Kannonji Temple Demons Gate of Fukuyama Castle

 

After exploring Tomonoura I headed back into Fukuyama again to spend my second night there and as there was still plenty of daylight left I went to explore the area to the NE of the castle.

My first stop was Kannonji Temple which has a Niomon gate before a long Pine-flanked approach.

The Nio were quite impressive....

In Japanese culture, imported from China, the NE direction is considered where evil comes from, and so temples were often placed to the NE of important sites to protect them. These were called Kimon.

Perhaps the most famous example is the placing of Enryakuji Temple on top of Mount Hiei to protect Kyoto.

When Fukuyama Castle was built in the 17th century the daimyo had this temple brought from another area and placed as the kimon.

The Hondo and main gate are dated to 1651 and are registered as Important Cultural Properties.

Kannonji is a Shingon temple and was under the control of Myoo-in.

The honzon is a Kannon and the temple is on both the Fukuyama and the Bingo Kannon pilgrimages.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on Fukuzenji Temple in nearby Tomonoura.

Uranouchi Bay to Susaki

 

After alighting from the small ferryboat, I briskly head west towards Susaki where I have a room booked for the night.

It's late November so the days are relatively short with 10 hours of sunshine, and I started the day well before sunrise, but I still have about 10k to go to reach mu hotel so don't dawdle.

I pass a few small wayside shrines....

It's been some time since the rice was cut and harvested but the stalks have had a couple of months to start regrowing

This small henro hut was one used for overnight stays.... there was a portaloo nearby, running water, and an electricity outlet.... right next to the road but a welcome spot for those on a tight budget. I do get the impression that nowadays sleeping out on the henro trail is discouraged and frowned upon, and that is a real shame as it has always been a pilgrimage for the less well off "traveller"  rather than a package tour for tourists.

Approaching Susaki, the other side of the road and river is a huge industrial complex.

I believe this was a Kibune Shrine, but with the sun going down, I did not stop and explore...

It is a huge cement plant with a power station..... I know making cement uses a huge amount of heat, but am not sure if the power plant is to generate the power to produce the cement or if the heat used to produce the cement is used to make electricity.....

Though the standard catch-phrase for Japan in media is "resource-poor", it is in fact totally self-sufficient in cement and concrete...

As the small river I was walking down reaches the bigger Sakura River a big heron takes off...

The Sakura River widens at this point just before emptying into the sea and the setting sun paints a nice picture as I cross over into Susaki and get close to my bed for the night.

And so ends my 18th day walking along the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage known as Ohenro.

The previous post was on the ferry ride up Uranouchi Bay.

Fukuzenji Temple & The Most Beautiful View

 

Fukuzenji is unusual in that, unlike almost all the temples of Tomonoura, which are clustered in one area along the town's edge, Fukuzenji is situated right in the middle of the town.

Like many of the other temples, Fukuzenji was used to accommodate visiting Korean dignitaries on their journey to the Japanese capital.

In 1711 one envoy claimed that the view from the temple was the best scenic view east of Korea and this has been often translated to mean the best view in Japan.

However, when the next delegation visited in 1748 they were told to use another temple as Fukuzenji had fallen somewhat into disrepair. The Koreans were indignant and stayed on their boats overnight in protest.

In 1763 when the next Korean mission arrived their were put up once again at Fukuzenji.

It was a Korean who named the reception hall Taichoro, the name it retains to today.

The Taichoro is also where Sakamoto Ryoma had a meeting.

Fukuzenji is a Shingon sect temple and is believed to have been founded around 950, but records are sketchy.

The main altar is quite colourful and has a Thousand-armed Kannon as honzon.

I was, of course, rather partial to the couple of Fudo's as well as the Aizen Myoo.

The main view from the temple is of Bentenjima Island with its Benzaiten Fukujudo, a small Buddhist hall on the island to Benzaiten, but also with a Torii indicating Benten's syncretic nature.

Behind it is Sensui Island and then the Inland Sea

The previous post was on the harbour of the old port of Tomonoura.

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