Daihoji Temple 44 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

Daihoji, the 44th temple on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage is a Koyasan Shingon sect temple located just below Narufuchi Dam.

It was previously known as Narufuchi Kannon-do, and was relocated to its current location in 1993 because of the construction of the dam.

The honzon of the temple is an 11-faced Kannon, seen in photo 5.

As with all the temples on this short pilgrimage, the smallish temples still have a lot of statuary on display. Above is a statue of En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of Shugendo.

There were several Fudo Myo's, including this one that looks quite youthful.

The last two photos are of a Bato Kannon, I think, on horseback, and an unusual Bishamonten looking like Santa...

The previous post was on Narufuchi Dam.

Goto Falls Bato Kannon Temple 70 Sasaguri pilgrimage

 

Temple 70 on the Sasaguri pilgrimage is located in the valley above Narafuchi Dam.

Just above the temple is Goto Falls which was not particularly impressive, at least when I visited.

However, being a waterfall there was an abundance of Fudo Myo statues.

The honzon is a Bato Kannon, a "Horse-head Kannon" and there were also multip Bato Kannon statues.

As with its equivalent temple on Shikoku, this is the only temple on the pilgrimage with a Bato Kannon as a honzon.

According to the legend, a long time ago (probably the Edo era) horses and cattle in the area fell ill and it was discovered that pollution from the Kuroda Clan gunpowder factory had poisoned the river, so  a Bato Kannon statue was erected.

My reason for suggesting Edo period is that the Kuroda were the clan controlling Fukuoka at that time.

Along the path to the waterfall are lots of other statues, not just Bato Kannon and Fudo Myo.

The previous post in this series on day 1 of my walk along the delightful Sasaguri pilgrimage was on the Fudo Myo statues at the previous temple, Jimyoin.

Santoka Taneda and Midorikannonzuisenji Temple

 

This is a statues of Santoka Taneda (1882-1940 ) a famous poet of the early 20th century who is well known as much for his lifestyle as his poetry. The statue is in the grounds of a small Zen temple just north of Kumamoto.

I came across the temple by chance. Day 47 of my walk along the Kyushu pilgrimage found me heading north out of Kumamoto City to the next temple in Yamaga. I came across a statue of Fudo Myo at the base of a set of very steep, narrow, and overgrown steps that led up the hill////

It is a quite small Soto temple but with quite a lot of statuary around. Santoka had made what many believed was a suicide attempt by stepping in front of a train in Kumamoto. He recuperated at a nearby zen temple and was obviously attracted to something because a year later he was ordained as a Zen priest.

He then spent a year as a caretaker here at Midorikannonzuisenji before heading off on his famous walks around Japan.

Zuisenji is a larger temple a little lower down the hill, and this was the Kannon -do of the temple. I believe these are rakan statues, but, as usual, might be mistaken.

I am fairly certain this is a Kannon.

These two more colorful statues were, I believe, connected to a shrine just above the kannondo. They do have somewhat of a kami statue feel to them, but I have no idea. Maybe a reader does?

The temple is popular for fans of Santoka, and is also known for its autumn colors. A short haiku by Santoka can be found here.

Bato Kannon, the Horsehead Kannon, popular among livestock raisers as well as samurai. 

There were a couple of statues of Ebisu.

Hachiman Daibosatsu

Daibosatsu

After visiting Hojoji, temple 46 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage, I headed east along route 263 and a few kilometers out in the country came to temple 48, Satsumayakushi Temple. It was a very new and modern main hall, and the honzon, a Yakushi Nyorai statue, was transferred here from Koyasan.

There was a hot spring facility in the temple grounds, owned by the temple I suspect, but most intriguing was the red torii that led to an overhang in the rock wall into which had been cut a couple of altars. The first was to Hachiman Daibiosatsu.

Hachiman was a very important kami with strong links to Buddhism. Originally a north Kyushu kami with connection to Korean immigrants, Hachiman rose to prominence as a protector of Todaiji, the great national temple established in Nara.

Hachiman was the first "kami" to be given the rank and title of Daibosatsu, Great Bodhisattva" and statues of Hachiman were not uncommon in earlier days. Next to the altar for Hachiman was another small altar.

The figure on the left is I believe Bato Kannon, the Horse-head Kannon, and the figure on the right seems to be Benzaiten holding a lute.