Hagiwaraji Temple

Hagiwaraji Temple

Hagiwaraji Temple (萩原寺) in Hagiwara, Onohara-cho, Kannonji City, Kagawa Prefecture, is a temple of the Daikakuji branch of Shingon Buddhism whose main hall, built in 1723, and six other structures in the precinct were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on December 19, 2014 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its full name is Kyogozan Jizoin Hagiwaraji (巨鼇山地蔵院萩原寺), and the temple leaflet styles it a bekkaku honzan, a head temple of special standing.

Kannonji City relates that the temple is said to have been founded by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) in 807, that it was a major centre of Buddhist learning in the Heian period, and that in the Edo period it ruled more than 280 branch temples. The temple's own account adds that it served as a lecture seminary by imperial wish of Emperor Suzaku and later as a place of prayer for the warlord Hosokawa Katsumoto. The principal image is a Jizo bodhisattva known as Karadasen Hibuse Jizo, the Fire-Averting Jizo, attributed by tradition to Kobo Daishi.

Bush clover (hagi) grows all over the grounds, and the temple is also known as Hagidera, the Bush Clover Temple. Counts differ: Kannonji City gives some 30 varieties and about 2,500 plants, while the Kagawa Prefecture Tourism Association gives about 2,000. According to the Kannonji City Tourism Association, the bush clover at Hagiwaraji is a prefectural natural monument.

The Layout and the Seven Registered Structures

The 2014 report of the Council for Cultural Affairs describes Hagiwaraji Temple as a broad precinct at the foot of the mountains, with the main hall and its companions on a hill to the east and, on level ground to the west, the residential compound (honbo) centred on the guest hall. The council noted how well the buildings, added and maintained between the early modern and modern periods, have survived, and registered all seven together to protect the temple as a whole.

• Hagiwaraji Temple Main Hall: built in 1723, facing south on the eastern hill; a hall of the esoteric tradition that takes up Zen-style details.
• Hagiwaraji Temple Goma Hall: early Edo period, in the centre of the precinct, with a stone fire altar beneath the floor of its inner sanctum. The temple map also labels it Daishido.
• Hagiwaraji Temple Bell Tower: early Meiji period, an open-sided belfry beside the stone steps up to the main hall.
• Hagiwaraji Temple Purification Pavilion: about 1936, a zelkova-wood water pavilion south of the main hall.
• Hagiwaraji Temple Guest Hall: about 1764, the heart of the residential compound, with a thatched roof ringed on all four sides by tiled eaves.
• Hagiwaraji Temple Great Gate and Guardhouse: late Edo period, a four-legged Shikyakumon gate before the guest hall, with a guardhouse to its north.
• Hagiwaraji Temple South Gate and Earthen Wall: late Edo period, a Yakuimon gate south of the Great Gate and an earthen wall 89 metres long along the east side of the compound.

Kannonji City counts nine buildings in the precinct, among them the main hall, the Niomon gate, the Daishido, the guest hall and a treasure house. The Hagiwaraji Temple treasure house keeps several hundred objects, including calligraphy and paintings designated by the state. Each registered building is described on its own page.

Visiting Hagiwaraji Temple

Hagiwaraji Temple is also No. 16 of the Shikoku Bekkaku Twenty Pilgrimage and No. 28 of the Shikoku Thirty-Six Fudo Pilgrimage (temple leaflet).

By car, Kannonji City puts the temple about 6 kilometres and 12 minutes from the Onohara Interchange of the Takamatsu Expressway. From JR Kannonji Station the usual option is a taxi; the city gives about 8 kilometres and 16 minutes, the Kannonji City Tourism Association about 5.8 kilometres and 10 minutes. The municipal on-demand Noriai Bus on the Gogo-Takamuro line runs 4 times a day from JR Kannonji Station: tell the driver you want the area near Hagi-no-Oka Park, then walk about 20 minutes to Hagiwaraji. The bus has no fixed stops and can be boarded anywhere on its route, except on National Route 11, where only designated points may be used.

The Kagawa Prefecture Tourism Association notes free parking with room for buses. The bush clover is at its best between mid-September and late September, and the Hagi Festival in September brings tea ceremonies, koto music and an antiques market (Kannonji City). The temple calendar sets the Hagi Festival from the third Saturday of September to the end of the month, and a temple fair on the fourth Saturday and Sunday of May.

No official information was found on opening hours, admission fees or treasure-house opening days. It is worth calling Hagiwaraji Temple (0875-54-2066) before a visit.