Showing posts with label shodo88. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shodo88. Show all posts

Monday, February 19, 2024

From 28 Yakushi-do to 29 Kazaana-an

 


Yakushi-do, temple 28 on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage is located on the east coast and about halfway down the Mito peninsula that has the southernmost point of Shodoshima at its tip.


It is a fairly small, simple, and new structure that has been moved here fairly recently from higher up the slope. It is said that Crown Prince Taisho visited on his trip to the island in the first years of the twentieth century.


The new location is in front of an older cemetery and right next to the village shrine. It is unnamed with no information but the very small shimenawa is of a kind that still has the ears of rice attached to the ends of the straw.


I sit in the little covered rest area next to the Yakushido and drink a can of coffee from the vending machine while I ponder my route. The guide book I am using is written for car pilgrims and says to keep going south down the coast road and then cross over the peninsula at its narrowest part before heading up to the next temple.


Signs from the Yakushi-do point up through the village and I decide to follow them as my experience yesterday suggests that the walking path is quicker than the car route.


I switch back up through the village and take a path leading up the hillside. Once on top the path follows the narrow ridge before starting to descend down the other side.


I pass by a small altar and believe it to be the okunoin of temple 29.


A pair of dolls seem really creepy..... many Japanese I have spoken with seem very superstitious when it comes to old dolls.....


A little further and I come to temple 29 Kazaana-an. There are great views down the coast and across to Shikoku. I believe this is the southernmost point of the pilgrimage.


It is a modern building and well looked after.


I see a couple of young women heading down the stairs. These are the first other visitors to a temple I have seen since starting three days ago.


The honzon is a Jizo, though it, and several other statues, are locked away. A reclining Buddha covered in blankets is in front of the altar.


There is a small Inari shrine. Representations of Inari are either of a young maiden or an old man. This one is the latter.


The previous post in this series on the Shodoshima pilgrimage was on my walk down the peninsula.


As I reach the road below the temple a young pilgrim is parking his bicycle. Our paths will cross several more times today

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Down the Mito Peninsula

 


The Mito Peninsula extends out to the south of Shodoshima Island towards Shikoku.


In fact, the southern tip of the peninsula is, I believe, the closest point to Shikoku.


On Boxing Day (December 26th) 2015 I walked most of the way down the East coast of the peninsula.


Earlier that morning I had visited 6 temples of the Shodoshima Pilgrimage that all lay close to each other. Now I had a 2-hour walk to the next one.


Shikoku was clearly visible and one of the many car ferries passed by


Perhaps the strangest sight was a line of about 20 TV antennas along the side of the road. I suspect it was the only way to get a signal in the fishing village down below.


Across the Uchinomi Bay I can see the smaller peninsula I walked along 2 days ago on my first day when I visited the famous "24 Eyes" movie location and the theme park where a later remake was made.


The weather was glorious......


The previous post was on the cluster of temples I visited earlier.


Friday, October 20, 2023

Temples 24 to 27 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 


Early on my third day walking the Shodoshima Pilgrimage I visited a small group of temples in close proximity to each other. Temples 24 to 27 are just off the main road on the south coast,  adjacent to one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island, the Olive Park.


Temple 24,  Anyoji, has a Daisho-do, Jizo-do, and a bell tower as well as the main hall and the priests residence. The grounds have some nice Camelia trees.


The buildings are all fairly modern, circa 1990 with several nice kinds of onigawara tiles.


It is claimed that the temple was founded by Gyoki and later revived in the 17th century. The honzon is a Kannon.


A footpath leads up the hill to the next temple which has no vehicular access.


Temple 25, Seiganji-an, is a much smaller, more rustic establishment.


At the top of the hill, the honzon of Seiganji-an is a Yakushi Nyorai.


A little further along the trail is a well with a Jizo-do.


This is the okunoin of temple 26, Amidaji.  The well, called Omizu Daishi, is very popular and is one of countless water sources attributed to Kobo Daishi himself.


The Jizo is an Enmei Jizo, a "long life" Jizo.


Near the well the asphalt starts again and leads down to temple 27 before coming to 26. Sometimes the route for walking pilgrims differs from that for the more numerous car pilgrims.


Temple 27 is Sakuranoan, so named because of a famous cherry tree that stood here earlier. The honzon is an 11-faced Kannon.


Just a short distance away is temple 26, Amida-ji.  Like Anyoji, it also claims to have been founded by Gyoki and revived in the 17th century.


The previous post was on temples 22 and 23.


Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Minenoyama-an & Hondo Temples 22, 23 Shodoshima Pilgrimage

 


Boxing Day, December 26th, 2015, and I set off on the third day of my walk along the Shodoshima Pilgrimage.


Its another glorious day of blue skies and my plan is to go down and then back up the Mito Peninsula that protrudes from the south of the island.


But first there are the last couple of temples in the old town part of Kusakabe.


The first is Minenoyama-an, on some high ground with great views over the Inland Sea and surrounded by a large cemetery. It is unmanned and the suffix -an tells that it is classed as a "hermitage", though the main building is a bit larger than most hermitages I've come across so far and is more like a large farmouse. The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon.


Nearby, literally on the other side of a small elementary school, is temple 23, curiously named Hondo, which means main hall.


It is said to be the main hall of the pagoda of Seikenji, temple 21 which I visited yesterday and is not too far away. Whether the pagoda stood here or if the hondo was moved to this spot is not clear.


It's quite an elegant building that I would describe as Chinese-style.


The honzon is a Shaka Nyorai said to have been carved by Genshin, a prominent Tendai monk from Enryakuji of the late Heian Period who is known mostly for his writings, but is said to have carved the statue at Yasakaji, temple 24 on Shikoku.


Next I head along the main coast road to the next settlement which has 4 pilgrimage temples to visit. The previous post in this series was on the last 4 temples I visited yesterday, Christmas Day.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Kinoshita-an, Seikenji, Ichinotani-an, & Gokurakuji. Four Temples on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage.

 


Late afternoon on Christmas Day, 2015, day 2 of my walk around Shodoshima Island on the Shodoshima 88 temple pilgrimage, and I take the ropeway down from the top of Kankakei Gorge.

I share the ropeway down with a French family, and they offer me a ride in the taxi that is waiting for them at the bottom, ….. I'm tempted but decline gracefully. From here it should all be downhill.

Once I get back to where I started up to Sekimondo I find a footpath that goes straight down rather than having to walk along the road which winds back and forth, saving me about a kilometer. The path comes out at the big dam above Kusukabe and then I enter the outskirts of the small town.

I have a bit of trouble finding the next temple but a little old lady points me in the right direction. Number 19, Kinoshita-an, is a small hermitage but I am beginning to appreciate the unpretentiousness of these small establishments. They are very welcoming and completely lacking in ostentation. Compared to other hermitages, this one is actually quite large. It enshrines a statue of Yakushi Nyorai the "Medicine Buddha"


Another kilometer and I'm in the middle of an urban area and I find number 21, Seikenji, a somewhat larger temple with some curious sculptures in the park next door.



The honzon is a Fudo Myoo,  and the temple legend claims it to have been founded by Gyoki in the 8th century. It was burned down in 1899 and reconstruction was given support by the Crown Prince who visited Shodoshima in 1907.


The stone sculptures were by Hiroshima artist Aki Sora, but I can find no other information about them.

The afternoon becomes golden as the sun rushes towards the horizon. I cut back up a little valley and find the next temple, number 17 Ichinotani-an, snuggled against the hillside. It's another small hermitage.



The honzon is another Yakushi Nyorai that survived a landslide here in 1976. It was nice to see another Fudo statue.


According to the map the next temple is down the valley then around and up the next little valley over, about one and a half kilometers, but signs at Ichinotani-an point to a footpath that goes through the woods. Once again the route for walking pilgrims is much shorter than for those driving. I passed this line of statues, and according to the current google streetview they are no longer there. 

 


The last temple of a very long day was Gokurakuji, number 16, and was quite impressive being reached across a bridge that spanned a wide pond in front of the temple.



It is said the temple was located at the foot of  Mount Kamikake but was moved to this location, said to be a site where Kukai spent time, in the early Edo Period. The honzon is an Amida Nyorai, The current main hall dates back to early Meiji.


It had a decent garden. By now the valley was in shadow and it was cooling down quickly so I headed straight down to the main road to catch a bus back to my minshuku as the sun dipped below the horizon across the sea. A long day filled with great sights and nice weather.