Virtual Tama River 34 Kannon Pilgrimage #18 Myosho-in Temple

     Tama County, Musashi Province, used to have many ancient tumuli, which were built after the 4th century.  Iruma Village had a tumulus.  Kasumine Shrine used to be located at the foot of the tumulus, with Myosho-in Temple as its shrine temple.  It is unknown when the shrine was founded.  The temple was founded sometime between 1532 and 1558 by Priest Shukai.

     Inaribo Sekizan (?-1735) ran a pawnshop in Yotsuya-Shio-machi, Edo.  One day, he got a combination of 3 Buddhist images unredeemed, and thought that he would get worldly profit by enshrining the combination in a temple.  He donated the statue to Myosho-in Temple in 1735.

     The combination of 3 Buddhist images became the main deity of the temple, which has Amitabha in the center, Avalokitesvara on the left, and Mahasthamaprapta on the right.  They represent very rare style: to sit with their left foot treading.

     It is the temple’s thousand-armed 11-faced Ekadasamukha that is believed to have manifested itself as the god of Kasumine in Japan.

The temple was presented a thousand-armed thousand-eyed Sahasrabhuja statue in 1673.

Address: 2 Chome−１９−12 Irimacho, Chofu, Tokyo 182-0004

Phone: 03-3300-8979