Tamonji Temple 46 & Enmanji Temple 74 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Day 4 of my walk along the 88 temple Shodoshima Pilgrimage was fast coming to a close, and I needed to head across the narrow valley to the main road to catch a bus back into Tonosho to my room for the night.

In the distance is the Giant Kannon I would be visiting the next day.

Tamonji was founded in the late 12th century as a shrine-temple named Torinbo. Shrine temples performed ceremonies for thr enshrined kami but also looked after the funerals of the Shinto priests.

A groupof modern rakan statues were quite striking. Not sure what the mound is.

The temple changed it's name to Tamon-ji in the late 17th century, and in 1744 moved to the current location.

The honzon is a Yakushi Nyorai, attributed to Gyoki, but with no information where the statue was before this temple. It is a "secret Buddha" that has a reputation for healing eyesight problems.

I didn't notice it, but there is an underground Fudo Hall..... would have liked to se that.

There is a huge Yamamomo tree in the grounds that is listed as some kind of important natural property. Known as Japanese Bayberry, the small red fruits are much prized in many traditional dishes...

I climb up to the main road and check the bus timetable and see I have time to visit temple number 74 nearby.

Enmanji claims to have been founded by Gyoki, which would be around the turn of the 8th century. it was restored in the 10th century and was named Jionji. In the late 12th century it moved to its current location and was renamed Jufukuin.

In the mid Edo Period it was renamed Enmanji. After WWII it converted to Shingon, and the current buildings date to 1992.

The honzon is an eleven-faced Kannon. It is a secret Buddha, but in 1992 a new "stand in" statue was carved.

The temple also has an Amida triad, said to date to the Fujiwara Period.

The second oldest Juniper tree on the island stands in the grounds...

The previous post in this series on the delightful Shodoshima Pilgrimage was on temples 47 and 48 in the mountains.

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Renge-ji Temple 44 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

At around 250 meters above sea level on Mount Yufune, temple 44, Renge-ji, looks down on the Nakayama Rice Terraces.....

Set in a forest of huge trees and with a sacred spring that feeds the terraces, Renge-ji is quite a small temple.

The temple bell, donated in 1669, is said to be the second oldest on the island.

It is said the temple was founded in the 14th century.

The honzon is a Thousand-armed Kannon.

The tem@le was abandoned in the Meiji Period but revived later.

The small mixed forest around the temple has some huge trees and is a Prefectural Natural Monument.

The spring is one of Japan's Top 100 waters.

The shrine below is a Kumano Gongen Shrine, said to be the only shrine on the island to Kumano Gongen.

The previous post in this series on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was on the Nakayama Rice Terraces.

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Nakayama Terraced Rice Paddies Shodoshima

 

Deep in the interior of Shodoshima Island is an area of terraced rice paddies.

There are said to be about 800 terraces.

They were constructed by clearing the forest and using stone retaining walls.

It was done during the 14th century,

It is in the top 100 rice terraces in Japan.

The paddies are fed by spring water originating in the grounds of the next temple I will visit on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage, temple 44, Yufuneyama Renge Temple.

The spring is listed in the Top 100 waters of Japan,

The Japanese do seem to have a fascination with rice paddy terraces and do offer tours to them, but for the rest of us they can be seen while walking the pilgimage. If you visit in May and June when they are recently flooded and planted then they are a bit more impressive. I was here mid winter so not so attractive.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby temples 43 & 45.

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Jodoji & Jizoji Temples 43 & 45 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Temples 43 and 45 on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage occupy the same site.

Jizoji, number 45, was a small temple not far away that because of a decreasing amount of parishioners decided to merge with Jodoji, and is now the Jizo Hall at that temple.

Jodoji has a delightful thatched Shoin that dates from the early Edo Period that was restored in the 1970's

Th3 main hall of Jodo-ji is made of concrete but is surprisingly elegant, with the concrete surfaces left untreated 

The honzon of Jodoji is an Amida Buddha.

The honzon of Jizo-ji is, not surprisingly, a Jizo. It is noted for being a Jizo for protection against fire.

I was unable to find out the identity of the small shrine in the grounds.

As well as the thatched Shoin, the other interesting thing for me were the Onigawara ...

There were three distinct designs....

Theprevious post in this series on day 4 of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was on temple 42, Nishinotaki

If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and 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.