Koryuji Bangai Temple 10 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Nishiyama Koryuji Temple, number 10 of the "extra" temples known as Bangai or Bekkaku, is located a short detour from the main pilgrimage route between temple 59, Kokubunji, and temple 60, Yokomineji.

After climbing a gentle slope there are great views looking down and over Saijo City.

The road then enters the forest and starts to climb more steeply and you then cross the Miyuryu Bridge.

Arriving at the Niomon gate with its fine pair of guardians.

Whereas many temples claim Kobo Daishi as their founder, many more claim to have been founded by Gyoki, around a century before Kobo Daishi's time.

Koryuji claims to predate Gyoki, which I'm sure makes it one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

It is said to have been founded in 642 and was later visited by both Gyoki and Kobo Daishi.

The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon

The Daishi-do is a much more modern, concrete structure.

The current main hall was built at the end of the 14th century. It is an Important Cultural Property.

Jibo Kannon-do

A trail leads up to a small shrine enshrining Ishizuchi Gongen, Ishizuchi being the highest mountain on Shikoku and home to a large and important Shugendo centre.

I visited late in winter, but the temple is famous as an Autumn Viewing spot as it has 300 maple trees in the grounds.

The three-storey Pagoda dates to 1836.

The previous temple was number 59, the Iyo Kokubunji Temple.

Tomonoura Temple Walk Part 2

 

During the Obon period of mid-August, most of the temples in Tomonoura have curtains and lanterns displaying the temple crest.

Hosenji was quite a large temple, founded in 1358 by Daikaku Daisoji, a high-ranking priest of the Nichiren sect.

He was supported by Emperor Go-Kogon.

There remains a huge stump of a pine tree that was a National Natural Monument until it died in 1991. It is said to have been planted by Daikaku himself and was therefore more than 630 years old when it died.

Hosenji was yet another Tomnoura temple that was used as lodgings for Korean envoys.

Heading south the next temple was Nanzenbo, distinguished by its impressive bell tower gate.

Nanzenbo was established in 1573 and moved to its current location in the mid Edo Period. It is a True Pure Land sect temple.

The tower gate and main hall are both Tangible Culturl Properties. It is believed the gate was built in preparation for the 12th Korean delegation.

Next was Amidaji, but its gates were closed and it wasn't wearing decorations so I didn't go in, which is a shame as it is home to the "Great Buddha of Tomo" said to be a particularly fine and large statues of Amida.

Amidaji is a Pure Land sect temple founded in 1565. Apparently the cemetery contains some gravestones that are unique to Tomonoura.

Next up was Myoenji, originally founded as a Tendai temple in the coutryside outside Tomonoura in the 13th century and later converted to True Pure Land.

In the mid 15th century it moved to its current location after being pressured by the warlord of its area to convert to the Nichiren sect. Along with neighbouring Amidaji, it has an Edo-period bell.

Narrow lanes lead further up the hillside to the biggest and highest temple of the area, Ioji.

The biggest building is not the main hall, but rather the Mikagedo, otherwise known as the Founders Hall.

It is a Shingon temple said to have been founded  by Kobo Daishi himself in 826.

The main hall, pictured below, dates to 1685, although the bell tower is about 40 years older.

The honzon is a standing Yakushi Nyorai.

Ioji Temple is a well-known spot for getting a great view looking down on Tomonoura and especially for watching sunrise.

However, a path with about 600 steps leads much further up the hillside to the Taishiden.

From here the views are much more expansive and reach to Shikoku on clear days.

For me, however, the highlight of Ioji were the Nio guardians.

Unfortunately I can find no information on them or their age, but they are obviously quite old and therefore that eerie quality that comes with deterioration..... kind of like how I'm feeling nowadays...

The previous post was Part One of my Tomonoura Temple Walk.

Kimiidera Temple 2 Saigoku Pilgrimage

 

Kimiidera is a major temple in the south of Wakayama City with many things to see inlcuding the tallest wooden Senju Kannon statue.

It is temple number 2 on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, possibly the oldest "circuit" pilgrimage in Japan.

Depending on the route you take it is between 150-190 kilometers from temple 1, Seigantoji, and it took me 6 days to walk it. This section of the Saigoku follows the Kumano Kodo, so there was plenty to see.

I entered from the small north gate, photo 2, which has a narrow road up to the main temple buildings.

The main entrance, to the south, has a long flight of 231 steps, the final three photos of this post.

Kimiidera is said to have been founded in 770 by a Chinese monk who has been given the Japanese name Tamemitsu Shonin.

According to the legend he saw a ray of light emanating from the top of Mount Namakusa and upon investigating saw a golden, Thousan-Armed Kannon.

He is said to have carved an Eleven-Faced Kannon which is the honzon of the temple, and also enshrined the Thousand-Armed Kannon.

Both are "hidden Buddhas" and are only unveiled every 50 years.

However, in the main hall there are numerous statues not hidden, including the delightful Thousand-Armed Kannon below.

5 of the statues, including the 2 hidden ones, are Important Cultural Properties.

A well-visited Binzaru statue sits on the balcony.

Much of the architecture dates back to the 18th century, but some buildings are much older and are registered as  Important Cultural Properties.

The Tahoto-style pagoda, pictured below, dates back to possibly the mid 15th century.

The Bell Tower, photos 20 & 21, is dated to 1588 although was repaired in 1781 and 1937.

The tower Gate, the last three photos of the post, houses a fine pair of Nio and is dated to 1509 and was repaired 50 years later.

Many cherry trees are planted around the temple, with one particular one said to usually be the first cherry tree to blossom in the Kinki region and so is used to make the official start of Ohanami in Kinki.

The temples proper name is Kimiizan Kongoho-ji, and is also named Kongohoji Gokoku-in, but is mostly known by the name Kimiidera, named, it is believed, after the three sacred springs on the mountainside.

At the end of the Heian Period it was favored by Emperor Go-Shirakawa and flourished. In the Kamakura Period it is though the temple supported 500 monks.

When Hideyoshi invaded in 1581 he confiscated all the temple lands and also many historical records were lost.

When a branch of the Tokugawa took over the domain they started supporting the temple and of course during the heyday of the pilgrimage in the Edo Period the temple was very popular.

This modern structure, made of concrete, opened in 2002 and is 25 meters tall.

It houses the 12 meters tall gilded statue of a Thousand-armed Kannon that was completed in 2007.

It was prefabricated by Kyoto sculptor Matsumto Myokei in his studio and then assembled on site around an earthquake-resistant steel and wood frame.

It is claimed to be the tallest wooden statue in Japan, although I have seen the biggest Benzaiten statue down in Kyushu, made by the same sculptor, and it is 18 meters tall, but I guess that includes the base.

From the temple grounds there are great views over Wakanoura, the Bay of Poetry, immortalized in numerous Japanese poems over the centuries. There are quite a few interesting sites there so its well worth a visit. Please check an earlier post I wrote on Waknoura.

I believe that there is now a small entrance fee, though when I visited it was free. There is also a new cable-car and elevator that allows those who wish to avoid the long climb.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist site of Tanga Daigongen.