Ikitsuki Giant Kannon

 

Japan is home to many monumental Buddhist statues, perhaps the most well-known being the one at Todaiji in Nara, though another in Kamakura is also very famous. The ones in Kamakura and Todaiji are quite old, the one in Nara dating all the way back to the 8th Century, however, the late 20th century and early 21st century saw many newer ones erected. like the enormous reclining Buddha in Sasaguri. 

The Bodhisattva Kannon, known to many as a "Goddess of mercy", has had numerous truly gigantic statues of her erected not just in Japan but also across East Asia. Many of these Giant Kannons are depicted standing and are constructed out of modern building materials rather than cast in bronze or carved in wood or stone. The one in Kurume is a good example, or the now demolished one on Awaji Island.

The Giant Kannon on Ikutsuki Island in Nagasaki is among Japan's largest seated bronze statues. It is also one of the least-known.

It stands 18 meters tall including the 3-meter pedestal. It weighs 150 tons. It was erected in 1990.

It was erected for World Peace, the spirits of mariners and fishermen, and to pray for the safety of the fishing boats embarking from the harbour below.

Underneath the statue is a small temple with a 1:10 scale replica of the statue, many other Kannon statues, and a fine pair of Nio guardians.

Ikitsuki Island is accessible via a bridge from Hirado Island which is itself accessible from the Nagasaki mainland. The previous post was a short guide to Hirado.

Tsurugake Kannon Saifukuji Temple 76 Kyushu pilgrimage

 

Saifukuji Temple, number 76 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage, is located on a mountainside overlooking the Sasa River north of Sasebo, Nagasaki.

The road up to the temple was a long gentle slope, for which I was grateful. The biggest building was a very large, modern house, I'm guessing the priest's residence.

A small main hall had a statue of Kobo Daishi standing outside it.

There were rows of Mizuko Jizo lining the approach.

The most interesting thing was the okunoin of the temple, a cave in the cliff behind the main hall.

It is said that the cave had been used by yamabushi, mountain ascetics, since the Heian Period.

It is actually not really a cave anymore as the ceiling has collapsed, leaving a stone bridge, or arch.

There were many small altars within the okunoin, and, not surprisingly,  a predominance of Fudo statues.

The temple itself is actually not so old, being founded in the late Meiji Period, but its origins go back a bit further.

At the end of the 16th century was the Warring States Period was coming to a close, a battle took place here between two rival clans.

In the late 18th century the Hirado Lord laced 5 statues on the mountain, including a Kannon, as a prayer memorial to the samurai who had died. Over time the statues were forgotten and buried by landslides.

In 1894, a local man, a devout worshipper of Kannon, became mortally ill and had a vision showing where the statues were buried. His family dug in the spot and found the statues, including the Eleven-Faced Kannon which is the honzon of Saifukuji. The man was miraculously healed and the Kannon has become famous ever since.

The previous post was on the Sechibaru Coal Mine Museum at the foot of the mountain.

The Climb to Senganji Temple

 

Kawamoto is the next town up the Gonokawa River from my village.

Halfway up the steep hillside across the river from downtown Kawamoto is a small temple, Senganji.

The temple becomes really visible in late Autumn when the trees around it turn orange, yellow, and red.

I have actually only made it up to the temple one time, after walking down from Iwami Ginzan on day 5 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage.

Senganji is temple number 9 on that pilgrimage.

There is no vehicular access to Senganji, only a footpath with more than 200 steps, which is, I think, a large reason the temple has been uninhabited for a long time.

There are numerous statues along the path, inlcuding a lot of Jizo but also some Kannon.

When I visited in the late afternoon in May, the shafts of sunlight illumnated many of the statues quite dramatically.

Tomorrow I will post photos from inside the temple and include what history I have been able to find out.

According to a recent photo I saw, the structure housing this collection of statues has  now completely collapsed.

The temple occuppies a narrow ledge in the steep hillside.

The previous post in this series on the Iwami kannon pilgrimage was Ido Shrine in Omori.

Korin-in Temple 72 on the Kyushu pilgrimage

 

Korin-in is, like the previous pilgrimage temple I visited the evening before, Daiichi-in, an urban temple mostly built in concrete.

It is also a relatively new temple, being founded in 1896, at a time when Sasebo was growing rapidly as a naval base.

The one wooden building is a Bishamon-do enshrining Bishamonten.

The honzon is an Amida. Also enshrined in the main hall is a Gyoran Kannon, a not-so-common form of Kannon, as well as the obligatory Kobo Daishi, Aizen Myo, Fudo Myo, and a Jizo.

Outside are a couple of Fudo statues including quite a large one.

I visited at the start of day 67 of my walk around the Kyushu pilgrimage. The previous post was my diary for day 66 which includes links to the three pilgrimage temples I visited that day.

Taisanji Temple 52 on the Shikoku pilgrimage

 

The main hall of Taisan-ji Temple, built in 1305, in the mountains to the northwest of Matsuyama City is a National Treasure and is truly one of the most elegant of the buildings on the pilgrimage.

Number 52 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, it claims to be one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

According to the legend, Mano Choja, a wealthy man from Bungo in Kyushu was heading to Osaka on business in 587. Caught in a storm, his ship was in danger of sinking but was saved by a light shining from the spot where the temple now stands.

Guided to land safely, he climbed the mountain and discovered a miniature statue of Kannon.

He came back with a team of craftsmen from Bungo and according to the legend raised the main hall in one night. Later Gyoki visited and carved a Kannon statue and placed the original statue discovered by Choja inside it. In 739 Gyoki built the temple in the form it is now.

It is said that Shotoku Taishi visited here and there is a statue of him in the octagonal Shtokutaishi Hall.

Later, Kobo Daishi visited and converted the temple to Shingon. The Nio gate also dates back to the temple rebuilding of 1305. In the next post, I will show some of the statues and paintings found here.

The previous post in this series on the Shikoku Ohenro was on temple 51, Ishiteji Temple.