津金山・海岸寺

「海岸寺」は、八ヶ岳の南、海抜1,000ｍの津金山の南斜面にある、妙心寺派臨済宗のお寺です。行基菩薩が千二百六十年前にここに庵をかまえたのが海岸寺の始まりとされています。行基は観音堂に千手千願観音を彫り海岸寺に祀ったとされています。天平9年(737年)には聖武天皇から「光明殿」の勅額を賜ったと伝えられています。境内には、西国三十三ヶ所、坂東三十三ヶ所、秩父三十四ヶ所の各札所の観音像などを移した石仏が祀られています。また長野県高遠の石仏師・守屋貞治(1765～1832年)が桃渓和尚の依頼を受けて８年費やして彫った百体観音が安置され、永い年月の中で苔の衣をまとった仏たちが、訪れる人々の心を和ませてくれます。

小淵沢から八ヶ岳レインボー道路を走り抜け、石堂から更に東南に行き津金学校を目指します。その先、津金山、南斜面に位置するのが海岸寺です。海もない山梨県で海岸寺です。その謎は、小淵沢から出る小海線にも。海がないのに小海とは、いかなる由来があるのでしょうか。

その答えは、小海線の「小海」「海ノ口」「海尻」にあります。

小海線の名前の由来となった小海町のホームページで由来を見てみると、平安時代に発生したといわれる八ケ岳の水蒸気爆発で千曲川がせき止められ、大きな湖ができたそうです。その後、湖は決壊して消失しましたが、一部の湖が鎌倉時代まで残り、この地に入って来た人達によっ「小海」と名付けられたそうです。『角川日本地名大辞典』では、「古代に相木川が堰き止められて湖を形成していたことによるという」としている。海といっても「湖」由来という説だそうです。現代語で海と湖は明確に区別されていますがが、大和言葉では広い水面を一般に「うみ」と呼んでおり、現代の海とは区別をしていたようです。

海岸寺の名前の由来はいくつかありますが、一つは経文からきているという説。もう一つは、大昔、甲斐の国の盆地一帯は湖水であったからという説です。

小海の由来と海岸寺の由来は、どうも俗説ですがここに収まりそうです。と、私は思っています。なぜかって、津金さんから下を見渡すと湖水があったような、盆地の端に海岸寺が聳えているからです。まあ、個人的な見解ですが。

Kaigan-ji Temple is a temple of the Rinzai sect of the Myoshinji monastery, located on the southern slope of Tsugane Mountain, 1,000 meters above sea level. It is said that Gyoki Bodhisattva established a hermitage here 1,260 years ago, which is the origin of Kaigan-ji Temple. It is said that Gyoki carved the image of the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in the Kannon Hall and enshrined it at Kaigan-ji Temple. In 737, Emperor Shomu is said to have bestowed upon the temple the imperial tablet "Koumyouden". Stone statues of the Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, are enshrined in the temple precincts, which were relocated from the 33 sacred sites in the western part of Japan, the 33 sacred sites in the eastern part of Japan, and the 34 sacred sites in Chichibu. Also enshrined here is the Hyakutai Kannon, carved by Moriya Teiji (1765-1832), a stone Buddhist sculptor from Takato, Nagano Prefecture, over a period of eight years at the request of the monk Momokei, and the Buddhas, clothed in moss over the long years, offer comfort to visitors.

From Kobuchisawa, drive along the Yatsugatake Rainbow Road and go further southeast from Ishido to Tsugane Gakko. Beyond that, Kaigan-ji Temple is located on the southern slope of Mt. Tsugane. Kaigan-ji is located in Yamanashi Prefecture, where there is no ocean. This mystery is also in the Koumi Line that leaves from Kobuchizawa station. What is the origin of the name "Koumi" where there is no sea?

The answer lies in "Koumi," "Uminokuchi," and "Umijiri" on the Koumi Line.

Looking at the origin of the name of the Koumi Line on the Koumi Town website, it is said that the Chikuma River was blocked by a phreatic explosion of Mt. Yatsugatake. Later the lake broke up and disappeared, but a part of the lake remained until the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and was named "Koumi" by the people who came to this area. According to the Kadokawa Dictionary of Japanese Geographical Names, the name "Komi" is derived from the fact that the Aiki River was dammed to form a lake in ancient times. The theory is that the name "sea" is derived from "lake. In modern language, sea and lake are clearly distinguished, but in the Yamato language, the wide surface of the water is generally called "umi," which seems to have been distinguished from the modern sea.

There are several theories as to the origin of the name Kaigan-ji. Another theory is that it is because the entire basin area of Kai no Kuni was a lake in ancient times.

The origin of Koumi and the origin of Kaigan-ji seem to fit here, although it is apparently a popular theory. I believe that this is the origin of Koumi and Kaigan-ji. The reason is that Kaigan-ji rises at the edge of the basin, as if there were a lake when looking down from Tsugane-san. Well, that is my personal view.