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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Ruriji Temple & the Cheerful Hunter

 

This section of the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage is very exciting for me as it is through country that I have never been before, even though it is not too far from my home.

Ruriji is  temple 14 on the pilgrimage, and I reached it at the end of my 8th day.

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

With a bell tower gate, small treasure hall, and plentiful fresh offerings at the Mizuko Jizo, it is obviously an active temple, but I can find absolutely nothing about its history.

The sun was getting low, but my accommodations for the night were just a short walk away.

In the middle of nowhere is a noodle restaurant. The name has changed since I was there. It is now called Countryside Cafe Cheerful Hunter.

At the time, my wife was working for an NPO related to rural revitalization, and so had networked with other similar NPO's in the region, and so had been here.

Takahashi Imada and his wife are  the proprietors. He is a hunter and so wild boar features heavily on the menu, along with other wild, mountain delicacies.

He gave me a plate of wild boar meat, a cup of amazake made by his wife, and a bed in an empty house on the property for the grand price of 2,000 yen. Their noodle restaurant is usually full, and he also offers hunting trips and minpaku-style accommodations nowadays, and yes! he was cheerful.

The previous post was on the afternoon leg of my walk.

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Tsubaki-do Bangai Temple 14 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Jofukuji Temple, commonly called Tsubaki-do, is the 14th of the 20 extra temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It is one of the ones commonly visited by pilgrims as it is located right on the main pilgrimage route and does not involve a detour.

It was established in 807 as a small hermitage enshrining a Jizo statue.

In 815 Kobo Daishi visited while the local people were suffering from influenza. He planted his walking stick into the grounds and prayed so that the sickness left the people and transferred into the stick.

Later a camellia, tsubaki in Japanese,  grew from the stick, and so the name of the hermitage became Tsubaki-do

The hermitage burned down in 1859, and the current camellia is said to have grown from the burned stump.

The red Fudo Myoo was known as  a fire prevention Fudo, but has been changed to a Non-Nuclear Fudo.

It has received a fresh coat of paint since I visited, as has the unusual gate.

I was lucky as I visited in mid-February, so the camellias were blooming

The previous post in this series was Sankakuji Temple 65.

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Tamae Kannon-in Temple 21 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

The 21st temple of the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, Kannon-in, is just a couple of kilometers from the 20th temple, Daisho-in.

Located in Tamae, a fishing village that overlooks the Hashimoto River and the castle town of Hagi on the opposite bank.

A temple stood here in the early 9th century but fell into disuse and disrepair.

In the mid 16th century it was revived and made a Rinzai Zen temple. 

The honzon is a Shaka Nyorai and the Kannon Hall enshrines an 11-faced Kannon, siad to have been found in the nets of local fishermen. Consequently, the temple has been favoured by fishermen for protection at sea.

The temple has burned down several times, but each time the statues survived.

The main hall and Kannon Hall date to the mid 19th century.

The previous post was on the garden at Daisho-in, a few kilometers away.

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Shinjiteien Garden at Daisho-in

 

Daisho-in, the Rinzai Zen Temple in Hagi that is the 10th temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage has a small pond and stroll garden next to the Shoin.

The front part of the temple consists mostly of a moss garden, though it was not well maintained last time I visited.

The Shinjiteien garden, named after the pond in the shape of the chinese character for "heart" is also not well maintained.

The gardens are not worth making a special trip for, but if you have limited time in Hagi and want to visit one of the big Mori cemetery temples, then I would prefer this one to Tokoji.

I have seen photos taken in the Autumn and they do look much nicer...

The previous post in this series was on Daisho-in temple itself and many of the statues...

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