#shohoji

[crazyfox-archives]

A sculpted image of Nyoirin Kannon Bodhisattva (如意輪観音菩薩) enshrined at Shōhōji Temple (正法寺) in Obama, Fukui Prefecture

Photo by 圭 (Kei), whose fascinating Twitter account focuses on the documentation of regional Buddhist images as well as the history of Buddhist iconography more generally (August 31, 2022)

[crazyfox-archives]

A pond on the grounds of Iwamadera Temple (岩間寺) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, according to temple lore ostensibly the site and inspiration of the famous 1686 haiku by Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉): “古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音”

The old pond — A frog leaps in, And a splash.

(Translation by Makoto Ueda)

Photo by 僕はびわ湖のカイツブリ [Boku wa Biwako no Kaitsuburi] from a blog entry documenting their pilgrimage to the temple in July 2017 (see source)

[crazyfox-archives]

The image of Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva (千手観音菩薩) visible on the altar of the main hall of Iwamadera Temple (岩間寺) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, modelled on the actual main image of the temple dating to the 8th century which almost always remains enclosed from public view

[crazyfox-archives]

Pilgrims’ brightly decorated walking staffs at Iwamadera Temple (岩間寺) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture

Image from “西国三十三カ所巡礼 (とんぼの本)” [Saigoku Sanjūsan ka Sho Junrei (Tonbo no Hon)] by 井上隆雄 [Inoue Takao] & 田中智彦 [Tanaka Tomohiko], published by 新潮社 [Shinchōsha], 1988, page 47

[crazyfox-archives]

The pilgrims’ hymn for Shōhōji Temple (正法寺), more familiarly known as Iwamadera Temple (岩間寺), from a hymnal for the thirty-three temples of the western pilgrimage circuit dedicated to Kannon Bodhisattva (観音菩薩)

My own rough, tentative translation follows:

Number Twelve: Mount Iwama Shōhōji Temple (Shingon school) in Shiga District, Ōmi Province

Ishiyamauchi Hata, Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture

A hymn for Thousand-Armed Kannon:

If seeking the source Of the stream, over by the Temple amongst cliffs Waves rushing past riverbanks Sound like wind amidst the pines

Image from “Saigoku Sanjūsansho Goeika” (西国三十三所 御詠歌) edited by Tomita Haruyuki (冨田晴行), published by Ryūshōdō (隆昌堂) in Osaka, 1995 reprint of the 1973 edition, unpaginated accordion book

[crazyfox-archives]

A stone image of Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva (千手観音菩) on the grounds of Iwamadera Temple (岩間寺) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, along a course replicating in miniaturized form the Thirty-three Temple Western Pilgrimage Circuit dedicated to Kannon of which this is the twelfth and so modelled on the temple’s own main image

Photo by まあたろう [Maatarou] documenting their pilgrimage to this temple in April 2017 (see source)

[crazyfox-archives]

The main hall of Shōhōji Temple (正法寺)--more familiarly known as Iwamadera Temple (岩間寺)--in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, twelfth temple in the Thirty-three Temple Western Pilgrimage Circuit dedicated to Kannon Bodhisattva (観音菩薩)

Originally established by the mountain ascetic monk Taichō (泰澄) in 722, with the current structure dating to 1577 supplemented by extensive repairs during the early to mid-1600′s

Image from a site introducing the temples of the pilgrimage circuit (see source)