A Pilgrimage to the Sacred Sites of Settsu Province, Fragrant with History and Culture 10: Zempuku-ji Temple
No. 11 Nyoizan Zempuku-ji Temple—To Dondoro Daishi and the City of Prayer on the Uemachi Plateau
I left the Tenma area and headed south.
To Tennoji Ward in Osaka City. Perhaps you can sense how the landscape changes just from the name of this place. The Uemachi Plateau sits on a higher elevation than the flatlands of Umeda and Tenma. It was on this plateau that the 11th temple, Zempuku-ji, was located.
About the Uemachi Plateau
When discussing the topography of Osaka, the Uemachi Plateau is an indispensable presence.
This plateau, which stretches long and narrow from north to south, is a region with a character clearly distinct from the surrounding lowlands. It is resistant to flood damage, offers good visibility, and is suitable for defense. Since ancient times, people have gathered important facilities on this plateau. The Naniwa Palace, Shitenno-ji Temple, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle—the stages that moved the history of Osaka are all located on this plateau.
The Tennoji Ward area, which spreads out to the south of Osaka Castle, is also known as a densely packed temple district. There is a historical background to this, as Hideyoshi gathered temples in the castle town as a defensive line for the castle when he built Osaka Castle, and even today, many temples stand side by side in this area. It is no coincidence that the pilgrimage sites of the 88 Sacred Sites of Settsu Province are concentrated in this area. A pilgrimage on the Uemachi Plateau is also a pilgrimage through the core of Osaka's history.
What is Dondoro Daishi?
Zempuku-ji has long been familiar to the people of Osaka by the name 'Dondoro Daishi'.
There are various theories regarding the origin of the mysterious-sounding name 'Dondoro'. Some say it comes from a story of a strange occurrence involving a large hackberry tree that once stood here, while others say it comes from an event where drums were beaten with a 'dondoro' sound within the temple grounds. In any case, the fact that this unique name has been loved for so long tells us how close Zempuku-ji has been to the common people of Osaka.
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Oyumi and Otsuru
'Keisei Awa no Naruto', The Scene at the Gate of Dondoro Daishi
Zempuku-ji is also deeply connected to Kamigata Joruri and Kabuki.
'Keisei Awa no Naruto' is a Gidayu-bushi Joruri play co-authored by Hanji Chikamatsu and others, which premiered at the Takemoto-za theater in Osaka in 1768. The eighth act, 'The Pilgrimage Song Scene', is particularly famous and is still performed frequently today. The setting for that scene is right here, in front of the gate of Dondoro Daishi.
The plot is as follows: Oyumi, the wife of Jurobei, who has disguised himself as a thief out of loyalty to his lord, meets a young pilgrim girl in front of the gate of Dondoro Daishi. The girl's name is Otsuru, and she says she is on a pilgrimage to the western provinces in search of her parents. When asked for her parents' names, it was undoubtedly her own child. Although Oyumi wanted to reveal her identity and embrace her right then and there, she was a woman pursued as a thief, and after much agonizing, she decided not to involve her daughter. She did not reveal herself as the mother, but instead persuaded Otsuru to return to her home country, and then collapsed in tears.
'My father's name is Jurobei, and my mother's name is Oyumi'—this line from Otsuru still touches people's hearts today. The gate of Dondoro Daishi feels not just like the entrance to a temple, but as a stage where the affection between parent and child and the karma of human beings intersect, striking deep into the heart.
On the Temple Grounds
From the grounds of Zempuku-ji, which stands on the plateau, you can look out over the city of Osaka. As the temple name 'Nyoizan' (Wish-Granting Mountain) suggests, it has the dignity unique to a temple built on the heights of a plateau. For someone who had walked from the downtown area of Tenma, the air on the plateau felt refreshing.
