Rurikoji Temple & National Treasure Pagoda

 

The pagoda at Rurikoji Temple in Yamaguchi is considered one of the top3 pagodas in all of Japan, along with one at Daigoji Temple in Kyoto and one at Horyuji Temple in Nara.

It is registered as a National Treasure and was built in 1442.

It is 31.2 meters tall with cypress bark roofs. It is mostly Japanese in style, though with some Chinese Zen influences...

It was built by Ouchi Moriharu to memorialize his brother,  Ouchi Yoshihiro who died at the Battle of Oei.

The pagoda houses an Amida statue and a statue of Yoshihiro in monk form.

It is said his coffin lies beneath the pagoda.

The grounds around the pagoda are known as Kozan Park and is a great spot for cherry blossoms, and also for autumn colours, which is when I visited.

The pagoda is illuminated every night.

The temple originally at this site was Koseki-ji. The main hall was moved to Fudo-in Temple in Hiroshima City and is also a National Treasure.

Rurikoji was founded in 1471 at a different location and was named Anyoji Temple, being renamed Rurikoji in 1497. It was moved to the current site in 1690.

It is a Soto sect Temple and the honzon is a Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha.

The small museum in the temple is worth a visit as it has scale models of 55 other pagodas from around Japan as well as a large model of the pagoda here showing how it was constructed.

The museum also has a nice collection of masks that appealed to me, and several paintings including one attributed to Sesshu.

I have some other photos which show the details of the pagoda a little better from a previous visit.

The previous post in this series on day 23 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on neighbouring Toshinji Temple.

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Kojoji Temple 11 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

The 11th temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage is located on an island in the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

Kojoji is a Soto Zen temple that was founded in 1403, though at the time it was founded as a Rinzai Zen Temple.

It is said to have been founded by the Zen Master Daido who founded Buttsuji, incidentally the next temple on the pilgrimage.

At the height of its power it was home to 100 monks.

It fell into disuse but was revived in the early 17th century when it was converted to Soto.

Some of the temple buildings burned down in early Meiji and others were dismantled.

Only the Pagoda, gate, bell tower and kitchen remained.

In 2010, a new Main Hall was built.

The star of the temple is the pagoda dating back to 1432 and is rightly registered as a National Treasure.

My understanding and recognition of historical Japanese architectural styles and details is somewhat limited, but most sources mention that the pagoda is in Zen style that includes various Chinese elements.

Kojoji is a little off the beaten track, and other than the pagoda there is not actually a lot to see, however if you are visiting nearby Kosanji then it might be worth a look.

The previous post in the series was on the walk from Innoshima Island to Ikuchijima Island.

Jodo-ji Temple 9 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Jodo-ji Temple in Onomichi, the historic port on the Hiroshima coast is said to have been founded by Shotoku Taishi in the early 7th century.

However, no records exist to prove that, although there was some kind of religious site here 400 years later at the end of the Heian Period.

The main gate dates to the mid 14th century and is an Important Cultural Property.

The main hall, left in the photo above, and photo below, dates to 1327 and is a National Treasure.

The honzon is an Eleven-faced Kannon, and the temple now belongs to the Shingon sect.

In 1325 a major fire burned down most buildings and so everything now has been built since then.

Ashikaga Takauji stopped here in 1336 on his way back from Kyushu and donated a set of poems.

He also made Jodoji one of his Ankokuji, nation-pacifying temples.

Below is the Amida Hall, built in 1345 and enshrining Amida

It, along with the gate, Abbots Quarters (hojo), and several other structures and artifacts are also Important Cultural Properties.

The other Nationl Treasure at Jodoji is the pagoda.

This Tahoto-style pagoda was constructed in 1328 and emshrines Dainichi.

Apparently there is a Treasure House where some of the many treasures in the possession of the temple are on display, but I didn't visit it.

I was most interested in the gardens which I covered in the previous post.

To view the gardens you go into the Abbots quarters, the hojo, which has a nice collection of painted screens seen in the final photos.

Usually statues of Binzuru are found on the veranda of a hall, but here he was inside.