Virtual Old Akita 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #15 Hatomine Shrine or Kuruson-butsu

 

     It is unknown when Hatomine Shrine was founded along the upstream of Tama River.  The shrine is surrounded with huge stones which seem to have been objects for nature worship.  It is unknown which rock was what they called Kuruson-butsu or Kuruson Buddha.  As -son is a suffix to show respect, Kuru could have been a god or something holy among the local northern foreigners.  We can only find Reclining Buddha today.

     Some argue Kuruson comes from Krakucchanda.  Vipasyin transmigrated to be Sikhin, who transmigrated to be Visvabhu, who transmigrated to be Krakucchanda, who transmigrated to be Kanakamuni, who transmigrated to be Kasyapa, who finally transmigrated to be Siddhartha.  As he repeated transmigration, he accumulated good deeds and virtuous conduct to be Buddha.  The 2 phrases sound similar but picking up the 4th generation of transmigration seems too technical.

     Anyway, Hatomine Shrine could have been founded to amalgamate the local nature worship into the national religion, Shinto, and Urabe Yasumasa presented an Avalokitesvara image to the shrine or one of the huge stones to syncretize the nature worship or the amalgamated local belief with Buddhism.  It is, however, uncertain which occurred first.

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