Seiganji Temple 83 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Seiganji is now a small, non-descript temple at the base of a mountain on Imazu Bay, but it was easy to find because of the many cherry trees in full bloom.

Founded in 1175, it is now a Shingon temple and the honzon is an Amida.

Imazu became an important port, for a while supplanting Hakata, and the temple grew quite powerful.

At its peak there were 42 sub temples and the temple controlled more than 1,800 cho of land.

Though not actually founded by him, the famous monk Eisai was involved with the temple.

He stayed here before his second journey to China from where he brought back the basis of Zen and founded the first Zen temple, Shofukuji, in Hakata.

The document he wrote about Seiganji's founding is the only extant document in his hand, and a National Treasure.

Above the temple is a small shrine to Hakusandaigongen, the Buddhist manifestation of the kami of Hakusan Shrines.

There is a rather nice Fudo Myoo statue and altar by the side of the steps leading up to the Hakusandaigingendo.

On top of the mountain is the okunoin, inner sanctuary, of the temple.

It is a Bishamonten Hall, which I will cover in the next post.

The previous post was on the Oimatsu Shrine in nearby Koraiji.

Koraiji Oimatsu Shrine

 

Koraiji is a village on the edge of the Itoshima Plain at the base of Mount Takaso.

Oimatsu Shrine was ranked as a village shrine in Meiji, but other than that I can find no history of it.

Like several other Oimatsu shrines I've come across in this part of Kyushu it enshrines Sugawara Michizane, and I have been intrigued by why they are not called Tenjin shrines or Tenmangu. One source I recently read suggested that many of the Oimatsu shrines are located on what were land under the control of Daizaifu Tenmangu. Shrines and temples were awarded lands as income and larger shrines and temples had huge estates in Japan.

The hall of the shrine had lots of ema paintings....

The area around the shrine is dotted with historical markers as the mountain was home to an 8th century "castle". Whereas ancient castles in Japan, which in English would be classed as forts, were said to be korean-style, this one was Chinese-style.

The previous post in those series on day 75 of my walk around Kyushu was on the nearby Itokoku History Museum which showcases the rich, ancient history of this region...

A Walk Down Mount Raizan

 

March 27th, 2014, and I leave Sennyoji Temple after a couple of hours exploring the unexpected delights of this amazing mountain temple. I head downhill towards the plain of Itoshima, most certainly one of the cradles of ancient Japanese culture.

Along almost all the roads in Japan you will find roadside altars. Sometimes, like this first one, a small structure protects the statues and offering from the weather. As well as the Buddhist statues this one had a collection of stones. Sacred stones have been integral to Japanese religion since the begininng.

The next roadside altar has an even more substantial structure including seats. If this was Shinto it would be classed as a shrine, but with Buddhism it is not a temple. I would call it a chapel.

A series of wooden cutout feet and legs suggest this is a spot to pray for the healing of foot ailments. Not uncommon, I first noticed such things at Kono Shrine in Tottori.

have no idea what this stone memorializes... don't think it is a grave....

Kyushu being a bit warmer than Honshu, the cherry blossoms are out a little earlier....

I continue on down the narrow Rai River valley.....

In postwar Japan land reform distributed the land more equitably, but some quite large farm buildings indicate there were wealthy farmers not too long ago.....

The next roadside chapel was again quite substantial....

I am not sure who tye two statues are.... Jizo are very common roadside statues, but I am only certain about a few identities of Buddhist statues.....

The colorful statue is, I think, a priest, and quite probably Kobo Daishi....

Beginning in Meiji, western-influenced archtecture was a symbol of modernity and used extensively in government buildings like schools, post offices, local government offices, hospitals etc.......

The previous post in this series on the Kyushu Pilgrimage was on the upper part of the big temple complex at Sennyoji.

Fukuoka Castle

 

Fukuoka Castle is said to have been the biggest castle in Kyushu, though I believe that means covering the largest area.

Much of the former castle is now Maizuru Park, a huge park with multiples sports grounds and stadiums within it.

The park is also home to numerous gardens planted with different seasonall plants and trees like a Cherry garden, Plum Garden, Iris Garden, and an Azalea Garden.

I visited a little after the peak of the cherry blossoms around the inner area of the castle ruins and on an overcast day.

Other than extensive walls, the most impressive of the remaining original structures is the Tamon Yagura Turret featured in the first few photos.

The castle was constructed between 1601 and 1607 for Kuroda Nagamasa who had been given the domain and nearby Najima Castle which he decided was too small and inconvenient for the building of a catle town.

One of the men responsible for the construction, Noguchi Kazanari, also worked on Osaka Castle and Edo Castle.

When Kato Kiyomasa, the famous Daimyo from Kumamoto, visited he was so impressed with the extensive stonework he named it Seki Castle, literally stone castle.

Covering 47,000 square meters, and with an impressive 47 yagura, much of the stone was quarried on nearby islands, though stones from the dismantled Najima castle and even stones from the fortifications built in preparation for the Mongol Invasion were also used.

Also impressive was the moat system which included a 600 meter wide section to the west that was mostly mud flats at low tide, now turned into Ohori Park.

There are conficting theories on whether a Tenshu, main tower or keep, was actually built. A base was but there seems to be no evidence that one existed, although that may be because in his hatred of Chrsitianity, Kuroda Nagamasa destroyed all documents with the word "tenshu" because it also meant "Christian God".

Like many castle in Japan, in 1871 when the han system was abandoned most of the buildings of the castle were dismantled or destroyed but a couple have recently been returned to ther original site from temples where they had been reassembled.

Maizuru Park and the Fukuoka Castle Ruins are free to enter

The previous post in this series was on Ohori Park, previously the very wide moat that protected the castle from the wesr.

Imayama Daishi

At the other end of the hill known as Imayama on which Imayama Hachimangu Shrine is located is a small temple, Imayama Daishi, dedicated to Kobo Daishi the founder of the Shingon sect.

Among the cherry trees and numerous statues of Jizo, Kannon, 7 Lucky Gods etc is a massive statue of Kobo Daishi himself.  17 meters tall and weighing 11 tons, many sources claim it to be the biggest statue of Kobo Daishi, but actually was superseded by the one built down at Cape Muroto in Shikoku.

Unfortunately when I was there the statue was encased in scaffolding while it was being refurbished. You can pay an entrance fee to enter the small building on which the statue stands and go up to view it at close quarters.

In April, on what was the 21st day of the third month according to the old lunar calendar, a big festival is held here involved a huge parade of locals dressed in period costume.