Kisshoin Tamonji Temple

 

This temple in the mountains north of downtown Kobe was a real revelation.

The sign at the entrance to Tamonji Temple told me about something I had never heard of .... that for half a year the capital of Japan was not Kyoto, but Fukuharakyo, in what is now Kobe.

Taira Kiyomori moved the child emperor Antoku and set up court in Fukuharakyo in 1180. It was also Kiyomori's retirement palace.

At that time Tamonji was located at the bottom of Mount Rokko, across the valley from its current location. The okunoin of the temple is still on top of Rokko.

Kiyomori chose Tamonji to be the protector temple of the new capital from the dangerous spiritualforces of the NE, a so-called Kimon.

To support the temple, he settled people from the north of Kyoto; Yase, Ohara, etc around the temple.

Interestingly, the temple is said to have been founded in the mid 7th century by an Indian monk, Hodo Sennen, who is associated with many places and legends around Japan.

It fell into disrepair, or was abandoned, until being rebuilt as a Shingon temple in 858.

An unusual tiger statue. The honzon of Tamonji is Bishamonten, and in Japan, he is associated with tigers. For the story see this post from a temple in Kyushu...

 

A few of the simple, "cute" rakan statues...... a whole post on them coming up next post....

During the rebellion against the Taira, an army allied with Yoshitsune Minamoto burned down the temple as they would not assist in their approach to fight the Taira.

In 1428 a bright light was seen emanating from the spot where Tamonji currently stands, and taken as an omen, Tamonji was moved here and rebuilt.

The current main hall dates to 1690.

The Mizuko Jizo seem to have been made by the same people who made many of the rakan here.

The honzons at Tamonji are the Bishamonten, a Kichijoten, and a standing Jizo. They are all secret buddhas, but it is possible that once a year they can be viewed.

One source says that in 1868 2 other temples in the area were combined with Tamonji.

Theer are several shrines within the grounds including an Atago Daigongen, a Hachiman, and an Aizen Inari.

In the structure pictured below used to be a sacred spring of some kind, though it is now dry.

Behind it a Fudo Myoo...

Since moving to this site thetemple seems to have been associated with shugendo, with the head family of the area said to have moved here from the Yoshino area.

Located just a few minutes from Shintetsurokko Station, the temple is not well known but well worth a visit, especially for the rakan which I will post on next....

I was also taken with the unique Onigawara featured in the last photos of this post.

I visited at the start of day 5 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post in the series was on the delightful Mudoji Temple, not too far away, that I visited the day before.

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Ruriji Temple & the Cheerful Hunter

 

This section of the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage is very exciting for me as it is through country that I have never been before, even though it is not too far from my home.

Ruriji is  temple 14 on the pilgrimage, and I reached it at the end of my 8th day.

It is a Soto sect Zen temple with a Shaka Nyorai as its honzon.

With a bell tower gate, small treasure hall, and plentiful fresh offerings at the Mizuko Jizo, it is obviously an active temple, but I can find absolutely nothing about its history.

The sun was getting low, but my accommodations for the night were just a short walk away.

In the middle of nowhere is a noodle restaurant. The name has changed since I was there. It is now called Countryside Cafe Cheerful Hunter.

At the time, my wife was working for an NPO related to rural revitalization, and so had networked with other similar NPO's in the region, and so had been here.

Takahashi Imada and his wife are  the proprietors. He is a hunter and so wild boar features heavily on the menu, along with other wild, mountain delicacies.

He gave me a plate of wild boar meat, a cup of amazake made by his wife, and a bed in an empty house on the property for the grand price of 2,000 yen. Their noodle restaurant is usually full, and he also offers hunting trips and minpaku-style accommodations nowadays, and yes! he was cheerful.

The previous post was on the afternoon leg of my walk.

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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.