did they?

     A fascinating historical mystery lies in the very geography of the temple: Ozo-ji is located within the former site of Yokura Fortress, the stronghold of the Noguchi family. The name "Ozo" (横蔵) can historically be pronounced Yokokura. Over time, the character for "kura" (蔵) was replaced with a simpler character (倉) to form Yokura (横倉), which eventually corrupted into the present name, Yokura (よくら).

     Who caused this linguistic simplification and corruption? It may well have been the ancestors of the Noguchi family. Whether they were samurai stewards (jito) dispatched from the Kanto region, local estate officials (shokan) who took up arms, or simply a band of fierce opportunists living at the "mouth of the wild fields" (No-guchi) who seized power during the chaotic Warring States period (1467-1568), remains unknown. Yet, instead of being eradicated after the fall of the fortress, they clung to the land around Yokura.

     In the early Edo period, the temple re-emerged within the newly registered "Shinzaike" (新在家) village. Since the name Shinzaike literally signifies newly organized or developed settlements, this suggests that the local survivors reclaimed and tilled the vast, desolate ruins of the destroyed temple's former precincts, eventually securing official recognition for their temple during the Genroku era (1688-1704).

     Can we live happily ever after with this solution? Perhaps, but the landscape of modern Harima silently hints at deeper secrets. One might wonder if Kanpei Pond, constructed in 893, was the work of the descendants of Baekje immigrants who inherited Hermit Hodo’s ancient engineering lineage. Furthermore, the name Shinzaike, distinct from ordinary newly reclaimed fields known as Shinden, powerfully suggests a grand resettlement: a community founded by the temple's former warrior-monks (sohei) who laid down their arms after the ashes of 1578, chose to become secular householders (zaike), and reclaimed their sacred land.

     The true depths of Yokura’s history still wait to be fully unearthed.

Address: Shinzaike 900, Hiraokacho, Kakogawa, Hyogo 675-0101

Phone: 079-424-0345

Yokokura Fortress Site

Address: Hiraokacho Shinzaike, Kakogawa, Hyogo 675-0101

Terada Pond

Address: Hiraokacho Shinzaike, Kakogawa, Hyogo 675-0101

Keifuku-ji Temple

Address: Keifukujimae 7-1, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0027

Phone: 079-292-4807