Bukkokusan Temple 41 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

Bukkokusan Temple

Bukkokusan, temple number 41 on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage, is actually the okunoin of temple 40, Hoanji, and if you are walking then a footpath leads up the mountain from there.

The foot path reaches a small mountain road that leads to the entrance to the temple.

A pair of newish stone Nio guardians flank the road, and either side is lined with stone lanterns. Just before reaching the simple gate a bronze statue of Kobo Daishi, the focus of the 88 temple pilgrimage, looks down on approaching pilgrims. The temple itself is quite small, with just a stylized temple entrance facade to the cave front. A few statues are out in front of the temple which has great views to the south and east.  

One statue stands out as it is not any of the usual Buddhas, but rather a pair of Oni, demons or ogres, the male painted red and the female painted blue. There are two stories relating to the origin of the statue.

  

The first is that in ancient times a demon inhabited this mountain and continuously attacked local people who ventured into the mountains. This is a very common story found all over Japan. The demon was eventually pacified and stopped attacking people when he became a disciple of Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha. Buddhism pacifying demons is also a very common story.

The second legend is set much later in the time that intermarriage between classes was forbidden. This is also a very common story all over, and more often than not ends up with a love suicide. In this local story a pair of young lovers from across the class divide chose to run away together and finding themselves at the cave as night was falling chose to spend the night in the cave whereupon they consummated their relationship. Unable to return home the story is vague about what happened to them although the two stories became linked together and the demon became a kind of protective deity of the mountain and the cave became known as a place to pray for a successful marriage, children, and easy birth.

The interior of the cave is quite magical with many candles, some in niches carved in the rock walls, providing the only illumination.

  

There is a very unusual painted statue of the aforementioned Yakushi Nyorai with distinctly female facial features. This is the honzon, the main deity, of the temple.

  

There are another couple of statues and in the deepest recess of the cave a small stone Fudo Myo in front of which Goma fire rituals are held.

  

Numerous bunches of Senbazuru, the folded paper cranes in multicolors, many of which have become blackened by years of soot.

The cave is about 400 meters above sea level.

It is said Kobo Daishi himself performed rituals inside the cave.

The water that seeps out through the cave walls is collected into small plastic bottles and taken away as healing water.

The views from the temple are amazing.

By road it is a couple of kilometers to the next temple,but just 400 meters on the footpath.

The previous post in this series was temple 40, Hoanji.

Goods From Japan

Hoanji Temple 40 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Day 4 of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage started at temple 40, Hoanji.

It is located in Kamo village, about halfway between Ikeda and Tonosho on the coast in the southwest of the island.

It is situated at the top of a valley overlooking the village .

Photos 3, 4, and 5 are from the small "chapel" at the bottom of the stairs.

It is said that the temple was founded originally in the early 9th century, and then re-founded in the 14th century.

The honzon is an Eleven-Faced Kannon, said to be carved by Gyoki, but there is no information on its provenance.

While many of the temples on this pilgrimage are unmanned, this one is not, and the priests wife was helpful in showing me the foot path that heads up the mountain to the next two temples, both cave temples, one of which is the okunoin of this temple.

The temple is home to an unusual healing ceremony, said to have been brought by Kobo Daishi himself, in which amulets are inserted into cucumbers and then buried in the temple grounds. As the cucumbers decompose, ailments heal. Petitioners from all over Japan take part.

Statues of the Reclining Buddha are not unknown in Japan but are not so common.

The previous post was on the last two temples of day 3, number 36 and 37.

Shaka-do & Myo-o-ji Temples 36 & 37 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

My final stop on day three of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was a pair of temples sharing the same ground.

Number 36, Shaka-do, was part of another temple but was managed by Myooji temple in the Edo period and then moved here in the Meiji period I believe. The main hall is the only nationally registered Important Cultural Property on Shodoshima.

It is three bays wide and 4 deep and was built in the early 16th century. The honzon, a Shaka Nyorai, the "historical" Buddha is said to have been carved by the famous sculptor Unkei.

 Multiple sources say that Shaka-do is in some way the origin of the Shodoshima pilgrimage, but I can not find details.....

Next door is Myo-O-ji temple, established earlier than the Shaka-do, in the late 13th century and was rebuilt in the late 17th century.

The honzon is a Fudo Myo, said to be carved by Kobo Daishi, although some records suggest Gyoki may have brought it to the island earlier.

Photo 4 is of the Bishamondo attached to Myooji....

Unusually, the statue of Binzaru is inside a shelter and not on the verandah as is more common. It is also much darker than most Binzaru statues.

The previous post in the series was on the large Kameyama Shrine.

Kameyama Hachimangu Shrine Ikeda

 

Kameyama Hachimangu shrine in Ikeda Port on Shodoshima is the town's main shrine and one of the major shrines on the island.

I can find no date for its founding, but neighbouring Choshoji Temple now houses three statues that were the shintai for Kameyama Hachimangu until 1868.

These statues depicting Hachiman in Buddhist form are dated to the late Heian Period, which suggests that the shrine is at least that old and  it is also registered in the Engi Shiki of the early 10th century

Down below I earlier visited the Ikeda Saijiki, a kind of seated area area where the shrines annual festival takes place.

Taking place in mid October, the festival features a parade and the main attraction of giant drum floats from each of the villages that make up the town.

However, it used to be a much bigger affair. A painting dated to 1812 showed boat races, kagura or kabuki performances, and horseback archery as well as the drum floats.

Being a Hachiman shrine, the main deity is Homuda Wake, otherwise known as Emperor Ojin, his mother, Okinagahime, otherwise known as Jingu, and Nakatsuhime, his wife/consort.

There didn't seem to be many secondary shrines in the grounds, though there is a small Gokoku Shrine. The priest was very kind and helpful. He brought me some tourist literature in English and offered to give me a ride back to my room, but on this third day of walking the Shodoshima Pilgrimage, I still had a few more temples to visit.

The previous post was on Choshoji Temple next door.

Choshoji Temple 33 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Choshoji, temple number 33 of the 88 temple pilgrimage on Shodoshima is located on a hillside at the southern edge of Ikeda Town.

Built on several terraces with great, stone, retaining walls it is quite impressive and seems to not be suffering financially.

It is a Shingon temple of the Omuro School.

It was founded in 1676, although some sources say it was relocated to this spot at that time.

The honzon is a Dainichi Nyorai and is flanked by a Fudo Myoo and an Aizen Myoo.

The main hall, built by temple builders from Kyoto, and the Shoin and Kuri were all built in 1996.

The previous main hall was built in the early 19th century and is now used as the Daishi Hall.

As all the buildings on this upper level were built in 1996 I am guessing that was when the karensansui landscaping was also done.

So far on this pilgrimage I have not noticed much in the way of gardens, so this was very pleasant.

The temple has a set of hachiman statues that are registered as Important Cultural Properties. They were shintai at the neighboring Hachiman Shrine but were removed with the shinbutsu bunri edict of early Meiji

The previous post was on the Ikeda Saijiki which is just below the temple.