Virtual Sayama 33 Kannon Pilgrimag #13 Shofuku-ji Temple

 

     Hojo Tokiyori (1227-1263) married Lady Kasai (1233-1317), who gave birth to Tokimune (1251-1284), Munemasa (1253-1281), and a daughter on October 6th, 1254.

     On September 15th, 1256, Tokiyori caught measles.  He got a pill from Ksitigarbha in his dream.  On the 25th, he recovered, but his daughter died of the measles on October 13th.  Tokiyori became a Buddhist monk on November 23rd.  He also built 1,000 Ksitigarbha statues, all of which are 15 to 20 centimeters tall and like small children, and enshrined them in a hall in Shofuku-ji Temple, inviting Priest Shingetsu, who died sometime between 1264 and 1274.  According to tradition, Tokiyori built statues but it was Tokimune who founded Shofuku-ji Temple.

     All the other temple buildings have suffered fires to burn down but the Ksitigarbha hall has survived.

Address: 4 Chome−6−1 Noguchicho, Higashimurayama, Tokyo 189-0022

Phone: 042-391-0460