Tamae Kannon-in Temple 21 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

The 21st temple of the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, Kannon-in, is just a couple of kilometers from the 20th temple, Daisho-in.

Located in Tamae, a fishing village that overlooks the Hashimoto River and the castle town of Hagi on the opposite bank.

A temple stood here in the early 9th century but fell into disuse and disrepair.

In the mid 16th century it was revived and made a Rinzai Zen temple. 

The honzon is a Shaka Nyorai and the Kannon Hall enshrines an 11-faced Kannon, siad to have been found in the nets of local fishermen. Consequently, the temple has been favoured by fishermen for protection at sea.

The temple has burned down several times, but each time the statues survived.

The main hall and Kannon Hall date to the mid 19th century.

The previous post was on the garden at Daisho-in, a few kilometers away.

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Daisho-in Temple 20 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

First stop on day 29 was Daisho-in, the 20th temple on the pilgrimage.

It is believed that a temple stood here in the 9th century, but nothing is known about it.

Later, it was revived as a Rinzai temple with the name Kanki-ji but it fell inrto disuse and almost disappeared during the16th century.

The temple was revived by Mori Tsunahiro, the second daimyo of the Choshu Domain, in the mid 17th century.

It was renamed after the posthumous name of his father.

On this visit the main hall of the temple was completely enclosed within a building to enable its renovation.

A couple of windows allowed visitors to view the reconstruction process.

In the meantime the Shoin was used as a temporary main hall and many of the temples statues and treasures could be viewed.

The whole temple burned down in the mid 18th century, but was rebuilt in 1750.

The main hall, sutra repository, kuri, shoin, and impressive bell tower gate all date from that time, and are all Important Cultural Properties.

Next to the temple is one of the Mori family cemeteries. The other is on the opposite side of Hagi at Tokoji Temple.

The lords and their families were buried at alternate sites.

Here at Daisho-in there are 47 graves for the families of seven daimyo.

Most impressive are the 605 stone lanterns donated by vassals and samurai of the domain.

Of the two temples with Mori cemeteries, I prefer this one to Tokoji as it is far less crowded.

There is a garden next to the shoin, though it is not so well maintained. I will cover it in the next post in the series.

The previous post in this series was on my walk into Hagi the previous afternoon.

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Sorinji Temple 18 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Sorinji Temple is a Rinzai Zen temple on the outskirts of Ube on the south coast of Yamaguchi.

It is temple 18 on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

The main hall, top photo, enshrines an Amida.

The second honzon, a Nyoirin Kannon, is enshrined in the Kannon-do, pictured above.

The temple was established in 1670 on the site of a derelict temple, Fusaiji, by Fukuhara Hirotoshi, a vassal of the Mori who ruled the area.

The garden that was attached to the old temple was restored .

The previous post was on the amazing garden at the temple, believed to be the oldest garden in Yamaguchi.

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Toshunji Temple 16 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Toshunji, temple number 16 of the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage is located right next to the famous Pagoda at Rurikoji Temple, and so most visitors usually pass by.

It was established by Motonari Mori, the great warlord who ruled over most of the Chugoku region until fighting for the losing side in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1601.

He founded the temple in 1572 as a family temple within the grounds of his home castle in Yoshida, now Hiroshima Prefecture. It is a Rinzai Zen temple with Kannon as honzon.

He moved it to this site in 1605 after most of his lands were stripped away. He moved it again in 1618 to Hagi.

In 1869, following the Meiji Restoration, it was moved back to this site.

The site was originally an Ouchi Clan temple called Kokusei-ji and the current gate, photo 4, built in 1402, is from the original temple and is an Important Cultural Property.

The Kannon Hall, photo 6, dates to 1430, and was moved here in 1915. It is also an Important Cultural Property.

There is a small garden, mostly bamboo with a few maple.

The previous post in this series on day 23 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the autumn colours at Ryufukuji Temple

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Ryufukuji Temple in Autumn

 

Ryufukuji is a Zen temple in Yamaguchi City. Originally it was Rinzai sect but was later converted to Soto sect.

It is one of the best places in the city to view autumn colours as the approach to the temple gate is lined with maple trees.

Once you pass through the gate all turns yellow from a huge Gingko tree...

Like so many temples, it has been rebuilt many times and moved to different locations.

Its current location is within the grounds of what used to be the Ouchi Clan mansion.

The Ouchi were an ancient clan, claiming descent from Korean immigrants. They are also believed to have introduced the cult of Myoken into Japan.

During the Muromachi Period (1336-1573), when Kyoto was devastated by war, the Ouchi established Yamaguchi as an alternative to Kyoto with many aspects of elite culture.

They were eventually defeated by the Mori Clan who went on to rule most of the Chugoku region.

The main hall with its cypress bark roof dates to 1479 and is an Important Cultural Property.

A small building in the grounds is a museum with artitacts relating to the Ouchi Clan.

The original temple, before renaming and relocating several times, dates to the first decade of the 13th century.

The honzon is a Shaka Nyorai, the Japanese name for Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha.

The previous post in this series on my walk on day 23 of the Chugoku Pilgrimage was also another autumn colours extravaganza, the Sesshu garden at Jyoei-ji Temple.

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