Tosa Shimizu Sunrise

Tosa Shimizu Sunrise

Christmas Eve, 2011, and just after 7am the sun announces its impending arrival.

Motoyamaji Temple 70 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Temple 70, Motoyamaji, was a very pleasant surprise. Large, with lots to see, but not overcrowded...

The blue walls surrounding much of the compound was interesting and quite striking.

The 5-storey pagoda was started in the late 19th century and not finished until 1910.

The temple was founded by Kobo Daishi in 807. It is said he carved the honzon, a Bato Kannon, Horse-Head Kannon, the only Bato Kannon as honzon on the whole pilgrimage.

The Bato Kannon has two attendants, an Amida and a Yakushi.

It was a powerful temple in the middle ages with 24 branch temples and a territory of 2,000 koku.

The current main hall was built in 1300 and is very elegant. Not surprisingly, considering its age, it is a National Treasure

It survived the ravages of Chosokabe when most other temples did not. The clan that controlled the temple had a pact with Chosokabe, and that may be the reason, but there is a legend that explains the temple's survival.

Chosokabe's soldiers did attack the temple and cut down the head priest. However, when they opened the inner shrine in the main hall, the Amida statue was bleeding, so the samurai fled in fear.

The bell tower and Niomon also survived from that time.

Most of the current buildings date to the early to mid 18th century.

The Niomon is an Important Cultural Property.

These three photos show the temple's guardian shrine. Built in 1547, it has a bark-and-reed roof and is my second-favorite building after the main hall.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was Kannonji, Temple 69. It occupies the same site as Temple 68, Jinneiin.

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Jinnein Temple 68 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Jinnein, temple 68 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, is really part of Kannonki, temple 69.

The original 68 was the Kotohiki Hachiman Shrine on top of the hill above the temples.

In 1868, the Amida painting that was in the shrine was moved to the Western Golden Hall of Kannonji, and a little later it was renamed Jinnein and became 68.

The main hall has a curious cube-like concrete box that visitors must pass through. It does not seem out of place...

For details of the history, I suggest the previous post on Kannonji.

The two temples share a garden called Gigien.

The hillside is covered in azaleas, and down below is a deep, stone-lined pond.

At that time I had nor developed my interest in Japanese gardens, so I didn't explore it at all.

It is said to have been designed by the head priest, a son of Ashikaga Takauji. It seems much of the garden was destroyed by a natural disaster in 1976 so the current design may be somewhat different than the original.

As I came into the two temples the "back" way, from above, I left via the entrance which has the Niomon.

The previous post was on Kannonji, temple 69, occupying the same grounds as Jinnein.

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Kannonji Temple 69 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Kannonji, temple 69, and Jinneiin, temple 68, both occupy the same site, but I came into the kannonji side first so it gets posted before 68.

The reason I came into Kannonji first was that I visited the original "temple" 68, which was the Hachiman shrine on the hilltop.

From the hilltop is the viewpoint overlooking the Zenigata Sunae, a huge sand sculpture.

The shrine was founded in the very first years of the 8th century by a monk practising austerities on the hill and seeing a vision on the sea and established the Kotohiki Hachiman Shrine.

The temple was founded as the shrines temple and was named Jinguji Hokoin.

Later Gyoki visited, and then later still Kobo Daishi and he painted an Amida Nyorai and made it the honzon of the shrine. He built several halls and statues at the temple and renamed it Kannonji.

When the government forcibly separated the Buddhas & Kami in 1868, the Amida was brought from the Hachimen Shrine and placed in Kannonji. The shrine ceased to be number 68, and the part of Kannonji holding the Amida became temple 68 and as renamed Jinnein.

The honzon of Kannonji, a Kannon, is a secret Buddha, but recently has started to be shown once every ten years.

As well as the main hall, built in 1677, and Daishi Hall, Kannonji also has an Aizen hall, a Heart Sutra Hall, a Kaizan Hall, a Dainichi Hall, and a Kyozuka Hall.

The main hall is an Important Cultural Property, and in the Treasure Hall are two more: a wooden reclining Buddha dating to the Fujiwara Period, and a silk painting of Fudo Myoo

The previous post in the series was Daikoji Temple 67.

If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts