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is a Shingon Sect Buzan School
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
temple in
Tokorozawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is ...
, Saitama,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. It is along the ancient
Kamakura Kaidō is the generic name of a great number of roads built during the Kamakura period which, from all directions, converged on the military capital of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei The term itself ho ...
road and traces its history to its founding by
Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...
in 1193.


History

In 1193,
Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...
encamped on his way to Nasuno for falconry and subsequently contributed the camp site for building a temple. In 1333,
Nitta Yoshisada also known as Minamoto no Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famo ...
stopped on his way to his Kamakura Conquest in order pray for victory and stopped off here again after his victory and contributed the land to the temple. ''Kaikoku Zakki'', written in 1486 by quasi Empress Doko of Shogoin Temple, states that when she went to Tokorozawa she visited the temple.


Festival

The Kannon festival of the temple was once noted for its horse festival and was held on February 18, the first horse day of the year. Recently, the festival is held on April 18, when it gets warmer and cherry blossoms are in bloom.Signposts at Shinko-ji


Historical Signage

The public signage on the temple site posted by the City of Tokorozawa has the following historical description:
SHINKO TEMPLE (TOKOROZAWA KANNON)
Yusekizan
Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
in Shinko Temple
* Buzan School Shingon Sect of Buddhism * The Principle Image: Shokanzeon Bosatsu (Goddess of Mercy) * The tenth in the 33 temples of the Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage * The eighth in the 33 temples of the Sayama Kannon Pilgrimage The legend says the temple was once called Yusekizan Kannon-in for its principle image is the statue of Sho Kanzeon Bosatsu ( Avalokitesvara) made by the Great Teacher Gyoki. In 1649, the temple was authorised with the red seal of a fief yielding 6 koku (about 1082.34 liters) by the
Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
. According to the record of the year 1790, the temple is described as a square shaped building whose each side was 3 ken (about 5.4m) long. It also says that the temple is derived from a thatched temple where the statue of kannon was enshrined. Since then, the temple has been worshipped by people in
Tokorozawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is ...
. The temple, located along the former Kamakura Highway, is referred in such old manuscripts as "Shinpen Musashi Fudoki-ko" 'Azamakagami" and "Edo Meisho Zue”. According to them, in 1193, Minamoto Yoritomo made a camp for lunch on his way to Nasuno for falconry. He contributed the camp site for building a temple. However, then, the place became battlefields. In 1333,
Nitta Yoshisada also known as Minamoto no Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famo ...
stopped off here on his way to his Kamakura Conquest in order to wish victory. After defeating the Kamakura Shogunate. He stopped off here again and contributed the land he had been deprived of before to the temple. “Kaikoku Zakki,” written in 1486 by quasi Empress Doko of Shogoin Temple says that when she went to Tokorozawa a
Yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhism and Shinto. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or holy persons) of the eighth ...
(mountain priest) named Fukusen of Kannon-in appeared a took out a “tokoro” (a kind of yam) for a relish of sake. At this she made a wake (31 syllable poem) as follows: :''In our outing, a yam called tokoro is served for a relish. Oh the yam dug out and got in Tokorozawa.'' The Kannon festival of the temple was once famous hereabouts for its horse festival. Before the horse was appreciated as the only means of transportation. Thus to show appreciation for horses and to pray for safe traffic, the festival, also called Horse Town, was held on February 18, the first horse day of the year. On the day, horses used to go around the main hall. Recently, the festival is held on April 18 when it gets warmer and cherry blossoms are in bloom. Festival: Kannon Festival (April 18)
TOKOROZAWA TOURIST ASSOCIATION


Notes


External links


tencoo.fc2web.com/jinja/xtz-shinko.htm (Japanese) Retrieved 2015-06-22
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shofuku-ji (Higashimurayama) Buddhist temples in Saitama Prefecture