This temple was founded in the Nara period about 1200 years ago.
In the Edo period this temple was revived
by the Obaku sect(one of the three zen sects).
This temple had a deep relationship with Shugendo① Mt.Kubote from the
olden days.
After the Heian period this was the temple of the Tendai sect until it
was converted in the Meiji period.
Two Deva kings(part of Fukuoka Prefecture's important cultural property)
situated next to the main gate of this Buddhist temple, welcome you in.
These statues are not so intricate or powerful, yet seem to be gentle and
accepting figures.
One figure means "A" first letter
in Japanese Hiragana and The other figure
means "N" last letter in Japanese
Hiragana in they mouth,.
In the inner temple you'll see Nyoirin-Kannon Bosatsu.
It means one who hears people's cries and shows virtuous deed to be free
and unrestricted.
It has Nyoi-Hojyu in its hand.
It is said that if you own this precious orb, your dream will come true.
A healing Buddha and an Historical Buddha are deified on either side.
There is a string for coping the sutras,
at the left side of the inner temple. The
water from the spring is said to taste as
sweet as nectar. In the Heian period(850
years ago) this temple was a place to copy
Buddhist scriptures(sutras)②.
Small shrine is surrounded by a grove of cedars secretly deifying Fudo-Myo-O③.
It was sculpted into a spiritual camphor tree while the tree was still
standing. This statue was damaged in a fire circa 1580.
One day Fudo-Myo-O appeared in the priest's dream and said, "Please
don't show my ugly figure to anyone. If you can do this for me, I promise
that there will be no more fire in this village." This statue is hidden
away as a secret Buddha.
Strangely enough, there have been no fires in this area since then.
Big Mandalas④ were depicted 600 years ago.
They show the realms of Kongokai(Diamond or thunderbolt Realm) and Taizokai(Womb
or Matrix Realm), and manifest the dual aspects of Dainichi(The Great Sun).
Their two scrolls are the same size; length 183cm and width 147cm.
Now many Tendai priests lived here, the religion
of Honji=Suijyaku⑤ was at its best. So,
there are many temples and shrines dotted
around this main temple.
In 1872, the ordinance of the separation
of deities and Buddhas was enacted. But this
temple kept it's figure and form of deifying
gods and Buddhas together.
In this area there are over 200 stone towers such as five storied pagodas⑥
and the like. These are towers, erected for the repose of the Utsunomiya
clan's soul. The Utsunomiya can governed this area around 1200 A.D..
As legend has it, if you throw paper(which you have chewed into a pebble-like
form) as the two Deva Kings, pretending that it is your own body and aiming
at the wounded or sick part, you will recover from your illness quickly.
Also, crawling between the legs of the Deva King means you will never be
infected by smallpox.
① A religious order that prescribes ascetic practices in mountains
to attain holy or magic powers beneficial to the community.
Its members are known as Yamabushi.
② Devotional copying of Buddhist scriptures(sutras) often regarded as
a religious service or as spiritual training.
③ Meaning Kings of light or wisdom, Myo-O were originally non-Buddhist
Hindu deities who were adopted into the pantheon of esoteric Buddhism.
Most of them are represented with fierce visages, hair of awe, consorted
faces, and weapons in hand.
④ A symmetrically arranged symbolic diagram
used in Hinduism and esoteric Buddhism to
express fundamental doctrine for the purposes
of rituals and meditation. Buddhist mandalas
range from simple geometric diagrams or arrangements
of sacred words, to complex configurations
in which many Buddhas and Bodhisattva are
depicted.
The word mandala has many meanings; no translation can do it justice.
The original Sanskrit word mandala meant "circle," "group,"
"collection,"
or "company."
⑤ The theory that the native Shinto deities are Japanese incarnations
or manifestation of Indian Buddhist divinities who are their original and
eternal prototypes.
⑥ The five tiers of this type of Buddhist monument represent(from top
to bottom) emptiness, wild, fire, water, and earth.