Akashiji Temple 43 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

An almost ten metre tall Fudo Myoo statue towers over Akashiji Temple and is clearly visible from a distance as you approach the temple.

It is called a Yakuyoke Namiikiri Fudo, a wawe-cutting Fudo against misfortune.

Yakuyoke is the Chinese system of "bad luck years", for men when they are 25, 42, and 61, and for women, 19, 33, 37, and also 61.

Afet entering through the main gate there are a further two gates to reach the main hall, one for women and one for men, with each having a corresponding number of steps to yakuyoke years.

The honzon is a seated Senju Kannon, only open to the public twice a year during festivals.

There is also a Bokefuji Kannon for protection against senility.

There are numerous other statues throughout the grounds including more Fudo's, the Seven Lucky Gods, and Kobo Daishi.

The temple previously had a shukubo, temple lodgings, though now it has been turned into a public ryokan, though offers many of the facilities of a shukubo for those who wish.

Behind the Main hall a path leading up to the Okunoin is lined with the 33 Kannon statues from the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Akashiji is also on the Kyushu Kannon Pilgrimage as well as the Sasaguri Pilgrimage.

I visited coming to the end of my first day walking along the Sasaguri Pilgrimage. The previous post was on Daihoji temple 44 nearby.

Kannon Hall & Founders Hall at Sennyoji Daihion Temple

 

The Kannon-do and Kaisan-do are the two structures above the main part of Sennyoji Temple.

The Kannon Hall was built around 1880 and as well as the amazing Kannon statue, also has many other statues, mostly, like the Kannon, from the Kamakura Period.

I suspect these were all transferred from the shrine-temple complex when the Buddhas and Kami were separated in early Meiji.

The Thousand-Armed Kannon is quite impressive and is a National Important Cultural Property.

The other statues were also very nice, most easily recognizable was a Fudo and an En no Gyoja.

The most unusual was, what I believe to be, the Japanese version of Garuda...

From the Kannon Hall the steps lead up to the Founders Hall.

This is a newer building, dating to 1990, and is modelled on Fukiji Temple in Kunisaki, the oldest wooden building in Kyushu.

The founder is said to be Seiga Shonin, a monk from India who established several temples on this mountainside in the year 178. This was more than three and a half centuries before Buddhism was "officially" introduced into Japan. The story first appears in print in the 13th century.

It is known that Buddhist statues have been found in western Japan before the official introduction. Trade and travel between northern Kyushu and the mainland had been going on since the beginning, but is such a story even possibly true?

Well, actually, yes!.... Buddhism had been in China for about a century by 178. Brought by travelers along the Silk Road, travel between China and Japan had also been going on for some time. In the first century a "king" in this part of Kyushu had been given a gold seal by the Han Emperor, the infamous Gold Seal of Na, so the idea that Silk Road travelers did not travel past China to the Japanese islands is not far fetched. Of course, an exact date of 178 is a bit improbable, but dating in Japanese prehistory is extremely fanciful when based on documents like the Kojiki anyway.

The interior of the Hall is very colorful and golden with paintings of the 4 Heavenly Kings on the pillars, and the 8 Great Bodhisattvas, and the 12 Heavens painted on the walls.

Three previous posts on this temple were on the gardens, the lower temple, and the 500 Rakan.

The Legend & Treasures of Dojoji Temple

 

Dojoji Temple is a very old Tendai Temple and is thought to be the oldest temple in what is now Wakayama. It is located in what is now the city of  Gobo and is close to the  Kiiji route of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route that runs from Kyoto down to Hongu.

It is believed to have been founded in the early 8th century, possibly as early as 701, and is known as the setting for the  ancient story of Anchin and Kiyohime.

The story was recorded in a picture scroll and became famous through the Noh play Dojoji, and also as a puppet play and a kabuki play, as well as lullabies and assorted songs. In all more than 100 versions of the story existed.

Anchin was a young, and of course handsome, monk on a pilgrimage to Kumano in 929 when he spent the night as a guest of a village headman a little to the south of Dojoji.. Kiyohime, the beautiful daughter of the headman, fell in love with Anchin and became besotted with him. He promised to meet her again on his return and continued on to Hongu.

However, on his return journey he took a different route that bypassed the village. When Kiyohime found out she became distraught and started to chase after Anchin, in the process her rage transformed her into a dragon. Fearing for his life, he sought refuge at Dojoji and the monks lowered the huge temple bell over him to hide him. The dragon melted the bell and so incinerated Anchin.

There are many variations and additions to the story, but in the Hobutsuden, a modern building displaying the treasure of the temple, visitors can listen to the story told by a monk from one of the existing emaki, picture scrolls.

The Hobutsuden is a delight. Many temple treasure halls are rather musty and dark, but here it is open, airy, and bright, like a modern museum.

Several of the statues are National Treasures, including a Senju Kannon, and a Nikko Bosatsu and Gakko Bosatsu, all dating from the Heian Period.

Also from the Heian Period are numerous Important Cultural Properties, a Juichimen Kannon, a Bishamonten,  the Shitenno, and a Shaka Nyorai Triad.

Other Important Cultural Properties dating back to the Nara Period include another couple of Senju Kannons.

As evidenced by the statuary, the temple was very prosperous during the Heian Period. Most of the temple was burned down during Hideyoshi's invasion of the Kii Peninsula but was rebuilt in the 17th century with further reconstruction in the 18th century.

The main hall however survived as did most of the statuary. It is a National Treasure and dates to 1357. The Niomon dates to 1694, and the Pagoda dates to 1763. The honzon of the temple is a Senju Kannon.

I visited on the 6th day of my walk along the Saigoku Pilgrimage and Kumano Kodo. The previous post was on the nearby Kishu Railway, in one sense the smallest railway in Japan.

Mt. Ebisu Reisenji Temple

 

Reisenji Temle was one of the 12 main temples located in the heart of the Kunisaki peninsula in Oita that made up the unique Rokugo Manzan cult and pilgrimage, a form of Shugendo based on Usa Hachiman and  Tendai Buddhism.

Situated high up the Takeda River valley, one of the 28 valleys that radiated out from the volcanic heart of the peninsula.

The main gate was relocated here from neighbouring Rokusho Shrine after the separation of Buddhas and Kami. The shrine, Jisson-in Temple, and Reisenji Temple were all originally the same site.

Reisenji is nowadays number 14 on the Rokugo Manzan pilgrimage which can be followed along a recently renovated long-distance trail, the Kunisaki Hanto Moimemichi Long Trail. It is said the temple was founded in 718. The honzon is a Thousan-Armed Kannon.

The shrines and temples of Kunisaki are known for their stone Nio guardians, and Resenji is home to six, 2 of which are guarding the biggest Jizo statue in all of Kyushu.

Almost 5 meters tall, and made out of a single piece of stone, the Jizo was carved in 1860.

I visited at the start of my second leg walking the Kyushu Fudo pilgrimage during which I walked a large part of the Kunisaki pilgrimage at the start as they somewhat coincided. The previous post in the series was on the large Hachiman Shrine near the mouth of the Takeda River.

Minenoyama-an & Hondo Temples 22, 23 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Boxing Day, December 26th, 2015, and I set off on the third day of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage.

Its another glorious day of blue skies and my plan is to go down and then back up the Mito Peninsula that protrudes from the south of the island.

But first there are the last couple of temples in the old town part of Kusakabe.

The first is Minenoyama-an, on some high ground with great views over the Inland Sea and surrounded by a large cemetery. It is unmanned and the suffix -an tells that it is classed as a "hermitage", though the main building is a bit larger than most hermitages I've come across so far and is more like a large farmouse. The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon.

Nearby, literally on the other side of a small elementary school, is temple 23, curiously named Hondo, which means main hall.

It is said to be the main hall of the pagoda of Seikenji, temple 21 which I visited yesterday and is not too far away. Whether the pagoda stood here or if the hondo was moved to this spot is not clear.

It's quite an elegant building that I would describe as Chinese-style.

The honzon is a Shaka Nyorai said to have been carved by Genshin, a prominent Tendai monk from Enryakuji of the late Heian Period who is known mostly for his writings, but is said to have carved the statue at Yasakaji, temple 24 on Shikoku.

Next I head along the main coast road to the next settlement which has 4 pilgrimage temples to visit. The previous post in this series was on the last 4 temples I visited yesterday, Christmas Day.