Hogon-ji Temple in Dogo, Matsuyama

Birthplace of Ippen, the wandering saint

Anonymous Jul 07, 2013 - 1 min read

Hogon-ji stands at the top of the slope called Neon Zaka, Matsuayama's old red light district

The double roof provides welcome respite from an April shower

The temple stands in pretty, heavily wooded grounds

Besides the natural greenery, the temple keepers have prettified the precincts with many flowers

The doors to the main hall are beautifully carved

A characterful dragon guards one of the subsidiary buildings

Behind the temple is a large graveyard. Here spring plums litter the ground between the graves

The character for 'spirit' that makes up the Japanese word for 'graveyard'

You can potter around the graveyard and enjoy the statuary on the graves

The main hall through a veil of wet foliage

Hōgon-ji is a temple of the Ji Buddhist sect in Matsuyama. It’s known as the birthplace of Ippen, who founded the Ji (time) sect as an offshoot of the Jōdo or Pure Land sect in 1276. Disciples of Ippen sought enlightenment by chanting the name of Amida and dancing ecstatically. Ippen is depicted in numerous statues as a humble ascetic, skinny as a stick from all his traveling.

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