Nakanokawachi Kokuzodo & Nakanokawachi Butsumokuji Temples 24 & 42 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

Day 2 of our walk along the Sasaguri Pilgrimage, and we are continuing up into the mountains on the south side of the river, main road, and railway line that bisects the area and the pilgrimage.

Number 24, Nakanokawachi Kokuzodo has a memorial stone to the birthplace of Fujii Tosuke, a man who was influential in finishing the construction of this 88 temple pilgrimage in the mid 19th century after the death of Jinnin, the nun were started the project

Many of these smaller "temples" still have the original stone statues that were the honzon. They are all quite small, simple reliefs, with donors' names inscribed on them. They have all been replaced with larger, more elaborate statues. Obviously the local people have been supporting this pilgrimage route since the beginnings.

Many of the other statues that have been added are quite simple and made fairly quickly, at the lower end of the proffesional scale, but this adds something, to my mind at least.

The numbering system is quite weird..... there is no chance to walk the route sequentially...

After 24, the next was number 42, Nakanokawachi Butsumokuji.

The honzon here is a Dainichi.

It has adopted attributes of the Dainichi at  Shikoku temple 42, Buttsumokuji, and is known for protecting livestock.

As with most of these 88 temples, numerous, diverse statues of Fudo Myoo abound...

The previous post in this series on day 2 of my walk along the Sasaguri Pilgrimage was on the nearby  Ninotaki Temple with its two waterfalls

If you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.