(Photo: CNA)
At the time, the main immigration came from Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku along the banks of the Yoshino River, and because of this they called the district Yoshino (“Jiye” in Chinese). Because at the time the immigrants had not acclimated to Taiwan’s climate and living environment, in 1917 a mission was built as a place to pursue inner peace and ease feelings of homesickness. Apart from the faith aspect, the mission also had medical, classroom and funeral functions.
In 1945 the Yoshino Mission was renamed the Ching Shrine (慶修院). The originally enshrined Fudō Myōō (Acala or Budong Mingwang, the “god of immovable wisdom”) was removed and the site was dedicated instead to Gautama Buddha and Guanyin. The place name was also changed to Ji’an in 1948. In 1997, the Ji-An Shrine was declared a Hualien County designated historic site. It was reopened after restoration with the reappearance of the 88 Buddha statues of historical, cultural and religious value.
In the days of the foundation of Shingon Buddhism, Master Kūkai (空海大師) at the age of 42 in Shikoku established 88 spiritual sites for monasticism. To follow the path preached by Kūkai, believers would visit the 88 sites on foot, over time forming the so-called Shikoku Pilgrimage (四國遍路). Regarding the 88 stone Buddhas now at Ji-An Shrine, it is said that the mission’s founder Koji Kawabata (川端滿二) followed the legacy of Kūkai, visiting in person the 88 monastic sites on Shikoku island and one by one asking Buddhas to return with him for the Yoshino immigrant village residents to worship and seek spiritual sustenance from. In the grounds of the Ji-An Shrine there is a stone statue of Kūkai, a stone carving of Fudō Myōō (不動明王) and a hyaku-do stone (百度石). Following Japanese religious etiquette, there is a chōzuya (水手舍) for visitors to purify themselves. For more people to learn of the unique religious culture and history of, it has also become a platform for exchanges between Taiwanese and Japanese culture.
(Photo: CNA)
The Ji-An Shrine has witnessed the history of immigrant settlement in the Japanese colonial era and is now Taiwan’s most completely preserved Shingon Buddhism temple. The architectural style follows the Japanese tradition in a typical Edo period style. After many years, the important artefacts of the shrine itself, the Fudō Myōō stone carving, the hyaku-do stone and the “million times mantra of light” stele are perfectly preserved to the present day. Because of this, the Ji-An Shrine is regarded as an important historical and religious cultural experience in Hualien.
The premises actively promote related Japanese cultural celebrations, including Tango no Sekku (端午の節句), the Aoba Festival (青葉祭), prayer events and a New Year’s Eve bell. These diverse activities are greatly loved by visitors and become a cultural tourism highlight for Ji’an Township.