Virtual Kako County Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Kannon-do Hall

 

     What makes the Kako County 33 Kannon Pilgrimages (Saigoku, Bando, and Chichibu) so unique is that—unlike most historical replicas—they were remarkably established during the Taisho period (1912–1926). This timeline provides a critical clue to solving the mystery of the missing 5th site.

     While the Kunioka area already hosts the Kunioka Kannon-do Hall (the 16th site of the Kako County Chichibu Pilgrimage), it stands to reason that the 5th site of the Kako County Bando Pilgrimage must have been a separate Kannon-do structure nearby.

     A likely candidate for this location is within the Kunioka settlement. Kunioka Shinmura (Kunioka New Village) was established in 1662 as a joint development by the neighboring Kuniyasu and Oka villages. In that same year, Atago Shrine was founded by inviting its deity from Kyoto. Over the centuries, the shrine’s precincts became deeply syncretic, integrating En Ozunu (Shugendo's founder) in 1715, Acalanatha (Fudo Myoo) in 1737, alongside a Hokyointo, a Koshin-do, a Ksitigarbha (Jizo) hall, and a Daishi-do dedicated to Kukai.

     However, the Meiji Government's Shinto-Buddhism Separation Decree of 1868 disrupted this sacred space. In 1879, the statue of Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), which had been enshrined in Atago Shrine's main hall, was relocated to the En Ozunu Hall.

     Given that the Kako County Bando Pilgrimage was organized later during the Taisho period, its founders likely had to utilize existing Buddhist sanctuaries that survived the Meiji purges. While the En Ozunu Hall—which had already served as a refuge for displaced images like Mahavairocana—is a strong candidate for the 5th Bando site, other possibilities cannot be ruled out. In the Harima region, there are known precedents where Kannon statues from defunct pilgrimages were preserved inside Jizo halls. Therefore, the missing 5th image of Avalokitesvara (Kannon) might have been relocated to, or enshrined within, the shrine's existing Daishi-do, Koshin-do, or Ksitigarbha (Jizo) halls.

Kunioka-Atago Shrine

Address: 1412 Kunioka, Inami, Kako District, Hyogo 675-1115

Atago Shrine

Address: 1-1 Sagaatagocho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto 616-8458

Phone: 075-861-0658