Trees in the Town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #25 Muryoju-in Temple

 

     From the age of 19 to 29, Kukai sought out isolated mountain regions and wandered the countryside or from temple to temple.  In 806, he returned from studying in China.  From 810 to 824, he might have gone back and forth between Kyoto and his homeland, Sanuki Province.  On one of those days, he could have visited where Muryoju-ji Temple was later founded.  Amidst a landscape of flourishing old pines and moss-covered rocks, there was a boulder that suddenly emitted a brilliant light; moved by this miraculous sign, he built a thatched hermitage there. The area came to be known as Iwamitsu ("Rock Light") and was later renamed Nozoe.

     The principal image, Amitayus Tathagata (Muryoju Nyorai), is said to be the work of Jyang Juhun, a Buddhist sculptor from Goryeo, created in the 7th century.

     The sacred image had been handed down in the household of Imai Rokuroemon in Nishijima Village, Akashi County, Harima Province. The image repeatedly expressed a desire in dreams to go to Iwamitsu. Eventually, Rokuroemon carried the image on his back and relocated it to Iwamitsu Village.

     Long after Kukai built the hermitage, and Rokuroemon brought the image, the site had fallen into disrepair. Later, Priest Kakuban (1095-1143) visited the site and heard of the miraculous events of the past. In 1103, he restored the hermitage and named it Muryoju-in.

     Subsequently, the temple became a center for the study of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism and a training center for kanjo (consecration/initiation) rituals.

     The temple has 4 woodblocks for the Rishu-kyo (Principle of Wisdom Sutra). The blocks bear an inscription dating them to the 19th year of Bunmei (1487). Signs of wear on the woodblocks suggest they were used extensively for printing, implying that many monks gathered at this temple to study and practice the teachings.

     The Rishu-kyo, formally known as Prajnaparamita-naya-satapancasatika, is a Buddhist esoteric scripture.  In the Shingon Buddhist sects, it is a common practice for ordained priests to chant the Rishu-kyo daily.

Address: 3 Chome-8-16 Nishinozoe, Harima, Kako District, Hyogo 675-0160

Phone: 078-942-3866

Trees in the town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #24 Yakuo-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Yakuo-ji Temple was founded in Futago Village, Kako County, Harima Province.  It was abolished in 1964, in the midst of the Japanese economic miracle after World War II, with its statues and graveyard inherited by Bussho-ji Temple nearby.

Bussho-ji Temple Graveyard

Address: Wakamiyamoto-123 Futago, Harima, Kako District, Hyogo 675-0162

Bussho-ji Temple

Address: 9 Futago, Harima, Kako District, Hyogo 675-0162

Phone: 078-942-2479

Trees in the Town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Itoku-in Temple

 

     Kaiun-ji Temple was said to have been founded by Gyoki (668-749) and later revived by Priest Kaiun in 1626 as the shrine temple of Mikuriya Shrine.  The temple had 2 sub-temples (including Itoku-in) and 4 subordinate monastic quarters (including Saizo-bo). During the Meiji era, the anti-Buddhist movement resulted in the closure of most of these Buddhist facilities, leaving only Saizo-bo, which was renamed Itoku-in in 1941.

     The temple also houses the Avalokitesvara statue, which is historically known as "Hosage Kannon" (Sail-Lowering Avalokitesvara) because passing ships would lower their sails to pay their respects. This statue was originally enshrined in a Kannon-do hall located on the beach south of Itoku-in Temple but was moved to the temple itself after the hall burned down.

Address: Nishifutami-943 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0094

Phone: 078-942-1184

 Mikuriya Shrine

 Address: Higashifutami-1323 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0092

 Phone: 078-942-3461

Trees in the Town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #22 Chotoku-ji Temple

 

     Chotoku-zenji Temple is said to have been founded either in 1574, in 1583, or in 1584 in Higashi-Futami Village, Kako County, Harima Province. The current head priest is the 17th to hold the position.

    The temple gate was erected in 1719.  A massive fire in Higashi-Futami Village in November 1790 destroyed all records, so its detailed history remains unknown. The principal image is Vajrasana, flanked by Ananda and Mahakashyapa, forming a triad.

     Although the temple suffered damage during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January 17th, 1995, major renovations, including the reconstruction of the main hall, were completed in May, 2005, resulting in the temple's current state. The temple gate, which was originally located on the south side, was dismantled, repaired, and relocated to the east side. Additionally, the Ragaraja Hall, which enshrined the temple's guardian deity, was partially destroyed in the earthquake and subsequently demolished; the deity is now enshrined in the ihai-do (memorial tablet hall) located behind the main hall. It is rare for Ragaraja to be enshrined as a temple's guardian deity.

Address: Higashifutami-1695 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0092

Phone: 078-942-1175

Trees in the Town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #21 Tokugen-ji Temple

 

     Tokugen-ji temple was founded in 1618 by Priest Tengen, who had previously revived Zuio-ji Temple, to serve as a retirement hermitage for Zuio-ji Temple, which is the 23rd station of the Kako County Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. Its construction was made possible through financial support from Murotani Kanshichi, a member of the Yokogawa Family, a prominent old family in Futami. This support was likely due to the fact that Priest Unnan, who was a disciple of Tengen and the second head priest of Zuio-ji Temple, was from the Murotani Family.

     The temple's principal image is Yakushi Nyorai (Bhaisajyaguru), and a portrait of the founding priest, Tengen, has been preserved as a temple treasure. The current structure was rebuilt in 1992 by Priest Ryuzan of Zuio-ji Temple.

     The place name "Futami" was first documented in a tanka poem. On April 22nd, 1005, Fujiwara Takato (949–1013), on his way to take up his post as the Dazaifu no Daini (Senior Assistant Governor-General), composed a poem titled "At Futami Bay":

Waiting for a favorable wind, 

We anchored in Futami. 

I gaze upon the dawn at the break of day, 

To find the rough waves still pounding the bay.

     Keicho Kuni-ezu (Provincial Maps), which was published in 1611, lists Higashi-Futami and Nishi-Futami Villages separately.

Address: Higashifutami-1691 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0092

Zuio-ji Temple

Address: Higashifutami-1910 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0092

Phone: 078-942-1198

Trees in the Town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #20 Jotoku-ji Temple

 

     Zenpuku-ji Temple was founded in 1670, at the site of the current Fukusato Community Center, serving the Shimojo and Maeyama Hamlets of Fukusato Village. In 1695, it was renamed Jotoku-ji and relocated to its present site.

     At that time, Chokoku-ji Temple, which served the Uejo Hamlet, was located immediately to the north.  Chokoku-ji Temple is said to have been closed during the early Meiji era amidst the Haibutsu Kishaku (anti-Buddhist) movement, and Jotoku-ji Temple subsequently came to serve the entire Fukusato Village. The Jizo-do and Fudo-do halls located in front of the temple gate were originally enshrined within the precincts of the adjacent Odoshi Shrine.

     Judging from their adjoining to each other, Chokoku-ji Temple could have been Odoshi Shrine’s shrine temple which might have been abolished after the Meiji Restoration Government issued the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868.  If so, Jotoku-ji Temple was moved to the precincts of them, changing its name, for some grave reasons.

Address: Fukusato-556 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0091

Phone: 078-942-1273

Fukusato Community Center

Address: Fukusato-620 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0091

Odoshi Shrine

Address: Fukusato-575 Futamicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0091

Trees in the Town

 

Virtual Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #19 Innan-ji Temple

     The historical context surrounding the founding of Innami-ji Temple (Rinzai Zen, Myoshin-ji branch)—the 19th station of the Kako County Chichibu 33 Kannon pilgrimage—can be reconstructed through the lens of regional social history.

     After the Siege of Miki (1578–1580), surviving retainers of the defeated Bessho clan settled in the Harima countryside, transitioning into local gentry and village leaders (shoya). Their engineering capabilities and organizational capacity were vital in executing the reclamation projects of the Innami-no plateau in the late 17th to early 18th century.

     The affiliation of Innami-ji with Rinzai Zen strongly reflects this warrior heritage, as Rinzai Buddhism was widely patronized by the Sengoku-period samurai of Harima. The temple was therefore founded not merely as a local place of worship, but as a dedicated institution for ancestral veneration and religious registration (shumon-aratame) for a village built by samurai-descended farmers.

     The naming of "Innami-ji" carries a deep historical resonance that transcends a mere geographical label. Innami-no (the Innami Plain) was celebrated as a classical Utamakura—a poetic landmark—in the Man'yoshu, Japan’s oldest poetry anthology compiled in the 8th century. For the former samurai who disarmed after the fall of Miki Castle and turned to farming, identifying their new settlement with this ancient, prestigious name was a statement of profound pride. Though stripped of their warrior status and reduced to tilling the soil, these land-owning leaders (shoya) retained a strong sense of identity and cultural dignity. Naming their newly founded temple "Innami-ji" was not merely a matter of administrative convenience; it was a silent assertion of their unyielding spirit, anchoring their newly forged agrarian community to the timeless heritage of classic Japanese history.

Address: 1559 Innami, Inami, Kako District, Hyogo 675-1111

Phone: 079-495-0275