Ishiteji Temple Part 2

 

Through the tunnel to the Okunoin

This is the second part of four on Ishiteji Temple in Matsuyama, Ehime.

It is the 51st temple on the Ohenro Shikoku Pilgrimage but is also very popular with non-pilgrims.

There are two tunnels that lead from the main temple, through the hillside, to emerge in a small valley behind the temple where the Okunoin, the inner temple, is located.

The tunnels have no lighting at all, so you need to take flashlights with you.

What you will encounter are some fairly standard jizo statues,....

But, a lot of very crude, wooden statues.....

I did hear one time that the carver of these statues was a relative of the head priest, however there are dozens and dozens of them throughout the temple, if not hundreds...

I took so many photos of these weird statues, which is why this post on Ishiteji is so big and spread over multiple parts.

There are a couple of "chapels" or altars along the way....

before the tunnel emerges into daylight and an imposing statue of Enma, king of Hell

There are also a series of other crude statues, some type of cement of plaster over a chicken wire frame....

These are already starting to deteriorate....

A huge, almost spherical, golden structure appears.....

This is the Okunoin, guarded by golden komainu.....

but thats for the next post....

Just outside the Okunoin was this skeletal statue of the historicalBuddha fasting.....

Ishiteji Temple Part 1            Ishiteji Temple Part 3

Worldly Benefits at Tsubakido Temple

 

There is a cluster of three related temples called Tsubakido in a small side valley in the mountains of the Kunisaki Peninsula, and they are very popular for the practice of a fundamental aspect of Japanese religious activity called genze riyaku, which translates as praying for benefits in this world rather than for any future world, paradise, heaven etc.

Benefits would include all kinds of success, in health, business, school, sports, love, childbirth, etc etc, as well as protection from disasters and misfortune like disease, traffic safety, fire, angry ghosts and demons, etc.

Many temples, and shrines, specialize in particular benefits, and some have a wide range of deities, altars, statues, etc dedicated to many different benefits. Tsubakido is one such temple.

According to the temple's origin story, Kobo Daishi himself visited this spot after returning from China. He struck the ground inside the small cave that now constitutes the okunoin of the temple, with his staff made of camelia wood and the sacred spring burst forth.

The water is considered healing water and bottles of it can be purchased and taken away. Piles of canes, casts, splints, braces, etc. attest to the miraculous healings that have taken place. Most curious are collections of black hair, said to be more than a thousand, that have been left by people healed by the waters.

There are numerous Kannons enshrined here, including a cancer-cutting Kannon, a Kannon for "mercy to all creatures", pictured at the bottom of this post, a kind of Japanese-Buddhist St, Francis, as well as Kannons for matchmaking, safe childbirth, and so on.

Outside, next to the bell tower is a newer Kannon, one that slows down the effects of senility..... a Kannon that is becoming more widespread as Japan ages rapidly.

As well as Kannon, the other very, very popular bodhisattva in Japan is Jizo, of which Tsubakido has many examples including the modern Mizuko Jizo, and an Osasuri Jizo that you rub on the part of the statues that you desire healing for your own body.

There is a branch of Fushimi Inari Shrine which is for prayers for business success. There are a couple of historical examples of onigawara roof tiles that are used to protect the temple buildings from evil.

Shamoji, the flat wooden spoons or rice scoops are used, like ema, to write prayers upon. This seems to have derived from an early 20th-century practice of praying for military victory.

The temple (s) are part of several pilgrimages, though not part of the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage that I was on my second day of. I was also following the Minemichi Long Trail which roughly follows the old yamabushi pilgrimage route around the peninsula.

Worldly benefits temples like Tsubakido are usually very festive and colourful and often offer a staggering number of statues to experience. I suspect they are not hard up for money.

The previous post in the series on my walk around Kyushu on the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage was devoted to the many statues of Fudo Myo found here at Tsubakido.

Around Gokurakuojoin at Nomiyama Kannonji

Nomiyama Kannonji

Nomiyama Kannonji is a large complex of temples and shrines high in the mountains above Sasaguri, Fukuoka, that is very popular in its own right but is also on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage. Down below the main site of Kannonji are several large car parks and numerous cafes and restaurants, a clear indication of how popular this remote location is. Across from the car parks are two more areas of sub-temples and shrines, Tennoin, which I will cover later, and Gokurakuojoin the subject of todays post. One structure is the Aizen-do which enshrines Aizen Myo, in the photo above.

Six Jizo Pond actual has 7 statues in it.

Behind the pond, Three Thousand Jizos. One source says these are Mizuko Jizo. Nearby is a whole temple devoted to Mizuko Jizo, Mizuko Temple Monjuin.

The main deity enshrined in Gokurakuojoin is Enma. so-called "King of Hell".

Also pictured here, a small Fudo Myo and a small Thousand-Armed Kannon, also in Gokurakuojoin.

We explored Gokurakuojoin in the afternoon of our first day on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage, and this was the highest point of the walk. From here the route descends down a different road. The previous post in the series was of the Fudo Myo statues at the main area of Kannonji.

Shinsoji Temple Yokota

Shinsoji Temple Yokota

Shinsoji Temple sits on a hillside looking over the town of Yokota on the banks of the Hi River in the Okuizumo region of Shimane.

It does not seem to be a famous temple, and I can actually find almost nothing about it, except we can guess and infer some things.

The buildings and structures have been rebuilt in relatively recent times, and they are substantial, so we can infer that it is a relatively rich temple.

It lies above Igitake Shrine, one of the many shrines in the area connected to the myths of Susano and the Orochi serpent, but between the shrine and the temple is a very large cemetery. There is a good chance that is where the wealth is derived from.

It may also be that the temple looked after and operated the shrine. In historical times there were actually very few Shinto priests, with most shrines being operated by Buddhist priests.

A few things that are known are that the temple belongs to the Soto Zen sect, and the honzon is an Amida.

Nanagi Jizoson

Nanagi Jizoson

Not far from Dainichi-Ji I came upon a small temple with many visitors even though it was early in the morning. Apparently, yesterday was major festival day.

The temple is named after a Jizo carving, a relief carving rather than a full 3D statue. It is dated to the late 14th century and is the main "draw" of the temple.

It is said the carving used to be held at 2 temples said to be linked to the Heike Clan.

I was most intrigued by one altar filled with a massive array of different characters, most religious, but a few secular.

Immediately adjacent to the temple was a mall Hachiman Shrine built on the site of where a temple once stood.