Along the Sanyo-do

 

26th November, 2014, and I set off before sunrise on day 24 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

I stayed the night near Shin Yamaguchi Station, formerly known as Ogori. My route is SW towards the next temple near Ube.

Instead of taking the main road I take the old Sanyo-do, the imperial highway from ancient times that ran from Yamato down to Shimonoseki along the southern coast of Honshu. This roughly corresponds to todays National Highway 2

Looking back to the built-up area around Ogori.

The old road retains some of its historical charm with plenty of examples of older-style architecture...

There are numerous roadside Buddhist altars...

As is usual for me, I stop in at most of the shrines that I pass. I will cover some of them in the next post...

The only Autumn Colour I encountered was at one shrine....

At times, my route parallels the Shinkansen Line.

It is most pleasant to be away from all the traffic and commercial establishments on the newer Route 2  not far away.

From one shrine that is on higher ground, I catch a glimpse of the Inland Sea...

Economically, the Sanyo region is doing really well compared to my region, the San-in, but there are still some empty and decaying houses, though a tiny number compared to my area.

A heron proved not so skittish...

After passing Hon Yura  Station I pass a newly rebuilt Buddhist "chapel", Mikage-do, part of Bodaiji Temple.

The previous post was on the last temple I visited yesterday, the amazing Ryuzoji.

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Shikoku Pilgrimage Temple 37 Iwamotoji

Iwamotoji, the 37th temple on the Shikoku pilgrimage known as Ohenro, is located in Shimanto, Kochi, in the SW part of Shikoku Island.

Its about 80 kilometers to the next temple, and 65 from the previous temple.

When I arrived in very early December, there was still some fine autumn colour around.

There was a fine pair of Nio guardians in the Nio gate....

Though they didn't look to be very old...

The origins of the temple are in the mid-8th century when Gyoki, under orders of Emperor Shomu, founded a temple a couple of kilometers to the north, next to the Niida Myojin Shrine.

It was called Fukuemanji, and when Kobo Daishi visited next century he enshrined 5 different Buddhas in 5 shrine in the complex.

They were a Fudo Myoo, a Kannon, an Amida, a Yakushi, and a Jizo. These are now the 5 honzon at Iwamotoji.

Iwamotoji is unique on the Shikoku Pilgrimage in having 5 honzon

Fukuemanji was the temple on the pilgrimage, and Iwamotoji was a lodgings on the route between it and the next temple at Ashizuri Cape.

In the 17th century, Fukuemanji fell into disrepair, and the priest transferred to Iwamotoji, which then became the pilgrimage temple.

At the start of Meiji, with the shinbutsu bunri edict, the 5 Buddhas were transferred from the shrines to Iwamotoji.

The temple was closed down in 1871 but reopened in 1889.

The main hall, built in 1978, is well known for its painted ceiling.

575 colourful paintings, by both professional artists and regular citizens draw visitors.

The most famous one is of Marilyn Monroe, but I didn't notice it.

The oldest structure in the temple is the Daishi Hall, believed to be about 200 years old. Photo 9 above.

Photo 8 is the circular Seitendo enshrining Kangiten.

This is a small Suitengu Shrine.

Behind the temple is the Mikumano Shrine.

The temple has a large lodgings house.

The previous temple was number 36 Shoryuji.

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Nakanokawachi Jizo-do Temple 20 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

Nakanokawachi Jizo-do is known locally as Kakurin-ji, the 20th temple on the Shikoku pilgrimage that Nakanokawachi Jizo-do represents on this miniature version of the pilgrimage.

Though there is a very narrow road that passes near the temple, the best route is via a steep trail.

Yesterday was almost completely on asphalt roads, but it seems today there will be quite a bit of trails for those who walk the pilgrimage.

The honzon is a Jizo, and there are also many other statues around, including a couple of Fudo.

However, the most intriguing was a Kuginuki Jizo, a nail-pulling Jizo, within a giant pair of pincers.

This seems to derive from a more famous nail-pulling Jizo in Kyoto, and the background being that the "nails" to be pulled are karmic sufferings from a previous life.

The previous post was on temples 17 and 78.

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.