Teahouse at Anyoji Temple

 

While exploring the grounds of Anyoji Temple in the mountains north of Kurashiki I came upon this thatched teahouse.

There was no information about at at the site, and nothing at all on the temple website.

I have also scoured the web but have been unable to find a single reference to it.

If anyone has any information on it, please leave a comment below.

Anyoji was a big surprise to me and knew nothing about it before arriving on day 7 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgimage heading over the mountains from Soja towards Kurashiki.

There will be several more posts and I have already covered the unusual pagoda, the Tie-Cutting Fudo Myoo, the Seven Lucky Gods, and the Dragon Kannon Hall.

Ikuta Shrine Sannomiya

 

Ikuta Shrine is the most important shrine in Sannomiya, part of Kobe in Hyogo. It was the third-ranked shrine in the province, the sannomiya, which is why the area around it took that name.

My room for the night was nearby so I passed through the grounds on my way there.

A "shinto" wedding was taking place. As I have mentioned before, Shinto Weddings are a very modern thing and not at all traditional.

Christian weddings have a much older history in Japan than Shinto weddings. The first shinto wedding was in 1904 for the Crown Prince. It was modelled on royal weddings of Europe and especially the UK.

Later a few elites had Shinto weddings and before the war it became popular with salarymen and army officers who chose it because it was modern and untraditional. Ikuta Shrine is known to have performed shinto weddings in the prewar years.

In 1945 it was suddenly made traditional and has gained in popularity since then.

According to myth, Ikuta Shrine was established by Empress Jingu when her ship was becalmed here.

She was told by the kami Wakahirume that she wished to stay here, so Jingu set up the shrine. Wakhirume is considered to be either  a younger sister of Amaterasu, although sometimes she is thought of as a daughter of Amaterasu or even Amaterasu as a girl.

Over the centuries numerous other shrines have been made inside the grounds, including Sumiyoshi, Hachiman, Suwa, Hiyoshi, Inari, and a Sai shrine. As is evident in the final photo, Ikuta Shrine is one of the increasing number of shrines "specializing" in matchmaking.

This visit was at the end of my third day walking the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post was on one of the Inari shrines at Ikuta.

The Pagoda at Anyoji Temple

 

Pagodas come in a variety of forms, with perhaps the kind I saw a few hours earlier at Hofukuji being the most common.

An older style, like the one at Rurikoji, may be more archetypal, but fewer of them are being built nowadays. Fairly common, though perhaps not so recognized as a pagoda, is the Tahoto style largely linked to Shingon temples.

The pagoda at Anyoji is in a style I can only remember having seen once before, at Yakuoji Temple on Shikoku.

The pagoda at Anyoji is modelled on a ceramic model of a pagoda that was discovered in the medieval sutra mound excavated behind the temple. Many of the other treasures unearthed there are on display at the temple.

Bishamonten, the main deity of the temple, is usually depicted holding a small pagoda in one hand, and the big statue of Bishamonten on the main gate is depicted holding this style of pagoda.

The pagoda is only open to the public a few days a year, unfortunately not when I was there, and inside is a Kannon flanked by other statues including a Bishamonten.

The previous post was on the Fudo Myo statues at Anyoji. Other posts on this interesting temple were on the 7 Lucky Gods here, and the Dragon Kannon Hall.

Tanga Daigongen

 

After descending from Shichiga Pass I start to head down a narrow valley towards Yuasa and cannot fail to notice Tanga Daigongen.

Built on a steep slope, the site is a collection of colourful orange metal torii with numerous shrines behind them.

According to the legend, Emperor Shirakawa fell ill at this spot while on a pilgrimage to Kumano and a white-haried old man appeared and helped him, so Shirakawa enshrined him here as Tanga Gongen.

There are several Inari shrines here, and several shrines to Fudo Myo.

The main kami though appears to be Tanga Daigongen which I believe is a manifestation of Kono Zao Gongen, the head deity of Shugendo. Photo 10 is a statue of Kono Zao Gongen.

Photo 9 is of En no Gyoja, the legendary mystic who is said to be the founder of Shugendo and who here is named Shinben Daibosatsu.

Also enshrined here are a Koyasu Daishi, a Tatee Jizo, and an Eleven-Headed Kannon as well as several more kami.

I love these kind of places as they mix so many strands and layers of religious history across all the artificial barriers of sects and schools...

Very "folk" as opposed to so many of the bigger establishments that are overtly political and somewhat sterile.

This was day 7 of my walk on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, said to be the oldest "circuit" pilgrimage in Japan, and still following the Kumano Kodo Kiiji Route at this point.

The previous post was on the route up to the pass. Once I reached Yuasa I jumped ahead by train to Kimiidera Temple.

Cutting-ties Fudo Myo at Anyoji Temple

 

Akuenkiri Fudo Myoo is for cutting bad ties and relationships and is a statue at Anyoji Temple in the mountains between Kurashiki and Soja in Okayama.

The sword carried by Fudo, Kurikara, is generally considered to be used to sever one from the attachments that prevent enlightenment, but perhaps the most famous "cutting" Fudo is the wave-cutting Fudo that quelled the storm carrying Kobo Daishi to China.

As well as the Akuenkiri Fudo there are numerous other Fudo's around the temple including this one near tye entrance.

This very small and unusual one was inside a thatched Teahouse.....

Previously I have posted on the Dragon Hall and the Seven Lucky Gods at Anyoji. More to come.

Shaka-do & Myo-o-ji Temples 36 & 37 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 

My final stop on day three of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage was a pair of temples sharing the same ground.

Number 36, Shaka-do, was part of another temple but was managed by Myooji temple in the Edo period and then moved here in the Meiji period I believe. The main hall is the only nationally registered Important Cultural Property on Shodoshima.

It is three bays wide and 4 deep and was built in the early 16th century. The honzon, a Shaka Nyorai, the "historical" Buddha is said to have been carved by the famous sculptor Unkei.

 Multiple sources say that Shaka-do is in some way the origin of the Shodoshima pilgrimage, but I can not find details.....

Next door is Myo-O-ji temple, established earlier than the Shaka-do, in the late 13th century and was rebuilt in the late 17th century.

The honzon is a Fudo Myo, said to be carved by Kobo Daishi, although some records suggest Gyoki may have brought it to the island earlier.

Photo 4 is of the Bishamondo attached to Myooji....

Unusually, the statue of Binzaru is inside a shelter and not on the verandah as is more common. It is also much darker than most Binzaru statues.

The previous post in the series was on the large Kameyama Shrine.