日本廻国
Nihon Kaikoku (a pilgrimage throughout Japan)
千葉県南房総市千倉町に、1,000年以上の歴史を持つ「龍光山 高徳院（真言宗 智山派）」という小さな寺がある。その寺の歴代住職は、日本に飢饉や疫病が蔓延した際、観音像を荷車で引き（時には背負い）、人々と話をし、皆の平安を願い手を合わせながら国内行脚をした。中には、自らの志に賛同し同行、道中で命を落とした従者がいた事から、寺に戻った後穴を掘り、自らその穴に入り即身仏(※1)となられた住職もいる。
(※1)即身仏とは・・・主に日本の仏教（密教）に見られる僧侶のミイラのこと。日本の一部地方に見られる民間信仰において、僧は死なず、生死の境を超え弥勒菩薩出世の時まで、衆生救済を目的として永遠の瞑想に入る。即身仏になろうとする者は、死後に肉体が腐敗しないよう整え、ミイラの状態に体を近づけるために、まず木食修行を行う。米や麦などの穀類の食を断ち、木の皮や木の実を食べることによって命をつなぎ、経典を読んだり瞑想をする。まず最も腐敗の原因となる脂肪が燃焼され、皮下脂肪が落ちていき水分も少なくなる。次に筋肉が糖として消費される。漆の防腐作用に期待し、または嘔吐することによって体の水分を少なくする目的で、漆の茶を飲むこともあった。(wikipediaより引用）
Covid-19により世界が苦境に立たされる中、当寺の星 孝芳住職は、京都まで東海道往復約1,400kmを延べ5,000人の願いを集めながら大八車で観音像を引いて巡行した。（2022-2023)
大八車は、江戸時代から昭和中期にかけ、日本で荷物の輸送に使われていた木製の人力荷車。星住職の志に共感した大八車職人が、人生最後の一台の為に残していた木材を使用して製作。製作後、その職人は亡くなられ、魂の遺作となった。
星住職と親交があり、当寺の仏像や宝物などを撮影していた私は、時間の合うところで合流し、住職と従者の方々と同行しながら「人の想いの交差点」をカメラに収めた。
n the town of Chikura, Minamiboso City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, stands Ryūkōzan Kōtoku-in, a small temple of the Chizan School of Shingon Buddhism with a history spanning more than one thousand years.
Whenever famine or epidemics struck Japan, generations of the temple's chief priests journeyed across the country, pulling—or at times carrying on their backs—a statue of Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. They listened to the voices of the people they met and offered prayers for peace, healing, and hope.
One chief priest was so profoundly affected by the death of a devoted attendant, who had joined the pilgrimage out of shared conviction and lost his life along the way, that upon returning to the temple he entered the path of Sokushinbutsu—self-mummification through rigorous Buddhist ascetic practice. In the Japanese esoteric Buddhist tradition, Sokushinbutsu represents the ultimate act of self-sacrifice: transcending the boundary between life and death in eternal meditation for the salvation of all living beings.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the current chief priest, Rev. Takayoshi Hoshi, revived this centuries-old tradition. Between 2022 and 2023, he completed a pilgrimage of approximately 1,400 kilometers along the historic Tōkaidō route to Kyoto and back, pulling a traditional wooden handcart bearing the statue of Kannon while carrying the prayers of more than 5,000 people.
The handcart itself embodies another remarkable story. It was crafted by a master artisan who dedicated the final work of his life to this pilgrimage, using timber he had carefully preserved for decades. Shortly after completing it, he passed away, leaving the cart as both his final creation and a lasting testament to his spirit.
Having formed a close friendship with Rev. Hoshi while photographing the temple's Buddhist sculptures and sacred treasures, I joined the pilgrimage whenever time allowed. Walking beside the chief priest and his companions, I witnessed countless encounters between strangers, each united by shared hopes, grief, gratitude, and compassion.
Through my camera, I sought to capture these fleeting yet profound moments—places where individual prayers converged, where lives briefly intersected, and where humanity quietly revealed itself.
This work is a record of those intersections, and a reflection on the enduring power of faith, compassion, and the universal longing for peace.
出発 2022.9.25
箱根峠越え(大八車→背負子) 2022.10.8
京都到着(大八車→背負子)2022.11.22
2022年は往路を終了。翌年、復路につくタイミングを京仏師：冨田暁雲氏に依頼していた全高約150cmの観音像完成に合わせる。出発式では、高家神社（地元千倉にある日本唯一料理の神様を祀る神社）の四條流包丁式を執り行い祈願。
Following the completion of the outward pilgrimage in 2022, the return journey was intentionally postponed until the following year to coincide with the completion of a new Kannon statue, approximately 150 centimeters in height, commissioned from Kyoto Buddhist sculptor Gyōun Tomita.
Before setting out, a departure ceremony was held in Kyoto, where the Shijō-style Hōchōshiki—a traditional ceremonial knife ritual—was performed by priests of Takabe Shrine in Chikura, the only shrine in Japan dedicated to the deity of cuisine. Rooted in centuries of ritual tradition, the ceremony offered prayers for the safe completion of the pilgrimage and for peace to accompany all whose lives would be touched by the journey.
京都出発2023.8.23
銀座-日本橋 2023.10.21
帰寺 2023.11.5
星住職の行脚に立ち会う中で、今でも脳裏に焼き付いている瞬間があった。京都で高徳院の本山に到着し、少し落ち着いた時に星住職が「歓彦さん、ちょっとご挨拶に行こうと思います。」と私に声をかけてくれた。私は何となく踏み台も手にして後を追った。本堂の前には観光客もそれなりにいて、住職が落ち着いてご挨拶できるのか心配しながら踏み台を設置し、動きを見守った。彼が静かに膝をつき、頭を深く下げた瞬間、嘘のように人の波が消えた。それから少しの間、彼と本堂を無垢な空気が包み込んでいた。無垢な祈りの瞬間は、只々、私にとって美しいものだった。
Among all the moments I witnessed during Rev. Hoshi's pilgrimage, one remains vividly etched in my memory for its extraordinary purity.
After arriving at Kōtoku-in's head temple in Kyoto and taking a brief moment to rest, Rev. Hoshi quietly turned to me and said, "Yoshihiko, I'd like to go and pay my respects." Sensing that I might need it, I picked up a small step stool and followed him.
The courtyard before the main hall was filled with visitors. As I positioned the step stool, I wondered whether he would be able to offer his prayers without interruption. Then, he quietly knelt and lowered his head in deep reverence.
At that very moment, something remarkable happened.
As if by some unseen grace, the flow of people simply disappeared. For a brief span of time, the chief priest and the temple hall were enveloped in a profound stillness, untouched by the world around them.
That fleeting moment of pure prayer was, to me, nothing less than beautiful.
It is moments like this that I seek to preserve through my photography—not merely what was seen, but the quiet presence that cannot be explained, only felt.
