One aspect of Japanese art history to which little attention has been paid is the study of Buddhist art within its human context. The Thirty-three Sacred Places of Kannon in Western Japan provides an ideal corpus for such a study. This pilgrimage route, called in Japanese Saikoku sanjusansho(' )( ), the Thirty- three Places of the West Country,(' )is dedicated to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, called in Japanese Kannon(' )( (' )). The Saikoku pilgrimage route is centered roughly in the city of Kyoto, and winds through the ancient heartland of Japan. The temples of the route are tied together by a pilgrimage tradition which is nearly one thousand years old.
Many of the temples trace their founding to ascetic holy men who withdrew into the mountains to practice austerities. The legends which grew up around these holy men indicate that they were believed by their contemporaries to possess extraordinary powers: to cure the sick, to bring rain, to make inanimate objects move, and to call forth and subdue all manner of deities. The Saikoku temples contain many fine works of art associated with founders, including engi emaki which illustrate founding legends, portraits of founders, and Founder's Halls.
The main images of the Saikoku temples are worshipped for their power to heal, to ward off disaster, to bestow fertility and easy childbirth, and to grant the wishes of their devotees. The legends and beliefs related to these images provide fascinating insights into the history of the Kannon cult in Japan and its continuing vitality.
The temples' patronage histories demonstrate the endurance of the Japanese esoteric tradition. All but three of these temples are associates with esoteric sects, and all have benefitted from Imperial, noble, shogunal, daimyo and commoner patronage and continue to thrive today.
In their founding legends, the legends and beliefs associated with their main images, and their patronage histories, the Saikoku temples offer a body of lively and informative materials which illuminate many aspects of Japanese Buddhist art.
