Yokomineji Temple 60 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

At 745 meters above sea level, Yokomineji, temple 60, is the highest of the pilgrimage temples in Ehime, and the second highest of all the 88 pilgrimage temples.

I visited in February about 11 years ago and in the autumn there had been a major storm that severely damaged the trail up the mountain.

On the lowest slopes of Mount Ishizuchi, Yokomineji is one of the Henro Korogashi.... hard to reach temples, and with the path blocked by storm debris it was even more so ......

Said to have been founded by famed and legendary founder of Shugendo, En no Gyoja, in 651.

Gyoki, nd then a century later Kobo Daishi, also visited.

Almost to the shrine you pass the Furubo Jizo-do. There used to be a small settlement in the area as during the Edo period this was a well travelled road.

Yokomineji has quite a complex history not made easier by the reconfiguring of the Jaoanese religious landscape in the latter half of the 19th century.

When Enno Gyoja founded it he carved a statue of Zao Gongen, the main deity of what is now Shugendo. Later when Kobo Daishi came he carved a Dainichi statue and made it the "main image".

What seems certain is that it was a syncretic site with both kami and Buddhist elements. A report from the 17th century writes of a Zao Gongen main shrine, and a Kaisan-do dedicated to Sekisen, and a hall dedicated to Dainichi and Kobo Daishi.

In early Meiji all the Buddhist elements were removed and a new temple hall built near the Niomonto house them. This was called Omineji.

What was Yokomineji Temple became a branch shrine of Ishizuchi Shrine and a temple at the base of the mountain became the 60th pilgrimage temple.

By 1909 it was reinstated as Yokomineji Temple, though the observant notice that the architecture remains shrine-style.

The statue a few photos above is a Hoshiku Daishi. Holding a sword, I believe this represents Kobo Daishi performing a star ritual when he visited here. It stands on the site of the former Kaisan-do.

I did not spend much time exploring as it was very cold and there didn't seem to be anyone around. I certainly saw no other pilgrimas.

As I was about to leave it started snowing. 

On the way down I stopped in at Tsumashiro Daimyojin Shrine.

The guardian deity of the temple, many of the crude torii had rotted and collapsed.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was Koryuji, the 10th bangai temple.

Koryuji Bangai Temple 10 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Nishiyama Koryuji Temple, number 10 of the "extra" temples known as Bangai or Bekkaku, is located a short detour from the main pilgrimage route between temple 59, Kokubunji, and temple 60, Yokomineji.

After climbing a gentle slope there are great views looking down and over Saijo City.

The road then enters the forest and starts to climb more steeply and you then cross the Miyuryu Bridge.

Arriving at the Niomon gate with its fine pair of guardians.

Whereas many temples claim Kobo Daishi as their founder, many more claim to have been founded by Gyoki, around a century before Kobo Daishi's time.

Koryuji claims to predate Gyoki, which I'm sure makes it one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

It is said to have been founded in 642 and was later visited by both Gyoki and Kobo Daishi.

The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon

The Daishi-do is a much more modern, concrete structure.

The current main hall was built at the end of the 14th century. It is an Important Cultural Property.

Jibo Kannon-do

A trail leads up to a small shrine enshrining Ishizuchi Gongen, Ishizuchi being the highest mountain on Shikoku and home to a large and important Shugendo centre.

I visited late in winter, but the temple is famous as an Autumn Viewing spot as it has 300 maple trees in the grounds.

The three-storey Pagoda dates to 1836.

The previous temple was number 59, the Iyo Kokubunji Temple.

Iyo Kokubunji Temple 59 Shikoku Pilgrimage

 

After visiting Senyuji, temple 58 of the pilgrimage, the route comes back down from the mountains towards the sea and temple 59, Kokubunji, among the rice paddies outside Imabari City.

It is one of the "Nation Protecting" temples established in every province in the early 8th century usually adjacent to the government administrative centres established under the new Ritsuryo system.

The other three Kokubunji on Shikoku are also part of the pilgrimage, number 15, Awa Kokubunji, number 29, Tosa Kokubunji, and number 80, Sanuki Kokubunji.

It was officially established in 741, and it was certainly built by 756. Founded by Gyoki, as so many of the pilgrimage temples are, the honzon is a Yakushi, Medicine Buddha, said to have been carved by Gyoki himself.

Worth looking for when visiting is the lovely "topless" Benzaiten statue in the Benten Shrine. Also noticeable is the Hand-Shaking Daishi statue below.

The temple was destroyed by war on numerous occasions, in 939 during a rebellion by Fujiwara Sumitomo, in 1184 during the Genpei War, in 1364 during the Northern Court-Southern Court warfare, and like so many of the pilgrimage temples, by Chosokabe Motochika in the late 16th century. A fire in 1689 once again destroyed most of the temple. It is said the hoinzon and other btresures survived each time.

The current main hall was rebuilt in 1789. Kobo Daishi is said to have spent some time here and donatede paintings pf the Five Wisdom Kings. It is a Shingon temple now.

The current site is believed to have been where the government offices were originally. The original site of the temple was about 150 meters  away. Immediately adjacent to the temple is a Kasuga Shrine which was part of the same complex until the sepeartion of Buddhas and Kami in 1868.

The previous temple was number 58, Senyuji.