Darumapedia

16 Sept 2014

FUDO - Tono Fudo Monogatari

LINK
http://gokurakuparadies.blogspot.jp/2014/09/tono-fudo-monogatari.html

Yanagida Kunio　柳田國男

Tono (Toono) 遠野 is an area in Iwate, Tohoku, where old legends abound.
. Tōno monogatari 遠野物語 Legends of Tono - Introduction .

. Tono Jisha Meguri　遠野寺社巡り　 temples and shrines in Tono .

. Tono Shichi Kannon 遠野七観音 The Seven Kannon Temples of Tono .
. . . . . another pilgrimage in Tono! - see 笹谷観音 Tozen-Ji, Sasaya Kannon

. Toono Matsuri　遠野祭り Tono Festival . - Tonogo Hachimangu Shrine

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

The following collection of Fudo Myo-O statues from the Tono area are inspired by this page
- source : dostoev.exblog.jp
All photos below, unless stated otherwise, are by dostoev.
His is a wonderful long BLOG about Tono and its many wonders
不思議空間　遠野

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Tōno is located in central Iwate Prefecture, in the floodplain of the Sarugaishi River 猿ヶ石川, surrounded by a ring of mountains. Mt. Hayachine sits at the northernmost point of the city where Hanamaki, Kawai and Tōno meet. At 1,914 meters it is also the city's highest point. Mt. Rokkoushi, (1,294 meters) dominates the landscape to the east and Mt. Ishigami (1,038 meters) is the highest mountain in the west. Together these peaks form Tōno's "big three" mountains. The highest points in southern Tōno are Mt. Sadato (884 meters) on the border of Sumida and Mt. Tane (871 meters) on the borders of Sumita and Ōshū.

There is an ancient legend that in the past the hills in Miyamori blocked the Sarugaishi River creating a large lake in the Tōno area. Miyamori itself is characterized by a series of valleys to the west of Mt. Ishigami that flow west into the Sarugaishi River just below the Tase Dam.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

Mount Hayachine 早池峰 is closely related to the belief in Fudo Myo-O.

. Hayachine san 早池峰山 Mount Hayachine - Introduction .

- google map of the Tono region -

Introdcing Tono, with a useful map in English.
- source : www.jnto.go.jp/engpre2

ABC list of the places.
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Arakawa Fudo 荒川不動尊
near Tsukimooshi 附馬牛町 Tsukimoshi village
遠野市附馬牛町荒川　

In honor of the waterfall 荒川の滝 Arakawa no Taki.

The small sanctuary was constructed by the Yamabushi.
The meaning of ARA 荒(アラ) seems to indicate that there was iron and other metals nearby. So this Fudo is also protecting the road where metal was transported.

With another stone memorial containing the name of the
Suijin 水神 "God of the Water"
and the area called よろずばた Yorozubata (Yorozuhata)

This might be a connection to the ancient deity already mentioned in the Kojiki
萬幡豊秋津師比売命 Yorozuhata Toyoakitsushihime no Mikoto
another name for 栲幡千千姫命 Takuhata Chijihime no Mikoto

Since 1954 Tsukimoshi village is now a small community comprizing
附馬牛町上附馬牛・附馬牛町下附馬牛・附馬牛町安居台・附馬牛町東禅寺 (Tozen-Ji).

. Yamabushi 山伏 mountain ascets and Shugendo 修験道 .

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Yorozuhatahime
Yorozuhata toyo akitsushi hime no mikoto (Kojiki)(Nihongi)

Other names:
Ame yorozu Takuhatachihatahime, Takuhatachijihime yorozuhatahime no mikoto, Honotohatahimekochijihime no mikoto (Nihongi).

The daughter of Takamimusuhi, and according to an "alternate writing" transmitted by Nihongi, the younger sister of Omoikane. She wed Amenooshihomimi no mikoto, who had been ordered to descend to the Central Land of Reed Plains, but while waiting for the pacification of the Central Land, she gave birth to Ninigi, and he later descended in Oshihomimi's place.

Kojiki and an "alternate writing" in Nihongi also relate the birth of Hoakari no mikoto, elder brother of Ninigi and ancestor of the clan Owari no Muraji. The Nihongi version also states that Amaterasu made Toyoakitsushihime the consort to Oshihomimi. An alternate version of the episode says she was the consort to Amenooshihone no mikoto, while yet another tradition states that Tamayorihime, child of Yorozuhatahime, became consort to Amenooshihone no mikoto and gave birth to Amenokihohookise no mikoto (Ninigi).

The various versions are also inconsistent regarding the title of Ninigi's mother, but they agree in including elements relating to weaving, cloth, and bountiful harvests, and in their depictions of Toyoakitsushihime as a link between the two kami Amaterasu and Takamimusuhi, and the imperial line.
- source : Mori Mizue - Kokugakuin 2005

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Ashizawa Fudo / 鷲沢 / 足沢 / あしざわ不動堂 Ashizawa Fudo Hall
綾織町小峠 Ayaori Cho,

Ashizawa 足沢 is in the back of temple 福泉寺 Fukuzen-Ji, a small rivulet.
This little hall is in quite a desolate condition nowadays. It seems there is also a Fox Deity - Inari - お稲荷さん venerated now.

- source : blog.goo.ne.jp/jengo2

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Bodaiji 菩提寺 Bodai-Ji

Together with 福泉寺 Fukusen-Ji a place for cherry blossom viewing in Tono.

「じぇんごたれ」遠野徒然草
- source : blog.goo.ne.jp/jengo2/e

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. Fukusenji 福泉寺 Fukusen-Ji .

Temple Fukusen-Ji is Nr. 21 on the Fudo Pilgrimage in Tohoku.

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

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Hassen Jinja 八泉神社 shrine Hassen Jinja
Located in Kamigo 上郷町, just a small shrine.
The center of worship here is Fudo Myo-O. Other deities are
弥都波能売神 Mizuha no me no kami
and
大荒神 Dai Kōjin - Kojin

Modern 上郷村 Kamigo mura has various parts
上郷町板沢・上郷町佐比内・上郷町平倉・上郷町平野原・上郷町細越・上郷町来内

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Inubuchi Fudo 犬淵不動尊

Inubuchi Tsukimoushichō Shimotsukimoushi, Tōno-shi

Close to Inubuchi no Taki 犬淵の滝 Waterfall, also called Shirataki, with a shrine called 白滝神社 "White Waterfall shrine".
The main festival for Fudo at the small hall is on the 28th day of the sixth lunar month.

source and photos :　jinsan/tak51inubuchi
犬淵の白滝 Shirataki Waterfall at Inubuchi

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Kogarasegawa Fudo 小烏瀬川不動尊

A small waterfall is the object of veneration 御神体.
The Fudo Hall for the stone statue is nearby.

In the cliff at the back are three small hokora shrines:
Suitengu Sha 水天宮社
Inari Hokora 稲荷社
Yakushi Daijin Sha 薬師大神社

- quote
Sarugaishi River 猿ヶ石川
The Sarugaishi River rises in the just south of Mt. Yakushi in Tōno and empties into the Kitakami River in Hanamaki.
The Kogarasegawa is a large tributary that forms near Tachimaru Toge Pass and joins the Sarugaishi in Matsuzaki.
National Route 340 follows along this scenic river for most of its length.
- source : www.shaba.co/wa?s=Sarugaishi_River

Yakushi Nyorai　薬師如来 is the Buddha of Healing.
There are many temples in his honor in the Tohoku region.
There are some shrines in his name too, Yakushi Jinja 薬師神社.

. Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Medicine 薬師如来 .

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Komedoori no Fudo 米通の不動尊 Komedori Fudo

Komedōri Tsuchibuchichō Tochinai, Tōno-shi / 岩手県遠野市土淵町栃内米通

This statue stands on a huge boulder, almost like on a huge tortoise.
It is located near a river, which will eventually flow and bring the soul of a diseased person to the Paradise in the West 極楽浄土.

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Kotohata no Fudo son 琴畑の不動尊 Kotohata Fudo

Kotohata Tsuchibuchichō Tochinai, Tōno-shi / 岩手県遠野市土淵町栃内琴畑

The statue had been placed in the shrine
Hayachine Jinja 早池峰神社
But in the Meiji period, it had been placed in its own Fudo Hall 不動堂 to mark a distinction between Shinto and Buddhism.

Now the place is called
Shirataki Jinja 白滝神社 "Shrine of the White Waterfall".

Kotohatagawa 琴畑川 is the name of a river flowing in Tono.

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Kujuuzawa 九重沢不動尊 Kujuzawa

A sanctuary for the yamabushi on their way to the mountain top.
They used the rivers around Tono for their access to the mountains.

The mountain in the background is Monomiyama 物見山 Monomi-Yama.
Mount Rokko-Ushi 六角牛山 (1294 m) Rokkoushi-san is also nearby.

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Kujuuzawa Okumiya 九重沢　奥宮 Inner Shrine at Kujuzawa

Now the amount of water in this river is very small, compared to the olden times, when people came here to pray for water.

A stone monument for Mount Rokko-Ushi 六角牛山 (middle)
Fudo Myo-O and the Deity of Water are revered.

There used to be a Fudo Waterfall 不動の瀧 at Rokko-Ushi-San and a shrine called
Ootaki Jinja 大瀧神社 Otaki Jinja "Waterfall Shrine".
Yamabushi started their access to the mountain top from here.

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Kurikara Fudo 倶利伽羅不動
Oozawa Fudoo Doo 大沢不動堂 Ozawa Fudo Hall
岩手県遠野市綾織町上綾織大沢　
Ōsawa Ayaorichō Kamiayaori, Tōno-shi

The inscription is by the first priest of Fukuzen-Ji 福泉寺初代、Sasaki Yuutaka 佐々木宥尊師 Sasaki Yutaka.
- source : blog.goo.ne.jp/jengo2

. Kurikara 倶利伽羅 the Sword of Fudo Myo-o .

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Mataichi no taki 又一の滝不動尊 Mataichi Waterfall
With a stone statue of Fudo Myo-O 不動の滝 Fudo Waterfall

related to Mount Hayachine
The waterfall is located at Mount Yakushidake 薬師岳 (2038 m), East of Iwate volcano. It is about 20 meters long and 5 meters wide, .

不動の滝 Fudo Waterfall
A little walk left of the Yakushi Hall 薬師堂.

source :　www.iwatetabi.jp

- quote
Iwate Volcano　－ Iwate Kazan 岩手火山
1: Introduction
Iwate Volcano is an active volcano situated about 18 km north of Iwate City with three known records of eruptions even for the limited time span since Edo period. From March 1998 seismic activity became vigorous with crustal deformations suggesting underground movement of magma. It didn't lead to eruption, however.
... Higashi-Iwate Volcano repeated mountain-building activity cycles three times, each of which consisted of 10,000 to 20,000 years' eruptions followed by dormant periods. These are named Higashi - Iwate - Onimata stage, Higashi - Iwate - Hirakasafudo stage, and Higashi - Iwate - Yakushidake stage, respectively, in ascending order.

4.5 Higashi-Iwate - Hirakasa Fudo stage
About 30,000 yBP, NE part of Nishi-Iwate Volcano collapsed forming Yamakozawa debris avalanche. After this, Hirakasa Fudo Volcano was formed by 20,000 yBP with its center around the place where current Yakushidake stands. Hirakasa Fudo Volcano is a basaltic stratovolcano overlying Nishi - Iwate Volcano in the north and Onimata Volcano in the south.

4.7 Higashi-Iwate - Yakushidake stage
About 7,000 yBP, Hirakasa Fudo Volcano collapsed towards NE resulted in Hirakasa debris avalanche . . . Third Yakushidake lavas were erupted after the eruption of Oide scoria and distributed in NE rim of Yakushi crater, Fudodaira　/ Fudotaira　不動平, and north and east foot areas.　owards the end of these activities, a little amount of silicic glassy ash ( Yakushidake - Fudotaira ash ) was ejected.
- source : gbank.gsj.jp/volcano-AV

東岩手－平笠不動ステージ Hirakasa Fudo stage
平笠不動火山が2万年前までに形成された.
御不動平坂峰　Fudo Hirasaka

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Metaki Fudo 女滝不動尊 "Fudo at the Female Waterfall"

There is also a "Male Waterfall" (Otaki 男滝) nearby.

There used to be a waterfall, but thanks to earthquakes and mudslides, it is no longer existant and its remains are dry.
A Fudo statue reminds us of its presence.

The statue has been lost (stolen) in the Showa period (1926 - 1989) but been re-established later. It is a rather mysterious area.

I introduced the temple here in the Tono Kannon Pilgrimage
. 笹谷観音 Sasaya Kannon .
The original temple 附馬牛山長洞寺 was built in 807.

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Yobiishi, Yobi-Ishi Fudo 呼石不動尊 Yobi-Ishi Fudo
(maybe "stone to call the deity")

This little shrine was originally built by 神田阿部マキ Kanta Abe Maki. Nearby is a small rivulet.
The deity venerated here is Fudo Myo-O, who's name is carved in the stone.
The name of the area is also 神田(カンタ) Kanta. Nearby villagers now take turns each year to care for the place.

- - - not related -
呼石大明神 Yobi-Ishi Daimyojin

A huge stone in Hanamaki, Iwate
岩手県花巻市北小山呼石呼石大明神
- source : home.s01.itscom.net/sahara

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. Tono Jisha Meguri　遠野寺社巡り　 temples and shrines in Tono - Introduction .

. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Fudo Pilgrims - INTRODUCTION .

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　. TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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13 Sept 2014

FUDO - Komyo-In Yamagata

LINK
http://fudosama.blogspot.jp/2014/08/komyo-in-yamagata.html

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Koomyoo-In 光明院 Komyo-In

Nr. 03 高瀧山 Koryuzan - 光明院 Komyo-In - 高瀧山不動尊 Koryuzan Fudo
Koomyoo-In 光明院 Komyo-In
Iwate 岩手県 - 精進の道場 - shoojin

. 東北三十六不動尊霊場
36 Fudo Temples in Tohoku . 　

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source :　trebor.cocolog-nifty.com

山形県天童市大字山口３１４３－１, 3143-1 Yamaguchi, Tendo, Yamagata

The town is famous for its hot springs and production of stones for shogi (将棋の駒). 95% of the shogi stones are made in Tendo.

The temple compound is located in Kaminoyama Village and revered by all people of the region.

It has been built by Saint Gyoki Bosatsu on request of 聖武天皇 Shomu Tenno.

The image of Fudo Myo-O is in the cliff behind the waterfall, where another image of Amida is also engraved.
People come here to pray.

There is also a statue of Kannon Bosatsu, carved by Gyoki Bosatsu,
Takamatsu Kannon 高松観音.
This Kannon temple is Nr. 11 in the Mogami Pilgrimage to 33 Kannon temples.
最上三十三観音霊場第十一番札所

Most of the original buildings have been victim of fires and many treasures are lost.

source :　www.dewatabi.com/murayama

The temple has been rebuilt in 1872, in a separation from the shrine and the temple, where the torii gate is still left.

- Chant of the temple
世を救う　大悲あまねき　不動尊　
焔を負へる　姿尊し
(光明院御詠歌 at Komyo-In）

高瀧の　巌にいます　み仏は　迷いある身を　救い給はむ
(奥ノ院御詠歌 at Oku no In）

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Fudo Waterfall

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- - - - - Homepage of the temple
- source : www.tohoku36fudo.jp

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- - - - - Yearly Festivals 年中行事

Takamatsu Kannon hadaka mochitsuki
高松観音裸もちつき
pounding mochi rice cakes in the nude

at the Takamatsu Kannon temple in mid-December

CLICK for more photos

Scantily clad men pound mochi rice cakes to give give thanks for a bountiful harvest and pray for health and safety in the coming year.

. WKD - Yamagata Festivals INFO .

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Shogi 将棋 "Japanese chess"

Everything in the town of Tendo relates to the pentagonal shogi pieces.

Tendo-shi shogi museum 天童市将棋資料館　
We display document about world shogi and shogi including the history of piece.

and introducing Tendo Hot Springs
- source : yamagatakanko.com

. Tendoo Shoogi 天童将棋 Tendo Shogi .

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- - - reference - - -

. Kômyô-in 光明院 Komyo-In, Komyoin - France .

There are other pilgrim temples with this name in Japan.

武相不動尊二十八所 - Busoo - Buso
Musashino and Sagami - 28 pilgrim temples
07. 圓瀧山光明院興禅寺善立不動尊

九州88ヶ所108霊場 Kyushu - 88 and 108 temples
24. 第 23番　光明院
59. 第 59番　光明寺

. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Introduction . 　

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. Gyōki, Gyoki Bosatsu 行基菩薩 Saint Gyoki .
(668 - 749)

. O-Mamori お守り　Amulets and talismans from Japan .　

. Japanese Temples - ABC list - .

. 東北三十六不動尊霊場
36 Fudo Temples in Tohoku . 　

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. Japan - after the BIG earthquake .
March 11, 2011, 14:46

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
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12 Sept 2014

DARUMA - Aizu Yakushi Pilgrims

LINK
http://gokurakuparadies.blogspot.jp/2014/09/aizu-yakushi-pilgrims.html

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Aizu Wakamatsu 会津若松 Yakushi Pilgrims
Fukushima

Most pilgrimages to Yakushi Nyorai are to 12 temples, because of
The 12 Vows of Yakushi Nyorai.
. Yakushi Nyorai Pilgrimages 薬師巡り Yakushi Meguri .
- Introduction -

Aizuwakamatsu (会津若松市 Aizuwakamatsu-shi)
is the main town in the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture.
It is located in the western part of Fukushima Prefecture, in the Southeast part of the Aizu basin.

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Aizu Go Yakushi 会津五薬師 Five Yakushi temples

Statues of Yakushi Nyorai are only present at Shojo-Ji and at the Kami-Unai Yakushi Do, both statues are from the Heian period. They are located in the four directions (and the center) of the pilgrimage.
They have all been founded by priest Tokuitsu in the Heian period with the vow to bring peace and prosperity to the region.

More temples founded by Tokuitsu are listed here.

. Priest Tokuitsu 得一徳溢 .
天平宝字4年（760年）－承和2年（835年）/ (781? - 842?)

The five Yakushi temples have been founded by Tokuitsu in 807.
The statues are all from carved from keyaki ケヤキ zelkova wood.

- - - Legend knows this:
In former times the area around the volcano, Mount Bandaisan 磐梯山 in Aizu, had been cursed with thick fog by a monter. The sun was hardly to be seen and no crops would grow. People became ill and died.
So the court in Kyoto sent Kukai Kobo Daishi to help with his magical power. He dispelled the monster and healed the farmers, crops would grow again. He had vowed to make five statues of Yakushi Nyorai, but was soon called back to the court in Kyoto and could not fulfill his vow. So he entrusted Tokuitsu with the job.
There is no proof that Kukai really went to Aizu, though. Now all the five Yakushi Temples of Aizu belong to the Shingon sect 真言宗寺院.

. Kobo Daishi, Kukai 弘法大師　空海 . - . (774 - 835)

gobutsu Yakushi Nyorai　五佛薬師如来

- reference : www.aizue.net/jyunrei
- reference : ibabun.com/aruku

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center - Shoojooji 勝常寺 Shojo-Ji
瑠璃光山 -
湯川村大字勝常字代舞1764

One of the oldest Buddhist temples in the Tohoku region, Shojo-ji was founded by High Priest Tokuichi in 807. The existing "Kodo" Hall, reconstructed in 1398, is known as the "Aizu Central Yakushido." All Buddhist images enshrined here date back to the temple's founding. It is rare that so many early-Heian-period Buddhist images are well preserved at one place.
©　www.pref.fukushima.jp

source :　blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kominguokuaizu

- Details of the temple
- source : www.aizue.net

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East - Enichiji 慧日寺 Enichi-Ji
磐梯町大字磐梯字本寺上4950

丈六薬師如来

- quote
Enichi-ji Temple was established by Tokuitsu-daishi who diffused Buddhism in Aizu. It is the oldest temple among those whose established ages are identified in Tōhoku region. A plan to reconstruct the temple at the historical site was forwarded, as the ancient Kondō Hall was reestablished in 2008 and has become a symbolic building in Bandai Town.
- source : www.aizu-concierge.com

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ENICHIJI IN THE HEIAN PERIOD
In the absence of written records, we cannot be sure when or by whom Enichiji was established. Its two major founding legends claim that it dates from the beginning of the ninth century; and while temples commonly exaggerate their own antiquity, the discovery of ninth-century pottery in remains of Enichiji buildings suggests that the traditional date is not far off the mark.

Enichiji's founders, whoever they may have been, built their temple at the foot of Mt. Bandai, a mountain viewed as sacred in local folk belief. The kami (deity) of the mountain was worshipped at BANDAI SHRINE, now located at the site of the Heian temple's central complex.
Under its original name of Iwaki or Iwahashi shrine, it appears in the early tenth-century Engi Shiki as a government-sanctioned institution. By this time it is likely that the shrine and Enichiji had formed a close partnership--a common phenomenon in pre-modern Japan, when "Buddhism" and "Shinto" were not clearly distinguished, and temples and shrines often shared the same precincts.

Enichiji's close relationship to the mountain kami is suggested by one of its two founding legends, an account that appears in the nineteenth-century Shinpen Aizu Fuudoki. The legend also suggests that the temple was regarded as a holy site that protected the region against illness, famine, and other natural disasters:

At one time an evil spirit lived on Mount Bandai, called at that time the Mountain of Pestilence. The evil spirit destroyed the local rice crops, and if that were not bad enough, a lake suddenly materialized at the foot of the mountain, inundating the houses built there. The imperial court in Kyoto heard about the matter and in 807, dispatched the Shingon Buddhist master Kuukai to reverse the disasters.

For ten days, Kuukai performed an ascetic regimen in a village nearby. His practice drove off the evil spirit. Kuukai then renamed the mountain Bandai, and built a temple at its foot to ward off further disaster. Choosing the exact spot through divination, he constructed the temple, enshrining images of the Buddha YAKUSHI, the bodhisattvas Nikkou and Gakkou, and Buddhist guardian figures--the Four Heavenly Kings and the Twelve Generals. Kuukai was then rewarded with a manifestation of the mountain kami, whom he named Bandai Myoujin (Bandai Myojin).

A more commonly-accepted story claims that the temple was founded in 806 by TOKUICHI, a monk from the Nara temple Koufukuji who is also credited with establishing several other temples in the area around the same time. The Kuukai legend probably originated in later years, when the temple became affiliated with the Shingon school. We cannot verify Tokuichi's founding role, but a monk or monks from one of Japan's central Buddhist institutions may in fact have established the temple in cooperation with local notables.

Like other provincial Buddhist temples, Enichiji may have been a vehicle for extending government power to remote locations. Wary of religious institutions not under its own control, Japan's imperial government in Kyoto incorporated existing provincial shrines and temples into its own systems, or established new ones to "convert" local people and lay claim to their loyalty. Enichiji was not a large temple in comparison to temples in Kyoto or in Nara, the eighth- century capital; but it was large enough to have been expensive to build. Moreover, the central image of Yakushi at Enichiji's nearby sister temple of SHOUJOUJI, thought to be a twin of Enichiji's central image, is an early Heian figure of great sophistication. The elegance of the gilt-wood image suggests that it was made by skilled artists, perhaps from the same atelier as sculptors of similar images in powerful Kyoto and Nara temples. Although the evidence is very sparse, it points to the involvement of the court or court-sponsored Buddhist institutions in Enichiji's founding.

Another possible source of support was the regional notable class, composed of both indigenous families and officials dispatched by the court who had settled in the area. The conflicts between local families and powerful newcomers were sometimes settled by establishing common religious institutions, where local deities shared space with those who had come from outside. In any case, once Enichiji was established, local support was crucial to its existence. Local histories such as the Fuudoki list lay representatives of the temple who were allocated income from temple holdings at the end of the twelfth century, presumably in return for protecting temple interests. Enichiji's long period of prosperity--at least through the twelfth century and perhaps even longer than that--suggests that local support was quite powerful indeed.

The founding of Enichiji and other Aizu-region temples in the early Heian period may have had a military purpose. During the eighth and ninth centuries, the imperial court made war on the Emishi, people who resisted its control, and pushed them further and further northward. The Emishi fought back fiercely in the Touhoku regions to the north of Aizu. Tagajou, the capital of Mutsu (Aizu's province), was one center for campaigns against the Emishi. The Aizu region does not seem to have been a battle site, but it supplied the court's armies, and a ninth-century mokkan (record written on a strip of wood) recounts the service of Aizu soldiers at Tagajou. Although armies under the command of the legendary hero Sakanoue Tamuramaro largely brought the Mutsu Emishi under control in the early ninth century, they held out for some time in the province of Dewa, just over the mountains north of Aizu.

Under the circumstances, it must have seemed sensible for the court and their local allies to construct Buddhist temples in strategic regions such as Aizu. For one thing, converting the Emishi to Buddhism helped to pacify them, since Japanese Buddhism was bundled in a cultural package that engendered a peaceful agrarian life and obedience to central authority. In addition, Buddhist temples served as court outposts, often serving local government functions. It may be legend, not fact, that several Aizu temples were founded in the first decade of the ninth century by Tokuichi, a representative of the central power structure. But the kernel of truth in the legend, perhaps, is that central authorities sponsored temple construction in Aizu to shore up government power in a crucial region.

What role did Enichiji play in the political and economic life of the Aizu people? In the absence of definitive evidence we cannot be sure, but several artifacts in the temple's possession--described in Shinpen Aizu Fuudoki but unfortunately now lost--suggest what this role may have been.

According to the Fudoki, Enichiji held four gold seals, all said to have been issued by the imperial court--three of them in the ninth century and one in the late eleventh. The seal issued during the reign of the Emperor Junna (r. 823-833) is inscribed "seal of Amarue village"-- designating, perhaps, an as-yet unidentified village in the Aizu region. The historian Takahashi Tomio explains that the holder of a village seal had to be a district or village official, indicating that the temple performed some local government functions. Another artifact described in Fuudoki that indicates the temple's public authority is a stick nine sun eight bu in length (one sun = approximately 1.2 inches; one bu = 1/10 sun). About five sun of the stick is notched to make a ruler in a standard length for the period. Enichiji's possession of this type of ruler, used in government land surveys, suggests that the temple supervised the distribution of land in the surrounding area.

As a religious institution, Enichiji centered its rituals on Yakushi, the Buddha of healing. The practical aspects of a healing cult made the worship of Yakushi popular in the Nara monasteries, and easy to spread northward. One of Enichiji's sources of power, perhaps, was that its main object of worship soothed the fear of disease. In the Heian period, moreover, Enichiji adopted tantric Buddhism, with its emphasis on magic and ritual and its natural appeal to people of all social classes.

Although tantric practice affected almost all Buddhist institutions in Japan in the Heian period, it is largely associated with the Tendai and Shingon schools, introduced into Japan from China at the beginning of the ninth century. Tendai and Shingon soon came to rival the formerly-dominant Buddhist schools located in several great monasteries in Nara. . . . The new schools both expanded their influence into the Touhoku region, and Enichiji probably affiliated with one or the other in mid-Heian-- Tendai initially, perhaps, and later Shingon.

Enichiji prospered throughout the middle and late Heian periods. A medieval painting depicts the temple in its days of glory. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, however, another complex of politico-religious power was arising further to the north. This was the famous HIRAIZUMI, home to the regional warlords Northern Fujiwara and their temple Chuusonji, a center of Pure Land Buddhism--the worship of AMIDA. No doubt the Northern Fujiwara wanted to extend their influence to Aizu but they do not seem to have done so before the end of the twelfth century. In the Kamakura period, some religious sculpture--such as the Amida image at GANJOUJI in Kitakata -- followed the Hiraizumi style, but that does not seem to have been the case in Heian times. The political and religious power of Enichiji probably stalled the extension of even the cultural influence of Hiraizumi.

If this was so, how did Enichiji hold out against the powerful Fujiwara warlords? One way was to make an alliance with other warlords, and apparently this is what the temple did. Under the leadership of Joutanbou, who commanded Enichiji's soldier-monks, the temple combined forces with a warrior family called the Jou.

Although Enichiji's soldiers had once opposed the Jou -- defeating their efforts to extend their power into Aizu in a war in the late tenth century -- by the 1170s the threat of Hiraizumi power seems to have brought the former enemies together. In 1172 the head of the Jou family commended seventy-five villages of a shouen in Echigo province to Enichiji. Unfortunately this alliance placed Enichiji on the wrong side of a military rivalry that culminated in civil conflict, the GENPEI WAR of 1181-1185. According to evidence from the war tale Heike Monogatari and Gyokuyou, the diary of the courtier Kujou Kanezane, the combined forces of the Jou and Enichiji were overcome in 1182 by warriors under the leadership of Kiso Yoshinaka of the Genji clan. Here is how the Heike describes the final battle:

. . . the Genji made a gradual approach. At a signal, the seven [Genji] bands merged into one, shouted a great battle cry all together, and whipped up the white banners they had kept in readiness. The Echigo warriors blanched. "There must be hundreds of thousands of them. What shall we do?" they said in a panic. Some were driven into the river; others were chased over cliffs. Those who survived were few; those who perished were many. Enemy weapons felled Yama no Tarou of Echigo, Joutanbou of Aizu, and all the other famous warriors on whom Nagashige [the Jou leader] had relied most heavily. (McCullough, tsl., The Tale of the Heike, page 223.)

This, according to standard accounts, was the beginning of Enichiji decline. After their victory in the Genpei War made the Genji under Minamoto Yoritomo the paramount military power in Japan, Yoritomo placed the Aizu region under the control of his followers. Did Enichiji then lose its holdings as is sometimes claimed? It seems unlikely that it did, since the medieval painting provides evidence of Enichiji prosperity throughout later ages.
- source : www.cs.csustan.edu

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West - Kami Unai Yakushi Doo 上宇内薬師堂 Kami-Unai Yakushi Do Hall
調合寺　- 瑠璃光山

会津坂下町大字大上字村北

One of the buildings of temple 高寺の「高寺三十六坊」. But temple 高寺 later fell into decline and only temple 調合寺 survived.
Now there is a statue of Amida Nyorai.
Nearby temple 浄泉禅寺 takes care of this one too.

The Yakushi Hall has been founded by Tokuitsu in 807. The Statue is a keyaki wooden statue of 1.67 meter hight.

source :　blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kominguokuaizu

The statue of a seated Yakushi had been restored in 1958. It is 2 meters high.
It is now in a special museum in the temple compound.

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North 北山薬師 Kitayama Yakushi
Taishooji 大正寺　Taisho-Ji

北塩原村大字北山字寺ノ前4590

Also called 　"漆大正寺"
Kobo Daishi Kukai founded the Kitayama Yakushido Hall 北山薬師堂, where the standing statue of Yakushi Nyorai was venerated.
During 1558 - 1569 the temple was taken over by the 浄土宗. In 1600 It was taken back by the Tendai sect due to the protection of priest 常海.
During the years 1596 - 1614 the Gamo clan took care of the temple.

Mine no Yakushi 峯の薬師 "Yakushi on the mountain peak"
Famous for 　"二つ児参り".

The main festival is on September 8/9, with a mikoshi palanquin parade through the village.

The first son of the lord Gamoo Hideyuki 蒲生秀行 Gamo Hideyuki (1583 - 1612), Kamechiyomaru 亀千代丸 was very weak, so his father came here to pray with him. On the way back he placed the boy on a large boulder by the roadside and what do you know . .. he got better in an instant. So this stone is now called

kosodate ishi 子育て石 stone for child rearing

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Gamo Hideyuki - Gamō Hideyuki
Hideyuki was the son of Gamô Ujisato 蒲生氏郷　and inherited his father's fief at Aizu (420,000 koku) in 1596.
He was a Christian, and transferred to Utsunomiya in Shimotsuke province in 1598, thereby suffering a loss of income to 180,000-koku. It is not clear why Hideyoshi moved the young Hideyuki, but he may have hoped that by moving the experienced Uesugi Kagekatsu to Aizu in Hideyuki's place, Tokugawa Ieyasu's regional supremacy would be offset.
Hideyuki supported Tokugawa during the Sekigahara Campaign, and while he saw little fighting nonetheless received Aizu (600,000 koku) as a reward.

His son Tadasato succeeded him in 1612.
When Hideyuki's 2nd son Tadamoto died, the Gamô line came to an end.
- source : wiki.samurai-archives.com

- reference : www.aizue.net/sityouson

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South - Nodera Yakushi 野寺薬師 "Yakushi in a temple in the wilderness"
Jikooji 慈光寺　Jiko-Ji - 広沢山慈光寺

会津若松市門田町堤沢字上村
会津若松市門田町大字堤沢709

It used to be on the top of mount 屯台平山

source :　ibabun.com/aruku65

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なゝくさや明日は野寺の初薬師
nanakusa ya asu wa nodera no hatsu-yakushi

gruel of seven herbs for spring -
tomorrow at the lone temple
first ceremony of the Healing Buddha

Matsuoka Seira 松岡青蘿(1740-1791)
ttp://www.geocities.jp/haikunomori/chuko/seira.html

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Aizu Wakamatsu Juuni Yakushi Mairi　会津若松　- 十二薬師巡り 12 Yakushi temples

第一番が丈六薬師（慧日寺）、
第二番北山薬師如来（大正寺）
第三番中禅寺薬師如来（中禅寺・８８㎝・寄木造り）
第四番中央薬師如来（勝常寺）
第五番定徳寺薬師如来（一木造り）
第六番上宇内薬師如来
第七番杉薬師如来（薬王寺・桂材一木造）
第八番田子薬師如来（常福院・漆箔・寄木造）
第九番中田薬師如来（弘安院）
第十番延命薬師如来（延命寺）
第十一番南方薬師如来（慈光寺）
第十二番高田薬師如来（薬師寺）

01 - Enichiji 慧日寺 Enichi-Ji (see above : East)

02 - 北山薬師 Kitayama Yakushi (see above: North)
Taishooji 大正寺　Taisho-Ji

04 - Shoojooji 勝常寺 Shojo-Ji (see above: Center)
瑠璃光山 -

06 - Kami Unai Yakushi Doo 上宇内薬師堂 Kami-Unai Yakushi Do Hall (see above: West)
Mine no Yakushi 峯の薬師 "Yakushi on the mountain peak"
調合寺　- 瑠璃光山

11 - Nodera Yakushi 野寺薬師 "Yakushi in a temple in the wilderness"
Jikooji 慈光寺　Jiko-Ji, Nodera (see above: South)

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会津ころり三観音 Aizu Korori San Kannon
Three Kannon statues to grant a sudden death

大沼郡会津美里町根岸の弘安寺（中田観音）- Kooanji 弘安寺 Koan-Ji
河沼郡会津坂下町塔寺の恵隆寺（立木観音）- Eryuuji 恵隆寺 Eryu-Ji
耶麻郡西会津町野沢の如法寺（鳥追観音）- Nyohooji 如法寺 Nyoho-Ji

- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. korori Kannon ころり観音　/ コロリ観音　Kannon Bosatsu granting a sudden death .

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. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Fudo Pilgrims - INTRODUCTION .

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - ABC .

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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FUDO - Hibutsu secret statues

LINK
http://fudosama.blogspot.jp/2014/06/hibutsu-secret-statues.html

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Hibutsu 秘仏 secret statues

Secret Buddha Statues are enshrined in special tabernacles called zushi 厨子 and are shown at regular intervals to the public. Some are shown every year, others every seven, seventeen, thirtythree or hundred years only. Some are never shown.
This can be a replica of the original hidden statue or a different one altogether.

Usually a substitute statue ("stand before it" maedachi 前立) is placed in front of this tabernacle and can be venerated in prayers at any time.

. hibutsu　秘仏 secret or hidden Buddha Statues . 　
- Introduction -

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不動明王の秘仏像 Secret Statues of Fudo Myo-O

. Kookenji 弘憲寺 Koken-Ji . - Takamatsu, Kagawa

. Saishoo In 最勝院 Saisho-In . - Hirosaki, Aomori

. Juurin-In 十輪院 Jurin-In . - Nara
..... 玉桂寺 Gyokei-Ji

. Koyasan, Namikiri Fudo 高野山波切不動明王 .

. 天長寺 Tenchooji 天長寺 Tencho-Ji . - Miyazaki

. Yokoyama Fudo 横山不動尊 .
..... Daitokuji 大徳寺 Daitoku-Ji, Miyagi

. Zuigan-Ji 瑞巌寺, Godai-Do 五大堂 .
..... Matsushima松島, Miyagi

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Kannon with 1000 arms 千手観音立像
and at her side (wakiji 脇侍) Fudo Myo-O
and Bishamonten
秘仏の千手観音立像と脇侍の不動明王像、毘沙門天像
These statues are important cultural property 国重要文化財.
The statues are from the late Kamakura period.

These statues are shown once every 33 years, from October 17 to November 23.

Shoomyooji 正明寺 Shomyo-Ji
滋賀県蒲生郡日野町松尾　- Matsuo town, Shiga

The original temple was lost in a fire during the period of the warring states 戦国時代 (ca. 1467 - 1573). It was rebuilt in the Edo period. The Main Hall was relocated from the Imperial Palace 清涼殿 on the wish of emperor Gomizuno Tenno 後水尾天皇 (1596 - 1680)

- source : kanagawabunnkaken.web.fc2.com

- - - - - - - Other Fudo statues on this list of hibutsu

千葉・妙楽寺- Chiba

香川・出釈迦寺 - Kagawa

Kyoto 京都
神応寺杉山谷不動尊
聖護院
大蓮寺
青蓮院国宝
三千院

三重・常福寺 - Mie

Nara - 奈良
宝山寺 -

大阪・金剛寺、観心寺 - Osaka

Tokyo
金剛寺

秘仏御開帳 - a long list
- source : kanagawabunnkaken.web.fc2.com

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- reference -

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. - Join Fudo Myo-O on facebook - Fudō Myō-ō .

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. Pilgrimages to Fudo Temples 不動明王巡礼
Fudo Myo-O Junrei - Fudo Pilgrims .

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

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FUDO - Ogi Town, Shiga

LINK
http://fudosama.blogspot.jp/2014/09/ogi-shiga.html

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Statues in Oogi, Ōgi 仰木 Ogi

- shared by Bradford Pomeroy - facebook group

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at Kiyomizu Waterfall 清水の滝

The Kurikara sword

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This Fudo has lost his sword.

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at temple Kenryu-Ji

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