Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 Tofuku-ji Temple

 

     Tofuku-ji Temple was founded in 1602 in Kurumi Village, Miki County, Settsu Province, as a branch of the Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Jigen-ji Temple.

     Due to the anti-Buddhist movement in 1869, Tofuku-ji Temple subsequently declined, and part of its buildings was merged with Jigan-ji Temple.  For 32 years thereafter, deeply saddened by this, Priest Entsu made up his mind to rebuild the temple in 1902, relocating it to Ono, Kobe City (today's Chuo Ward).  In 1908, he found the current location and built a temporary main hall.  In 1912, he invited the renowned master carpenter of the time, the 9th generation Ito Heizaemon (1829-1913), a Living National Treasure, to begin construction of the temple buildings.  In 1924, Entsu invited Nun Chiei of Zenko-ji Temple, and held a grand completion ceremony.  As the first priest of the revived Tofuku-ji Temple, Entsu enshrined the Zenkoji-style Amitabha Triad  Buddha and engaged in missionary activities, earning the temple the nickname "Ono's Zenko-ji Temple."

     The style of the 3 Buddhist images is called the Three Saints of the West in China and the Amitabha Triad in Japan, referring to the three main Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Western Paradise.  The leader is Amitabha, with his attendants Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the left and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva on the right.  The three are all on the lotus seat.  The lotus symbolizes being free from mud and untainted.  The statues or portraits of the three are objects of respect for those who practice Pure Land Buddhism.  The style is based on the Amitayus Contemplation Sutra, in which the bodies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas visualized as the bodies of these three deities.  Avalokitesvara is considered to be the incarnation of Amitabha's compassion, while Mahasthamaprapta is considered to be the incarnation of wisdom.  In conclusion, the Amitabha Triad is one of the Buddhist statue placement styles and should have cost more than having a Buddhist image.

     Tofuku-ji Temple’s main deity used to be the Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue.  The membership of the temple as the Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #10 was transferred to the Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Jigen-ji Temple.  The question is where has the Ekadasamukha statue gone.  As Kurumi has Juichimen-Kannon-do Hall, the hall might keep the statue.

Jigen-ji Temple

Address: 1722 Kurumi, Miki, Hyogo 673-0411

Phone: 0794-82-4093

Tofuku-ji Temple

Address: 7 Chome−2−6, Kunikadori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0066

Phone: 078-221-5128

Zenko-ji Temple

Address: Motoyoshicho I, Nagano 380-0851

Phone: 026-234-3591

Juichimen-Kannon-do Hall

Address: Kurumi, Miki, Hyogo 673-0411

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Jisho-in Temple

 

     It is unknown when Jisho-in Temple was founded in Yoroki Village, Miki County, Settsu Province.

     Yoroki Village was developed after Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) sieged Miki Castle from 1578 to 1580.  The area was part of the manor of the Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Jigen-ji Temple.

     Jisho-n Temple could have been founded for the villagers to meet the religious policy of the Tokugawa shogunate, which established the danka system in the 17th century.  Under the system, the Tokugawa Clan made the affiliation with a Buddhist temple compulsory to all citizens.  Was the village developed by defeated samurai of Miki Castle?

Address: Yoroki, Miki, Hyogo 673-0422

Phone: 0794-82-3618

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Jozen-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when Jozen-ji Temple was founded in Yoshida Village, Miki County, Settsu Province.

     Shijimi Miyake was established in the latter half of the 6th century.  It is still disputable what miyake were, but some argue the Soga Clan established miyake, injecting their subordinate families into remote areas from their homeland, Yamato Province, to build up their nationwide hegemony.

     According to Nihonshoki, the Chronicles of Japan, whose editing was finished in 720, Prince Woke and his older brother, Prince Oke, sought refuge in Shijimi Village after their father, Ichinohe Oshiha, was killed by his cousin, Emperor Ohatsuse Wakatake (418-479).  Woke later became the 23rd Emperor.

     Yoshida Village appears in the Keicho Kuni-ezu, or the Keicho Maps of the Provinces, as part of the Shijimi area.

     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.

Address: Yoshida-38-2 Shijimicho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0501

Phone: 0794-82-4363

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Jogon-ji Temple

 

     Jogon-ji Temple is said to have the grave of Akamatsu Norimura (1277-1350).  The back of the Onko Chishin (Learning from the Past) stone monument in front of the temple gate bears the inscription "Grave of the Founder, Akamatsu Norimura."

     In the Kanno Disturbance from 1350 to 1352, Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) and his steward, Ko Moronao (?-1351), fought against Takauji's younger brother, Tadayoshi (1307-1352).  Norimura sided with Takauji.  While organizing an army to pursue Tadafuyu (1327-1387), who was Takauji's illegitimate son, and who was Tadayoshi's adopted son, Norimura died suddenly on January 11th, 1350, at his residence in Shichijo, Kyoto.  He was 74 years old.  He was buried at Kyusho-in Temple, a sub-temple of Kennin-ji Temple in Higashiyama, Kyoto.  A memorial tower was built at Houn-ji Temple in his home town.  It is unknown who built his "grave" in Miki County, Harima Province.

Address: 1038 Shukuhara, Miki, Hyogo 673-0423

Phone: 0794-82-1829

Kysho-in Temple

Address: 597 Komatsucho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0811

Phone: 075-561-7074

Kennin-ji Temple

Address: 584 Komatsucho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto 605-0811

Phone: 075-561-6363

Houn-ji Temple

Address: 637 Kokenawa, Kamigori, Ako District, Hyogo 678-1277

Phone: 0791-52-4129

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Shonyu-ji Temple

 

     In 1601, when Iki Tadatsugu (1543-1603), a chief retainer of Ikeda Terumasa (1565-1613), who was the 1st lord of Himeji Domain, became lord of Miki Castle, Tadatsugu invited Priest Nichizan from Sainen-ji Temple in Ono Village, Chita County, Owari Province, and founded Gokoku-zan Shonyu-ji Temple to pray for comfort of his former lord, Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536-1584), in the other world, as the family temple of the Iki Family.  The temple enshrines the memorial Buddhist tablets of Ikeda Tsuneoki, Terumasa, Iki Tadatsugu, and, his son, Tadashige (1581-1616).  Gokoku means to Protect Province.

Address: 1 Chome-7-21 Honmachi, Miki, Hyogo 673-0431

Phone: 0794-82-5768

Sainen-ji Temple

Address: 9 Chome−139, Onocho, Tokoname, Aichi 479-0866

Phone: 0569-42-0234

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #5 Unryu-ji Temple

 

     According to temple legend, Unryu-ji Temple was founded in 957 by Priest Ryogen, who belonged to the Tiantai Sect.  It was later destroyed by fire during the Hogen Era (1156–1159), but was rebuilt by Akamatsu Norimura (1277-1350) in 1322 and was transferred to Caodong Chan School.  In the Warring States Period (1467-1573), the temple gained the patronage of the Bessho Family.  The temple was destroyed by fire in 1578, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) besieged Miki Castle from 1578 to 1580.  After the war, Hideyoshi granted land to the temple.

     The temple precincts have a grave where the heads of Bessho Nagaharu (1558-1580) and his wife, Teruko (?-1580), who were defeated in Hideyoshi's attack on Miki Castle, are said to have been buried.  A memorial service is held at the temple every year on January 17th, the anniversary of their suicide.

     Nagaharu left a death tanka poem:

Now I have no grudges

Because I think of our own lives

As being substitutes for others.

     Did Teruko and his family have no grudges?

Address: 9-4 Uenomarucho, Miki, Hyogo 673-0432

Phone: 0794-82-0740

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Miki County 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #4 Koya-san Gachirin-ji Temple

 

     Legend has it that Gachirin-ji Temple was founded by Hodo in 652.  Hodo traveled from India through Tang China and the Korean kingdom of Baekje to Japan from the 6th to 7th centuries.  It is unknown if Hodo was still alive in 652.

Gachirin-ji Temple and Omiya Hachima Shrine annually hold the Tsuina Ritual in cooperation, so Gachirin-ji Temple might be a shrine temple of Omiya Hachima Shrine, whose foundation date is unknown.

     Omiya Hachiman Shrine was supported by the Bessho Family.

     It is also unknown why Hoju-in and Gachirin-ji Temple shared the same sango and jigo once.

Address: 2 Chome-17-40 Honmachi, Miki, Hyogo 673-0431

Phone: 0794-82-0779

Omiya Hachima Shrine

Address: 2 Chome-19-1 Honmachi, Miki, Hyogo 673-0431

Phone: 0794-82-0401