Virtual Kasai Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Hosen-ji Temple

 

     Hosen-ji Temple was founded in 1711 by Mangan Kyogaku, the 17th head priest of Keifuku-ji Temple in Himeji. The temple was later restored and its main hall renovated during the Bunka era (1804–1818) by the priest Tetsuzan Kaizui.

     The main hall features a traditional irimoya-style (hip-and-gable) roof, originally thatched and now protected by sheet metal. Among the notable stone monuments on the temple grounds—both believed to date from the Edo period—are one of the city's largest gorinto (five-tiered stone pagodas) and a uniquely shaped hokyoin-to (treasure-seal pagoda).

     The temple's mountain and temple name, Choyu-zan Hosen-ji, derives from a well named "Shio-no-i" (Tide Well) located to the south. Affectionately known as "Butsubutsu-san" for the continuous bubbling of water from its depths inside a small hall, the well carries a legendary origin: it is said that since ancient times, the deity Sukunabikona has been sending seawater directly to this spot from the Kumano-nada Sea.

     So writes the leaflet of Kasai City, but in reality, the site is now just a vacant lot. Curiously, the temple is still listed as an active member on the official Sotozen Navi website (https://sotozen-navi.com/detail/index_280390.html). Standing in front of the concrete block walls, I was left completely speechless.

     Hosen-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is (was?):

Undefiled through the ages, from the mountain deep,

The sacred waters flow, a timeless gift to keep.

Known through the realm as the Buddha's holy well,

Where pure, crystal streams of eternal blessings dwell.

Address: 500 Tokonabecho, Kasai, Hyogo 675-2332

Keifuku-ji Temple

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

Phone: 079-292-4807

Josen-ji Temple

Address: 358 Nakanishicho, Kasai, Hyogo 675-2243

Phone: 0790-48-2267