Mudo-ji Temple 10 Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

After emerging from the forested mountain I come into what is in essence a suburb of Kobe, albeit in a valley separated from Kobe by Rokko Mountain. I cross the Yamada valley to the northern side and find the entrance to Mudo-ji, the tenth temple on the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

The long approach is lined with statues representing the 88 Shikoku Pilgrimage temples.

Mossy steps lead up to the compact temple grounds with a bell tower, an elegant main hall, and an imposing, thatched residence.

The origins of Mudo-ji date back to the end of the 6th century, the very early days of Buddhism in Japan, and to the semi-legendary Prince Shotoku Taishi.

Along with his Soga Clan relatives, Shotoku Taishi was in conflict with the Mononobe Clan, and he asked a sculptor to carve a series of statues of Dainichi Nyorai and other Buddhist deities. Upon the defeat of the Mononobe he ordered the construction of seven halls to house the statues and this became Fukuji Temple.

The temple went through numerous changes and by the mid 18th century was in a dilapidated state. A twenty year fundraising campaign led to it being rebuilt in 1752. The main hall and priests' quarters date to that time.

There was a private ceremony going on when I was there so I was not able to enter the main hall, which is a real shame as I found out later that the Treasure House, entered through the main hall, houses 5 Important Cultural Properties.

The 5 ancient statues are a 3-meter-tall statue of Dainichi, the honzon of the temple, a seated Shaka Nyorai, believed to be the oldest of the statues, a seated Amida, a seated Fudo Myoo, and a standing 11-headed Kannon. They are all believed to have been carved in the mid-Heian Period.

There was a small, seemingly fairly new, Goma Hall in which I found a Fudo....

I wish I had been able to see the one in the Treasure Hall...

Immediately adjacent to the temple, and once its guardian shrine, is Wakaoji Shrine, another Important Cultural Property.

It was established in 1297, the current shrine , within its protective outer structure, dates to 1408.

It enshrined Wakaoji Gongen, the mountain guardian of the temple.

In the late 19th century, when the shrine was separated from the temple, the main kami changed to Izanagi.

Mudo-ji is now a Shingon sect temple.

As well as the Kinki Fudo Myoo, the temple is on several other pilgrimages; it's number 12 on the Kobe 13 Buddhas  Pilgrimage, and number 9 on the Settsu Kannon Pilgrimage.

The previous post in this series on day four of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage was on Shiogahara Pond in the mountains nearby...

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Kangetsuan Teahouse

 

Kangetsuan is a thatched Teahouse in the garden of Fumon-in Temple near Matsue Castle.

In the previous post I covered the temple and garden, and in this post I will focus on the teahouse itself.

After leaving the temple building, the first stop is the waiting area where guests would wait for the host to greet them.

Like the teahouse, it is also thatched. Called Koshikake Machiai, the ceiling is made from planks recycled from clam-fishing boats.

The stepping stones to and from the waiting area are higher than most normal gardens, a feature of Izumo-style gardens that receive a lot of snow.

The teahouse was constructed in 1801 and it is believed Fumai Matsudaira, the lord of the domain and a master of the arts of tea, visited often.

It is also believed that lafcadio Hearn learn Tea Ceremony here.

The teahouse was designed by th 9th head priest of the temple who also happened to be the 9th Head of the Sansai School of Tea, founded by Hosokawa Sansai, one of the 7 disciples of Rikyu.

The inner garden leads to the Nigiriguchi, the half-height entrance with a purpose of instilling humility upon entering.

It also meant swords could not be worn inside the tearoom. A rack for swords can be seen on the right of the photo above.

A circular window in the neighboring room looks out on the pond.

As the name suggests, this building was used to watch the moon. A second moon would appear in reflection in the pond.

The previous post was on the Fumon-in temple and garden.

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Oki-ke House, Garden, & Museum

 

The Oki-ke is a traditional, large residence next door to the Tamawakasu Shrine on Dogen, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan.

It is built in a style unique to the Oki Islands.

It is the home of the Oki family, hereditary priests of the shrine since ancient times.

It was built in 1801 and is designated an Important Cultural Property.

The family still reside there, so it cannot be entered, though one can see inside from a couple of spots.

There is a quite nice garden surrounding the residence and the museum building next door.

I don't remember having seen this kind of bamboo before. It' called Kikko bamboo.

I thought it must have been manipulated in some way to force the strange zig-zag pattern, but its natural.

Inside the museum the pride of place goes to the ekirei, station bell. It seem this is the only remaining example in Japan.

This small copper bell was a mark of status since the ritsuryo-state period of ancient Japan. It gave the person carrying it the right to horses at stations along the old imperial routes.

There are other things on display that may be of interest to some....

The previous post was on the neighbouring Tamawakasu Shrine, also with Important Cultural Properties.

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.