Virtual Kasai Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Butsumyo-ji Temple

 

     According to "Kasai Saigoku 33-Temple Pilgrimage" (Kakogawa City Tourism Association): Butsumyo-ji Temple is said to have been founded in 1655 by Shunzan Nyoshu, the 8th head priest of Kozan-ji—the family temple of the Mori clan of the Choshu Domain—and that his disciple, Kenzen, succeeded him and established the temple's foundation. The temple gate is a yakuimon style gate built in 1797, featuring a gabled roof and side walls extending from both flanks. The wood of the gate's pillars bears the texture of age, reflecting the passage of time. Passing through the gate leads to the main hall.  The Kannon-do Hall stands to the west, with the Kaizan-do (Founder's Hall) situated further behind it.  Built in 1791, the main hall features an unusual layout in which the left half serves as the worship hall while the right half functions as the kuri (priest's living quarters).  A formal entrance porch (shikidai-genkan) is attached to the front.

     During the late 16th century (1570s–1580s), the Harima Province was a major battleground between the Oda forces from central Japan and the Mori forces of the Chugoku region. Many local Harima samurai sided with the Mori forces. Following their defeat in key conflicts such as the Siege of Miki and the fall of local castles, numerous defeated warriors fled west into Mori territory, a migration often referred to as the "Mori exile."

The Return of the Descendants

     By 1655, when Shunzan Nyoshu—the 8th abbot of Kozan-ji, the chief mortuary temple (bodaiji) of the Chofu-Mori domain—founded the temple alongside his disciple Kenzen, more than 2 generations had passed since the Sengoku turmoil. Kenzen was likely a descendant of those displaced Harima samurai who had taken tonsure as a Chan Buddhism monk. Under the relative stability of the Tokugawa shogunate, he was able to return to his ancestral homeland, bringing with him the lineage of the Caodong Chan tradition tied to the Mori clan.

Reconciliation and Infrastructure Projects

     This timing coincides with major regional initiatives undertaken by Sakakibara Tadatsugu (1605-1665), the lord of Himeji Domain, who initiated extensive flood control and land reclamation projects along the Kakogawa River during the mid-17th century. To ensure the success of these massive engineering feats and maintain social stability, domain authorities had a strong incentive to reconcile with former local families. Accepting returning descendants—especially those who returned as neutral, respected Buddhist monks—offered both local leadership and cultural mediation, transcending old enmities for the sake of regional development.

Architectural Reflection

     The main hall, rebuilt in 1791, strikingly reflects this historical role. By combining the main sanctuary and the living quarters (kuri) into a single structure featuring a formal entrance (shikidai-genkan), the temple was physically designed to accommodate domain officials and inspectors, functioning much like an administrative post alongside its spiritual duties.

     Butsumyo-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

All who chant the sacred Name in this earthly space,

Are embraced in the warmth of the Buddha's grace.

Not a single soul is left behind or cast away,

Guided by a vow of mercy that will never sway.

Address: 266-1 Nishiyokotacho, Kasai, Hyogo 675-2335

Phone: 0790-46-0118

Kozan-ji Temple

Address: 1 Chome-2-3 Chofukawabata, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi 752-0979

Phone: 083-245-0258