Myo-ozan Fumonji Temple

 

This incredibly beautiful wooden statue of a Thousand -armed Kannon is believed to date back to the early Heian Period.

It can be seen in a small Tendai sect temple in the tiny castle town of Ako, famous for the legend of the 47 Ronin.

Originally located on a mountain to the NE of its current site along with another Tendai temple, Choanji. It is said to have been founded by Shotoku Taishi.

Both temples were destroyed at the end of the Warring States Period and relocated to different sites in the town.

unlike many of the smaller, non-touristy, temples, it is quite active, not just a funerary temple.

It is part of the Setouchi Kannon Pilgrimage, the Banshu Yakushi Pilgrimage, and something called the Pilgrimage to 36 Nunnery Temples.

The Thousand-armed statue, like most, does not actually have a full thousand arms, but what is noteworthy is the fine sculpting of the hands. It is an Important Cultural Property.

I believe this is a Yoga Daigongen shrine.

In 1957 it was moved to its current location and merged with Choanji Temple to become Myo-ozan Fumonji Temple.

The Mizuko Jizo statue, photo 5, is unusual in that it is sculpted as a female and looks like a Kannon.

There is a Fudo, photo 6, flanking the main statue of Kannon, but another Fudo is in the Goma-den.

If you are in the area, then it's worth visiting at least for the Kannon statue.

The previous post was on the excellent  gardens at the Ako Castle Ruins Park

Jodo-ji Temple 9 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Jodo-ji Temple in Onomichi, the historic port on the Hiroshima coast is said to have been founded by Shotoku Taishi in the early 7th century.

However, no records exist to prove that, although there was some kind of religious site here 400 years later at the end of the Heian Period.

The main gate dates to the mid 14th century and is an Important Cultural Property.

The main hall, left in the photo above, and photo below, dates to 1327 and is a National Treasure.

The honzon is an Eleven-faced Kannon, and the temple now belongs to the Shingon sect.

In 1325 a major fire burned down most buildings and so everything now has been built since then.

Ashikaga Takauji stopped here in 1336 on his way back from Kyushu and donated a set of poems.

He also made Jodoji one of his Ankokuji, nation-pacifying temples.

Below is the Amida Hall, built in 1345 and enshrining Amida

It, along with the gate, Abbots Quarters (hojo), and several other structures and artifacts are also Important Cultural Properties.

The other Nationl Treasure at Jodoji is the pagoda.

This Tahoto-style pagoda was constructed in 1328 and emshrines Dainichi.

Apparently there is a Treasure House where some of the many treasures in the possession of the temple are on display, but I didn't visit it.

I was most interested in the gardens which I covered in the previous post.

To view the gardens you go into the Abbots quarters, the hojo, which has a nice collection of painted screens seen in the final photos.

Usually statues of Binzuru are found on the veranda of a hall, but here he was inside.

Tebikigaura Daiba Park

 

Tebikigaura Daiba Park is a small clifftop park overlooking Tagi Port and the mouth of the Tagi River which formed the boundary between the old provinces of Iwami and Izumo.

It's the summer solstice and I am starting the 6th leg of my walk heading east along the Sea of Japan coastline and have just entered Izumo.

The most intriguing thing at the park was a pair of cannon. The first a full-size replica of a Japanese-style cannon, and the second, below, a 3/4 scale replica of a Western cannon.

In the 18th century the Matsue Domain installed two batteries, each of three cannon, at this spot and down at the mouth of the river.

The replica cannons here are based on documentation of another battery further up the coast in Tottori.

Looking across the bay is Hinomisaki, the western cape of the Shimane Peninsula where I would be visiting next day.

This area of beach and coast is named Tebikigaura after a myth concerning a daughter of Okuninushi named Adakayanushitakikkihime who lived in the area. She is the kami of the Adakaya Shrine much further east of Matsue with the cool straw serpents...

My plan was to get as far as around Izumo Taisha and spend the solstice night sleeping out...

The previous post was on the section of coast from Kute to Hane.