【Japan tourism】Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage trip [No.14] Seijyuzan Enmeiin Jyorakuji

2023年3月6日2023年4月15日

Jorakuji Temple is the only temple in Shikoku that has Miroku Bodhisattva as its principal image. It is a unique landscape created by exposed bedrock.

The sacred tree of Araragi, which stands in front of the main hall, is said to have a miraculous effect on healing diabetes.

Jyorakuji

Principal image	Maitreya Bodhisattva
Honzon mantra	On mai tareiya sawaka
Denomination	Koyasan Shingon Buddhism

Place

Official site： none

Temple lodging： none

Phone：088-642-0471

Goshuin(red seal)

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History

In 815 (Konin 6), When Kobo Daishi was practicing the secret teachings of Shingon here, Maitreya Bodhisattva came to welcome him with many bodhisattvas. Kobo Daishi immediately carved a statue of Miroku Bodhisattva on a nearby sacred tree and made it the principal image, and built a hall.

The monastery was built by Kobo Daishi’s nephew, Shinnen, and Kishin, and during the Muromachi period it became a place of prayer for the Awa lord.

It was destroyed by fire during the Battle of Tensho in 1573-1592. In the early Edo period, the Hachisuka family, the lords of the Tokushima Domain, revived it.

In 1818 (Bunka 15), I moved from the lowland valley where there is now a reservoir to the current Garden of Ryusuiiwa, which was reached by climbing 50 steps.

Highlight

【Araragi Spirit Tree・Araragi Daishi】A giant Araragi tree with a circumference of 8m and a height of 10m grows on the right side of the main hall. A small stone statue of Daishi is enshrined in the forked crotch, and it is affectionately called “Araragi Daishi".

Kobo Daishi made a decoction of a yew tree and gave it to an old man suffering from diabetes. There is a legend that the current Araragi grew by inserting this yew tree.

【Garden of Ryusuiiwa】The erosion caused by wind and snow has caused the rocks on the ground to undulate, and the exposed bedrock in the precincts is covered with deformed bedrock. It’s called the Ryusuiiwa Garden.

【Jorakuen】It is a orphanage operated by the only temple in Shikoku. It was established in 1955 as a social welfare facility for war orphans.

It is about 1 km (about 5 minutes by car) to the next 15th bill place “Kokubunji"!