Iyadaniji Temple 71 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Iyadaniji, temple 71 on the pilgrimage, is located on the slope of Mount Yatani in Kagawa.

The Niomon is at 138m elevation, and the main hall is at 221 m; between them are 540 steps.

Iyadaniji is yet another of the pilgrimage temples said to be founded by Gyoki.

It is said that as a young child, Kobo Daishi studied in a cave here.

When he returned from China in 807, he carved a Senju Kannon and numerous other statues and changed the name to Iyadaniji.

Under the patronage of the local clan, the Kagawa of Amagiri Castle, by the 16th century Iyadaniji grew to include 6 temples in three distinct precincts.

However, in the late 16th century a fire destroyed everything but the central precinct.

In 1600, the temple was restored under the patronage of the Kyogoku Clan of Marugame.

Made in the 17th century, the following statue is considered very rare in Japan. Standing almost 6 meters tall, it is the Vajra Fist Bodhisattva, and I have never heard of it before, but then I am just a beginner when it comes to the multitude of deities in Japanese Buddhism.

The 108 steps leading to.....

The Daishi Hall.

Inside the Daishi Hall, at the rear, is the okunoin, the cave where Kobo Daishi is said to have spent time. I regret not exploring Iyadaniji so much, as I was tired and in a hurry..... a mistake I think...

The pagoda is a Tahoto, common at Shingon temples, and sometimes found at Tendai temples.

The current main hall dates to 1848...

There are so many other halls and statues that are not included in this post...... the temple is well worth the amount of climbing that is needed....

Visitors are also rewarded with great views over the surrounding countryside

Above is the Water Cave, the water source for the temple...

Below is the Amida Triad, carved into the cliff, with Amida flanked by Kannon and Seishi.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was temple 70, Motoyamaji.

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Dainichiji Temple

 

On the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage, the route to the next temple passes by a group of the Ohenro Pilgrimage temples, so I stopped in at them.

Kaburaiji Temple 11 Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

Kaburaiji Temple

Kaburaiji is claimed to be an ancient temple established by none other than Shotoku Taishi in 581.

His mother was born here, and the mountain, Mount Dokko, had been considered sacred long before the temple was established.

The name derives from a kabura given to the temple by Shotoku Taishi. Kabura is a turnip and it refers to whistling arrows which had a turnip-shaped head and whistled when flying through the air.

It is said that Kobo Daishi visited and dug the well here.

It was destroyed by fire several times, including by a forest fire in the Edo Period.

It was rebuilt in 1862, BUT.........

In 1873, a bunch of local "unruly samurai" who named themselves Tenchugumi after a band of samurai who were active in the years running up to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 attacked and burned down temples and shrines in the area, including Kaburaiji.

The temple was abandoned until 1955 when Prince Kuninomiya Asahiko visited the site and prayed for its restoration.

This began in 1959, and in 1965 the Goma Hall was completed.

In 1973, the three-storey Pagoda was erected and then the main hall in 1992 and the Benten Hall in 1994.

Other buildings now in place include a bell tower, Daishi Hall, large guest building and large Kuri, monks quarters.

There is a miniature 88 temple pilgrimage, pictured above.

The temple is now known for raising a species of Lotus thatbdates back thousands of years...

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage was on the koi-filled pond in the small garden at the temple...

I have no idea what this huge barrel is being used as....

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Tanoura Kannondo Temple 80 & Tanoura Yakushido Temple 59 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

A striking feature of temple 80, Tanoura Kannondo, is the Seigando Hall with around 300 small statues of a seated Kobo Daishi.

Temple 80, Tanoura Kannondo, and temple 59 Tanoura Yakushido, are located adjacent to each other.

Unfortunately there is very little in terms of dates and history.

As usual there are lots of Fudo Myoo statues as well as others....

The "main hall" is a small cave that was a sutra repository about 300 years ago.

The honzon is a Thousand-armed Kannon. There are numerous other Kannon statues at the temple.

There is one particularly fine, huge sugi tree.

A Benzaiten statue next to yet another Kannon statue....

Nest door is the Yakushi-do, temple 59....

A statue of Fujiki Tosukethe founder of the Sasaguri Pilgrimage. It is believed his hermitage was located near here.

There are also many Fudo statues here...

The honzon is a Yakushi Nyorai, commonly known as the Medicine Buddha.

The statue of Kobo Daishi with his dog relates to a legend that while travelling with his dog they were attacked by a wild boar and the dog dies defending Kobo Daishi.

I have not come across this story anywhere else so it may be a local story...

The previous post was on the nearby temple 30, Higyokudo.

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