Kisshoin Tamonji Temple

 

This temple in the mountains north of downtown Kobe was a real revelation.

The sign at the entrance to Tamonji Temple told me about something I had never heard of .... that for half a year the capital of Japan was not Kyoto, but Fukuharakyo, in what is now Kobe.

Taira Kiyomori moved the child emperor Antoku and set up court in Fukuharakyo in 1180. It was also Kiyomori's retirement palace.

At that time Tamonji was located at the bottom of Mount Rokko, across the valley from its current location. The okunoin of the temple is still on top of Rokko.

Kiyomori chose Tamonji to be the protector temple of the new capital from the dangerous spiritualforces of the NE, a so-called Kimon.

To support the temple, he settled people from the north of Kyoto; Yase, Ohara, etc around the temple.

Interestingly, the temple is said to have been founded in the mid 7th century by an Indian monk, Hodo Sennen, who is associated with many places and legends around Japan.

It fell into disrepair, or was abandoned, until being rebuilt as a Shingon temple in 858.

An unusual tiger statue. The honzon of Tamonji is Bishamonten, and in Japan, he is associated with tigers. For the story see this post from a temple in Kyushu...

 

A few of the simple, "cute" rakan statues...... a whole post on them coming up next post....

During the rebellion against the Taira, an army allied with Yoshitsune Minamoto burned down the temple as they would not assist in their approach to fight the Taira.

In 1428 a bright light was seen emanating from the spot where Tamonji currently stands, and taken as an omen, Tamonji was moved here and rebuilt.

The current main hall dates to 1690.

The Mizuko Jizo seem to have been made by the same people who made many of the rakan here.

The honzons at Tamonji are the Bishamonten, a Kichijoten, and a standing Jizo. They are all secret buddhas, but it is possible that once a year they can be viewed.

One source says that in 1868 2 other temples in the area were combined with Tamonji.

Theer are several shrines within the grounds including an Atago Daigongen, a Hachiman, and an Aizen Inari.

In the structure pictured below used to be a sacred spring of some kind, though it is now dry.

Behind it a Fudo Myoo...

Since moving to this site thetemple seems to have been associated with shugendo, with the head family of the area said to have moved here from the Yoshino area.

Located just a few minutes from Shintetsurokko Station, the temple is not well known but well worth a visit, especially for the rakan which I will post on next....

I was also taken with the unique Onigawara featured in the last photos of this post.

I visited at the start of day 5 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post in the series was on the delightful Mudoji Temple, not too far away, that I visited the day before.

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Chichi Sugi... the Boob Cedar

Chichi Sugi, which translates as Boob Cedar is an 800 year old tree on the slopes of Mount Daimanji on Dogo, the biggest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane.

It is an Urasugi, a species that grows on the Japan Sea side of the main Japanese island of Honshu.

Heavy snowfall causes the trees to produce stronger lateral branches that then grow vertically.

The rounded protuberances growing down from the branches... which is the origin of its nickname "boob", are believed to help absorb moisture from the air.

The other two species of sugi that grow in Japan are the Omotesugi which grows over the rest of Honshu and Shikoku, and the Yakusgi in southern Kyushu.

Cold air rising from the gaps between the big rocks that form the slope meets warm air from the sea, and mean that the area is often misty and foggy which adds to the otherworldly atmosphere.

As with many old, large, or unusual trees in Japan, it is marked as sacred by a shimenawa wrapped around it and a torii gate in front.

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A Lovely Walk from Kiyo to Utago

 

I began day 31 of my walk along the Chugoku Pilgrimage at Kiyo, a fishing harbour on the north coast of Yamaguchi

Its late March, and so Spring is gathering steam on the land....

Kiyo's little harbour only has a few small boats..... there is a beach here, and a surf shop suggests surfing, though I have not seen any on my trips here....

This whole section of coastline, from a couple of days walking further up the coast, to 5 or 6 days walking down the coast, is part of the Kita Nagato Coast National Park..... or maybe it's a Quasi National Park...

Anyway, it is a delightful stretch of coastline, but off most tourists radar...

The first half of today's walk hugs the coastline, literally. From the sidewalk, I can drop a stone into the water.

A few small, craggy islands and a rocky headland with cliffs make for a dramatic sight...

When the sky is blue, and the wind is minimal or non-existent, the water is incredibly clear...

The train line from Masuda to Hagi also hugs this coastline for most of the way. With only a few trains a day, all of them slow trains, it is not a bad way to spend a few hours...

Up ahead, the next settlement, Utago....

Fibreglass fishing boats don't decompose gracefully like wooden ones.....

Utago is a bit more substantial than Kiyo.....

The previous post was on the sights that ended yesterday's leg of the journey, 

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