Chozenji Temple 8 Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Chozenji Temple is number 8 on the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

It is located a few kilometers downstream from temple 7, Fukushoji. Each of the 36 temples on the Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage has one of the 36 doji, child-attendants of Fudo. At the foot of the stairs above is Shitara Doji.

Like Fukushoji, Chozenji seems like a pretty unremarkable rural temple.

However, it claims to have been founded by Kobo Daishi himself and if I am reading the history correctly, was a fairly major temple.

The Fudo enshrined here is said to be a Fudo who shows miraculous powers for warding off swellings and rashes and has become known as a Fudo to ward off cancer.

From the main hall further steps lead further up the mountainside through a "tunnel" of red torii.

This leads to Mogami Inari Shrine, a branch of Saijo Inari, a Buddhist temple in Okayama.

I can find no information on when the shrine was established or anything about it.

The main building seems to be fairly recent and has some nice ceiling paintings.

It has a pair of Tengu masks hanging on tye front of the building and a pair of what looks like Nio masks but could be other characters...

The steps continue on up to the temple Okunoin, a man made cave with a large painting of Fudo and water streaming from a hole in the ceiling.

The stairs leading up are lined with Fudo statues on the right side and another figure on te left. This may be Kukuzo, the honzon of the temple.

The temple burned down in 1586 and was rebuilt in 1588. In 1598 it was name Ekiji.

It is said to have consisted of seven structures, including a pagoda. It burned down again in 1864 and was rebuilt in 1890.

As part of the Spring Fudo Myoo Festival, firewalking by Yamabushi takes place in front of the Okunoin.

A couple of paintings from the temple are National Important Cultural Properties and are held by museums in Kyoto and Nara.

The previous post in the series was on the previous temple, Fukushoji, number 7.

Fukushoji Temple 7 Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

I made a mistake at Fukushoji. Many sites list it as the 7th temple of the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage, however the real 7th temple is Kamo Fudoin, the okunoin of Fukushoji, located about 2k up the mountain.

Fukushoji does have a Fudo statue and altar although it is for "worshipping from afar" for those not willing or able to climb the trail to Fudoin.

The temple is said to have been founded by Kobo Daishi in 828 and was originally called Iwaya-ji. He is said to have carved the Fudo in a single night.

Curiously it is enshrined in "shinto" style, with photos showing a honden type structure behind the main hall. No information on why this is. The temple was quite large in its heyday but suffered under the Chosokabe campaign.

The previous post in this series was temple number 6, Fudoin which I had visited a little earlier in the day.

Fudoin Temple 6 Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Friday, December 23rd, 2016, the start of day 5 of my walk along the Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

The first 4 days I had walked up the Yoshino River in Tokushima along the north bank, and now I was heading back downriver along the south bank.

First stop was Temple 6 of the pilgrimage, Fudo-in, still within Miyoshi City, and pretty much directly opposite Temple number 4, Hashikura, on the mountain slope on the opposite bank.

In the grounds is a Fudo Myoo, a Mizuko Jizo, and a Kannon. The temple is also number 17 on the Awa Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage.

It is a fairly modern temple, being established in 1897 and built in 1902. It is a Shingon temple and the honzon is a Fudo Myoo.

It is said to have been carved in the early 12th century by the monk Kakuban, who separated from Koyasan and founded the Negoroji Temple, where he is buried.

The statue and the temple name were transferred from a temple down below Koyasan in Wakayama. In early Meiji it was illegal to establish new temples so many temples were "transferred" from other places where they may have been abandoned or fallen into disuse.

I am not sure when it became legal to establish new temples, but I reem to remember quite a few temples Ive visited being set up by finding an abandoned one in another part of the country and transferring the name.

Inside the main hall.

The Fudo Myoo honzon said to be carved by Kakuban.

The previous post in this series was on the suspension bridge a little ways upstream.

Shikinoue Suspension Bridge over the Yoshino River

 

The Shikinoue Suspension Bridge is a small pedestrian bridge across the Yoshino River near Ikeda, where the  river turns west towards the coast after passing through the famous Koboke Gorge and then the Iya Valley.

My hotel was on the clifftop above the bridge on the south bank of theriver and I had spent the day visiting a couple of temples on the steep mountainside on the north bank.

I dropped down to the river near the Ikeda Dam,built in 1974 and then headed upstream towards the bridge.

The bridge was built at the same time as the dam and is kind of cool as the floor of the crossing is steel grills so you can see the reservoir/river below.

The bridge seems to be little used.

I had walked upstream on the north bank of the river for the past 4 days on the Shikoku Fudo Pilgrimage, and from here I would be  returning down the river on the south bank.

The bridge is 195 meters long, with 160 meters between the two 18 meters high towers. It was a glorious mid December day in 2016.

The previous post was on Mitsugonji Temple.

Mitsugonji Temple 5 Shikoku Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage

 

Mitsugonji Temple is situated on the steep mountainside, surrounded by rice terraces, overlooking the town of Ikeda where the Yoshino River makes a 90 degree turn to the south.

Though said to be founded by Kobo daishi himself, it it not one of the 88 temples on the famous pilgrimage dedicated to him, nor is it one of the numerous "extra" temples connected to him like the nearby 

The Fudo Hall is a fairly modern, octagonal structure.

The honzon of the temple is a Kannon, but there is a small Fudo statues supposedly carved by Kobo Diashi himself with his fingernails.

It can't be seen but in front of it stands quite a large carving said to be 400 years old.

The Fire Festival held every May on the third Sunday draws visitors from far and wide.

The temple was burned down during the campaign of Chosokabe. It burned down again in the early 19th century.

There is no public transport near the temple. The temple is home to a Youth Hostel.

The previous post in this series was on temple 4, Hashikuraji.