Izumo 33 Kannon Temple 1 Hasedera

The first temple on the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is Chokoku-ji, located not far from the beach in Taisha Town. Ive posted on this temple a couple of times before, here, and here.

It is the oldest temple in Taisha, and used to be located about 1k further up in the mountains but was moved to its present location in 1651 following a flood.

It is one of the few temples on the pilgrimage that has a resident priest. It belongs to the Shingon sect. Legend has it that the statue of Kannon was found washed up on the beach by a fisherman,... a not uncommon legend..

I started the pilgrimage in April so it was nice to see some cherry blossoms....