【Japan tourism】 Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage trip [No.43] Genkouzan Enjyuin Meisekiji

2023年3月31日2023年4月15日

Meisekiji is also known locally as “Ageishi-san".

Meisekiji

Place

Temple lodging： none

Phone：0894-62-0032

Gosyuin(red stamp)

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History

It was founded in the early 6th century. According to the imperial request of Emperor Kinmei, Enjyuin Seicho built the Shichido Garan on this site to enshrine the statue of the Thousand Armed Kannon Bodhisattva, which had come to Japan from Tang Dynasty.

A long time ago, a beautiful maiden raised a large stone up the mountain at midnight while making a wish, but Amanojaku imitated the crowing of a rooster, so she thought it was dawn and disappeared. It is said that the maiden was an incarnation of the Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva, the principal image of worship. It is said that the name of the temple was “Ageishiji", derived from the legend of a maiden.

In 734 ( Tenpyo 6), the ascetic Jugen solicited 12 Gongen from Kishu Kumano and built 12 monasteries as the central dojo of Shugondo.

In 823 ( Kōnin 13), Kobo Daishi made a tour of this place, received an imperial command from Emperor Saga, enshrined the Lotus Sutra, and restored the devastated temples.

In 1194 ( Kenkyu 5), Minamoto no Yoritomo enshrined Amida Nyorai in order to mourn the death of his life benefactor, Ike no Zenni, and built a sutra mound to repair the hall.

Since then, it has become a temple to which many samurai worship. It is said that there were more than 70 branch temples in the Muromachi period as a place of prayer for the lords of the Saionji family, and in the Edo period as a place of prayer for the Date family, the lord of the Uwajima domain.

Highlight

【Happy Kannon Statue】About 2m in height. Kannon with a water jar on his left hand.

It is about 78 km (about 2 hours by car) to the next 44th bill place “Daiho-ji"!