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

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #9 Entsu-ji Temple

 

     Haoka Hill used to be the Akashi Domain's hunting grounds.  Matsudaira Nobuyuki (1631-1686), the 6th lord of the Akashi Domain, developed new rice fields there, and Toba Village was organized from 1659 to 1679.  At the request of village headman, Iwasa Uemon, Nobuyuki built a Kannon-do hall.  Some say Toba Village was already nearby and 12 households immigrated from the village and developed the new rice fields in the nearby hilly area.

     Nobuyuki was transferred to the Yamato Koriyama Domain and then to the Shimousa Furukawa Domain, where he died in 1686.

     With the cooperation of the villagers, Zensho, a traveling monk from Usuki, Bungo Province, rebuilt the Kannon-do Hall in 1688.

     In 1735, the villagers erected a monument to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Nobuyuki's death, in memory of his virtue.

     Some time between 1688 and 1735, the hall became a Buddhist temple and was named Josui-ji.

     Nun Gyoshun rebuilt the main hall in October, 1965, and changed the temple's name from Daihi-san Jousui-ji to Jigan-san Entsu-ji.

     Part of the temple was rebuilt in 1993, and the Jizo-do hall, which used to be the Kannon-do hall, was converted into a two-story building.

     The monument for Yukinobu was rebuilt in 2000.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Even those who lose their children

Can be saved without exception.

Give a try to the flowers falling from the compassionate temple.

Address: 3-chome-8-1 Sawano, Akashi, Hyogo 673-0008

Phone: 078-928-0174

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #8 Gokuraku-ji Temple

 

     Ei-jima or Ei-ga-jima Island was located at the mouth of Akane River.  In 726, Kasa Kanamura composed a poem mentioning the island as Nakisumi-no-funase:

I have heard that in Matsuho Bay on Awaji Island,

which can be seen over Nakisumi-no Funase,

Young female divers collect seaweed in the morning

And parch seaweed to get salt in the evening.

I have no way of going to see these girls.

Without a man's heart but with the broken heart,

I just go back and forth in the same place,

Yearning for the female divers.

I have neither a boat nor a helm.

     Funase was an inlet where boats waited for favorable or weaker winds.

     In 744, Gyoki (668-749) built a breakwater for the port and overhauled it as Uozumi Port.  The port was one of the 5 important ports in Harima and Settsu Provinces: Muro, Matogata, Uozumi, Owada, and Kawajiri Prots, which were located in today's Tatsuno, Himeji, Akashi, Kobe, and Amagasaki Cities.

     In 832, Kiyohara Natsuno (782-837) put his personal money into the reconstruction of Uozumi Port.  Later, the reconstruction was supported by public money.

     In 914, Miyoshi Kiyoyuki (847-919) submitted a petition to restore Uozumi Port.  The restoration was archaeologically supported by the surveys carried out in 1986, 2012, and 2013.

     It is unknown if Ei-jima or Ei-ga-shima was a land-connected island in historic times, but, in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), it was already a peninsula.

     When Matsudaira Nobuyuki (1631-1686) was the 6th lord of the Akashi Domain, Ei-jima or Ei-ga-shima was renamed Nishi-jima, namely West Island, because the area was located in the west of Akane River.

     In 1733, Urabe Kiyobe built a Kannon-do hall for the temple.  The hall became today’s main hall.

     When Ino Tadataka (1745-1818) carried out his fifth expedition across Western Japan to draw Dai Nihon Enkai Yochi Zenzu, or Maps of Japan's Coastal Area, he stayed in Gokuraku-ji Temple for a night.  He left Edo on February 25th, 1805, and arrived at Gokuraku-ji Temple on October 11th.

     The Urabe Family is said to be the offspring of the Urabe Clan, who was a Japanese noble family and did Divination for the Royal Family.  The family was not only the head of the village but also ran a sake brewery, and their descendants still manage Eigashima Shuzo CO.,LTD.

     Gokuraku means Pure Land of Perfect Bliss, and Gokuraku-ji Temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:.

Nishi-jima, or West Island, sounds like Western Pure Land.

Speaking of Pure Land, we have Gokuraku-ji Temple here.

The teachings of Buddhism never fail to pass people to Pure Land.

Address: Nishijima-1100 Okubocho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0065

Phone: 078-946-2149

EIGASHIMA SHUZO CO.,LTD.

Address: Nishijima-919 Okubocho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0065

Phone: 078-946-1006

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #7 Yakushi-in Temple

 

     According to legend, when Gyoki (668-749) visited the area, he thrust his Buddhist staff into the ground, and holy water gushed forth, from which a statue of Bhaisajyaguru, or Yakushi Nyorai in Japanese, emerged.  Yakushi-in Temple was founded to enshrine the statue.

     Or, in 730, Gyoki founded Seiryo-zan Akai-dera Temple.  In the 880's, it thrived to have over 20 sub-temples.  One of the sub-temples could have been Yakushi-in.  Akai-dera Temple fell into ruin during the Southern and Northern Courts Period (1336-1392), involved in battle.

     The present main hall was built in 1657 and was repaired in 1990.

     The temple's precincts have Akai Well.  Aka comes from argha in Sanskrit.  Argha means the water offered to Buddhas and priests.

     The temple is now known as Peony Temple, and its origins date back to the early Meiji Period (1868-1912), when the head priest at the time planted peonies to use their roots for medicines.  A 2,000 square meter peony garden has been maintained within the temple grounds.  During the flowering season, around 2,000 peonies of around 50 species bloom.

     The temple’ Buddhist tanka poem is:

The water drawn from Aka Spring is very pure.

We offer the water to Buddha

With the same purity in mind.

Address: Nishioka-1636 Uozumicho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0084

Phone: 078-942-0330

Trees In the Town

 

Virtual Akashi 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #6 Raigo-ji Temple

 

     In 717, Gyoki carved 8 Avalokitesvara statues in Nyoi-ji Temple.  He is said to have founded Raigo-ji Temple and enshrined one of them, an Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue.  Unfortunately, the statue was reduced to ashes in fire in 1924.

     Another Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue was made in 1925.  It is recorded that Sakurai Shozaemon supported the revival of the temple.

     In 1982, an outward Ekadasamukha statue was made by Matsuhisa Horin (1901-1987), his son, Sorin (1926-1992), and his daughter, Maya (1954-).  As 3 generations of sculptors of Buddhist images took part in its production, the statue is called Sanze Kannon, or Three-generation Avalokitesvara.  If prayers are made to the statue, wishes for the past, present and future are supposed to be granted.

     The temple’s Buddhist tanka poem is:

Again and again,

Spirits and minds visit Raigo-ji Temple

To see purple clouds hanging over the moonlit mountain.

     Raigo-ji Temple used to have a hermitage with a spring, which gushed pure water.  The hermitage is An in Japanese, and the spring is called An-no-ido.  Because this area is close to the sea, seawater mixes with the well water.  Although it is difficult to obtain good quality water in the area, fresh water springs up in the well.

Address: Yagi-310 Okubocho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0063

Phone: 078-936-1323

Nyoi-ji Temple

Address: 259 Hasetanicho, Nishi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-2237

Phone: 078-991-0009

An-no-ido Spring

Address: Yagi-294 Okubocho, Akashi, Hyogo 674-0063