Kobori Enshu Garden at Raikyuji Temple

 

Kobori Enshu ( 1579 - 1647 ) was an aristocrat most well known for being a Tea Master.

He was also a painter, poet, and probably the most influential garden designer of the early Edo Period.

His garden at Raikyuji Temple is considered one of his earliest garden designs.

Raikyuji is a Rinzai Zen Temple  located in the castle town of Takahashi in Okayama.

The castle, Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, is one of the 12 castles in Japan still with an original tenshu, or keep, and  is also the highest castle in Japan.

Raikyuji Temple's founding date is unknown but it was rebuilt here in 1339 as Ankokuji Temple.

In the early 16th century the temple was developed by the lord of the castle, Ueno Yorihisa. His grave is at the temple.

The temple was destroyed in a battle in 1575 but was rebuilt by the victors.

Following the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu installed Kobori Masatsugu to rule the area.

The castle was still in a state of disrepair after the battle of 1575 so Kobori lived in and administered the area out of Raikyuji Temple.

Following his death in 1604 control passed to his son Kobori Masakazu who would later become known by the name Enshu.

He lived at the temple for 15 years and is believed to have designed the garden during that time.

The garden can be viewed from both the Shoin and building next door.

On the north side of the shoin is a small pond garden to the rear of the main hall.

The garden features heavily-pruned azalea bushes.

Obviously, when they are in bloom in May then the garden takes on quite a different appearance.

the focal point of the garden is a Crane Island with its upright central stone.

Behind it is a Turtle Island, though it is somewhat hidden.

The garden incorporates the "borrowed scenery" of Mount Atago behind it.

A stone lantern dating to 1339 is a focal point of the garden between the two buildings.

In 1974 the garden was registered as National Scenic Beauty Spot.

On this trip I visited Takahashi on Day 6 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage. The previous post was on the photogenic Kiyama Temple.

Kiyama Temple a remnant of Shinbutsu

 

Kiyama Temple is located at more than 400 meters above sea level on a mountain in the northern part of Okayama prefecture.

With a large torii at the entrance one might be forgiven for thinking that it was a shrine, and not a temple, but it is an example of what was very common in the old days, a religious site with elements of both Buddhism and Shinto, Shinbutsu.

In 1868 the government decreed that Kami and Buddhas were to be separated, a process akin to unscrambling eggs. This was done for ideological and political reasons, to create a "national" religion.

Here on Kiyama, the site used to be called Kiyama-Gu, but in 1868 it became Kiyama Temple and down below a new site, Kiyama Shrine was constructed. I covered Kiyama Shrine in a post with 24 photos earlier.

The founding legend says that Kobo Daishi himself was in the area in 815. An old woodcutter guided him to the mountain and suggested it was a good spot for a temple.

Kobo Daishi recognized the man as a manifestation of Yakushi Nyorai and founded the temple here with  a Yakushi Nyorai statue.

I visited in early August after climbing up from Kiyama Shrine, and there was not another single person, visitor or staff, around the whole time I was there. Kiyama Temple is temple number 4 on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and this was late on my fifth day of walking it.

The entrance is across a big lotus pond with a Benzaiten Shrine in the middle of it, photo 3. 

Benzaiten is another deity that is problematic if you want to think in terms of a distinction between Buddhism and Shinto. Originally a Hindu deity, introduced into Japan by esoteric Buddhism, she later became a kami in Shinto.

The main gate, photo 4, here called Furomon, is said to be the oldest structure at the site, though I can't find an exact date for it.

The main hall also has a big torii in front of it. As well as Yakushi Nyorai, it also enshrined the two guardian deities, Gozu Tenno, and Inari.

Gozu Tenno was the deity of Gion-sha, the origin of the famous Gion Matsuri and now called Yasaka Shrine. Some sources suggest he was originally from India by way of Tibet and China, but most suggest a Korean origin for this deity.

Long equated with Susano, in 1868 the "kami" previously known as Gozu Tenno officially became Susano.

Inari as also a problem for those who think in terms of a pure, Indigenous "shinto".

There is no mention of Inari in the Kojiki and Nihongi, the texts seen as fundamental to "native" shinto. Inari is now equated with Ukanomitama, the post-1868 identity. rior to that Inari was often equated with Dakiniten, a Buddhist deity with Indian origins.

There are actually numerous secondary, small shrines to different Inari within the grounds of Kiyama Temple.

There is also a Koshin-do, a shrine to the Koshin deity, Daoist in origin, and very popular in pre-modern Japan, the Koshin cult brought us the Three Wise Monkeys, and the Sarubobo dolls.

Pictured above, the Kannon-do with its carved reliefs looks like a shinto honden, because that is what is was until 1868. It held the shintai that were moved to the new Kiyama shrine further down he mountain.

Pictured above, the Daishi-do was originally the main hall of the temple.

As well as Kobo Daishi it also enshrines Fudo Myo and Aizen Myo

So, a very complex mix of deities at this site, indicating a much richer and more diverse religious history than a simplistic shinto-buddhist duality.

There are some other large structures within the grounds, including a large guesthouse and storehouse, yet, as I mentioned before, not a soul around.

The previous post in this series of day 5 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was Kiyama Shrine down below.

Sakura Shrine & Kojima Takanori

 

Sakura Shrine lies along the old Iumo Kaido to the west of what is now Tsuyama City. As I entered I got the feeling that this would turn out to be a "political" shrine from the early days of State Shinto.

I was right. It was established in 1869 and enshrined Emperor Go-Daigo and also Koji Takanori.

The new religion of State Shinto was an attempt to create a "unified nation" of Japan primarily through the symbol of the Imperial system. This was when lots of emperors had shrines built to them, and historians went through history looking for any figures or events that would contribute towards the narrative of an imperial tradition.

Go-Daigo was much revered during the Meiji period because in 1331 he attempted to overthrow the military government of the Kamakura Bafuku and  " restore" direct imperial rule. His plot was discovered and so was deposed and exiled to the Oki Islands.

The route of his journey to exile was along the Izumo Kaido and the military convoy escorting him stayed the night at the fortified residence of the military governor of the area, which is where Sakura Shrine was built.

Koji Takanori was loyal to Go-Daigo and hatched a plan to rescue him, however, his plan was not well thought out and most of his soldiers were scattered over a wide area, unsure of the route the convoy was taking.

Takanori was able to sneak into the property of the military governor, but with too few men was unable to execute any kind of rescue.

He did however carve a ten-character verse to Go-Daigo into the trunk of a cherry tree in the compound, hence the name Sakura shrine.

Like most of the state shinto shrines I found it rather sterile, though it is quite like a largish park. There are numerous shrines to Go-Daigo and also quite a few to Takanori scattered across Japan, but all of them date from the late 19th century.

This was day 5 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon pilgrimage and the previous post was on Takano Shrine, the Ninomiya of the province.