Taikoiwa Fudoji Temple

 

Fudo-ji is a small temple with a solitary building at about 400 meters above sea level on Mount Kurokami near Takeo and Arita in Saga.

I presume it is/was a sub-temple of  Saikomitsu-ji a little higher up the mountain that was a major Shugendo center in historical times.

Sometimes called Taikoiwa Fudoji, Taikoiwa is a rock outcropping above the temple. Such rock formations were attractive to yamabushi, Tendoiwa being one on top of the mountain with a shrine connected to a myth about a giant serpent.

On Taikoiwa is a carving of Fudo Myo and a path lined with statues leads from Fudoji up to the carving.

There was to be a big ceremony at the nearby Saikomitsu Temple the next day, so that is why many of the statues had fresh cut flowers.

Fudo-ji is nowadays an unmanned temple. Like many rural temples, the priest has gotten too old and no-one has replaced him.

Whereas major temples receive a hefty tax-free income from tourism, and urban temples can rely on the very lucrative funeral market, so many rural temples are now abandoned and often demolished.

Next up we will look at the magaibutsu, cliff carving, of Fudo.

In the previous post I showed some of the many Fudo Myo statues around the temple and along the path.

Enmeiji Temple 54 Shikoku Ohenro

 

The Mountain Gate into Enmeiji Temple near Imabari in Ehime was relocated here from Imabari Castle when it was dismantled in early Meiji.

The Nio Gate before the mountain gate contains a fine pair of Nio.

The temple used to be located higher up on Mount Chikamiyama and was relocated to its current location in 1727 following the last of many fires that had repeatedly burned down the temple

The honzon of the temple is a Fudo Myo, and it is known as a Fire Fighting Fudo because it survived the many fires unscathed.

The temple was founded by Gyoki in 720 and he carved the Fudo statue.

As was often the case, Kobo Daishi visited a century later and rebuilt and expanded the temple.

In its heyday, it had many buildings and 100 monks.

It was named Fudoin Enmyoji, and this caused many problems because the previous temple, number 53, was also called Enmyoji, so in Meiji it was renamed Enmeiji.

A Mizuko Jizo statue in the grounds is very popular. The temple has no lodgings, but does have a large shop selling pilgrim supplies.

The previous temple is Enmyoji, number 53, 37 kilometers away in Matsuyama.

Fudo Myo at Fudo-ji Temple

 

At more than 400 meters above sea level, Fudoji is a small Shingon temple close to the top of Mount Kurokami near Takeo in Saga.

A few hundred meters down the road  below Saikomitsu Temple, once a major Shugendo center and I am guessing Fudoji was/is a sub temple connected to Saikomitsu.

As would be expected there are numerous Fudo Myo statues around the temple and along a path that leads further up the mountain.

What it leads to, a giant cliff carving of Fudo, I will cover later.

There were also numerous other statues, and these too I will cover in the next post.

Saikomitsu was having a ceremony the next day which explains all the fresh flowers with the statues.

The previous post was.Saikomitsu Temple.

Kurokamizan Saikomitsu Temple 69 Kyushu pilgrimage

 

Mount Kurokami is a more than 450-meter high mountain between Takeo and Arita in Saga that has been a site of mountain worship since ancient times.

Just below the peak is Saikomitsu Temple, and from it steps lead up to Kurokami Shrine connected to the defeat of a giant serpent.

The temple is very small now and normally unmanned but the day I visited was the day before a ceremony was to be held and so a cleaner was busy preparing.

Before Kobo Daishi left from nearby Hirado on his journey to China he climbed the mountain and prayed for a safe journey. On his return in 806 he came back to the mountain and carved a small Fudo Myo statue and established the temple.

The temple became very important and in its heyday had 80 temples under its control and was a major Shugendo site.

However, in 1878 a major fire burned down almost all the structures and it was decided to move the temple to Sasebo.

The Kobo Daishi Fudo statue, said to be carved using his fingernails, is now the honzon of .Daishi-in Temple in Sasebo. which I had visited a few days earlier.

The honzon of the current Saikomitsu temple is a Yakushi, an Amida, and a Kannon, all hidden.

There are numerous statues around the small building including several Fudo's. They all had plenty of fresh-cut flowers obviously getting ready for the next day.

However, the best was yet to come as a little further down the mountain was another small statue and an enormous Fudo Myo carved into the cliff face......

The previous post in this series on my first Kyushu pilgrimage was a .Brief Guide to Arita.

Saburo Iwa Rocks

 

Saburo Iwa is a spectacular rock formation in the sea off the coast of Ama, one of the four inhabited islands of the Okis in the Sea of Japan near Shimane.

Visible from a couple of the islands, I took a tour boat, the Amanbow, to view them close up. The reason behind the unusual appearance of the boat will become apparent later.

The boat leaves Hishiura, the main port on the island and heads out into the channel between Ama and Nishinoshima, the neighboring island.

The three towering rocks are named Taro, Jiro, and Saburo by locals.

Technically they are termed sea stacks. The most famous sea stack in the Okis is  Candle Rock.

The Oki Islands have plenty of interesting geological sights and have been made a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Once the boat reaches the rocks it stops and the passengers go below where the hull is mostly  huge windows enabling a slow cruise among the undersea forests....more of that next time

The previous post in this series on the Oki Islands was on the Nishinoshima Seashore.