Kannon Reigenki Chichibu Pilgrimage: No. 33 Kosakashita Enmeizan Kikusui-ji Temple / Kusunoki Masashige
“Kannon Reigenki Chichibu Pilgrimage No. 33 Kosakashita Enmeizan Kikusui-ji Temple, Kusunoki Masashige”
Kannon Reigenki |Chichibu Pilgrimage No. 33 |Kosakashita |Enmeizan |Kikusui-ji Temple
Spring or summer, even in winter, Kikusui-ji is in full bloom
Sending off the years and months with autumn poetry
Votive Tablet
The |scent of |chrysanthemums, the |butterfly that |attained enlightenment |does not |emerge into the |world
|Kusunoki Masashige
|This temple, in the |past, was located about five cho to the southeast of the |current |main hall, in a |place called Hachinin Pass. It is said that it was |named this because eight |bandits |lived there at some |time. These |thieves |eventually |received the |salvation of |Gyoki and |became monks. After that, a |monk |came and |moved the |main hall to the |current |location, and received the |miraculous |efficacy of longevity.
* "|Southeast direction" refers to the southeast compass point.
* "|Kayaku" is a Buddhist term. It means to teach and guide people along the Buddhist path to provide them with |benefits.
|Kusunoki Masashige |devoutly |believed in |Kannon. In particular, since this temple was |named Kikusui-ji, which |shared a connection with his |family |crest, he |believed in it |especially, and it is said that he |constantly |worshipped it from afar to |pray for military success.
* "|My family's |crest" refers to the Kikusui (chrysanthemum on water) crest said to have been used by Kusunoki Masashige.
Now, when he was |holed up in |Akasaka |Castle, it was a sudden event, so they ran out of |provisions. When he |escaped the |castle using a |strategy, Masashige was |alone, |mingling with the |attacking forces. As he |slipped |past the |front of |Nagasaki Shirozaemon's |stables, the |enemy |spotted him and |demanded to know who he was, scolding him for |passing in |front of the |government office without |permission. He replied that he was a |man of the |general's |inner circle and |walked past |quickly. "He is a suspicious |person. Do not let him |escape!" the |pursuers shouted. An arrow |shot from |close |range struck Masashige's |arm, but he did not even |feel the |pain. He |barely |escaped that |place, but when he later opened and |looked at the |Kannon Sutra that he never |left his |side, he found an arrow |head |stuck between the two lines of "single-minded invocation," which was a miraculous |efficacy.
* "|Yosete" refers to the attacking army.
* "|Nagasaki Shirozaemon" is the warrior Nagasaki Takasada who attacked Akasaka Castle. Commonly known as Shirozaemon.
* "|Yagoro" refers to the |proper distance for shooting an arrow. Or, by extension, the right moment.
* "|Isshin Shomyo" is a Buddhist term. It means to concentrate one's mind and chant the name of a Buddha or Bodhisattva.
* Reference: "Illustrated Record of the Saigoku, Chichibu, and Bando Kannon Pilgrimage Sites" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
Author's note: ● indicates characters that could not be deciphered.
I will update this as I decipher new characters or notice typos/misreadings. For details, please read the "Self-Introduction / Disclaimer" section. 📖