Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #16 Shokai-ji Temple

 

     Shokai-ji Temple was founded by Gyoki (668-749) in 730.  Fragrant wood was bestowed upon him by Emperor Shomu (701-756).  Gyoki carved the wood into the image of Cintamanicakra, who usually has 6 arms and holds chintamani (a wish-fulfilling jewel) in one of the six, and made it the main deity of the temple.

     In 1579, the temple was destroyed by fire when Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) attacked Miki Castle.  In 1648, the Tokugawa Shogunate issued a red sealed permission to reconstruct the main hall, Amidabha Hall, and other buildings, and ordered a ceremony to exorcise Nui so as to realize social stability, and happiness and prosperity for all.  Until the Meiji Restoration, the temple  had 24 sub-temples, but most were destroyed during the Haibutsu Kishaku (literally "abolish Buddhism and destroy Shakamuni”) movement, and only 2 remain.

     On November 5, 2022, the main hall was completely destroyed by fire and the main deity was also lost.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

The evening bell rings out,

Creating a sense of impermanence in Hosho-ji Temple,

Surrounded by the twilight of other houses.

Address: Takawa-1318 Oshibedanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2204

Phone: 078-994-0067

Miki Castle Ruins

Address: 5 Uenomarucho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0432

Phone: 0794-82-2000

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Chofuku-ji Temple

 

     Chofuku-ji Temple was founded by Gyoki in 730.  It is also the 5th on the Kobe Six Jizo Pilgrimage.

     Six Jizo Pilgrimage is based on the idea of the Six Paths in Buddhist cosmology.  The paths are the 6 worlds where sentient beings are reincarnated based on their karma, which is linked to their actions in previous lives.  The six paths are:

1. the world of gods or celestial beings (deva)

2. the world of human beings (manushya)

3. the world of warlike demigods (asura)

4. the world of animals (tiryagyoni)

5. the world of hungry ghosts (preta)

6. the world of Hell (naraka)

     In the Kobe Six Jizo Pilgrimage, they are in reverse order, and Chofuku-ji Temple is supposed to correspond to #2 the world of human beings (manushya).

     The main deity is the Ksitigarbha statue, which holds a jewel in his left hand and a khakkhara in his right.  It dates back to at the latest the late Heian Period (794-1185).  It stands 120 centimeters tall and is carved from a single piece of wood.  Its attendant Buddhist images are Acalanatha and Vaisravana.  The question is where the #15 deity of the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, which is supposed to be Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, is.

      The Ksitigarbha statue is believed to have been the guardian deity of Priest Chukai (1162-1227), who was the 4th son of Taira Norimori (1128-1185), who drowned himself in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, when the Taira Clan was destroyed by the Minamoto Clan.  Chukai was captured in the battle and exiled to Izu Province the same year.  In the province, he spent his time under the guardianship of Kano Muneshige (?-1193), and received the support of Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate.  Chukai returned to Kyoto in 1189.  He was given back the land in Sanjo Ogawa Takahata, which had belonged to his father and founded Hobodai-in Temple there.

     In the world of human beings (manushya), good fortune and bad fortune are like a twisted rope.

In the mid-Edo period, Priest Eishu revived Chofuku-ji Temple, purchasing the Amida Hall of Kinko-ji Temple.

     Chofuku-ji Temple has Chofukuji Archaeological Museum.

     Teh temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

The Buddha's broad vow

To relieve all people together

Is as broad as the ocean.

Address: Yoda-369 Oshibedanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2205

Phone: 078-994-0150

Kinko-ji Temple

Address: Kinko-147 Oshibedanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2203

Phone: 078-994-0007

Hobodai-in Temple

Address: 1223-2 Oharano Minamikasugacho, Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto, 610-1153

Phone: 075-331-3823

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #14 Shomyo-ji Temple

 

     Shomyo-ji Temple was founded in 1651 in Nishi-Toda Village.  The village was already on the map published in 1611.  It is strange that there has never been a Higashi-Toda Village.

     For your information, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, followed the example of the Toyotomi administration and conducted a land survey of the distribution and rice yields of the feudal lords' territories and the lands of temples and shrines across Japan in September, 1605.  He appointed Nishio Yoshitsugu (1530-1606) as magistrate in charge of Eastern Provinces and Tsuda Hidemasa (1546-1653) as magistrate in charge of Western Provinces.  The Keicho Kuni-ezu, or the Keicho Maps of the Provinces, and Gocho, or the Registers of Villages, are said to have been made based on this survey.  The maps and registers are believed to have been destroyed in fires in Edo Castle, and no original copies exist today.  The only copies that remain are those covering 11 provinces and one island, and are limited to Western Japan.  Some even argue the maps and registers did not cover the entire country, but was limited to western provinces as part of oppressive policies against the western outsiders daimyo.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Thankfully, even the trees and grasses

Show the colors of the Buddhist teachings,

Which Shomyo-ji Temple never ceases to offer.

     Before World War II, when Aprils arrived, the temple would erect flags and streamers,

and the elderly villagers would come out and wait for pilgrims to come, lively preparing to serve hot water and tea.  The pilgrimage was revived after the war, but, before we were aware of it, they disappeared.

Address: Nishitoda-818 Hiranocho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2267

Phone: 078-961-0646

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 Chofuku-ji Temple

 

     Amida-ji Temple was founded in Inji Village, Akashi County, Harima Province, sometime between 957 and 961 by Monk Kuya (903-972).

     In 1441, the Kakitsu Rebellion broke out, and the Akamatsu Clan, who ruled Harima Province, was destroyed by the Ashikaga Shogunate.  Akamatsu Tokikatsu (1433-1455) became fatherless.  He first hid himself in Murotsu, Harima Province.  He was later brought up in Jogan-ji Temple in Yono Village, Asai County, Omi Province.  When he died at the age of 23, his son, Masanori (1455-1496), was just 8 months old.  He miraculously revived the Akamatsu Clan.  He took advantage of the Onin War (1467-1477) and carried out a kind of Reconquista in Harima Province.  Akashi County was engulfed in the Reconquista and so was Amida-ji Temple.

     After the temple was burned down during the Onin War, it was renamed Cofuku-ji when its buildings were rebuilt.

     In 1652, Priest Rinpo built a priests' quarter and converted the temple to the Linji Chan Sect.

     According to Akashi Ki, or Akashi Topography, which was written by Nagano Tsuneomi and edited by Oi Tsunetaka, who was a vassal of Akashi Domain, around the 1720's, Inaji Village had Kannon-do Hall besides Chofuku-ji and Shogaku-ji Temples.  Tsuneomi recorded that the hall was the #13 member temple of the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  A Buddhist tanka poem suggests the hall was called Hokurin-ji, namely North Grove Temple.  As the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized in 1658, Hokurin-ji Temple’s being the pilgrimage’s original member isn’t unreasonable, but it is unknown when the temple was abolished and the membership was transferred to Chofuku-ji Temple.

     The Buddhist tanka poem for the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #13 is:

People all gather from East, West, and South

And climb North to Hokurin-ji Temple to pray to

For the light of the Buddha in our life.

Address: 166 Hiranocho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2266

Phone: 078-961-0202

Jogan-ji Temple

Address: 828-1 Owakicho, Higashiomi, Shiga 527-0091

Phone: 0748-24-2370

Shogaku-ji Temple

Address: Inji-302 Hiranocho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2266

Phone: 078-961-2236

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #12 Saiko-ji Temple

 

  Some say Monk Hyetaeg had something to do with the foundation of Saiko-ji Temple.  Hyetaeg was from Goguryeo in the Korean Peninsula and moved to Harima Province in Japan.  When Emperor Nunakura no Futotamashiki (538?-585?) invited a Buddhist image from Baekje in the peninsula, Hyetaeg took part in the religious ceremony as a Buddhist monk.

     Actually, the Deai Ruins have 7 ancient burial mounds, pit dwellings, and others.  The area should have been developed since pre-historic days.

    According to temple tradition, Muryo-an Hermitage was built by Yuishoin Shinkaku, who later became the 3rd head priest of Shokai-ji Temple, sometime between 1249 and 1255 in the mid-Kamakura Period (1185-1333), when faith in Amitabha was beginning to spread throughout Harima Province.

     After ups and downs, sometime between 1655 and1657, the current main hall was built by Priest Reido, the hermitage was changed into an official Buddhist temple, and was renamed Muryoju-san Saiko-ji Temple.

     Sometime between 1804 and 1816, Priest Ryuga remodeled the main hall into a 2-storied pagoda type.  In 1877, the temple merged with Dachi-zan Seiryu-ji Temple.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

The various religious merits

Kannon Bodhisattva delivers from the temple

Answer our prayers which are as deep as the Deai River.

Address: Deai−255, Tamatsucho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2137

Phone: 078-927-9640

Shokai-ji Temple

Address: Takawa-1318 Oshibedanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2204

Phone: 078-994-0067

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Hoon-ji Temple

 

     Nanko-zan Hoon-ji Temple was founded by Priest Keigan in 1429, during the early Muromachi Period (1336-1573), enshrining the 4-inch tall Ksitigarbha image as its main deity.  The temple faced the Miki Road, which branched off from the San’yo Highway and led to Miki.  Along with Toku-ike Pond, which is located behind the temple, and which functioned as one of the inner moats, the temple protected the residence of the lord of Edayoshi Fortress,  which has become Kamimoto Shrine.

     During the Edo Period (1603-1867), Hoon-ji Temple's main hall had a thatched roof.  It became tiled but was damaged during World War II.  It was rebuilt in April, 1971, as the current reinforced concrete structure thanks to donations from parishioners.  Anraku-san Fukuzo-ji Temple, located within the precincts of Hoon-ji Temple, still enshrines its main deity, the statue of Arya Avalokitesvara, who is the human-figure prototype of the other 6 metamorphoses, as the Kannon-do Hall of Hoon-ji Temple.  Anraku literally means Comfort.  It is Fukuzo-ji Temple that is actually #11 member temple on the Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     Hoon-ji Temple’s gate was built in October, 1808.  It was damaged in the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.  It was dismantled and repaired in April, 1997.

     The Sankai Banrei Jizo statue was built for all spirits in the three realms, in September, 1851, next to the temple's gate.  Traditionally, the three realms refer to the earth, heaven, and hell.  The statue’s pedestal serves as a guidepost, showing: to the north is Shimotsu-bashi Bridge, to the east is Taisan-ji Temple, and to the south is Kanigasaka, today’s Wasaka.  The north-south road in front of the temple is the Miki Road.

     Edayoshi Fortress was built on a low hill where the Innami Plateau jutted out to the east and west.  The Sanyo Highway ran south of the fortress, and the Miki Road, connecting Akashi and Miki, passed through it, making it strategically important.  The Akashi Family, one of the vassals of the Akamatsu Clan, wielded power primarily in Akashi County.  It's said they built Edayoshi Fortress, which was also known as Yoshida Fortress.

     The Akashi Family held power in Akashi County since ancient times, serving as land stewards managing manors in the county.  With the rise of the Akamatsu Clan, the family became one of the clan’s elders.  The name Akashi Owari no Kami appears in 1255, and, in 1458, a man named Akashi Shuri no Jyo fought in the Onin War.  The Akashi Family seems to have expanded their power from Sugano Fortress to Shimotsubashi Fortress and then to Edayoshi Fortress, shifting their base from the mountains to the plains.  The exact date of Edayoshi Fortress's construction is unclear, but since Hoon-ji Temple, located in front of the fortress, was built in 1429, it is believed to have been constructed around that time.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

In the next life,

I will be born on Mount Comfort

And sit on the comfortable lotus flower of the teachings of Buddhism.

Address: 4 Chome-52 Edayoshi, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2133

Phone: 078-928-2815

Edayoshi Castle Site

Address: 4 Chome Edayoshi, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2133

Kamimoto Shrine

Address: 4 Chome Edayoshi, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2133

Sugano Fortress Site

Address: Sugano Hasetanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2238

Soken Shrine (Shimotsubashi Fortress Site)

Address: 736 Tamatsucho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2137

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Fukurin-ji Temple

 

     Fukurin-ji Temple was founded sometime between 1521 and 1528 in Kanigasaka Village, Akashi County, Harima Province.  Kanigasaka shares the same Chinese characters with today's place name Wasaka.  The village was first documented in 1338 during the Southern and Northern Courts Period (1336-1392).  During the Siege of Miki, which lasted from 1578 to 1580, a monk from Fukurin-ji Temple is said to have called himself Ito Shiroe and fought for Bessho Nagaharu (?-1580) against Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), achieving military success.

     The temple houses a large, brilliantly colored Nirvana painting measuring 1.8 meters wide and 3.1 meters tall, which was donated by Kabutoya Rokuzaemon in 1742.  The main hall was destroyed in an air raid in 1945, but this Nirvana painting escaped.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

The figure of the clear moon

Is pure at Fukurin-ji Temple,

Which polishes even the murky hearts.

Address: 2-chome-8 Wasaka, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0012

Phone: 078-928-6638