Glimpses of Futagoji Temple

 

Futagoji Temple is a large Tendai temple on the Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita, Kyushu. Pictured above are the steps leading up to the Okunoin.

Situated in the centre of the peninsula and on the lower slopes of its namesake, the highest point, 720 meters high Mount Futago.

Since the Edo Period, it has been the head temple of the Rokugo Manzan, the unique mountain-worshipping religion that is a syncretic mix of Tendai Buddhism and Usa Hachimangu shinto.

The honzon is a Thousand-armed Kannon and the temple has many other superb statues and paintings.

The Okunoin, further up the mountainside is set against a cliff and is well worth the extra climb.

On this trip I passed through the temple grounds fairly quickly as I was pressed for time and had to climb to the top of the mountain.

A few years later I returned and spent much longer here and took many more photos, so that will come in a later post on the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage.

Earlier I posted on the approach to the temple which has the largest stone Nio in all of the peninsula.

The previous post was on the 360-degree views from on top of Mount Futago.

Jimyoin Betsuin Temple

 

The Sasaguri Pilgrimage is a miniature version of the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage known as Ohenro. All the temples on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage are within the limits of Sasaguri, a town in the mountains east of Hakata, Fukuoka, and the whole route covers about 50 kilometers, yet the walking pilgrim passes by numerous other temples that are not part of the pilgrimage.

Jimyoin Betsuin Temple is one such temple, located along a mountain road to the north of Narufuchi Dam. We visited on our way down the mountain late in the afternoon of the 1st day walking the pilgrimage after having already visited more than twenty temples.

A Betsuin is a direct branch temple, and this one seems to be a branch of a Jimyoin Temple near Nanzoin further east. It is unstaffed and there was little information though it does appear to be relatively new.

What is known is that the temple belongs to the Shingon sect and has a Daishi-do, Yakushi-do, and across the road a Kannon-do.

The main hall enshrines the honzon, a Fudo Myo, and I will cover it and the many other Fudo statues in the grounds in the next post.

Photo 3 shows, I believe, an Aizen Myo, and the statues in photo 4 very much look in what seems to be Korean-style.

Photo 5 is probably Bishamonten, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the one most likely found alone without the other three. I'm not sure of the dragon in photo 6, but it looks a lot like Kurikara, the dragon representing the sword of Fudo Myo, except it is usually shown wrapped around a sword.

Photo 7 is the Shichifukujin, the Seven Lucky Gods. Have no idea what photo 8 is although its meaning seems somewhat obvious. Photo 9 is the Nio guardians from the rear looking across the road to the Yakushi-do.

The previous post in this series on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage was on the small  Hagio Amida-do we visited a little higher up the mountain road.

Oreki Temple 7 Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

 

Oreki-ji is a small, Tendai temple in the mountains of the Kunisaki Peninsula, and is temple number 7 on the Kyushu Fudo Myo Pilgrimage.

It is less than 3 kilometers from Mudo-ji, temple number 6, that I had visited a little earlier.

Like Mudo-ji, Oreki-ji is one of the Rokugo Manzan temples of the Kunisaki Peninsula that developed its own unique form of syncretic mountain religion more than a millenia earlier, and that makes the area so intriguing to visit nowadays.

Just inside the gate, next to a large Wishing Jizo statue, is a small hall with a second set of stone Nio guardians. Inside are 33 Kannon statues.

Like all 28 Rokugo Manzan temples, Oreki-ji is said to have been founded by the monk Ninmon in 718, though many historians consider him to be more a legendary figure.

It was moved to its current location in 1625. The temple declined during the Edo Period and eventually became abandoned by the mid 19th century, but was revived by monks from Futago-ji.

The hinzon is a Thousand-armed Kannon, originally held in the okunoin further up the mountainside, but moved here after a fire. The Okunoin is now a Rokusho Shrine, but I did not make the climb up to it.

There is also a fine, Heian Period statue of Fudo Myo. Originally located in its own building on the other side of the river, it is carved out of a single piece of cypress and is registered as a Prefectural Important Cultural Property.

There are many other statues inside the main hall, including an En no Gyoja flanked by  2 demon servants ( photo 5 )

Since I first started exploring the Kunisaki area many years ago it has become more popular but still most visitors only visit a half dozen major sites, but it is well worth spending more time here and exploring more deeply as it is filled with sights to see. The Kunisaki Hanto Minemichi Long Trail is a walking route with minimal support infrastructure, but it roughly follows the old Shugendo  pilgrimage route. This was the second day of my walk along it.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby Misosogi Shrine.

Kotaiji Temple Nagasaki

 

The next big temple after Daionji along Teramachi in Nagasaki is Kotaiji, and there was a little bit more to see here.

The first building you come to is the Kegonkaku, the Great Buddha Hall, built in 1723.

It houses a 3.4 meter tall red statue of the Vairocana Buddha, known in Japan as Dainichi Nyorai.

Kotaiji was founded in 1608 and was moved to its current location in 1626. It belongs to the Soto Zen sect and the honzon is a Shaka Triad, the historical Buddha flanked by two guardians.

The honzon was donated to the temple by a wealthy man named Takasuri who also paid the construction costs of the nearby Megane Bridge. The bridge was originally part of the approach to Kotaiji Temple and the main gate used to be located closer to the bridge.

The Niomon gate was built in 1680 and is said to be the oldest existing shrine or temple gate in Nagasaki.

The pair of Nio, however, only date back to 1985 and the originals had deteriorated too much.

The main hall was built in 1663 and is made out of teak.

The Zendo, meditation hall, was built in 1832.

Zazen mediation sessions are available for foreign visitors.

The previous post was on Daionji Temple next door.

The Approach to Futagoji Temple

 

Mount Futago lies in the middle of the Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita, and Futago-ji Temple is situated about halfway up the 720 meter high volcanic peak.

From Mount Futago 28 valleys radiate out, one for each "chapter" of the Lotus Sutra, and with more than 32,000 stone statues, one for each character of the sutra, the peninsula is considered a "map" of the sutra and is home to an ancient yamabushi pilgrimage route.

Rougo Manzan is the name given to the syncretic religious system of the area based on a mix of mountain worship along with Usa Hachiman and Tendai Buddhism.

Futagoji, founded in the early 8th century continues to lie at the heart of this system and the area.

A modern road leads up to parking areas closer to the main temple buildings, but the best approach is the traditional one, crossing the Mumei Bridge and then up a long flight of ancient stone stairs passing though the mountain gate, said to be the oldest temple gate in the Kunisaki area.

The pair of stone nio were made in the early 19th century and at 245cms are the biggest stone Nio in Kunisaki. After passing through the gate the path leads past a large pond with a Benzaiten or Suijin Shrine.

On this visit I was on the last day of a 5 day walk crisscrossing the Kunisaki Peninsula hunting Autum Colours. The previous post was a Yasaka Shrine down the road.