Showing posts with label henro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label henro. Show all posts

Thursday, July 17, 2025

A Delightful Early Morning Walk in Susaki

 


On day 19 of my walk along the Shikoku Pilgrimage I left the northern part of Susaki where I had spent a restful night in a business hotel. I slept out a lot on the pilgrimage, stayed in Zenkanyado and Tsuyado when I could, and then every now and then splurged for a room in a hotel.


Susaki was the biggest town I had been in since leaving Kochi City and it was a glorious autumn morning as I headed towards the extra bangai temple of  Daizenji.


The things that strike my eyes and lead me to taking a snap vary wildly, though strong compositions work....


I stopped in at a couple of small shrines as I came into Susaki proper. Susaki now covers quite a wide area but the train station near my hotel last night was Onogo. I passed Oma station before arriving near Susaki Station.


As I started to ascend the slope towards the temple the views of Susaki Bay opened up


As was common on the vast majority of days while walking these pilgrimages I was filled with gratitude for what had passed and excitement at what was to come....


The previous post in this series on the delights to be found between the temples was on the walk from Uranouchi Bay to Susaki.


Friday, July 11, 2025

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.


Friday, May 30, 2025

Uranouchi Bay to Susaki

 


After alighting from the small ferryboat, I briskly head west towards Susaki where I have a room booked for the night.


It's late November so the days are relatively short with 10 hours of sunshine, and I started the day well before sunrise, but I still have about 10k to go to reach mu hotel so don't dawdle.


I pass a few small wayside shrines....


It's been some time since the rice was cut and harvested but the stalks have had a couple of months to start regrowing


This small henro hut was one used for overnight stays.... there was a portaloo nearby, running water, and an electricity outlet.... right next to the road but a welcome spot for those on a tight budget. I do get the impression that nowadays sleeping out on the henro trail is discouraged and frowned upon, and that is a real shame as it has always been a pilgrimage for the less well off "traveller"  rather than a package tour for tourists.


Approaching Susaki, the other side of the road and river is a huge industrial complex.


I believe this was a Kibune Shrine, but with the sun going down, I did not stop and explore...


It is a huge cement plant with a power station..... I know making cement uses a huge amount of heat, but am not sure if the power plant is to generate the power to produce the cement or if the heat used to produce the cement is used to make electricity.....


Though the standard catch-phrase for Japan in media is "resource-poor", it is in fact totally self-sufficient in cement and concrete...


As the small river I was walking down reaches the bigger Sakura River a big heron takes off...


The Sakura River widens at this point just before emptying into the sea and the setting sun paints a nice picture as I cross over into Susaki and get close to my bed for the night.


And so ends my 18th day walking along the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage known as Ohenro.


The previous post was on the ferry ride up Uranouchi Bay.




Wednesday, May 21, 2025

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.