The ("The Bandō 33 Kannon Pilgrimage") is a series of 33
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
temples in Eastern Japan sacred to
Kannon. Bandō is the old name for what is now the
Kantō region
The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...
,
[Donald Richie] used in this case because the temples are all in the Prefectures of
Kanagawa,
Saitama,
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Gunma,
Ibaraki,
Tochigi and
Chiba. As is the case with all such circuits, each location has a rank, and pilgrims believe that visiting them all in order is an act of great religious merit.
Started by
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...
and his son
Sanetomo, the Bandō Sanjūsankasho is just one of 70 different Kannon pilgrimage circuits existing in Japan, each including 33 temples because the goddess is believed to have 33 different manifestations.
in Kamakura is number one,
Zushi's Gandenji's is number two,
An'yō-in in Kamakura is the number three, the famous
Hasedera in Hase number four, and so on. From its beginning at Sugimotodera to its end in Chiba's Nagodera, the circuit is over 1300 km long. Even though women were allowed to pray at individual temples, the circuit was originally reserved to male pilgrims.
Now however most of the pilgrims are women.
Pilgrims leave behind a slip of paper or a sticker as a proof of their visit, and many of these can be seen plastered on temple walls and pillars.
[Iso Mutsu]
See also
*
Japan 100 Kannon, pilgrimage composed of the Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu pilgrimages
**
Saigoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the
Kansai region.
**
Chichibu 34 Kannon, pilgrimage in
Saitama Prefecture
is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
*
Shikoku Pilgrimage, 88 Temple pilgrimage in the
Shikoku
is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
island
*
Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage, pilgrimage in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and
Saitama prefectures
*
Chūgoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the
Chūgoku region
*
Kannon
*
Buddhism in Japan
*
Tourism in Japan
Notes
References
Donald Richie. Pilgrimage for the 21st centuryaccessed on April 17, 2008
* Iso Mutsu. ''Kamakura: Fact and Legend', Tuttle Publishing (1995/06)
External links
The Circuit's site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bando Sanjusankasho
Buddhist temples in Kanagawa Prefecture
Buddhist temples in Ibaraki Prefecture
Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa
Buddhist pilgrimages
Japanese pilgrimages
Culture of the Kantō region