Daisho-in Temple 20 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

First stop on day 29 was Daisho-in, the 20th temple on the pilgrimage.

It is believed that a temple stood here in the 9th century, but nothing is known about it.

Later, it was revived as a Rinzai temple with the name Kanki-ji but it fell inrto disuse and almost disappeared during the16th century.

The temple was revived by Mori Tsunahiro, the second daimyo of the Choshu Domain, in the mid 17th century.

It was renamed after the posthumous name of his father.

On this visit the main hall of the temple was completely enclosed within a building to enable its renovation.

A couple of windows allowed visitors to view the reconstruction process.

In the meantime the Shoin was used as a temporary main hall and many of the temples statues and treasures could be viewed.

The whole temple burned down in the mid 18th century, but was rebuilt in 1750.

The main hall, sutra repository, kuri, shoin, and impressive bell tower gate all date from that time, and are all Important Cultural Properties.

Next to the temple is one of the Mori family cemeteries. The other is on the opposite side of Hagi at Tokoji Temple.

The lords and their families were buried at alternate sites.

Here at Daisho-in there are 47 graves for the families of seven daimyo.

Most impressive are the 605 stone lanterns donated by vassals and samurai of the domain.

Of the two temples with Mori cemeteries, I prefer this one to Tokoji as it is far less crowded.

There is a garden next to the shoin, though it is not so well maintained. I will cover it in the next post in the series.

The previous post in this series was on my walk into Hagi the previous afternoon.

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A Walk From Taisho Cave to Hagi

 

After exploring Taisho Cave I head off for the second leg of my days walk towards my destination, the historic castle town of Hagi on the Sea of Japan coast.

As with all my walks, both urban and rural, there are plenty of shrines to stop in at and plenty of roadside statues....

Not far from the cave, I pass by the entrance to Akiyoshidai Safari Land. Never been in, so I don't know for sure, but from my experience of other sites and businesses in Japan involving animals, I suspect I would find it depressing.

It is only a few days until the New Year, but winter has not arrived yet. Normally around Christmas we get the first snow and freezing temperatures, but in 2014 not yet.

There are some nice wide roads with wide sidewalks, but very little traffic.....

Who doesn't love a bit of wabi sabi rust?

It was a very pleasant, rural walk, mostly downhill, and with nothing particularly noteworthy..

Plenty of abandoned properties, roadside altars, old thatched farmhouses, some covered in tin, some not...

It had been three days since the last pilgrimage temple and city....

The previous post in this series on day 28 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Taisho Cave.

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Kubota Residence Gardens

Hagi in Yamaguchi is a former castle town that is home to a lot of historical and traditional architecture including several Preservation Districts.

In the merchant district, one of the houses open to the public is the former residence of  the  Kubota Family who were drapers and later sake brewers.

Their house, built in the mid Edo Period has two small gardens, a front one walled off grom the main street, and a courtyard one viewable from three sides.

Not as grand as the gardens of the Kikuya Residence which is directly on the other side of the street, but they are pleasant enough and you will usually have the place to yourself.

four posts on the Kikuya Residence and gardens....

Kikuya Residence South Garden

 

The Kikuya family were wealthy and powerful merchants in the old castle town of Hagi. They were financiers of the ruling Mori Clan nd also were the de facto mayors of the town. Their Edo Period residence is open to the public and I have posted about it before. The gardens are rather nice, especially in the Autumn.

Starting in the Meiji Period, they built two new hpuses to the south of the main residence, one a single storey, and the later one with two storeys and a little more Western.

These were used as guesthouses for wealthy and powerful guests, and in the 1930's a Prime Minister stayed here as did minor members of the imperial family.

Over the years, well into the twentieth century, they created and expanded the gardens around these new houses, and they are now open to the public, though only in the Spring and Autumn.

Kikuya Residence Garden in Fall

The Kikuya Family were the wealthiest family in the castle town of Hagi. Though merchants were ostensibly almost the lowest class in the Edo Period social system, many became very wealthy and financed the upper samurai class and daimyos, as was the case here.

The former residence of the Kikuya family is located in one of the Preservation Districts in Hagi, and is open to the public.

It is considered to be one of the oldest large townhouses left in Japan and is registered as an Important Cultural Property.

An earlier post showed some of the interior views.

I also have an earlier post of some views of the garden in Spring.

The Dry Landscape garden is built to be enjoyed from the shoin study of the house.

Several Japanese garden experts suggest an Izumo-style influence.

If so, that would mean the garden had been altered later in the Edo Period after the Izumo-style became quite well known.

After the Meiji Restoration the family built a large, new mansion with western influences behind the original property.

It has a much larger stroll-type garden surrounding it, though it is only open to the public in the Spring and Autumn.

The next post is of this stroll-type garden, known as the South Garden in the Fall.