Fudo Myo of Shikoku Part 9

Continuing with Fudo Myos I encountered on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, this votive plaque (ema) was at temple 52, Taisanji, overlooking the port that serves Matsuyama in Ehime.

Not to far away at temple 53, Enmyoji, was this fairly modern version

Temple 56, near Imabari, was also called Taisanji, and that is where I find these two....

A little further inland, temple 57, Eifukuji, is where this final photo was taken

Shikoku Pilgrimage Temple 28 Dainichi-ji

Dainichi-ji is now a Shingon temple. It was founded in the 8th Century by Gyoki who also carved the honzon of Dainichi Nyorai, the Great Sun Buddha.

Kukai visited near here in the early 9th Century and according to the legend he carved a statue of Yakushi Nyorai out of a camphor tree using just his fingernails. It was housed at that spot in the Okunoin, inner sanctuary, of the temple.

Primarily because of this statue the temple is believed to be efficacious for the treatment of illnesses related to the head and upper body. The Okunoin was destroyed in a storm and the Yakushi statue moved to the main temple.

The Yakushi statue is a registered national Treasure. The temple is located in Konan City in Kochi Prefecture.

Fudo Myo-O of Shikoku part 8

Iwaya-ji, the 45th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, is located among cliffs and rock formations in the mountains of Ehime and the name of the temple itself translates as "Rock cave Temple". It was an obvious site for Shugenja. These two carved reliefs are there.

According to the legend the temple was founded by Kobo Daishi, and he supposedly carved the wooden Fudo in the main hall as well as the stone one pictured below which is located in a cave behind the main temple.

The next two photos are both at Monju-in, the 9th Bangai Temple located just south of Matsuyama.

It was from here that Emon Saburo began his pilgrimage in search of Kukai....

Konomine-ji Temple 27 Shikoku Pilgrimage

Konomineji, temple 27 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage is known as both nansho and a sekisho. a "nansho" is a temple that is considered difficult to reach, usually, as in the case of Konomineji,, because it is high on a mountain. Sekisho were barriers on highways that checked your papers. In terms of the pilgrimage they are 4 temples considered spiritual barriers that you will not get past without the correct spiritual attitude.

The Nio in the gate were particularly striking, as was a large statue of Fudo Myoo.

Nowadays the pilgrimage is considered Buddhist, but prior to the Meiji Period such a distinction was not made, with some of the pilgrimage sites being shrines and not temples. Konomineji was founded as both shrine and temple, with the shrine being above the temple. The shrine doesnt get as many visitors.

The temple burnt down in the early Meiji Period, and it was forbidden at that time to build a new temple so the locals found an unused temple in another part of the country and had it dismantled and reassembled here.

According to the legend the shrine and temple were founded by Gyoki in the eighth Century. The main deity is an 11-faced Kannon. It is now a Shingon temple. Konomine Shrine is, in my opinion, worth the extra  climb to visit as it is the okunoin of the temple.

Fudo Myo O of Shikoku part 7

The Daishi-do in Oda Town in the mountains of Ehime south of Matsuyama, is a zenkonyado, a free place for pilgrims to spend the night. Obviously the main statue is Kobo Daishi, but there was also this nice one of Fudo.....

Along the path leading to temple 44, Daiho-ji, in Kumakogen, Ehime.

2 views of the statue on the approach path to temple 45, Iwaya-ji. also in Kumakogen, Ehime.

Iwaya-ji is a mountain temple and had many statues of Fudo, more of which I will post next time.

Fudo Myo O of Shikoku part 6

Some nmore of the Fudo Myo statues found along the Shikoku Pilgrimage. This first one is at temple 38, Kongofukuji.

This one is on the approach to the main hall at Kanjizaiji, temple 40 located at Ainan in Ehime.

This rather unusual one was in a small roadside shrine not too far from Meisekiji, in Seiyo, Ehime.

The final 2 photos are from Ozu in Ehime, at Eitokuji temple, which is the 8th Bangai temple and more commonly known as Toyogahashi after the legend of Kobo Daishi sleeping under the bridge there.

The Married Demons of Okazaki Shrine

Okazaki Shrine in the fishing village of Yuki on the Tokushima coast is a small local shrine, now made of concrete. There was no information about which kami is enshrined here.

However there was a wonderful pair of demons carved directly into two sections of massive logs. They were called "Meoto" which usually is translated as married.

There once stood in the shrine grounds a massive, old Tabu no ki tree, which I believe is a kind of Bay tree. The tree became too old and was in danger of falling so it was cut down, and a local man carved the two demons into it.

Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage Temple 26 Kongocho-ji

Kongoch-ji is the third of a cluster of pilgrimage temples near the tip of Cape Muroto where Kukai practiced austerities as a young man.

The Nio are particularly impressive and seem to have been carved out of a single piece of wood.

The temple was founded by Kukai. The main deity is Yakushi Nyorai. It belonbgs to Shingon.

In the temple grounds is a small museum of whaling artifacts and the temple also owns many objects reputed to belong to Kukai, though these are not usually accessible to visitors.

There are great views down towards the cape.

There are numerous secondary shrines within the grounds including a nice one to Benzaiten-Suijin, and a collection of statues of Doji, quite unusual.

The shukubo, lodgings, at the temple has the reputation of being the best on the whole pilgrimage.

Fudo Myo of Shikoku part 5

Thye next segment of photos of Fudo Myo encountered when I walked the pilgrimage around Shikoku. This first one is at temple 36, Shoryuji

This one is at Daizenji, bangai temple number 5 located in Susaki, Kochi.

This small one is located at temple 37, Iwamotoji, in Kubokawa, also in Kochi.

The final 2 photos are at temple 38, Kongofukuji, located at Cape Ashizuri, in Kochi.

Manhole Whales

This first one is from Shishikui Town on the Tokushima coast down near the border with Kochi. I believe you can go whale watching there....

These next two are from Muroto City on the other side of the Muroto Peninsula in Kochi. They certainly offer whale watching boat trips.

The last two are from Omijima Island off the north coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was once a whaling area though whaling ceased in the first decade of the twentieth Century.

There is a small but interesting museum on whaling there and the traditions are still remembered in festivals.