Virtual Kako County Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #26 Shorin-ji Temple

 

     It remains unknown exactly when the original hermitage was established in Ae Manor (modern-day Harima Town), where Shorin-ji Temple stands today. However, historical records indicate that between 1470 and 1520, Ogawara Danjo, who served as an administrator at Iwaya Castle in Mimasaka Province, brought a sacred Buddhist image from Mimasaka to this manor. Since the Ogawara Family was originally based in Shiso (modern-day Shiso City, Hyogo Prefecture), the precise reason why he relocated the image to Ae Manor remains a geographical mystery.

     Despite this historical puzzle, a major turning point occurred in 1597 when the humble hermitage in Ae was officially elevated to a full-fledged Buddhist temple. Crucially, it was initially named "Shorin-ji" using the exact kanji characters of the Kobayashi family (小林寺), before later being changed in 1767 to the characters representing the famous Zen temple (少林寺).

     The key to solving this mystery lies in a specific individual connected to both locations: Chirin Shuso, the third son of Ogawara Danjo, who also appears in records as Kobayashi Shuri. Given the prominent presence of the name "Kobayashi" in Tsuyama (Mimasaka), it is highly probable that the local Kobayashi warrior family adopted this younger son from the powerful Ogawara family, who ruled the area as administrators.

     However, following the collapse of the Akamatsu Clan and Oda Nobunaga's devastating invasion, this alliance proved fatal. The downfall of the Ogawara patronage dragged the Kobayashi Family into ruin. Caught between his elite bloodline and his adopted family's collapse, returning to life as a peasant was impossible for Kobayashi Shuri; thus, he chose the priesthood as his path of survival, becoming the Zen monk "Chirin Shuso."

     Remarkably, harboring no resentment toward the tragic fate brought upon him by his dual heritage, he chose a path "beyond the pale of vengeance" to honor both sides. In 1597, amid the tightening grip of the Toyotomi regime, he stepped forward to orchestrate the simultaneous elevation of both hermitages. By naming the new temples "Shorin-ji" (小林寺) after his adopted family, he cleverly embedded the memory of both the displaced Ogawara and Kobayashi families into the Buddhist faith.

     Today, this profound bond lives on through sacred geography: while the Shorin-ji Temple in Tsuyama stands as a dedicated site on the Mimasaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, its sister temple here in Harima continues to welcome pilgrims as the 26th site on the Kako County Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, ensuring their names survived the turbulent transition into the early modern era.

Address: 4 Chome-2-8 Honjo, Harima, Kako District, Hyogo 675-0154

Phone: 079-435-0252

Iwaya Castle Ruins

Address: Nakakitakami, Tsuyama, Okayama 709-4606

Shorin-ji Temple

Address: 1150 Nakakitakami, Tsuyama, Okayama 709-4606

Phone: 0868-57-2303