Shaka-do & Myo-o-ji Temples 36 & 37 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

My final stop on day three of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was a pair of temples sharing the same ground.

Number 36, Shaka-do, was part of another temple but was managed by Myooji temple in the Edo period and then moved here in the Meiji period I believe. The main hall is the only nationally registered Important Cultural Property on Shodoshima.

It is three bays wide and 4 deep and was built in the early 16th century. The honzon, a Shaka Nyorai, the "historical" Buddha is said to have been carved by the famous sculptor Unkei.

 Multiple sources say that Shaka-do is in some way the origin of the Shodoshima pilgrimage, but I can not find details.....

Next door is Myo-O-ji temple, established earlier than the Shaka-do, in the late 13th century and was rebuilt in the late 17th century.

The honzon is a Fudo Myo, said to be carved by Kobo Daishi, although some records suggest Gyoki may have brought it to the island earlier.

Photo 4 is of the Bishamondo attached to Myooji....

Unusually, the statue of Binzaru is inside a shelter and not on the verandah as is more common. It is also much darker than most Binzaru statues.

The previous post in the series was on the large Kameyama Shrine.

Tokosan Dainichi-ji

Tokosan Dainichi-ji is an urban temple in the old castle town of Saiki on the coast of southern Oita in Kyushu. I visited it on my 16th  day of walking along the Kyushu 108 temple pilgrimage which is composed of only Shingon temples.

It was founded in the very early 17th Century and was connected to the ruling family of the castle. It was never a big domain. The honzon is , not surpringly, Dainichi, the Great Sun Buddha.

I believe this is a statue of Binzaru, though it is in much better condition than many Binzaru statues which are normally rubbed by petitioners for healing purposes.

I believe this chubby figure is a Kannon, though back in those days I was not paying as much attention to the names of many of the statues I encountered,,,,,

This is probably a shrine to Dakiniten, the deity that played a large part in the formation of the popular kami Inari.

Jizoji Revisited

On Friday 16th December, 2016 I began my walk along the Shikoku 36 temple Fudo Myo-o pilgrimage. At times the route is the same as the 88 Henro, but at other times it is quite different.

Some of the 36 temples are actually bangai temples from the Henro. In fact the first temple is Taisanji which is the first Henro bangai.

I decided to start walking from Jizo-ji, the fifth of the henro temples and the closest one to Taisanji, because I wanted to revisite the Rakan Hall.

I was there a long time before the Hall opened so hung out in the days first light and snapped some pics.

Dainichi-ji Temple 4 Shikoku Pilgrimage

Dainichi-Ji is located in Itano Town, Tokushima Prefecture, and is the 4th temple on the henro route.

According to legend it was founded by Kukai and he carved the main deity sculpture of Dainichi Nyorai. It belongs to the Shingon sect.

The architecture is nothing special, but in a covered corridor connecting the main hall with the Daishi hall are a collection of nice statues.

 

One thing you will see at every temple on the route is a red statue of Kobo daishi himself.

The corridor contains 33 statues of kannon that were donated by someone from Osaka in the mid eighteenth century.

There is a fine statue of Shomen Kongozo, an interesting deity with daoist overtones and a link to the three monkeys. he is known as a deity to pray to for relief from diseases caused by demons.

There is also a nice statue of Benzaiten.

EDIT..... When I first posted this my knowledge of Buddhist figures was very limited. The red statue is of course Binzaru, and I direct you to the excellent comment blow by Ted Taylor for details...