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.

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.

Ikeda Saijiki

 

Coming into the outskirts of Ikeda on day three of my walk around Shodoshima I saw a curious stone structure up ahead.

At first I thought it might be some kind of fortification, and then as I got closer maybe some terracing for rice paddies

Turns out it is a kind of terrace of seating to view the local festival parade and is called a saijiki.

80 meters long, and 18 meters high with 5 or 6 levels. A painting dated 1812 shows it so it was built at some point earlier than that. It is still used every year for the townsfolk to watch the mikoshi parade and collection of floats and drum floats at the annual Kameyama Hachiman Shrine Festival.

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was Aizenji Temple.

Down the Mito Peninsula

 

The Mito Peninsula extends out to the south of Shodoshima Island towards Shikoku.

In fact, the southern tip of the peninsula is, I believe, the closest point to Shikoku.

On Boxing Day (December 26th) 2015 I walked most of the way down the East coast of the peninsula.

Earlier that morning I had visited 6 temples of the Shodoshima Pilgrimage that all lay close to each other. Now I had a 2-hour walk to the next one.

Shikoku was clearly visible and one of the many car ferries passed by

Perhaps the strangest sight was a line of about 20 TV antennas along the side of the road. I suspect it was the only way to get a signal in the fishing village down below.

Across the Uchinomi Bay I can see the smaller peninsula I walked along 2 days ago on my first day when I visited the famous "24 Eyes" movie location and the theme park where a later remake was made.

The weather was glorious......

The previous post was on the cluster of temples I visited earlier.

Temples 24 to 27 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

Early on my third day walking the Shodoshima Pilgrimage I visited a small group of temples in close proximity to each other. Temples 24 to 27 are just off the main road on the south coast,  adjacent to one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island, the Olive Park.

Temple 24,  Anyoji, has a Daisho-do, Jizo-do, and a bell tower as well as the main hall and the priests residence. The grounds have some nice Camelia trees.

The buildings are all fairly modern, circa 1990 with several nice kinds of onigawara tiles.

It is claimed that the temple was founded by Gyoki and later revived in the 17th century. The honzon is a Kannon.

A footpath leads up the hill to the next temple which has no vehicular access.

Temple 25, Seiganji-an, is a much smaller, more rustic establishment.

At the top of the hill, the honzon of Seiganji-an is a Yakushi Nyorai.

A little further along the trail is a well with a Jizo-do.

This is the okunoin of temple 26, Amidaji.  The well, called Omizu Daishi, is very popular and is one of countless water sources attributed to Kobo Daishi himself.

The Jizo is an Enmei Jizo, a "long life" Jizo.

Near the well the asphalt starts again and leads down to temple 27 before coming to 26. Sometimes the route for walking pilgrims differs from that for the more numerous car pilgrims.

Temple 27 is Sakuranoan, so named because of a famous cherry tree that stood here earlier. The honzon is an 11-faced Kannon.

Just a short distance away is temple 26, Amida-ji.  Like Anyoji, it also claims to have been founded by Gyoki and revived in the 17th century.

The previous post was on temples 22 and 23.