Virtual Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Saigyo-an Hermitage

     It is unknown when and why Saigyo-an Hermitage was founded.  It was abolished after the Meiji Restoration, and was merged by the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #29 Togaku-ji Temple.

     It is also unknown why it was listed as the #11 temple of the Ueno Oji Komagome 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.

     The Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #11 Daigo-ji Temple enshrines the statue of Cundi, who has 16 arms and appears to be female.  The Shingon Sect Buddhists assert that the last one should be Cundi, while the Tendai Sect Buddhists maintain that it should be Amoghapasa, who usually has 3 eyes and 8 arms.  They all believe that Arya Avalokitesvara can metamorphose into 5, and that they can carve 6 types of Avalokitesvara statues in total.  Saigyo-an Hermitage used to be a branch temple of Togaku-ji Temple, which belongs to the Shingon Sect.  Presumably, the hermitage might have enshrined Cundi, or its founder might have prayed for the comfort of the dead child in the other world.  The tanka poem dedicated to the Cundi statue of Daigo-ji Temple was:

How Cundi is dependable!

Even when we grieve over our child,

Cundi relieves our wailing.

Togaku-ji Temple

Address: 2 Chome-7-3 Tabata, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0014

Phone: 03-3821-1031