First stop on day 29 was Daisho-in, the 20th temple on the pilgrimage.
It is believed that a temple stood here in the 9th century, but nothing is known about it.
Later, it was revived as a Rinzai temple with the name Kanki-ji but it fell inrto disuse and almost disappeared during the16th century.
The temple was revived by Mori Tsunahiro, the second daimyo of the Choshu Domain, in the mid 17th century.
It was renamed after the posthumous name of his father.
On this visit the main hall of the temple was completely enclosed within a building to enable its renovation.
A couple of windows allowed visitors to view the reconstruction process.
In the meantime the Shoin was used as a temporary main hall and many of the temples statues and treasures could be viewed.
The whole temple burned down in the mid 18th century, but was rebuilt in 1750.
The main hall, sutra repository, kuri, shoin, and impressive bell tower gate all date from that time, and are all Important Cultural Properties.
Next to the temple is one of the Mori family cemeteries. The other is on the opposite side of Hagi at Tokoji Temple.
The lords and their families were buried at alternate sites.
Here at Daisho-in there are 47 graves for the families of seven daimyo.
Most impressive are the 605 stone lanterns donated by vassals and samurai of the domain.
Of the two temples with Mori cemeteries, I prefer this one to Tokoji as it is far less crowded.
There is a garden next to the shoin, though it is not so well maintained. I will cover it in the next post in the series.
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