Sunrise wallk to Dainichi-ji Temple 94 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Sunday January 5th 2014. Day 56 of my walk around  Kyushu on the Kyushu Pilgrimage. This will be the last day where I base myself in Kurume, an interesting town that I had never heard of before coming here but which has been my home away from home as I have explored the region.

As I am walking across the bridge to Nagatoishi on the north side of the river the sun comes up behind me.

 I find the first temple, Dainichi-ji, easily enough and it is yet another structure indistinguishable from a house. The ground floor is two open car parking spaces, the second containing some statues and the entrance to the stairs that I presume lead up to the “main hall”.

It was founded in 1985 and at that time was surrounded by rice paddies, though now it has become a suburb of Kurume. In 2010 it became temple 94 on the pilgrimage.

The honzon is Dainichi Nyorai, and there is also a Dainichi statue outside in the entrance area. Inside is said to be a Yakushi, Kobo Daishi, Fudo, and numerous other statues alongside the Dainichi.

There is no reason why a temple must conform to a pre-determined idea of what a temple should look like, but it is disappointing nonetheless. It is also a little too early in the morning to ring the bell and go in so I pay my respects to the statues at the entrance and head off.