Coming Down the Mountain Temples 47 & 48 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

After leaving Renge-ji, temple 44 on the pilgrimage, my way was now pleasantly downhill as the sun got lower in the sky on day 4 of my walk around the island of Shodoshima on its smaller version of the 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage connected with Kobo Daishi.

It's a wide path down the mountainside and glimpses of the Nakayama Rice Terraces can be caught.

After a while the entrance to a small cave comes into view.

This is temple number 47, Togano o san.

It is not a big cave, and at the back is the small structure housing the honzon, and Eleven-faced Kannon.

It is said that Gyoki spent time in the cave. He was the legendary monk that is said to have  founded many of the temples on Shikoku a full century before Kobo daishi's time.

Near the cave entrance are several more small "halls" enshrining Amida, Kobo Daishi, and Akiba Daigongen.

A little further down hill and temple 48 comes into view, Bishamon-do.

A benefactor recently paid to have the Bishamoin statue renovated and a new building built.

From here the Giant Kannon can be seen across the valley. I will be visiting it tomorrow.

I didnt notic them myself, but there are wooden statues of the Three Wise Monkeys, evidence that the Koshin cult was strong in the area. Koshin was in essence a Taoist cult but now Koshin sites have been turned into Shinto or Buddhist sites.

The previous post was on Renge-ji, temple number 44 .

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Sankakuji Temple 65 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Sankakuji Temple, the 65th on the Ohenro Pilgrimage is the last temple in Ehime, before entering the final prefecture, Kagawa.

It is on a mountain at 360 meters above sea level, and there are some fine views on the way up and down.

In earler days it was classed as a difficult-to-reach temple, but nowadays the climb is easier.

This is one of the many temples on the pilgrimage founded by Gyoki.in the early to mid 8th century.

In 815 Kobo Daishi visited and carved the honzon, an eleven-faced Kannon. It is a secret Buddha only opened to the public every 60 years.

Within the grounds is a triangular pond with a triangular island. This is now a Benzaiten shrine, but according to legend the triangular "island" was used as a goma altar by Kobo Daishi. The pond is the origin of the temples name.

The temple is known for its very old cherry trees, but when I visited in winter, they were not at all imoressive.

In the early 9th Century, Emperor Saga donated a lot of land to the temple and it prospered and at one time was a large complex.

The whole temple, excluding the honzon, was destroyed by Chosokabe.

The current main hall dates to 1849.

The Yakushi in the Yakushi-do is said to cure warts and corns.

The 7 meter tall standing Jizo was made in 1977

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was number 64, Maegamiji.

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Tenyozan Kannonin Houjuji Temple 62 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Houjuji, temple 62 of the Ohenro, is only one and a half kilometers from the previous temple, number 61 Ko-onji. It is in a cluster of pilgrimage temples close together in Saijo, Ehime.

I arrived here early in the morning on 17th February, 2012, day 38 of my walk along the pilgrimage.

It is a Shingon temple and the honzon is an eleven-faced Kannon.

Photo taken in 2012 of the previous main hall. It still stands but is now blocked off by a big modern building housing the temple office.

The temple was founded in the mid-8th century when Emperor Shomu had a shrine built about one kilometer north of the current location.

Enshrining Okuninushi, Oyamatsumi, and Kotoshironushi, it was the Ichinomiya of the province.

The shrine is the okunoin of the temple and is now located just across the road (final photo)

A small temple was built next to the shrine and named Kongoho-ji.

Later, when Kobo Daishi visited, he carved the Kannon statue and renamed the temple Houjuji.

The temple suffered repeatedly from the Nakayama River flooding.

The temple was destroyed during Hideyoshi's invasion in 1585

In 1636 the temple was relocated to its current location.

Pilgrims would pray first at the shrine and then chant sutras at the temple, so in 1679 the lord demanded the shrine be relocated to its current location closer to the temple.

In 1868 the shrine and temple were officially separated and the temple abandoned.

It was rebuilt in 1877.

At the same time a small Inari shrine was established in the grounds ( photo 6 )

For some years the temple was in dispute with the official pilgrimage association, but I believe that has been resolved.

The previous temple was number 61, Ko-onji.

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