Hoganji Temple



"Where is the place To be able to lay down myself In a travel clothes At the root of trees Or thatch plants" (Ippen)

Ippen composed over seventy tanka in his life.
This tanka was composed by him when he made a pilgrimage late in life in spite of illness in Awaji Island in 1289 (Seiou 1).
In that year, he went over to Kobe and died there.
This monument was built by "Ippen-kai" and volunteers in local on Mar.15, 1990 (Heisei 2), celebrating that 1989 (Heisei 1) falls on the 750th anniversary of his birth and 700th anniversary of his death.
This tanka implies that he can lay down himself everywhere and the sufferings on travel to recommend people to pray to Amida Buddha count nothing for him.
The characters on this monument were based on the characters that was written by Shokai, Ippen's half brother, in "The drawing of Saint Ippen" (a national treasure).
Saint Ippen was born in this temple, in that the wooden statue of Ippen, the important cultural assets (made in Muromachi Period), has been installed.