Dairyuji Temple 9 Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Though not far from the busy city of Kobe, Dairyuji is not well known and not well visited as it is situated in the middle of the mountains north of the city.

As the crow flies, only 2k from Shin Kobe station, but with no public transport you either drive, or, as I did, hike

.

Just below the Nio Gate is a Jizo statue surrounded by dozens and dozens of smaller Jizos with brightly-coloured bibs.

The Nio themselves are quite interesting, with somewhat stronger facial features than most nio.

The temple has a reputation for protection against paralysis.

The honzon, a secret Buddha, is a Standing Kannon

After passing through the Nio gate steps and vermillion torii lead up to an Inari shrine.

According to kegend, the temple was founded in 768.

A court  aristocrat was in the mountains searching for a suitable site for a temple under orders of Empress Suiko.

He was attacked by assassins sent by the priest Dokyo. He was saved by the sudden appearance of a dragon.

He established the temple at the place the event happened. Dairyuji means Great Dragon Temple.

The backstory is that Dokyo was a monk who achieved unheard of levels of  power by being favoured by Empress Shotoku. He is said to have healed her, but some speculate that they became lovers. An oracle was received at Usa Hachimangu that was interpreted to mean that Dokyo should be made the next emperor.

This caused great consternation among the courtiers and powerful clans, and Wake Kiyomaro was sent to Usa and obtained another oracle that contradicted the first. That Dokyo and Kiyomaro were enemies is without doubt. Some have likened Dokyo to Rasputin.

The temple is one of the very many that Kobo daishi is said to have visited on his way to China to study and then visited again on his return.

The temple is now a Shingon temple and has a Daishi Hall.

During the unrest of the Nanboku-cho Period in the 14th century, the temple was part of a castle and was destroyed several times but rebuilt.

The current structures date from the Edo Period.

The temple is perhaps best known for its large, vermillion Mountain Gate, but as I arrived via the footpath I didn't get to see it.

A Bokefuji Kannon for protection against dementia and senility.

Though there are many different Kannon statues here, I was here to visit the Goma-do which houses the Fudo Myoo.

The Fudo statue dates to the Edo Period and is flanked by a Daishi and a Jizo.

From here I carried on north towards the next temple located in Yamada.

The previous post was on my walk up the mountain to get here.

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Art of Hashikuraji Temple

 

Hashikuraji is a mountain temple in the mountains that border Tokushima and Kagawa on Shikoku.

It was the "inner temple" of Konpira-san, once a major pilgrimage destination in its own right, and since Meiji Konpira became a shrine.

While not all temples have komainu guardian statues, Kashikuraji has quite a few. It also has several shinto torii gates. The top photo is the older type of komainu, wooden and kept indoors.

There are also plenty of carvings adorning the buildings at Hashikuraji. In fact when I was there I noticed free worksheets for kids available at the temple that encouraged kids to explore and find all the examples of animals, including mythical ones, at the temple.

Hashikuraji was a major centre for Shugendo and yamabushi and so has a pair of big wooden Tengu masks.

As is fairly typical, there was a pair, one of the long-nosed Tengu, and one of the Karasu Tengu with beak;

The honzon of the temple is a Konpira Daigongen, though it is a secret buddha and the last four generations of head priest have not even seen it.

There are a few statues scattered around the rounds though.

One of the newer ones is a Bokefuji Kannon. prayed to for protection from dementia and Alzeimers, this is a new version of Kannon that is becoming very common. Typically the standing Kannon will have a small, elderly couple at its feet.

There is a large outdoor altar to Fudo Myoo, and in fact this was what I had come here for, while walking the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

The previous post was on the temple buildings and the temples history.

Yoshiwarayama Kakurinji Temple 80 Kyushu Pilgrimage

 

Kakurinji is located on a low hilltop on the bank of the Matsuura River not far from its mouth where it enters the sea.

I approached it from the rear and so was able to enter using a small footpath rather than the longer main road.

It is a fairly new temple, being founded in 1947 and the main hall dating back to 1954.

A Bokefuji Kannon statue is prominent. Bokefuji is a new Japanese version of Kannon that has become increasingly popular. Depicted with an old couple at its feet, Bokefuji Kannon is prayed to for those wishing to not suffer dementia and Alzheimers.

In fact Kakurinji is now one of the temples on a new pilgrimage, a Kyushu  Kannon pilgrimage to prevent dementia.

It is the 80th temple on the Kyushu 108 pilgrimage but also on the standard Kyushu Kannon Pilgrimage.

The temple is known locally as Koyasu-san or Koyasu Kannon due to its connection with Koyasu Daishi, a legend from Koenji, temple 61 on the Shikoku Ohenro.

At the gate of Koenji Temple Kobo Daishi met a woman having a difficult birth and his prayers enabled a safe birth. The Koyasu Daishi faith spread and led to the formation of thousands of Koyasu co-fraternities across Japan in the early 20th century.

The Karatsu Koyasu-ko was the group that brought Kakurinji into existence and so has a reputation as a temple to pray for safe and successful births.

There were a lot of Fudo Myo statues in the ground.....

The honzon of the temple is a Yakushi Nyorai and also a Koyasu Daishi.

The mountain name, Yoshiwarayama, comes from a wealthy local family, the Yoshiwara, who donated the land for the temple.

The previous post in this series was on the Udono Cliff Carvings upstream.