Saigoku pilgrimage route
The Saigoku pilgrimage route ( Japanese 西 国 三十 三 所 saigoku sanjūsansho ; German translation: "Pilgrimage along the 33 ( Kannon consecrated) places in the western countries") is an important Buddhist pilgrimage ( Junrei ) in the Japanese region of Kansai , the " western lands ”. Along with the Shikoku pilgrimage route, it is the oldest and most popular pilgrimage route in Japan and is around 1300 km long. The connecting element of the numbered temples are statues of the Kannon, a female incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara , which are venerated as the main images in the temples.
history
According to tradition, the pilgrimage goes back to the monk Tokudo Shōnin . However, this is historically not tenable, as many temples were only founded after the death of the monk. The connection with Emperor Kazan as the founder of the pilgrimage route cannot be proven historically either.
The first historical evidence of a pilgrimage along the 33 temples comes from the 12th century by the monk Kakuchu. It can be found in the collection of poems Senzai-wakashū (1187). However, temples such as the Hase-dera , Ishiyama-dera, and Kiyomizu-dera have been popular destinations for pilgrims before.
Up until the 16th century, it was mainly nobles, nuns and monks who traveled along the Saigoku pilgrimage route. This changed with the Edo period when the pilgrimage route became very popular among the general public. This growing religious and tourist interest was made possible because of the general pacification of Japan and the improved transport connections.
procedure
The main concern of the pilgrimage is prayer in front of Kannon's main statue. Many pilgrims also sing the temple song ( go-eika ) provided for each temple . However, one usually prays in front of a representative figure, as the majority of the venerated temple images depict so-called hidden Buddhas ( hibutsu ). In addition to prayer in the main temple, confirmation of the visit to the temple office is an essential activity. The temple stamps and calligraphy are collected in a book or on a scroll.
Sights in the vicinity of the temple are often visited. While the pilgrimage route used to be mostly done on foot, hikers are now in the minority. A modern, albeit not representative, survey shows that 51% of all pilgrims travel by car, while 40% travel by bus or train. Only a small minority hikes or cycles.
The 33 temples
| No. | temple | Place, prefecture | Main portrait ( honzon ) | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seiganto-ji ( 青 岸 渡 寺 ) | Nachi-Katsuura, Wakayama | Kannon with a wish-fulfilling jewel |
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| 2 | Kimii-dera ( 紀 三井 寺 ) | Wakayama , Wakayama | eleven-headed Kannon |
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| 3 | Kokawa-dera ( 粉 河 寺 ) | Kinokawa , Wakayama | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 4th | Sefuku-ji ( 施 福寺 ) | Izumi , Osaka | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 5 | Fujii-dera ( 葛 井 寺 ) | Fujiidera , Osaka | eleven-headed, "thousand-armed" Kannon |
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| 6th | Tsubosaka-dera ( 壺 阪 寺 ) | Takaichi, Nara | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 7th | Oka-dera ( 岡 寺 ) | Asuka , Nara | Kannon with a wish-fulfilling jewel |
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| 8th | Hase-dera ( 長 谷 寺 ) | Sakurai , Nara | eleven-headed Kannon |
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| 9 | Kōfuku-ji ( 興福寺 ) | Nara , Nara | rope swinging Kannon |
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| 10 | Mimuroto-ji ( 三室 戸 寺 ) | Uji , Kyoto | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 11 | Kami-Daigo-ji ( 上 醍醐 寺 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | Mother Kannon |
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| 12 | Iwama-dera ( 岩 間 寺 ) | Ōtsu , Shiga | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 13 | Ishiyama-dera ( 石 山寺 ) | Ōtsu , Shiga | Kannon with a wish-fulfilling jewel |
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| 14th | Mii-dera ( 三井 寺 ) | Ōtsu , Shiga | Kannon with a wish-fulfilling jewel |
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| 15th | Imakumano Kannon-ji ( 今 熊 野 観 音 寺 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | eleven-headed Kannon |
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| 16 | Kiyomizu-dera ( 清水寺 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 17th | Rokuharamitsu-ji ( 六 波羅蜜 寺 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | eleven-headed Kannon |
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| 18th | Rokkaku- do ( 六角 堂 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | Kannon with a wish-fulfilling jewel |
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| 19th | Gyōgan-ji ( 行 願 寺 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 20th | Yoshimine-dera ( 善 峯 寺 ) | Kyōto , Kyōto | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 21st | Anao-ji ( 穴 太 寺 ) | Kameoka , Kyoto | holy Kannon |
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| 22nd | Sōji-ji ( 總 持 寺 ) | Ibaraki , Osaka | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 23 | Katsuō-ji ( 勝 尾 寺 ) | Minoo, Osaka | eleven-headed, "thousand-armed" Kannon |
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| 24 | Nakayama-dera ( 中 山寺 ) | Takarazuka , Hyogo | eleven-headed Kannon |
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| 25th | Kiyomizu-dera ( 清水寺 ) | Katō, Hyōgo | eleven-headed, "thousand-armed" Kannon |
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| 26th | Ichijō-ji ( 一 乗 寺 ) | Kasai , Hyogo | holy Kannon |
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| 27 | Engyo-ji ( 圓 教 寺 ) | Himeji , Hyogo | Kannon with a wish-fulfilling jewel |
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| 28 | Nariai-ji ( 成 相 寺 ) | Miyazu , Kyoto | holy Kannon |
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| 29 | Matsunoo-dera ( 松尾 寺 ) | Maizuru, Kyoto | horse-headed Kannon |
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| 30th | Hōgon-ji ( 宝 厳 寺 ) | Chikubushima, Shiga | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 31 | Chōmei-ji ( 長命 寺 ) | Ōmihachiman , Shiga | Three main portraits: "thousand armed" Kannon, eleven-headed Kannon, holy Kannon |
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| 32 | Kannonshō-ji ( 観 音 正 寺 ) | Azuchi , Shiga | "Thousand armed" Kannon |
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| 33 | Kegon-ji ( 華 厳 寺 ) | Ibigawa , Gifu | eleven-headed Kannon |
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There are also three other temples that are not considered official stations, but are visited by many pilgrims. Together with the 33 temples of the Bandō pilgrimage route in the Kantō region and the 34 temples of the Chichibu Sanjūyon, the Saigoku pilgrimage route forms a 100-station route of temples in Japan dedicated to Kannon.
literature
- Patricia Frame Rugola: The Saikoku Kannon Pilgrimage Route. Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1986.
- Valeria Jana Schwanitz and August Wierling: Saigoku - Out and about in Japan's western lands. Manpuku-Verlag, Potsdam 2012.
- Cees Nooteboom and Simone Sassen: Saigoku - pilgrimage route of the 33 temples near Kyoto. Schirmer / Mosel, Munich 2013.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Mark MacWilliams: Old and New Images of Retired Emperor Kazan in the Saigoku Kannon Temple Guidebooks. In: History of Religions. 34, 1995, p. 303.
- ↑ Steven E. Gump: Mythologies and Miracles: The Saikoku and Peregrinogenesis. In: Southeast Review of Asian Studies. 27, 2005, p. 102.
- ^ Carmen Blacker: The Religious Traveler in the Edo Period. In: Modern Asian Studies. 18, 1984, p. 593.
- ^ Ian Reader: Religion in contemporary Japan. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1991.