Showing posts with label saigoku. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saigoku. Show all posts

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Tanga Daigongen

 


After descending from Shichiga Pass I start to head down a narrow valley towards Yuasa and cannot fail to notice Tanga Daigongen.


Built on a steep slope, the site is a collection of colourful orange metal torii with numerous shrines behind them.


According to the legend, Emperor Shirakawa fell ill at this spot while on a pilgrimage to Kumano and a white-haried old man appeared and helped him, so Shirakawa enshrined him here as Tanga Gongen.


There are several Inari shrines here, and several shrines to Fudo Myo.


The main kami though appears to be Tanga Daigongen which I believe is a manifestation of Kono Zao Gongen, the head deity of Shugendo. Photo 10 is a statue of Kono Zao Gongen.


Photo 9 is of En no Gyoja, the legendary mystic who is said to be the founder of Shugendo and who here is named Shinben Daibosatsu.


Also enshrined here are a Koyasu Daishi, a Tatee Jizo, and an Eleven-Headed Kannon as well as several more kami.


I love these kind of places as they mix so many strands and layers of religious history across all the artificial barriers of sects and schools...


Very "folk" as opposed to so many of the bigger establishments that are overtly political and somewhat sterile.


This was day 7 of my walk on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, said to be the oldest "circuit" pilgrimage in Japan, and still following the Kumano Kodo Kiiji Route at this point.


The previous post was on the route up to the pass. Once I reached Yuasa I jumped ahead by train to Kimiidera Temple.


Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Uchihara Oji to Shishigasa Pass Kumano Kodo Kiiji Route


Saturday, March 26th, 2016, and I continue north on day 7 of my walk along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage which at this point still follows the Kumano Kodo, the World Heritage registered pilgrimage routes.


I am following the Kiiji Route of the Kumano Kodo which ran from the imperial capital in Kyoto down to the Kumano Shrines. For the previous two days since I left Tanabe where the Nakahechi Route heads into the mountains The Kiiji route has followed the coast.


Now it heads inland and over the mountains on what was historically considered a difficult part of the route.


Heading north the narrow road passes several monuments to sites of former Oji, the 99 shrines that lay upon the route.


Some are still existant as shrines, and of course there are numerous roadside statues.


The route is pretty well marked and I believe the signage has gotten even more prolific since I walked it 8 years ago.


There are numerous artworks along the way depicting pilgrims, usual high-class, on the route in historical times.


The site of Kutsukake Oji, the 50th Oji, marks a kind of halfway point on the pilgrimage route.


As the road steepens the trail heads off along a section of cobblestone road. Apparently this is the longest section of the old paved route still in existence.


Eventually the trail levels out at Shishigasstoge, the pass at about 350 meters above sea level.


During the Edo Period there was a teahouse for travellers at the pass, and also other teahouses along the way. All have disappeared, mostly the the Meiji Period when trains and modern  roads led to the old paths becoming hardly used.


The plum blossoms were particularly appealing as they were in full bloom at this altitude.


Downhill from here is quite steep but mostly on a narrow asphalt or concrete road.


While not as dramatic as the far more popular Kumano Kodo routes to the south, this section is easily accessible for a shorter walk along the Kumano Kodo without necessitating much planning and expense.





Friday, November 8, 2024

Kyorinbo in Autumn Splendour

 


Thursday November 24th, 2016, day 39 of my walk along the Saigoku Pilgrimage, and I descended from Kannonshoji Temple in the mountains near Omihachiman in Shiga.


I visited Kyorinbo, a famous spot for Fall Colours and as I had come down the mountain I entered the property through the rear entrance.


Kyorinbo is a Tendai Temple, though it doesn't look like a temple.


It is said the temple was founded in 605 by none other than Shotoku Taishi.


A small statue of Kannon said to be carved by him is the honzon of the temple and is enshrined in a small cave in the grounds.


The temple was destroyed during the Warring States Period but was rebuilt in 1585.


The Shoin, Main Gate, and Storehouse all date from the early Edo Period and are thatched.


The Shoin has two gardens, one to the south, and one to the west.


The one to the south is called the Fudaraku Garden. It contains a path that runs to the main hall and also the cave holding the Kannon statue.


It is also the garden where most of the maple trees are planted. It was created in the Muromachi Period (1338 to 1573). 


The garden to the west is attributed to Kobori Enshu and is believed to date from the early Edo Period.


It is a pond garden with a hillside of moss-covered stones.


Kyorinbo has the nickname of Stone Temple.


The Enshu Garden features a "dry waterfall" and the pond contains the classic Crane and Turtle stone arrangements.


The garden can be appreciated any time of the year, but with the Fall colours it becomes ablaze with colour.


For much of the year, the garden is closed but opens on the weekends  and holidays in the Spring and daily during November.


In November the garden is illuminated and open in the evenings.


The temple was abandoned and derelict in the late twentieth century but a monk almost singlehandedly restored it.


The closest train  is Azuchi Station where taxis and rental bicycles can be found.


Another Enshu garden I covered recently was the one at Raikyuji Temple.