Kannonji Temple 69 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Kannonji, temple 69, and Jinneiin, temple 68, both occupy the same site, but I came into the kannonji side first so it gets posted before 68.

The reason I came into Kannonji first was that I visited the original "temple" 68, which was the Hachiman shrine on the hilltop.

From the hilltop is the viewpoint overlooking the Zenigata Sunae, a huge sand sculpture.

The shrine was founded in the very first years of the 8th century by a monk practising austerities on the hill and seeing a vision on the sea and established the Kotohiki Hachiman Shrine.

The temple was founded as the shrines temple and was named Jinguji Hokoin.

Later Gyoki visited, and then later still Kobo Daishi and he painted an Amida Nyorai and made it the honzon of the shrine. He built several halls and statues at the temple and renamed it Kannonji.

When the government forcibly separated the Buddhas & Kami in 1868, the Amida was brought from the Hachimen Shrine and placed in Kannonji. The shrine ceased to be number 68, and the part of Kannonji holding the Amida became temple 68 and as renamed Jinnein.

The honzon of Kannonji, a Kannon, is a secret Buddha, but recently has started to be shown once every ten years.

As well as the main hall, built in 1677, and Daishi Hall, Kannonji also has an Aizen hall, a Heart Sutra Hall, a Kaizan Hall, a Dainichi Hall, and a Kyozuka Hall.

The main hall is an Important Cultural Property, and in the Treasure Hall are two more: a wooden reclining Buddha dating to the Fujiwara Period, and a silk painting of Fudo Myoo

The previous post in the series was Daikoji Temple 67.

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 It will not be published or made public.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 everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts

Shimizu on the Ginzan Kaido

 

After leaving Yunotsu, the Ginzan Kaido again becomes a footpath and crosses over the old Route 9 and the new expressway, as both run through tunnels at this point.

The next settlement is the delightful Shimizu, a place I enjoy every time I visit as it seems cut off from the outside modern world, though there is a narrow road that leads into it.

It is late April, and the azaleas are in full bloom...

Shimizu means pure water, and sure enough, in the middle of the village is a spring surrounded by deep stone walls.

The water is cold, even in summer, and is guarded by a Fudo Myoo...

There is a small but very interesting temple in Shimizu which I will cover in the next post in the series.

After Shimizu, the Ginzan Kaido once again becomes a footpath.....

The previous post in this series on day 38 of my walk along the Chugoku Pilgrimage was on the hot spring resort port of Yunotsu.

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 last ten posts.

Otagi Nembutsuji Temple Arashiyama Kyoto

Kyoto

Otagi Nembutsuji Temple is now located in a narrow valley just outside Arashiyama, usually a bit too far for most tourists to walk to.

However, it was originally located on the other side of Kyoto and was only moved here in 1922.

The original temple was founded in 766 and was built in the Higashiyama district, not too far from Gion.

It later became a Shingon temple but was completely destroyed when the Kamo River flooded.

It was restored as a Tendai temple.

It fell into disrepair and was restored several more times.

In 1922 what remained of the temple, mostly its Nio Gate, Main Hall, and Jizo Hall, were relocated to the current site.

During the War it once again became uninhabited.

Its final restoration began in 1955.

In 1980, a ten-year repair and renovation of the Niomon began.

The following year the project that has become the symbol of the temple began. The head priest, a sculptor himself, started teaching visitors how to carve Rakan statues.

Now more than 1200 have been completed and can be seen throughout the temple grounds...

They deserve a couple of posts which will come later...

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 last ten posts.

Yunotsu: World Heritage Site & Historic Preservation District

Yunotsu

After a short walk along the Ginzan Kaido from its start, I take a diversion into the main part of the hot spring town of Yunotsu.

Picturesque East Coast of Dogo Island

Dogo, the largest of the Oki islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane, remains one of my favourite places in Japan.

Like many places far from the Shinkansen, it has no overtourism.

On the first day of my three-day walk around the coastline of the island, I left the Sasaki Residence and started walking up the east coast.

The Oki Islands are a UNESCO Global Geopark which means there are plenty of signage in English, especially around the numerous sites of geological interest.

I have little knowledge of geology, though I do enjoy seeing land without vegetation.

In Okubo port there are examples of Green Tuff.....

Soft and makes for some nice eroded shapes.....

Then up along what is called the Kuboro Coast....

There are several observation decks with nice views, but walking, to me, makes the best way to view such coastlines....

Very little traffic, so no hazard for gently strolling....

Quite unusual to see a roadside Buddhist statue ........ every single temple on the Oki Islands were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist movement of early Meiji....

I was here in early June, 2016, so not too hot to walk, but with nice, long days....

The staggering quantity of concrete poured on Japanese coasts, building breakwaters for tiny harbours, and installing millions of tetrapods, need huge numbers of these crane-barge types of boats...

Kuroshima Island is the next major sight....

For the geologically-minded, the phrase is Mantle Xenoliths....

It's mid-afternoon as I approach Fuse, the largest of the fishing harbours of my walk today. Not big enough for a convenience store though. In fact I will pass no convenience store for three days. There is a single Yamazaki store on the island. No Lawsons, no Family Mart, no 7-11.....

The previous post was on the delightful, large Sasaki Residence, a traditional village Headmans residence.

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 last ten posts.