Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Zensho-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown exactly when Zensho-ji Temple was founded in Ishimori Village, Kako County, Harima Province.

     The village name Ishimori first appeared in the Shoho Go-cho (Shoho Village Notebooks)—a comprehensive national survey of villages. In 1644, the Tokugawa Shogunate ordered all feudal domains to compile statistical records of their territories. Because this initiative began in the first year of the Shoho era, these records are known as the Shoho Go-cho.

     The haiku poet Zenko Seira (1714–1766) once visited Zensho-ji Temple, shaved his head, and composed the following haiku:

From this day forth—

I wear the hood,

To know the blessing of the cloth.

Considering that the village is missing from the Keicho Kuni-ezu (the provincial map compiled in 1611), the village itself was likely developed sometime after 1611. Consequently, Zensho-ji Temple was most likely founded around the time the village was established.

Address: 147 Kannocho Ishimori, Kakogawa, Hyogo 675-0005