Trees In the Town

 

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary Volume 2 (4)

 

     Upon hearing of this Imperial order, my brother remarked with a bit of a smirk:

"Ah, I wish I were to receive such an order as a man! What a lucky position you have. It is quite something—you received the mourning weeds alongside the veteran retainers and the wet nurse’s own children, even though you did not serve him for that long. And now, in the new reign, you are considered so indispensable that a decree has been issued to remove your mourning clothes before the year is even out. It is truly absurd."

Hearing him continue to say such things made me feel both amused and deeply ashamed.

     I recalled the past story: when Emperor Kazan (968–1008) became a monk, Fujiwara Kaneie (929–990) came to the palace of Emperor Ichijo (980–1011) and said to Fujiwara Koreshige (953–989), the Secretary, "Let us use you as Secretary again." Yet Koreshige felt that serving would only remind him of his previous Lord; he abandoned his rank and became a monk.

     I thought to myself: "What memories could possibly make me, undeterred by the shame of the past, return to service now? Of all the ladies-in-waiting, why must I alone have to suffer the hardship of serving two generations?"

     However, after rinsing my mouth and purifying my hands with flowing water, I felt a little refreshed. I comforted myself by thinking, "This too must be a strange fate, that the new Emperor is to become my lord." Although I felt like an insect driven out by the mowing of the fields, I thought it was all due to my own karma. Although it was sad to live on and suffer such a fate, there was no point in just crying. I began to prepare.

     My lower-ranking servants, however—who had been used to the palace and were tired of this lonesome, aimless life in the country—looked very happy. Seeing their satisfied faces was irksome and made me feel resentful. Before long, it was November.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual New Innami County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #2 Entsu-ji Temple

 

     During the Kamakura Period (1185–1333), a monk collaborated with local residents to build Jigen-do, a hall in the northeastern part of Sone Village (Innami County, Harima Province). It enshrined 33 statues of Avalokitesvara (Kannon) and flourished as a major center of Kannon worship; however, the hall eventually fell into disrepair. In 1489, Priest Tsuho and the locals relocated the hall to its current site and founded Entsu-ji Temple.

     This founding date of 1489 highly likely reflects the turbulent political climate of the era. Decades earlier, Akamatsu Masanori (1455–1496) had miraculously revived the Akamatsu clan, seizing the chaos of the Onin War (1467–1477) to launch a "Reconquista" of Harima Province in 1467. Yet, as the proverb goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined like the strands of a rope. Internal conflicts soon fractured the Akamatsu clan, enticing Yamana Masatoyo (1441–1499) to invade Harima from the San'in region. It was only in July 1488 that Masatoyo finally withdrew his forces. Following years of devastating warfare, Priest Tsuho and the locals undoubtedly had compelling reasons—perhaps to pray for peace, mourn the war dead, or celebrate the restoration of stability—to establish a new temple at this precise moment. Today, Entsu-ji also serves as the 30th site on the Harima 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Address: 2034 Sonecho, Takasago, Hyogo 676-0082

Phone: 079-447-1215

Trees In the Town

 

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary Volume 2 (3)

 

     As the days passed in this quiet retreat, memories resurfaced one after another. I recalled how, in the past, it was nearly impossible to relax at home like this; after only five or six days, a letter would inevitably arrive from the ladies-in-waiting, pleading, "We are short-handed—please return at once." Meanwhile, the outside world was in an uproar over the preparations for the new Emperor's enthronement.

     Lady Fujiwara Jisshi had been appointed to the prestigious role of raising the curtain during the ceremony. Her husband, the former Governor of Aki, remarked, "Fujiwara Kenshi performed this same duty at the late Emperor Horikawa’s enthronement; let us follow her precedent." While I heard news of his visit to Kenshi for guidance, I also received a somber report: "Jisshi’s father, Kinzane (1053-1107), who had been ill for some time, has suddenly taken a turn for the worse and passed away." I felt a deep sense of dismay, struck by the fleeting and disheartening nature of this world.

     At dusk, a summons arrived from Kenshi, instructing me to assist with the curtain-raising. I was utterly bewildered. I could only assume that, because I had repeatedly ignored the Retired Emperor’s previous summons, he believed I had no intention of attending the ceremony of my own accord and thus formally assigned me this duty to compel my presence. I felt trapped.

     Seeking counsel, I called my usual confidant and asked, "The Retired Emperor has issued such specific orders—what am I to do?"

     "You have no choice," the confidant replied. "The world is a troublesome place, and you must make a decision at once. If you fail to appear at the palace now, it will surely go ill for you. The Retired Emperor clearly believes this is the proper course of action."

     While we were still debating the matter, a messenger arrived from Fujiwara Tamefusa (1049-1115). He brought a formal Imperial decree transmitted through the Regent, Fujiwara Tadazane (1078-1162): "If you are still wearing mourning weeds for the late Emperor Horikawa, it is the Emperor’s command that you cast them off immediately. Do so without delay."

     Even a matter as personal as my grief was no longer under my control. To be forced to discard my mourning robes prematurely, before my heart was ready, was truly painful. I cannot help but compare my plight to the tale of the man who picked celery to offer to one he held dear, but could never reach—a bitter reminder that in this life, things rarely go as one’s heart desires.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual New Innami County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #1 Kannon-do Hall

 

     It is unknown when Kannon-do Hall was founded in Sone Village, Innami County, Harima Province.  The hall is located near Sone-Tenman Shrine.

     According to shrine tradition, in 901, Sugawara Michizane (845-903), on his way to exile in Dazaifu, landed at the port of Iho and planted a pine tree, saying, "If I am not guilty, may the pine tree thrive."  His son, Atsushige (877-926), who was exiled to Harima Province at the same time, is said to have founded Sone-Tenman Shrine.  As Michizane became a god in 947, Atsushige died too early to found a shrine for his father.

     The shrine, however, became famous and Prince Ryosho (1623-11693) presented a name plate to it.  He studied painting under the Kano brothers, Tan'yu (1602-1674) and Naonobu (1607-1650), mastered the Ikenobo school of flower arrangement, and possessed a deep understanding of classics.

     The pine tree planted by Michizane was known as the sacred pine Sone no Matsu.  The first tree is believed to have died in 1798.  A roughly one tenths scale model, commissioned by a local village headman in the early 1700s, is preserved, allowing visitors to see what it looked like in its heyday.  The second-generation pine tree, which grew from a seedling of the first planted pine in the 1780's, was designated a national natural monument in 1924, but died in 1952.  The current tree is the 5th generation.  The trunk of the dead pine tree is preserved in the Sacred Pine Hall.

     Anyway, Kannon-do Hall could have been a shrine temple of Sone Tenman Shrine.

Address: 2287-13 Sonecho, Takasago, Hyogo 676-0082

Sone Tenman Shrien

Address: 2299-1 Sonecho, Takasago, Hyogo 676-0082

Phone: 079-447-0645

Trees In the Town

 

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary Volume 2 (2)

 

     While the new Emperor is a precious memento of my late Sovereign, I remain convinced that serving him at this time is ill-advised. Even when I first entered court service years ago, I hesitated to appear in public. Yet, urged by my parents and my sister, Kenshi, I found myself unable to voice my reservations, which became as entangled within my mind as seaweed washed ashore.

     Now, history seems to repeat itself, and I feel my will is not entirely my own. I find myself wondering: if the Retired Emperor Shirakawa were to hear that I had renounced the world and taken the tonsure, would he finally release me from this obligation? This thought only deepens my melancholy as the months drift by. Yet, if I were to become a nun, how could I justify the timing? To cut my hair of my own volition—even in ancient tales, those who did so are often mocked as foolish, and I cannot help but agree. Thus, I cannot bring myself to make such a final, irrevocable decision.

     "I hope that my body might simply wither away under the weight of my own sorrow. Then, at least, I would have a reason to decline," I think to myself as the days slip away.

     Meanwhile, frequent letters arrive with urgent pleas: "The new Emperor’s wet nurses are still only of the sixth rank; until they are promoted to the fifth, they cannot serve the Imperial meals. The 23rd, 6th, and 8th are auspicious days. Please, hasten your return."

     Despite these summons, I remain paralyzed. Even reflecting on my past years in the Imperial Court, I was plagued by inner turmoil and never truly felt I belonged. I became emaciated and unsightly, constantly agonizing over whether I should resign. At that time, I clung to the late Emperor’s kindness; yet, I was always acutely aware of the "intentions" (the critical eyes) of the high-ranking officials and those around him. Since my sister, the Sanmi, served with such flawless composure, I felt a heavy responsibility to match her standards and was ever-vigilant not to cause even the slightest friction.

     Even if I were to return to service now, it would be impossible to live as I once did. The new Emperor is but a child; he will not recognize me as the one who served Emperor Horikawa with such devotion. If I were to perform my duties in my accustomed manner, the onlookers—those who belong entirely to this new era—would surely judge me. They would not see my loyalty, but only a woman pathetically clinging to a vanished past, unable to adapt to the present.

I wear these mourning weeds,

Whose sleeves have been forever drenched in tears—

These ink-dyed robes,

The final, fading vestige of my Lord.

Trees In the Town

 

New Innami County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     It is unknown when Innami County was organized in Innami County, Harima Province.

     The Kuninomiyatsuko system was established in the 5th century and lasted till the end of the 6th century, when the Kori system was introduced to replace Kuninomiyatsuko.  The Kori system was soon replaced by the province-and-county system in the 7th century.

     The Innami County area was ruled by Akashi Kuninomiyatsuko.  We can find no document mentioning Akashi Kori.  Nihonshoki, the Chronicles of Japan, whose editing was finished in 720, writes about Harima no Inabi no Ooiratsume as the mother of Yamato Takeru, who could have existed in the 4th century.  Her name suggests she is from Innami.  The Innami area could have existed a century before the Kuninomiyatsuko system was introduced.  Then, the area must have been conquered by Akashi Kuninomiyatsuko.  The place name Innami was first documented in 726.  Innami County was first documented in 767.  All in all, Innami County could have been organized in the 8th century.

     Innami County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage has 3 resources which list the pilgrimage: 

Innami Gun Shi, or the Innami County Topography, was published in 1906.  When its enlarged edition was published in 1916, it listed the Innami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.  When Kyodo Shi No. 18 was published in 1952, it listed the pilgrimage, with some member temples replaced.  The 36 years experienced World War II.  Let me call the former the Old Innami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage and the latter one the New Innami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

Trees In the Town

 

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary Volume 2 (1)

 

     October arrived in the meantime.

     I received and read a letter from Fujiwara Mitsuko (1060–1121), the nurse of the New Emperor.

     "Perhaps because he has heard so much of your exceptional service and admirable character during your many years with the late Emperor," she wrote, "Ex-Emperor Shirakawa (1053–1129) has issued a royal command. He insists that the new Emperor’s palace requires someone of your caliber and that you should present yourself immediately. Pray, take this to heart."

     I was stunned as I read these words, so utterly blindsided that I thought I must have misread the letter.

     I had heard rumors of such a request while the late Emperor was still alive. However, since he had remained resolutely silent and never granted his permission, I believed it was because he wished to keep me by his side. To show up now, as if I had merely been waiting for his passing to accept the offer, felt like an outrageous betrayal.

     I was reminded of Taira Chushi (1037–1109). When Emperor Go-Reizei (1025–1068) passed away, she was commanded by Emperor Go-Sanjo (1034–1073) to return to the palace on the seventh day of the seventh month—the night of Tanabata. She composed this tanka in her grief:

Though I hear the Milky Way flows just the same

As it does every seventh night of July,

It is still sorrowful to know

That I will cross it once again.

Her feelings, I realized, were exactly my own.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #33 Horin-ji Temple

 

     Horin-ji Temple was founded in 651 by Hermit Hodo.  The temple enshrines the Hayagriva statue, which is a masterpiece by a legendary Buddhist sculptor, Kasuga.

     Hodo, who traveled from India through Tang China and the Korean kingdom of Baekje to Japan from the 6th to 7th centuries.

     Kasuga is said to have worked in Kawachi Province.  Legend has it that he carved Buddhism images and statues day and night.  One day, the villagers noticed him carving something other than Buddhism images.  It became a big crane statue.  Next morning, the villagers found nobody in his house, but a big bird flying to the east in the morning glow, with something or someone on its back.

     God Onamuchi arrived at the giant rock at the foot of the hill, on which Horin-ji Temple is located, from Heaven, and was enshrined in the rift of the rock.  The temple was founded in 651 by Hermit Hodo at the top of the hill.  Following a divine message, a parishioner became a Japanese sake brewer.

     All in all, the area has been a holy place since prehistoric days, and the temple’s history is filled with legends and mysteries.

     Miki City produces the largest amount of Yamada Nishiki, a short-grain Japanese rice famous for its use in high-quality sake, in Japan.  Oh, it'snothing but the fact.

Address: 567 Hosokawacho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0703

Phone: 0794-88-2004

Trees In the Town

 

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary (26)

 

     A rattling sound, as if something were being torn down, echoed from the midday chamber (Hi-no-omasho), accompanied by a commotion of many voices. When I listened intently, wondering what could be happening, a lady-in-waiting—with whom I had shared a long and close service—suddenly rushed into my room. She wept bitterly, unable to find words. Seeing her state, an uncontrollable urge to cry surged within me, even before I knew the cause.

     After a while, struggling to suppress her tears, she managed to speak: "Oh, how pitiful it is! At this very moment, there is a great stir as the Imperial Seal and the Sword are being transferred to the New Emperor. They are drawing the curtains around the midday chamber and removing the sacred mirror and other items. That sound you hear... it is the sound of them dismantling the curtain stands." Her words struck me with unbearable sorrow.

Earlier that day, Takashina Nariko had already been assigned to the duty of guarding the Imperial Sword. She was there, attending to her task and recounting stories of the Emperor’s life. Since I had had no part in what went on in the Breakfast (Asa-garei) Room, her words were nothing but a distant, hollow murmur to me—beyond my concern, and beyond my heart.

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #32 Yusho-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Yusho-ji Temple was founded along Ogawa River, a tributary of the Mino River.  Ogawa means Stream.  All in all, Yusho-ji Temple is an obscure temple in an obscure village.

Address: Nakazato-1683 Hosokawacho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0702

Phone: 0794-88-2976

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #31 Gaya-in Temple

 

     According to temple tradition, Daikei-ji Temple was founded in 645 by Hermit Hodo as an Imperial prayer temple of Emperor Karu (596-654).  It was also called Toichi-bo.  It was the first year of the Taika Era (645-650), when the emperor started his reform to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the Imperial Court.

     Hodo is a legendary figure said to have flown from India to Japan on a cloud.  Given the numerous temples in Southern Hyogo Prefecture with Hodo founding legends, there could have been mountain ascetics who served as a model or models for Hodo existed, regardless of whether they actually flew from India.  Similar to other temples with Hodo founding legends, the exact date and circumstances of the temple's founding remain unclear.

     Around the 11th century, the temple flourished, boasting dozens of halls and over 130 monks' quarters, and Emperor Kazan (968-1008) is recorded to have visited the temple.

     When the Battle of Miki was fought between Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) and Bessho Nagaharu (1558-1580) from 1578 to 1580,, Nagaharu's forces were stationed in the temple.  It caught fire and suffered great damage.  Then, in 1609, another fire broke out, burning down all the temple buildings except for the fortress-like stone walls.  The existing temple buildings were donated by feudal lords after 1610.

     In 1681, by Imperial decree of Emperor Gosai (1638-1685), the temple was renamed Gaya-in, after Bodh Gaya in today's Bihar, India.

     From the medieval period onward, it held influence as a Shugendo temple affiliated with Shogo-in Temple.  During the Edo Period (1603-1868), it wielded considerable power in the Shugendo society as one of the 4 leading temples of the Tiantai-Sect Ascetics.  Even today, on Health and Sports Day in October, numerous Shugendo practitioners gather from all over Japan, and the largest-scale Big Bonfire Koma Ritual in the Kansai Region is held.

     The entrance fee of Gaya-in Temple is to weed 10 stalks of grass.

Address: Otani-410 Shijimicho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0513

Phone: 0794-87-3906

Shogo-in Temple

Address: 15 Shogoin Nakamachi, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8324

Phone: 075-771-1880

Shakuzen-in Temple

Address: Shogoin Nakamachi, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8324

Trees In the Town

 

Sanuki no Suke’s Diary (25)

 

     After all the wet nurses had departed, I remained by the body alongside Fujiwara Koreko, a maid of honor with whom I shared a particularly close bond. We stayed there, lost to the passage of time. Koreko wept bitterly, repeating through her tears, "Of all those who served, it is this deep karmic connection that allowed me to remain by his side until the very end." Her words only deepened my own overwhelming grief, making it almost unbearable to remain.

     Suddenly, a frantic voice called out from my chambers: "Come quickly! Kenshi has fainted!" I was hurried away from the body to find Kenshi looking like a corpse herself, her breath so faint it was barely perceptible. As dusk fell, a crowd gathered to lift her into a carriage and take her home.

     The room where the Emperor lay had fallen eerily still. The transformation was hard to believe; the chaotic commotion of recent days, once so deafening that one could hardly hear a word, had vanished—silent now, as if a fire had been suddenly extinguished. Not a sound remained.

     Though Ieko’s chamber was separated from mine by only a single wall, I could still hear the muffled weeping of those within, echoing the cries of the day. Then, I heard Ieko’s voice crying out:

     "Ah, at this hour, I used to worry about how quickly we should lower the lattices, but now there is no longer any need to say a word. How has it come to this? Please, help me... just summon me to where His Majesty is. I beg of you, please!"

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #30: Shijimi-no-Iwamuro

 

     Around the 5th century, during a violent succession dispute, Prince Ichinohe-no-Oshiha was killed by the faction of Emperor Ohatsuse Wakatake.  The prince’s 2 sons, Princes Oke and Woke—who would later ascend as the 24th Emperor and the 23rd Emperor, respectively—fled for their lives.  Local tradition holds that they sought refuge in this stone chamber in Shijimi.

     The Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), completed in 720 AD, explicitly identifies this site as the "Shijimiyama Stone Chamber."

     The chamber itself is an impressive natural formation, measuring 2.7 meters high, 14.5 meters wide, and 7.2 meters deep. While it remains a sacred site today, it is unknown exactly when the statue of the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha was first enshrined within its depths.

Addreaa: 1708 Shijimicho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0515