Mitakidera Temple 13 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage Part 2 Up Above

This is a continuation of a previous post on the lower parts of Mitakidera, a beautiful temple complex near Hiroshima City centre.

The top waterfall is behind the main hall, and then the water runs underneath the main hall and come out as a small purification waterfall.

So, of course there is a Fudo.

On the same level as the Hondo is the Mikigongendo, with a pair of large, wooden tengu  flanking the entrance. It is a branch of Miki Daigongen established by Kobo Daishi on Mount Misen on nearby Itsukushima Island in 806.

With a pair of Tengu as companions, Miki Daigongen is three "demon gods", Tsuichokishin, a trace of Dainichi, Jibikishin, a trace of Kokuzo, and Marakishin, a trace of Fudo Myoo. I believe that Mt. Misen and here are the only sites connected to this deity. It is said that Japan's first Prime Minister, Ito Hirobumi, was a devotee of Miki Daigongon.

The main hall as seen from the the Mikigongendo.

There are a lot more statues scattered around the grounds at this upper level.

Many of the statues in this part of the temple grounds appear to my eyes to be Indian in style

Some even look more Southeast Asian in style....

Inrerestingly, on my first visit to Mitakidera many years ago, I marvelled at the flowers in front of the many, many statues. I imagined how much work it must be to keep freash flowers on so many statues. A little later I noticed they were plastic.

To my untrained eye this looks Chinese or Thai...

The highest of the three waterfalls is Yumei no taki.

These are a kind of toba, a kind of memorial tablet usually placed on graves and tombs. I have not seen them purified in water like this before...

On the veranda of the Main Hall is a really interesting pair of statues. This first one has fangs like Fudo Myoo, one up, one down, and he is holding a Jaki, a kind of small demon. Usually it is the four Shitenno who are depicted holding down Jaki under their feet, but I have never seen any of the Shitenno with fangs and I don't remember seeing them holding the Jaki.

I wonder if this is a statue of one of the Mikidaigongen enshrined nearby. The one that is considered a trace of Fudo?

There are also a pair of Nio on the veranda too.

The other statue with them is also unlike anything seen before, with great spiky hair or head.

It is flinging a Jaki, again something I have not seen a Shitenno do, nor does it look like any Shitenno I have seen. Could this also be one of the Mikidaigongen? If anyone has a clue, please let me know.

The previous post, which included another 28 photos, focused on the lower part of the Mitakidera complex.

From Innoshima Island to Ikuchijima Island

 

I came down the west side of Mount Shirataki and reached the road running along the shoreline of Innoshima Island.

I then headed south to the bridge that would take me over to Ikuchi Island

I have covered the Ikuchi Bridge previously when I walked the Shimanami Kaido, so if you want any specs please check this link.

To get to the path for pedestrians and cycles to access the bridge meant passing under the bridge. Fortunately for pedestrians there was a short-cut so I didn't have to follow the very long and shallow-sloped cycle path.

An unusual little "park" made by someone local methinks.

Ikuchi Bridge only has one level so pedestrians are are in the open and can enjoy the views a bit better.

Once on Ikuchijima I headed around the north coast of the island, avoided the main attraction of the island, Kosanji, and headed towards Kojoiji Temple, my destination.

The last two photos in those post were not at a religious site, rather outside a stonemasons factory....

The previous post in this series on day 12 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the hundreds of statues atop Mount Shirataki.

Ichikan-kyo on Mount Shirataki

 

Mount Shirataki is a 227 meter high mountain in the north of Innoshima, one of a group of islands un the Seto Naikai, the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

With outcroppings of bare rock, it was exactly the kind of place that yamabushi used to practise their austerities in what became known as Shugendo.

It also offered great views over the surrounding waters and channels between the islands and so the Murakami Clan, who used  Innoshaima as one of their bases, built a small Kannon Hall near the top and used it as a watchtower.

There are several small shrines and halls scattered around the summit.....

But the biggest remains the cluster of buildings around the Kannon-do.

Behind the Kannoin-do a path leads up to the observation tower on the very summit, and here are found about 700 statues, including the 500 Rakan I posted about previously.

As a nod to its Yamabushi history, there is a triad of Tengu relief carvings....

Almost all the statuary on the mountaintop is owed to one man, Denroku Kashiwara.

He was born on the island in 1781. He became relatively wealthy as a merchant,

At the age of 42 he is said to have attained enlightenment and practised zazen on the mountaintop.

With a disciple and stonemasons from Onomichi he began erecting statues in 1823 but seriously began a few years later.

He founded a new religion that was named Ichikan-kyo which is no longer active.

Ichikan-kyo combined Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, and Christianity, with Christianity itself being outlawed.

In 1828 he was "interrogated by domain authorities but released.

He died shortly afterwards, generally believed to have been poisoned by the authorities.

His disciples carried on and all the statues were completed in 1830.

I visited on my way to the next island to visit the next temple on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, so came up the eastern side of the mountain,

I left down the western slope which is the main entrance and so passed through the Nio gate when leaving.

The previous post was on the 500 Rakan statues on the mountain, and the post before that was on the 360 degree views from the mountain.