Rendaiji Temple 6 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Rendaiji, the 6th temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, is a large complex located high on Mount Yuga in the Kojima area south of Kurashiki and Okayama.

It was a syncretic site known as Yuga Daigongen until modern times but has now split into Rendaiji Temple nd Yuga Shrine, though they both occupy the same site.

In the Heian Period it was one of three sites that were called New Kumano, this site being the equivalent of Nachi Taisha.

Long a site of pilgrimage, the approach to the shrine-temple complex has a temple town with long street lined with souvenir shops.

I arrived by following the old pilgrimage trail from the north and the first things I saw were the statues of the Seven Lucky Gods. The tradition here is that you write your prayer or wish on a white stone and leave on the statue.

Also in this area was a newish Fudo statue, but much more of Fudo is to come......

In one hall is this striking statue of Dakiniten, a Buddhist  goddess with Hindi roots that has become synonomous with Inari in Japan. Two great Dakiniten temples are commonly known as Inari, Toyokawa Inari in Aichi, and Saijo Inari near here in Okayama.

Dakiniten is often associated with foxes and sometimes depicted riding a white fox. The association with foxes seems to be behind much of the association of Dakiniten with Inari.

In this part of the temple is also this magnificent statue of Fudo Myoo, the biggest wooden Fudo in all of Japan, and possibly the world.

It was unveiled in 2007 and is about 7.5 meters tall. You can see more on this earlier post.

Rendaiji was siad to have been founded by the famed monk Gyoki in 733. He enshrined a Kannon and Yuga Daigongen.

In the late Heian Period the complex was destroyed by fire.

It was rebuilt in the Muromachi Period, but really grew in stature during the Edo Period when it became a major pilgrimage destination.

Yoga Daigongen was a deity that offered protection against misfortune, and it became paired with the Konpira Daigongen across on Shikoku. A pilgrimage to both sites became very popular.

The Guest Hall, or, Reception Hall dates back to the very end of the 18th century.

It boasts an impressive collection of painted screens by some well known artists and also offers views of the garden

It is free to enter and I am disappointed I did not.

In many placdes where a temple and shrine were seperated, they now sit adjacent to each other, but here thye shrine part is in the middle of the Buddhist part. After passing through the shrine you come to the second area of the temple and here is the Kannon Hall, pictured in photo 1 above, and also the Daishi Hall below. I will cover the shrine, with its unusual ceramic torii, in the next post in the series.

Also on this side of the complex is an area devoted to Mizuko Jizo.

Also in this part of the complex is the pagoda. In Tahoto style associated with Shingon.

The original pagoda collapsed during a storm in 1670, and was rebuilt during the 1830's and 40's. It is said to be the biggest pagoda in Okayama.

Officially seperated in 1868, the shrine and temple began again to operate as one entity after 1945, however in the lat 1990's a duispute arose between the shrine and temple that continues to this day.

The head priest of the temple and the head priest of the shrine are brothers, which may explain the dispute somewhat.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the old  pilgrimage trail leading to Rendaiji.

Unome Inari Atago Inari Shrine

 

For those who follow this blog, I'd like to wish you all the best for the new year, and thanks for visiting.

On top of Mount Atago in Fukuoka, within the grounds of the Washio Atago Shrine, is an Inari Shrine.

I can find almost no info on the shrine other than it is a branch of the head Inari Shrine in Japan, Fushimi Inari near Kyoto. Shrines will get their "divided spirit", bunrei, usually, but not always from the head shrine.  More Hachiman shrines got their bunrei from Iwashimizu Hachimangu rather than the head shrine at Usa, indicating that specific local versions of kami, and Buddhas,  may be considered to have more power or other attributes.

This Inari shrine also has numerous smaller Inari shrines within it, something quite common to Inari shrine. This again indicates that the universality of kami and Buddhas is not absolute. each Inari shrine will be for a particular, local, manifestation of an Inari.

This was the last stop of my epic 77 day walk around Kyushu on the Kyushu Pilgrimage. From here I headed to the station and headed home. I did the walk in about 8 legs, spread over about 15 months. I passed through all of the prefectures of Kyushu and walked during all 4 seasons, though I was mostly able to avoid too much bad weather by fortuitous timing.

In total I have posted about 560 posts on this particular pilgrimage. Because of the structure of Blogger they can be seen and read in reverse chronological order by clicking the Kyushu108 tag at the bottom of the post.

In theory I could do a page where I list all the links in chronological order, but that would take a lot of work and, quite frankly, I don't have enough readers to make it a priority. I have been posting Kyushu Pilgrimage posts about every other post, so from now on I will do the same for my Chugoku Pilgrimage posts, that is to say, every other post will be a Chugoku post. The posts in between I will continue to post on the other pilgrimages... Shikoku, Shikoku Fudo Myo, Shodoshima, Saigoku, Iwami, Kinki Fudo, Kyushu Fudo, and Sasaguri as well as the other series like the Japan Sea Coast.

In the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage walk I at times follow the same route as this pilgrimage but at others venture to different places via different routes.

The previous post was on the views from Mount Atago.

Kiyama Temple a remnant of Shinbutsu

 

Kiyama Temple is located at more than 400 meters above sea level on a mountain in the northern part of Okayama prefecture.

With a large torii at the entrance one might be forgiven for thinking that it was a shrine, and not a temple, but it is an example of what was very common in the old days, a religious site with elements of both Buddhism and Shinto, Shinbutsu.

In 1868 the government decreed that Kami and Buddhas were to be separated, a process akin to unscrambling eggs. This was done for ideological and political reasons, to create a "national" religion.

Here on Kiyama, the site used to be called Kiyama-Gu, but in 1868 it became Kiyama Temple and down below a new site, Kiyama Shrine was constructed. I covered Kiyama Shrine in a post with 24 photos earlier.

The founding legend says that Kobo Daishi himself was in the area in 815. An old woodcutter guided him to the mountain and suggested it was a good spot for a temple.

Kobo Daishi recognized the man as a manifestation of Yakushi Nyorai and founded the temple here with  a Yakushi Nyorai statue.

I visited in early August after climbing up from Kiyama Shrine, and there was not another single person, visitor or staff, around the whole time I was there. Kiyama Temple is temple number 4 on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and this was late on my fifth day of walking it.

The entrance is across a big lotus pond with a Benzaiten Shrine in the middle of it, photo 3. 

Benzaiten is another deity that is problematic if you want to think in terms of a distinction between Buddhism and Shinto. Originally a Hindu deity, introduced into Japan by esoteric Buddhism, she later became a kami in Shinto.

The main gate, photo 4, here called Furomon, is said to be the oldest structure at the site, though I can't find an exact date for it.

The main hall also has a big torii in front of it. As well as Yakushi Nyorai, it also enshrined the two guardian deities, Gozu Tenno, and Inari.

Gozu Tenno was the deity of Gion-sha, the origin of the famous Gion Matsuri and now called Yasaka Shrine. Some sources suggest he was originally from India by way of Tibet and China, but most suggest a Korean origin for this deity.

Long equated with Susano, in 1868 the "kami" previously known as Gozu Tenno officially became Susano.

Inari as also a problem for those who think in terms of a pure, Indigenous "shinto".

There is no mention of Inari in the Kojiki and Nihongi, the texts seen as fundamental to "native" shinto. Inari is now equated with Ukanomitama, the post-1868 identity. rior to that Inari was often equated with Dakiniten, a Buddhist deity with Indian origins.

There are actually numerous secondary, small shrines to different Inari within the grounds of Kiyama Temple.

There is also a Koshin-do, a shrine to the Koshin deity, Daoist in origin, and very popular in pre-modern Japan, the Koshin cult brought us the Three Wise Monkeys, and the Sarubobo dolls.

Pictured above, the Kannon-do with its carved reliefs looks like a shinto honden, because that is what is was until 1868. It held the shintai that were moved to the new Kiyama shrine further down he mountain.

Pictured above, the Daishi-do was originally the main hall of the temple.

As well as Kobo Daishi it also enshrines Fudo Myo and Aizen Myo

So, a very complex mix of deities at this site, indicating a much richer and more diverse religious history than a simplistic shinto-buddhist duality.

There are some other large structures within the grounds, including a large guesthouse and storehouse, yet, as I mentioned before, not a soul around.

The previous post in this series of day 5 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was Kiyama Shrine down below.