Kiyomizudera Temple 28 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

There are many Kiyomizudera temples scattered across Japan. This one is in Yasugi, Shimane, and may very well be the oldest.

Kiyomizudera literally means "Pure Water Temple", and the most famous is the one in Kyoto.

The temple is very old with the date of 587 generally given for its founding.

According to the legend, an itinerant monk named Sonryu investigated the mountain where locals claimed an eerie light could be seen. He found an old man who gave him a statue of Kannon, and so the first, crude structure housing the statue was erected. Not long afterwards a spring of clear water appeared.

The temple had imperial support as well as from local powers and grew in stature.

At its peak it had 48 buildings, though now only 10 are left. It was the premier temple in the whole San-in region.

The main hall is dated to 1393, and is an Important Cultural Property along with several statues dating back to the Heian Period.

One of the huge trees lining the final set of stairs is said to be 1,000 years old.

In the Gomado next to the main hall are several Fudo statues and a Zao Gongen statue.

The stone statue of Fudo at the start of the climb up to the temple is particularly fine. Top photo.

In 847, a disciple of Saicho stopped here on his way back from China, and since then it has been a Tendai temple.

In the battles between the Amago and the Mori in the late 16th century, everything except the main hall was destroyed by fire.

The pagoda, the last remaining 3-storey wooden pagoda in San-in, was built in 1859.

Unusually, visitors are allowed inside to climb to the upper level.

There is quite a large Inari shrine in the temple.

I left via the Niomon and took a trail down the mountain. This suggests that in earlier times the temple was primarily approached from the East.

On the current approach to the temple there are two eateries offering traditional temple cuisine, Shojin Ryori.

The previous post was on the walk here from Unjuji Temple.

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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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Motoyamaji Temple 70 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Temple 70, Motoyamaji, was a very pleasant surprise. Large, with lots to see, but not overcrowded...

The blue walls surrounding much of the compound was interesting and quite striking.

The 5-storey pagoda was started in the late 19th century and not finished until 1910.

The temple was founded by Kobo Daishi in 807. It is said he carved the honzon, a Bato Kannon, Horse-Head Kannon, the only Bato Kannon as honzon on the whole pilgrimage.

The Bato Kannon has two attendants, an Amida and a Yakushi.

It was a powerful temple in the middle ages with 24 branch temples and a territory of 2,000 koku.

The current main hall was built in 1300 and is very elegant. Not surprisingly, considering its age, it is a National Treasure

It survived the ravages of Chosokabe when most other temples did not. The clan that controlled the temple had a pact with Chosokabe, and that may be the reason, but there is a legend that explains the temple's survival.

Chosokabe's soldiers did attack the temple and cut down the head priest. However, when they opened the inner shrine in the main hall, the Amida statue was bleeding, so the samurai fled in fear.

The bell tower and Niomon also survived from that time.

Most of the current buildings date to the early to mid 18th century.

The Niomon is an Important Cultural Property.

These three photos show the temple's guardian shrine. Built in 1547, it has a bark-and-reed roof and is my second-favorite building after the main hall.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was Kannonji, Temple 69. It occupies the same site as Temple 68, Jinneiin.

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