Sokoji Temple the first Soto Zen Temple in Izumo

 

Sokoji was a delightful surprise for me.

From the main road I spotted a splash of autumn colour among a stand of huge trees behind a traditional wall and headed up to explore....

What I discovered was a fairly large Zen temple....

Sokoji was founded in 1394 by a man who became a monk at an early age and after studying under various sects returned home and founded this Soto sect temple.

After falling into disrepair, the temple was rebuilt in 1652. It was rebuilt again in 1728 and that main hall still stands.

In 1994 to mark the 600th anniversary of the founding most of the structures were renovated, including replacing the thatched roof of the main hall with tile.

At that time a new garden was constructed behind the main buildings, but I was unable to see it.

A smaller garden to the left of the main buildings was however quite delightful.

The honzon is an Amida. The temple holds monthly zazen sessions and is open to the public, to view the garden, twice a week.

The previous post in this series on Okuizumo was on the Oni no Shitaburui Gorge.

Saihoji Temple Sasebo

 

Saihoji Temple is considered to be the oldest and the most important temple in Sasebo.

It was rebuilt after being destroyed at the end of WWII in a bombing raid. The impressive Niomon was not actually completed until 2001.

Inside the Niomon were a pair of statues of Fujin, the Wind God, and Raijin, the Storm God.

Ostensibly Shinto in origin, being created by Izanami while in Yomi, they are usually found, like here, in Buddhist temples.

According to the temple's website, the Nio were each carved in China from a single piece of wood.

It is a Soto Zen temple with a Shaka Nyorai as honzon.

The original temple was Rinzai and founded in the early 13th century. It fell into disrepair but in the mid 15th century it was moved to its current location by the Akasaki Lord and rebuilt as a Soto temple.

The previous post was on nearby Kameyama Hachimangu Shrine.

Hikasaji Temple 32 Iwami Ginzan Kannon pilgrimage

 

Hikasaji is a small, Soto Zen temple about one kilometer upstream from my village. I was walking day 6 of my walk along the Iwami Mandal Kannon pilgrimage. heading upriver to the next couple of temples on that pilgrimage.

Hikasaji is not on that pilgrimage, but is temple 32 on the Iwami Ginzan Kannon pilgrimage, a recently rediscovered pilgrimage route from the Edo period.

In the early Edo period the Tokugawa government took over the silver mine at Iwami Ginzan and made it their territory. It encompassed all the land from this side of the Gonokawa River up to the border with Izumo. The Iwami Kannon pilgrimage I have been walking covers all of the Iwami area including the other side of the river. I am guessing the new Iwami Ginzan Kannon pilgrimage dates back to then.

I can find no information on when Hikasaji was founded. The Kannon statue that was the honzon no longer exists, but there is a newish Kannon statue on the grounds.

The temple gate is quite nice, and there is also a small bell tower.

The documents about the old Ginzan pilgrimage were recently discovered in an old storehouse belonging to a former samurai family a few more kilometers upstream near to the next temple I will stop at.

The previous post in this series on day 6 of my walk was on the koinobori hanging across the river in front of the temple.

Senganji Temple 9 on the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage

 

Senganji Temple, number 9 on the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage, sits on a steep hillside overlooking the small town of Kawamoto on the Gonokawa River.

It is a Soto Zen temple with a Jizo for a honzon, and was founded in 1576.

It was originally located in a valley to the west but was burned down, quite ossibly due to warfare.

On to of the mountain was a castle belonging to the Ogasawara Clan who ruled the area, with the agreement of the powerful Mori Clan.

Senganji and two powerful temples nearby, also both on the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage, all had strong connections with the Ogasawara and were considered clan temples.

Senganji has been uninhabited and rarely visited for some time, and since I visited ten years ago I have seen photos showing a lot of deterioration and collapse in the buildings.

According to one source there were several residences at the temple until about 100 years ago.

The previous post was on the path up the mountainside to the temple which has many statues.

Senganji is also temple number 21 on the Iwami Ginzan Kannon pilgrimage, a recently rediscovered pilgrimage route.

Togakuji Temple Matsue

 

Togakuji is a large Soto Zen temple located in the Okudani area of Matsue City, north of the castle.

The entrance passes through a nice raked gravel garden with pine trees.

Throughout the grounds are numerous "cute" statues

As well as many mizuko jizo

This Fudo Myo is in the same hall that houses the 500 Rakan, or arhats, disciples of the Buddha.

They were carved locally between the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century.

The temple was built by the mother of Kojiro Horio, a grandchild of Yoshiharu Horio, the head of the Matsue Domain and builder of Matsue Castle.

Kojiro died young in 1609 and in 1610 the memorial temple was built for him.

Originally located near Gassan Toda Castle, it was moved to its current site in 1613 following the building of Matsue Castle.

The large cemetery contains the tombs and graves of quite a few important local dignitaries.

The area of Okudani is not well visited by tourists but there are several more nice temples and shrines in the vicinity.

The previous post in this series was on the Meimei-an Teahouse Gardens just north of the castle.

Kotaiji Temple Nagasaki

 

The next big temple after Daionji along Teramachi in Nagasaki is Kotaiji, and there was a little bit more to see here.

The first building you come to is the Kegonkaku, the Great Buddha Hall, built in 1723.

It houses a 3.4 meter tall red statue of the Vairocana Buddha, known in Japan as Dainichi Nyorai.

Kotaiji was founded in 1608 and was moved to its current location in 1626. It belongs to the Soto Zen sect and the honzon is a Shaka Triad, the historical Buddha flanked by two guardians.

The honzon was donated to the temple by a wealthy man named Takasuri who also paid the construction costs of the nearby Megane Bridge. The bridge was originally part of the approach to Kotaiji Temple and the main gate used to be located closer to the bridge.

The Niomon gate was built in 1680 and is said to be the oldest existing shrine or temple gate in Nagasaki.

The pair of Nio, however, only date back to 1985 and the originals had deteriorated too much.

The main hall was built in 1663 and is made out of teak.

The Zendo, meditation hall, was built in 1832.

Zazen mediation sessions are available for foreign visitors.

The previous post was on Daionji Temple next door.