Extremely hot weather in Hamamatsu - July 2024

The province with Lake Biwa, close to Kyoto, was called Omi, while the western part of Shizuoka prefecture, with Lake Hamana, far away, was called Totomi. Lake Hamana was originally a freshwater lake like Lake Biwa, but after the great earthquake of 1498, the sandbar separating it from the Pacific Ocean collapsed, turning it into a brackish lake with a mixture of seawater and freshwater. The point where it collapsed "more than 500 years ago" has since been called Imagire, and became a ferry crossing on the Tokaido road, and the Edo Shogunate established a checkpoint directly under its control on the west side (Arai Checkpoint).

In the Genroku era of peace, this checkpoint came under the jurisdiction of the Mikawa Yoshida Domain (Toyohashi) and entered the final days of the Edo period. It seems that this is the only checkpoint that still has remnants from the final days of the Edo period, and attempts are being made to recreate the wharf. The Tokaido Line and the Shinkansen run right next to it, and I have traveled back and forth here many times at high speed, but I had never noticed it before.

Near the checkpoint is Honkoji Temple, a famous temple of the Nichiren sect. Kuze Shigeyuki, a fudai feudal lord who later became a senior councilor, became the lord of Yoshida Domain during the Genroku period and relocated the castle gates and buildings there. There are many things to see here, including the garden designed by Kobori Enshu and paintings by Tani Buncho. In addition, the Honkoji version of the Tale of Genji, which was copied during the Muromachi period, is currently on display, making it a great place to get a bargain.

After getting off the interchange, I first wanted to go somewhere with a good view, so I went to Akihasan Hongu Akiha Shrine (Kamisha). This is the head shrine of over 400 Akiha Shrines across the country, and the huge shrines are lined up in the mountains at over 800 meters, making for a spectacular sight. From the main shrine, you can see the Tenryu River and the Enshu Nada Sea beyond. The shrine has an upper shrine and a lower shrine, and to visit both you need to drive more than 20 km by car, but I thought it would be wrong to visit only one side, so I visited both. The Tenryu River starts at Lake Suwa, which I had seen before, and the way it flows straight down the Ina Valley, collecting water from the Southern Alps and becoming a large river is like a dragon cutting into the clouds, if you think of the land rising due to the influence of the Philippine Plate moving north as a cloud.

As I descend from Mt. Akiha towards Lake Hamana, Iinoya, the territory of the Ii clan, which was featured in a historical drama in 2017, spreads out before me. I had been stationed in Houston, USA since the previous year, and looked forward to watching Sanadamaru every week in 2016, but perhaps because the afterglow of that drama was too strong, I rarely had a chance to watch the following year's Onna Joushu Naotora, and it didn't leave much of an impression on me. This time, I visited Ryutanji, the Ii clan's temple, and I deeply regretted it, but it is very rare for a family to survive for a thousand years in an important location on the Tokaido road, where rulers traveled, and leave such an important historical footprint.

During the Edo period, the Ii clan of Hikone Domain protected the temple as their ancestral roots, and as such, it had a magnificent appearance, including the garden. The 1.9-meter-long Buddha statue, which was damaged by local children during the anti-Buddhist movement, was also a moving sight.

During the Nanboku-cho period, the 12th head of the Ii clan, Yukinao, fought on the side of the Southern Court, supporting Prince Munenaga, who was shipwrecked and stranded on the way to Oshu. The Southern Court was in a disadvantageous position for a long time, but the prince fought mainly in Shinano and Totomi, based in Shimoina (present-day Oshika Village, Nagano Prefecture). Influenced by his mother (the Nijo family), he was also famous as a poet, composing poems in the various places he visited (Rikashu). Prince Munenaga is enshrined at Iinoyagu (shrine) next to Ryutan-ji Temple, and many wind chimes are displayed at the entrance.

The Okuyama clan, a branch of the Ii clan, invited Prince Munenaga's half-brother Mumon Gensen, who had studied in the Yuan Dynasty, to establish Hokoji Temple. The large temple suddenly emerging from the valley was overwhelming, and although it fell into decline during the Muromachi period, it was protected by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and has remained in its current state of grandeur.

Aside from the large temple, there are many small arhat and Jizo Buddha statues lined up throughout the grounds, which was very soothing. The temple is integrated into a valley, and it seems that you can enjoy a wonderful view during the autumn foliage season. There was a nice saying written on the temple's bulletin board. I will keep it in mind. ~ "Let the kindness you show flow away, and carve the kindness you receive into stone."

Emperor Go-Daigo ascended to the throne as a pinch hitter because his elder brother (Emperor Go-Nijo) died young and his son (Prince Kuniyoshi) was still a child, but after the death of the Crown Prince Prince Kuniyoshi, the Imperial line of Emperor Go-Nijo continued for the time being as a hereditary Imperial family called Kideranomiya. Prince Kuniyoshi's son, Prince Yasuhito, went down to Irino-sho, which was under the control of the Southern Court, and founded Ryuun-ji Temple. This temple later sided with the Takeda during the Battle of Mikatagahara, and was attacked by Ieyasu, and the entire temple was burned down.

Here you can see a large copy of the Heart Sutra by Shoko Kanazawa, a calligrapher with Down's syndrome. This scenic and historic temple is adjacent to Lake Sanaru, which connects to Lake Hamana, but there is no admission fee. I received a written stamp of Shoko Kanazawa, but I put my heartfelt donation into the offering box.

The Takeda army of 25,000 soldiers slowly advanced westward 10km north of Hamamatsu Castle, ignoring Ieyasu, while Ieyasu, who was in the castle, met them with a crane wing formation, covering them with 10,000 soldiers. If the Takeda army was left alone, it would overrun Mikawa, the land of Matsudaira's ancestral shrine, so there was no way it could be left alone.

The fact that he boldly challenged Shingen in a field battle surely solidified his subsequent fame. The reconstructed castle tower is small, but the rough-faced stone walls that support it give a sense of the spirit of the Tokugawa clan, which rapidly expanded its territory after the Tensho Jingo War.

I crossed the Tenryu River and entered Iwata City, where we visited Gyokyo-ji Temple, which was the last stop on my visit to Hamamatsu. Here, a large wisteria spreads out over a wide area, planted by Kumano Gozen, a concubine of Taira no Munemori. The tree is said to be 850 years old.