Togakuji Temple Revisited

 

Togakuji is a Soto Zen temple that predates Matsue Castle a little, but was moved to the Okudani area of Matsue when the castle was built.

After visiting the garden at Manjuji Temple,  I stopped in here on my way back towards downtown.

I had hoped to view the garden behind the main hall, but once again the priest was busy with guests, so will have to try again next time....

The short approach to the temple is flanked by small but effective raked sand gardens with pine trees and a couple of small Jizo statues....

The rakan hall contains statues of the 500 rakan or arhats.....

For the history of the temple, please refer to my earlier post. with some photos of the same things, but different day, different light, different camera, different mood.....

The previous post in this series on the gardens and other sights of Matsue and Izumo was on the garden of Manjuji Temple.

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The Way to Konjiji Temple

 

Konjiji is temple number 12 on the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

It is also the okunoin of Dainichi-ji, temple 13 on the Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage.

It is located high on a mountain and was renowned as a shugendo site, a training place for yamabushi.

For those on foot it is a great opportunity to get off the main roads.....

As would be expected, there are lots of Fudo statues....

And numerous sacred sites along the way....

Including a small waterfall with shimenawa and fudo....

I don' know where the ladder goes.... I climbe part way up, but as I had a very heavy pack I chose to come back down....

The previous post in this series on the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage was on the garden at Dogaku Temple, the previous temple down beow the mountain.

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Tanoura Higyokudo Temple 30 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

Higyokudo in the Tanoura area of the Sasaguri Pilgrimage is yet another of the tiny, unmanned "temples", but a little different...

Until 1996 there was a pilgrims lodgings here and so there are the remains of a small garden...

As usual, and to my continued delight, there were numerous Fudo's....

The honzon is an Amida, though because there was dispute on Shikoku with two different temples claiming to be the 30th for a while, the temple here has enshrined  Amidas from both of the Shikoku temples...

Also I've noticed that many of these smaller, unmanned sites have an older, smaller stone honzon on the altar next to a newer, gold-plated one.

Many of these small temples did not exist before the establishment of the Sasaguri Pilgrimage, so most of the new temples were simples a small stone honzon in a tiny structure.

Over the years the local people enlarged the little temples building bigger structures, erecting new, more expensive honzons, and adding more and more statues....

This pilgrimage, like the one on Shodoshima, shows a remarkable religious system not maintained by any powerful organizations, but simple by local communities....

The previous post was on the glorious forests of giant bamboo the pligrim trail passed through earlier this day.

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Fukushoji Temple Cherry Blossoms, Sacred Waterfall, & Tengu Legend

 

After crossing over the small Kamo River in  Kitsumoto, the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo starts to head uphill towards the next pass, but a huge swath of cherry trees in full bloom beackon to take a small detour.

The climb up to Fukushoji Temple was well worth it, as evidenced by the large group of day-walkers also there...

Not only a ton of sakura, but great views, and a sacred waterfall....

I have to say that this section of the route, from Yuasa to Kainan, was one of the best sections of the Kumano Kodo for me....

The falls are named Urami no Taki, given that name by Yorinobu Tokugawa, the first daimyo of the Kishu Domain.

It is possible to walk behind the 20 metre high falls.....

It is said to be a bit more spectacular after a period of heavy rain, when it can be up to 30 meters wide.

Not sure when the temple was founded, but it is recorded that Kobo Daishi visited the temple in 804 and performed rituals in preparation of his upcoming trip to China.

The honzon is a Thousan-armed Kannon, but there are also a a Kokuzo and a Fudo Myoo.

The main hall dates to at least 1512, maybe earlier. The Gumonji Hall dates to 1650 as does the Bell Tower. All three are Important Cultural Properties.

The legend about the tengu is as follows..... One lived in one of the huge sacred trees behind the temple, but as it was cold in winter a local family allowed him to stay in their storehouse.

The daughter-in-law of the family would bring the tengu food, and he would respond with requests to be able to offer something in return as it was driving him crazy just taking and not being able to repay the kindness...

Eventually the daughter-in-law suggested that the uncle of the family was old and now bedridden but had always wanted to visit the Kumano Sanzan, and so the tengu carried the old man on his back down the pilgrimage trail to Kumano.

There is the imprint of a tengu foot in the floor of the veranda of the temple, though I didn't notice it...

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Saigoku and Kumano Kodo Pilgrimages was on a couple of nearby shrines connected to the introduction of mandarins into Japan.

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