Hitomaru

Susano Shrine is the tenno shrine of faith in Gion and people enshrine Gozu Tenno there.  People originally believe in it to avoid some plague, but when the feudal lord of the Akashi domain built Akashi Castle he placed this shrine to the northeast of the castle for his people’s security because that was unlucky direction.  The present name Tenno-cho came from it.

This building was built as the chapel of former Shoin Girls’ School in Kobe City in 1937. They took it apart during World War Ⅱ, and brought and reconstructed it here in about 1946.  Its distinctive church steeple was replaced the presene thing.

In ancient times, there was Akashi replay point of the Sanyodo route at Taaidera discontinued temple.  The pond called Jizo-ike was on the north of it till about 1954.  The embankment on the south of it was used as the road.  This pond was the boundary of this area the road was not straight because it was built along pond.

Sugawara Michizane lost power game in Kyoto and stopped over at Akashi relay point of the old Highway on the way to Dazaifu Government in Kyusyu.  The Chinese poem which Sugawara made for the relay point master was carved on the stone monument of Kanko Ryoji Iseki, the remains of Sugawara Michizane’s travel.  The calligraphy was written by Hashimoto Kaikan who was the father of Hashimoto Kansetsu and a Confucian of the Akashi domain.

The main hall of Kobe-ji temple located at the ruins of Taidera discontinued temple was rebuilt as Yakushido hall by Ogawasawara Tadamasa, th first feudal lord of the Akashi domain.  The family emblem of the Ogasawara is carved on the flog legs-like arch of the front eaves of the temple.  It is the oldest existing temples and shrines building in Akashi City.  It is one-story wooden building with rectangular hipped roof and was built in accordance with Gokendo-style.

There are three old foundation stones on the base of tower in the south east end of the precincts of Kobe-ji temple.  According to their arrangements, a five-story pagoda had probably stood.  Because a lot of roof tiles in the Nara period were found, that became Hyogo Prefectural Designated Cultural Property as the historic site related to the Akashi relay point of the ancient Highway.

We see board walls, roughcast mortar walls, hedges and so on around Taidera.  Juniperous chinensis prefers good drainage sandy soil.  So it is commonly used for the hedge and contributes greatly to the scenery of Taidera, the upscale presidential area.

In around 1925, the Japanese-style house with the Western-style buildings came into fashion as the symbol for wealth around wanted to westernize their lives.  The Western-style building was generally built by the entrance hall as the reception room and used as the children’s room too. We see a variety of designs such as the steep roof, large floor height, windows longer than they are wide, bay windows, outward-opening louver shutters, slating, colored tile roofing, in this area.  The house style might change the life style of the residents.

There is a sundial mounted on the south front wall of the church.  The church was designed by W.M.Vories&Company Architectural Office in 1980.  The building in front of the church was used as Samidori Kindergarten house for 7 years from 1946.

We see the kato-mado windows of Zen sect temples at right and left walls of this warihaiden, the outer shrine with earth floor in the middle.  A kato-mado window looks like a bell.  Myoken Srine was originally a temple that people believed in Sudrsti Bodhisattya and is known as the shirne mixed with the temple.  Myoken Shrine is located on the northwest of Honsho-ji temple to protect it from evil spirit.

After building Akashi Castle they moved Honsho-ji temple in Funage castle town to the ruins of Tocho-ji temple and changed a part of kanji of its name.  The place around here was called Tocho-ji-dani valley till about 1930.  We see Tatsuyama stone posts standing in a row as the retaning wall here.

This is the monument of commemoration of recovery in 1961 by private sector for restoring Mt.Hitomaru destroyed by some typhoons after World War Ⅱ.  They took the opportunity of the construction of the Akashi Municipal Planetarium to improve the paths and the rouds for sightseeing from Kameno-mizu water to Gesshoji temple and Kakimoto Shrine.