Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage Temple 30 Kongoji

There were a couple of Fudo Myo statues at temple 30, Kongoji. the 4th temple of the day on this my penultimnate day walking the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimnage. They were surprising because Kongoji is a Rinzai Zen temple and Fudo is most often found at Shingon temples.

Of course it may well have been a Shingon temple before becoming a Rinzai temple, but it is hard to find any history of the temple.

There is a well just below the temple known as the Well of Beauty, and the story associated with it says there was a temple here in the 15th Century.

The main deity enshrined here is Bato Kannon, the Horsehead Kannon who wears a hat that represents a horses head. This kannon is particularly known for looking after animals and so livestock owners pray to her/him. The bato kannon statue is part of the well story and I will post that next...

Ankoku-ji

Originaly named Entsu-ji, this temple was founded under the orders of Emperor Konin in 773.

In 1345 Ashikaga Takauji established Ankoku temples in every province to honor samurai killed in battle and Entsuji was chosen to be the Izumo Ankokuji. It became a Rinzai Zen temple.

The older, traditional sects of Buddhism all had strong ties with the Imperial family and the aristocracy in Kyoto, but the shoguns chose to support the Zen sects because they were newer and with less ties to former ruling class.

The main deity worshiped here is the 11 faced Kannon.

Unju-ji

Unjuji

After leaving Kiyomizudera I headed for Unjuji, what I believed to be the next temple on the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage. When I studied the route and guide I saw a temple marked at the approximate location of Unjuji, and as Unjuji was a pretty big temple and on the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage I didn't read closely enough. Temple 22 is actually a small temple about 600 meters away, so technically I have not yet finished the pilgrimage until I go back and visit the proper temple 22.

When I've been to Unjuji before I have seen pilgrims there, as can be attested by the photo above of the Kannon-do.

There are a lot of small statues scattered around the grounds, and a very fine gate. The temple was founded in 1322 and belongs to the Rinzai Zen sect.

The most interesting thing at the temple though is a bronze bell that is somewhere between 1000 to 1300 years old. Its a Korean bell, more specifically from Silla, the country that unified the Korean Peninsula in the late 7th Century. During the "colonial" period of Japanese rule over Korea in the first half of the 20th Century much was looted from there, and Korean bells were one of the objects apparently prized. Also, of course, much was looted from Korea by Hideyoshis armies in the 16th Century. Why the bell, and others like it throughout Japan, have not been returned is a mystery to me. Some historians believe this particular bell is one of the oldest of its style in existence.

There is a fascinating article here that discusses the meaning of Korean Bells, and the Unjuju Bell, in relation to a pre-Buddhist "Goddess" religion of East Asia. The author is also pretty scathing in her criticism of how Japan portrays Korean history.

Kannon-ji, Izumo City temple 4 on the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage

Temple 4 of the Izumo 33 Kannon Pilgrimage is Kannon-ji located in downtown Izumo City just off old Route 9.

It is a Rinzai Zen temple and the main deities are Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha, and the eleven-faced Kannon. I can find very little information about the temple and its history and I was there at the crack of dawn so there was no-one around to ask.

Therewere a couple of shrines in the grounds, and this structure which contains, I believe, statues of the Judges of Hell.

Prayer slips left by pilgrims. I was there in April and the cherries were in full bloom. There is a small bell tower, and possibly an Imperial Messenger gate which would indicate that the temple held some importance in earlier times.

Daisho-in Temple, Hagi

Daisho-in is a Rinzai Zen temple in the castle town of Hagi, Yamaguchi.

A little off the regular tourist route in Hagi, the quietness combined with dilapidation make for an atmospheric visit.

The garden and pond are quite nice, but the main sight to see is the family graveyard of the Mori clan who moved here and built the castle and town.

The temple was derelict when the Mori moved here, but the second Lord of Hagi, Tsunahiro, rebuilt the temple in the mid 17th Century as a family temple. He, as well as his father and the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th Lords are interred here along with their wives. The other generations were interred on the other side of Hagi in Tokoji.

Leading up to the tombs are 603 stone lanterns donated by loyal vassals. Thats 100 more than at the more visited Tokoji. Every Obon all the lanterns are lit.