Showing posts with label Yakushi Nyorai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yakushi Nyorai. Show all posts

21 May 2015

DARUMA - Yakushi Legends Tokyo


[http://darumasan.blogspot.jp/]
[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]

. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .
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Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 the Buddha of Medicine - Bhaisajyaguru
Legends from Tokyo / Edo  東京 - 江戸と薬師さん 

- and
Tako Yakushi 蛸薬師 Octopus Yakushi  

Spelled 多幸薬師 TA KO Yakushi for a lot of happiness and good luck.

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. Kinegawa Yakushi 木下川薬師 Yakushi from Kinegawa .
- Kigegawa Yakushi Engi - misspelling of Kinegawa

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三宅島 三宅村 Mitake Island

Yakushi Sama no kara neko 薬師様のカラ猫

When a child cries and mother does not know what to do about it, she tells it
"Here comes the karaneko cat of Yakushi Sama!".
、薬師様のカラ猫だぞ

karaneko 唐猫 ?

. Neko Yakushi 猫薬師 Yakushi Nyorai and the Cat .


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. Tako Yakushi 目黒の蛸薬師 Octopus Yakushi in Meguro, Edo .
多幸薬師 TA KO Yakushi for a lot of happiness and good luck

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- - - - - and one more Tako Yakushi in Kyoto

Tako Yakushidō (Octopus Yakushi Hall), Eifukuji Temple 永福寺 (lit. = Temple of Eternal Fortune), Kyoto
浄瑠璃山林秀院永福寺 - 京都市中京区新京極蛸薬師東側町503


- quote -
The temple originally stood in Nijo Muromachi and was founded in 1181. The engi, retold in the temple's pamphlet, informs believers about the miraculous origins of the temple.



In the Muromachi ward of Kyoto lived a rich man who shaved his head and sought his refuge in the Yakushi Buddha of Enryakuji on Mt Hiei 比叡山. Year after year, he made monthly pilgrimages to this Buddha. But as the years went by, he became old and weak, and one day, he spoke in front of the Yakushi Buddha:

"I am getting too old to continue my practice of monthly pilgrimages. Please let me have your image to place in my home, Lord Yakushi!"

After uttering this wish, the devout believer descended from Mt Hiei. That night, the Yakushi Buddha appeared to him in a dream and spoke: "In a certain place, a stone Yakushi statue carved by St Dengyo 伝教大師 [i.e. Saicho 最澄, the founder of Enryakuji and Tendai Buddhism] himself has been buried. You can take that home."

Full of joy, the next day the wealthy man climbed the mountain and when he dug in the indicated spot he indeed found a holy image hewn from stone that emitted a wondrous light.

He took this image home and built a hall of six by four bays for it. This temple was called Eifukuji, or Temple of Eternal Bliss, and it greatly flourished and young and old, men and women, flocked in great numbers to the temple to pay their respects.

In the Kencho period (1249-56) of Emperor Gofukakusa 後深草天皇 (1243 - 1304) there lived a monk called Zenko 善光 in this temple. It happened at one time that his mother fell ill. Although he took good care of her, she did not recover and spoke from her bed to Zenko: "If only I could eat some octopus (tako タコ), I like that so much from since I was young, that my illness might get better!"

Zenko was not allowed to buy octopus, a living being, for a meal because he was a Buddhist monk and therefore he was greatly distressed. Still, the thought of his sick mother was stronger than his awe for the precepts, so he took a wooden box in his arms and went to the market to find an octopus.

When he walked back, some people became suspicious that he, a monk, had bought a living creature for food and they followed him all the way to the gate of his temple, pressing him to show what was in the box. Zenko could not refuse and prayed with all his heart to the Lord Buddha: "I have only bought this octopus to help my mother recover from her illness. Lord Yakushi, please help me out of this difficulty!"

When he opened the box, the eight-legged octopus had been transformed into a set of eight sutra scrolls お経の巻物 and a light shone from them in all four directions.



The people who saw this all pressed their hands together in prayer and sang the praises of the Lord Yakushi, the Buddha of the Lapis Lazuli Paradise.

Strangely enough, the scriptures turned again into an octopus who then jumped into the pond in front of the temple where he changed into the form of the Yakushi Buddha. He emitted a green Lapis Lazuli light and when this struck the head of Zenko's mother her illness was immediately healed. She rose from her bed and in a loud voice sang the praises of the Lapis Lazuli Buddha, over and over again.

Thus the temple came to be known as Octopus Yakushi. From then on, when people visited and prayed for relief from illness, they immediately were healed; when women prayed for children, they were blessed with offspring; and all difficulties and problems were eliminated.

This reached the ears of His Majesty the Emperor and in 1441 the temple received an Imperial License. Since then prayers have been said here for bountiful harvests, the Emperor's long life, and the peace of the nation. When one prays ardently for divine protection, no wish is left unfulfilled: in the present world the seven ills are immediately dispelled and the seven blessings immediately granted.
- source : Ad Blankestijn -


To our day, the octopus is featured at the temple at the Yakushi Hall 蛸薬師堂
to rub for healing.



nade Yakushi なで薬師 Yakishi to be rubbed

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ema 絵馬 votive tablets
ema 絵馬 votive tablets
- source : yaplog.jp/emain -


CLICK for more photos !


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oboosan to tako お坊さんとタコ The priest and the octopus

Once upon a time
a priest on a trip was walking along the beach, when suddenly a large octopus came out of the waves and pleaded "Please let me be your student"!
So the priest took the octopus out of the water and carried it with him on his trip.

By nightfall the priest had completely lost his way. To ask for a shelter he knocked at a farmhouse. The owner was a man with bitter face, but when he realized the priest was carrying a delicious-looking octopus, he let them in.

While the priest was chanting the sutras for Yakushi Nyorai, the farmer prepared a very hot bath and tried to throw the octopus in it. Just at that time the priest interrupted his chanting with a loud shout of "Pay Attention"「喝!」 KATSU! and the clever octopus made his escape from the hot bath, while the farmer looked quite perplexed.
Next morning the priest and his octopus companion continued their trip safely.

The farmer, who had not gotten his delicious boiled octopus last night, was mubemling to himself and then tried to get into the hot bath himself. Just then - out of the bathtub came the large legs of an octopus and tired to suck at the body of the farmer.
This octopus was in fact Yakushi Nyorai, to whom the priest had prayed the night before.
Yakushi San begun to suck out all the bad intentions of the man's heart and attitude.



The farmer became quite a gentle caring man, after Yakushi san had sucked out his all maliciuos intentions.
And the trip of the priest and his octopus companion continued.



source : hinoki-diary.blogspot.jp

delicious Tako wafers with sweet filling 明石銘菓:たこ最中


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kuruma kaeshi no O-Yakushi san 車返のお薬師さん Yakushi who brought the car to a stop

In the time of the Kamakura Shogunate 鎌倉幕府 (1192 - 1333) they were transporting the statue of Yakushi Nyorai お薬師さん from 奥州平泉 Hiraizumi far away in Tohoku to Kamakura.
On their way, when they passes Shiraito 白糸の地, the cart suddenly became very heavy and did not move any more.
So the drivers decided to leave the statue here and built a small Hall for it.
They say that Yakushi had choosen this region of Shiraito for his stay.


- still trying to locate the Shiraito 白糸 -

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Repairing a Yakushi statue from the Edo period



薬師如来立像(江戸時代)の現状・保存修復
http://buddha-statue.at.webry.info/200901/article_1.html


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- - - - - reference - - - - -

Monsters, legends and Yakushi 妖怪データベース
- source : nichibun yokai database

- source : manga nihon mukashibanashi -

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Join the friends on facebook !


. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .

. Yakushi Nyorai - Legends from the provinces .

. Yakushi Nyorai Pilgrimages 薬師霊場巡り - Introduction .


. O-Mamori お守り Amulets and Talismans .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC List .


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Posted By Gabi Greve to Gokuraku - Jigoku on 5/20/2015 12:55:00 p.m.

19 May 2015

TEMPLE- Sakurado Yakushi Gifu



[http://gokurakuparadies.blogspot.jp/2015/04/yakushipedia-abc-index.html]
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. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .
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Sakurado Yakushi 桜堂薬師 / 櫻堂薬師
佐久羅宮神社(櫻宮神社) Sakuramiya Jinja



source : 瑞浪.com/sakuradoureitaisai

瑞浪市土岐町桜堂 / Sakuradō Tokichō Mizunami-shi, Gifu

This hall is one of the Three Great Temples (Mountains日本三山) next to 比叡山 Hieizan and 高野山 Koyasan.
It used to be called 瑞櫻山 Suio-San 法妙寺 Homyo-Ji 薬師堂 Yakushi-Do

It was founded in 710 on request of the empress Gensho Tenno 元正天皇 (680 - 748). One one of his family members was ill and in a dream vision he had the inspiration to pray to Yakushi Nyorai for healing. So he had temples erected to this deity in many parts of Japan.
There is also a famous bridge where the envoy of the emperor passed when delivering a thank-you message to the temple - 勅使橋 chokushibashi.

In 812 嵯峨天皇 Saga Tenno ordered Saint 三諦上人 Santai Shonin to make a statue of Yakushi and pray for his healing, since he had fallen ill. When he was healed he made more donations to the temple to have more buildings and statues. It was then when it was called one of the "Three Great Temples" with prayer rituals held every day.
It later declined and fell under the governance of the Kamakura government, when it regained power had had more than 24 sub-temples.

In 1571, the temple  was burned down by the forces of 織田信長 Oda Nobunaga.

In the early Edo period the local Lord of the Matsudaira clan became ill three times and recovered three times thanks to prayer rituals at the feet of this Yakushi.
After another period of decline (the Matsudaira clan had to move to Shizuoka) it was re-build again thanks to the effort of the Tendai monk 永秀 Nagahide.
Nagahide tried to revive the temple, but fell ill himself. In a dream he had the vision to call his disciple 賢秀 Katahide from Kyoto. Katahide asked the local lord 丹羽 Niwa for financial support to built a new temple hall in 1667.




Next to the statue of Yakushi Nyorai there is now the statue of Saint Santai.

In the main hall there are statues of Yakushi Nyorai, the 四天王像 Four Tenno and the 十二神将像 12 Heavenly generals.

In the year 2012 there were many rituals, festivals and exhibitions to celebrate 1200 years of this temple.


. Empress Gensho Tenno 元正天皇 and Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 .
- Temples related to Empress Gensho Tenno -

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The temple is famous for its ritual Bugaku dance masks 能楽面 / 舞楽面 handed down from China in the Nara period.



奈良時代中国の唐から伝来した舞楽に使う面だそうです
- source and photos : taka_san_daikichi -


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櫻堂薬師舞楽面 Bugaku dance masks



「羅陵王」Raryo-O and 「納曽利」Nasori with movable lower joint
「拔頭」Bato


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In the compound of the temple there is a large pond, where once a dreadful dragon lived.
He swallowed people trying to cross over in small boats and devastated the fields of the farmers nearby.
In the nearby village lived two young men, 月吉 Tsukiyoshi and 日吉 Hiyoshi who both had the same strange dream.
"Please go and drive the dragon away soon, to help the village. Tomorrow morning the two of you should go to the pond first thing you wake up!"

When they went to the pond they saw the encouraging figure of Yakushi Nyorai sama.
They hurried to make two strong bows and arrows and stood by the side of the pond ready to shoot. Then suddenly the sky cleared, thunder roared and the dragon came toward them, spraying fire out of his huge mouth.
When he was quite close, they sent their arrows right into his mouth. The dragon roared in pain and blood came out of his mouth, into the pond. The pond rose high up and the two built the 薬師堂 Yakushi Hall next to the 桜堂 Sakurado to honor Yakushi Nyorai.

Until our times, the hamlets of Tsukiyoshi, Hiyoshi and Toki are flourishing.




- Homepage of the temple
- source : 瑞浪.com/reijo08


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- - - - - Yearly Festivals - - - - -

1月 1日       新春篝火(かがり火)
3月15日       釈迦涅槃会

4月第2日曜日     薬師例大祭 Great Yakushi Festival

(12名の住職による大般若と約30~40桶の餅投げが行われます)
4月第3日曜日     佐久羅宮神社春祭り
5月 8日       お釈迦様花祭り(甘茶)
9月(旧暦7月22日) 二十二夜様
10月第2日曜日     佐久羅宮神社秋祭り
11月23日       新穀感謝祭(新嘗祭)

12月 7日       七薬師 "Seven Yakushi" Ritual

◎毎月15日 観音講


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初春や古刹に眠る舞楽面
hatsu haru ya kosatsu ni nemuru bugaku men

first spring -
ritual dance masks sleeping
in the old temple


Gabi Greve


. Kagura Dance 日本の神楽 and 舞楽 Bugaku .


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. O-Mamori お守り Amulets and Talismans .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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- - #gokurakusakurado #sakurado -
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Posted By Gabi Greve to Gokuraku - Jigoku on 5/14/2015 02:03:00 p.m.

18 May 2015

DARUMA Henro 35

LINK
http://darumapilgrim.blogspot.jp/2005/10/henro-35.html

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Temple 35 . Kiyotaki-Ji 清瀧寺 / 清滝寺
きよたきじ

CLICK for more photos
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

高知県土佐市高岡町568-1
電話  088-852-0316

Temple Song:
すむみづを くめばこころの きよたきじ
なみのはなちる いわのはごろも






Iozan 医王山(いおうざん) Mountain of the Medicine Deity
Yakushi Nyorai

CLICK for Japanese LINK
Photo: 青木淳

The Statue of Yakushi Nyorai had been carved by 行基菩薩 Gyoki Bosatsu in 723.
He called the temple 影山密院釈本寺.
The founding was on behalf of Emperess Gensho.

. Empress Gensho Tenno 元正天皇
and Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 .



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source : 中国地方の仏閣  


- quote -
Kiyotakiji - Clean Waterfall Temple
The temple was founded by Gyōgi (Gyoki) in the early 8th century and originally named Keizan-mitsuin Taku-mokuji 影山密院釈本寺. Gyōgi is also credited with carving the honzon and it is now considered a National Treasure. A century later Kōbō Daishi visited the temple and after seven days of austerities brought forth a clear stream of water from the ground. The water formed a mirror-like pond so the temple's name was changed to Kyōchiin Kiyotakiji (Mirror-like Clear Waterfall Temple).

Prince Takaoka (Shinyo Shinnō), one of Kōbō Daishi's ten disciples and the 3rd son of Emperor Heizei, came here and stayed more than a year. Takoaka had been expelled from the palace and cut off from royal privileges. Not waiting for the inevitable banishment, he came to Shikoku, made the temple his ancestral temple (Bodaisho), and built the 5 foot, five story pagoda.

During this time he also prayed for success in a trip he was planning to India. Unfortunately, he died in Indochina on his way to India, without ever reaching there. (Legend says that he was eaten by a tiger in Laos but that his soul remains in the pagoda and protects the temple from misfortune.)

- source : www.shikokuhenrotrail.com -




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. Gyooki Bosatsu 行基菩薩 Gyoki Bosatsu .
(668-749 AD) Gyōki

Shikoku Henro 88 Temples 四国遍路88札所


Two short Haiku Henro Trips, Summer 2005


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12 Apr 2015

YAKUSHI - Senmi Yakushi Temple



[http://darumasan.blogspot.jp/]
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. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .
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Kawami Yakushiji 川見薬師寺 (せんみやくしじ)
Senmi Yakushi-Ji - Kawami Yakushi-Ji


Toyota, Aichi Prefecture / 愛知県豊田市川見町堂ノ洞225

- quote -
Yakushiji Temple in Kawami-cho, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture,
is a temple of the Koyasan school of the Shingon sect. Its mountain name is Rurikozan. It is popularly called "Kawami no Yakushi-san 川見の薬師さん."



The main gate stands at the top of the long and steep stone steps. Several halls including Kannon-do Hall in front and the main hall are located in a spacious precinct. The sculptures of dragon placed beneath the eaves of the main hall are famous as the most wonderful dragon sculptures in Japan.
The statue of Yakushi Nyorai was carved in the late Muromachi period (13361573) in Yosegi-zukuri (assembled wood) technique. Together with the two stone lanterns in the precinct, the statue was designated as a cultural property of the village.

In spring, the temple is covered with over 1,000 cherry blossoms. Snowstorm of pale pink petals is breathtaking.
- source : nippon-kichi.jp


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The Cherry Blossom Park nearby 川見四季桜公園
四季桜の里 小原(Obara)川見薬師寺



- Homepage of the temple
- source : www.kankou-obara.toyota




. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Dragon carvings 本堂には上り龍



- source and more autumn photos : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/futti10

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Join the friends on facebook !

. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .

. Yakushi Nyorai Legends 薬師如来 .

. Yakushi Pilgrims INFO - INTRODUCTION .


. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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Posted By Gabi Greve to Gokuraku - Jigoku on 4/11/2015 10:43:00 am

4 Apr 2015

YAKUSHI - Yakushi Kokeshi



[http://darumasan.blogspot.jp/]
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. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .
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kokeshi and Yakushi こけしと薬師如来

. Kokeshi こけし / 小芥子 / 子消し wooden dolls .
- Introduction -


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Yakushi Kokeshi Doo 薬師こけし堂 Yakushi Kokeshi-Do
Tsuchiyu onsen hot spring in Fukushima

Yakushi as the Buddha of Medicine has a long relationship with hot springs.
In Tohoku he is 薬師瑠璃子如来 Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai and also related to the making of kokeshi wooden dolls.

The beginning dates back to the son of Emperor Montoku (827 - 858),
called 惟喬親王 Koretaka Shinno (844 - 897).
惟喬親王(文徳天皇の第一皇子)



The first Yakushi Hall had been built in 湯元下ノ町, but was swept away in 1913 during a flooding. The statue of Yakushi Nyorai had survived at the temple 興徳寺 Kotoku-Ji.
Later in 1974 the Yakushi Kokeshi Do hall was constructed.

Every year on the 8th day of April
there is the main festival of this Kokeshi Hall, where water from the Hot Spring is offered.
Every year on the third Sunday in April
there is a special memorial service for kokeshi dolls こけし供養祭 (kokeshi kuyo) and also for used writing brushes 筆供養.



- source : kitemite.me/tsuchiyu


kokeshi kuyoo こけし供養 memorial service for used kokeshi
and
Tsuchiyu Kokeshi Matsuri 土湯こけし祭り

This is a service for old dolls, including kokeshi, to say "Thank you for your long service!"



First the Kokeshi are consecrated in front of the temple hall.
They are burned in a huge fire while the priest chants sutras.



- source : and more photos 福島県福島市 土湯温泉


. . . CLICK here for Photos for Kokeshi Kuyo !

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- quote -
Bustle of Tsuchiyu-Onsen Hot Spring
Kokeshi-Do Shrine
Kokeshi-Do Shrine is further up the stone steps from Taishi-Do Shrine. Tsuchiyu is one of three major production sites of Kokeshi-Dolls in Japan. This shrine is dedicated to Koretaka Shinno who is said to be the father of woodcraft, Yakushi Nyorai, a Buddhist deity who is able to cure all illnesses, and Tsuchiyu Kokeshi Dolls.

Taishi-Do Shrine
Taishi-Do Shrine, which is dedicated to Prince Shotoku, stands on a hill looking down the tourist section of Tsuchiyu-Onsen. Follow the gentle sloping stone steps and feel your spirit soothed in a unique Japanese environment with venerable buildings, moss-covered stone pavements, and stone lanterns surrounded by trees.

Eight Views of Tsuchiyu-Onsen Hot Spring
In the age of Bunka-Bunsei in Edo era, Tsuchiyu was known as a place for Haikai (amusing and playful Japanese poems) and produced many haiku poets. The group of haiku poets was called "Tsuchiyu-ren" and they composed many poems.
"Eight Views of Hot Spring" is a collection of poems composed by "Hatomaro", a member of the "Tsuchiyu-ren" group. Visit and enjoy the unchanged beauty of Tsuchiyu-Onsen that has appeared in the "Eight Views of Tsuchiyu-Onsen Hot Spring" poems.
- source : www.tcy.jp/english

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Join the friends on facebook !

. Yakushipedia - ABC-Index 薬師如来 .

. Yakushi Nyorai Legends 薬師如来 .

. Yakushi Pilgrims INFO - INTRODUCTION .


. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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Posted By Gabi Greve to Gokuraku - Jigoku on 4/04/2015 01:00:00 pm

YAKUSHI - Yakushi Miyagi Legends




[http://darumasan.blogspot.jp/]
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Yakushi Nyorai Legends from Miyagi 宮城県

. Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 the Buddha of Medicine - Bhaisajyaguru .
- Legends about Yakushi Nyorai -


Kinoshita no Yakushi 木ノ下の薬師 Yakushi from Kinoshita village
nabe Yakushi 鍋薬師 Yakushi and the cooking pot
nure Yakushi 濡れ薬師 Yakushi who got wet
Shiga no Yakushi 志賀の薬師 Yakushi from Shiga village
shio no Yakushi 塩の薬師 Yakushi and Salt
sugi Yakushi 杉薬師 Yakushi and the cedar tree


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nabe Yakushi 鍋薬師 Yakushi and the cooking pot

黒川郡 Kurokawa 大和町 Yamato village

In the year 1592 Lord Date Masamune led his troups from 岩出山城 Iwadeyama Castle toward the capital of Kyoto. To honor the God of War 軍神 with a blood offering 血祭 at the forest 七ツ森 he begun a hunt for a sacrifice animal, but they did not catch anything. Masamune got angry and begun to climb up Mount 大森山 Omoriyama. From there he saw something black in the distance.
When he asked his retainer 片倉小十郎 Katakura Kojuro, he said it was Yakushi Nyorai.
The angry Masamune ordered a shot at it and broke the breast of the Nabe Yakushi, but at the same time blood was running out of his own nose and did not stop.
Kojuro bowed many times 三拝九拝 and then used the leaf of the bamboo grass (sasa 笹) to stop the nose bleeding.
The anger of Masamune was also calmed down now and he climbed down the mountain. He then ordered the mountain to become his special hunting ground.
- - - One version of the legend says:
The arrow came flying back at Masamune and hit his eye, causing him to loose his eyesight.


Ōmori-yama 大森山薬師如来 Omoiryama Yakushi Nyorai is now a famous camping spot in Miyagi.
The mountain is 226 meters high. A festival in honor of "The Buddha of Healing" is held.
The mountain is also called 笹倉山 Sasakura-yama at 七つ森 Nanatsumori .

The grave of Masamune is at the temple 大義山 覚照寺 Kakusho-Ji
宮城県黒川郡大和町宮床字大椚69 / Okunugi-69 Miyatoko, Taiwa, Kurokawa District, Miyagi


. Date Masamune 伊達政宗 (1567 - 1636) .


宮城県仙台市若林区木ノ下2丁目8-28

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nure Yakushi 濡れ薬師 Yakushi who got wet

Miyagi - 柴田郡 柴田町 Shibata

At the village Tsukinoki 槻木 there had been a long period of sunshine and drought.
The villagers gathered at the swamp 鰌沼 Dojo-Numa and decided to make an offering of a village girl to the Dragon king 竜神 as a rain ritual 雨乞い (amagoi).
The beautiful O-Yoshi およし agreed to be the victim, because she was upset with her first love, Kensaku 勘作 and felt very unhappy with her life.
On her way to the swamp, O-Yoshi she met an itinerant priest. When he heard her story he suggested that the Dragon God would not be content with her unhappy sacrifice and they would better give him a statue of Yakushi Nyorai.
When they threw the statue in the water, Yakushi got wet and then - - suddenly a strong rain began to fall and the village was saved.
They build a Yakushi Hall 薬師堂 and a small retreat for O-Yoshi who would now serve Yakushi Nyorai at the temple.


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Gunma 高崎市南八幡 - Takasaki Town Minami Hachiman

Near the fence of the assembly hall and the graveyard of the Uehara family 上原家墓地 there is a cherry tree. Below it there is a stone with the inscription of 濡れ薬師.



Since olden times, this Yakushi san has been known to heal diseases of the eyes and many people, who got healed by his power, come here to pray again in gratitude. They also made other small stone statues as offerings, now there are more than 30 beside the Yakushi stone.

But why is it called "Yakushi who gets wet" ?
Well, once there was a good man who built a roof over the stone to keep it dry and protect it from the rain. But then . . . the home of this good man burned down.
So people thought the stone and Yakushi with it were ment to get wet.

- source and more photos : 南八幡 History

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shio no Yakushi 塩の薬師 Yakushi and Salt

Miyagi 名取市 Natori 塩手 Shiote

Once upon a time
some say it was in the year 647, at the bottom of Mount Shiodeyama 塩出山 there was a spring with salty water. An old priest 老僧 and 12 acolytes boiled the water to make salt and distributed it to the villagers.
Because of this beneficent salt, all villagers were healed from their illnesses and became healthy.
The old priest was seen as an incarnation of Yakushi Nyorai and thus the name given to him.
The place where the salt water welled up was called Shiogawara 塩河原 and the place where they boiled it down was called Shiode 塩出 - "where the salt comes from".

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Shio Yakushi Doo 塩薬師堂 Hall for the Shio Yakushi 塩薬師
This Hall is beside the pond Shio no Ike 塩ノ池.

Once upon a time
during a wildfire most of the hamlet was burned down, but the statue of Yakushi flew high in the sky and was saved. It landed safely in a pine tree nearby. So the greatful villagers build a hall for him there and called him the "Salt Yakushi" 塩薬師.

The seated statue we see now is from the Muromachi period, covered with lacquer and then gold foil. It is seated on a lotus throne.



at the temple 塩福山永禅寺 Eizen-Ji  
宮城県名取市愛島塩手字仮宿46 

The main statue is Shaka Nyorai.

There is also a statue of Fudo Myo-O 大聖不動明王  



The statue is carved with one knife 一刀彫 and one among the three famous standing statues of Fudo Myo-O 不動三尊立像 in Tohoku.
- source : sekishin.info


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Kinoshita no Yakushi 木ノ下の薬師 Yakushi from Kinoshita

陸奥国分寺 Mutsu Kokubun-Ji  薬師堂 Yakushi-Do Hall
宮城県仙台市若林区木ノ下2丁目8-28 / 2 Chome-8-28 Kinoshita, Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai



This is the provincial temple of former Mutsu Province. The Hall for Yakushi 薬師堂 Yakushidō is an Important Cultural Property.
After its first construction around 740, the temple was destroyed in 1189. Lord Date Masamune rebuilt the complex in 1607, including the Yakushi Hall.
In 1903 it was designated an Important Cultural Property.

When Date Masamune was involved in a severe fight with 大崎義隆 Osaki Yoshitaka (1548 - 1603) it seemed difficult for his forces to win. Then suddenly 48 brave monk-soldiers 法師武者 appeared from nowhere and fought with the enemy, so in the end Masamune was victorious.
When he asked where these soldiers had come from, he was told
"From Kinoshita in Miyagino 宮城野" and the soldiers vanished as fast as they had appeared.

At Miyagino there was only a group of stone markers in a small stone sanctuary, dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai.
That night Masamune had a dream telling him that the soldiers had come on orders of Yakushi Nyorai to help him.

-
朝鮮の役に政宗の軍勢が肥前の名護屋を出航したとき、薬師如来が支那に学問修行しにいく僧に化身して便乗して玄界灘を無事乗り切るよう保護し、帰還のときも同乗して守ってくれた。往復ともに僧は「陸奥木ノ下の僧」とのみ答えて名を言わなかった。





Daruma ko ame 達磨コ飴 / 達磨子飴 Daruma lollipop
A kind of candy in red color and the form of Daruma san.
On the seventh day of the first month and the third day of the third month of the old lunar year during the festival of Yakushi お薬師さん this sweet was sold. People who eat it will be healthy all year long.
After buying it you have to roll it up the stairs to the Daruma statue in the Yakushi Hall 薬師堂 and then offer it to the 神棚 Shelf of the Gods in your own home with the wish for the child or children to grow up healthy and well.
This custom was very popular until about 1910. Another type was a small horse sweet.

. 仙台のだるま飴 Daruma sweets from Sendai .


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Shiga no Yakushi 志賀の薬師 Yakushi from Shiga village

岩沼市 Iwanuma 志賀 Shiga

Temple Ganzooji, Ganzōji 岩蔵寺 Ganzo-Ji
Iwanuma-shi, Shiga, Yakushi−9




慈覚大師 Jigaku Daishi founded the temple in 861, bringing a statue of Yakushi Nyorai to be venerated here. During the construction there came a group of skilled carpenters from Hida and promised to build the hall in one night.
But the villagers imitated the crow of a rooster long before daybreak, when the carpenters had just added one ceiling beam 天井板. They were quite angry and left the village.
In front of the hall were the other beams waiting to be fixed and between them was a stone looking like a snake 蛇石. It was formed when an oxen pulling the wooden beams for the building stumbled.

The temple is also famous for its ema 絵馬 votive tablets.
In the hall is a special ema painted by 狩野法眼元信 Kano Motonobu (1476 - 1559).
The oxen on this painting did not have any reins, so he escaped from the painting and damaged the fields in front of the temple. Therefore Motonobu came back and painted some reins to keep the oxen in place on the wooden tablet.

The statue of Yakushi in the Yakushi Hall 薬師堂 is said to be carved by Jigaku Daishi himself. It is a secret statue preserved in a small sanctuary 厨子 and never shown.


. Ennin - Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 . - (794 – 864)


. Hida no Takumi 飛騨工匠 Hida's Master Builders .

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sugi Yakushi 杉薬師 Yakushi and the cedar tree

栗原郡 Kurihara 築館町 Tsukidate

Long ago in the Tenpyo period (729 - 749), when the Emperor 孝謙天皇 Koken Tenno (718 - 770) was very ill and asked his diviners for advise, they told him:
"In Mutsu 陸奥 there is a very very high cedar tree 大杉 and its long branches produced a shadow until your living quarters, causing your illness."
So he ordered one of his ministers, 某(なにがし) the Dainagon Nanigashi, to have the tree cut down.
The minister found a huge cedar tree at the village of Tsukidate and had it cut down. From the cutting surface blood spilled on the ground. But on the next morning all was healed and the tree was standing there as before.
However many times they cut it down, the same thing happened. Then a diviner told them to prepare a rope of the reeds in a field North-East to the cedar tree and cover the cutting wound with it.
The splinters from cutting flew in all directions and were soon gone.
Finally the illness of the Emperor was healed.
So he ordered to have a temple build over the stump of the cedar tree. Later Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 passed here and had a statue of Yakushi Nyorai placed on the altar.


The temple, built in 760, was called Soorinji 双林寺 Sorin-Ji.


宮城県栗原市築館薬師台双林寺
1-1 Tsukidateyakushidai, Kurihara, Miyagi

The temple became quite famous and had more than 48 sub-temples  in its compound.
But during the Middle Ages it declined through fire and fighting.
In 1591 it was re-built on orders of Date Masamune.
In the compound is the new hall 薬師瑠璃殿, / 薬師堂 - Ruridono 瑠璃殿
where the statue is now called
「お薬師様」O-Yakushi sama, 「杉薬師様」Sugi Yakushi Sama.

Every year on November 3 there is a special festival at the Yakushi Hall.
Tsukidate Yakushi Matsuri つきだて薬師まつり, also called
Fujiwara Ichizoku Yakushi Matsuri 藤原一族薬師まいり Yakushi Festival of the Fujiwara clan.

The festival is based on another legend of Kurihara town, the
しづはた姫物語 Shizuhata Hime Monogatari.

When the princess of the Fujiwara clan (Shizuhata, later 北の方 Kita no Kata) was on her way to Hiraizumi, she became ill on the way and prayed at the Cedar Tree Yakushi temple. She got healed on the spot and later, when she was with the Fujiwara clan, she had her retainers come to pray at this temple in a long parade.

The region of present-day Kurihara was part of the ancient Mutsu Province 陸奥の国, and has been settled since the Jomon period by the Emishi.
During the later portion of the Heian period, the area was ruled by the Northern Fujiwara. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested by various samurai clans before it came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai.



source : www.pref.miyagi.jp

The seated statue from the Heian period is 121.2 cm high and made of keyaki ケヤキ zelkova wood.
It is an important cultural property of the town 重要文化財.


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- reference -

Monsters, legends and Yakushi 妖怪データベース
- source : nichibun yokai database

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. O-Mamori お守り Amulets and Talismans .

. Fudō Myō-ō, Fudoo Myoo-Oo 不動明王 Fudo Myo-O
Acala Vidyârâja - Vidyaraja - Fudo Myoo .



. Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 the Buddha of Medicine - Bhaisajyaguru .
- Legends about Yakushi Nyorai -

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- - - Postscript - - -

Just when I had finished this article, with the words Miyagino and Wakabayashi still fresh in my mind, there was an article in the Japan Times
about the reconstruction efforts after the earthquake of March 11, 2011 -

- quote -
Innovation helps Tohoku's tsunami-hit farmers bounce back
by Megan Rowling - Japan Times -
SENDAI –
Even before a tsunami swamped fields east of Sendai in March 2011, Chikako Sasaki and her husband, a rice farmer, had dreamed of starting a business selling food made from their own produce. . . .
. . . The company in Wakabayashi Ward also has a processing facility nearby, and is planning to expand its other activity of making boxed lunches for convenience stores and public events.
. . . The company, which began operating almost two years ago in Miyagino Ward with capital from five young local farmers and disaster relief grants and loans, employs around 40 people and is branching out into organic vegetables too.
. . . Drainage pumping stations were quickly restored after the disaster with new ones now being built to double capacity needed to cope with the 50 cm of ground subsidence caused by the quake.
To cover the extra cost of the new pumping stations, the Sendai's city government has installed solar panels near its agriculture and horticulture center in Wakabayashi.
With a capacity to generate power for 150 households, the solar plant has recently begun producing electricity, which is sold to the grid.
- source : Japan Times April 01, 2015

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. Ennin - Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 . - (794 – 864)

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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Posted By Gabi Greve to Gokuraku - Jigoku on 3/31/2015 09:43:00 am

YAKUSHI - Inaba Yakushi Kyoto



[http://gokurakuparadies.blogspot.jp/2015/03/yakushi-nyorai-legends.html]
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Inaba Yakushi 因幡薬師

. Legends about Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 / 薬師様 / 薬師さん .
- Introduction -


other 薬師縁起 Yakushi Engi - below
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因幡堂 平等寺 Inaba-Do Byodo-Ji - Kyoto

The origin of temple Byoodooji 平等寺 Byodo-Ji is referred to in "Inabado Engi" (Legends of the Inaba-Do)
included in 山城名勝志 Yamashiro Meisho Shi "Annals of Yamashiro's picturesque sites" and 因幡堂縁起絵巻 Inabado engi-emaki "picture scroll of legends of the Inabado" .



五条高倉薬師堂 Gojo Takakura Yakushi Do
at Byodo-ji Temple (Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City), which is known for kyogen "Inabado".

京都府京都市下京区烏丸通松原上る因幡堂町728
728 Inabado-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto

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In the Kamakura period at 997, 橘行平 Tachibana no Yukihira became governor of 因幡国 Inaba provice (now in Tottori). While he was there he became ill and had a dream.
At the beach of 因幡賀留津 Karunotsu in Inaba there is a sacred tree that would save him. When he went there, it was not a tree but a statue of Yakushi Nyorai hauled out of the waters. So he had a preliminary Hall build for the statue.

When Yukihira had gone back to Kyoto, he had another dream. A monk from the "Heaven in the West" 西の天 came to visit him and told him to save all the people in the east.
When he woke up he was told about a visitor at his gate. He thought it was the monk from his dream and went to the West Gate to greet him. By the time they opened the gate, the statue of Yakushi was standing there. It had come flying after him and landed in his estate. This is the beginning of the 因幡堂 Inaba Hall.
This was in the year 1003.

The temple soon grew in fame and even the Emperor came to worship here. Soon the Yakushi Moode 薬師もうで Mode, prayer visit to Yakushi became popular in Kyoto. In its prime time it had more than 8 sub-temples and a special entrance for official visitors.

Yakushi Nyorai at this temple is said to keep people free from cancer - in our modern times.
The statue was probably carved by the sculptor Kooshoo 康尚 Kosho in the mid or late Heian period.



Road to the "Gate that does not open".

Around 1170 during the fighting of the Genji and Heike 源平争乱 Emperor Takakura 高倉天皇 (1161 - 1181) lived just South of the Inaba Hall at the 東五条院 Higashi Gojo-In and the gate straight up the road at the temple was called akezu no mon 不明門 "Gate that does not open".
In 1171 Emperor Takakura gave it the name of temle Byodo-Ji.




本尊薬師如来立像 Yakushi Nyorai - The main statue of the temple
The statue is 165 cm high.
The name of the temple in Tottori is Zakooji 座光寺 Zako-Ji.







Statue of Tachibana no Yukihira 橘行平





The temple is famous for the Kyogen performances - 因幡堂狂言 Inaba Kyogen.





omamori お守り amulet from Byodo-Ji




shuin 朱印 stamp from Byodo-Ji


-- - - - HP of the temple 平等寺 Byodo-Ji
- source : www.inabado.jp

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Kooshoo, Kōshō 康尚 Buddhist sculptor Kosho
Called 「仏師職の祖」, "the Ancestor of professional Buddhist Sculptors".
He did not work for any special temple but established his own workshop in Kyoto. He had many disciples who promoted his style.
His father was 源康行, his son Joochoo, Jōchō 定朝 Jocho (? - 1057).

He also made statues of Byakudan Yakushi 白檀薬師像 and Fudo Myo-o 東福寺同聚院不動明王坐.
- reference -


. Buddhist sculptors 仏師 Edo Period to the Present Day .


. kyoogen, kyōgen 狂言 Kyogen performance .
- Introduction -

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因幡堂薬師縁起絵巻 Inabado Yakushi Engi Emaki

This scroll
depicts the construction of the Inaba-Do hall at the temple Byodo-Ji in Kyoto.
The story is told in the record of 御堂関白記 Mido Kanpaku Ki and others.
The famous scroll has been damaged by fire and is not complete.
東京国立博物館 Tokyo National Museum
- source : www.emuseum.jp/detail


A much older legend from Inaba / Tottori - about Okuninushi no Mikoto (Daikoku in Buddhism) :
. The White Rabbit of Inaba 因幡の白兎 .



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- - - - - Edo 江戸 Tokyo  東京 - - - - -

Kinegawa Yakushi 木下川薬師(きねがわやくし)Yakushi from Kinegawa

Jokooji 浄光寺 Joko-Ji  - 木下川薬師浄光寺
Tokyo - Katsushika 葛飾区東四つ木1-5-9
and
伝教大師 Dengyo Daishi


嘉祥2年(849)僧広智の草庵にはじまり、貞観2年(860)3月その弟子慶寛によって一寺となり、浄光寺と名づけられた。古くから<木下川薬師>として知られ、一千有余年の法灯を伝える関東屈指の古刹である。草創の由来については、嘉歴2年(1327)の青竜山薬師仏像縁記」に明らかである。大正8年荒川放水路開削工事による移転以前は、現在地の西北0.6キロ、江戸川水道橋の少し上流にあった。
草創以来、赫々として郷民の崇敬を集めたが、乱世にいたりいくたびか兵火のため焼失、寺領を没収せられ、応永年間(1394-1428)再び戦禍にかかり、荒廃状態となった。時の別当証円は法脈の絶えるのをうれい、領主奥津家定に願い出て、その斡旋によって関東管領上杉憲実から、当寺の別当職および寺領等の補佐を得て中興した。その後も幾多の消長を経、天正19年(1590)住僧良寛は徳川家に愁訴し、薬師供養料として5石の朱印地を得、堂舎を改築し、将軍家の祈願所となり、また江戸時代を通じて、毎年、将軍家の代参があり、江戸城紅葉山の歴代将軍霊屋の別当職を勤め、浅草浅草寺の筆頭格を占め、享保5年(1720)3月、将軍吉宗の放鷹以来、御膳所に指定されて慣例となり、幕末まで継続した。天保11年(1840)火災により本堂以下ことごとく灰燼に帰したが、幸に本尊をはじめ寺宝の大部分はその難を免れか、今なお保存されている。
(葛飾区教育委員会 葛飾区寺院調査報告より)
- source : katsushika/temple_eyotsugi_joko.shtml




- - - - - HP of the temple
- source : kinegawa-yakushi.jp


Kigegawa Yakushi Engi misspelling of Kinegawa
The Dragon in China and Japan
By M. W. De Visser

§1. Dengyo Daishi's image of Yakushi Nyorai.
The Kigegawa Yakushi engi says the following:
"The image of Yakushi Nyorai in Jokwoji (also called Shoryuzan, "Blue Dragon monastery"), in Katsushika district, Shimosa province, is made by Dengyo Daishi.
When Jikaku Daishi stayed in Asakusa-dera (the famous Kwannon temple in Asakusa, the well-known district of Yedo), an old man with grey hair appeared to him and said: 'In the North-east there is a holy place, where I have dedicated a miraculous image made by Dengyo Daishi'. Thereupon the man disappeared, and Jikaku went outside and looked towards the North-east. Suddenly a lucky cloud (zui-un, a cloud of a lucky colour) arose, and in it a blue dragon was visible.
Then the Daishi secretly left the temple and went in search of this blue dragon, till he arrived at the cottage (where the above-mentioned old man had lived as a hermit and had obtained the image). There he worshipped the image and saw the blue dragon, which was still there. Jikaku turned himself to the lucky cloud and addressed the dragon as follows:

'I wish to say a few words to you, you sacred dragon, listen to me. I want to built a temple here, which you must guard and protect from calamity. From this moment I appoint you guardian-god of the shrine'.

When the Daishi had finished speaking, the dragon, which had listened motionless, with his head bent down in reverence, disappeared. The priest considered this to be a good sign, and called the sanctuary 'Blue Dragon temple'.
Up till this day from time to time a dragon- lantern appears there as a wonderful, lucky omen,- probably in consequence of the above facts (i. e. because the blue dragon is the temple's guardian-god)".

The Udo meisho ki tells us that from olden times many pilgrims went to this temple, which is also called Jokwoji ("Temple of the Pure Light"), to worship the dragon-lantern, which was sure to arise before the image of Yakushi Nyorai on the eighth day of every month, and on New- Year's morning.

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Before the Buddhist chapel of Kasai Yakushi situated on a mountain north of Okayama, in Bizen province, there stood a "Dragon-lantern pine tree". Every night, especially in summer time, will-o'-the-wisps were seen there.
- source : books.google.co.jp


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. ryuutoo 龍燈 "dragon lantern" .
shiranui, shiranu-i 不知火 (しらぬい) "unknown light"
A phenomenon at the Ariakekai sea in Kagoshima, Kyushu, in the evening hours.
It is also seen in other parts of Japan as a light that the Dragon God sends out to honor the deities of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan.

kigo for mid-autumn
With a haiku by Matsuo Basho.



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Medicine Master Buddha:
The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan




This profusely illustrated volume illuminates the primacy of icons in disseminating the worship of the Medicine Master Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai) in Japan. Suzuki's meticulous study explicates how the devotional cult of Yakushi, one of the earliest Buddhist cults imported to Japan from the continent, interacted and blended with local beliefs, religious dispositions, and ritual practices over the centuries, developing its own distinctive imprint on Japanese soil. Worship of the Medicine Master Buddha became most influential during the Heian period (794–1185), when Yakushi's popularity spread to different levels of society and locales outside the capital. The large number of Heian-period Yakushi statues found all across Japan demonstrates that Yakushi worship was an integral component of Heian religious practice.

Medicine Master Buddha focuses on the ninth-century Tendai master Saichō (767–822) and his personal reverence for a standing Yakushi icon. The author proposes that, after Saichō's death, the Tendai school played a critical role in popularizing the cult of this particular icon as a way of memorializing its founding master and strengthening its position as a major school of Japanese Buddhism. This publication offers a fresh perspective on sculptural representations of the Medicine Master Buddha (including the famous Jingoji Yakushi), and in so doing, reconsiders Yakushi worship as foundational to Heian religious and artistic culture.
source : www.brill.com/medicine-master-buddha


Yakushi Engi, Yakushiengi 薬師縁起 The Omen of Yakushi Temple
Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan
By Yui Suzuki
- source : books.google.co.jp


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. Legends about Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 / 薬師様 / 薬師さん .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .


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Posted By Gabi Greve to Gokuraku - Jigoku on 4/02/2015 06:11:00 am