Showing posts with label senju kannon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label senju kannon. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Minenoyama-an & Hondo Temples 22, 23 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 


Boxing Day, December 26th, 2015, and I set off on the third day of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage.


Its another glorious day of blue skies and my plan is to go down and then back up the Mito Peninsula that protrudes from the south of the island.


But first there are the last couple of temples in the old town part of Kusakabe.


The first is Minenoyama-an, on some high ground with great views over the Inland Sea and surrounded by a large cemetery. It is unmanned and the suffix -an tells that it is classed as a "hermitage", though the main building is a bit larger than most hermitages I've come across so far and is more like a large farmouse. The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon.


Nearby, literally on the other side of a small elementary school, is temple 23, curiously named Hondo, which means main hall.


It is said to be the main hall of the pagoda of Seikenji, temple 21 which I visited yesterday and is not too far away. Whether the pagoda stood here or if the hondo was moved to this spot is not clear.


It's quite an elegant building that I would describe as Chinese-style.


The honzon is a Shaka Nyorai said to have been carved by Genshin, a prominent Tendai monk from Enryakuji of the late Heian Period who is known mostly for his writings, but is said to have carved the statue at Yasakaji, temple 24 on Shikoku.


Next I head along the main coast road to the next settlement which has 4 pilgrimage temples to visit. The previous post in this series was on the last 4 temples I visited yesterday, Christmas Day.

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Nomiyama Kannonji Temple 16 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 


Nomiyama Kannonji is one of the biggest and also one of the highest of the 88 temples on the Sasaguri pilgrimage in Fukuoka. The temples are scattered in the mountains on either side of the valley through which runs the main road, Route 201, and the JR Fukuhokuyutaka Line.


The biggest temple is probably Nanzoin, home of the largest reclining Buddha, and the highest temple is the okunoin on top of Mount Wakasugi. Nomiyama Kannoji is at about 450 meters above sea level, but is the temple furthest away from the bottom of the valley.


It has several sub-temples and is served by a massive car park, so obviously many people venture up here with the temple website claiming about a million visitors a year.


The honzon is, not surprisingly considering the temple name, a Senju Kannon, a "thousand-armed" Kannon. It is hidden from view except for one day a year, on October 3rd, one of three major festivals held every year. photo number 2 above is a Senju Kannon in the Hundred Kannon Hall.


There is also an Amida Hall, pictured above.


There are several shrines within the grounds, an Inari, pictured above, and a Tenjin and an Awashima.


As well as within the different halls, there are numerous statues of many different Buddhas and Bodhisattvas scattered around the grounds. In fact, one of the main features of the pilgrimage is the sheer number of statues on display. We arrived here in the early afternoon of our first day walking the pilgrimage, and we had seen hundreds and hundreds of very diverse statues.


The previous post in the series is Mizuko Temple Monju-in. Next, I will post pics of the Fudo Myo statues from Kannonji.


Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Taiyuji Temple 6 Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage

 


Taiyuji Temple, number 6 on the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage, is a large complex in downtown Umeda close to Osaka Station.


It is said to have been founded in 821 by Kobo Daishi himself with Emperor Saga donating a statue of Senju Kannon which is now the honzon. The temple was burned to the ground during the Siege of Osaka in 1615 and then once again at the end of WWII. Most of the current buildings date to 1986.


There are numerous statues and shrines scattered throughout the grounds. It is said that in the Meiji period, the  Freedom & Political Rights Movement was established here before spreading around the country.


The Okunoin of the temple is a small cave enshrining a Fudo Myo statue.


The much larger Fudo housed in the Ichigando is the focus of the Fudo Pilgrimage


A statue of young Kobo Daishi. The Kuzan Hakkai Garden is a rock and gravel garden with unusual stepping stones covering 200 tsubo.


I was visiting on the second day of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo pilgrimage. The previous post in this series is the nearby Osaka Tenmangu Shrine.


Sunday, June 5, 2022

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do, Temles 49 & 76 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do Hagio Amida-do.

After leaving Kannonzaka Kannondo, temple 66 on the Sasaguri pilgrimage, the route heads up the mountain valley for about 3 kilometers before reaching the next temple, actually a cluster of three, in the mountain settlement of Hagio.

Rice paddies.

What is remarkable about that is that the first three kilometers of the pilgrimage, as far as Kanninzaka, included a full 12 temples.

Bamboo.

The route sometimes followed the narrow mountain road, and sometimes a trail through the forest including some decent bamboo groves.

Statue.

Around Hagio, none of the three temples were large. There was temple 49, Raionji, temple 76, Hagio Yakushido, and temple 47, Hagio Amidado.

Statues.

There were, however, just like the other small temples so far, a lot of statues, especially of Fudo Myo.

Buddha.

Raionji was the largest, and this is the main statue, a Shaka Nyorai, the "historical Buddha".

Kannon.

Raionji also has this nice thousand-armed Kannon,....

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do Hagio Amida-do.

... and several nice Fudo....

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do Hagio Amida-do.

The Yakushi-do obviously enshrines Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha...

Japan.

And the Amida-do's main statue is an Amida....

Raion-ji Hagio Yakushi-do Hagio Amida-do.

The Sasaguri pilgrimage is an excellent opportunity to both get a taster of what walking a pilgrimage is like, and also an excellent series of mountain walks close to the big city of Fukuoka.

Ema Votive Plaques