Virtual Mogami 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #17 Choto-ji Temple

 

     It is unknown when an Eleven-Faced Ekadasamukha statue was enshrined on the top of a mountain between Yagisawa and Kumano Rivers in Murayama County, Ideha Province.  Legend has it that a temple was founded for the statue in 731.

     Along the Sagae River at the foot of the mountain, the Naganobori Family lived and took care of the statue for generations.

     After the Gods and Buddhas Separation Order in 1868, the family preferred Shinto.  They brought the statue down from the mountain and kept it in their storehouse.  Many pilgrims kept visiting the statue.  The family provided their land and founded Choto-ji Temple in its present place in 1897.  In 1898, the temple burned down and the statue burned black.  In 1926, the temple was rebuilt.  In 1952, a substitute Buddhist image was made.

Address: 142 Mutsuai Otsu, Nishikawa, Nishimurayama District, Yamagata 990-0701

Phone: 0237-74-3853