Yomeiji Temple Tsuwano

 

Yomeiji is a large Soto Zen temple in Tsuwano with a  thatched main hall.

Located up a small mountain valley, the main gate was relocated from the castle town where it marked the boundary between the samurai district and the merchant district.

The temple was founded in 1420 by Yoshimi Yorihiro, the lord of Tsuwano castle.

The first priest was Getsuin Shosho, the grandson of Dogen, the founder of the Soto Sect.

Supported by succeeding clans of daimyo, the temple had at its peak 70 branch temples in the Iwami region and 200 monks in training.

Like many temples, Yeomeiji suffered from fires multiple times throughout its history. The current main hall dates to 1729.

In its most recent rethatching, the rear half of the roof has been replaced with metal.

During the Edo Period it was considered one of the two great Soto Temples in all of Japan.

It remained the family temple of the lords of Tsuwano Castle until the mid 19th century when Koremi Kamei changed his families, and the subjects of Tsuwanos, funerals from Buddhist to Shinto.

After entering under the bell tower one of the first thinsg you see is the great gyoban, a wooden fish struck like a drum to summon monks, especially for meals.

To the rear of the temple is a lovely garden. The temple is worth visiting just for this. I covered it earlier in this post.

The temple has a small, dark, treasure house museum, but more interesting are the painted screen and doors scattered around the spacious interior of the temple.

The previous post in this series exploring Tsuwano was on the Shointei Garden in the old town.

Okameyama Fukuoji Temple 12 Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Day 7 of my walk along the old Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage, and for the first time I have crossed into Hamada Domain from the Shogunate-cotrolled Ginzan Domain. During the Edo Period the old province of Iwami was basically divided by the Gonokawa River.

I'm heading up the Yato River and after leaving Oda there is a small tunnel through to Ichiyama, the next main settlement on this side of the river.

On the opposite bank is a huge Zelkova tree overhanging the river. This is a suijin altar, and in May during the Suijin Festival the priest will visit here and the local people will leave a giant purification wand, an Onusa. In the old days they would have come here by boat but since the Yato River was dammed it is no longer navigable.

Ichiyama is named after the high point in the photo above. There are the ruins of a very small castle on the top.

The new road that bypasses the actual village is lined with azalea bushes which look great at this time of the year.

On the opposite bank this grove of riverside bamboo is a favorite gathering spot for all the local egrets in the evening as the sun sets and they settle in for the night as a flock.

And then Eno comes into view. It is not a large settlement, yet is home to two temples, one of which is the one I am to visit.

After crossing the river I look towards the mountains where I will be heading next.

For such a small hamlet, Fukuoji is quite a substantial temple, and I have been unable to find out why.

It is a Soto Zen temple, and I believe it was founded in the 14th century.

The local story is that the village headman found a statue of Kannon on a giant turtle in a pool in Senjokei, a gorge with many waterfalls a few k upstream from Eno.

He then established the temple and installed the statue as the honzon.

One day I may get around to asking a local historian about the temples history......

The previous post was on Oda Hachimangu Shrine...

Kojoji Temple 11 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

The 11th temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage is located on an island in the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

Kojoji is a Soto Zen temple that was founded in 1403, though at the time it was founded as a Rinzai Zen Temple.

It is said to have been founded by the Zen Master Daido who founded Buttsuji, incidentally the next temple on the pilgrimage.

At the height of its power it was home to 100 monks.

It fell into disuse but was revived in the early 17th century when it was converted to Soto.

Some of the temple buildings burned down in early Meiji and others were dismantled.

Only the Pagoda, gate, bell tower and kitchen remained.

In 2010, a new Main Hall was built.

The star of the temple is the pagoda dating back to 1432 and is rightly registered as a National Treasure.

My understanding and recognition of historical Japanese architectural styles and details is somewhat limited, but most sources mention that the pagoda is in Zen style that includes various Chinese elements.

Kojoji is a little off the beaten track, and other than the pagoda there is not actually a lot to see, however if you are visiting nearby Kosanji then it might be worth a look.

The previous post in the series was on the walk from Innoshima Island to Ikuchijima Island.