Jobutsuji Temple 3 Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Jobutsuji, temple number three of the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage, is quite close to Monjusenji, temple number four, high in the mountains at the centre of the Kunuisaki Peninsula in Oita.

Like most of the older temples and shrines in the area it is guarded by stone Nio guardians.

It is said to have been founded in 718 by the legendary monk Ninmon who founded the 28 temples of the Rokugo Manzan shugendo system, so its not surprising that Jobutsuiji is on the Rokugo Manzan pilgrimage also.

Outwardly the temple appears like many smallish, rura; temples, and the architecture is nothing special, however it is home to an unusual and unique festival.

Shujo Onie is held on the Lunar New Year and used to be performed at twenty temples around the peninsula, but now only at 3. Tennenji Temple which I visited a few days earlier on this pilgrimage, and nearby Iwatoji Temple which holds the festival on alternate years with Jobutsuji.

I did not visit Iwatoji on this trip, but was lucky enough to see Shujo Onie a few years earlier there. The post on it has a few videos of the amazing torch procession that precedes the demon dance;

This was day 4 of my walk around Kunisaki at the start of the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage and I was mostly following the trail that roughly follows the old shugendo pilgrinage route and so was doing the 7 Fudo Myo temples here in approximately reverse order.

The previous post in this series was on Monjusenji Temple 4 of the Kyushu Fudo Pilgrimage